GE to Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Ryde, 3 October [1847]
Title
GE to Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Ryde, 3 October [1847]
Title
GE to Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Ryde, 3 October [1847]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline 'Cara' [Mrs. Charles] Bray
Date(s)
- 1847-10-03
Place
Ryde
Letter Content
GE to Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline 'Cara' [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Ryde, 3 October [1847]
MS: Yale. Endorsed: about 1845? Hitherto unpublished.
Ryde | Isle of Wight | October 3d.
Dear Friends
You are not, I dare say, dying of anxiety to hear about us, but I am determined to think that you care a little to know of our safety and enjoyment. We reached Ryde about seven o'clock on Monday evening, and set off the next morning on our excursion round the island. This occupied three days, and when we came back hither Father thought the hotel so comfortable and the Pier so delightfully lazy to walk on that we have staid here ever since. Tomorrow morning, however we mean to go to Shanklin, but lest Father should become ennuyé we are to leave it again on Wednesday and go to Brighton, which will be a pleasant division of our journey home. I have had much pleasure, or rather a calm continuous bien-'eatre ever since we set off. I have done nothing but bathe my soul in beauty, and my body in the delicious fresh air -- not in the sea which is too dingy at this trafficking place. It looks like an emerald at a distance, but more like a moss agate when you come near to it.
I hope all has been well with you, and will be until we are once more together and I am telling you all those little things which are very tiresome to write but very pleasant to chat about. I have been desecrating the Sabbath by writing other letters, not having found a single moment in which to write until this evening, so busy have I been riding, walking, and reading to Father.
Ever your affectionate
Mary Ann.
MS: Yale. Endorsed: about 1845? Hitherto unpublished.
Ryde | Isle of Wight | October 3d.
Dear Friends
You are not, I dare say, dying of anxiety to hear about us, but I am determined to think that you care a little to know of our safety and enjoyment. We reached Ryde about seven o'clock on Monday evening, and set off the next morning on our excursion round the island. This occupied three days, and when we came back hither Father thought the hotel so comfortable and the Pier so delightfully lazy to walk on that we have staid here ever since. Tomorrow morning, however we mean to go to Shanklin, but lest Father should become ennuyé we are to leave it again on Wednesday and go to Brighton, which will be a pleasant division of our journey home. I have had much pleasure, or rather a calm continuous bien-'eatre ever since we set off. I have done nothing but bathe my soul in beauty, and my body in the delicious fresh air -- not in the sea which is too dingy at this trafficking place. It looks like an emerald at a distance, but more like a moss agate when you come near to it.
I hope all has been well with you, and will be until we are once more together and I am telling you all those little things which are very tiresome to write but very pleasant to chat about. I have been desecrating the Sabbath by writing other letters, not having found a single moment in which to write until this evening, so busy have I been riding, walking, and reading to Father.
Ever your affectionate
Mary Ann.
Signature
Mary Ann.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mr. Charles Bray and Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Ryde, 3 October [1847], 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/93177