Henry James to John W. Cross, Florence, 14 May 1880
Title
Henry James to John W. Cross, Florence, 14 May 1880
Title
Henry James to John W. Cross, Florence, 14 May 1880
Sender
Henry James
Recipient
John W. Cross
Date(s)
- 1880-05-14
Place
Florence
Letter Content
Henry James to John W. Cross, Florence, 14 May 1880
MS: Mr. Richard L: Purdy.
Florence, May 14th 1880.
My dear Cross.
I have just heard of your marriage, and I must give myself the satisfaction of sending you a word of very friendly sympathy on the occasion -- which I beg you to communicate, in the most deferential form, to your illustrious wife. Receive my heartiest congratulations and good wishes, and try and fancy that they have hovering about them the perfume and promise of a Florentine May-time. I have congratulated friends before on their approaching, or accomplished, nuptials; but I have never had the privilege of doing so in a case in which I felt (as to-day) all the cordiality of mankind mingling with my individual voice. Don't let this mighty murmur drown my feeble note, by the way; but remember that I am what the newspapers call a "distinct factor" in any sense of the good-will of your fellow-mortals that you may now enjoy. Don't on the other hand dream of answering this hasty note -- you have probably so many letters to write. I am on the point of returning to England and I shall see you then. I wish I could fold into this sheet a glimpse of the yellow Arno, the blue-grey hills, the old brown city, which your wife knows so well and which she has helped to make me know. -- But I will only attempt to insert again, a friendly handshake from yours very faithfully,
Henry James Jr.
MS: Mr. Richard L: Purdy.
Florence, May 14th 1880.
My dear Cross.
I have just heard of your marriage, and I must give myself the satisfaction of sending you a word of very friendly sympathy on the occasion -- which I beg you to communicate, in the most deferential form, to your illustrious wife. Receive my heartiest congratulations and good wishes, and try and fancy that they have hovering about them the perfume and promise of a Florentine May-time. I have congratulated friends before on their approaching, or accomplished, nuptials; but I have never had the privilege of doing so in a case in which I felt (as to-day) all the cordiality of mankind mingling with my individual voice. Don't let this mighty murmur drown my feeble note, by the way; but remember that I am what the newspapers call a "distinct factor" in any sense of the good-will of your fellow-mortals that you may now enjoy. Don't on the other hand dream of answering this hasty note -- you have probably so many letters to write. I am on the point of returning to England and I shall see you then. I wish I could fold into this sheet a glimpse of the yellow Arno, the blue-grey hills, the old brown city, which your wife knows so well and which she has helped to make me know. -- But I will only attempt to insert again, a friendly handshake from yours very faithfully,
Henry James Jr.
Signature
Henry James Jr.
Citation
Henry James, Henry James to John W. Cross, Florence, 14 May 1880, 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/95126