"Heart dying up last 5 or 6 years, 'Soul of a People' like rain falling on dry parched soil" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Olive Schreiner BC16/Box1/Fold3/1896/9 |
| Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 6 March 1896 |
| Address From | The Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape |
| Address To | Stone Lodge, Rondebosch, Cape Town, Western Cape |
| Who To | Jessie Rose Innes nee Dods Pringle |
| Other Versions | Rive 1987: 270-1 |
| 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. The address this letter was sent to is provided by an attached envelope.
|
1
The Homestead
2 March 6 / 96
3
4 My dear Jessy
5
6 I see from the papers Mr Innes is off to Johannesburg. I wish he was
7coming here. It would be a great thing if he were Attorney General now.
8
9 There has been great excitement here about the arrest of Gardner
10Williams! The "Tellegraph" has done splendid work in the last months.
11It is terrible to think what we should have done without the paper.
12One feels one could forgive Sauer everything for the part he has
13played during the last months.
14
15 I do not believe any more would have been made in this gun running
16business if it had not been for the telegraph.
17
18 I am so glad to be home again. I have got one little Kaffir boy of 16
19as servant but he’s better than any woman & a great comfort to me. I
20am working very hard. There really is some chance of our going home at
21the end of the year, but it’s not certain yet. Will you & Mr Innes
22go too. You said you might. Our plan would be to go in November &
23spend Xmas in London & go on to Italy & Switzerland for the rest of
24the winter.
25
26 Thine ever
27 Olive
28
29
30
2 March 6 / 96
3
4 My dear Jessy
5
6 I see from the papers Mr Innes is off to Johannesburg. I wish he was
7coming here. It would be a great thing if he were Attorney General now.
8
9 There has been great excitement here about the arrest of Gardner
10Williams! The "Tellegraph" has done splendid work in the last months.
11It is terrible to think what we should have done without the paper.
12One feels one could forgive Sauer everything for the part he has
13played during the last months.
14
15 I do not believe any more would have been made in this gun running
16business if it had not been for the telegraph.
17
18 I am so glad to be home again. I have got one little Kaffir boy of 16
19as servant but he’s better than any woman & a great comfort to me. I
20am working very hard. There really is some chance of our going home at
21the end of the year, but it’s not certain yet. Will you & Mr Innes
22go too. You said you might. Our plan would be to go in November &
23spend Xmas in London & go on to Italy & Switzerland for the rest of
24the winter.
25
26 Thine ever
27 Olive
28
29
30
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.