"Coming war, fighting now?" Read the full letter
Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner: Edward Carpenter SMD 30/32/l |
Archive | National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 24 April 1912 |
Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
Address To | Millthorpe, Holmesfield, Sheffield |
Who To | Edward Carpenter |
Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 305 |
Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
Legend |
The Project is grateful to the National English Literary Museum (NELM) for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. The address this letter was sent to is provided by an attached envelope.
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1
De Aar
2 April 24th 1912
3
4 Dear Edward
5
6 I now & then hear a word of you from some one who has seen you & they
7say all seems going well.
8
9 We are having a real old De Aar sand storm at this moment, Great
10clouds of sand marching across the veld like armies & sweeping over us.
11 It is the afternoon, but the sand makes it so dark one can hardly see
12to write. My cat & two dogs have rushed in from the garden to take
13refuge in the house. Animals are still as much joy to me as ever, &
14reading. But perhaps the thing that gives me most pleasure in life is
15the thought of the new young girls growing up like my niece Lyndall so
16beautiful & free & strong; knowing nothing of all we have lived
17through. My niece is studying law for which she a great liking. She
18may never practice as a barrister if she marries or finds her work in
19politics; but she will, I hope, break the way through for other women
20to gain the freedom to practice if they will.
21
22 My sister Ettie who has practically been dying of heart disease for
23two years still lingers on, fighting bravely. For four months she has
24not been able to lie down, & has to have some one always to hold her
25up in bed. I have only seen one other such terrible struggle with
26death.
27
28 We have just got the full news of the loss of the Titanic, & dear old
29Stead's passing. You know I've never loved the sea as I have the land
30& the sky, the dear, wonderful sky.
31
32 Things are going very badly in our political world; the one little bit
33of brightness I see is that the natives are slowly awakening. But the
34white men are determined on a great native war.
35
36 Good bye. I love you dear old Edward
37 Olive
38
2 April 24th 1912
3
4 Dear Edward
5
6 I now & then hear a word of you from some one who has seen you & they
7say all seems going well.
8
9 We are having a real old De Aar sand storm at this moment, Great
10clouds of sand marching across the veld like armies & sweeping over us.
11 It is the afternoon, but the sand makes it so dark one can hardly see
12to write. My cat & two dogs have rushed in from the garden to take
13refuge in the house. Animals are still as much joy to me as ever, &
14reading. But perhaps the thing that gives me most pleasure in life is
15the thought of the new young girls growing up like my niece Lyndall so
16beautiful & free & strong; knowing nothing of all we have lived
17through. My niece is studying law for which she a great liking. She
18may never practice as a barrister if she marries or finds her work in
19politics; but she will, I hope, break the way through for other women
20to gain the freedom to practice if they will.
21
22 My sister Ettie who has practically been dying of heart disease for
23two years still lingers on, fighting bravely. For four months she has
24not been able to lie down, & has to have some one always to hold her
25up in bed. I have only seen one other such terrible struggle with
26death.
27
28 We have just got the full news of the loss of the Titanic, & dear old
29Stead's passing. You know I've never loved the sea as I have the land
30& the sky, the dear, wonderful sky.
31
32 Things are going very badly in our political world; the one little bit
33of brightness I see is that the natives are slowly awakening. But the
34white men are determined on a great native war.
35
36 Good bye. I love you dear old Edward
37 Olive
38
Notation
Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) version of this letter is incorrect in various respects.
Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) version of this letter is incorrect in various respects.