"'From Man To Man', can she dedicate to Pearson" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | W.P. Schreiner MSC 27/1350 |
| Archive | National Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 18 October 1908 |
| Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | William Philip ('Will') Schreiner |
| Other Versions | |
| 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. The letter is torn in two places, between the paragraph ending '... anxious about you. Olive' (line 22) and the one starting 'Laddie, remember one thing...' (line 26), and also between the paragraph ending '...well the same woman' (line 31) and the one starting '<del>the ministry with Rhodes</del>...' (line 35). Then after the latter, the next part of the letter has been crossed through by pen.
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1
De Aar
2 Oct 18th 1908
3
4 Dear Laddie
5
6 Thanks for your lines.
7
8 I am a good bit distressed to hear from Miss Colenso that it appears
9the Government expect the trial to last for months, as they arrange
10the court is to rise for Xmas! How are you to be away all that time
11from your business?
12
13 I hope Grey Town is a little cooler than Pietermaritzburg. I am rather
14fearing the heat for you. I cannot see why they could not have
15postponed the trial till after the convention unless there are wheels
16within wheels - as no doubt there are.
17
18 Mrs du Waals remark to you, recalls Mrs (Dr) Becks to me when I wrote
19my little letter on the Jews, when she said sweetly, - "I suppose you
20wrote it because you were short of money? Dr Beck & I were saying at
21breakfast, you'll be getting quite rich with all the money & presents
22you'll get. And the next day they or two after they come up to you
23smiling & ask you why you haven't returned their call. There is one
24thing that it appears to me impossible for an Afrikander to understand
25- & that's the liberal attitude of mind. Except Johnny Smuts & his
26wife, & perhaps Malan, I don't think theres one Afrikander who
27believes that Cron & I sided with them in the war except for some
28monetary gain.
29
30 Wednesday
31
32 I began this some days ago but haven't been able to go on with it. I'm
33very unfit, dear, I shall have to go away. You can't think what it
34means to me to leave Cron here, but I can't hold out My heart is worse
35than it's yet been.
36
37 Good bye, dear. Drop me a line some time from Natal, if not too over
38busy.
39
40 A dear line from our sweet child from Madeira today. It would be fine
41if you could return by train, & I see you
42
43 Olive
44
2 Oct 18th 1908
3
4 Dear Laddie
5
6 Thanks for your lines.
7
8 I am a good bit distressed to hear from Miss Colenso that it appears
9the Government expect the trial to last for months, as they arrange
10the court is to rise for Xmas! How are you to be away all that time
11from your business?
12
13 I hope Grey Town is a little cooler than Pietermaritzburg. I am rather
14fearing the heat for you. I cannot see why they could not have
15postponed the trial till after the convention unless there are wheels
16within wheels - as no doubt there are.
17
18 Mrs du Waals remark to you, recalls Mrs (Dr) Becks to me when I wrote
19my little letter on the Jews, when she said sweetly, - "I suppose you
20wrote it because you were short of money? Dr Beck & I were saying at
21breakfast, you'll be getting quite rich with all the money & presents
22you'll get. And the next day they or two after they come up to you
23smiling & ask you why you haven't returned their call. There is one
24thing that it appears to me impossible for an Afrikander to understand
25- & that's the liberal attitude of mind. Except Johnny Smuts & his
26wife, & perhaps Malan, I don't think theres one Afrikander who
27believes that Cron & I sided with them in the war except for some
28monetary gain.
29
30 Wednesday
31
32 I began this some days ago but haven't been able to go on with it. I'm
33very unfit, dear, I shall have to go away. You can't think what it
34means to me to leave Cron here, but I can't hold out My heart is worse
35than it's yet been.
36
37 Good bye, dear. Drop me a line some time from Natal, if not too over
38busy.
39
40 A dear line from our sweet child from Madeira today. It would be fine
41if you could return by train, & I see you
42
43 Olive
44
Notation
The 'little letter on the Jews' is Schreiner's 'Letter on the Jew'. It was read by Cronwright-Schreiner at a Public Meeting of the Jewish Territorial Organization in Cape Town in July 1906; it was published in the Cape Times 2 July 1906 (p.8); it also appears in a shortened version as Appendix F in (ed) Cronwright-Schreiner (1924) The Letters of Olive Schreiner London: Fisher Unwin.
The 'little letter on the Jews' is Schreiner's 'Letter on the Jew'. It was read by Cronwright-Schreiner at a Public Meeting of the Jewish Territorial Organization in Cape Town in July 1906; it was published in the Cape Times 2 July 1906 (p.8); it also appears in a shortened version as Appendix F in (ed) Cronwright-Schreiner (1924) The Letters of Olive Schreiner London: Fisher Unwin.