GE to Mrs. Henry Merritt, Witley, 7 October 1879
Title
GE to Mrs. Henry Merritt, Witley, 7 October 1879
Title
GE to Mrs. Henry Merritt, Witley, 7 October 1879
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mrs. Henry Merritt
Date(s)
- 1879-10-07
Place
Witley
Letter Content
GE to Mrs. Henry Merritt, Witley, 7 October 1879
MS: Huntington Library. Hitherto unpublished.
The Heights, Witley, | Nr. Godalming.
October 7. 79.
Dear Madam
Excuse the delay of this answer. I did not receive your valuable parcel until Friday evening and since then I have been indisposed.
I am sincerely grateful to you for the feelings which your letter has put into exquisite words and also for the gift of your book which has deep interest for me. The specimens of your work would be encouraging to me if I desired to publish any copy of my outward self. But you have delicately anticipated my answer on that point. It is not that I am ashamed of the physiognomy which nature has given me, but I have a strong repugnance to being made known in shop windows and finding myself recognized in consequence. My fear on that ground, which might otherwise seem preposterous, has been justified to me by some experience of staring -- a process under which I am unalterably nervous.
I shall guard your kind presents as a valued memorial and shall remain, dear Madam,
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
Mrs. Merritt.
MS: Huntington Library. Hitherto unpublished.
The Heights, Witley, | Nr. Godalming.
October 7. 79.
Dear Madam
Excuse the delay of this answer. I did not receive your valuable parcel until Friday evening and since then I have been indisposed.
I am sincerely grateful to you for the feelings which your letter has put into exquisite words and also for the gift of your book which has deep interest for me. The specimens of your work would be encouraging to me if I desired to publish any copy of my outward self. But you have delicately anticipated my answer on that point. It is not that I am ashamed of the physiognomy which nature has given me, but I have a strong repugnance to being made known in shop windows and finding myself recognized in consequence. My fear on that ground, which might otherwise seem preposterous, has been justified to me by some experience of staring -- a process under which I am unalterably nervous.
I shall guard your kind presents as a valued memorial and shall remain, dear Madam,
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
Mrs. Merritt.
Signature
M. E. Lewes
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mrs. Henry Merritt, Witley, 7 October 1879, 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/93507