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Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner: Mary Sauer MSC 26/2.11.89 |
Archive | National Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 17 April 1895 |
Address From | The Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape |
Address To | |
Who To | Mary Sauer nee Cloete |
Other Versions | Rive 1987: 249-50 |
Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
Legend |
The Project is grateful to the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Special Collections.
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1
The Homestead
2 April 17 / 95
3
4 Dear Mary
5
6 I am still all right. On Sunday night as I was driving my little
7servant girl home from Kimberley, where she had been for her Sunday
8"outing," a cart of full drunken miners ran into us about two miles
9from Kimberley, & smashed up our trap. We were both thrown out. I was
10insensible for a little while; but am all right now. I felt sure as I
11felt myself falling that the baby would be killed. But I think it's
12all right.
13
14 I have I've got the old bakers wife who lives below our garden to
15arrange to send up the meals for Cron & the nurse while I'm ill, so
16that my little maid gets time to clean the house & wash my things, & I
17hoped she might be able to take you & board you, but they haven't any
18room. at all, & all the other neighbours are so low & dirty one
19would^n't^ like to be in their houses. I hope don't know anything about
20Kimberley as I never go there except to get my letters or a book at
21the library. I've never put my foot in any house where but the Queen's
22& Central Hotels when I stayed there; & the doctors consulting rooms;
23but there must be many nice boarding houses. Shall I make inquiries?
24
25 I fancy that I can feel in your letters that you have changed; have
26developed. It will be so delightful to see you, dear, if you can come
27but now your sister has gone & if you are not going to stay at the
28Wilkins, I am so afraid it won't be nice for you! I wish so much I
29could come down to Cape Town as soon as I am able to travel; but I
30feel it very I must go & see my old mother in Grahamstown because if
31she died without seeing the baby I should feel so reproached. I hoped
32I should be able to travel when the baby was four weeks old, but the
33doctor says I shall have to wait till its six weeks. Cron's old mother
34is coming to see the baby as soon as the nurse leaves. She wanted to
35come & be with me, but I couldn't make her comfortable till I'm about.
36She's a dear old soul. I don't think she would ever get to understand
37me personally but as "Cron's wife" she thinks I am wonderful.
38
39 ^I like all his brothers & sisters that I've seen. Two of his brothers
40I really love, & that's so nice, & Cron likes all my friends. I think
41nothing would be harder to me than to live with a ?humanbeing who did
42not share my tastes in human beings.
43
44 Good bye dear one. I'm too stupid to write any tiny thing
45 Olive^
46
47
2 April 17 / 95
3
4 Dear Mary
5
6 I am still all right. On Sunday night as I was driving my little
7servant girl home from Kimberley, where she had been for her Sunday
8"outing," a cart of full drunken miners ran into us about two miles
9from Kimberley, & smashed up our trap. We were both thrown out. I was
10insensible for a little while; but am all right now. I felt sure as I
11felt myself falling that the baby would be killed. But I think it's
12all right.
13
14 I have I've got the old bakers wife who lives below our garden to
15arrange to send up the meals for Cron & the nurse while I'm ill, so
16that my little maid gets time to clean the house & wash my things, & I
17hoped she might be able to take you & board you, but they haven't any
18room. at all, & all the other neighbours are so low & dirty one
19would^n't^ like to be in their houses. I hope don't know anything about
20Kimberley as I never go there except to get my letters or a book at
21the library. I've never put my foot in any house where but the Queen's
22& Central Hotels when I stayed there; & the doctors consulting rooms;
23but there must be many nice boarding houses. Shall I make inquiries?
24
25 I fancy that I can feel in your letters that you have changed; have
26developed. It will be so delightful to see you, dear, if you can come
27but now your sister has gone & if you are not going to stay at the
28Wilkins, I am so afraid it won't be nice for you! I wish so much I
29could come down to Cape Town as soon as I am able to travel; but I
30feel it very I must go & see my old mother in Grahamstown because if
31she died without seeing the baby I should feel so reproached. I hoped
32I should be able to travel when the baby was four weeks old, but the
33doctor says I shall have to wait till its six weeks. Cron's old mother
34is coming to see the baby as soon as the nurse leaves. She wanted to
35come & be with me, but I couldn't make her comfortable till I'm about.
36She's a dear old soul. I don't think she would ever get to understand
37me personally but as "Cron's wife" she thinks I am wonderful.
38
39 ^I like all his brothers & sisters that I've seen. Two of his brothers
40I really love, & that's so nice, & Cron likes all my friends. I think
41nothing would be harder to me than to live with a ?humanbeing who did
42not share my tastes in human beings.
43
44 Good bye dear one. I'm too stupid to write any tiny thing
45 Olive^
46
47
Notation
Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.
Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.