GE to Charles Edward Appleton, London, 24 December 1873
Title
GE to Charles Edward Appleton, London, 24 December 1873
Title
GE to Charles Edward Appleton, London, 24 December 1873
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Charles Edward Apple
Date(s)
- 1873-12-24
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Charles Edward Appleton, London, 24 December 1873
MS: Mr. J. H. Appleton. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
December 24. 73.
Private.
Dear Mr. Appleton 902
I would willingly help you, but in this case there is an obstacle. It is, that I have never heard from Lord Lytton since the early spring, when he asked us to go down to Knebworth, and we declined. I am not aware that anything can have arisen since then to mar the cordial friendship which had long been expressed towards us by both him and his wife. But it is in my nature and therefore in my habits never to take the initiative in any sort of intercourse with people whose conventional rank is above my own.
Lord L -- 's long silence may be due simply to that pressure of occupations which must be incident to his promotion in the diplomatic service. 903 When he was at Vienna, he was not only in a quieter, more humdrum city, but he was also in a less responsible post. This same pressure may account for his not having answered your letter, which in case of his absence would certainly be forwarded with the rest of his correspondence. He may have taken up the rule of allowing a certain number of letters to answer themselves by the fact that they have made silence significant. In this case I think you must take the silence to be significant of his indifference to your proposition. He may hold it to be incompatible with his conspicuous diplomatic position to be writing or rather printing a letter of political news or comment with his signature. I am sincerely sorry if by encouraging the notion that Lord Lytton might consent to be the contributor you need, I have caused you to waste time and trouble. But it seems clearly the wisest course now to seek some other person as a Parisian correspondent.
If you had any favourable means of communication with Lord Arthur Russell, he is likely to know more than any one else of "good" men (or women) in the line of political writing on French affairs.
Your letter came just in time to catch me before our departure into the country for our Christmas Day.
Yours very truly
M. E. Lewes
MS: Mr. J. H. Appleton. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
December 24. 73.
Private.
Dear Mr. Appleton 902
I would willingly help you, but in this case there is an obstacle. It is, that I have never heard from Lord Lytton since the early spring, when he asked us to go down to Knebworth, and we declined. I am not aware that anything can have arisen since then to mar the cordial friendship which had long been expressed towards us by both him and his wife. But it is in my nature and therefore in my habits never to take the initiative in any sort of intercourse with people whose conventional rank is above my own.
Lord L -- 's long silence may be due simply to that pressure of occupations which must be incident to his promotion in the diplomatic service. 903 When he was at Vienna, he was not only in a quieter, more humdrum city, but he was also in a less responsible post. This same pressure may account for his not having answered your letter, which in case of his absence would certainly be forwarded with the rest of his correspondence. He may have taken up the rule of allowing a certain number of letters to answer themselves by the fact that they have made silence significant. In this case I think you must take the silence to be significant of his indifference to your proposition. He may hold it to be incompatible with his conspicuous diplomatic position to be writing or rather printing a letter of political news or comment with his signature. I am sincerely sorry if by encouraging the notion that Lord Lytton might consent to be the contributor you need, I have caused you to waste time and trouble. But it seems clearly the wisest course now to seek some other person as a Parisian correspondent.
If you had any favourable means of communication with Lord Arthur Russell, he is likely to know more than any one else of "good" men (or women) in the line of political writing on French affairs.
Your letter came just in time to catch me before our departure into the country for our Christmas Day.
Yours very truly
M. E. Lewes
Signature
M. E. Lewes
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Charles Edward Appleton, London, 24 December 1873, 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/92195