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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box11/Fold1/Dated/8
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateWednesday 25 September 1912
Address FromDe Aar, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToWilliam Philip ('Will') Schreiner
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. The date has been written on this letter in an unknown hand.
1 De Aar
2 Wednesday
3
4 Dear Laddie, I posted your caps to you this morning & also a tooth
5brush which I don’t recognize.
6
7 It was beautiful to have you two. Yesterday after you went I walked
8about the empty house like an old hen with all its feathers pulled out.
9 The worst was when about nine o’clock all the hot water was boiling
10on the stove & there was no old man to have his bath. It's ridiculous,
11but I could have howled.
12
13 But it will always be a beautiful memory, which will make me like de
14Aar better. It was so fine to see my boy Oliver again. If you are too
15long separated (from the young ^especially^) you lose touch with each
16other. They enter into new phases of development which you do not
17quite follow. It has been a great great joy to me. He is just the old
18boy Oliver – only more so!
19
20I hope you weren’t too tired for the great load of work waiting for
21you when you got back.
22
23 I was so glad you had good weather here – you always bring it.
24Yesterday was very hot ‘70 in my cool darkened room & 84 in the cool
25corner of the stoep by the study door. Of course its nothing to what
26it is in ^summer^ but we had a a strong wind & dust all day.
27
28 To day is my "happy day" of the week. I’ve just got the English
29letters. One from dear little Ursie so happy in Holland & so joyful at
30the thought she will have Oliver near her for four years. Her great
31hope is that you & Fan & Dot & Bill will come over next year in the
32summer.
33
34 Alice Corthorn writes me she doesn’t think Ursula will have any
35difficulty with the London degree - & she ought to know as she’s
36been through the
37
38^mill herself. Good bye. Thank you so much for coming ^
39 Olive
40
41 ^I had a nice letter from Lord Grey this morning.^
42
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44