GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 24 December 1877
Title
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 24 December 1877
Title
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 24 December 1877
Sender
George Henry Lewes
Recipient
Mrs. Elma Stuart
Date(s)
- 1877-12-24
Place
London
Letter Content
GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 24 December 1877
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 95-97.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
Christmas Eve 1877.
Dear Elma
It would not be a perfect Christmas if our hearts did not specially go forth to you; and although Madonna, who was to have written to you, is in bed with a cold, and therefore is forced to write by her secretary, you know that what one says both feel.
Don't suppose it is more than a cold which keeps her in bed. She has been wonderfully well for a long time -- every one remarks how well she looks -- and she has not had a hint of pain.
Our Christmas is to be very quiet. We shall be alone tomorrow; and on Wednesday the children and grandchildren come to us. Beyond that our festal program does not extend.
Rowley will have brought you a full budget of Oxford experiences -- we hope they are pleasant and promising. Tell us about him when next you write. Also about Mrs. Menzies, to whom give our Christmas offering -- a kiss.
Did you see -- and if so were you not amused at the idea -- that they put me up as Rector of St. Andrews University, in company with Browning, Tyndall, Gathorne Hardy and Lord Selborne: pretty assemblage of names! Of course I should have declined, but I was pleased at the idea that there was a sufficient following among the students for the proposal to have been entertained.
Have you seen the translation of the Rabbi's pamphlet [George Eliot and Judaism]? It is very interesting, I think; apart from the personal question. God bless you!
Ever your loving
G. H. Lewes.
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 95-97.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
Christmas Eve 1877.
Dear Elma
It would not be a perfect Christmas if our hearts did not specially go forth to you; and although Madonna, who was to have written to you, is in bed with a cold, and therefore is forced to write by her secretary, you know that what one says both feel.
Don't suppose it is more than a cold which keeps her in bed. She has been wonderfully well for a long time -- every one remarks how well she looks -- and she has not had a hint of pain.
Our Christmas is to be very quiet. We shall be alone tomorrow; and on Wednesday the children and grandchildren come to us. Beyond that our festal program does not extend.
Rowley will have brought you a full budget of Oxford experiences -- we hope they are pleasant and promising. Tell us about him when next you write. Also about Mrs. Menzies, to whom give our Christmas offering -- a kiss.
Did you see -- and if so were you not amused at the idea -- that they put me up as Rector of St. Andrews University, in company with Browning, Tyndall, Gathorne Hardy and Lord Selborne: pretty assemblage of names! Of course I should have declined, but I was pleased at the idea that there was a sufficient following among the students for the proposal to have been entertained.
Have you seen the translation of the Rabbi's pamphlet [George Eliot and Judaism]? It is very interesting, I think; apart from the personal question. God bless you!
Ever your loving
G. H. Lewes.
Signature
G. H. Lewes.
Citation
George Henry Lewes, GHL to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 24 December 1877, 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/94942