GE to Barbara Leigh Smith, Ilfracombe, 13 June 1856
Title
GE to Barbara Leigh Smith, Ilfracombe, 13 June 1856
Title
GE to Barbara Leigh Smith, Ilfracombe, 13 June 1856
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Barbara Leigh Smith
Date(s)
- 1856-06-13
Place
Ilfracombe
Letter Content
GE to Barbara Leigh Smith, Ilfracombe, 13 June 1856
Text: Copy lent by the Countess of Iddesleigh. Hitherto unpublished.
Runnymeade Villa | Ilfracombe | June 13th. 1856.
Dear Friend,
I was so glad to see your handwriting this morning and to hear how things had been going with you lately.
Alas! I fear Ilfracombe is not a favourable place for delicate people. We find the air very harsh and trying et cetera. Mr. Lewes has felt so poorly for the last week that we think of going elsewhere -- probably to Tenby -- as soon as affairs will allow us to move. 715
But it is a ravishingly beautiful place. I long to be a painter when I look at the exquisite colour and form of the rocks. The fascination of the scenery and zoology here have been terribly unpropitious to my work and I have been writing with only half of my brains. There is still work to be done for the next week, but after that I hope to have a thorough holiday from scribbling, and do nothing but drink in wonders and beauties on the rocky beach and along the lovely lanes.
I wish I could drink in the sight of you among other pleasant things; and perhaps if the weather will have the goodness to clear up, you can make a little expedition to Ilfracombe before we leave. I fear we shall not be able to get away until the end of June or nearly the end. I have seldom felt an air that seemed more unkind to me than this. On the most brilliant sunshiny days the wind has always been biting.
I am heartily pleased to hear of the success your pictures have, and especially of Ruskin's encouragement. What books his two last are! I think he is the finest writer living.
I shall say nothing of sorrows and renunciations, but I understand and feel what you must have to do and bear. 716 Yes -- I hope we shall know each other better, and that you will know Mr. Lewes too, for he is far better worth knowing than I.
We have both been headachy -- indeed ill -- for the last few days. This has hindered me and is the reason why I write to you very hurriedly and imperfectly as to what I want to say.
Thank you dear friend for writing.
Text: Copy lent by the Countess of Iddesleigh. Hitherto unpublished.
Runnymeade Villa | Ilfracombe | June 13th. 1856.
Dear Friend,
I was so glad to see your handwriting this morning and to hear how things had been going with you lately.
Alas! I fear Ilfracombe is not a favourable place for delicate people. We find the air very harsh and trying et cetera. Mr. Lewes has felt so poorly for the last week that we think of going elsewhere -- probably to Tenby -- as soon as affairs will allow us to move. 715
But it is a ravishingly beautiful place. I long to be a painter when I look at the exquisite colour and form of the rocks. The fascination of the scenery and zoology here have been terribly unpropitious to my work and I have been writing with only half of my brains. There is still work to be done for the next week, but after that I hope to have a thorough holiday from scribbling, and do nothing but drink in wonders and beauties on the rocky beach and along the lovely lanes.
I wish I could drink in the sight of you among other pleasant things; and perhaps if the weather will have the goodness to clear up, you can make a little expedition to Ilfracombe before we leave. I fear we shall not be able to get away until the end of June or nearly the end. I have seldom felt an air that seemed more unkind to me than this. On the most brilliant sunshiny days the wind has always been biting.
I am heartily pleased to hear of the success your pictures have, and especially of Ruskin's encouragement. What books his two last are! I think he is the finest writer living.
I shall say nothing of sorrows and renunciations, but I understand and feel what you must have to do and bear. 716 Yes -- I hope we shall know each other better, and that you will know Mr. Lewes too, for he is far better worth knowing than I.
We have both been headachy -- indeed ill -- for the last few days. This has hindered me and is the reason why I write to you very hurriedly and imperfectly as to what I want to say.
Thank you dear friend for writing.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Barbara Leigh Smith, Ilfracombe, 13 June 1856, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/92023