"Never thought Cronwright-Schreiner loved Philpot" Read the full letter
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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box1/Fold2/1893/7
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateNovember 1893
Address Fromna
Address To
Who ToWilliam Philip ('Will') Schreiner
Other VersionsRive 1987: 228
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to Manuscripts and Archives, University of Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscripts and Archives Collections. The month and year have been written on this letter in an unknown hand.
1 My dear Boy
2
3 We would come out but it will quite break your nights rest, & the
4journey is tiring enough any how. I have asked the station master to
5give you a little parcel which contains some toys for the children &
6the plates &c from the club.
7
8 The guard said he couldn’t take the latter as he had to change at de
9Aar. The walking stick at the top is for little Will. It was made by
10an old Bush-man here out of porcupine quills.
11
12 Give my love & Cron’s to the little ones & Fan. The more I know of
13Cron the more pure & beautiful does his nature seem to me. If my
14health were stronger my path would be much clearer before me. I wish
15you could have spend a day with us here, dear. I am not happy about
16you. Will you write freely to me about things dear, if ever it could
17be of any comfort to you. If I were married, it would make no
18difference, all that any human being trusted me with would be safe. It
19is a poor ideal of marriage which consists in the breaking down of the
20separate individual as far in their relations with the outside world.
21I haven’t of course mentioned to Cron about your perhaps leaving the
22ministry though his affection for you is so great anything concerning
23you would be safe to be used only in your interest.
24
25 It is r I wish I could make clear to you my views with regard to the
26disruption of Bond, & the end of the reign of the Dutch element in
27South Africa, fo but perhaps it is best to leave it for the moment
28simply as a prophesy; which I believe the next five years will see
29fulfilled!
30
31 Good bye, my darling. I think you are much more tired than I am &
32I’m very tired.
33
34 Your little
35 Olive
36
37 If I do g
38
39
40
Notation
Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.