"Thrown away 10 years of my life to prevent inevitable" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceHRC/CAT/OS/3a-xiii
ArchiveHarry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateSaturday 22 November 1884
Address From144 Marina, St Leonards, East Sussex
Address To24 Thornsett Road, South Penge Park, London
Who ToHavelock Ellis
Other VersionsRive 1987: 54-5; Draznin 1992: 226
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. This letter has been dated by reference to an associated envelope and its postmark, which also provides the address it was sent to.
1144 Marina
2Sat. Night
3
4My baby, my baby is ill! I want to take care of it I want to love its
5head & put it to rest and tell it such nice little stories. X ^(You
6know my nice little stories ^^that I tell myself.)^^^ I don't think it’s
7over brain work. I think it’s being not quite happy & having a bad
8cold too. Ach, I must make my baby better.
9
10I am wanted him so last night. Fancy I cried about you I haven’t
11cried before since you went. Perhaps it’s because you were needing
12to be comforted
13
14Mrs. Walters came to see me today. Wasn’t it good of her she only
15could stay from twelve to five. She says that Miss Müller when ^has^
16asked her to ask me to tell you how much she liked your article in
17Today. & to tell she you how glad she would be to see you at her At
18Home’s on Friday afternoon. Her address is 58 Cadogan Place, if ever
19you want to go. If I came to town we can go together. The people one
20meets there are literary people sometimes, but more often political
21folk, & people interest in the woman question, not mere society people,
22 so it might be nice. Couldn’t we have had a splendid winter is I
23had been in London?
24
25My baby how are you tonight, my sweet baby. I’ve talked so much
26about you today. My boy must feel rested that he can get that singing
27out of his ears.
28
29I am going to work tomorrow.
30
31You know I’m so glad Miss Müller liked your article you don’t I
32know how glad, I want you to write more for To-day. If your name gets
33well ^known^ there then the other reviews will take your article always.
34
35Please rest your head a little bit now. I did feel so tender to you
36last night.
37
38Olive. (My Baby)
39
40^I shall like to see Mrs. Hinton.^
41
Notation
The Ellis article referred to is: Havelock Ellis (1884) 'Book review of Die Frau' To-day October 1884. Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. Rive's (1987) version omits part of the letter and is in a number of other respects incorrect.