"In losing the friendship of the Republics, England has blown away one of the bulwarks of Empire, when England stands where we stand today let her remember Soouth Africa" Read the full letter
Collection Summary | View All |  Arrange By:
< Prev |
Viewing Item
of 1895 | Next >
Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box2/Fold4/1901/54
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateOctober 1901
Address FromHanover, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToFrances ('Fan') Schreiner nee Reitz
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 month and year have been written on this letter in an unknown hand. Schreiner was resident in Hanover from September 1900 to October 1907, after 1902 with visits, sometimes fairly lengthy, elsewhere.
1 Dear Fan,
2
3 I was so glad to get your note & will be very glad to get the letter
4you write of.
5
6 I was so glad mother was able to come to you for a bit, I am sure the
7change will have done her good & she will go back fresh to her life at
8the Highlands. W I wonder how strong she is now! 1) Was she ever able
9to get as far as the beach, or could she only sit on the verandah?
10
11 2) What news has Ettie of Elbert? Has he joined the regular police, or
12or defence force, or gone as a volunteer? How are all the friends in
13town getting on. Where are Mrs Gie & Hanna? Are Hannie & Aunt Keetje
14still in her house? How is Keetje Silke getting on with all her little
15ones? I’ll never get any news of any one now-a-days.
16
17 I do hope Will has gone to Caledon. It is foolish not really to build
18yourself up when you have been unfit. I have just had a note from dear
19Anna Purcell who said she had been to see mother at St James.
20
21 Give me all the news you can dear of all the friends. Do you & Will
22think that on the whole mother is as well as she was two years ago say.
23 Is her memory failing much? We have had a trying time here lately one
24way & another, & my heart is troubling me a bit. Cron sends much love.
25He is looking splendidly well; I’ve not seen him looking so fit for
26years, not since we left Kimberley. His coats are quite tight across
27the chest.
28
29 Good bye dear sis.
30 Love to you all
31 Olive
32
33
34
Notation
Writing to Betty Molteno on 28 September 1901 from Hanover, Cronwright-Schreiner noted that Schreiner’s health had improved with the change of weather:

‘We are both well; the weather at this time of the year here evidently suits Olive well. We walk out almost daily. Yes, I have been employing my walks in collecting for Purcell, & in fact, so keen have I become on the subject, that I often sally out alone for the purpose. The veld in all directions, from the number of stones turned over, looks as though a troop of baboons had swept across it! My interest is about equally divided between the scientific side of it and Purcell’s joy in the collection – he is such a good fellow. He will have told you how interesting the finds have been. I am glad you liked that natural history, which I note you have handed to him.’