GE to John Blackwood, London, 30 April 1866
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 30 April 1866
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 30 April 1866
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
John Blackwood
Date(s)
- 1866-04-30
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to John Blackwood, London, 30 April 1866
MS: National Library of Scotland. Mostly published: Cross, II, 429-430.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
April 31. 66.
My dear Sir
Tomorrow we go -- Mr. Lewes's bad health driving us -- to the Rookery Farm, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey where everything will reach me as quickly as in London.
I am in a horrible fidget about certain points which I want to be sure of in correcting my proofs. They are chiefly two questions which a lawyer and historian like Sir A. Alison 449 would be able to answer at once. There are two reasons why clever people in London can't always answer one's questions: first, they are too busy, and secondly, they don't know. Could you make an appeal to Sir A. Alison, not of course mentioning me? I wish to know
Whether in Napoleon's war with England, after the breaking up of the treaty of Amiens, the seizure and imprisonment of civilians was exceptional or whether it was continued throughout the war?
Whether in 1833, in the case of transportation to one of the colonies, when the sentence did not involve hard labour, the sentenced person might be at large on his arrival in the colony?
It is possible you may have some one near at hand who will answer these questions without your taking the trouble of writing to Sir A. Alison. I am sure you will help me if you can, and will sympathize in my anxiety not to have even an allusion that involves practical impossibilities.
One can never be perfectly accurate, even with one's best effort, but the effort must be made. Always, my dear Sir
Yours very truly
M. E. Lewes.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Mostly published: Cross, II, 429-430.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
April 31. 66.
My dear Sir
Tomorrow we go -- Mr. Lewes's bad health driving us -- to the Rookery Farm, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey where everything will reach me as quickly as in London.
I am in a horrible fidget about certain points which I want to be sure of in correcting my proofs. They are chiefly two questions which a lawyer and historian like Sir A. Alison 449 would be able to answer at once. There are two reasons why clever people in London can't always answer one's questions: first, they are too busy, and secondly, they don't know. Could you make an appeal to Sir A. Alison, not of course mentioning me? I wish to know
Whether in Napoleon's war with England, after the breaking up of the treaty of Amiens, the seizure and imprisonment of civilians was exceptional or whether it was continued throughout the war?
Whether in 1833, in the case of transportation to one of the colonies, when the sentence did not involve hard labour, the sentenced person might be at large on his arrival in the colony?
It is possible you may have some one near at hand who will answer these questions without your taking the trouble of writing to Sir A. Alison. I am sure you will help me if you can, and will sympathize in my anxiety not to have even an allusion that involves practical impossibilities.
One can never be perfectly accurate, even with one's best effort, but the effort must be made. Always, my dear Sir
Yours very truly
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to John Blackwood, London, 30 April 1866, 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/92673