"Thrown away 10 years of my life to prevent inevitable" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Alfred Mattison, Goldfields Collection, MS 16098/1 |
| Archive | Cory Library, Rhodes University, Grahamstown |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 13 April 1896 |
| Address From | The Homestead, Kimberley, Northern Cape |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Alfred ('Alf', 'Mat') Mattison |
| Other Versions | Rive 1987: 273 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to the Cory Library for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of their collections.
|
1
The Homestead Kimberley S.A.
2 April 13 / 96
3
4 Dear Mat
5
6 Political affairs have been taking all the life out of me to such an
7extent that I've not been writing to any one, & never got a chance of
8writing to tell you how glad I was to get your letter & book.
9
10 I may be coming to England at the end of this year & then I'll see you
11perhaps; any how I shall in the summer (that is about a year from now)
12when I mean to go north. I want my husband to see the north country
13life & the north country folk, who are the best in England.
14
15 We have been having terrible times out here. You people in England
16don't know what the heel of a capitalist is, when it gets right flat
17on the neck of a people! We have an awful struggle before us in this
18country.
19
20 It's no case of not being allowed to fish on somebody else's ground! -
21you won't be allowed soon to have even a soul of our own. Now we are
22killing the poor Matabele.
23
24 Good bye dear old man.
25
26 Yours hoping to see you soon
27 Olive
28
29 ^Love to Edward & all the dear folk at Millthorpe when you see them.^
30
2 April 13 / 96
3
4 Dear Mat
5
6 Political affairs have been taking all the life out of me to such an
7extent that I've not been writing to any one, & never got a chance of
8writing to tell you how glad I was to get your letter & book.
9
10 I may be coming to England at the end of this year & then I'll see you
11perhaps; any how I shall in the summer (that is about a year from now)
12when I mean to go north. I want my husband to see the north country
13life & the north country folk, who are the best in England.
14
15 We have been having terrible times out here. You people in England
16don't know what the heel of a capitalist is, when it gets right flat
17on the neck of a people! We have an awful struggle before us in this
18country.
19
20 It's no case of not being allowed to fish on somebody else's ground! -
21you won't be allowed soon to have even a soul of our own. Now we are
22killing the poor Matabele.
23
24 Good bye dear old man.
25
26 Yours hoping to see you soon
27 Olive
28
29 ^Love to Edward & all the dear folk at Millthorpe when you see them.^
30
Notation
Rive's (1987) version of this letter omits part of it and is also in a number of respects incorrect.
Rive's (1987) version of this letter omits part of it and is also in a number of respects incorrect.