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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner BC16/Box2/Fold2/July-Dec1899/38
ArchiveUniversity of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date12 October 1899
Address FromKarree Kloof, Kran Kuil, Northern Cape
Address To
Who ToWilliam Philip ('Will') Schreiner
Other VersionsRive 1987: 386
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. Schreiner stayed on the farm Karree Kloof from the end of August to early November 1899.
1 Oct 12th 1899.
2
3 My dear Laddie
4
5 I enclose the cable. Please have it sent as soon as the money is
6cabled out: ^it is perhaps well that you should not be connected with
7it as it is pretty strong. Fred Findlay or Frank Joubert could see to it.^
8The writing of these cables is very distressing to me, not because in
9the present ^critical^ condition of affairs one feels fearful of any ill
10judged expression & has to think of the effect of that which one says
11in all directions! It is like ^giving medicine to a child!^ When the
12first shot is fired & we know that all is over, we can "trek loss" You
13however, & the men with you must sit fast & quiet, to the end: even
14after the country is in flames, you must hold fast & give no
15opportunity to the enemy of displacing you.
16
17 I had a wire from Smuts the other day begging me to come & join them
18at the front: what I may or may not do is not yet clear to me.
19unreadable
20
21 Good bye, my dear Laddie. I Our time of work will come when the war is
22over; & we must save ourselves for that. Try to get a little fresh air
23every day. When health is gone all is gone. It is good to think I
24shall see you soon.
25
26 Olive
27
28 We shall certainly be in Cape Town by the end of the month.
29
30
31
32
Notation
The draft of Schreiner's cable sent to the Sun can be found at UCT BC 16 1899-Sun.