"Cronwright-Schreiner is a child" Read the full letter
Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner BC16/Box1/Fold3/1896/17 |
Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 29 June 1898 |
Address From | The Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape |
Address To | |
Who To | Frances ('Fan') Schreiner nee Reitz |
Other Versions | Rive 1987: 284 |
Permissions | Please 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.
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1
The Homestead
2 June 29 / 98
3
4 Dear Fan
5
6 I’m very glad to hear you’ve made such a good arrangement about
7the children’s teaching: & very glad to hear there is some chance of
8you & Will coming up here some time. You must come soon after the
9session You must come & stay with us. I’ll give you a fine large
10bedroom & you can enjoy some of my splendid cooking!!! A cab man lives
11next door & he can drive you in to Kimberley to see all the sights.
12You might be more comfortable at the hotel, but Kimberley is such a
13terrible dusty close, place & here the air is simply lovely.
14
15 Cron has been very ill for some days. He must have been very ill
16because he was willing to lie in bed & have warm water bottles &c! It
17was an attack of dysentery ^caught by getting wet & not taking his
18things off^ but he’s getting all right, & is going down to Cradock
19– to read his paper on the Political Situation, on Friday. From
20there he goes to see his dear old mother & will be gone about a
21fortnight altogether. I’m too busy to go. We are going into Kimberly
22to hear Mark Twain tomorrow night.
23
24 I see from the lists that little Nelly Reitz has done very well at
25school; I pick up all the news about you people from the papers,
26it’s all I get, & it’s not much!
27
28 Give my love to Nelly Devenish when she comes. I’ve just had my
29friends Miss Molteno & Miss Greene here for a week. They left for Cape
30Town this afternoon & I am feeling a little sorrowful. We have no
31friends in Kimberley & when our friends from a distance come, it is
32very melancholy when they leave. Yes, I can’t see why people should
33quarrel over politics any more than religion! I think one should
34always, in private life, leave the things we disagree on & dwell on
35the things we agree on.
36
37 //Cron was quite excited at thought of Olly coming; & wanted me to
38write at once & press you to send send him; but it would be so hard to
39part with him again – that’s what I think of. We make such a baby
40even of our little brown dog, who is sleeping in my armchair now
41wrapped in a rug. I am very well & strong now: never have asthma or
42know that I have a chest.
43
44 Good bye dear old sister
45 You must come up with Will.
46 Olive
47
48 If we can manage it we are going to England in November for a year.
49
50
51
2 June 29 / 98
3
4 Dear Fan
5
6 I’m very glad to hear you’ve made such a good arrangement about
7the children’s teaching: & very glad to hear there is some chance of
8you & Will coming up here some time. You must come soon after the
9session You must come & stay with us. I’ll give you a fine large
10bedroom & you can enjoy some of my splendid cooking!!! A cab man lives
11next door & he can drive you in to Kimberley to see all the sights.
12You might be more comfortable at the hotel, but Kimberley is such a
13terrible dusty close, place & here the air is simply lovely.
14
15 Cron has been very ill for some days. He must have been very ill
16because he was willing to lie in bed & have warm water bottles &c! It
17was an attack of dysentery ^caught by getting wet & not taking his
18things off^ but he’s getting all right, & is going down to Cradock
19– to read his paper on the Political Situation, on Friday. From
20there he goes to see his dear old mother & will be gone about a
21fortnight altogether. I’m too busy to go. We are going into Kimberly
22to hear Mark Twain tomorrow night.
23
24 I see from the lists that little Nelly Reitz has done very well at
25school; I pick up all the news about you people from the papers,
26it’s all I get, & it’s not much!
27
28 Give my love to Nelly Devenish when she comes. I’ve just had my
29friends Miss Molteno & Miss Greene here for a week. They left for Cape
30Town this afternoon & I am feeling a little sorrowful. We have no
31friends in Kimberley & when our friends from a distance come, it is
32very melancholy when they leave. Yes, I can’t see why people should
33quarrel over politics any more than religion! I think one should
34always, in private life, leave the things we disagree on & dwell on
35the things we agree on.
36
37 //Cron was quite excited at thought of Olly coming; & wanted me to
38write at once & press you to send send him; but it would be so hard to
39part with him again – that’s what I think of. We make such a baby
40even of our little brown dog, who is sleeping in my armchair now
41wrapped in a rug. I am very well & strong now: never have asthma or
42know that I have a chest.
43
44 Good bye dear old sister
45 You must come up with Will.
46 Olive
47
48 If we can manage it we are going to England in November for a year.
49
50
51
Notation
The reference to 'his paper' concerns a paper read by Cronwright-Schreiner to BBBBBB. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.
The reference to 'his paper' concerns a paper read by Cronwright-Schreiner to BBBBBB. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter and is also in a number of respects incorrect.