"Could Bertrand Russell come & see OS tomorrow" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner: Extracts of Letters to Cronwright-Schreiner MSC 26/2.16/517 |
| Archive | National Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Extract |
| Letter Date | 12 November 1914 |
| Address From | na |
| Address To | De Aar, Northern Cape |
| Who To | S.C. (‘Cron’) Cronwright-Schreiner |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 342 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Extracts of Letters to Cronwright-Schreiner were produced by Cronwright-Schreiner in preparing The Life and The Letters of Olive Schreiner. They appear on slips of paper in his writing, taken from letters that were then destroyed; many of these extracts have also been edited by him. They are artefacts of his editorial practices and their relationship to original Schreiner letters cannot now be gauged. They should be read with considerable caution for the reasons given. Cronwright-Schreiner has written the date onto this extract. There are some differences between this transcription and the version that appears in The Letters….
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…Thursday, My Cron, I have your long letter. I got it two days ago.
2When I got your letter & read the first page & then I came to the
3sentence about Ollie, I knew what had happened. For two days, I
4carried it in my pocket till I finished reading it. It was beautiful
5that she went so, at the very feet she had always loved so. Oh, little
6Ollie! She had a happy life, dear one, was never struck, never hardly
7spoken to - had no suffering but that ear. Oh, my poor Cron, my poor
8Cron! The little companion you have fed from your hand & carried in
9your bosom for 12 years. I can’t, I can’t bear to think of your
10loneliness. It has always comforted me that you had her. Oh, my little
11Ollie, my little Ollie! I knew I would never see her again. Thank you
12for writing me that beautiful letter. I value it, & know what it cost
13you. Oh, my husband, my darling Husband, you are so lonely now! That
14dear little spot under my window!...
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2When I got your letter & read the first page & then I came to the
3sentence about Ollie, I knew what had happened. For two days, I
4carried it in my pocket till I finished reading it. It was beautiful
5that she went so, at the very feet she had always loved so. Oh, little
6Ollie! She had a happy life, dear one, was never struck, never hardly
7spoken to - had no suffering but that ear. Oh, my poor Cron, my poor
8Cron! The little companion you have fed from your hand & carried in
9your bosom for 12 years. I can’t, I can’t bear to think of your
10loneliness. It has always comforted me that you had her. Oh, my little
11Ollie, my little Ollie! I knew I would never see her again. Thank you
12for writing me that beautiful letter. I value it, & know what it cost
13you. Oh, my husband, my darling Husband, you are so lonely now! That
14dear little spot under my window!...
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