"Going with me to England, think it all over carefully" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box7/Fold4/Mar-Dec1920/17
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date24 August 1920
Address FromRMS Balmoral Castle
Address To
Who ToBetty Molteno
Other Versions
PermissionsPlease 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. This letter is on headed printed notepaper.
1Union-Castle Line
2R.M.S “Balmoral Castle”
3
4Aug 24th 1920
5
6Dear Betty
7
8I am always wondering how it is going with you. I hope you have got up
9to Llandrindod. I shall be glad to know what your plans are. We called
10at Madiera but I did not go on shore as I could not have walked. The
11island looked lovely & recalled my beloved Italy
12
13We are through the tropics now. It has not been warm. Ye The day
14before yesterday when we passed under the Equator it was so cold one
15wanted ones rug if one sat on deck. Every one on board says they never
16knew such a thing. The South East trade wind has been blowing so
17strong for a week one can hardly stand on deck often. We have only had
18rain once for 15 minutes. Today the sea is intensely dark blue & the
19sky a pale blue. We get to Cape Town on Monday the 30th Will’s
20birthday. I dread getting there but it will be better when once the
21arrival is over.
22
23I have hardly spoken to any one since I came on board. Oliver & his
24party are very busy with sports &c; they are getting ready for the
25fancy dress ball now. I have found a nice little place at the back of
26my cabin where hardly any one comes & I am sheltered from the wind.
27The thing I miss is having no books or papers. The library on board is
28the poorest I ever knew, & the light in my cabin is so bad you cant
29read by it, but I spend most of the night on deck.
30
31I will write & tell you how I find Lucy & any of your friends I may
32meet. But I am not likely to meet any but Lucy’s family. I expect
33old John Brown & Ruth Alexander will be there to meet me; but I
34don’t expect any one else as the ship gets in so early.
35
36Good bye dear. Take care of yourself
37Yours with love & many tender thoughts
38Olive
39
40It will be hard to ^in^ Africa to get so little news of things in Europe
41but Cron has promised to send me the “Herald” & I will try to ^get
42magazines from the libraries.^
43