"Best blood of youth, beginning of half century of war" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box2/Fold4/1901/49
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date1 August 1901
Address FromHanover, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToAlice Greene
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 name of the addressee is Alice Greene. Schreiner was resident in Hanover from September 1900 to October 1907, after 1902 with visits, sometimes fairly lengthy, elsewhere.
1 Aug 1st 1901
2
3 My darling Friend
4
5 I have not got your but this morning the military commandant called
6with it. I am in bed but Cron saw him. He said such letters could not
7be allowed to pass as you said that the hanging of the men (or
8something to that effect) was not the way to bring the war to an end.
9He advises that you do not refer to these matters, but the military
10will no doubt write to you themselves. Please dear never refer to
11public matters again. If I only know you are well & sometimes think of
12me it is all I ask.
13
14 My chest is very bad & I am spitting much blood I have such a feeling
15that if the war were over & I could get up to Bloemfontein the dry
16warm air might do my good, but perhaps its only fancy.
17
18 Good bye my my dear love: the knowledge you are loving me & thinking
19of me helps me in all my pain.
20
21 Cron is ill with influenza but as soon as he is better he is coming
22down to Cape Town.
23
24 Your,
25 Olive
26
Notation
On a train to Cape Town, S.C. Cronwright-Schreiner wrote a covering letter accompanying Schreiner’s to update Greene dated 9 August 1901, as follows:

‘On the Railway, South of Wellington, Friday 9 Aug. 9 a.m. My dear Miss Greene, Olive gave me this to post, as I shall do in Cape Town. I left Hanover on Wednesday evening and Hanover Road early on Thursday morning. Olive was pretty well when I left. This little ?expectoration of blood which she had when at her worst had quite ceased for some days, and her chest was quiet: otherwise I should not have left. My address is Mowbray, but I fear I shall not be able to see my friends for a few days as I shall be very busy. After that I shall be freer. I return by the end of the month. I have bought Morris’s “Life”. Excuse writing: the train is in motion. Beyond a slight cough (which I mean to throw off sharp down here) I am over the influenza. I hope you both are well: it will be pleasant to see you again. S.C.C.S.’