GE to Mrs. Mark Pattison, London, 21 February 1870
Title
GE to Mrs. Mark Pattison, London, 21 February 1870
Title
GE to Mrs. Mark Pattison, London, 21 February 1870
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mrs. Mark Pattison
Date(s)
- 1870-02-21
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Mrs. Mark Pattison, London, 21 February 1870
MS: British Museum. Brief extract published: Charles W. Dilke, The Book of the Spiritual Life, 1905, p. 39.
The Priory | 21 North Bank | February 21. 70.
My dear Mrs. Pattison
I have been often speaking of you lately, wondering whether you were quite well again -- for I had heard something of your illness -- and whether you would soon come to town. I even looked up at the balcony in the concert room on Saturday, with a silly impression that you might be there again, as you were last year.
It saddens me to think of the trouble and the bodily suffering that you have undergone. Can severe trouble ever be said to have quite passed away? I think it alters all one's tissues, enlarging life perhaps by bringing new susceptibilities, but often dulling even the wish for personal pleasure. It is a comfort to think that at last the precious Miss Eleanor Smith 127 came to you with loving guardianship.
It is to be hoped that the weather will soon get milder and make London regions less of a purgatory. Then I shall look forward with unmixed pleasure to seeing you and the Rector. At present it would be selfish to wish that you should be in this wilderness of brick, jarred by long cold journeys to and fro among scattered friends.
We shall not move until after such a change in the weather. But, if Mr. Lewes's mother continues well, we shall spend a month or two in Germany this spring. It would be worth while to delay the starting a little for the sake of seeing you, so pray let me know as soon as you can when you have fixed the time for your coming to town. I am so-so -- "An ancient woman," not seated on Helm-crag -- but "ready with my laughter" 128 in spite of the sorrows that never pass. Mr. Lewes feels growing in him the tendency to incapacitating nervous fatigue after a few hours' application: otherwise he is bright. We both beg to be remembered by the Rector and I am
Ever yours lovingly
M. E. Lewes.
MS: British Museum. Brief extract published: Charles W. Dilke, The Book of the Spiritual Life, 1905, p. 39.
The Priory | 21 North Bank | February 21. 70.
My dear Mrs. Pattison
I have been often speaking of you lately, wondering whether you were quite well again -- for I had heard something of your illness -- and whether you would soon come to town. I even looked up at the balcony in the concert room on Saturday, with a silly impression that you might be there again, as you were last year.
It saddens me to think of the trouble and the bodily suffering that you have undergone. Can severe trouble ever be said to have quite passed away? I think it alters all one's tissues, enlarging life perhaps by bringing new susceptibilities, but often dulling even the wish for personal pleasure. It is a comfort to think that at last the precious Miss Eleanor Smith 127 came to you with loving guardianship.
It is to be hoped that the weather will soon get milder and make London regions less of a purgatory. Then I shall look forward with unmixed pleasure to seeing you and the Rector. At present it would be selfish to wish that you should be in this wilderness of brick, jarred by long cold journeys to and fro among scattered friends.
We shall not move until after such a change in the weather. But, if Mr. Lewes's mother continues well, we shall spend a month or two in Germany this spring. It would be worth while to delay the starting a little for the sake of seeing you, so pray let me know as soon as you can when you have fixed the time for your coming to town. I am so-so -- "An ancient woman," not seated on Helm-crag -- but "ready with my laughter" 128 in spite of the sorrows that never pass. Mr. Lewes feels growing in him the tendency to incapacitating nervous fatigue after a few hours' application: otherwise he is bright. We both beg to be remembered by the Rector and I am
Ever yours lovingly
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mrs. Mark Pattison, London, 21 February 1870, 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/93541