"Heart dying up last 5 or 6 years, 'Soul of a People' like rain falling on dry parched soil" Read the full letter
Collection Summary | View All |  Arrange By:
< Prev |
Viewing Item
of 174 | Next >
Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner: Mimmie Murray 2001.24/26
ArchiveNational English Literary Museum, Grahamstown
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date28 April 1911
Address FromDe Aar, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToMinnie or Mimmie Murray nee Parkes
Other VersionsCronwright-Schreiner 1924: 300
PermissionsPlease 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.
1 De Aar
2 April 28th 1911
3
4 Dear Mrs Murray
5
6 I was so disappointed that I did not know you were coming. I still had
7hopes you would come by the morning train & spend the day. I hope you
8all feel better for the change.
9
10 There is a delightful woman at Pretoria - she was long at Johannesburg
11for some months; she is a niece of my friend Ed Carpenter - called
12Miss Ida Hyett. She is greatly devoted to work in the woman's cause.
13She is a musician & teaches music at the girls high school in Pretoria.
14 As the arms of Portlock are so wide I've been wondering whether
15perhaps you would like to invite her to Portlock at Xmas time. She
16would address one of your meetings & I'm sure would be of great help
17to to your woman's work. I'll send you one of her letters from which
18you will see how much in earnest she is. She's quite one of the finest
19franchise women we have in South Africa.
20
21 If you think you might care to write to her I'll send you her address.
22Its getting delightfully cool here, & the weather is perfect, & my
23garden looks lovely - nearly an acre covered with all kinds of
24chrysanthemums. I wish you had seen it - they seem to do so
25wonderfully well here.
26
27 I went to the station yesterday to meet my old friend Mrs Drew, old
28Gladstones daughter. She looks very sad & tired. She is coming coming
29to spend a few days with me here. I can't make her comfortable but
30she'll put up at the hotel which is very good. The Governor & his wife
31were there too. She's a very nice little woman, so girlish looking,
32but when-ever I looked at him I thought of Con Lytton & the forced
33feeding! He invited me to go & stay with them at Pretoria; but I told
34him Pretoria doesn't suit my health, which is quite true.
35
36 Love to all the dear children & Mr Murray & yourself above all.
37 Olive
38
39
40
Notation
Cronwright-Schreiner's (1924) version of this letter is incorrect in various respects.