"No god save the king or god bless Paul Kruger" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner BC16/Box7/Fold2/Aug-Dec1919/11 |
| Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | Monday September 1919 |
| Address From | 9 Porchester Place, Edgware Road, Westminster, London |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Betty Molteno |
| 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 month and year have been written on this letter in an unknown hand. Schreiner was resident at Porchester Place from early April 1917 until August 1920, when she left Britain for South Africa.
|
1Monday
2
3Dear one, I have written to Percy & Mrs Solomon & May – I suppose
4you posted your letter to Mrs Murray but am sending her a line. H It
5has been a cold day for you. I meant to make you take my warm water
6bottle, but quite forgot it in the haste at the last moment.
7
8You will I know tell me what you can about our dear beautiful one. I
9am so glad Graham is there & Florence. I like to think of her walled
10round with love
11
12Lucy telephoned to me tonight. She goes to Barkleys tomorrow.
13
14I fear you had a bitterly cold journey.
15
16I wonder if Helen would think it worth while to send me any exact
17medical details that I might tell that Doctor? Dont for get the violet
18leaves, its the leaves not the flowers that are used for the tea to
19drink. And you boil a very strong decoction & wring the hot clothes
20out in it & put it over the part where there is pain. My
21brother-in-law said it was the only thing that helped him to the end.
22
23Please tell me is the journey was pretty comfortable. I hope if you
24had fellow passengers they were nice. I do hope you found Florence in
25the train.
26
27Good bye, my beloved.
28Olive
29
2
3Dear one, I have written to Percy & Mrs Solomon & May – I suppose
4you posted your letter to Mrs Murray but am sending her a line. H It
5has been a cold day for you. I meant to make you take my warm water
6bottle, but quite forgot it in the haste at the last moment.
7
8You will I know tell me what you can about our dear beautiful one. I
9am so glad Graham is there & Florence. I like to think of her walled
10round with love
11
12Lucy telephoned to me tonight. She goes to Barkleys tomorrow.
13
14I fear you had a bitterly cold journey.
15
16I wonder if Helen would think it worth while to send me any exact
17medical details that I might tell that Doctor? Dont for get the violet
18leaves, its the leaves not the flowers that are used for the tea to
19drink. And you boil a very strong decoction & wring the hot clothes
20out in it & put it over the part where there is pain. My
21brother-in-law said it was the only thing that helped him to the end.
22
23Please tell me is the journey was pretty comfortable. I hope if you
24had fellow passengers they were nice. I do hope you found Florence in
25the train.
26
27Good bye, my beloved.
28Olive
29
Notation
‘Our dear beautiful one’ refers to Alice Greene, who was dying of breast cancer. The following notes were written by Albert Cartwright to Alice Greene in September 1919 and concern some of her writings. The Project is grateful to John Barham and the Greene Family for kindly allowing us to transcribe these three short notes, which are part of the family collections:
News
6.9.19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Admirable! Many thanks. Will use for Sidelights as you suggest. As O. Twist would say, “Some more, mum, please”.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright.
News
13.9.19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Thank you for another delightful bit of writing. Of course I will use it, gladly, but I don’t see what the readers of the daily have done that they shouldn’t have it as well as the readers of the weekly. I hope to use it for Saturday’s daily & next week’s weekly. I wish I could write like that. But once you put on the collar of journalism all chance of doing literary work has gone. I congratulate you on an admirable piece of work.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright.
News
16 / 9 / 19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Thanks most sincerely. What a business it would be, if our friends saw us as we are, instead of as they in their goodness think of us!
I should never of course dream of revealing the authorship of anything you write.
I hope you & Miss Molteno are going to cheer up my wife with another call one of these days. Since she can’t return calls you ought to suspend (I won’t say hang) the usual regulations.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright
‘Our dear beautiful one’ refers to Alice Greene, who was dying of breast cancer. The following notes were written by Albert Cartwright to Alice Greene in September 1919 and concern some of her writings. The Project is grateful to John Barham and the Greene Family for kindly allowing us to transcribe these three short notes, which are part of the family collections:
News
6.9.19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Admirable! Many thanks. Will use for Sidelights as you suggest. As O. Twist would say, “Some more, mum, please”.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright.
News
13.9.19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Thank you for another delightful bit of writing. Of course I will use it, gladly, but I don’t see what the readers of the daily have done that they shouldn’t have it as well as the readers of the weekly. I hope to use it for Saturday’s daily & next week’s weekly. I wish I could write like that. But once you put on the collar of journalism all chance of doing literary work has gone. I congratulate you on an admirable piece of work.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright.
News
16 / 9 / 19.
Dear Miss Greene.
Thanks most sincerely. What a business it would be, if our friends saw us as we are, instead of as they in their goodness think of us!
I should never of course dream of revealing the authorship of anything you write.
I hope you & Miss Molteno are going to cheer up my wife with another call one of these days. Since she can’t return calls you ought to suspend (I won’t say hang) the usual regulations.
Yours sincerely
Albert Cartwright