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Letter ReferenceEdward Carpenter 359/55
ArchiveSheffield Archives, Archives & Local Studies, Sheffield
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date23 May 1892
Address FromCape Town, Western Cape
Address To
Who ToEdward Carpenter
Other VersionsRive 1987: 206
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the Sheffield Archives, Sheffield Libraries, Archives and Information Services, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Archive Collections.
1 Cape Town
2 May 23 / 92
3
4 Dear Ed
5
6 It’s nice to think of you being in the world somewhere. It’s nice
7to think of all the beautiful souls everywhere. I’m sitting alone in
8my upstairs bedroom in a unreadable boarding house. It’s cold winter
9weather with pouring rain; it’s almost like England. H I’ve got no
10news to give you.
11
12 I’ve been sorry about those anarchist troubles. I’m so sorry our
13people do such things. I’m going to get Plato to read tomorrow to
14make the sky bluer.
15
16 There are no people that think or care about social or impersonal
17subjects in this country, that I’ve found. They are all philistines.
18Its so funny to find a whole nation of philistines without the other
19element at all. I’m getting more used to it, & up at Matjesfontein
20in the beautiful Karroo one doesn’t feel it at all. It’s a lovely
21life up there in the summer.
22
23 I’ve found a couple of people who can understand England’s Ideal a
24little
, but they are from England. People here think anyone is mad who
25supposes that anyone could perhaps think anything nicer than a great
26deal of money. It’s a curious, curious study this whole society. I
27wonder what you would make of it!!
28
29 Good bye Ed.
30 Olive
31 ^
32Loving greetings to my old friend George. In weather like this one
33feels he is almost as well in England but in three months the rain
34will be over & the spring back again.
35
36 OS^
37
38
39
Notation
The book referred to is: Edward Carpenter (1887) England’s Ideal London: Swann Sonnenschein & Co. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.