"Woman's work, men & women's qualities, education" Read the full letter
Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner BC16/Box4/Fold2/1909/25 |
Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 13 May 1909 |
Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
Address To | Kamper’s Kraal, Nel’s Poort, Western Cape |
Who To | Lucy Molteno nee Mitchell |
Other Versions | |
Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
Legend |
The Project is grateful to Manuscripts and Archives, University of Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscripts and Archives Collections. The address this letter was sent to is provided by an attached envelope.
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1
De Aar
2 May 13th 1909
3
4 My dear Lucy Molteno
5
6 I’ve been so glad to hear good news of you from Anna Purcell. The
7air about Nel’s Poort & that part is to me the finest in South
8Africa, & I feel sure you will soon be perfectly strong there: but for
9me it will be a great miss not to find you in Cape Town when I go down
10in June. I wonder whether when we come back in July when the air is
11beautifully cold & dry here it might not do you good to come to the
12hotel here for a little change. It would be so lovely for me to have
13you near me: I can see so little of you in Cape Town. The de Aar Hotel
14is splendidly kept now by some very nice German’s. Mrs ?Klige is a
15dear mothering woman & she has two charming grown up daughters who do
16every thing to make you comfortable; & make you anything in the way of
17food that you needed. There is plenty of splendid milk here now. I
18simply live on it. And a man here has a nice spider that he hires in
19which you could go for drives every day. I think if it were only for a
20week or ten days you would find the change do you good. Now the
21weather is still very trying; continual rain & thunderstorms, now hot,
22& then damp & cold. But when the real winter weather comes it is dry,
23& warm.
24
25 I am enclosing you a letter from Betty that Mrs Murray sent me & asked
26me to send on to you.
27
28 I do long so for Betty & Miss Greene, but I’m sure they are happier
29in Europe under existing conditions in this country. As a woman one
30has to sit by & see every thing go wrong; & yet can do nothing.
31
32 I hope you don’t find it lonely at the farm. Do you ride? Riding on
33a quiet horse that doesn’t pull at ones at ones arms & so at one’s
34chest, does one more good than anything I think.
35
36 I am so glad to hear from Mrs Murray that you have got your sweet
37children with you: you wont be lonely while you have them; but I
38suppose they will return soon.
39
40 Do take care of yourself & get quite strong & hardy
41
42 Yours very lovingly
43 Olive Schreiner
44
45
46
2 May 13th 1909
3
4 My dear Lucy Molteno
5
6 I’ve been so glad to hear good news of you from Anna Purcell. The
7air about Nel’s Poort & that part is to me the finest in South
8Africa, & I feel sure you will soon be perfectly strong there: but for
9me it will be a great miss not to find you in Cape Town when I go down
10in June. I wonder whether when we come back in July when the air is
11beautifully cold & dry here it might not do you good to come to the
12hotel here for a little change. It would be so lovely for me to have
13you near me: I can see so little of you in Cape Town. The de Aar Hotel
14is splendidly kept now by some very nice German’s. Mrs ?Klige is a
15dear mothering woman & she has two charming grown up daughters who do
16every thing to make you comfortable; & make you anything in the way of
17food that you needed. There is plenty of splendid milk here now. I
18simply live on it. And a man here has a nice spider that he hires in
19which you could go for drives every day. I think if it were only for a
20week or ten days you would find the change do you good. Now the
21weather is still very trying; continual rain & thunderstorms, now hot,
22& then damp & cold. But when the real winter weather comes it is dry,
23& warm.
24
25 I am enclosing you a letter from Betty that Mrs Murray sent me & asked
26me to send on to you.
27
28 I do long so for Betty & Miss Greene, but I’m sure they are happier
29in Europe under existing conditions in this country. As a woman one
30has to sit by & see every thing go wrong; & yet can do nothing.
31
32 I hope you don’t find it lonely at the farm. Do you ride? Riding on
33a quiet horse that doesn’t pull at ones at ones arms & so at one’s
34chest, does one more good than anything I think.
35
36 I am so glad to hear from Mrs Murray that you have got your sweet
37children with you: you wont be lonely while you have them; but I
38suppose they will return soon.
39
40 Do take care of yourself & get quite strong & hardy
41
42 Yours very lovingly
43 Olive Schreiner
44
45
46