"Not love uniting you but greed, gold-thirsty native policy, cheap labour" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Schreiner-Hemming Family BC 1080 A1.7/102 |
| Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | Tuesday February 1909 |
| Address From | Matjesfontein, Western Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Henrietta (‘Ettie’) Schreiner m. Stakesby Lewis (1891) |
| 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. This letter has been dated by reference to content. Theo Schreiner was ill with typhoid in Matjesfontein in February 1909. Schreiner was resident in Matjesfontein from late December 1908 to late March 1909.
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1
Tuesday
2
3 My darling
4
5 Theo seems much better this morning. ^He is reading the news paper^ The
6coloured woman sat up with him, & he only woke once & called for her
7during the whole night. His tem is 101 ^very good for the second week^.
8I can’t understand quite, dear, why you are so glad I offered to do
9anything I could in the way of nursing. You know surely I would help
10or nurse if I could any human creature in the whole world if I thought
11there was no one else to do it. All the people here are afraid of
12fever. Please don’t compel me to talk of things I would rather leave
13unspoken of.
14
15 I long so to see you, dear. But I more than doubt whether you will
16come.
17
18 Your little sister
19 Olive
20
21 Ettie darling, Theo seems doing splendidly this morning his
22temperature is quite normal 99. He discusses the newspapers &c with
23great pleasure. This is the 16th day ^the doctor says^ so he ought to be
24all right in five days. I think he has rather longed to see you
25(Don’t mention this to Kate Stuart.) When I’m alone with him he
26asks so ?wistfully if I’ve heard from you, & as if I think you’ll
27come &c. I tell you this not to make you anxious or feel you must come,
28 but because if I were in your place I would like to know it. It might
29make you feel more able to come if Mr Hutton comes.
30
31 Olive
32
33^Friday morning ^
34 I’m so thankful dear Arthur has that post small as it is.
35
36
37
2
3 My darling
4
5 Theo seems much better this morning. ^He is reading the news paper^ The
6coloured woman sat up with him, & he only woke once & called for her
7during the whole night. His tem is 101 ^very good for the second week^.
8I can’t understand quite, dear, why you are so glad I offered to do
9anything I could in the way of nursing. You know surely I would help
10or nurse if I could any human creature in the whole world if I thought
11there was no one else to do it. All the people here are afraid of
12fever. Please don’t compel me to talk of things I would rather leave
13unspoken of.
14
15 I long so to see you, dear. But I more than doubt whether you will
16come.
17
18 Your little sister
19 Olive
20
21 Ettie darling, Theo seems doing splendidly this morning his
22temperature is quite normal 99. He discusses the newspapers &c with
23great pleasure. This is the 16th day ^the doctor says^ so he ought to be
24all right in five days. I think he has rather longed to see you
25(Don’t mention this to Kate Stuart.) When I’m alone with him he
26asks so ?wistfully if I’ve heard from you, & as if I think you’ll
27come &c. I tell you this not to make you anxious or feel you must come,
28 but because if I were in your place I would like to know it. It might
29make you feel more able to come if Mr Hutton comes.
30
31 Olive
32
33^Friday morning ^
34 I’m so thankful dear Arthur has that post small as it is.
35
36
37