"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/Box3/Fold6/1907/35 |
Archive | University of Cape Town, Manuscripts & Archives, Cape Town |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 21 December 1907 |
Address From | De Aar, Northern Cape |
Address To | Chambers, St George's Street, Cape Town, Western Cape |
Who To | William Philip ('Will') Schreiner |
Other Versions | |
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, with the final insertion on the back of this.
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1
De Aar
2 Dec 21st 1907
3
4 Dear Laddie
5
6 We leave on the 26th for Hanover to see about packing things & trying
7to let or sell the house there. The men have been building our little
8house here. No I can’t get away it seems I shall never get away
9again. His late partner is after the New Year, starting here as a
10notary & attorney in opposition to Cron. He may by the terms of the
11agreement take auctioneering or general agency work – as long as
12Cron lives here - & I don’t see how the man is going to make a
13living unless Cron goes. Oh why did Cron l ever have anything to do
14with him. How I begged how I prayed, how his ^Cron’s^ mother prayed
15also that he would not take him into partnership! I asked Cron last
16night if he was going to take another Partner "No", he said shortly "I
17shall never take a partner again." He promised me so faithfully when
18he drew up the arrangement that he was safe guarded in every way so
19that Mayer could never start here for himself – it was all in the
20agreement he said. I didn’t quite understand your remarks about the
21article from the DF Advertiser I sent you. There’s nothing in it
22about excise or you! It’s about Cron & certain per Bonds man at
23Beaufort West saying they will not have him as member because he is an
24Englishman. There must come a split in the SA Party before long. The
25pity if it is Mal I fear my dear old Malan will go with the
26retrogressive old Bond Party & so we shall be compelled to follow poor
27old Sauer, whose views are always right from my standpoint whatever
28his manners may be. I sometimes wonder if there would be no
29possibility of bringing you & Sauer together. The amusing thing about
30you & Sauer is that you say much the same thing about eachother. Sauer
31says you are an able honourable man & all that; but no that’s never
32worked with you knows what you are. The way you sneer at unreadable
33other men, the way you try to do everything on your own book with out
34asking any ones advice or even letting your colleagues know what you
35are doing!!!! Which is very much the complaint you make against him.
36Nothing but the return of Jameson & de Beers to the leader ship of the
37Progressive party can hold the SA Party together - & that will.
38
39 A happy Xmas to you all dear Boy, Fan for a Xmas box
40
41^a book by Elizabeth Robbins called "The Convert". It’s about the
42suffragettes It’s good. We are going to try & have a happy Xmas here,
43 but Cron seems more depressed & miserable than I’ve ever known him.
44Both Politics & business seem to have opened his eyes to depths of
45intrigue & meanness he didn’t dream of. I try never to refer to
46these things to him & be as merry as I can when he’s about. I feel
47sure both our lads have passed, but am anxiously waiting for the lists
48to be out. ^
49
50 Olive
51
52 ^We go to Hanover on the 26th & will likely be back on the night of the
531st ^^=^^ 2nd of January. When do you pass?^
54
55
56
2 Dec 21st 1907
3
4 Dear Laddie
5
6 We leave on the 26th for Hanover to see about packing things & trying
7to let or sell the house there. The men have been building our little
8house here. No I can’t get away it seems I shall never get away
9again. His late partner is after the New Year, starting here as a
10notary & attorney in opposition to Cron. He may by the terms of the
11agreement take auctioneering or general agency work – as long as
12Cron lives here - & I don’t see how the man is going to make a
13living unless Cron goes. Oh why did Cron l ever have anything to do
14with him. How I begged how I prayed, how his ^Cron’s^ mother prayed
15also that he would not take him into partnership! I asked Cron last
16night if he was going to take another Partner "No", he said shortly "I
17shall never take a partner again." He promised me so faithfully when
18he drew up the arrangement that he was safe guarded in every way so
19that Mayer could never start here for himself – it was all in the
20agreement he said. I didn’t quite understand your remarks about the
21article from the DF Advertiser I sent you. There’s nothing in it
22about excise or you! It’s about Cron & certain per Bonds man at
23Beaufort West saying they will not have him as member because he is an
24Englishman. There must come a split in the SA Party before long. The
25pity if it is Mal I fear my dear old Malan will go with the
26retrogressive old Bond Party & so we shall be compelled to follow poor
27old Sauer, whose views are always right from my standpoint whatever
28his manners may be. I sometimes wonder if there would be no
29possibility of bringing you & Sauer together. The amusing thing about
30you & Sauer is that you say much the same thing about eachother. Sauer
31says you are an able honourable man & all that; but no that’s never
32worked with you knows what you are. The way you sneer at unreadable
33other men, the way you try to do everything on your own book with out
34asking any ones advice or even letting your colleagues know what you
35are doing!!!! Which is very much the complaint you make against him.
36Nothing but the return of Jameson & de Beers to the leader ship of the
37Progressive party can hold the SA Party together - & that will.
38
39 A happy Xmas to you all dear Boy, Fan for a Xmas box
40
41^a book by Elizabeth Robbins called "The Convert". It’s about the
42suffragettes It’s good. We are going to try & have a happy Xmas here,
43 but Cron seems more depressed & miserable than I’ve ever known him.
44Both Politics & business seem to have opened his eyes to depths of
45intrigue & meanness he didn’t dream of. I try never to refer to
46these things to him & be as merry as I can when he’s about. I feel
47sure both our lads have passed, but am anxiously waiting for the lists
48to be out. ^
49
50 Olive
51
52 ^We go to Hanover on the 26th & will likely be back on the night of the
531st ^^=^^ 2nd of January. When do you pass?^
54
55
56
Notation
The book referred to is: Elizabeth Robins (1907) The Convert London: Methuen & Co.
The book referred to is: Elizabeth Robins (1907) The Convert London: Methuen & Co.