"Sauer's last act, no glimmering of modern truths in South Africa" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Letters/496 |
| Archive | |
| Epistolary Type | |
| Letter Date | 2 April 1911 |
| Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Minnie or Mimmie Murray nee Parker |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 299 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
When Cronwright-Schreiner prepared The Letters of Olive Schreiner, with few exceptions he then destroyed her originals. However, some people gave him copies and kept the originals or demanded the return of these; and when actual Schreiner letters can be compared with his versions, his have omissions, distortions and bowdlerisations. Where Schreiner originals have survived, these will be found in the relevant collections across the OSLO website. There is however a residue of some 587 items in The Letters for which no originals are extant. They are included here for sake of completeness. However, their relationship to Schreiners actual letters cannot now be gauged, and so they should be read with caution for the reasons given.
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1To Mrs. Haldane Murray.
2De Aar, 2nd April.
3
4Just fancy, I got a long most sympathetic letter from old John X.
5Merriman about my book. It did astonish me! He says it's "very fine"!
6I was quite touched by it. But he says he doesn't think I'll realise
7my hopes, "man has always been a brute, and is a brute, and will
8always be a brute." I of course don't agree with him. I wish he knew
9some of my beautiful men friends in England as I know them.
10
11I found the air at Lelie Kloof wonderful, as good as sanatogen; but I
12couldn’t stay there under present con-ditions; one would have to build
13a new house, etc. The man will have to sell the farm some day, he'll
14farm himself out.
15
2De Aar, 2nd April.
3
4Just fancy, I got a long most sympathetic letter from old John X.
5Merriman about my book. It did astonish me! He says it's "very fine"!
6I was quite touched by it. But he says he doesn't think I'll realise
7my hopes, "man has always been a brute, and is a brute, and will
8always be a brute." I of course don't agree with him. I wish he knew
9some of my beautiful men friends in England as I know them.
10
11I found the air at Lelie Kloof wonderful, as good as sanatogen; but I
12couldn’t stay there under present con-ditions; one would have to build
13a new house, etc. The man will have to sell the farm some day, he'll
14farm himself out.
15
Notation
The letter from Merriman concerned Woman and Labour.
The letter from Merriman concerned Woman and Labour.