GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 19 February 1873
Title
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 19 February 1873
Title
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 19 February 1873
Sender
George Henry Lewes
Recipient
Mrs. Elma Stuart
Date(s)
- 1873-02-19
Place
London
Letter Content
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 19 February 1873
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 6-7.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
February 73.
My dear Mrs. Stuart
By what sweet instinct was it that you spontaneously repaired Mrs. Lewes's forget, and sent the photo which I had specially asked her to request of you, and which she intended but forgot to mention in her letter? Of course it was nothing but the prompting of that very nature which shines so delightfully through your letters and which makes us love you and repudiate the idea of your being a stranger.
Sympathy is one of the great psychological mysteries -- and as a psychologist I am bound to explain it, but can't. The very week which brought your letter brought letters from widely distant strangers -- from Naples, Switzerland, and Massachusetts. 728 But yours was my letter -- I mean that which brought the tears into my eyes. One of the letters was from a Swiss admirer who at an advanced age learned English in order thoroughly to read in the original her works which had fortified and delighted him in the translation. Having done so he made Main's
Extracts his Breviary. -- Of course this and much else was gratifying both to her and to me. But the deepest of all gratitude springs from the touched heart not from the pleased intellect.
I wish I could send you a portrait of her. But she has always refused to be photographed. In lieu thereof I send a copy of one she wears in her locket. 729 It was taken some years ago and then was tolerably like. Some day or other I trust we shall see each other -- here or at Dinan -- and then we shan't know where to begin our outpourings!
And then as to Watch -- have you a photo of him also? -- Dogs are my passion and your dog must be a dear beast. When you write again, let it be soon, tell us more about yourself, as much personal detail as is practicable. [The rest has been cut away.]
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 6-7.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
February 73.
My dear Mrs. Stuart
By what sweet instinct was it that you spontaneously repaired Mrs. Lewes's forget, and sent the photo which I had specially asked her to request of you, and which she intended but forgot to mention in her letter? Of course it was nothing but the prompting of that very nature which shines so delightfully through your letters and which makes us love you and repudiate the idea of your being a stranger.
Sympathy is one of the great psychological mysteries -- and as a psychologist I am bound to explain it, but can't. The very week which brought your letter brought letters from widely distant strangers -- from Naples, Switzerland, and Massachusetts. 728 But yours was my letter -- I mean that which brought the tears into my eyes. One of the letters was from a Swiss admirer who at an advanced age learned English in order thoroughly to read in the original her works which had fortified and delighted him in the translation. Having done so he made Main's
Extracts his Breviary. -- Of course this and much else was gratifying both to her and to me. But the deepest of all gratitude springs from the touched heart not from the pleased intellect.
I wish I could send you a portrait of her. But she has always refused to be photographed. In lieu thereof I send a copy of one she wears in her locket. 729 It was taken some years ago and then was tolerably like. Some day or other I trust we shall see each other -- here or at Dinan -- and then we shan't know where to begin our outpourings!
And then as to Watch -- have you a photo of him also? -- Dogs are my passion and your dog must be a dear beast. When you write again, let it be soon, tell us more about yourself, as much personal detail as is practicable. [The rest has been cut away.]
Citation
George Henry Lewes, GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 19 February 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/94938