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diff --git a/43044-8.txt b/43044-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ccb5102..0000000 --- a/43044-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11108 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3), by George Eliot - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3) - as related in her Letters and Journals - -Author: George Eliot - -Editor: J. W. Cross - -Release Date: June 29, 2013 [EBook #43044] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE, VOL. II *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrew Templeton, JoAnn -Greenwood and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -This is Volume II of a three volume set: - - Volume I--Unknown - Volume II--Famous - Volume III--Sunset - -A combined index to the entire set is located at the end of Volume III. - -Narrative content written by J. Cross and material quoted from writers -other than George Eliot are interspersed throughout the text. Their -content is placed in block quotes. - -Remaining transcriber's notes are located at the end of the text. - - * * * * * - - - - -GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE - -VOL. II.--FAMOUS - - -"OUR FINEST HOPE IS FINEST MEMORY" - - -[Illustration: Portrait of George Eliot. Engraved by G. J. Stodart.] - - - - - GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE - _as related in her Letters and Journals_ - - ARRANGED AND EDITED BY HER HUSBAND - J. W. CROSS - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS - - IN THREE VOLUMES.--VOLUME II - - - NEW YORK - HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE - - - - -GEORGE ELIOT'S WORKS. - -_LIBRARY EDITION._ - - ADAM BEDE. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - DANIEL DERONDA. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $2.50. - - ESSAYS and LEAVES FROM A NOTE-BOOK. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - FELIX HOLT, THE RADICAL. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - MIDDLEMARCH. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $2.50. - - ROMOLA. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE, and SILAS MARNER. Illustrated. 12mo, - Cloth, $1.25. - - THE IMPRESSIONS OF THEOPHRASTUS SUCH. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - THE MILL ON THE FLOSS. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25. - - -PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. - -HARPER & BROTHERS _will send any of the above volumes by mail, postage -prepaid, to any part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the -price. For other editions of George Eliot's works published by Harper -& Brothers see advertisement at end of third volume_. - - - - -CONTENTS OF VOL. II. - - - CHAPTER VIII. - JANUARY, 1858, TO DECEMBER, 1858. - - Success of "Scenes of Clerical Life"--"Adam Bede" Page 1 - - - CHAPTER IX. - JANUARY, 1859, TO MARCH, 1860. - - "The Mill on the Floss" 58 - - - CHAPTER X. - MARCH TO JUNE, 1860. - - First Journey to Italy 120 - - - CHAPTER XI. - JULY, 1860, TO DECEMBER, 1861. - - "Silas Marner"--"Romola" begun 185 - - - CHAPTER XII. - JANUARY, 1862, TO DECEMBER, 1865. - - "Romola"--"Felix Holt" 238 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - JANUARY, 1866, TO DECEMBER, 1866. - - Tour in Holland and on the Rhine 303 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II. - - - PORTRAIT OF GEORGE ELIOT. - Engraved by G. J. Stodart _Frontispiece._ - - THE PRIORY--DRAWING-ROOM _To face p._ 266 - - FAC-SIMILE OF GEORGE ELIOT'S HAND-WRITING " 280 - - - - -GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Jan. 2._--George has returned this evening from a week's visit to -Vernon Hill. On coming up-stairs he said, "I have some very pretty -news for you--something in my pocket." I was at a loss to conjecture, -and thought confusedly of possible opinions from admiring readers, -when he drew the _Times_ from his pocket--to-day's number, containing -a review of the "Scenes of Clerical Life." He had happened to ask a -gentleman in the railway carriage, coming up to London, to allow him -to look at the _Times_, and felt quite agitated and tremulous when his -eyes alighted on the review. Finding he had time to go into town -before the train started, he bought a copy there. It is a highly -favorable notice, and, as far as it goes, appreciatory. - -When G. went into town he called at Nutt's, and Mrs. Nutt said to him, -"I think you don't know our curate. _He_ says the author of 'Clerical -Scenes' is a High Churchman; for though Mr. Tryan is said to be Low -Church, his feelings and _actions_ are those of a High Churchman." -(The curate himself being of course High Church.) There were some -pleasant scraps of admiration also gathered for me at Vernon Hill. -Doyle happening to mention the treatment of children in the stories, -Helps said, "Oh, he is a great writer!" - -I wonder how I shall feel about these little details ten years hence, -if I am alive. At present I value them as grounds for hoping that my -writing may succeed, and so give value to my life; as indications that -I can touch the hearts of my fellow-men, and so sprinkle some precious -grain as the result of the long years in which I have been inert and -suffering. But at present fear and trembling still predominate over -hope. - -_Jan. 5._--To-day the "Clerical Scenes" came in their two-volume -dress, looking very handsome. - -_Jan. 8._--News of the subscription--580, with a probable addition of -25 for Longmans. Mudie has taken 350. When we used to talk of the -probable subscription, G. always said, "I dare say it will be 250!" -(The final number subscribed for was 650.) - -I ordered copies to be sent to the following persons: Froude, Dickens, -Thackeray, Tennyson, Ruskin, Faraday, the author of "Companions of my -Solitude," Albert Smith, Mrs. Carlyle. - -On the 20th of January I received the following letter from Dickens: - -[Sidenote: Letter from Charles Dickens to George Eliot, 17th Jan. -1858.] - - "TAVISTOCK HOUSE, LONDON, _Monday, 17th Jan. 1858_. - - "MY DEAR SIR,--I have been so strongly affected by the two - first tales in the book you have had the kindness to send me, - through Messrs. Blackwood, that I hope you will excuse my - writing to you to express my admiration of their - extraordinary merit. The exquisite truth and delicacy, both - of the humor and the pathos of these stories, I have never - seen the like of; and they have impressed me in a manner that - I should find it very difficult to describe to you, if I had - the impertinence to try. - - "In addressing these few words of thankfulness to the creator - of the Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton, and the sad - love-story of Mr. Gilfil, I am (I presume) bound to adopt the - name that it pleases that excellent writer to assume. I can - suggest no better one: but I should have been strongly - disposed, if I had been left to my own devices, to address - the said writer as a woman. I have observed what seemed to me - such womanly touches in those moving fictions, that the - assurance on the title-page is insufficient to satisfy me - even now. If they originated with no woman, I believe that no - man ever before had the art of making himself mentally so - like a woman since the world began. - - "You will not suppose that I have any vulgar wish to fathom - your secret. I mention the point as one of great interest to - me--not of mere curiosity. If it should ever suit your - convenience and inclination to show me the face of the man, - or woman, who has written so charmingly, it will be a very - memorable occasion to me. If otherwise, I shall always hold - that impalpable personage in loving attachment and respect, - and shall yield myself up to all future utterances from the - same source, with a perfect confidence in their making me - wiser and better.--Your obliged and faithful servant and - admirer, - - "CHARLES DICKENS. - - "GEORGE ELIOT, ESQ." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Jan. 21._--To-day came the following letter from Froude: - -[Sidenote: Letter from J. A. Froude to George Eliot, 17th Jan. 1858.] - - "NORTHDOWN HOUSE, BIDEFORD, _17th Jan. 1858_. - - "DEAR SIR,--I do not know when I have experienced a more - pleasant surprise than when, on opening a book parcel two - mornings ago, I found it to contain 'Scenes of Clerical - Life,' 'From the author.' I do not often see _Blackwood_; but - in accidental glances I had made acquaintance with 'Janet's - Repentance,' and had found there something extremely - different from general magazine stories. When I read the - advertisement of the republication, I intended fully, at my - leisure, to look at the companions of the story which had so - much struck me, and now I find myself sought out by the - person whose workmanship I had admired, for the special - present of it. - - "You would not, I imagine, care much for flattering speeches, - and to go into detail about the book would carry me farther - than at present there is occasion to go. I can only thank you - most sincerely for the delight which it has given me; and - both I myself, and my wife, trust that the acquaintance which - we seem to have made with you through your writings may - improve into something more tangible. I do not know whether I - am addressing a young man or an old--a clergyman or a layman. - Perhaps, if you answer this note, you may give us some - information about yourself. But at any rate, should business - or pleasure bring you into this part of the world, pray - believe that you will find a warm welcome if you will accept - our hospitality.--Once more, with my best thanks, believe me, - faithfully yours, - - J. A. FROUDE." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 17th Jan. 1858.] - -I have long ceased to feel any sympathy with mere antagonism and -destruction; and all crudity of expression marks, I think, a -deficiency in subtlety of thought as well as in breadth of moral and -poetic feeling. Mr. William Smith, the author of "Thorndale," is an -old acquaintance of Mr. Lewes's. I should say an old _friend_, only I -don't like the too ready use of that word. Mr. Lewes admires and -esteems him very highly. He is a very accomplished man--a bachelor, -with a small independent income; used to write very effective articles -on miscellaneous subjects in _Blackwood_. I shall like to know what -you think of "Thorndale." I don't know whether you look out for -Ruskin's books whenever they appear. His little book on the "Political -Economy of Art" contains some magnificent passages, mixed up with -stupendous specimens of arrogant absurdity on some economical points. -But I venerate him as one of the great teachers of the day. The grand -doctrines of truth and sincerity in art, and the nobleness and -solemnity of our human life, which he teaches with the inspiration of -a Hebrew prophet, must be stirring up young minds in a promising way. -The two last volumes of "Modern Painters" contain, I think, some of -the finest writing of the age. He is strongly akin to the sublimest -part of Wordsworth--whom, by-the-bye, we are reading with fresh -admiration for his beauties and tolerance for his faults. Our present -plans are: to remain here till about the end of March, then to go to -Munich, which I long to see. We shall live there several months, -seeing the wonderful galleries in leisure moments. Our living here is -so much more expensive than living abroad that we save more than the -expenses of our journeying; and as our work can be as well done there -as here for some months, we lay in much more capital, in the shape of -knowledge and experience, by going abroad. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Jan. 18._--I have begun the "Eumenides," having finished the -"Choephoræ." We are reading Wordsworth in the evening. At least G. is -reading him to me. I am still reading aloud Miss Martineau's History. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st Jan. 1858.] - -I am sure you will be interested in Dickens's letter, which I enclose, -begging you to return it as soon as you can, and not to allow any one -besides yourself and Major Blackwood to share in the knowledge of its -contents. There can be no harm, of course, in every one's knowing that -Dickens admires the "Scenes," but I should not like any more specific -allusion made to the words of a private letter. There can hardly be -any climax of approbation for me after this; and I am so deeply moved -by the finely felt and finely expressed sympathy of the letter, that -the iron mask of my _incognito_ seems quite painful in forbidding me -to tell Dickens how thoroughly his generous impulse has been -appreciated. If you should have an opportunity of conveying this -feeling of mine to him in any way, you would oblige me by doing so. -By-the-bye, you probably remember sending me, some months ago, a -letter from the Rev. Archer Gurney--a very warm, simple-spoken -letter--praising me for qualities which I most of all care to be -praised for. I should like to send him a copy of the "Scenes," since I -could make no acknowledgment of his letter in any other way. I don't -know his address, but perhaps Mr. Langford would be good enough to -look it out in the Clergy List. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Jan. 23._--There appeared a well-written and enthusiastic article on -"Clerical Scenes" in the _Statesman_. We hear there was a poor -article in the _Globe_--of feebly written praise--the previous week, -but beyond this we have not yet heard of any notices from the press. - -_Jan. 26._--Came a very pleasant letter from Mrs. Carlyle, thanking -the author of "Clerical Scenes" for the present of his book, praising -it very highly, and saying that her husband had promised to read it -when released from his mountain of history. - -[Sidenote: Letter from Mrs. Carlyle to George Eliot, 21st Jan. 1858.] - - "5 CHEYNE ROW, CHELSEA, _21st Jan. 1858_. - - "DEAR SIR,--I have to thank you for a surprise, a pleasure, - and a--consolation (!) all in one book! And I do thank you - most sincerely. I cannot divine what inspired the good - thought to send _me_ your book; since (if the name on the - title-page be your real name) it could not have been personal - regard; there has never been a George Eliot among my friends - or acquaintance. But neither, I am sure, could _you_ divine - the circumstances under which I should read the book, and the - particular benefit it should confer on me! I read it--at - least the first volume--during one of the most (physically) - wretched nights of my life--sitting up in bed, unable to get - a wink of sleep for fever and sore throat--and it helped me - through that dreary night as well--better than the most - sympathetic helpful friend watching by my bedside could have - done! - - "You will believe that the book needed to be something more - than a 'new novel' for me; that I _could_ at my years, and - after so much reading, read it in positive torment, and be - beguiled by it of the torment! that it needed to be the one - sort of book, however named, that still takes hold of me, - and that grows rarer every year--a _human_ book--written out - of the heart of a live man, not merely out of the brain of an - author--full of tenderness and pathos, without a scrap of - sentimentality, of sense without dogmatism, of earnestness - without twaddle--a book that makes one _feel friends_ at once - and for always with the man or woman who wrote it! - - "In guessing at why you gave me this good gift, I have - thought amongst other things, 'Oh, perhaps it was a delicate - way of presenting the novel to my husband, he being over head - and ears in _history_.' If that was it, I compliment you on - your _tact_! for my husband is much likelier to read the - 'Scenes' on _my_ responsibility than on a venture of his - own--though, as a general rule, never opening a novel, he has - engaged to read this one whenever he has some leisure from - his present task. - - "I hope to know some day if the person I am addressing bears - any resemblance in external things to the idea I have - conceived of him in my mind--a man of middle age, with a - wife, from whom he has got those beautiful _feminine_ touches - in his book--a good many children, and a dog that he has as - much fondness for as I have for my little Nero! For the - rest--not just a clergyman, but brother or first cousin to a - clergyman! How ridiculous all this _may_ read beside the - reality. Anyhow--I honestly confess I am very curious about - you, and look forward with what Mr. Carlyle would call 'a - good, healthy, genuine desire' to shaking hands with you some - day.--In the meanwhile, I remain, your obliged - - JANE W. CARLYLE." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Jan. 30._--Received a letter from Faraday, thanking me very -gracefully for the present of the "Scenes." Blackwood mentions, in -enclosing this letter, that Simpkin & Marshall have sent for twelve -additional copies--the first sign of a move since the subscription. -The other night we looked into the life of Charlotte Brontë, to see -how long it was before "Jane Eyre" came into demand at the libraries, -and we found it was not until six weeks after publication. It is just -three weeks now since I heard news of the subscription for my book. - -[Sidenote: Letter from M. Faraday to George Eliot, 28th Jan. 1858.] - - "ROYAL INSTITUTION, _28th Jan. 1858_. - - "SIR,--I cannot resist the pleasure of thanking you for what - I esteem a great kindness: the present of your thoughts - embodied in the two volumes you have sent me. They have been, - and will be again, a very pleasant relief from mental - occupation among my own pursuits. Such rest I find at times - not merely agreeable, but essential.--Again thanking you, I - beg to remain, your very obliged servant, - M. FARADAY. - - "GEORGE ELIOT, Esq., &c., &c." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Feb. 3._--Gave up Miss Martineau's History last night, after reading -some hundred pages in the second volume. She has a sentimental, -rhetorical style in this history which is fatiguing and not -instructive. But her history of the Reform movement is very -interesting. - -_Feb. 4._--Yesterday brought the discouraging news, that though the -book is much talked of, it moves very slowly. Finished the -"Eumenides." Bessie Parkes has written asking me to contribute to the -_Englishwoman's Journal_--a new monthly which, she says, "We are -beginning with £1000, and great social interest." - -_Feb. 16._--To-day G. went into the City and saw Langford, for the -sake of getting the latest news about our two books--his "Sea-side -Studies" having been well launched about a fortnight or ten days ago, -with a subscription of 800. He brought home good news. The "Clerical -Scenes" are moving off at a moderate but steady pace. Langford -remarked, that while the press had been uniformly favorable, not one -_critical_ notice had appeared. G. went to Parker's in the evening, -and gathered a little gossip on the subject. Savage, author of the -"Falcon Family," and now editor of the _Examiner_, said he was reading -the "Scenes"--had read some of them already in _Blackwood_--but was -now reading the volume. "G. Eliot was a writer of great merit." A -barrister named Smythe said he had seen "the Bishop" reading them the -other day. As a set-off against this, Mrs. Schlesinger "Couldn't bear -the book." She is a regular novel reader; but hers is the first -unfavorable opinion we have had. - -_Feb. 26._--We went into town for the sake of seeing Mr. and Mrs. -Call, and having our photographs taken by Mayall. - -_Feb. 28._--Mr. John Blackwood called on us, having come to London for -a few days only. He talked a good deal about the "Clerical Scenes" and -George Eliot, and at last asked, "Well, am I to see George Eliot this -time?" G. said, "Do you wish to see him?" "As he likes--I wish it to -be quite spontaneous." I left the room, and G. following me a moment, -I told him he might reveal me. Blackwood was kind, came back when he -found he was too late for the train, and said he would come to -Richmond again. He came on the following Friday and chatted very -pleasantly--told us that Thackeray spoke highly of the "Scenes," and -said _they were not written by a woman_. Mrs. Blackwood is _sure_ they -are not written by a woman. Mrs. Oliphant, the novelist, too, is -confident on the same side. I gave Blackwood the MS. of my new novel, -to the end of the second scene in the wood. He opened it, read the -first page, and smiling, said, "This will do." We walked with him to -Kew, and had a good deal of talk. Found, among other things, that he -had lived two years in Italy when he was a youth, and that he admires -Miss Austen. - -Since I wrote these last notes several encouraging fragments of news -about the "Scenes" have come to my ears--especially that Mrs. Owen -Jones and her husband--two very different people--are equally -enthusiastic about the book. But both have detected the woman. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2d March, 1858.] - -Perhaps we may go to Dresden, perhaps not: we leave room for the -_imprévu_, which Louis Blanc found so sadly wanting in Mr. Morgan's -millennial village. You are among the exceptional people who say -pleasant things to their friends, and don't feel a too exclusive -satisfaction in their misfortunes. We like to hear of your interest in -Mr. Lewes's books--at least, _I_ am very voracious of such details. I -keep the pretty letters that are written to him; and we have had some -really important ones from the scientific big-wigs about the "Sea-side -Studies." The reception of the book in that quarter has been quite -beyond our expectations. Eight hundred copies were sold at once. There -is a great deal of close hard work in the book, and every one who -knows what scientific work is necessarily perceives this; happily -many have been generous enough to express their recognition in a -hearty way. - -I enter so deeply into everything you say about your mother. To me -that old, old popular truism, "We can never have but one mother," has -worlds of meaning in it, and I think with more sympathy of the -satisfaction you feel in at last being allowed to wait on her than I -should of anything else you could tell me. I wish we saw more of that -sweet human piety that feels tenderly and reverently towards the aged. -[_Apropos_ of some incapable woman's writing she adds.] There is -something more piteous almost than soapless poverty in this -application of feminine incapacity to literature. We spent a very -pleasant couple of hours with Mr. and Mrs. Call last Friday. It was -worth a journey on a cold dusty day to see two faces beaming kindness -and happiness. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th March, 1858.] - -I enclose a letter which will interest you. It is affecting to see how -difficult a matter it often is for the men who would most profit by a -book to purchase it, or even get a reading of it, while stupid Jopling -of Reading or elsewhere thinks nothing of giving a guinea for a work -which he will simply put on his shelves. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles Bray, March, 1858.] - -When do you bring out your new poem? I presume you are already in the -sixth canto. It is true you never told me you intended to write a -poem, nor have I heard any one say so who was likely to know. -Nevertheless I have quite as active an imagination as you, and I don't -see why I shouldn't suppose you are writing a poem as well as you -suppose that I am writing a novel. Seriously, I wish you would not set -rumors afloat about me. They are injurious. Several people, who seem -to derive their notions from Ivy Cottage,[1] have spoken to me of a -supposed novel I was going to bring out. Such things are damaging to -me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles Bray, 31st March, 1858.] - -Thanks for your disclaimer. It shows me that you take a right view of -the subject. There is no undertaking more fruitful of absurd mistakes -than that of "guessing" at authorship; and as I have never -communicated to any one so much as an _intention_ of a literary kind, -there can be none but imaginary data for such guesses. If I withhold -anything from my friends which it would gratify them to know, you will -believe, I hope, that I have good reasons for doing so, and I am sure -those friends will understand me when I ask them to further my -object--which is not a whim but a question of solid interest--by -complete silence. I can't afford to indulge either in vanity or -sentimentality about my work. I have only a trembling anxiety to do -what is in itself worth doing, and by that honest means to win very -necessary profit of a temporal kind. "There is nothing hidden that -shall not be revealed" in due time. But till that time comes--till I -tell you myself, "This is the work of my hand and brain"--don't -believe anything on the subject. There is no one who is in the least -likely to know what I can, could, should, or would write. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_April 1, 1858._--Received a letter from Blackwood containing warm -praise of "Adam Bede," but wanting to know the rest of the story in -outline before deciding whether it should go in the Magazine. I wrote -in reply refusing to tell him the story. - -On Wednesday evening, April 7th, we set off on our journey to Munich, -and now we are comfortably settled in our lodgings, where we hope to -remain three months at least. I sit down in my first leisure moments -to write a few recollections of our journey, or rather of our -twenty-four hours' stay at Nürnberg; for the rest of our journey was -mere endurance of railway and steamboat in cold and sombre weather, -often rainy. I ought to except our way from Frankfort to Nürnberg, -which lay for some distance--until we came to Bamberg--through a -beautifully varied country. Our view both of Würzburg and Bamberg, as -we hastily snatched it from our railway carriage, was very -striking--great old buildings, crowning heights that rise up boldly -from the plain in which stand the main part of the towns. From Bamberg -to Nürnberg the way lay through a wide rich plain sprinkled with -towns. We had left all the hills behind us. At Bamberg we were joined -in our carriage by a pleasant-looking elderly couple, who spoke to -each other and looked so affectionately that we said directly, "Shall -we be so when we are old?" It was very pretty to see them hold each -other's gloved hands for a minute like lovers. As soon as we had -settled ourselves in our inn at Nürnberg--the Baierische Hof--we went -out to get a general view of the town. Happily it was not raining, -though there was no sun to light up the roof and windows. - -[Sidenote: Journal, April, 1858.] - -How often I had thought I should like to see Nürnberg, and had -pictured to myself narrow streets with dark quaint gables! The reality -was not at all like my picture, but it was ten times better. No sombre -coloring, except the old churches: all was bright and varied, each -_façade_ having a different color--delicate green, or buff, or pink, -or lilac--every now and then set off by the neighborhood of a rich -reddish brown. And the roofs always gave warmth of color with their -bright red or rich purple tiles. Every house differed from its -neighbor, and had a physiognomy of its own, though a beautiful family -likeness ran through them all, as if the burghers of that old city -were of one heart and one soul, loving the same delightful outlines, -and cherishing the same daily habits of simple ease and enjoyment in -their balcony-windows when the day's work was done. - -The balcony window is the secondary charm of the Nürnberg houses; it -would be the principal charm of any houses that had not the Nürnberg -roofs and gables. It is usually in the centre of the building, on the -first floor, and is ornamented with carved stone or wood, which -supports it after the fashion of a bracket. In several of these -windows we saw pretty family groups--young fair heads of girls or of -little children, with now and then an older head surmounting them. One -can fancy that these windows are the pet places for family joys--that -papa seats himself there when he comes home from the warehouse, and -the little ones cluster round him in no time. But the glory of the -Nürnberg houses is the roofs, which are no blank surface of mere -tiling, but are alive with lights and shadows, cast by varied and -beautiful lines of windows and pinnacles and arched openings. The -plainest roof in Nürnberg has its little windows lifting themselves up -like eyelids, and almost everywhere one sees the pretty hexagonal -tiles. But the better houses have a central, open sort of pavilion in -the roof, with a pinnacle surmounted by a weathercock. This pavilion -has usually a beautifully carved arched opening in front, set off by -the dark background which is left by the absence of glass. One -fancies the old Nürnbergers must have gone up to these pavilions to -smoke in the summer and autumn days. There is usually a brood of small -windows round this central ornament, often elegantly arched and -carved. A wonderful sight it makes to see a series of such roofs -surmounting the tall, delicate-colored houses. They are always -high-pitched, of course, and the color of the tiles was usually of a -bright red. I think one of the most charming vistas we saw was the -Adler-Gasse, on the St. Lorenz side of the town. Sometimes, instead of -the high-pitched roof, with its pavilion and windows, there is a -richly ornamented gable fronting the street; and still more frequently -we get the gables at right angles with the street at a break in the -line of houses. - -Coming back from the Burg we met a detachment of soldiers, with their -band playing, followed by a stream of listening people; and then we -reached the market-place, just at the point where stands "The -Beautiful Fountain"--an exquisite bit of florid Gothic which has been -restored in perfect conformity with the original. Right before us -stood the Frauen-Kirche, with its fine and unusual _façade_, the chief -beauty being a central chapel used as the choir, and added by Adam -Krafft. It is something of the shape of a mitre, and forms a beautiful -gradation of ascent towards the summit of _façade_. We heard the organ -and were tempted to enter, for this is the one Catholic Church in -Nürnberg. The delicious sound of the organ and voices drew us farther -and farther in among the standing people, and we stayed there I don't -know how long, till the music ceased. How the music warmed one's -heart! I loved the good people about me, even to the soldier who stood -with his back to us, giving us a full view of his close-cropped head, -with its pale yellowish hair standing up in bristles on the crown, as -if his hat had acted like a forcing-pot. Then there was a little baby -in a close-fitting cap on its little round head, looking round with -bright black eyes as it sucked its bit of bread. Such a funny little -complete face--rich brown complexion and miniature Roman nose. And -then its mother lifted it up that it might see the rose-decked altar, -where the priests were standing. How music, that stirs all one's -devout emotions, blends everything into harmony--makes one feel part -of one whole which one loves all alike, losing the sense of a separate -self. Nothing could be more wretched as art than the painted St. -Veronica opposite me, holding out the sad face on her miraculous -handkerchief. Yet it touched me deeply; and the thought of the Man of -Sorrows seemed a very close thing--not a faint hearsay. - -We saw Albert Dürer's statue by Rauch, and Albert Dürer's house--a -striking bit of old building, rich dark-brown, with a truncated gable -and two wooden galleries running along the gable end. My best wishes -and thanks to the artists who keep it in repair and use it for their -meetings. The vistas from the bridges across the muddy Pegnitz, which -runs through the town, are all quaint and picturesque; and it was here -that we saw some of the _shabbiest_-looking houses--almost the only -houses that carried any suggestion of poverty, and even here it was -doubtful. The town has an air of cleanliness and well-being, and one -longs to call one of those balconied apartments one's own home, with -their flower-pots, clean glass, clean curtains, and transparencies -turning their white backs to the street. It is pleasant to think there -is such a place in the world where many people pass peaceful lives. - -On arriving at Munich, after much rambling, we found an advertisement -of "Zwei elegant möblirte Zimmer," No. 15 Luitpold Strasse; and to our -immense satisfaction found something that looked like cleanliness and -comfort. The bargain was soon made--twenty florins per month. So here -we came last Tuesday, the 13th April. We have been taking sips of the -Glyptothek and the two Pinacotheks in the morning, not having settled -to work yet. Last night we went to the opera--Fra Diavolo--at the -Hof-Theatre. The theatre ugly, the singing bad. Still, the orchestra -was good, and the charming music made itself felt in spite of German -throats. On Sunday, the 11th, we went to the Pinacothek, straight into -the glorious Rubens Saal. Delighted afresh in the picture of "Samson -and Delilah," both for the painting and character of the figures. -Delilah, a magnificent blonde, seated in a chair, with a transparent -white garment slightly covering her body, and a rich red piece of -drapery round her legs, leans forward, with one hand resting on her -thigh, the other, holding the cunning shears, resting on the chair--a -posture which shows to perfection the full, round, living arms. She -turns her head aside to look with sly triumph at Samson--a tawny -giant, his legs caught in the red drapery, shorn of his long locks, -furious with the consciousness that the Philistines are upon him, and -that this time he cannot shake them off. Above the group of malicious -faces and grappling arms a hand holds a flaming torch. Behind Delilah, -and grasping her arm, leans forward an old woman, with hard features -full of exultation. - -This picture, comparatively small in size, hangs beside the "Last -Judgment," and in the corresponding space, on the other side of the -same picture, hangs the sublime "Crucifixion." Jesus alone, hanging -dead on the Cross, darkness over the whole earth. One can desire -nothing in this picture--the grand, sweet calm of the dead face, calm -and satisfied amidst all the traces of anguish, the real, livid flesh, -the thorough mastery with which the whole form is rendered, and the -isolation of the supreme sufferer, make a picture that haunts one like -a remembrance of a friend's death-bed. - -_April 12 (Monday)._--After reading Anna Mary Howitt's book on Munich -and Overbeck on Greek art, we turned out into the delicious sunshine -to walk in the Theresien Wiese, and have our first look at the -colossal "Bavaria," the greatest work of Schwanthaler. Delightful it -was to get away from the houses into this breezy meadow, where we -heard the larks singing above us. The sun was still too high in the -west for us to look with comfort at the statue, except right in front -of it, where it eclipsed the sun; and this front view is the only -satisfactory one. The outline made by the head and arm on a side view -is almost painfully ugly. But in front, looking up to the beautiful, -calm face, the impression it produces is sublime. I have never seen -anything, even in ancient sculpture, of a more awful beauty than this -dark, colossal head, looking out from a background of pure, pale-blue -sky. We mounted the platform to have a view of her back, and then -walking forward, looked to our right hand and saw the snow-covered -Alps! Sight more to me than all the art in Munich, though I love the -_art_ nevertheless. The great, wide-stretching earth and the -all-embracing sky--the birthright of us all--are what I care most to -look at. And I feel intensely the new beauty of the sky here. The blue -is so exquisitely clear, and the wide streets give one such a broad -canopy of sky. I felt more inspirited by our walk to the Theresien -Platz than by any pleasure we have had in Munich. - -_April 16._--On Wednesday we walked to the Theresien Wiese to look at -the "Bavaria" by sunset, but a shower came on and drove us to take -refuge in a pretty house built near the Ruhmeshalle, whereby we were -gainers, for we saw a charming family group: a mother with her three -children--the eldest a boy with his book, the second a three-year-old -maiden, the third a sweet baby-girl of a year and a half; two dogs, -one a mixture of the setter and pointer, the other a turn-spit; and a -relation or servant ironing. The baby cried at the sight of G. in -beard and spectacles, but kept her eyes turning towards him from her -mother's lap, every now and then seeming to have overcome her fears, -and then bursting out crying anew. At last she got down and lifted the -table-cloth to peep at his legs, as if to see the monster's nether -parts. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 17th April, 1858.] - -We have been just to take a sip at the two Pinacotheks and at the -Glyptothek. At present the Rubens Saal is what I most long to return -to. Rubens gives me more pleasure than any other painter, whether that -is right or wrong. To be sure, I have not seen so many pictures, and -pictures of so high a rank, by any other great master. I feel sure -that when I have seen as much of Raphael I shall like him better; but -at present Rubens, more than any one else, makes me feel that painting -is a great art, and that he was a great artist. His are such real, -breathing men and women, moved by passions, not mincing and -grimacing, and posing in mere aping of passion! What a grand, -glowing, forceful thing life looks in his pictures--the men such -grand-bearded, grappling beings, fit to do the work of the world; the -women such real mothers. We stayed at Nürnberg only twenty-four hours, -and I felt sad to leave it so soon. A pity the place became -Protestant, so that there is only one Catholic church where one can go -in and out as one would. We turned into the famous St. Sebald's for a -minute, where a Protestant clergyman was reading in a cold, formal way -under the grand Gothic arches. Then we went to the Catholic church, -the Frauen-Kirche, where the organ and voices were giving forth a -glorious mass; and we stood with a feeling of brotherhood among the -standing congregation till the last note of the organ had died out. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_April 23._--Not being well enough to write, we determined to spend -our morning at the Glyptothek and Pinacothek. A glorious morning--all -sunshine and blue sky. We went to the Glyptothek first, and delighted -ourselves anew with the "Sleeping Faun," the "Satyr and Bacchus," and -the "Laughing Faun" (Fauno colla Macchia). Looked at the two young -satyrs reposing with the pipe in their hands--one of them charming in -the boyish, good-humored beauty of the face, but both wanting finish -in the limbs, which look almost as if they could be produced by a -turning-machine. But the conception of this often-repeated figure is -charming: it would make a garden seem more peaceful in the sunshine. -Looked at the old Silenus too, which is excellent. I delight in these -figures, full of droll animation, flinging some nature, in its broad -freedom, in the eyes of small-mouthed, mincing narrowness. - -We went into the modern Saal also, glancing on our way at the -Cornelius frescoes, which seem to me stiff and hideous. An Adonis, by -Thorwaldsen, is very beautiful. - -Then to the Pinacothek, where we looked at Albert Dürer's portrait -again, and many other pictures, among which I admired a group by -Jordaens: "A satyr eating, while a peasant shows him that he can blow -hot and cold at the same time;" the old grandmother nursing the child, -the father with the key in his hand, with which he has been amusing -baby, looking curiously at the satyr, the handsome wife, still more -eager in her curiosity, the quiet cow, the little boy, the dog and -cat--all are charmingly conceived. - -_April 24._--As we were reading this afternoon Herr Oldenbourg came -in, invited us to go to his house on Tuesday, and chatted pleasantly -for an hour. He talked of Kaulbach, whom he has known very intimately, -being the publisher of the "Reineke Fuchs." The picture of the "Hunnen -Schlacht" was the first of Kaulbach's on a great scale. It created a -sensation, and the critics began to call it a "Weltgeschichtliches -Bild." Since then Kaulbach has been seduced into the complex, -wearisome, symbolical style, which makes the frescoes at Berlin -enormous puzzles. - -When we had just returned from our drive in the Englische Garten, -Bodenstedt pleasantly surprised us by presenting himself. He is a -charming man, and promises to be a delightful acquaintance for us in -this strange town. He chatted pleasantly with us for half an hour, -telling us that he is writing a work, in five volumes, on the -"Contemporaries of Shakspeare," and indicating the nature of his -treatment of the Shakspearian drama--which is historical and -analytical. Presently he proposed that we should adjourn to his house -and have tea with him; and so we turned out all together in the bright -moonlight, and enjoyed his pleasant chat until ten o'clock. His wife -was not at home, but we were admitted to see the three sleeping -children--one a baby about a year and a half old, a lovely waxen -thing. He gave the same account of Kaulbach as we had heard from -Oldenbourg; spoke of Genelli as superior in genius, though he has not -the fortune to be recognized; recited some of Hermann Lingg's poetry, -and spoke enthusiastically of its merits. There was not a word of -detraction about any one--nothing to jar on one's impression of him as -a refined, noble-hearted man. - -_April 27._--This has been a red-letter day. In the morning Professor -Wagner took us over his "Petrifacten Sammlung," giving us interesting -explanations; and before we left him we were joined by Professor -Martius, an animated, clever man, who talked admirably, and invited us -to his house. Then we went to Kaulbach's studio, talked with him, and -saw with especial interest the picture he is preparing as a present to -the New Museum. In the evening, after walking in the Theresien Wiese, -we went to Herr Oldenbourg's, and met Liebig the chemist, Geibel and -Heyse the poets, and Carrière, the author of a work on the -Reformation. Liebig is charming, with well-cut features, a low, quiet -voice, and gentle manners. It was touching to see his hands, the nails -black from the roots, the skin all grimed. - -Heyse is like a painter's poet, ideally beautiful; rather brilliant in -his talk, and altogether pleasing. Geibel is a man of rather coarse -texture, with a voice like a kettledrum, and a steady determination to -deliver his opinions on every subject that turned up. But there was a -good deal of ability in his remarks. - -_April 30._--After calling on Frau Oldenbourg, and then at Professor -Bodenstedt's, where we played with his charming children for ten -minutes, we went to the theatre to hear Prince Radziwill's music to -the "Faust." I admired especially the earlier part, the Easter morning -song of the spirits, the Beggar's song, and other things, until after -the scene in Auerbach's cellar, which is set with much humor and -fancy. But the scene between Faust and Marguerite is bad--"Meine Ruh -ist hin" quite pitiable, and the "König im Thule" not good. Gretchen's -second song, in which she implores help of the Schmerzensreiche, -touched me a good deal. - -_May 1._--In the afternoon Bodenstedt called, and we agreed to spend -the evening at his house--a delightful evening. Professor Löher, -author of "Die Deutschen in America," and another much younger -_Gelehrter_, whose name I did not seize, were there. - -_May 2._--Still rainy and cold. We went to the Pinacothek, and looked -at the old pictures in the first and second Saal. There are some very -bad and some fine ones by Albert Dürer: of the latter, a full length -figure of the Apostle Paul, with the head of Mark beside him, in a -listening attitude, is the one that most remains with me. There is a -very striking "Adoration of the Magi," by Johannes van Eyck, with much -merit in the coloring, perspective, and figures. Also, "Christ -carrying his Cross," by Albert Dürer, is striking. "A woman raised -from the dead by the imposition of the Cross" is a very elaborate -composition, by Böhms, in which the faces are of first-rate -excellence. - -In the evening we went to the opera and saw the "Nord Stern." - -_May 10._--Since Wednesday I have had a wretched cold and cough, and -been otherwise ill, but I have had several pleasures nevertheless. On -Friday, Bodenstedt called with Baron Schack to take us to Genelli's, -the artist of whose powers Bodenstedt had spoken to us with -enthusiastic admiration. The result to us was nothing but -disappointment; the sketches he showed us seemed to us quite destitute -of any striking merit. On Sunday we dined with Liebig, and spent the -evening at Bodenstedt's, where we met Professor Bluntschli, the -jurist, a very intelligent and agreeable man, and Melchior Meyr, a -maker of novels and tragedies, otherwise an ineffectual personage. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 10th May, 1858.] - -Our life here is very agreeable--full of pleasant novelty, although we -take things quietly and observe our working hours just as if we were -at Richmond. People are so kind to us that we feel already quite at -home, sip _baierisch Bier_ with great tolerance, and talk bad German -with more and more _aplomb_. The place, you know, swarms with -professors of all sorts--all _gründlich_, of course, and one or two of -them great. There is no one we are more charmed with than Liebig. Mr. -Lewes had no letter to him--we merely met him at an evening party; yet -he has been particularly kind to us, and seems to have taken a -benevolent liking to me. We dined with him and his family yesterday, -and saw how men of European celebrity may put up with greasy cooking -in private life. He lives in very good German style, however; has a -handsome suite of apartments, and makes a greater figure than most of -the professors. His manners are charming--easy, graceful, benignant, -and all the more conspicuous because he is so quiet and low spoken -among the loud talkers here. He looks best in his laboratory, with his -velvet cap on, holding little phials in his hand, and talking of -Kreatine and Kreatinine in the same easy way that well-bred ladies -talk scandal. He is one of the professors who has been called here by -the present king--Max--who seems to be a really sensible man among -kings; gets up at five o'clock in the morning to study, and every -Saturday evening has a gathering of the first men in science and -literature, that he may benefit by their opinions on important -subjects. At this _Tafel-rund_ every man is required to say honestly -what he thinks; every one may contradict every one else; and if the -king suspects any one of a polite insincerity, the too polished man is -invited no more. Liebig, the three poets--Geibel, Heyse, and -Bodenstedt--and Professor Löher, a writer of considerable mark, are -always at the _Tafel-rund_ as an understood part of their functions; -the rest are invited according to the king's direction. Bodenstedt is -one of our best friends here--enormously instructed, after the fashion -of Germans, but not at all stupid with it. - -We were at the Siebolds' last night to meet a party of celebrities, -and, what was better, to see the prettiest little picture of married -life--the great comparative anatomist (Siebold) seated at the piano in -his spectacles playing the difficult accompaniments to Schubert's -songs, while his little round-faced wife sang them with much taste and -feeling. They are not young. Siebold is gray, and probably more than -fifty; his wife perhaps nearly forty; and it is all the prettier to -see their admiration of each other. She said to Mr. Lewes, when he -was speaking of her husband, "Ja, er ist ein netter Mann, nicht -wahr?"[2] - -We take the art in very small draughts at present--the German hours -being difficult to adjust to our occupations. We are obliged to dine -at _one!_ and of course when we are well enough must work till then. -Two hours afterwards all the great public exhibitions are closed, -except the churches. I _cannot_ admire much of the modern German art. -It is for the most part elaborate lifelessness. Kaulbach's great -compositions are huge charades; and I have seen nothing of his equal -to his own "Reineke Fuchs." It is an unspeakable relief, after staring -at one of his pictures--the "Destruction of Jerusalem," for example, -which is a regular child's puzzle of symbolism--to sweep it all out of -one's mind--which is very easily done, for nothing grasps you in -it--and call up in your imagination a little Gerard Dow that you have -seen hanging in a corner of one of the cabinets. We have been to his -_atelier_, and he has given us a proof of his "Irrenhaus,"[3] a -strange sketch, which he made years ago--very terrible and powerful. -He is certainly a man of great faculty, but is, I imagine, carried out -of his true path by the ambition to produce "Weltgeschichtliche -Bilder," which the German critics may go into raptures about. His -"Battle of the Huns," which is the most impressive of all his great -pictures, was the first of the series. He painted it simply under the -inspiration of the grand myth about the spirits of the dead warriors -rising and carrying on the battle in the air. Straightway the German -critics began to smoke furiously that vile tobacco which they call -_æsthetik_, declared it a "Weltgeschichtliches Bild," and ever since -Kaulbach has been concocting these pictures in which, instead of -taking a single moment of reality and trusting to the infinite -symbolism that belongs to all nature, he attempts to give you at one -view a succession of events--each represented by some group which may -mean "Whichever you please, my little dear." - -I must tell you something else which interested me greatly, as the -first example of the kind that has come under my observation. Among -the awful mysterious names, hitherto known only as marginal references -whom we have learned to clothe with ordinary flesh and blood, is -Professor Martius (Spix and Martius), now an old man, and rich after -the manner of being rich in Germany. He has a very sweet wife--one of -those women who remain pretty and graceful in old age--and a family of -three daughters and one son, all more than grown up. I learned that -she is Catholic, that her daughters are Catholic, and her husband and -son Protestant--the children having been so brought up according to -the German law in cases of mixed marriage. I can't tell you how -interesting it was to me to hear her tell of her experience in -bringing up her son conscientiously as a Protestant, and then to hear -her and her daughters speak of the exemplary priests who had shown -them such tender fatherly care when they were in trouble. They are the -most harmonious, affectionate family we have seen; and one delights in -such a triumph of human goodness over the formal logic of theorists. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_May 13._--Geibel came and brought me the two volumes of his poems, -and stayed chatting for an hour. We spent the evening quietly at -home. - -_May 14._--After writing, we went for an hour to the Pinacothek, and -looked at some of the Flemish pictures. In the afternoon we called at -Liebig's, and he went a long walk with us--the long chain of snowy -mountains in the hazy distance. After supper I read Geibel's "Junius -Lieder." - -_May 15._--Read the 18th chapter of "Adam Bede" to G. He was much -pleased with it. Then we walked in the Englische Garten, and heard the -band, and saw the Germans drinking their beer. The park was lovely. - -_May 16._--We were to have gone to Grosshesselohe with the Siebolds, -and went to Frühstück with them at 12, as a preliminary. Bodenstedt -was there to accompany us. But heavy rain came on, and we spent the -time till 5 o'clock in talking, hearing music, and listening to -Bodenstedt's "Epic on the destruction of Novgorod." About seven, -Liebig came to us and asked us to spend the evening at his house. We -went and found Voelderndorff, Bischoff and his wife, and Carrière and -Frau. - -_May 20._--As I had a feeble head this morning, we gave up the time to -seeing pictures, and went to the _Neue Pinacothek_. A "Lady with -Fruit, followed by three Children," pleased us more than ever. It is -by Wichmann. The two interiors of Westminster Abbey by Ainmueller -admirable. Unable to admire Rothmann's Greek Landscapes, which have a -room to themselves. Ditto Kaulbach's "Zerstörung von Jerusalem." - -We went for the first time to see the collection of porcelain -paintings, and had really a rich treat. Many of them are admirable -copies of great pictures. The sweet "Madonna and Child," in Raphael's -early manner; a "Holy Family," also in the early manner, with a -Madonna the exact type of the St. Catherine; and a "Holy Family" in -the later manner, something like the Madonna Delia Sedia, are all -admirably copied. So are two of Andrea del Sarto's--full of tenderness -and calm piety. - -_May 23._--Through the cold wind and white dust we went to the -Jesuits' Church to hear the music. It is a fine church in the -Renaissance style, the vista terminating with the great altar very -fine, with all the crowd of human beings covering the floor. Numbers -of men! - -In the evening we went to Bodenstedt's, and saw his wife for the first -time--a delicate creature who sang us some charming Bavarian -_Volkslieder_. On Monday we spent the evening at Löher's--Baumgarten, -_ein junger Historiker_, Oldenbourg, and the Bodenstedts meeting us. - -Delicious _Mai-trank_, made by putting the fresh _Waldmeister_--a -cruciferous plant with a small white flower, something like Lady's -Bedstraw--into mild wine, together with sugar, and occasionally other -things. - -_May 26._--This evening I have read aloud "Adam Bede," chapter xx. We -have begun Ludwig's "Zwischen Himmel und Erde." - -_May 27._--We called on the Siebolds to-day, then walked in the -Theresien Wiese, and saw the mountains gloriously. Spent the evening -at Prof. Martius's, where Frau Erdl played Beethoven's Andante and the -Moonlight Sonata admirably. - -_May 28._--We heard from Blackwood this morning. Good news in general, -but the sale of our books not progressing at present. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th May, 1858.] - -It is invariably the case that when people discover certain points of -coincidence in a fiction with facts that happen to have come to their -knowledge, they believe themselves able to furnish a key to the whole. -That is amusing enough to the author, who knows from what widely -sundered portions of experience--from what a combination of subtle, -shadowy suggestions, with certain actual objects and events, his story -has been formed. It would be a very difficult thing for me to furnish -a key to my stories myself. But where there is no exact memory of the -past, any story with a few remembered points of character or of -incident may pass for a history. - -We pay for our sight of the snowy mountains here by the most -capricious of climates. English weather is steadfast compared with -Munich weather. You go to dinner here in summer and come away from it -in winter. You are languid among trees and feathery grass at one end -of the town, and are shivering in a hurricane of dust at the other. -This inconvenience of climate, with the impossibility of dining (well) -at any other hour than one o'clock is not friendly to the -stomach--that great seat of the imagination. And I shall never advise -an author to come to Munich except _ad interim_. The great Saal, full -of Rubens's pictures, is worth studying; and two or three precious -bits of sculpture, and the sky on a fine day, always puts one in a -good temper--it is so deliciously clear and blue, making even the -ugliest buildings look beautiful by the light it casts on them. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_May 30._--We heard "William Tell"--a great enjoyment to me. - -_June 1._--To Grosshesselohe with a party. Siebold and his wife, Prof. -Löher, Fräulein von List, Fräulein Thiersch, Frau von Schaden and her -pretty daughter. It was very pretty to see Siebold's delight in -nature--the Libellulæ, the Blindworm, the crimson and black Cicadæ, -the Orchidæ. The strange whim of Schwanthaler's--the Burg von -Schwaneck--was our destination. - -_June 10._--For the last week my work has been rather scanty owing to -bodily ailments. I am at the end of chapter xxi., and am this morning -going to begin chapter xxii. In the interim our chief pleasure had -been a trip to Starnberg by ourselves. - -_June 13._--This morning at last free from headache, and able to -write. I am entering on my history of the birthday with some fear and -trembling. This evening we walked, between eight and half-past nine, -in the Wiese, looking towards Nymphenburg. The light delicious--the -west glowing; the faint crescent moon and Venus pale above it; the -larks filling the air with their songs, which seemed only a little way -above the ground. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 14th June, 1858.] - -Words are very clumsy things. I like less and less to handle my -friends' sacred feelings with them. For even those who call themselves -intimate know very little about each other--hardly ever know just -_how_ a sorrow is felt, and hurt each other by their very attempts at -sympathy or consolation. We can bear no hand on our bruises. And so I -feel I have no right to say that I know _how_ the loss of your -mother--"the only person who ever leaned on you"--affects you. I only -know that it must make a deeply-felt crisis in your life, and I know -that the better from having felt a great deal about my own mother and -father, and from having the keenest remembrance of all that -experience. But for this very reason I know that I can't measure what -the event is to you; and if I were near you I should only kiss you and -say nothing. People talk of the feelings dying out as one gets older; -but at present my experience is just the contrary. All the serious -relations of life become so much more real to me--pleasure seems so -slight a thing, and sorrow and duty and endurance so great. I find the -least bit of real human life touch me in a way it never did when I was -younger. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_June 17._--This evening G. left me to set out on his journey to -Hofwyl to see his boys. - -_June 18._--Went with the Siebolds to Nymphenburg; called at Professor -Knapp's, and saw Liebig's sister, Frau Knapp--a charming, -gentle-mannered woman, with splendid dark eyes. - -_June 22._--Tired of loneliness, I went to the Frau von Siebold, -chatted with her over tea, and then heard some music. - -_June 23._--My kind little friend (Frau von Siebold) brought me a -lovely bouquet of roses this morning, and invited me to go with them -in the evening to the theatre to see the new comedy, the "Drei -Candidaten," which I did: a miserably poor affair. - -_June 24._--G. came in the evening, at 10 o'clock--after I had -suffered a great deal in thinking of the possibilities that might -prevent him from coming. - -_June 25._--This morning I have read to G. all I have written during -his absence, and he approves it more than I expected. - -_July 7._--This morning we left Munich, setting out in the rain to -Rosenheim by railway. The previous day we dined, and sat a few hours -with the dear, charming Siebolds, and parted from them with -regret--glad to leave Munich, but not to leave the friends who had -been so kind to us. For a week before I had been ill--almost a luxury, -because of the love that tended me. But the general languor and sense -of depression produced by Munich air and way of life was no luxury, -and I was glad to say a last good-bye to the quaint pepper-boxes of -the Frauen-Kirche. - -[Sidenote: Munich to Dresden, 1858.] - -At the Rosenheim station we got into the longest of omnibuses, which -took us to the _Gasthof_, where we were to dine and lunch, and then -mount into the _Stell-wagen_, which would carry us to Prien, on the -borders of the Chiem See. Rosenheim is a considerable and rather -quaint-looking town, interrupted by orchards and characterized in a -passing glance by the piazzas that are seen everywhere fronting the -shops. It has a grand view of the mountains, still a long way off. The -afternoon was cloudy, with intermittent rain, and did not set off the -landscape. Nevertheless, I had much enjoyment in this four or five -hours' journey to Prien. The little villages, with picturesque, wide -gables, projecting roofs, and wooden galleries--with abundant -orchards--with felled trunks of trees and stacks of fir-wood, telling -of the near neighborhood of the forest--were what I liked best in this -ride. - -We had no sooner entered the steamboat to cross the Chiem See than it -began to rain heavily, and I kept below, only peeping now and then at -the mountains and the green islands, with their monasteries. From the -opposite bank of the See we had a grand view of the mountains, all -dark purple under the clouded sky. Before us was a point where the -nearer mountains opened and allowed us a view of their more distant -brethren receding in a fainter and fainter blue--a marsh in the -foreground, where the wild-ducks were flying. Our drive from this end -of the lake to Traunstein was lovely--through fertile, cultivated -land, everywhere married to bits of forest. The green meadow or the -golden corn sloped upward towards pine woods, or the bushy greenness -seemed to run with wild freedom far out into long promontories among -the ripening crops. Here and there the country had the aspect of a -grand park from the beautiful intermingling of wood and field, without -any line of fence. - -Then came the red sunset, and it was dark when we entered Traunstein, -where we had to pass the night. Among our companions in the day's -journey had been a long-faced, cloaked, slow and solemn man, whom -George called the author of "Eugene Aram," and I Don Quixote, he was -so given to serious remonstrance with the vices he met on the road. We -had been constantly deceived in the length of our stages--on the -principle, possibly, of keeping up our spirits. The next morning there -was the same tenderness shown about the starting of the _Stell-wagen_: -at first it was to start at seven, then at half-past, then when -another _Wagen_ came with its cargo of passengers. This was too much -for Don Quixote; and when the stout, red-faced _Wirth_ had given him -still another answer about the time of starting, he began, in slow and -monotonous indignation, "Warum lügen sie so? Sie werden machen dass -kein Mensch diesen Weg kommen wird,"[4] etc. Whereupon the _Wirth_ -looked red-faced, stout, and unwashed as before, without any -perceptible expression of face supervening. - -The next morning the weather looked doubtful, and so we gave up -going to the König See for that day, determining to ramble on the -Mönchsberg and enjoy the beauties of Salzburg instead. The morning -brightened as the sun ascended, and we had a delicious ramble on the -Mönchsberg--looking down on the lovely, peaceful plain, below the -grand old Untersberg, where the sleeping Kaiser awaits his -resurrection in that "good time coming;" watching the white mist -floating along the sides of the dark mountains, and wandering under -the shadow of the plantation, where the ground was green with -luxuriant hawkweed, as at Nymphenburg, near Munich. The outline of the -castle and its rock is remarkably fine, and reminded us of Gorey in -Jersey. But we had a still finer view of it when we drove out to -Aigen. On our way thither we had sight of the Watzmann, the highest -mountain in Bavarian Tyrol--emerging from behind the great shoulder of -the Untersberg. It was the only mountain within sight that had snow on -its summit. Once at Aigen, and descended from our carriage, we had a -delicious walk, up and up, along a road of continual steps, by the -course of the mountain-stream, which fell in a series of cascades over -great heaps of bowlders; then back again, by a round-about way, to our -vehicle and home, enjoying the sight of old Watzmann again, and the -grand mass of Salzburg Castle on its sloping rock. - -We encountered a _table-d'hôte_ acquaintance who had been to -Berchtesgaden and the König See, driven through the salt-mine, and had -had altogether a perfect expedition on this day, when we had not had -the courage to set off. Never mind! we had enjoyed our day. - -We thought it wisest the next morning to renounce the König See, and -pursue our way to Ischl by the _Stell-wagen_. We were fortunate enough -to secure two places in the _coupé_, and I enjoyed greatly the quiet -outlook, from my comfortable corner, on the changing landscape--green -valley and hill and mountain; here and there a picturesque Tyrolese -village, and once or twice a fine lake. - -The greatest charm of charming Ischl is the crystal Traun, surely the -purest of streams. Away again early the next morning in the _coupé_ of -the _Stell-wagen_, through a country more and more beautiful--high, -woody mountains sloping steeply down to narrow, fertile, green -valleys, the road winding amongst them so as to show a perpetual -variety of graceful outlines where the sloping mountains met in the -distance before us. As we approached the Gmunden See the masses became -grander and more rocky, and the valley opened wider. It was Sunday, -and when we left the _Stell-wagen_ we found quite a crowd in Sunday -clothes standing round the place of embarkation for the steamboat that -was to take us along the lake. Gmunden is another pretty place at the -head of the lake, but apart from this one advantage inferior to Ischl. -We got on to the slowest of railways here, getting down at the station -near the falls of the Traun, where we dined at the pleasant inn, and -fed our eyes on the clear river again hurrying over the rocks. Behind -the great fall there is a sort of inner chamber, where the water -rushes perpetually over a stone altar. At the station, as we waited -for the train, it began to rain, and the good-natured looking woman -asked us to take shelter in her little station-house--a single room -not more than eight feet square, where she lived with her husband and -two little girls all the year round. The good couple looked more -contented than half the well-lodged people in the world. He used to be -a _drozchky_ driver; and after that life of uncertain gains, which had -many days quite penniless and therefore dinnerless, he found his -present position quite a pleasant lot. - -On to Linz, when the train came, gradually losing sight of the -Tyrolean mountains and entering the great plain of the Danube. Our -voyage the next day in the steamboat was unfortunate: we had incessant -rain till we had passed all the finest parts of the banks. But when we -had landed, the sun shone out brilliantly, and so our entrance into -Vienna, through the long suburb, with perpetual shops and odd names -(Prschka, for example, which a German in our omnibus thought not at -all remarkable for consonants!) was quite cheerful. We made our way -through the city and across the bridge to the Weissen Ross, which was -full; so we went to the Drei Rosen, which received us. The sunshine -was transient; it began to rain again when we went out to look at St. -Stephen's, but the delight of seeing that glorious building could not -be marred by a little rain. The tower of this church is worth going to -Vienna to see. - -The aspect of the city is that of an inferior Paris; the shops have an -elegance that one sees nowhere else in Germany; the streets are clean, -the houses tall and stately. The next morning we had a view of the -town from the Belvedere Terrace; St. Stephen's sending its exquisite -tower aloft from among an almost level forest of houses and -inconspicuous churches. It is a magnificent collection of pictures at -the Belvedere; but we were so unfortunate as only to be able to see -them once, the gallery being shut up on the Wednesday; and so, many -pictures have faded from my memory, even of those which I had time to -distinguish. Titian's Danae was one that delighted us; besides this I -remember Giorgione's Lucrezia Borgia, with the cruel, cruel eyes; the -remarkable head of Christ; a proud Italian face in a red garment, I -think by Correggio; and two heads by Denner, the most wonderful of all -his wonderful heads that I have seen. There is an Ecce Homo by Titian -which is thought highly of, and is splendid in composition and color, -but the Christ is abject, the Pontius Pilate vulgar: amazing that they -could have been painted by the same man who conceived and executed the -Christo della Moneta! There are huge Veroneses, too, splendid and -interesting. - -The Liechtenstein collection we saw twice, and that remains with me -much more distinctly--the room full of Rubens's history of Decius, -more magnificent even than he usually is in color; then his glorious -Assumption of the Virgin, and opposite to it the portraits of his two -boys; the portrait of his lovely wife going to the bath with brown -drapery round her; and the fine portraits by Vandyke, especially the -pale, delicate face of Wallenstein, with blue eyes and pale auburn -locks. - -Another great pleasure we had at Vienna--next after the sight of St. -Stephen's and the pictures--was a visit to Hyrtl, the anatomist, who -showed us some of his wonderful preparations, showing the vascular and -nervous systems in the lungs, liver, kidneys, and intestinal canal of -various animals. He told us the deeply interesting story of the loss -of his fortune in the Vienna revolution of '48. He was compelled by -the revolutionists to attend on the wounded for three days' running. -When at last he came to his house to change his clothes he found -nothing but four bare walls! His fortune in Government bonds was -burned along with the house, as well as all his precious collection -of anatomical preparations, etc. He told us that since that great -shock his nerves have been so susceptible that he sheds tears at the -most trifling events, and has a depression of spirits which often -keeps him silent for days. He only received a very slight sum from -Government in compensation for his loss. - -One evening we strolled in the Volksgarten and saw the "Theseus -killing the Centaur," by Canova, which stands in a temple built for -its reception. But the garden to be best remembered by us was that at -Schönbrunn, a labyrinth of stately avenues with their terminal -fountains. We amused ourselves for some time with the menagerie here, -the lions especially, who lay in dignified sleepiness till the -approach of feeding-time made them open eager eyes and pace -impatiently about their dens. - -We set off from Vienna in the evening with a family of Wallachians as -our companions, one of whom, an elderly man, could speak no German, -and began to address G. in Wallachian, as if that were the common -language of all the earth. We managed to sleep enough for a night's -rest, in spite of intense heat and our cramped positions, and arrived -in very good condition at Prague in the fine morning. - -Out we went after breakfast, that we might see as much as possible of -the grand old city in one day; and our morning was occupied chiefly in -walking about and getting views of striking exteriors. The most -interesting things we saw were the Jewish burial-ground (the Alter -Friedhof) and the old synagogue. The Friedhof is unique--with a wild -growth of grass and shrubs and trees, and a multitude of quaint tombs -in all sorts of positions, looking like the fragments of a great -building, or as if they had been shaken by an earthquake. We saw a -lovely dark-eyed Jewish child here, which we were glad to kiss in all -its dirt. Then came the sombre old synagogue, with its smoked groins, -and lamp forever burning. An intelligent Jew was our _cicerone_, and -read us some Hebrew out of the precious old book of the law. - -After dinner we took a carriage and went across the wonderful bridge -of St. Jean Nepomuck, with its avenue of statues, towards the -Radschin--an ugly, straight-lined building, but grand in effect from -its magnificent site, on the summit of an eminence crowded with old, -massive buildings. The view from this eminence is one of the most -impressive in the world--perhaps as much from one's associations with -Prague as from its visible grandeur and antiquity. The cathedral close -to the Radschin is a melancholy object on the outside--left with -unfinished sides like scars. The interior is rich, but sadly confused -in its ornamentation, like so many of the grand old churches--hideous -altars of bastard style disgracing exquisite Gothic columns--cruellest -of all in St. Stephen's at Vienna! - -We got our view from a _Damen Stift_[5] (for ladies of family), -founded by Maria Theresa, whose blond beauty looked down on us from a -striking portrait. Close in front of us, sloping downwards, was a -pleasant orchard; then came the river, with its long, long bridge and -grand gateway; then the sober-colored city, with its surrounding plain -and distant hills. In the evening we went to the theatre--a shabby, -ugly building--and heard Spohr's Jessonda. - -[Sidenote: Dresden, 1858.] - -The next morning early by railway to Dresden--a charming journey, for -it took us right through the Saxon Switzerland, with its castellated -rocks and firs. At four o'clock we were dining comfortably at the -Hotel de Pologne, and the next morning (Sunday) we secured our -lodgings--a whole apartment of six rooms, all to ourselves, for 18_s._ -per week! By nine o'clock we were established in our new home, where -we were to enjoy six weeks' quiet work, undisturbed by visits and -visitors. And so we did. We were as happy as princes--are not--George -writing at the far corner of the great _salon_, I at my _Schrank_ in -my own private room, with closed doors. Here I wrote the latter half -of the second volume of "Adam Bede" in the long mornings that our -early hours--rising at six o'clock--secured us. Three mornings in the -week we went to the Picture Gallery from twelve till one. The first -day we went was a Sunday, when there is always a crowd in the Madonna -Cabinet. I sat down on the sofa opposite the picture for an instant, -but a sort of awe, as if I were suddenly in the living presence of -some glorious being, made my heart swell too much for me to remain -comfortably, and we hurried out of the room. On subsequent mornings we -always came in, the last minutes of our stay, to look at this -sublimest picture, and while the others, except the Christo della -Moneta and Holbein's Madonna, lost much of their first interest, this -became harder and harder to leave. Holbein's Madonna is very -exquisite--a divinely gentle, golden haired blonde, with eyes cast -down, in an attitude of unconscious, easy grace--the loveliest of all -the Madonnas in the Dresden Gallery except the Sistine. By the side -of it is a wonderful portrait by Holbein, which I especially enjoyed -looking at. It represents nothing more lofty than a plain, weighty man -of business, a goldsmith; but the eminently fine painting brings out -all the weighty, calm, good sense that lies in a first-rate character -of that order. - -We looked at the Zinsgroschen (Titian's), too, every day, and after -that at the great painter's Venus, fit for its purity and sacred -loveliness to hang in a temple with Madonnas. Palma's Venus, which -hangs near, was an excellent foil, because it is pretty and pure in -itself; but beside the Titian it is common and unmeaning. - -Another interesting case of comparison was that between the original -Zinsgroschen and a copy by an Italian painter, which hangs on the -opposite wall of the cabinet. This is considered a fine copy, and -would be a fine picture if one had never seen the original; but all -the finest effects are gone in the copy. - -The four large Correggios hanging together--the _Nacht_; the Madonna -with St. Sebastian, of the smiling graceful character, with the little -cherub riding astride a cloud; the Madonna with St. Hubert; and a -third Madonna, very grave and sweet--painted when he was -nineteen--remained with me very vividly. They are full of life, though -the life is not of a high order; and I should have surmised, without -any previous knowledge, that the painter was among the first masters -of _technique_. The Magdalen is sweet in conception, but seems to have -less than the usual merit of Correggio's pictures as to painting. A -picture we delighted in extremely was one of Murillo's--St. Rodriguez, -fatally wounded, receiving the Crown of Martyrdom. The attitude and -expression are sublime, and strikingly distinguished from all other -pictures of saints I have ever seen. He stands erect in his scarlet -and white robes, with face upturned, the arms held simply downward, -but the hands held open in a receptive attitude. The silly cupid-like -angel holding the martyr's crown in the corner spoils all. - -I did not half satisfy my appetite for the rich collection of Flemish -and Dutch pictures here--for Teniers, Ryckart, Gerard Dow, Terburg, -Mieris, and the rest. Rembrandt looks great here in his portraits, but -I like none of the other pictures by him; the Ganymede is an offence. -Guido is superlatively odious in his Christs, in agonized or ecstatic -attitudes--much about the level of the accomplished London beggar. -Dear, grand old Rubens does not show to great advantage, except in the -charming half-length Diana returning from Hunting, the Love Garden, -and the sketch of his Judgment of Paris. - -The most popular Murillo, and apparently one of the most popular -Madonnas in the gallery, is the simple, sad mother with her child, -without the least divinity in it, suggesting a dead or sick father, -and imperfect nourishment in a garret. In that light it is touching. A -fellow-traveller in the railway to Leipzig told us he had seen this -picture in 1848 with nine bullet holes in it! The firing from the -hotel of the Stadt Rom bore directly on the Picture Gallery. - -Veronese is imposing in one of the large rooms--the Adoration of the -Magi, the Marriage at Cana, the Finding of Moses, etc., making grand -masses of color on the lower part of the walls; but to me he is -ignoble as a painter of human beings. - -It was a charming life--our six weeks at Dresden. There were the -open-air concerts at the Grosser Garten and the Brühl'sche Terrace; -the Sommer Theater, where we saw our favorite comic actor Merbitz; the -walks into the open country, with the grand stretch of sky all round; -the Zouaves, with their wondrous make-ups as women; Räder, the -humorous comedian at the Sink'sche Bad Theater; our quiet afternoons -in our pleasant _salon_--all helping to make an agreeable fringe to -the quiet working time. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 28th July, 1858.] - -Since I wrote to you last I have lived through a great deal of -exquisite pleasure. First an attack of illness during our last week at -Munich, which I reckon among my pleasures because I was nursed so -tenderly. Then a fortnight's unspeakable journey to Salzburg, Ischl, -Linz, Vienna, Prague, and finally Dresden, which is our last -resting-place before returning to Richmond, where we hope to be at the -beginning of September. Dresden is a proper climax; for all other art -seems only a preparation for feeling the superiority of the Madonna di -San Sisto the more. We go three days a week to the gallery, and every -day--after looking at other pictures--we go to take a parting draught -of delight at Titian's Zinsgroschen and the _Einzige_ Madonna. In -other respects I am particularly enjoying our residence here--we are -so quiet, having determined to know no one and give ourselves up to -work. We both feel a happy change in our health from leaving Munich, -though I am reconciled to our long stay there by the fact that Mr. -Lewes gained so much from his intercourse with the men of science -there, especially Bischoff, Siebold, and Harless. I remembered your -passion for autographs, and asked Liebig for his on your account. I -was not sure that you would care enough about the handwriting of -other luminaries; for there is such a thing as being European and yet -obscure--a fixed star visible only from observatories. - -You will be interested to hear that I saw Strauss at Munich. He came -for a week's visit before we left. I had a quarter of an hour's chat -with him alone, and was very agreeably impressed by him. He looked -much more serene, and his face had a far sweeter expression, than when -I saw him in that dumb way at Cologne. He speaks with very choice -words, like a man strictly truthful in the use of language. Will you -undertake to tell Mrs. Call from me that he begged me to give his -kindest remembrances to her and to her father,[6] of whom he spoke -with much interest and regard as his earliest English friend? I dare -not begin to write about other things or people that I have seen in -these crowded weeks. They must wait till I have you by my side again, -which I hope will happen some day. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -From Dresden, one showery day at the end of August, we set off to -Leipzig, the first stage on our way home. Here we spent two nights; had -a glimpse of the old town with its fine market; dined at Brockhaus's; -saw the picture-gallery, carrying away a lasting delight in Calame's -great landscapes and De Dreux's dogs, which are far better worth seeing -than De la Roche's "Napoleon at Fontainebleau"--considered the glory of -the gallery; went with Victor Carus to his museum and saw an Amphioxus; -and finally spent the evening at an open-air concert in Carus's -company. Early in the morning we set off by railway, and travelled -night and day till we reached home on the 2d September. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 5th Sept. 1858.] - -Will you not write to the author of "Thorndale" and express your -sympathy? He is a very diffident man, who would be susceptible to that -sort of fellowship; and one should give a gleam of happiness where it -is possible. I shall write you nothing worth reading for the next -three months, so here is an opportunity for you to satisfy a large -appetite for generous deeds. You can write to me a great many times -without getting anything worth having in return. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 6th Oct. 1858.] - -Thanks for the verses on Buckle. I'm afraid I feel a malicious delight -in them, for he is a writer who inspires me with a personal dislike; -not to put too fine a point on it, he impresses me as an irreligious, -conceited man. - -Long ago I had offered to write about Newman, but gave it up again. - - The second volume of "Adam Bede" had been sent to Blackwood - on 7th September, the third had followed two months later, - and there are the following entries in the Journal in - November: - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Nov. 1._--I have begun Carlyle's "Life of Frederic the Great," and -have also been thinking much of my own life to come. This is a moment -of suspense, for I am awaiting Blackwood's opinion and proposals -concerning "Adam Bede." - -_Nov. 4._--Received a letter from Blackwood containing warm praise of -my third volume, and offering £800 for the copyright of "Adam Bede" -for four years. I wrote to accept. - -_Nov. 10._--Wilkie Collins and Mr. Pigott came to dine with us after a -walk by the river. I was pleased with Wilkie Collins--there is a -sturdy uprightness about him that makes all opinion and all occupation -respectable. - -_Nov. 16._--Wrote the last word of "Adam Bede" and sent it to Mr. -Langford. _Jubilate._ - -[Sidenote: History of "Adam Bede."] - -The germ of "Adam Bede" was an anecdote told me by my Methodist Aunt -Samuel (the wife of my father's younger brother)--an anecdote from her -own experience. We were sitting together one afternoon during her -visit to me at Griff, probably in 1839 or 1840, when it occurred to -her to tell me how she had visited a condemned criminal--a very -ignorant girl, who had murdered her child and refused to confess; how -she had stayed with her praying through the night, and how the poor -creature at last broke out into tears and confessed her crime. My aunt -afterwards went with her in the cart to the place of execution; and -she described to me the great respect with which this ministry of hers -was regarded by the official people about the jail. The story, told by -my aunt with great feeling, affected me deeply, and I never lost the -impression of that afternoon and our talk together; but I believe I -never mentioned it, through all the intervening years, till something -prompted me to tell it to George in December, 1856, when I had begun -to write the "Scenes of Clerical Life." He remarked that the scene in -the prison would make a fine element in a story; and I afterwards -began to think of blending this and some other recollections of my -aunt in one story, with some points in my father's early life and -character. The problem of construction that remained was to make the -unhappy girl one of the chief _dramatis personæ_, and connect her with -the hero. At first I thought of making the story one of the series of -"Scenes," but afterwards, when several motives had induced me close -these with "Janet's Repentance," I determined on making what we always -called in our conversation "My Aunt's Story" the subject of a long -novel, which I accordingly began to write on the 22d October, 1857. - -The character of Dinah grew out of my recollections of my aunt, but -Dinah is not at all like my aunt, who was a very small, black-eyed -woman, and (as I was told, for I never heard her preach) very vehement -in her style of preaching. She had left off preaching when I knew her, -being probably sixty years old, and in delicate health; and she had -become, as my father told me, much more gentle and subdued than she -had been in the days of her active ministry and bodily strength, when -she could not rest without exhorting and remonstrating in season and -out of season. I was very fond of her, and enjoyed the few weeks of -her stay with me greatly. She was loving and kind to me, and I could -talk to her about my inward life, which was closely shut up from those -usually round me. I saw her only twice again, for much shorter -periods--once at her own home at Wirksworth, in Derbyshire, and once -at my father's last residence, Foleshill. - -The character of Adam and one or two incidents connected with him were -suggested by my father's early life; but Adam is not my father any -more than Dinah is my aunt. Indeed, there is not a single portrait in -Adam Bede--only the suggestions of experience wrought up into new -combinations. When I began to write it, the only elements I had -determined on, besides the character of Dinah, were the character of -Adam, his relation to Arthur Donnithorne, and their mutual relations -to Hetty--_i.e._, to the girl who commits child-murder--the scene in -the prison being, of course, the climax towards which I worked. -Everything else grew out of the characters and their mutual -relations. Dinah's ultimate relation to Adam was suggested by George, -when I had read to him the first part of the first volume: he was so -delighted with the presentation of Dinah, and so convinced that the -reader's interest would centre in her, that he wanted her to be the -principal figure at the last. I accepted the idea at once, and from -the end of the third chapter worked with it constantly in view. - -The first volume was written at Richmond, and given to Blackwood in -March. He expressed great admiration of its freshness and vividness, -but seemed to hesitate about putting it in the Magazine, which was the -form of publication he as well as myself had previously contemplated. -He still _wished_ to have it for the Magazine, but desired to know the -course of the story. At _present_ he saw nothing to prevent its -reception in "Maga," but he would like to see more. I am uncertain -whether his doubts rested solely on Hetty's relation to Arthur, or -whether they were also directed towards the treatment of Methodism by -the Church. I refused to tell my story beforehand, on the ground that -I would not have it judged apart from my _treatment_, which alone -determines the moral quality of art; and ultimately I proposed that -the notion of publication in "Maga" should be given up, and that the -novel should be published in three volumes at Christmas, if possible. -He assented. - -I began the second volume in the second week of my stay at Munich, -about the middle of April. While we were at Munich George expressed -his fear that Adam's part was too passive throughout the drama, and -that it was important for him to be brought into more direct collision -with Arthur. This doubt haunted me, and out of it grew the scene in -the wood between Arthur and Adam; the fight came to me as a -_necessity_ one night at the Munich opera, when I was listening to -"William Tell." Work was slow and interrupted at Munich, and when we -left I had only written to the beginning of the dance on the Birthday -Feast; but at Dresden I wrote uninterruptedly and with great enjoyment -in the long, quiet mornings, and there I nearly finished the second -volume--all, I think, but the last chapter, which I wrote here in the -old room at Richmond in the first week of September, and then sent the -MS. off to Blackwood. The opening of the third volume--Hetty's -journey--was, I think, written more rapidly than the rest of the book, -and was left without the slightest alteration of the first draught. -Throughout the book I have altered little; and the only cases I think -in which George suggested more than a verbal alteration, when I read -the MS. aloud to him, were the first scene at the Farm, and the scene -in the wood between Arthur and Adam, both of which he recommended me -to "space out" a little, which I did. - -When, on October 29, I had written to the end of the love-scene at the -Farm between Adam and Dinah, I sent the MS. to Blackwood, since the -remainder of the third volume could not affect the judgment passed on -what had gone before. He wrote back in warm admiration, and offered -me, on the part of the firm, £800 for four years' copyright. I -accepted the offer. The last words of the third volume were written -and despatched on their way to Edinburgh, November the 16th, and now -on the last day of the same month I have written this slight history -of my book. I love it very much, and am deeply thankful to have -written it, whatever the public may say to it--a result which is -still in darkness, for I have at present had only four sheets of the -proof. The book would have been published at Christmas, or rather -early in December, but that Bulwer's "What will he do with it?" was to -be published by Blackwood at that time, and it was thought that this -novel might interfere with mine. - - The manuscript of "Adam Bede" bears the following - inscription: "To my dear husband, George Henry Lewes, I give - the MS. of a work which would never have been written but for - the happiness which his love has conferred on my life." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th Nov. 1858.] - -I shall be much obliged if you will accept for me Tauchnitz's offer of -£30 for the English reprint of "Clerical Scenes." And will you also be -so good as to desire that Tauchnitz may register the book in Germany, -as I understand that is the only security against its being translated -without our knowledge; and I shudder at the idea of my books being -turned into hideous German by an incompetent translator. - -I return the proofs by to-day's post. The dialect must be toned down -all through in correcting the proofs, for I found it impossible to -keep it subdued enough in writing. I am aware that the spelling which -represents a dialect perfectly well to those who know it by the ear, -is likely to be unintelligible to others. I hope the sheets will come -rapidly and regularly now, for I dislike lingering, hesitating -processes. - -Your praise of my ending was very warming and cheering to me in the -foggy weather. I'm sure, if I have written well, your pleasant letters -have had something to do with it. Can anything be done in America for -"Adam Bede?" I suppose not--as my name is not known there. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Nov. 25._--We had a visit from Mr. Bray, who told us much that -interested us about Mr. Richard Congreve, and also his own affairs. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 26th Nov. 1858.] - -I am very grateful to you for sending me a few authentic words from -your own self. They are unspeakably precious to me. I mean that quite -literally, for there is no putting into words any feeling that has -been of long growth within us. It is easy to say how we love _new_ -friends, and what we think of them, but words can never trace out all -the fibres that knit us to the old. I have been thinking of you -incessantly in the waking hours, and feel a growing hunger to know -more precise details about you. I am of a too sordid and anxious -disposition, prone to dwell almost exclusively on fears instead of -hopes, and to lay in a larger stock of resignation than of any other -form of confidence. But I try to extract some comfort this morning -from my consciousness of this disposition, by thinking that nothing is -ever so bad as my imagination paints it. And then I know there are -incommunicable feelings within us capable of creating our best -happiness at the very time others can see nothing but our troubles. -And so I go on arguing with myself, and trying to live inside _you_ -and looking at things in all the lights I can fancy you seeing them -in, for the sake of getting cheerful about you in spite of Coventry. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles Bray, Christmas Day, 1858.] - -The well-flavored mollusks came this morning. It was very kind of you; -and if you remember how fond I am of oysters, your good-nature will -have the more pleasure in furnishing my _gourmandise_ with the treat. -I have a childish delight in any little act of genuine friendliness -towards us--and yet not childish, for how little we thought of -people's goodness towards us when we were children. It takes a good -deal of experience to tell one the rarity of a thoroughly -disinterested kindness. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th Dec. 1858.] - -I see with you entirely about the preface: indeed I had myself -anticipated the very effects you predict. The deprecatory tone is not -one I can ever take willingly, but I am conscious of a shrinking sort -of pride which is likely to warp my judgment in many personal -questions, and on that ground I distrusted my own opinion. - -Mr. Lewes went to Vernon Hill yesterday for a few days' change of air, -but before he went he said, "Ask Mr. Blackwood what he thinks of -putting a mere advertisement at the beginning of the book to this -effect: As the story of 'Adam Bede' will lose much of its effect if -the development is foreseen, the author requests those critics who may -honor him with a notice to abstain from telling the story." I write my -note of interrogation accordingly "?" - -Pray do not begin to read the second volume until it is all in print. -There is necessarily a lull of interest in it to prepare for the -crescendo. I am delighted that you like my Mrs. Poyser. I'm very sorry -to part with her and some of my other characters--there seems to be so -much more to be done with them. Mr. Lewes says she gets better and -better as the book goes on; and I was certainly conscious of writing -her dialogue with heightening gusto. Even in our imaginary worlds -there is the sorrow of parting. - -I hope the Christmas weather is as bright in your beautiful Edinburgh -as it is here, and that you are enjoying all other Christmas pleasures -too without disturbance. - -I have not yet made up my mind what my next story is to be, but I -must not lie fallow any longer when the new year is come. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1858.] - -_Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)._--George and I spent this wet day very -happily alone together. We are reading Scott's life in the evenings -with much enjoyment. I am reading through Horace in this pause. - -_Dec. 31._--The last day of the dear old year, which has been full of -expected and unexpected happiness. "Adam Bede" has been written, and -the second volume is in type. The first number of George's "Physiology -of Common Life"--a work in which he has had much happy occupation--is -published to-day; and both his position as a scientific writer and his -inward satisfaction in that part of his studies have been much -heightened during the past year. Our double life is more and more -blessed--more and more complete. - - I think this chapter cannot more fitly conclude than with the - following extract from Mr. G. H. Lewes's Journal, with which - Mr. Charles Lewes has been good enough to furnish me: - - _Jan. 28, 1859._--Walked along the Thames towards Kew to meet - Herbert Spencer, who was to spend the day with us, and we - chatted with him on matters personal and philosophical. I owe - him a debt of gratitude. My acquaintance with him was the - brightest ray in a very dreary, _wasted_ period of my life. I - have given up all ambition whatever, lived from hand to - mouth, and thought the evil of each day sufficient. The - stimulus of his intellect, especially during our long walks, - roused my energy once more and revived my dormant love of - science. His intense theorizing tendency was contagious, and - it was only the stimulus of a _theory_ which could then have - induced me to work. I owe Spencer another and a deeper debt. - It was through him that I learned to know Marian--to know her - was to love her--and since then my life has been a new birth. - To her I owe all my prosperity and all my happiness. God - bless her! - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1858, TO DECEMBER, 1858. - - _Times_ reviews "Scenes of Clerical Life"--Helps's - opinion--Subscription to the "Scenes"--Letter from Dickens, - 18th Jan. 1858--Letter from Froude, 17th Jan.--Letter to - Miss Hennell--Mr. Wm. Smith, author of - "Thorndale"--Ruskin--Reading the "Eumenides" and - Wordsworth--Letter to John Blackwood on Dickens's - Letter--Letter from Mrs. Carlyle--Letter from - Faraday--"Clerical Scenes" moving--John Blackwood calls, and - George Eliot reveals herself--Takes MS. of first part of - "Adam Bede"--Letters to Charles Bray on reports of - authorship--Visit to Germany--Description of Nürnberg--The - Frauen-Kirche--Effect of the music--Albert Dürer's - house--Munich--Lodgings--Pinacothek--Rubens--Crucifixion--Theresien - Wiese--Schwanthaler's "Bavaria"--The Alps--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Contrast between Catholic and Protestant - worship--Glyptothek--Pictures--Statues--Cornelius - frescoes--Herr Oldenburg--Kaulbach--Bodenstedt--Professor - Wagner--Martius--Liebig--Geibel--Heyse--Carrière--Prince - Radziwill's "Faust"--Professor Löher--Baron - Schack--Genelli--Professor Bluntschli--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Description of Munich life--Kaulbach's pictures--The - Siebolds--The Neue Pinacothek--Pictures and porcelain - painting--Mme. Bodenstedt--Letter to Blackwood--Combinations - of artist in writing--Hears "William Tell"--Expedition to - Grosshesselohe--Progress with "Adam Bede"--Letter to Miss - Hennell on death of her mother--Mr. Lewes goes to - Hofwyl--Frau Knapp--Mr. Lewes returns--Leave Munich for - Traunstein--Salzburg--Ischl--Linz--By Danube to Vienna--St. - Stephen's--Belvedere pictures--Liechtenstein - collection--Hyrtl the anatomist--Prague--Jewish burial-ground - and the old synagogue--To Dresden--Latter half of second - volume of "Adam Bede" written--First impression of Sistine - Madonna--The Tribute money--Holbein's Madonna--The - Correggios--Dutch school--Murillo--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Description of life at Dresden--Health - improved--Mention of Strauss at Munich--Dresden to - Leipzig--Home to Richmond--Letter to Miss Hennell--Opinion of - Buckle--Blackwood offers £800 for "Adam Bede"--Wilkie Collins - and Mr. Pigott--History of "Adam Bede"--Letter to Charles - Bray--Disinterested kindness--Letter to Blackwood suggesting - preface to "Adam Bede"--Reading Scott's Life and - Horace--Review of year--Extract from G. H. Lewes's Journal. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The Brays' new house. - -[2] He is really a charming man, is he not? - -[3] Picture of interior of a Lunatic Asylum. - -[4] "Why do you tell such lies? The result of it will be that no one -will travel this way." - -[5] Charitable Institution for Ladies. - -[6] Dr. Brabant. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Jan. 12._--We went into town to-day and looked in the "Annual -Register" for cases of _inundation_. Letter from Blackwood to-day, -speaking of renewed delight in "Adam Bede," and proposing 1st Feb. as -the day of publication. Read the article in yesterday's _Times_ on -George's "Sea-side Studies"--highly gratifying. We are still reading -Scott's life with great interest; and G. is reading to me Michelet's -book "De l'Amour." - -_Jan. 15._--I corrected the last sheets of "Adam Bede," and we -afterwards walked to Wimbledon to see our new house, which we have -taken for seven years. I hired the servant--another bit of business -done: and then we had a delightful walk across Wimbledon Common and -through Richmond Park homeward. The air was clear and cold--the sky -magnificent. - -_Jan. 31._--Received a check for £400 from Blackwood, being the first -instalment of the payment for four years' copyright of "Adam Bede." -To-morrow the book is to be subscribed, and Blackwood writes very -pleasantly--confident of its "great success." Afterwards we went into -town, paid money into the bank, and ordered part of our china and -glass towards house-keeping. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 31st Jan. 1859.] - -Enclosed is the formal acknowledgment, bearing my signature, and with -it let me beg you to accept my thanks--_not_ formal but heartfelt--for -the generous way in which you have all along helped me with words and -with deeds. - -The impression "Adam Bede" has made on you and Major Blackwood--of -whom I have always been pleased to think as concurring with your -views--is my best encouragement, and counterbalances, in some degree, -the depressing influences to which I am peculiarly sensitive. I -perceive that I have not the characteristics of the "popular author," -and yet I am much in need of the warmly expressed sympathy which only -popularity can win. - -A good subscription would be cheering, but I can understand that it is -not decisive of success or non-success. Thank you for promising to let -me know about it as soon as possible. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Feb. 6._--Yesterday we went to take possession of Holly Lodge, -Wandsworth, which is to be our dwelling, we expect, for years to come. -It was a deliciously fresh bright day--I will accept the omen. A -letter came from Blackwood telling me the result of the subscription -to "Adam Bede," which was published on the 1st: 730 copies, Mudie -having taken 500 on the publisher's terms--_i.e._, ten per cent. on -the sale price. At first he had stood out for a larger reduction, and -would only take 50, but at last he came round. In this letter -Blackwood told me the first _ab extra_ opinion of the book, which -happened to be precisely what I most desired. A cabinet-maker (brother -to Blackwood's managing clerk) had read the sheets, and declared that -the writer must have been brought up to the business, or at least had -listened to the workmen in their workshop. - -_Feb. 12._--Received a cheering letter from Blackwood, saying that he -finds "Adam Bede" making just the impression he had anticipated among -his own friends and connections, and enclosing a parcel from Dr. John -Brown "to the author of 'Adam Bede.'" The parcel contained "Rab and -his Friends," with an inscription. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 13th Feb. 1859.] - -Will you tell Dr. John Brown that when I read an account of "Rab and -his Friends" in a newspaper, I wished I had the story to read at full -length; and I thought to myself the writer of "Rab" would perhaps like -"Adam Bede." - -When you have told him this, he will understand the peculiar pleasure -I had on opening the little parcel with "Rab" inside, and a kind word -from Rab's friend. I have read the story twice--once aloud, and once -to myself, very slowly, that I might dwell on the pictures of Rab and -Ailie, and carry them about with me more distinctly. I will not say -any commonplace words of admiration about what has touched me so -deeply; there is no adjective of that sort left undefiled by the -newspapers. The writer of "Rab" _knows_ that I must love the grim old -mastiff with the short tail and the long dewlaps--that I must have -felt present at the scenes of Ailie's last trial. - -Thanks for your cheering letter. I will be hopeful--if I can. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 19th Feb. 1859.] - -You have the art of writing just the sort of letters I care -for--sincere letters, like your own talk. We are tolerably settled -now, except that we have only a temporary servant; and I shall not be -quite at ease until I have a trustworthy woman who will manage without -incessant dogging. Our home is very comfortable, with far more of -vulgar indulgences in it than I ever expected to have again; but you -must not imagine it a snug place, just peeping above the holly -bushes. Imagine it rather as a tall cake, with a low garnish of holly -and laurel. As it is, we are very well off, with glorious breezy -walks, and wide horizons, well ventilated rooms, and abundant water. -If I allowed myself to have any longings beyond what is given, they -would be for a nook quite in the country, far away from -palaces--Crystal or otherwise--with an orchard behind me full of old -trees, and rough grass and hedge-row paths among the endless fields -where you meet nobody. We talk of such things sometimes, along with -old age and dim faculties, and a small independence to save us from -writing drivel for dishonest money. In the mean time the business of -life shuts us up within the environs of London and within sight of -human advancements, which I should be so very glad to believe in -without seeing. - -Pretty Arabella Goddard we heard play at Berlin--play the very things -you heard as a _bonne bouche_ at the last--none the less delightful -from being so unlike the piano playing of Liszt and Clara Schumann, -whom we had heard at Weimar--both great, and one the greatest. - -Thank you for sending me that authentic word about Miss Nightingale. I -wonder if she would rather rest from her blessed labors, or live to go -on working? Sometimes, when I read of the death of some great, -sensitive human being, I have a triumph in the sense that they are at -rest; and yet, along with that, such deep sadness at the thought that -the rare nature is gone forever into darkness, and we can never know -that our love and reverence can reach him, that I seem to have gone -through a personal sorrow when I shut the book and go to bed. I felt -in that way the other night when I finished the life of Scott aloud -to Mr. Lewes. He had never read the book before, and has been deeply -stirred by the picture of Scott's character, his energy and steady -work, his grand fortitude under calamity, and the spirit of strict -honor to which he sacrificed his declining life. He loves Scott as -well as I do. - -We have met a pleasant-faced, bright-glancing man, whom we set down to -be worthy of the name, Richard Congreve. I am curious to see if our -_Ahnung_ will be verified. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 24th Feb. 1859.] - -One word of gratitude to _you_ first before I write any other letters. -Heaven and earth bless you for trying to help me. I have been -blasphemous enough sometimes to think that I had never been good and -attractive enough to win any little share of the honest, disinterested -friendship there is in the world: one or two examples of late had -given that impression, and I am prone to rest in the least agreeable -conviction the premisses will allow. I need hardly tell you what I -want, you know it so well: a servant who will cause me the least -possible expenditure of time on household matters. I wish I were not -an anxious, fidgety wretch, and could sit down content with dirt and -disorder. But anything in the shape of an _anxiety_ soon grows into a -monstrous vulture with me, and makes itself more present to me than my -rich sources of happiness--such as too few mortals are blessed with. -You know me. Since I wrote this, I have just had a letter from my -sister Chrissey--ill in bed, consumptive--regretting that she ever -ceased to write to me. It has ploughed up my heart. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th Feb. 1859.] - -Mrs. Carlyle's ardent letter will interest and amuse you. I reckon it -among my best triumphs that she found herself "in charity with the -whole human race" when she laid the book down. I want the philosopher -himself to read it, because the _pre_-philosophic period--the -childhood and poetry of his life--lay among the furrowed fields and -pious peasantry. If he _could_ be urged to read a novel! I should -like, if possible, to give him the same sort of pleasure he has given -me in the early chapters of "Sartor," where he describes little -Diogenes eating his porridge on the wall in sight of the sunset, and -gaining deep wisdom from the contemplation of the pigs and other -"higher animals" of _Entepfuhl_. - -Your critic was _not_ unjustly severe on the "Mirage Philosophy"--and -I confess the "Life of Frederic" was a painful book to me in many -respects; and yet I shrink, perhaps superstitiously, from any written -or spoken word which is as strong as my inward criticism. - -I needed your letter very much--for when one lives apart from the -world, with no opportunity of observing the effect of books except -through the newspapers, one is in danger of sinking into the foolish -belief that the day is past for the recognition of genuine, truthful -writing, in spite of recent experience that the newspapers are no -criterion at all. One such opinion as Mr. Caird's outweighs a great -deal of damnatory praise from ignorant journalists. - -It is a wretched weakness of my nature to be so strongly affected by -these things; and yet how is it possible to put one's best heart and -soul into a book and be hardened to the result--be indifferent to the -proof whether or not one has really a vocation to speak to one's -fellow-men in that way? Of course one's vanity is at work; but the -main anxiety is something entirely distinct from vanity. - -You see I mean you to understand that my feelings are very -respectable, and such as it will be virtuous in you to gratify with -the same zeal as you have always shown. The packet of newspaper -notices is not come yet. I will take care to return it when it _has_ -come. - -The best news from London hitherto is that Mr. Dallas is an -enthusiastic admirer of Adam. I ought to except Mr. Langford's -reported opinion, which is that of a person who has a voice of his -own, and is not a mere echo. - -Otherwise, Edinburgh has sent me much more encouraging breezes than -any that have come from the sweet South. I wonder if all your other -authors are as greedy and exacting as I am. If so, I hope they -appreciate your attention as much. Will you oblige me by writing a -line to Mrs. Carlyle for me. I don't like to leave her second letter -(she wrote a very kind one about the "Clerical Scenes") without any -sort of notice. Will you tell her that the sort of effect she declares -herself to have felt from "Adam Bede" is just what I desire to -produce--gentle thoughts and happy remembrances; and I thank her -heartily for telling me, so warmly and generously, what she has felt. -That is not a pretty message: revise it for me, pray, for I am weary -and ailing, and thinking of a sister who is slowly dying. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th Feb. 1859.] - -The folio of notices duly came, and are returned by to-day's post. The -friend at my elbow ran through them for me, and read aloud some -specimens to me, some of them ludicrous enough. The _Edinburgh -Courant_ has the ring of sincere enjoyment in its tone; and the writer -there makes himself so amiable to me that I am sorry he has fallen -into the mistake of supposing that Mrs. Poyser's original sayings are -remembered proverbs! I have no stock of proverbs in my memory; and -there is not one thing put into Mrs. Poyser's mouth that is not fresh -from my own mint. Please to correct that mistake if any one makes it -in your hearing. - -I have not ventured to look into the folio myself; but I learn that -there are certain threatening marks, in ink, by the side of such stock -sentences as "best novel of the season," or "best novel we have read -for a long time," from such authorities as the _Sun_, or _Morning -Star_, or other orb of the newspaper firmament--as if these sentences -were to be selected for reprint in the form of advertisement. I -shudder at the suggestion. Am I taking a liberty in entreating you to -keep a sharp watch over the advertisements, that no hackneyed puffing -phrase of this kind may be tacked to my book? One sees them garnishing -every other advertisement of trash: surely no being "above the rank of -an idiot" can have his inclination coerced by them? and it would gall -me, as much as any trifle could, to see my book recommended by an -authority who doesn't know how to write decent English. I believe that -your taste and judgment will concur with mine in the conviction that -no quotations of this vulgar kind can do credit to a book; and that -unless something looking like the real opinion of a tolerably educated -writer, in a respectable journal, can be given, it would be better to -abstain from "opinions of the press" altogether. I shall be grateful -to you if you will save me from the results of any agency but your -own--or at least of any agency that is not under your rigid criticism -in this matter. - -Pardon me if I am overstepping the author's limits in this expression -of my feelings. I confide in your ready comprehension of the -irritable class you have to deal with. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Feb. 26._--Laudatory reviews of "Adam Bede" in the _Athenæum_, -_Saturday_, and _Literary Gazette_. The _Saturday_ criticism is -characteristic: Dinah is not mentioned! - -The other day I received the following letter, which I copy, because I -have sent the original away: - -[Sidenote: Letter from E. Hall to George Eliot.] - - "To the Author of 'Adam Bede,' - - "CHESTER ROAD, SUNDERLAND. - - "DEAR SIR,--I got the other day a hasty read of your 'Scenes - of Clerical Life,' and since that a glance at your 'Adam - Bede,' and was delighted more than I can express; but being a - poor man, and having enough to do to make 'ends meet,' I am - unable to get a read of your inimitable books. - - "Forgive, dear sir, my boldness in asking you to give us a - cheap edition. You would confer on us a great boon. I can get - plenty of trash for a few pence, but I am sick of it. I felt - so different when I shut your books, even though it was but a - kind of 'hop-skip-and-jump' read. - - "I feel so strongly in this matter that I am determined to - risk being thought rude and officious, and write to you. - - "Many of my working brethren feel as I do, and I express - their wish as well as my own. Again asking your forgiveness - for intruding myself upon you, I remain, with profoundest - respect, yours, etc., - "E. HALL." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Feb. 1859.] - -I have written to Chrissey, and shall hear from her again. I think her -writing was the result of long, quiet thought--the slow return of a -naturally just and affectionate mind to the position from which it had -been thrust by external influence. She says: "My object in writing to -you is to tell you how very sorry I have been that I ceased to write, -and neglected one who, under all circumstances, was kind to me and -mine. _Pray believe_ me when I say it will be the greatest comfort I -can receive to know that you are _well_ and _happy_. Will you write -once more?" etc. I wrote immediately, and I desire to avoid any word -of reference to anything with which she associates the idea of -alienation. The past is abolished from my mind. I only want her to -feel that I love her and care for her. The servant trouble seems less -mountainous to me than it did the other day. I was suffering -physically from unusual worrit and muscular exertion in arranging the -house, and so was in a ridiculously desponding state. I have written -no end of letters in answer to servants' advertisements, and we have -put our own advertisement in the _Times_--all which amount of force, -if we were not philosophers and therefore believers in the -conservation of force, we should declare to be lost. It is so pleasant -to know these high doctrines--they help one so much. Mr. and Mrs. -Richard Congreve have called on us. We shall return the call as soon -as we can. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_March 8._--Letter from Blackwood this morning saying that "'Bedesman' -has turned the corner and is coming in a winner." Mudie has sent for -200 additional copies (making 700), and Mr. Langford says the West End -libraries keep sending for more. - -_March 14._--My dear sister wrote to me about three weeks ago, saying -she regretted that she had ever ceased writing to me, and that she has -been in a consumption for the last eighteen months. To-day I have a -letter from my niece Emily, telling me her mother had been taken -worse, and cannot live many days. - -_March 14._--Major Blackwood writes to say "Mudie has just made up his -number of 'Adam Bede' to 1000. Simpkins have sold their subscribed -number, and have had 12 to-day. Every one is talking of the book." - -_March 15._--Chrissey died this morning at a quarter to 5. - -_March 16._--Blackwood writes to say I am "a popular author as well as -a great author." They printed 2090 of "Adam Bede," and have disposed -of more than 1800, so that they are thinking about a second edition. A -very feeling letter from Froude this morning. I happened this morning -to be reading the 30th Ode, B. III. of Horace--"Non omnis moriar." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 17th March, 1859.] - -The news you have sent me is worth paying a great deal of pain for, -past and future. It comes rather strangely to me, who live in such -unconsciousness of what is going on in the world. I am like a deaf -person, to whom some one has just shouted that the company round him -have been paying him compliments for the last half hour. Let the best -come, you will still be the person outside my own home who _first_ -gladdened me about "Adam Bede;" and my success will always please me -the better because you will share the pleasure. - -Don't think I mean to worry you with many such requests--but will you -copy for me the enclosed short note to Froude? I know you will, so I -say "thank you." - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. A. Froude from George Eliot.] - - DEAR SIR,--My excellent friend and publisher, Mr. Blackwood, - lends me his pen to thank you for your letter, and for his - sake I shall be brief. - - Your letter has done me real good--the same sort of good as - one has sometimes felt from a silent pressure of the hand and - a grave look in the midst of smiling congratulations. - - I have nothing else I care to tell you that you will not have - found out through my books, except this one thing: that, so - far as I am aware, you are only the _second_ person who has - shared my own satisfaction in Janet. I think she is the least - popular of my characters. You will judge from that, that it - was worth your while to tell me what you felt about her. - - I wish I could help you with words of equal value; but, after - all, am I not helping you by saying that it was well and - generously done of you to write to me?--Ever faithfully - yours, - - GEORGE ELIOT. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 21st March, 1859.] - -It was worth your while to write me those feeling words, for they are -the sort of things that I keep in my memory and feel the influence of -a long, long while. Chrissey's death has taken from the possibility of -many things towards which I looked with some hope and yearning in the -future. I had a very special feeling towards her--stronger than any -third person would think likely. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_March 24._--Mr. Herbert Spencer brought us word that "Adam Bede" had -been quoted by Mr. Charles Buxton in the House of Commons: "As the -farmer's wife says in 'Adam Bede,' 'It wants to be hatched over again -and hatched different.'" - -_March 26._--George went into town to-day and brought me home a budget -of good news that compensated for the pain I had felt in the coldness -of an old friend. Mr. Langford says that Mudie "thinks he must have -another hundred or two of 'Adam'--has read the book himself, and is -delighted with it." Charles Reade says it is "the finest thing since -Shakespeare"--placed his finger on Lisbeth's account of her coming -home with her husband from their marriage--praises enthusiastically -the style--the way in which the author handles the Saxon language. -Shirley Brooks also delighted. John Murray says there has never been -such a book. Mr. Langford says there must be a second edition, in 3 -vols., and they will print 500: whether Mudie takes more or not, they -will have sold all by the end of a month. Lucas delighted with the -book, and will review it in the _Times_ the first opportunity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th March, 1859.] - -I should like you to convey my gratitude to your reviewer. I see well -he is a man whose experience and study enable him to relish parts of -my book, which I should despair of seeing recognized by critics in -London back drawing-rooms. He has gratified me keenly by laying his -finger on passages which I wrote either with strong feeling or from -intimate knowledge, but which I had prepared myself to find entirely -passed over by reviewers. Surely I am not wrong in supposing him to be -a clergyman? There was one exemplary lady Mr. Langford spoke of, who, -after reading "Adam," came the next day and bought a copy both of that -and the "Clerical Scenes." I wish there may be three hundred matrons -as good as she! It is a disappointment to me to find that "Adam" has -given no impulse to the "Scenes," for I had sordid desires for money -from a second edition, and had dreamed of its coming speedily. - -About my new story, which will be a novel as long as "Adam Bede," and -a sort of companion picture of provincial life, we must talk when I -have the pleasure of seeing you. It will be a work which will require -time and labor. - -Do write me good news as often as you can. I owe thanks to Major -Blackwood for a very charming letter. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 10th April, 1859.] - -The other day I received a letter from an old friend in Warwickshire, -containing some striking information about the author of "Adam Bede." -I extract the passage for your amusement: - -"I want to ask you if you have read 'Adam Bede,' or the 'Scenes of -Clerical Life,' and whether you know that the author is Mr. -Liggins?... A deputation of dissenting parsons went over _to ask him -to write for the 'Eclectic,'_ and they found him washing his -slop-basin at a pump. He has no servant, and does everything for -himself; but one of the said parsons said that he inspired them with a -reverence that would have made any impertinent question impossible. -The son of a baker, of no mark at all in his town, so that it is -possible you may not have heard of him. You know he calls himself -'George Eliot.' It sounds strange to hear the _Westminster_ doubting -whether he is a woman, when _here he is so well known_. But I am glad -it has mentioned him. _They say he gets no profit out of 'Adam Bede,' -and gives it freely to Blackwood, which is a shame._ We have not read -him yet, but the extracts are irresistible." - -Conceive the real George Eliot's feelings, conscious of being a base -worldling--not washing his own slop-basin, and _not_ giving away his -MS.! not even intending to do so, in spite of the reverence such a -course might inspire. I hope you and Major Blackwood will enjoy the -myth. - -Mr. Langford sent me a letter the other day from Miss Winkworth, a -grave lady, who says she never reads novels, except a few of the most -famous, but that she has read "Adam" three times running. One likes to -know such things--they show that the book tells on people's hearts, -and may be a real instrument of culture. I sing my Magnificat in a -quiet way, and have a great deal of deep, silent joy; but few authors, -I suppose, who have had a real success, have known less of the flush -and the sensations of triumph that are talked of as the accompaniments -of success. I think I should soon begin to believe that _Liggins_ -wrote my books--it is so difficult to believe what the world does -_not_ believe, so easy to believe what the world keeps repeating. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 11th April, 1859.] - -The very day you wrote we were driving in an open carriage from Ryde -to the Sandrock Hotel, taking in a month's delight in the space of -five hours. Such skies--such songs of larks--such beds of primroses! -_I_ am quite well now--set up by iron and quinine, and polished off by -the sea-breezes. I have lost my _young_ dislike to the spring, and am -as glad of it as the birds and plants are. Mr. Lewes has read "Adam -Bede," and is as dithyrambic about it as others appear to be, so _I_ -must refresh my soul with it now as well as with the spring-tide. Mr. -Liggins I remember as a vision of my childhood--a tall, black-coated, -genteel young clergyman-in-embryo. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th April, 1859.] - -Mr. Lewes is "making himself into four" in writing answers to -advertisements and other exertions which he generously takes on -himself to save me. A model husband! - -We both like your literal title, "Thoughts in Aid of Faith," very -much, and hope to see a little book under that title before the year -is out--a book as thorough and effective in its way as "Christianity -and Infidelity." - -_Re_writing is an excellent process, frequently both for the book and -its author; and to prevent you from grudging the toil, I will tell you -that so old a writer as Mr. Lewes now _re_writes everything of -_importance_, though in all the earlier years of his authorship he -would never take that trouble. - -We are so happy in the neighborhood of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Congreve. -She is a sweet, intelligent, gentle woman. I already love her: and his -fine, beaming face does me good, like a glimpse of an Olympian. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_April 17._--I have left off recording the history of "Adam Bede" and -the pleasant letters and words that came to me--the success has been -so triumphantly beyond anything I had dreamed of that it would be -tiresome to put down particulars. Four hundred of the second edition -(of 750) sold in the first week, and twenty besides ordered when there -was not a copy left in the London house. This morning Hachette has -sent to ask my terms for the liberty of translation into French. There -was a review in the _Times_ last week, which will naturally give a new -stimulus to the sale; and yesterday I sent a letter to the _Times_ -denying that Mr. Liggins is the author, as the world and Mr. Anders -had settled it. But I must trust to the letters I have received and -preserved for giving me the history of the book if I should live long -enough to forget details. - -Shall I ever write another book as true as "Adam Bede?" The weight of -the future presses on me, and makes itself felt even more than the -deep satisfaction of the past and present. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 20th April, 1859.] - -This myth about Liggins is getting serious, and must be put a stop to. -We are bound not to allow sums of money to be raised on a false -supposition of this kind. Don't you think it would be well for _you_ -to write a letter to the _Times_, to the effect that, as you find in -some stupid quarters my letter has not been received as a _bonâ-fide_ -denial, you declare Mr. Liggins not to be the author of "Clerical -Scenes" and "Adam Bede;" further, that any future applications to you -concerning George Eliot will not be answered, since that writer is not -in need of public benevolence. Such a letter might save us from future -annoyance and trouble, for I am rather doubtful about Mr. Liggins's -character. The last report I heard of him was that he spent his time -in smoking and drinking. I don't know whether that is one of the data -for the Warwickshire logicians who have decided him to be the author -of my books. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_April 29._--To-day Blackwood sent me a letter from Bulwer, which I -copy because I have to send back the original, and I like to keep in -mind the generous praise of one author for another. - -[Sidenote: Letter from E. B. Lytton to John Blackwood.] - - "MALVERN, _April 24, 1859_. - - "MY DEAR SIR,--I ought long since to have thanked you for - 'Adam Bede.' But I never had a moment to look at it till - arriving here, and ordered by the doctors to abstain from all - 'work.' - - "I owe the author much gratitude for some very pleasing - hours. The book indeed is worthy of great admiration. There - are touches of beauty in the conception of human character - that are exquisite, and much wit and much poetry embedded in - the 'dialect,' which nevertheless the author over-uses. - - "The style is remarkably good whenever it is English and not - provincial--racy, original, and nervous. - - "I congratulate you on having found an author of such - promise, and published one of the very ablest works of - fiction I have read for years.-- - - Yours truly, - E. B. L. - - "I am better than I was, but thoroughly done up." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_April 29._--Finished a story--"The Lifted Veil"--which I began one -morning at Richmond as a resource when my head was too stupid for more -important work. - -Resumed my new novel, of which I am going to rewrite the two first -chapters. I shall call it provisionally "The Tullivers," for the sake -of a title _quelconque_, or perhaps "St. Ogg's on the Floss." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 29th April, 1859.] - -Thank you for sending me Sir Edward Lytton's letter, which has given -me real pleasure. The praise is doubly valuable to me for the sake of -the generous feeling that prompted it. I think you judged rightly -about writing to the _Times_. I would abstain from the remotest -appearance of a "dodge." I am anxious to know of any _positive_ rumors -that may get abroad; for while I would willingly, if it were -possible--which it clearly is not--retain my _incognito_ as long as I -live, I can suffer no one to bear my arms on his shield. - -There is _one_ alteration, or rather an addition--merely of a -sentence--that I wish to make in the 12_s._ edition of "Adam Bede." -It is a sentence in the chapter where Adam is making the coffin at -night, and hears the willow wand. Some readers seem not to have -understood what I meant--namely, that it was in Adam's peasant blood -and nurture to believe in this, and that he narrated it with awed -belief to his dying day. That is not a fancy of my own brain, but a -matter of observation, and is, in my mind, an important feature in -Adam's character. There is nothing else I wish to touch. I will send -you the sentence some day soon, with the page where it is to be -inserted. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_May 3._--I had a letter from Mrs. Richard Congreve, telling me of her -safe arrival, with her husband and sister,[7] at Dieppe. This new -friend, whom I have gained by coming to Wandsworth, is the chief charm -of the place to me. Her friendship has the same date as the success of -"Adam Bede"--two good things in my lot that ought to have made me less -sad than I have been in this house. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th May, 1859.] - -Your letter came yesterday at tea-time, and made the evening happier -than usual. We had thought of you not a little as we listened to the -howling winds, especially as the terrible wrecks off the Irish coast -had filled our imaginations disagreeably. _Now_ I can make a charming -picture of you all on the beach, except that I am obliged to fancy -_your_ face looking still too languid after all your exertion and -sleeplessness. I remember the said face with peculiar vividness, which -is very pleasant to me. "Rough" has been the daily companion of our -walks, and wins on our affections, as other fellow mortals do, by a -mixture of weaknesses and virtues--the weaknesses consisting chiefly -in a tendency to become invisible every ten minutes, and in a -forgetfulness of reproof, which, I fear, is the usual accompaniment of -meekness under it. All this is good discipline for us selfish -solitaries, who have been used to stroll along, thinking of nothing -but ourselves. - -We walked through your garden to-day, and I gathered a bit of your -sweetbrier, of which I am at this moment enjoying the scent as it -stands on my desk. I am enjoying, too, another sort of sweetness, -which I also owe to you--of that subtle, haunting kind which is most -like the scent of my favorite plants--the belief that you do really -care for me across the seas there, and will associate me continually -with your home. Faith is not easy to me, nevertheless I believe -everything you say and write. - -Write to me as often as you can--that is, as often as you feel any -prompting to do so. You were a dear presence to me, and will be a -precious thought to me all through your absence. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_May 4._--To-day came a letter from Barbara Bodichon, full of joy in -my success, in the certainty that "Adam Bede" was mine, though she had -not read more than extracts in reviews. This is the first delight in -the book as _mine_, over and above the fact that the book is good. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 5th May, 1859.] - -God bless you, dearest Barbara, for your love and sympathy. You are -the first friend who has given any symptom of knowing me--the first -heart that has recognized me in a book which has come from my heart of -hearts. But keep the secret solemnly till I give you leave to tell it; -and give way to no impulses of triumphant affection. You have sense -enough to know how important the _incognito_ has been, and we are -anxious to keep it up a few months longer. Curiously enough my old -Coventry friends, who have certainly read the _Westminster_ and the -_Times_, and have probably by this time read the book itself, have -given no sign of recognition. But a certain Mr. Liggins, whom rumor -has fixed on as the author of my books, and whom _they_ have believed -in, has probably screened me from their vision. I am a very blessed -woman, am I not, to have all this reason for being glad that I have -lived? I have had no time of exultation; on the contrary, these last -months have been sadder than usual to me, and I have thought more of -the future and the much work that remains to be done in life than of -anything that has been achieved. But I think your letter to-day gave -me more joy--more heart-glow--than all the letters or reviews or other -testimonies of success that have come to me since the evenings when I -read aloud my manuscript to my dear, dear husband, and he laughed and -cried alternately, and then rushed to me to kiss me. He is the prime -blessing that has made all the rest possible to me, giving me a -response to everything I have written--a response that I could confide -in, as a proof that I had not mistaken my work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Major Blackwood, 6th May, 1859.] - -You must not think me too soft-hearted when I tell you that it would -make me uneasy to leave Mr. Anders without an assurance that his -apology is accepted. "Who with repentance is not satisfied," etc.; -that doctrine is bad for the sinning, but good for those sinned -against. Will you oblige me by allowing a clerk to write something to -this effect in the name of the firm?--"We are requested by George -Eliot to state, in reply to your letter of the 16th, that he accepts -your assurance that the publication of your letter to the reviewer of -'Adam Bede' in the _Times_ was unintentional on your part." - -Yes, I _am_ assured now that "Adam Bede" was worth writing--worth -living through long years to write. But now it seems impossible to me -that I shall ever write anything so good and true again. I have -arrived at faith in the past, but not at faith in the future. - -A friend in Algiers[8] has found me out--"will go to the stake on the -assertion that I wrote 'Adam Bede'"--simply on the evidence of a few -extracts. So far as I know, this is the first case of detection on -purely internal evidence. But the secret is safe in that quarter. - -I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing you again during some visit -that you will pay to town before very long. It would do me good to -have you shake me by the hand as the ascertained George Eliot. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_May 9._--We had a delicious drive to Dulwich, and back by Sydenham. -We stayed an hour in the gallery at Dulwich, and I satisfied myself -that the St. Sebastian is no exception to the usual "petty prettiness" -of Guido's conceptions. The Cuyp glowing in the evening sun, the -Spanish beggar boys of Murillo, and Gainsborough's portrait of Mrs. -Sheridan and her sister, are the gems of the gallery. But better than -the pictures was the fresh greenth of the spring--the chestnuts just -on the verge of their flowering beauty, the bright leaves of the -limes, the rich yellow-brown of the oaks, the meadows full of -buttercups. We saw for the first time Clapham Common, Streatham -Common, and Tooting Common--the two last like parks rather than -commons. - -_May 19._--A letter from Blackwood, in which he proposes to give me -another £400 at the end of the year, making in all £1200, as an -acknowledgment of "Adam Bede's" success. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 19th May, 1859.] - -Mrs. Congreve is a sweet woman, and I feel that I have acquired a -friend in her--after recently declaring that we would never have any -_friends_ again, only _acquaintances_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st May, 1859.] - -Thank you: first, for acting with that fine integrity which makes part -of my faith in you; secondly, for the material sign of that integrity. -I don't know which of those two things I care for most--that people -should act nobly towards me, or that I should get honest money. I -certainly care a great deal for the money, as I suppose all anxious -minds do that love independence and have been brought up to think debt -and begging the two deepest dishonors short of crime. - -I look forward with quite eager expectation to seeing you--we have so -much to say. Pray give us the first day at your command. The -excursion, as you may imagine, is not ardently longed for in this -weather, but when "merry May" is quite gone, we may surely hope for -some sunshine; and then I have a pet project of rambling along by the -banks of a river, not without artistic as well as hygienic purposes. - -Pray bring me all the Liggins Correspondence. I have an amusing letter -or two to show you--one from a gentleman who has sent me his works; -happily the only instance of the kind. For, as Charles Lamb complains, -it is always the people whose books _don't_ sell who are anxious to -send them to one, with their "foolish autographs" inside. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 21st May, 1859.] - -We don't think of going to the festival, not for want of power to -enjoy Handel--there are few things that I care for more in the way of -music than his choruses, performed by a grand orchestra--but because -we are neither of us fit to encounter the physical exertion and -inconveniences. It is a cruel thing the difficulty and dearness of -getting any music in England--concerted music, which is the only music -I care for much now. At Dresden we could have thoroughly enjoyable -instrumental music every evening for two-pence; and I owed so many -thoughts and inspirations of feeling to that stimulus. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_May 27._--Blackwood came to dine with us on his arrival in London, -and we had much talk. A day or two before he had sent me a letter from -Professor Aytoun, saying that he had neglected his work to read the -first volume of "Adam Bede;" and he actually sent the other two -volumes out of the house to save himself from temptation. Blackwood -brought with him a correspondence he has had with various people about -Liggins, beginning with Mr. Bracebridge, who will have it that Liggins -is the author of "Adam Bede" in spite of all denials. - -_June 5._--Blackwood came, and we concocted two letters to send to the -_Times_, in order to put a stop to the Liggins affair. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Major Blackwood, 6th June, 1859.] - -The "Liggins business" _does_ annoy me, because it subjects you and -Mr. John Blackwood to the reception of insulting letters, and the -trouble of writing contradictions. Otherwise, the whole affair is -really a subject for a Molière comedy--"The Wise Men of Warwickshire," -who might supersede "The Wise Men of Gotham." - -The letter you sent me was a very pleasant one from Mrs. Gaskell, -saying that since she came up to town she has had the compliment paid -her of being suspected to have written "Adam Bede." "I have hitherto -denied it; but really, I think, that as you want to keep your real -name a secret, it would be very pleasant for me to blush acquiescence. -Will you give me leave?" - -I hope the inaccuracy with which she writes my name is not -characteristic of a genius for fiction, though I once heard a German -account for the bad spelling in Goethe's early letters by saying that -it was "genial"--their word for whatever is characteristic of genius. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 8th June, 1859.] - -I was glad you wrote to me from Avignon of all the places you have -visited, because Avignon is one of my most vivid remembrances from out -the dimness of ten years ago. Lucerne would be a strange region to me -but for Calame's pictures. Through them I have a vision of it, but of -course when I see it 'twill be another Luzern. Mr. Lewes obstinately -nurses the project of carrying me thither with him, and depositing me -within reach of you while he goes to Hofwyl. But at present I say -"No." We have been waiting and waiting for the skies to let us take a -few days' ramble by the river, but now I fear we must give it up till -all the freshness of young summer is gone. July and August are the two -months I care least about for leafy scenery. - -However, we are kept at home this month partly by pleasures: the -Handel Festival, for which we have indulged ourselves with tickets, -and the sight of old friends--Mrs. Bodichon among the rest, and for -her we hope to use your kind loan of a bedroom. We are both of us in -much better condition than when you said good-bye to us, and I have -many other sources of gladness just now--so I mean to make myself -disagreeable no longer by caring about petty troubles. If one could -but order cheerfulness from the druggist's! or even a few doses of -coldness and distrust, to prevent one from foolish confidence in one's -fellow-mortals! - -I want to get rid of this house--cut cables and drift about. I dislike -Wandsworth, and should think with unmitigated regret of our coming -here if it were not for you. But you are worth paying a price for. - -There! I have written about nothing but ourselves this time! _You_ do -the same, and then I think I will promise ... not to write again, but -to ask you to go on writing to me without an answer. - -How cool and idle you are this morning! I am warm and busy, but -always, at all temperatures, yours affectionately. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_June 20._--We went to the Crystal Palace to hear the "Messiah," and -dined afterwards with the Brays and Sara Hennell. I told them I was -the author of "Adam Bede" and "Clerical Scenes," and they seemed -overwhelmed with surprise. This experience has enlightened me a good -deal as to the ignorance in which we all live of each other. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 24th June, 1859.] - -There is always an after sadness belonging to brief and interrupted -intercourse between friends--the sadness of feeling that the -blundering efforts we have made towards mutual understanding have only -made a new veil between us--still more, the sadness of feeling that -some pain may have been given which separation makes a permanent -memory. We are quite unable to represent ourselves truly. Why should -we complain that our friends see a false image? I say this because I -am feeling painfully this morning that, instead of helping you when -you brought before me a matter so deeply interesting to you, I have -only blundered, and that I have blundered, as most of us do, from too -much egoism and too little sympathy. If my mind had been more open to -receive impressions, instead of being in over-haste to give them, I -should more readily have seen what your object was in giving me that -portion of your MS., and we might have gone through the necessary part -of it on Tuesday. It seems no use to write this now, and yet I can't -help wanting to assure you that if I am too imperfect to do and feel -the right thing at the right moment, I am not without the slower -sympathy that becomes all the stronger from a sense of previous -mistake. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 27th June, 1859.] - -I am told peremptorily that I am to go to Switzerland next month, but -now I have read your letter, I can't help thinking more of your -illness than of the pleasure in prospect--according to my foolish -nature, which is always prone to live in past pain. - -We shall not arrive at Lucerne till the 12th, at the earliest, I -imagine, so I hope we are secured from the danger of alighting -precisely on the days of your absence. That would be cruel, for I -shall only be left at Lucerne for three days. You must positively have -nothing more interesting to do than to talk to me and let me look at -you. Tell your sister I shall be all ears and eyes and no tongue, so -she will find me the most _amiable_ of conversers. - -I think it must be that the sunshine makes your absence more -conspicuous, for this place certainly becomes drearier to me as the -summer advances. The dusty roads are all longer, and the shade is -farther off. No more now about anything--except that Mr. Lewes -commands me to say he has just read the "Roman Empire of the West" -with much interest, and is going now to flesh his teeth in the -"Politique" (Auguste Comte's). - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Brays, Monday evening, end of June, 1859.] - - "DEAR FRIENDS,--All three of you--thanks for your packet of - heartfelt kindness. That is the best of your kindness--there - is no sham in it. It was inevitable to me to have that - outburst when I saw you for a little while after the long - silence, and felt that I must tell you then or be - forestalled, and leave you to gather the truth amidst an - inextricable mixture of falsehood. But I feel that the - influence of talking about my books, even to you and Mrs. - Bodichon, has been so bad to me that I should like to be able - to keep silence concerning them for evermore. If people were - to buzz round me with their remarks, or compliments, I should - lose the repose of mind and truthfulness of production - without which no good, healthy books can be written. Talking - about my books, I find, has much the same malign effect on me - as talking of my feelings or my religion. - - "I should think Sara's version of my brother's words - concerning 'Adam Bede' is the correct one--_'that there are - things in it about my father'_ (_i.e._, being interpreted, - things my father told us about his early life), not - 'portrait' of my father. There is not a single portrait in - the book, nor will there be in any future book of mine. There - are portraits in the 'Clerical Scenes;' but that was my first - bit of art, and my hand was not well in. I did not know so - well how to manipulate my materials. As soon as the Liggins - falsehood is annihilated, of course there will be twenty new - ones in its place; and one of the first will be that I was - not the sole author. The only safe thing for my mind's - health is to shut my ears and go on with my work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles Bray, 5th July, 1859.] - - "Thanks for your letters. They have given me one - pleasure--that of knowing that Mr. Liggins has not been - _greatly_ culpable--though Mr. Bracebridge's statement, that - only 'some small sums' have been collected, does not accord - with what has been written to Mr. Blackwood from other - counties. But 'O, I am sick!' Take no more trouble about - me--and let every one believe--as they will, in spite of your - kind efforts--_what they like to believe_. I can't tell you - how much melancholy it causes me that people are, for the - most part, so incapable of comprehending the state of mind - which cares for that which is essentially human in all forms - of belief, and desires to exhibit it under all forms with - loving truthfulness. Freethinkers are scarcely wider than the - orthodox in this matter--they all want to see themselves and - their own opinions held up as the true and the lovely. On the - same ground that an idle woman, with flirtations and - flounces, likes to read a French novel, because she can - imagine herself the heroine, grave people, with opinions, - like the most admirable character in a novel to be their - mouth-piece. If art does not enlarge men's sympathies, it - does nothing morally. I have had heart-cutting experience - that _opinions_ are a poor cement between human souls: and - the only effect I ardently long to produce by my writings is, - that those who read them should be better able to _imagine_ - and to _feel_ the pains and the joys of those who differ from - themselves in everything but the broad fact of being - struggling, erring, human creatures. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 6th July, 1859.] - - "We shall not start till Saturday, and shall not reach - Lucerne till the _evening_ of the 11th. There is a project of - our returning through Holland, but the attractions of Lucerne - are sure to keep us there as long as possible. We have given - up Zurich in spite of Moleschott and science. The other day I - said to Mr. Lewes, 'Every now and then it comes across me, - like the recollection of some precious little store laid by, - that there is Mrs. Congreve in the world.' That is how people - talk of you in your absence." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_July 9._--We started for Switzerland. Spent a delightful day in -Paris. To the Louvre first, where we looked chiefly at the Marriage at -Cana, by Paul Veronese. This picture, the greatest I have seen of his, -converted me to high admiration of him. - -_July 12._--Arrived at Lucerne in the evening. Glad to make a home at -the charming Schweizerhof on the banks of the Lake. G. went to call on -the Congreves, and in the afternoon Mrs. Congreve came to chat with -us. In the evening we had a boat on the Lake. - -_July 13._--G. set off for Hofwyl at five o'clock, and the three next -days were passed by me in quiet chat with the Congreves and quiet -resting on my own sofa. - -_July 19._--Spent the morning in Bâle, chiefly under the -chestnut-trees, near the Cathedral, I reading aloud Flourens's sketch -of Cuvier's labors. In the afternoon to Paris. - -_July 21._--Holly Lodge, Wandsworth. Found a charming letter from -Dickens, and pleasant letters from Blackwood; nothing to annoy us. -Before we set off we had heard the excellent news that the fourth -edition of "Adam Bede" (5000) had all been sold in a fortnight. The -fifth edition appeared last week. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 23d July, 1859.] - -We reached here last evening, and though I was a good deal overdone in -getting to Lucerne, I have borne the equally rapid journey back -without headache--a proof that I am strengthened. I had three quiet -days of talk with the Congreves at Lucerne, while Mr. Lewes went to -Hofwyl. Mrs. Congreve is one of those women of whom there are -few--rich in intelligence, without pretension, and quivering with -sensibility, yet calm and quiet in her manners. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 23d July, 1859.] - -I thank you for your offer about the money for "Adam," but I have -intentions of stern thrift, and mean to want as little as possible. -When "Maggie" is done, and I have a month or two of leisure, I should -like to transfer our present house, into which we were driven by haste -and economy, to some one who likes houses full of eyes all round him. -I long for a house with some shade and grass close round it--I don't -care how rough--and the sight of Swiss houses has heightened my -longing. But at present I say Avaunt to all desires. - -While I think of it, let me beg of you to mention to the -superintendent of your printing-office, that in case of another -reprint of "Adam," I beg the word "sperrit" (for "spirit") may be -particularly attended to. Adam never said "speerit," as he is made to -do in the cheaper edition, at least in one place--his speech at the -birthday dinner. This is a small matter, but it is a point I care -about. - -Words fail me about the not impossible Pug, for some compunction at -having mentioned my unreasonable wish will mingle itself paradoxically -with the hope that it may be fulfilled. - -I hope we shall have other interviews to remember this time next year, -and that you will find me without aggravated symptoms of the "author's -malady"--a determination of talk to my own books, which I was -alarmingly conscious of when you and the Major were here. After all, I -fear authors must submit to be something of monsters--not quite -simple, healthy human beings; but I will keep my monstrosity within -bounds if possible. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 26th July, 1859.] - -The things you tell me are just such as I need to know--I mean about -the help my book is to the people who read it. The weight of my future -life--the self-questioning whether my nature will be able to meet the -heavy demands upon it, both of personal duty and intellectual -production, presses upon me almost continually in a way that prevents -me even from tasting the quiet joy I might have in the _work done_. -Buoyancy and exultation, I fancy, are out of the question when one has -lived so long as I have. But I am the better for every word of -encouragement, and am helped over many days by such a note as yours. I -often think of my dreams when I was four or five and twenty. I thought -then how happy fame would make me! I feel no regret that the fame, as -such, brings no pleasure; but it _is_ a grief to me that I do not -constantly feel strong in thankfulness that my past life has -vindicated its uses and given me reason for gladness that such an -unpromising woman-child was born into the world. I ought not to care -about small annoyances, and it is chiefly egoism that makes them -annoyances. I had quite an _enthusiastic_ letter from Herbert Spencer -the other day about "Adam Bede." He says he feels the better for -reading it--really words to be treasured up. I can't bear the idea of -appearing further in the papers. And there is no one now except -people who would not be convinced, though one rose from the dead, to -whom any statement _apropos_ of Liggins would be otherwise than -superfluous. I dare say some "investigator" of the Bracebridge order -will arise after I am dead and revive the story--and perhaps posterity -will believe in Liggins. Why not? A man a little while ago wrote a -pamphlet to prove that the Waverley novels were chiefly written, not -by Walter Scott, but by Thomas Scott and his wife Elizabeth. The main -evidence being that several people thought Thomas cleverer than -Walter, and that in the list of the Canadian regiment of Scots to -which Thomas belonged many of the _names_ of the Waverley novels -occurred--among the rest _Monk_--and in "Woodstock" there is a -_General Monk_! The writer expected to get a great reputation by his -pamphlet, and I think it might have suggested to Mr. B. his style of -critical and historical inference. I must tell you, _in confidence_, -that Dickens has written to me the noblest, most touching words about -"Adam"--not hyperbolical compliments, but expressions of deep feeling. -He says the reading made an epoch in his life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th July, 1859.] - -Pug is come! come to fill up the void left by false and narrow-hearted -friends. I see already that he is without envy, hatred, or -malice--that he will betray no secrets, and feel neither pain at my -success nor pleasure in my chagrin. I hope the photograph does justice -to his physiognomy. It is expressive: full of gentleness and -affection, and radiant with intelligence when there is a savory morsel -in question--a hopeful indication of his mental capacity. I distrust -all intellectual pretension that announces itself by obtuseness of -palate! - -I wish you could see him in his best _pose_--when I have arrested him -in a violent career of carpet-scratching, and he looks at me with -fore-legs very wide apart, trying to penetrate the deep mystery of -this arbitrary, not to say capricious, prohibition. He is snoring by -my side at this moment, with a serene promise of remaining quiet for -any length of time; he couldn't behave better if he had been expressly -educated for me. I am too lazy a lover of dogs and all earthly things -to like them when they give me much trouble, preferring to describe -the pleasure other people have in taking trouble. - -Alas! the shadow that tracks all earthly good--the possibility of -loss. One may lose one's faculties, which will not always fetch a high -price; how much more a _Pug_ worth unmentionable sums--a PUG which -some generous-hearted personage in some other corner of Great Britain -than Edinburgh may even now be sending emissaries after, being bent on -paying the kindest, most delicate attention to a sensitive mortal not -sufficiently reticent of wishes. - -All I can say of that generous-hearted personage No. 2 is, that I wish -he may get--somebody else's Pug, not mine. And all I will say of the -sensitive, insufficiently reticent mortal No. 2 is, that I hope he may -be as pleased and as grateful as George Eliot. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 30th July, 1859.] - -I look forward to playing duets with you as one of my future -pleasures; and if I am able to go on working, I hope we shall afford -to have a fine grand-piano. I have none of Mozart's Symphonies, so -that you can be guided in your choice of them entirely by your own -taste. I know Beethoven's Sonata in E flat well; it is a very charming -one, and I shall like to hear you play it. That is one of my -luxuries--to sit still and hear some one playing my favorite music; -so that you may able sure you will find willing ears to listen to the -fruits of your industrious practising. - -There are ladies in the world, not a few, who play the violin, and I -wish I were one of them, for then we could play together sonatas for -the piano and violin, which make a charming combination. The violin -gives that _keen edge_ of tone which the piano wants. - -I like to know that you were gratified by getting a watch so much -sooner than you expected; and it was the greater satisfaction to me to -send it you, because you had earned it by making good use of these -precious years at Hofwyl. It is a great comfort to your father and me -to think of that, for we, with our old grave heads, can't help talking -very often of the need our boys will have for all sorts of good -qualities and habits in making their way through this difficult life. -It is a world, you perceive, in which cross-bows _will_ be _launisch_ -sometimes, and frustrate the skill of excellent marksmen--how much -more of lazy bunglers? - -The first volume of the "Physiology of Common Life" is just published, -and it is a great pleasure to see so much of your father's hard work -successfully finished. He has been giving a great deal of labor to the -numbers on the physiology of the nervous system, which are to appear -in the course of two or three months, and he has enjoyed the labor in -spite of the drawback of imperfect health, which obliges him very -often to leave the desk with a hot and aching head. It is quite my -worst trouble that he has so much of this discomfort to bear; and we -must all try and make everything else as pleasant to him as we can, to -make up for it. - -Tell Thornton he shall have the book he asks for, if possible--I mean -the book of moths and butterflies; and tell Bertie I expect to hear -about the wonderful things he has done with his pocket-knife. Tell him -he is equipped well enough to become king of a desert island with that -pocket-knife of his; and if, as I think I remember, it has a corkscrew -attached, he would certainly have more implements than he would need -in that romantic position. - -We shall hope to hear a great deal of your journey, with all its haps -and mishaps. The mishaps are just as pleasant as the haps when they -are past--that is one comfort for tormented travellers. - -You are an excellent correspondent, so I do not fear you will flag in -writing to me; and remember, you are always giving a pleasure when you -write to me. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Aug. 11._--Received a letter from an American--Mr. J. C. -Evans--asking me to write a story for an American periodical. Answered -that I could not write one for less than £1000, since, in order to do -it, I must suspend my actual work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 11th Aug. 1859.] - -I do wish much to see more of human life: how can one see enough in -the short years one has to stay in the world? But I meant that at -present my mind works with the most freedom and the keenest sense of -poetry in my remotest past, and there are many strata to be worked -through before I can begin to use, _artistically_, any material I may -gather in the present. Curiously enough, _apropos_ of your remark -about "Adam Bede," there is much less "out of my own life" in that -book--_i.e._, the materials are much more a combination from -imperfectly known and widely sundered elements than the "Clerical -Scenes." I'm so glad you have enjoyed these--so thankful for the words -you write me. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Aug. 12._--Mr. J. C. Evans wrote again, declaring his willingness to -pay the £1000, and asking for an interview to arrange preliminaries. - -_Aug. 15._--Declined the American proposition, which was to write a -story of twelve parts (weekly parts) in the _New York Century_ for -£1200. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th Aug. 1859.] - -I have re-read your whole proof, and feel that every serious reader -will be impressed with the indications of real truth-seeking and -heart-experience in the tone. Beginnings are always troublesome. Even -Macaulay's few pages of introduction to his Introduction in the -English History are the worst bit of writing in the book. It was no -trouble to me to read your proof, so don't talk as if it had been. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Aug. 17._--Received a letter from Blackwood, with check for £200 for -second edition of "Clerical Scenes." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 17th Aug. 1859.] - -I'm glad my story cleaves to you. At present I have no hope that it -will affect people as strongly as "Adam" has done. The characters are -on a lower level generally, and the environment less romantic. But my -stories grow in me like plants, and this is only in the leaf-bud. I -have faith that the flower will come. Not enough faith, though, to -make me like the idea of beginning to print till the flower is fairly -out--till I know the end as well as the beginning. - -Pug develops new charms every day. I think, in the prehistoric period -of his existence, before he came to me, he had led a sort of Caspar -Hauser life, shut up in a kennel in Bethnal Green; and he has had to -get over much astonishment at the sight of cows and other rural -objects on a large scale, which he marches up to and surveys with the -gravity of an "Own Correspondent," whose business it is to observe. -He has absolutely no bark; but, _en revanche_, he sneezes powerfully, -and has speaking eyes, so the _media_ of communication are abundant. -He sneezes at the world in general, and he looks affectionately at me. - -I envy you the acquaintance of a genuine non-bookish man like Captain -Speke. I wonder when men of that sort will take their place as heroes -in our literature, instead of the inevitable "genius?" - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Aug. 20._--Letter from the troublesome Mr. Quirk of Attleboro, still -wanting satisfaction about Liggins. I did not leave it unanswered, -because he is a friend of Chrissey's, but G. wrote for me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Aug. 1859.] - -Our great difficulty is _Time_. I am little better than a sick nigger -with the lash behind him at present. If we go to Penmaenmawr we shall -travel all through by night, in order not to lose more than one day; -and we shall pause at Lichfield on our way back. To pause at Coventry -would be a real pleasure to me; but I think, even if we could do it on -our way home, it would be better economy to wait until the sense of -hurry is past, and make it a little reward for work done. The going to -the coast seems to be a wise measure, quite apart from indulgence. We -are both so feeble; but otherwise I should have kept my resolution and -remained quiet here for the next six months. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Aug. 25._--In the evening of this day we set off on our journey to -Penmaenmawr. We reached Conway at half-past three in the morning; and -finding that it was hopeless to get a bed anywhere, we walked about -the town till the morning began to dawn, and we could see the outline -of the fine old castle's battlemented walls. In the morning we went to -Llandudno, thinking that might suit us better than Penmaenmawr. We -found it ugly and fashionable. Then we went off to Penmaenmawr, which -was beautiful to our hearts' content--or rather discontent--for it -would not receive us, being already filled with visitors. Back again -in despair to Conway, where we got temporary lodgings at one of the -numerous Joneses. This particular Jones happened to be honest and -obliging, and we did well enough for a few days in our in-door life, -but out-of-doors there were cold winds and rain. One day we went to -Abergele and found a solitary house called Beach House, which it -seemed possible we might have at the end of a few days. But no! And -the winds were so cold on this northerly coast that George was not -sorry, preferring rather to take flight southward. So we set out again -on 31st, and reached Lichfield about half-past five. Here we meant to -pass the night, that I might see my nieces--dear Chrissey's orphan -children--Emily and Kate. I was much comforted by the sight of them, -looking happy, and apparently under excellent care in Miss Eborall's -school. We slept at the "Swan," where I remember being with my father -and mother when I was a little child, and afterwards with my father -alone, in our last journey into Derbyshire. The next morning we set -off again, and completed our journey to Weymouth. Many delicious walks -and happy hours we had in our fortnight there. A letter from Mr. -Langford informed us that the subscription for the sixth edition of -"Adam Bede" was 1000. Another pleasant incident was a letter from my -old friend and school-fellow, Martha Jackson, asking if the author of -"Adam Bede" was _her_ Marian Evans. - -_Sept. 16._--We reached home, and found letters awaiting us--one from -Mr. Quirk, finally renouncing Liggins!--with tracts of an -ultra-evangelical kind for me, and the Parish Mag., etc., from the -Rev. Erskine Clark of St. Michael's, Derby, who had written to me to -ask me to help him in this sort of work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 17th Sept. 1859.] - -I have just been reading, with deep interest and heart-stirring, the -article on the Infant Seamstresses in the _Englishwoman's Journal_. I -am one among the grateful readers of that moving description--moving -because the writer's own soul was moved by love and pity in the -writing of it. These are the papers that will make the "Journal" a -true organ with a _function_. I am writing at the end of the day, on -the brink of sleep, too tired to think of anything but that picture of -the little sleeping slop-worker who had pricked her tiny finger so. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Sept. 18._--A volume of devotional poetry from the authoress of -"Visiting my Relations," with an inscription admonishing me not to be -beguiled by the love of money. _In much anxiety and doubt about my new -novel._ - -_Oct. 7._--Since the last entry in my Journal various matters of -interest have occurred. Certain "new" ideas have occurred to me in -relation to my novel, and I am in better hope of it. At Weymouth I had -written to Blackwood to ask him about terms, supposing I published in -"Maga." His answer determined me to decline. On Monday, the 26th, we -set out on a three days' journey to Lincolnshire and back--very -pleasant and successful both as to weather and the object I was in -search of. A less pleasant business has been a correspondence with a -_crétin_--a Warwickshire magistrate, who undertakes to declare the -process by which I wrote my books--and who is the chief propagator and -maintainer of the story that Liggins is at the bottom of the -"Clerical Scenes" and "Adam Bede." It is poor George who has had to -conduct the correspondence, making his head hot by it, to the -exclusion of more fructifying work. To-day, in answer to a letter from -Sara, I have written her an account of my interviews with my Aunt -Samuel. This evening comes a letter from Miss Brewster, full of -well-meant exhortation. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 7th Oct. 1859.] - -The very best bit of news I can tell you to begin with is that your -father's "Physiology of Common Life" is selling remarkably well, being -much in request among medical students. You are not to be a medical -student, but I hope, nevertheless, you will by-and-by read the work -with interest. There is to be a new edition of the "Sea-side Studies" -at Christmas, or soon after--a proof that this book also meets with a -good number of readers. I wish you could have seen to-day, as I did, -the delicate spinal cord of a dragon-fly--like a tiny thread with tiny -beads on it--which your father had just dissected! He is so -wonderfully clever now at the dissection of these delicate things, and -has attained this cleverness entirely by devoted practice during the -last three years. I hope _you_ have some of his resolution and -persistent regularity in work. I think you have, if I may judge from -your application to music, which I am always glad to read of in your -letters. I was a very idle practiser, and I often regret now that when -I had abundant time and opportunity for hours of piano playing I used -them so little. I have about eighteen Sonatas and Symphonies of -Beethoven, I think, but I shall be delighted to find that you can play -them better than I can. I am very sensitive to blunders and wrong -notes, and instruments out of tune; but I have never played much from -ear, though I used to play from memory a great deal. The other evening -Mr. Pigott, whom you remember, Mr. Redford, another friend of your -father's, and Mr. Wilkie Collins dined with us, and we had a charming -musical evening. Mr. Pigott has a delicious tenor voice, and Mr. -Redford a fine barytone. The latter sings "Adelaide," that exquisite -song of Beethoven's, which I should like you to learn. Schubert's -songs, too, I especially delight in; but, as you say, they are -difficult. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 10th Oct. 1859.] - -It is pleasant to have to tell you that Mr. Bracebridge has been at -last awakened to do the right thing. This morning came a letter -enclosing the following to me: - -"Madame, I have much pleasure on receiving your declaration that -'etc., etc.,' in replying that I frankly accept your declaration as -the truth, and I shall repeat it if the contrary is again asserted to -me." - -This is the first symptom we have had from him of common-sense. I am -very thankful--for it ends transactions with him. - -Mr. Lewes is of so sensitive a temperament, and so used to feeling -more angry and more glad on my behalf than his own, that he has been -made, several mornings, quite unable to go on with his work by this -irritating correspondence. It is all my fault, for if he didn't see in -the first instance that I am completely upset by anything that arouses -unloving emotions, he would never feel as he does about outer sayings -and doings. No one is more indifferent than he is to what is said -about himself. No more about my business, let us hope, for a long -while to come! - -The Congreves are settled at home again now--blessing us with the -sight of kind faces--Mr. Congreve beginning his medical course. - -Delicious confusion of ideas! Mr. Lewes, walking in Wandsworth, saw a -good woman cross over the street to speak to a blind man. She accosted -him with, "Well, _I_ knew you, _though you are dark_!" - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 16th Oct. 1859.] - -I wish you had read the letter you enclosed to me; it is really -curious. The writer, an educated person, asks me to perfect and extend -the benefit "Adam Bede" has "conferred on society" by writing a -_sequel_ to it, in which I am to tell all about Hetty after her -reprieve, "Arthur's efforts to obtain the reprieve, and his desperate -ride after obtaining it--Dinah on board the convict ship--Dinah's -letters to Hetty--and whatever the author might choose to reveal -concerning Hetty's years of banishment. Minor instances of the -incompleteness which induces an unsatisfactory feeling may be alleged -in the disposal of the _locket and earrings_--which everybody expects -to re-appear--and in the incident of the pink silk neckerchief, of -which all would like to hear a little more!!" - -I do feel more than I ought about outside sayings and doings, and I -constantly rebuke myself for all that part of my susceptibility, which -I know to be weak and egoistic; still what is said about one's art is -not merely a personal matter--it touches the very highest things one -lives for. _Truth_ in art is so startling that no one can believe in -it as art, and the specific forms of religious life which have made -some of the grandest elements in human history are looked down upon as -if they were not within the artist's sympathy and veneration and -intensely dramatic reproduction. "I do well to be angry" on that -ground, don't I? The simple fact is, that I never saw anything of my -aunt's writing, and Dinah's words came from me "as the tears come -because our heart is full, and we can't help them." - -If you were living in London instead of at Edinburgh, I should ask you -to read the first volume of "Sister Maggie" at once, for the sake of -having your impression, but it is inconvenient to me to part with the -MS. The great success of "Adam" makes my writing a matter of more -anxiety than ever. I suppose there is a little sense of responsibility -mixed up with a great deal of pride. And I think I should worry myself -still more if I began to print before the thing is essentially -complete. So on all grounds it is better to wait. How clever and -picturesque the "Horsedealer in Syria" is! I read him with keen -interest, only wishing that he saw the seamy side of things rather -less habitually. Excellent Captain Speke can't write so well, but one -follows him out of grave sympathy. That a man should live through such -things as that beetle in his ear! Such papers as that make the -_specialité_ of _Blackwood_--one sees them nowhere else. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Oct. 16._--Yesterday came a pleasant packet of letters: one from -Blackwood, saying that they are printing a seventh edition of "Adam -Bede" (of 2000), and that "Clerical Scenes" will soon be exhausted. I -have finished the first volume of my new novel, "Sister Maggie;" have -got my legal questions answered satisfactorily, and when my headache -has cleared off must go at it full speed. - -_Oct. 25._--The day before yesterday Herbert Spencer dined with us. We -have just finished reading aloud "Père Goriot"--a hateful book. I have -been reading lately and have nearly finished Comte's "Catechism." - -_Oct. 28._--Received from Blackwood a check for £400, the last payment -for "Adam Bede" in the terms of the agreement. But in consequence of -the great success, he proposes to pay me £800 more at the beginning of -next year. Yesterday Smith, the publisher, called to make propositions -to G. about writing in the _Cornhill Magazine_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th Oct. 1859.] - -I beg that you and Major Blackwood will accept my thanks for your -proposal to give me a further share in the success of "Adam Bede," -beyond the terms of our agreement, which are fulfilled by the second -check for £400, received this morning. Neither you nor I ever -calculated on half such a success, thinking that the book was too -quiet, and too unflattering to dominant fashion, ever to be very -popular. I hope that opinion of ours is a guarantee that there is -nothing hollow or transient in the reception "Adam" has met with. -Sometimes when I read a book which has had a great success, and am -unable to see any valid merits of an artistic kind to account for it, -I am visited with a horrible alarm lest "Adam," too, should ultimately -sink into the same class of outworn admirations. But I always fall -back on the fact that no shibboleth and no vanity is flattered by it, -and that there is no novelty of mere form in it which can have -delighted simply by startling. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Nov. 10._--Dickens dined with us to-day, for the first time, and -after he left I went to the Congreves, where George joined me, and we -had much chat--about George Stephenson, religion, etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 11th Nov. 1859.] - -A very beautiful letter--beautiful in feeling--that I have received -from Mrs. Gaskell to-day, prompts me to write to you and let you know -how entirely she has freed herself from any imputation of being -unwilling to accept the truth when it has once clearly presented -itself as truth. Since she has known "on authority" that the two books -are mine, she has re-read them, and has written to me, apparently on -the prompting they gave in that second reading: very sweet and noble -words they are that she has written to me. Yesterday Dickens dined -with us, on _his_ return from the country. That was a great pleasure -to me: he is a man one can thoroughly enjoy talking to--there is a -strain of real seriousness along with his keenness and humor. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 14th Nov. 1859.] - -The Liggins affair is concluded so far as any _action_ of ours is -concerned, since Mr. Quirk (the inmost citadel, I presume) has -surrendered by writing an apology to Blackwood, saying he now believes -he was imposed on by Mr. Liggins. As to Miss Martineau, I respect her -so much as an authoress, and have so pleasant a recollection of her as -a hostess for three days, that I wish that distant impression from -herself and her writings to be disturbed as little as possible by mere -personal details. Anything she may do or say or feel concerning me -personally is a matter of entire indifference: I share her bitterness -with a large number of far more blameless people than myself. It can -be of no possible benefit to me, or any one else, that I should know -more of those things, either past, present, or to come. "I do owe no -man anything" except to write honestly and religiously what comes from -my inward promptings; and the freer I am kept of all knowledge of that -comparatively small circle who mingle personal regards or hatred with -their judgment or reception of my writings, the easier it will be to -keep my motives free from all indirectness and write truly. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Nov. 18._--On Monday Dickens wrote, asking me to give him, after I -have finished my present novel, a story to be printed in _All the Year -Round_--to begin four months after next Easter, and assuring me of my -own terms. The next day G. had an interview by appointment with Evans -(of Bradbury & Evans), and Lucas, the editor of _Once a Week_, who, -after preliminary pressing of G. himself to contribute, put forward -their wish that I should give them a novel for their Magazine. They -were to write and make an offer, but have not yet done so. We have -written to Dickens, saying that _time_ is an insurmountable obstacle -to his proposition, as he puts it. - -I am reading Thomas à Kempis. - -_Nov. 19._--Mr. Lockhart Clarke and Mr. Herbert Spencer dined with us. - -_Nov. 22._--We have been much annoyed lately by Newby's advertisement -of a book called "Adam Bede, Junior," a sequel; and to-day Dickens has -written to mention a story of the tricks which are being used to push -the book under the pretence of its being mine. One librarian has been -forced to order the book against his will, because the public have -demanded it. Dickens is going to put an article on the subject in -_Household Words_, in order to scarify the rascally bookseller. - -_Nov. 23._--We began Darwin's book on "The Origin of Species" -to-night. Though full of interesting matter, it is not impressive, -from want of luminous and orderly presentation. - -_Nov. 24._--This morning I wrote the scene between Mrs. Tulliver and -Wakem. G. went into town and saw young Evans (of Bradbury & Evans), -who agreed that it would be well to have an article in _Punch_ on this -scoundrelly business of "Adam Bede, Junior." A divine day. I walked -out, and Mrs. Congreve joined me. Then music, "Arabian Nights," and -Darwin. - -_Nov. 25._--I am reading old Bunyan again, after the long lapse of -years, and am profoundly struck with the true genius manifested in the -simple, vigorous, rhythmic style. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Brays, 25th Nov. 1859.] - -Thanks for _Bentley_. Some one said the writer of the article on "Adam -Bede" was a Mr. Mozeley, a clergyman, and a writer in the _Times_; but -these reports about authorship are as often false as true. I think it -is, on the whole, the best review we have seen, unless we must except -the one in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, by Emile Montégut. I don't -mean to read _any_ reviews of my next book; so far as they would -produce any effect, they would be confusing. Everybody admires -something that somebody else finds fault with; and the miller with his -donkey was in a clear and decided state of mind compared with the -unfortunate writer who should set himself to please all the world of -review writers. I am compelled, in spite of myself, to be annoyed with -this business of "Adam Bede, Junior." You see I am well provided with -thorns in the flesh, lest I should be exalted beyond measure. To part -with the copyright of a book which sells 16,000 in one year--to have a -Liggins and an unknown writer of one's "Sequel" all to one's self--is -excellent discipline. - -We are reading Darwin's book on Species, just come out after long -expectation. It is an elaborate exposition of the evidence in favor of -the Development Theory, and so makes an epoch. Do you see how the -publishing world is going mad on periodicals? If I could be seduced by -such offers, I might have written three poor novels, and made my -fortune in one year. Happily, I have no need to exert myself when I -say "Avaunt thee, Satan!" Satan, in the form of bad writing and good -pay, is not seductive to me. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Nov. 26._--Letter from Lucas, editor of _Once a Week_, anxious to -come to terms about my writing for said periodical. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 26th Nov. 1859.] - -It was very pretty and generous of you to send me a nice long letter -out of your turn, and I think I shall give you, as a reward, other -opportunities of being generous in the same way for the next few -months, for I am likely to be a poor correspondent, having my head and -hands full. - -We have the whole of Vilmar's "Literatur Geschichte," but not the -remainder of the "Deutsche Humoristik." I agree with you in liking the -history of German literature, especially the earlier ages--the -birth-time of the legendary poetry. Have you read the "Nibelungenlied" -yet? - -Whereabouts are you in algebra? It would be very pleasant to study it -with you, if I could possibly find time to rub up my knowledge. It is -now a good while since I looked into algebra, but I was very fond of -it in old days, though I dare say I never went so far as you have now -gone. Tell me your latitude and longitude. - -I have no memory of an autumn so disappointing as this. It is my -favorite season. I delight especially in the golden and red tints -under the purple clouds. But this year the trees were almost stripped -of their leaves before they had changed color--dashed off by the winds -and rain. We have had _no_ autumnal beauty. - -I am writing at night--very tired--so you must not wonder if I have -left out words, or been otherwise incoherent. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Nov. 29._--Wrote a letter to the _Times_, and to Delane about Newby. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 5th Dec. 1859.] - -I took no notice of the extract you sent me from a letter of Mrs. -Gaskell's, being determined not to engage in any writing on the topic -of my authorship, except such as was absolutely demanded of us. But -since then I have had a very beautiful letter from Mrs. Gaskell, and I -will quote some of her words, because they do her honor, and will -incline you to think more highly of her. She begins in this way: -"Since I heard, on authority, that you were the author of 'Scenes of -Clerical Life' and 'Adam Bede,' I have read them again, and I must -once more tell you how earnestly, fully, and _humbly_ I admire them. I -never read anything so complete and beautiful in fiction in my life -before." Very sweet and noble of her, was it not? She went on to speak -of her having held to the notion of Liggins, but she adds, "I was -never such a goose as to believe that books like yours were a mosaic -of real and ideal." The "Seth Bede" and "Adam Bede, Junior," are -speculations of those who are always ready to fasten themselves like -leeches on a popular fame. Such things must be endured: they are the -shadow to the bright fact of selling 16,000 in one year. As to the -silly falsehoods and empty opinions afloat in some petty circles, I -have quite conquered my temporary irritation about them--indeed, I -feel all the more serene now for that very irritation; it has -impressed on me more deeply how entirely the rewards of the artist lie -apart from everything that is narrow and personal: there is no peace -until that lesson is thoroughly learned. I shall go on writing from -my inward promptings--writing what I love and believe, what I feel to -be true and good, if I can only render it worthily--and then leave all -the rest to take its chance: "As it was in the beginning, is now, and -ever shall be" with those who are to produce any art that will -lastingly touch the generations of men. We have been reading Darwin's -book on the "Origin of Species" just now: it makes an epoch, as the -expression of his thorough adhesion, after long years of study, to the -Doctrine of Development--and not the adhesion of an anonym like the -author of the "Vestiges," but of a long-celebrated naturalist. The -book is sadly wanting in illustrative facts--of which he has collected -a vast number, but reserves them for a future book, of which this -smaller one is the _avant-coureur_. This will prevent the work from -becoming popular as the "Vestiges" did, but it will have a great -effect in the scientific world, causing a thorough and open discussion -of a question about which people have hitherto felt timid. So the -world gets on step by step towards brave clearness and honesty! But to -me the Development Theory, and all other explanations of processes by -which things came to be, produce a feeble impression compared with the -mystery that lies under the processes. It is nice to think of you -reading our great, great favorite Molière, while, for the present, we -are not taking him down from the shelves--only talking about him, as -we do very often. I get a good deal of pleasure out of the sense that -some one I love is reading and enjoying my best-loved writers. I think -the "Misanthrope" the finest, most complete production _of its kind_ -in the world. I know you enjoy the "sonnet" scene, and the one between -Arsinoé and Célimène. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, Monday evening, 5th Dec. -1859.] - -In opposition to most people who love to _read_ Shakspeare, I like to -see his plays acted better than any others; his great tragedies thrill -me, let them be acted how they may. I think it is something like what -I used to experience in old days in listening to uncultured -preachers--the emotions lay hold of one too strongly for one to care -about the medium. Before all other plays I find myself cold and -critical, seeing nothing but actors and "properties." I like going to -those little provincial theatres. One's heart streams out to the poor -devils of actors who get so little clapping, and will go home to so -poor a supper. One of my pleasures lately has been hearing repeatedly -from my Genevese friends M. and Mme. d'Albert, who were so good to me -during my residence with them. M. d'Albert had read the "Scenes of -Clerical Life" before he knew they were mine, and had been so much -struck with them that he had wanted to translate them. One likes to -feel old ties strengthened by fresh sympathies. The _Cornhill -Magazine_ is going to lead off with great spirit, and promises to -eclipse all the other new-born periodicals. Mr. Lewes is writing a -series of papers for it--"Studies in Animal Life"--which are to be -subsequently published in a book. It is quite as well that your book -should not be ready for publication just yet. February is a much -better time than Christmas. I shall be one of your most eager -readers--for every book that comes from the heart of hearts does me -good, and I quite share your faith that what you yourself feel so -deeply and find so precious will find a home in some other minds. Do -not suspect that I impose on you the task of writing letters to answer -my _dilettante_ questions. "Am I on a bed of roses?" I have four -children to correspond with--the three boys in Switzerland, and Emily -at Lichfield. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1859.] - -_Dec. 15._--Blackwood proposes to give me for "The Mill on the Floss" -£2000 for 4000 copies of an edition at 31_s._ 6_d._, and after the -same rate for any more that may be printed at the same price: £150 for -1000 at 12_s._, and £60 for 1000 at 6_s._ I have accepted. - -_Dec. 25._--Christmas-day. We all, including Pug, dined with Mr. and -Mrs. Congreve, and had a delightful day. Mr. Bridges was there too. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 30th Dec. 1859.] - -I don't like Christmas to go by without sending you a greeting, though -I have really nothing to say beyond that. We spent our Christmas-day -with the Congreves, shutting up our house and taking our servant and -Pug with us. And so we ate our turkey and plum-pudding in very social, -joyous fashion with those charming friends. Mr. Bridges was there too. - -We are meditating flight to Italy when my present work is done, as our -last bit of vagrancy for a long, long while. We shall only stay two -months, doing nothing but absorb. - -I don't think I have anything else to tell, except that we, being very -happy, wish all mortals to be in like condition, and especially the -mortals we know in the flesh. Human happiness is a web with many -threads of pain in it--that is always _sub auditum_--Twist ye, twine -ye, even so, etc., etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 3d Jan. 1860.] - -I never before had so pleasant a New Year's greeting as your letter -containing a check for £800, for which I have to thank you to-day. On -every ground--including considerations that are not at all of a -monetary kind--I am deeply obliged to you and to Major Blackwood for -your liberal conduct in relation to "Adam Bede." - -As, owing to your generous concession of the copyright of "Adam Bede," -the three books will be henceforth on the same footing, we shall be -delivered from further discussion as to terms. - -We are demurring about the title. Mr. Lewes is beginning to prefer -"The House of Tulliver; or, Life on the Floss," to our old notion of -"Sister Maggie." "The Tullivers; or, Life on the Floss," has the -advantage of slipping easily off the lazy English tongue, but it is -after too common a fashion ("The Newcomes," "The Bertrams," etc., -etc.). Then there is "The Tulliver Family; or, Life on the Floss." -Pray meditate, and give us your opinion. - -I am very anxious that the "Scenes of Clerical Life" should have every -chance of impressing the public with its existence: first, because I -think it of importance to the estimate of me as a writer that "Adam -Bede" should not be counted as my only book; and secondly, because -there are ideas presented in these stories about which I care a good -deal, and am not sure that I can ever embody again. This latter reason -is my private affair, but the other reason, if valid, is yours also. I -must tell you that I had another cheering letter to-day besides yours: -one from a person of mark in your Edinburgh University,[9] full of the -very strongest words of sympathy and encouragement, hoping that my -life may long be spared "to give pictures of the deeper life of this -age." So I sat down to my desk with a delicious confidence that my -audience is not made up of reviewers and literary clubs. If there is -any truth in me that the world wants, nothing will hinder the world -from drinking what it is athirst for. And if there is no needful truth -in me, let me, howl as I may in the process, be hurled into the Dom -Daniel, where I wish all other futile writers to sink. - -Your description of the "curling" made me envy you the sight. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 4th Jan. 1860.] - -The sun is shining with us too, and your pleasant letter made it seem -to shine more brightly. I am not going to be expansive in this -appendix to your father's chapter of love and news, for my head is -tired with writing this morning--it is not so young as yours, you -know, and, besides, is a feminine head, supported by weaker muscles -and a weaker digestive apparatus than that of a young gentleman with a -broad chest and hopeful whiskers. I don't wonder at your being more -conscious of your attachment to Hofwyl now the time of leaving is so -near. I fear you will miss a great many things in exchanging Hofwyl, -with its snowy mountains and glorious spaces, for a very moderate home -in the neighborhood of London. You will have a less various, more -arduous life: but the time of _Entbehrung_ or _Entsagung_ must begin, -you know, for every mortal of us. And let us hope that we shall -all--father and mother and sons--help one another with love. - -What jolly times you have had lately! It did us good to read of your -merrymaking. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 6th Jan. 1860.] - -"The Mill on the Floss" be it then! The only objections are, that the -mill is not _strictly_ on the Floss, being on its small tributary, and -that the title is of rather laborious utterance. But I think these -objections do not deprive it of its advantage over "The Tullivers; -or, Life on the Floss"--the only alternative, so far as we can see. -Pray give the casting-vote. - -Easter Monday, I see, is on the 8th April, and I wish to be out by the -middle or end of March. Illness apart, I intend to have finished Vol. -III. by the beginning of that month, and I hope no obstacle will -impede the rapidity of the printing. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Jan. 11._--I have had a very delightful letter of sympathy from -Professor Blackie of Edinburgh, which came to me on New Year's -morning, and a proposal from Blackwood to publish a third edition of -"Clerical Scenes" at 12_s._ George's article in the _Cornhill -Magazine_--the first of a series of "Studies in Animal Life"--is much -admired, and in other ways our New Year opens with happy omens. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 12th Jan. 1860.] - -Thank you for letting me see the specimen advertisements; they have -helped us to come to a decision--namely, for "The Mill on the Floss." - -I agree with you that it will be well not to promise the book in -March--not because I do not desire and hope to be ready, but because I -set my face against all pledges that I am not _sure_ of being able to -fulfil. The third volume is, I fancy, always more rapidly written than -the rest. The third volume of "Adam Bede" was written in six weeks, -even with headaching interruptions, because it was written under a -stress of emotion, which first volumes cannot be. I will send you the -first volume of "The Mill" at once. The second is ready, but I would -rather keep it as long as I can. Besides the advantage to the book of -being out by Easter, I have another reason for wishing to have done in -time for that. We want to get away for two months to Italy, if -possible, to feed my mind with fresh thoughts, and to assure ourselves -of that fructifying holiday before the boys are about us, making it -difficult for us to leave home. But you may rely on it that no amount -of horse-power would make me _hurry_ over my book, so as not to do my -best. If it is written fast, it will be because I can't help writing -it fast. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Jan. 16._--Finished my second volume this morning, and am going to -send off the MS. of the first volume to-morrow. We have decided that -the title shall be "The Mill on the Floss." We have been reading -"Humphrey Clinker" in the evenings, and have been much disappointed in -it, after the praise of Thackeray and Dickens. - -_Jan. 26._--Mr. Pigott, Mr. Redford, and Mr. F. Chapman dined with us, -and we had a musical evening. Mrs. Congreve and Miss Bury[10] joining -us after dinner. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th Jan. 1860.] - -Thanks for your letter of yesterday, with the Genevese enclosure. No -promise, alas! of smallest watch expressing largest admiration, but a -desire for "permission to translate." - -I have been invalided for the last week, and, of course, am a prisoner -in the castle of Giant Despair, who growls in my ear that "The Mill on -the Floss" is detestable, and that the last volume will be the climax -of that general detestableness. Such is the elation attendant on what -a self-elected lady correspondent of mine from Scotland calls my -"exciting career!" - -I have had a great pleasure this week. Dr. Inman of Liverpool has -dedicated a new book ("Foundation for a New Theory and Practice of -Medicine") "to G. H. Lewes, as an acknowledgment of benefit received -from noticing his close observation and clear inductive reasoning in -'Sea-side Studies' and the 'Physiology of Common Life.'" - -That is really gratifying, coming from a _physician_ of some -scientific mark, who is _not_ a personal friend. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Feb. 4._--Came this morning a letter from Blackwood announcing the -despatch of the first eight sheets of proof of "The Mill on the -Floss," and expressing his delight in it. To-night G. has read them, -and says, "_Ganz famos!_" Ebenezer! - -_Feb. 23._--Sir Edward Lytton called on us. Guy Darrell in _propriâ -personâ_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 23d Feb. 1860.] - -Sir Edward Lytton called on us yesterday. The conversation lapsed -chiefly into monologue, from the difficulty I found in making him -hear, but under all disadvantages I had an agreeable impression of his -kindness and sincerity. He thinks the two defects of "Adam Bede" are -the dialect and Adam's marriage with Dinah; but, of course, I would -have my teeth drawn rather than give up either. - -Jacobi told Jean Paul that unless he altered the _dénouement_ of his -Titan he would withdraw his friendship from him; and I am preparing -myself for your lasting enmity on the ground of the tragedy in my -third volume. But an unfortunate duck can only lay blue eggs, however -much white ones may be in demand. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Feb. 29._--G. has been in the town to-day, and has agreed for £300 -for "The Mill on the Floss" from Harpers of New York. This evening, -too, has come a letter from Williams & Norgate, saying that Tauchnitz -will give £100 for the German reprint; also, that "Bede Adam" is -translated into Hungarian. - -_March 5._--Yesterday Mr. Lawrence, the portrait-painter, lunched with -us, and expressed to G. his wish to take my portrait. - -_March 9._--Yesterday a letter from Blackwood, expressing his strong -delight in my third volume, which he had read to the beginning of -"Borne on the tide." To-day young Blackwood called, and told us, among -other things, that the last copies of "Clerical Scenes" had gone -to-day--twelve for export. Letter came from Germany, announcing a -translation of G.'s "Biographical History of Philosophy." - -_March 11._--To-day the first volume of the German translation of -"Adam Bede" came. It is done by Dr. Frese, the same man who translated -the "Life of Goethe." - -_March 20._--Professor Owen sent me his "Palæontology" to-day. Have -missed two days of work from headache, and so have not yet finished my -book. - -_March 21._--Finished this morning "The Mill on the Floss," writing -from the moment when Maggie, carried out on the water, thinks of her -mother and brother. We hope to start for Rome on Saturday, 24th. - - _Magnificat anima mea!_ - - The manuscript of "The Mill on the Floss" bears the following - inscription: - - "To my beloved husband, George Henry Lewes, I give this MS. - of my third book, written in the sixth year of our life - together, at Holly Lodge, South Field, Wandsworth, and - finished 21st March, 1860." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 22d March, 1860.] - -Your letter yesterday morning helped to inspire me for the last eleven -pages, if they have any inspiration in them. They were written in a -_furor_, but I dare say there is not a word different from what it -would have been if I had written them at the slowest pace. - -We expect to start on Saturday morning, and to be in Rome by Palm -Sunday, or else by the following Tuesday. Of course we shall write to -you when we know what will be our address in Rome. In the meantime -news will gather. - -I don't mean to send "The Mill on the Floss" to any one except to -Dickens, who has behaved with a delicate kindness in a recent matter, -which I wish to acknowledge. - -I am grateful and yet rather sad to have finished--sad that I shall -live with my people on the banks of the Floss no longer. But it is -time that I should go and absorb some new life and gather fresh ideas. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1859, TO MARCH, 1860. - - Looking for cases of _inundation_ in _Annual Register_--New - House--Holly Lodge, Wandsworth--Letter to John - Blackwood--George Eliot fears she has not characteristics of - "the popular author"--Subscription to "Adam Bede" 730 - copies--Appreciation by a cabinet-maker--Dr. John Brown sends - "Rab and his Friends" with an inscription--Letter to - Blackwood thereon--Tries to be hopeful--Letters to Miss - Hennell--Description of Holly Lodge--Miss - Nightingale--Thoughts on death--Scott--Mrs. Clarke - writes--Mr. and Mrs. Congreve--Letter to Mrs. Bray on effects - of anxiety--Mrs. Clarke dying--Letter to John - Blackwood--Wishes Carlyle to read "Adam Bede"--"Life of - Frederic" painful--Susceptibility to newspaper - criticism--Edinburgh more encouraging than London--Letter to - Blackwood to stop puffing notices--Letter from E. Hall, - working-man, asking for cheap editions--Sale of "Adam - Bede"--Death of Mrs. Clarke--1800 copies of "Adam Bede" - sold--Letter to Blackwood--Awakening to fame--Letter to - Froude--Mrs. Poyser quoted in House of Commons by Mr. Charles - Buxton--Opinions of Charles Reade, Shirley Brooks, and John - Murray--Letter to John Blackwood--Warwickshire correspondent - insists that Liggins is author of "Adam Bede"--Not flushed - with success--Visit to Isle of Wight--Letter to Miss Hennell - on rewriting, and pleasure in Mr. and Mrs. Congreve--Letter - to _Times_, denying that Liggins is the author--Letter to - Blackwood--The Liggins myth--Letter from Bulwer--Finished - "The Lifted Veil"--Writing "The Tullivers"--Mrs. - Congreve--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Faith in her--Letter from - Madame Bodichon--Reply breathing joy in sympathy--Letter to - Major Blackwood--Mr. Anders's apology for the Liggins - business--"Adam Bede" worth writing--Dulwich - gallery--Blackwood gives £400 more in acknowledgment of "Adam - Bede's" success--Letter to Miss Hennell on Mrs. Congreve--On - difficulty of getting cheap music in England--Professor - Aytoun on "Adam Bede"--Letter to Major - Blackwood--Liggins--Mrs. Gaskell--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Dislike of Wandsworth--To Crystal Palace to hear - "Messiah," and reveals herself to Brays as author of "Adam - Bede"--Letter to Brays--Bad effect of talking of her - books--Letter to Charles Bray--Melancholy that her writing - does not produce effect intended--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--To - Switzerland by Paris--At Schweizerhof, Lucerne, with - Congreves--Mr. Lewes goes to Hofwyl--Return to Richmond by - Bâle and Paris--Fourth edition of "Adam Bede" (5000) sold in - a fortnight--Letter to Mrs. Bray on Mrs. Congreve--On the - effect of her books and fame--Herbert Spencer on "Adam - Bede"--Pamphlet to prove that Scott's novels were written by - Thomas Scott--Letter from Dickens on "Adam Bede" referred - to--Letter to John Blackwood on "Pug"--Letter to Charles - Lewes--"The Physiology of Common Life"--American proposition - for a story for £1200--Letter to Madame Bodichon--Distance - from experience artistically necessary--Letter to John - Blackwood--Development of stories--Visit to - Penmaenmawr--Return by Lichfield to Weymouth--Sixth edition - of "Adam Bede"--Back to Richmond--Anxiety about new - novel--Journey to Gainsboro', Lincolnshire--Letter to Miss - Hennell--End of Liggins business--Letter to John Blackwood--A - correspondent suggests a sequel to "Adam - Bede"--Susceptibility to outside opinion--Seventh edition of - "Adam Bede"--Blackwood proposes to pay £800 beyond the - bargain for success of "Adam Bede"--Dickens dines at Holly - Lodge--Letter to Miss Hennell--Quotes letter from Mrs. - Gaskell--Miss Martineau--Dickens asks for story for _All the - Year Round_--"Adam Bede, Junior"--Reading Darwin on "Origin - of Species"--Bunyan--Letter to Mr. Bray--Article on "Adam - Bede" in _Bentley_--In _Revue des Deux Mondes_, by Emile - Montégut--Reviews generally--16,000 of "Adam Bede" sold in - year--Darwin's book--Letter to Charles Lewes--Mentions - fondness of algebra--Letter to Madame Bodichon quoting Mrs. - Gaskell's letter--Rewards of the artist lie apart from - everything personal--Darwin's book--Molière--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Likes to see Shakspeare acted--Hears from M. and - Mme. d'Albert--_Cornhill Magazine_--Blackwood's terms for - "Mill on the Floss"--Christmas-day with Congreves--Letter of - sympathy from Professor Blackie--Third edition of "Clerical - Scenes"--Letters to Blackwood--Thanks for concession of - copyright of "Adam Bede"--Title of new novel - considered--Suggestion of the "Mill on the Floss" - accepted--The third volume of "Adam Bede" written in six - weeks--Depression with the "Mill"--Sir Edward Lytton--"Adam - Bede" translated into Hungarian and German--"Mill on the - Floss" finished--Letter to Blackwood--Sad at finishing--Start - for Italy. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[7] Miss Emily Bury, now Mrs. Geddes. - -[8] Madame Bodichon. - -[9] Professor Blackie. - -[10] Mrs. Congreve's sister. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -[Sidenote: Italy, 1860.] - -We have finished our journey to Italy--the journey I had looked -forward to for years, rather with the hope of the new elements it -would bring to my culture than with the hope of immediate pleasure. -Travelling can hardly be without a continual current of -disappointment, if the main object is not the enlargement of one's -general life, so as to make even weariness and annoyances enter into -the sum of benefit. One great deduction to me from the delight of -seeing world-famous objects is the frequent double consciousness which -tells me that I am not enjoying the actual vision enough, and that, -when higher enjoyment comes with the reproduction of the scenes in my -imagination, I shall have lost some of the details, which impress me -too feebly in the present, because the faculties are not wrought up -into energetic action. - -I have no other journal than the briefest record of what we did each -day, so I shall put down my recollections whenever I happen to have -leisure and inclination--just for the sake of making clear to myself -the impressions I have brought away from our three months' travel. - -The first striking moment in our journey was when we arrived, I think -about eleven o'clock at night, at the point in the ascent of the Mont -Cenis where we were to quit the diligences and take to the sledges. -After a hasty drink of hot coffee in the roadside inn, our large -party--the inmates of three diligences--turned out into the starlight -to await the signal for getting into the sledges. That signal seemed -to be considerably on in the future--to be arrived at through much -confusion of luggage-lifting, voices, and leading about of mules. The -human bustle and confusion made a poetic contrast with the sublime -stillness of the starlit heavens spread over the snowy table-land and -surrounding heights. The keenness of the air contributed strongly to -the sense of novelty; we had left our every-day, conventional world -quite behind us, and were on a visit to Nature in her private home. - -Once closely packed in our sledge, congratulating ourselves that, -after all, we were no more squeezed than in our diligence, I gave -myself up to as many naps as chose to take possession of me, and -actually slept without very considerable interruption till we were -near the summit of the mighty pass. Already there was a faint hint of -the morning in the starlight, which showed us the vast, sloping -snow-fields as we commenced the descent. I got a few glimpses of the -pure, far-stretching whiteness before the sharpening edge of cold -forced us to close the window. Then there was no more to be seen till -it was time to get out of the sledge and ascend the diligence once -more; not, however, without a preliminary struggle with the wind, -which fairly blew me down on my slippery standing-ground. The rest of -our descent showed us fine, varied scenes of mountain and ravine till -we got down at Susa, where breakfast and the railway came as a -desirable variety after our long mountain journey and long fast. One -of our companions had been a gigantic French soldier, who had in -charge a bag of government money. He was my _vis-à-vis_ for some time, -and cramped my poor legs not a little with his precious bag, which he -would by no means part from. - -The approach to Turin by the railway gave us a grand view of snowy -mountains surrounding the city on three sides. A few hours of rest -spent there could leave no very vivid impression. A handsome street, -well broken by architectural details, with a glimpse of snowy -mountains at the end of the vista, colonnades on each side, and flags -waving their bright colors in sign of political joy, is the image that -usually rises before me at the mention of Turin. I fancy the said -street is the principal one, but in our walk about the town we saw -everywhere a similar character of prosperous, well-lodged town -existence--only without the colonnades and without the balconies and -other details, which make the principal street picturesque. This is -the place that Alfieri lived in through many of his young follies, -getting tired of it at last for the Piedmontese pettiness of which it -was the centre. And now, eighty years later, it is the centre of a -widening life which may at last become the life of resuscitated Italy. -At the railway station, as we waited to take our departure for Genoa, -we had a sight of the man whose name will always be connected with the -story of that widening life--Count Cavour--"imitant son portrait," -which we had seen in the shops, with unusual closeness. A man pleasant -to look upon, with a smile half kind, half caustic; giving you -altogether the impression that he thinks of "many matters," but thanks -Heaven and makes no boast of them. He was there to meet the Prince de -Carignan, who was going to Genoa on his way towards Florence by the -same train as ourselves. The prince is a notability with a thick -waist, bound in by a gold belt, and with a fat face, predominated over -by a large mustache--"Non ragionam di lui." The railway journey from -Turin was chiefly distinguished by dust; but I slept through the -latter half, without prejudice, however, to the satisfaction with -which I lay down in a comfortable bedroom in the Hotel Feder. - -In Genoa again on a bright, warm spring morning! I was here eleven -years ago, and the image that visit had left in my mind was -surprisingly faithful, though fragmentary. The outlook from our hotel -was nearly the same as before--over a low building with a colonnade, -at the masts of the abundant shipping. But there was a striking change -in the interior of the hotel. It was like the other, a palace adapted -to the purposes of an inn; but be-carpeted and be-furnished with an -exaggeration of English fashion. - -We lost no time in turning out, after breakfast, into the morning -sunshine. George was enchanted with the aspect of the place, as we -drove or walked along the streets. It was his first vision of anything -corresponding to his preconception of Italy. After the Adlergasse, in -Nürnberg, surely no streets can be more impressive than the Strada -Nuova and Strada Nuovissima, at Genoa. In street architecture I can -rise to the highest point of the admiration given to the Palladian -style. And here in these chief streets of Genoa the palaces have two -advantages over those of Florence: they form a series, creating a -general impression of grandeur of which each particular palace gets -the benefit; and they have the open gateway, showing the _cortile_ -within--sometimes containing grand stone staircases. And all this -architectural splendor is accompanied with the signs of actual -prosperity. Genova la Superba is not a name of the past merely. - -We ascended the tower of Santa Maria di Carignano to get a panoramic -view of the city, with its embosoming hills and bay--saw the -cathedral, with its banded black-and-white marble--the churches of the -Annunziata and San Ambrogio, with their wealth of gilding and rich -pink-brown marbles--the Palazzo Rosso, with its collection of -eminently forgettable pictures--and the pretty gardens of the Palazzo -Doria, with their flourishing green close against the sea. - -A drive in the direction of the Campo Santo, along the dry, pebbly bed -of the river, showed us the terraced hills planted with olives, and -many picturesque groups of the common people with mules or on carts; -not to mention what gives beauty to every corner of the inhabited -world--the groups of children squatting against walls or trotting -about by the side of their elders or grinning together over their -play. - -One of the personages we were pleased to encounter in the streets here -was a quack--a Dulcamara--mounted on his carriage and holding forth -with much _brio_ before proceeding to take out the tooth of a negro, -already seated in preparation. - -We left Genoa on the second evening--unhappily, a little too long -after sundown, so that we did not get a perfect view of the grand city -from the sea. The pale starlight could bring out no color. We had a -prosperous passage to Leghorn. - -Leghorn on a brilliant, warm morning, with five or six hours before us -to fill as agreeably as possible! Of course, the first thought was to -go to Pisa, but the train would not start till eleven; so, in the -meantime, we took a drive about the prosperous-looking town, and saw -the great reservoir which receives the water brought from the distant -mountains; a beautiful and interesting sight--to look into the glassy -depth and see columns and grand arches reflected as if in mockery and -frustration of one's desire to see the bottom. But in one corner the -light fell so as to reveal that reality instead of the beautiful -illusion. On our way back we passed the Hebrew synagogue, and were -glad of our coachman's suggestion that we should enter, seeing it was -the Jews' Sabbath. - -At Pisa we took a carriage and drove at once to the cathedral, seeing -as we went the well-looking lines of building on each side of the -Arno. - -A wonderful sight is that first glimpse of the cathedral, with the -leaning campanile on one side and the baptistery on the other, green -turf below, and a clear, blue sky above! The structure of the -campanile is exquisitely light and graceful--tier above tier of small -circular arches, supported by delicate, round pillars narrowing -gradually in circumference, but very slightly, so that there is no -striking difference of size between the base and summit. The campanile -is all of white marble, but the cathedral has the bands of black and -white, softened in effect by the yellowing which time has given to the -white. There is a family likeness among all these structures: they all -have the delicate little colonnades and circular arches. But the -baptistery has stronger traits of the Gothic style in the pinnacles -that crown the encircling colonnade. - -After some dusty delay outside the railway station we set off back -again to Livorno, and forthwith got on board our steamboat again--to -awake next morning (being Palm-Sunday) at Civita Vecchia. Much waiting -before we were allowed to land; and again much waiting for the clumsy -process of "visiting" our luggage. I was amused while sitting at the -_Dogana_, where almost every one was cross and busy, to see a dog -making his way quietly out with a bone in his mouth. - -Getting into our railway carriage, our _vis-à-vis_--a stout, amiable, -intelligent Livornian, with his wife and son, named Dubreux--exclaimed, -"C'en est fini d'un peuple qui n'est pas capable de changer une bêtise -comme ça!" George got into pleasant talk with him, and his son, about -Edinburgh and the scientific men there--the son having been there for -some time in order to go through a course of practical science. The -father was a naturalist--an entomologist, I think. - -It was an interesting journey from Civita Vecchia to Rome: at first, a -scene of rough, hilly character, then a vast plain, frequently marshy, -crowded with asphodels, inhabited by buffaloes; here and there a -falcon or other slow, large-winged bird floating and alighting. - -At last we came in sight of Rome, but there was nothing imposing to be -seen. The chief object was what I afterwards knew to be one of the -aqueducts, but which I then, in the vagueness of my conceptions, -guessed to be the ruins of baths. The railway station where we -alighted looked remote and countrified; only the omnibuses and one -family carriage were waiting, so that we were obliged to take our -chance in one of the omnibuses--that is, the chance of finding no -place left for us in the hotels. And so it was. Every one wanted to go -to the Hotel d'Angleterre, and every one was disappointed. We, at -last, by help of some fellow-travellers, got a small room _au -troisième_ at the Hotel d'Amérique; and as soon as that business was -settled we walked out to look at Rome--not without a rather heavy load -of disappointment on our minds from the vision we had of it from the -omnibus windows. A weary length of dirty, uninteresting streets had -brought us within sight of the dome of St. Peter's, which was not -impressive, seen in a peeping, makeshift manner, just rising above the -houses; and the Castle of St. Angelo seemed but a shabby likeness of -the engravings. Not one iota had I seen that corresponded with my -preconceptions. - -Our hotel was in the Strada Babuino, which leads directly from the -Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza di Spagna. We went to the latter for -our first walk, and arriving opposite the high, broad flights of stone -steps which lead up to the Trinità di Monte, stopped for the first -time with a sense that here was something not quite common and ugly. -But I think we got hardly any farther, that evening, than the tall -column at the end of the piazza, which celebrates the final settlement -by Pius IX. of the Virgin's Immaculate Conception. Oh, yes; I think we -wandered farther among narrow and ugly streets, and came into our -hotel again still with some dejection at the probable relation our -"Rome visited" was to bear to our "Rome unvisited." - -Discontented with our little room at an extravagant height of stairs -and price, we found and took lodgings the next day in the Corso -opposite St. Carlo, with a well-mannered Frenchman named Peureux and -his little, dark, Italian wife--and so felt ourselves settled for a -month. By this time we were in better spirits; for in the morning we -had been to the Capitol (Campidoglio, the modern variant for -Capitolium), had ascended the tower, and had driven to the Coliseum. -The scene, looking along the Forum to the Arch of Titus, resembled -strongly that mixture of ruined grandeur with modern life which I had -always had in my imagination at the mention of Rome. The approach to -the Capitol from the opposite side is also impressive: on the right -hand the broad, steep flight of steps leading up to the Church and -Monastery of Ara Coeli, placed, some say, on the site of the Arx; in -the front a less steep flight of steps _à cordon_ leading to that -lower, flatter portion of the hill which was called the -_Intermontium_, and which now forms a sort of piazza, with the -equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the centre, and on three sides -buildings designed, or rather modified, by Michael Angelo--on the left -the Museum, on the right the Museo dei Conservatori, and, on the side -opposite the steps, the building devoted to public offices (Palazzo -dei Senatori), in the centre of which stands the tower. On each hand, -at the summit of the steps, are the two Colossi, less celebrated but -hardly less imposing in their calm grandeur than the Colossi of the -Quirinal. They are strangely streaked and disfigured by the blackening -weather; but their large-eyed, mild might gives one a thrill of awe, -half like what might have been felt by the men of old who saw the -divine twins watering their steeds when they brought the news of -victory. - -Perhaps the world can hardly offer a more interesting outlook than -that from the tower of the Capitol. The eye leaps first to the -mountains that bound the Campagna--the Sabine and Alban Hills and the -solitary Soracte farther on to the left. Then, wandering back across -the Campagna, it searches for the Sister Hills, hardly distinguishable -now as hills. The Palatine is conspicuous enough, marked by the ruins -of the Palace of the Cæsars, and rising up beyond the extremity of the -Forum. And now, once resting on the Forum, the eye will not readily -quit the long area that begins with the Clivus Capitolinus and extends -to the Coliseum--an area that was once the very focus of the world. -The Campo Vaccino, the site probably of the Comitium, was this first -morning covered with carts and animals, mingling a simple form of -actual life with those signs of the highly artificial life that had -been crowded here in ages gone by: the three Corinthian pillars at the -extremity of the Forum, said to have belonged to the Temple of Jupiter -Stator; the grand temple of Antoninus and Faustina; the white arch of -Titus; the Basilica of Constantine; the temple built by Adrian, with -its great, broken granite columns scattered around on the green, -rising ground; the huge arc of the Coliseum and the arch of -Constantine. - -The scenes of these great relics remained our favorite haunt during -our stay at Rome; and one day, near the end of it, we entered the -enclosure of the Clivus Capitolinus and the excavated space of the -Forum. The ruins on the Clivus--the façade of massive columns on the -right, called the temple of Vespasian; the two Corinthian columns, -called the temple of Saturn, in the centre; and the arch of Septimius -Severus on the left--have their rich color set off by the luxuriant -green, clothing the lower masonry, which formed the foundations of the -crowded buildings on this narrow space, and, as a background to them -all, the rough solidity of the ancient wall forming the back of the -central building on the Intermontium, and regarded as one of the few -remains of Republican constructions. On either hand, at another angle -from the arch, the ancient road forming the double ascent of the -Clivus is seen, firm and level, with its great blocks of pavement. The -arch of Septimius Severus is particularly rich in color; and the -poorly executed bas-reliefs of military groups still look out in the -grotesque completeness of attitude and expression, even on the sides -exposed to the weather. From the Clivus a passage, underneath the -present road, leads into the Forum, whose immense pinkish granite -columns lie on the weather-worn white marble pavement. The column of -Phocas, with its base no longer "buried," stands at the extreme corner -nearest the Clivus; and the three elegant columns of the temple (say -some) of Jupiter Stator, mark the opposite extremity; between lie -traces, utterly confused to all but erudite eyes, of marble steps and -of pedestals stripped of their marble. - -Let me see what I most delighted in, in Rome. Certainly this drive -from the Clivus to the Coliseum was, from first to last, one of the -chief things; but there are many objects and many impressions of -various kinds which I can reckon up as of almost equal interest: the -Coliseum itself, with the view from it; the drive along the Appian Way -to the tomb of Cecilia Metella, and the view from thence of the -Campagna bridged by the aqueduct; the baths of Titus, with the -remnants of their arabesques, seen by the light of torches, in the now -damp and gloomy spaces; the glimpse of the Tarpeian rock, with its -growth of cactus and rough herbage; the grand, bare arch brickwork of -the Palace of the Cæsars rising in huge masses on the Palatine; the -theatre of Marcellus bursting suddenly into view from among the -crowded mean houses of the modern city, and still more the Temple of -Minerva and Temple of Nerva, also set in the crowded city of the -present; and the exterior of the Pantheon, if it were not marred by -the Papal belfries--these are the traces of ancient Rome that have -left the strongest image of themselves in my mind. I ought not to -leave out Trajan's column, and the forum in which it stands; though -the severe cold tint of the gray granite columns, or fragments of -columns, gave this forum rather a dreary effect to me. For vastness -there is perhaps nothing more impressive in Rome than the Baths of -Caracalla, except the Coliseum; and I remember that it was among them -that I first noticed the lovely effect of the giant fennel, luxuriant -among the crumbling brickwork. - -Among the ancient sculptures I think I must place on a level the -Apollo, the Dying Gladiator, and the Lateran Antinous: they affected -me equally in different ways. After these I delighted in the Venus of -the Capitol, and the Kissing Children in the same room; the Sophocles -at the Lateran Museum; the Nile; the black, laughing Centaur at the -Capitol; the Laughing Faun in the Vatican; and the _Sauroktonos_, or -Boy with the Lizard, and the sitting statue called Menander. The Faun -of Praxiteles, and the old Faun with the infant Bacchus, I had already -seen at Munich, else I should have mentioned them among my first -favorites. Perhaps the greatest treat we had at the Vatican was the -sight of a few statues, including the Apollo, by torchlight--all the -more impressive because it was our first sight of the Vatican. Even -the mere hurrying along the vast halls, with the fitful torchlight -falling on the innumerable statues and busts and bas-reliefs and -sarcophagi, would have left a sense of awe at these crowded, silent -forms which have the solemnity of suddenly arrested life. Wonderfully -grand these halls of the Vatican are; and there is but one complaint -to be made against the home provided for this richest collection of -antiquities--it is that there is no historical arrangement of them, -and no catalogue. The system of classification is based on the history -of their collection by the different popes, so that for every other -purpose but that of securing to each pope his share of glory, it is a -system of helter-skelter. - -Of Christian Rome, St. Peter's is, of course, the supreme wonder. The -piazza, with Bernini's colonnades, and the gradual slope upward to the -mighty temple, gave me always a sense of having entered some -millennial new Jerusalem, where all small and shabby things were -unknown. But the exterior of the cathedral itself is even ugly; it -causes a constant irritation by its partial concealment of the dome. -The first impression from the interior was, perhaps, at a higher pitch -than any subsequent impression, either of its beauty or vastness; but -then, on later visits, the lovely marble, which has a tone at once -subdued and warm, was half-covered with hideous red drapery. There is -hardly any detail one cares to dwell on in St. Peter's. It is -interesting, for once, to look at the mosaic altar-pieces, some of -which render with marvellous success such famous pictures as the -Transfiguration, the Communion of St. Jerome, and the Entombment or -Disentombment of St. Petronilla. And some of the monuments are worth -looking at more than once, the chief glory of that kind being Canova's -Lions. I was pleased one day to watch a group of poor people looking -with an admiration that had a half-childish terror in it at the -sleeping lion, and with a sort of daring air thrusting their fingers -against the teeth of the waking "mane-bearer." - -We ascended the dome near the end of our stay, but the cloudy horizon -was not friendly to our distant view, and Rome itself is ugly to a -bird's-eye contemplation. The chief interest of the ascent was the -vivid realization it gave of the building's enormous size, and after -that the sight of the inner courts and garden of the Vatican. - -Our most beautiful view of Rome and the Campagna was one we had much -earlier in our stay, before the snow had vanished from the mountains; -it was from the terrace of the Villa Pamfili Doria. - -Of smaller churches I remember especially Santa Maria degli Angeli, a -church formed by Michael Angelo by additions to the grand hall in the -Baths of Diocletian--the only remaining hall of ancient Rome; and the -Church of San Clemente, where there is a chapel painted by Masaccio, -as well as a perfect specimen of the ancient enclosure near the -tribune, called the presbytery, with the _ambones_ or pulpits from -which the lessons and gospel were read. Santa Maria Maggiore is an -exquisitely beautiful basilica, rich in marbles from a pagan temple; -and the reconstructed San Paolo fuori le Mura is a wonder of wealth -and beauty, with its lines of white-marble columns--if one could -possibly look with pleasure at such a perverted appliance of money and -labor as a church built in an unhealthy solitude. After St. Peter's, -however, the next great monument of Christian art is the Sistine -Chapel; but since I care for the chapel solely for the sake of its -ceiling, I ought rather to number it among my favorite paintings than -among the most memorable buildings. Certainly this ceiling of Michael -Angelo's is the most wonderful fresco in the world. After it come -Raphael's School of Athens and Triumph of Galatea, so far as Rome is -concerned. Among oil-paintings there I like best the Madonna di -Foligno, for the sake of the cherub who is standing and looking -upward; the Perugino also, in the Vatican, and the pretty -Sassoferrato, with the clouds budding angels; at the Barberini Palace, -Beatrice Cenci, and Una Schiava, by Titian; at the Sciarra Palace, the -Joueurs de Violon, by Raphael, another of Titian's golden-haired -women, and a sweet Madonna and Child with a bird, by Fra Bartolomeo; -at the Borghese Palace, Domenichino's Chase, the Entombment, by -Raphael, and the Three Ages--a copy of Titian, by Sassoferrato. - -We should have regretted entirely our efforts to get to Rome during -the Holy Week, instead of making Florence our first resting-place, if -we had not had the compensation for wearisome, empty ceremonies and -closed museums in the wonderful spectacle of the illumination of St. -Peter's. That, really, is a thing so wondrous, so magically beautiful, -that one can't find in one's heart to say it is not worth doing. I -remember well the first glimpse we had as we drove out towards it, of -the outline of the dome like a new constellation on the black sky. I -thought _that_ was the final illumination, and was regretting our -tardy arrival, from the _détour_ we had to make, when, as our carriage -stopped in front of the cathedral, the great bell sounded, and in an -instant the grand illumination flashed out and turned the outline of -stars into a palace of gold. Venus looked out palely. - -One of the finest positions in Rome is the Monte Cavallo (the -Quirinal), the site of the pope's palace, and of the fountain against -which are placed the two Colossi--the Castor and Pollux, ascribed, -after a lax method of affiliation, to Phidias and Praxiteles. Standing -near this fountain one has a real sense of being on a hill; city and -distant ridge stretching below. Close by is the Palazzo Rospigliosi, -where we went to see Guido's Aurora. - -Another spot where I was struck with the view of modern Rome (and -_that_ happened rarely) was at San Pietro in Vincoli, on the -Esquiline, where we went to see Michael Angelo's Moses. Turning round -before one enters the church, a palm-tree in the high foreground -relieves very picturesquely the view of the lower distance. The Moses -did not affect me agreeably; both the attitude and the expression of -the face seemed to me, in that one visit, to have an exaggeration that -strained after effect without reaching it. The failure seemed to me of -this kind: Moses was an angry man trying to frighten the people by his -mien, instead of being rapt by his anger, and terrible without -self-consciousness. To look at the statue of Christ, after the other -works of Michael Angelo at Rome, was a surprise; in this the fault -seems to incline slightly to the namby-pamby. The Pietà in St. Peter's -has real tenderness in it. - -The visit to the Farnesina was one of the most interesting among our -visits to Roman palaces. It is here that Raphael painted the Triumph -of Galatea, and here this wonderful fresco is still bright upon the -wall. In the same room is a colossal head, drawn by Michael Angelo -with a bit of charcoal, by way of _carte-de-visite_, one day that he -called on Daniele di Volterra, who was painting detestably in this -room, and happened to be absent. In the entrance-hall, preceding the -Galatea room, are the frescoes by Raphael representing the story of -Cupid and Psyche; but we did not linger long to look at them, as they -disappointed us. - -We visited only four artists' studios in Rome: Gibson's, the sculptor; -Frey's, the landscape painter; Riedel's, genre painter, and -Overbeck's. Gibson's was entirely disappointing to me, so far as his -own sculptures are concerned; except the Cacciatore, which he sent to -the Great Exhibition, I could see nothing but feeble imitations of the -antique--no spontaneity and no vigor. Miss Hosmer's Beatrice Cenci is -a pleasing and new conception; and her little Puck a bit of humor that -one would like to have if one were a grand seigneur. - -Frey is a very meritorious landscape painter--finished in execution -and poetic in feeling. His Egyptian scenes--the Simoon, the Pair in -the Light of Sunset, and the Island of Philæ--are memorable pictures; -so is the View of Athens, with its blue, island-studded sea. Riedel -interested us greatly with his account of the coincidence between the -views of light and colors at which he had arrived through his artistic -experience, and Goethe's theory of colors, with which he became -acquainted only after he had thought of putting his own ideas into -shape for publication. He says the majority of painters continue their -work when the sun shines from the north--they paint with _blue_ light. - -But it was our visit to Overbeck that we were most pleased not to have -missed. The man himself is more interesting than his pictures: a -benevolent calm and quiet conviction breathes from his person and -manners. He has a thin, rather high-nosed face, with long gray hair, -set off by a maroon velvet cap, and a gray scarf over his shoulders. -Some of his cartoons pleased me: one large one of our Saviour passing -from the midst of the throng who were going to cast him from the brow -of the hill at Capernaum--one foot resting on a cloud borne up by -cherubs; and some smaller round cartoons representing the Parable of -the Ten Virgins, and applying it to the function of the artist. - -We drove about a great deal in Rome, but were rather afflicted in our -drives by the unending walls that enclose everything like a garden, -even outside the city gates. First among our charming drives was that -to the Villa Pamfili Doria--a place which has the beauties of an -English park and gardens, with views such as no English park can show; -not to speak of the columbarium or ancient Roman burying-place, which -has been disinterred in the grounds. The compactest of all -burying-places must these columbaria be: little pigeon-holes, tier -above tier, for the small urns containing the ashes of the dead. In -this one traces of peacocks and other figures in fresco, ornamenting -the divisions between the rows, are still visible. We sat down in the -sunshine by the side of the water, which is made to fall in a cascade -in the grounds fronting the house, and then spreads out into a -considerable breadth of mirror for the plantation on the slope which -runs along one side of it. On the opposite side is a broad, grassy -walk, and here we sat on some blocks of stone, watching the little -green lizards. Then we walked on up the slope on the other side, and -through a grove of weird ilexes, and across a plantation of tall -pines, where we saw the mountains in the far distance. A beautiful -spot! We ought to have gone there again. - -Another drive was to the Villa Albani, where, again, the view is -grand. The precious sculptures once there are all at Munich now; and -the most remarkable remnants of the collection are the bas-relief of -Antinous, and the Æsop. The Antinous is the least beautiful of all the -representations of that sad loveliness that I have seen--be it said in -spite of Winckelmann; attitude and face are strongly Egyptian. In an -outside pavilion in the garden were some interesting examples of Greek -masks. - -Our journey to Frascati by railway was fortunate. The day was fine, -except, indeed, for the half hour that we were on the heights of -Tusculum, and longed for a clear horizon. But the weather was so -generally gloomy during our stay in Rome that we were "thankful for -small mercies" in the way of sunshine. I enjoyed greatly our excursion -up the hill on donkey-back to the ruins of Tusculum--in spite of our -loquacious guide, who exasperated George. The sight of the Campagna on -one side, and of Mount Algidus, with its snow-capped fellows, and -Mount Albano, with Rocca di Papa on its side, and Castel Gandolfo -below on the other side, was worth the trouble--to say nothing of the -little theatre, which was the most perfect example of an ancient -theatre I had then seen in that pre-Pompeian period of my travels. -After lunching at Frascati we strolled out to the Villa Aldobrandini, -and enjoyed a brighter view of the Campagna in the afternoon sunlight. -Then we lingered in a little croft enclosed by plantations, and -enjoyed this familiar-looking bit of grass with wild-flowers perhaps -more, even, than the greatest novelties. There are fine plantations on -the hill behind the villa, and there we wandered till it was time to -go back to the railway. A literally grotesque thing in these -plantations is the opening of a grotto in the hillside, cut in the -form of a huge Greek comic mask. It was a lovely walk from the town -downward to the railway station--between the olive-clad slopes looking -towards the illimitable plain. Our best view of the aqueducts was on -this journey, but it was the tantalizing sort of view one gets from a -railway carriage. - -Our excursion to Tivoli, reserved till nearly the end of our stay, -happened on one of those cruel, seductive days that smile upon you at -five o'clock in the morning, to become cold and cloudy at eight, and -resolutely rainy at ten. And so we ascended the hill through the -vast, venerable olive grove, thinking what would be the effect of -sunshine among those gray, fantastically twisted trunks and boughs; -and paddled along the wet streets under umbrellas to look at the -Temple of the Sibyl, and to descend the ravine of the waterfalls. Yet -it was enjoyable; for the rain was not dense enough to shroud the near -view of rock and foliage. We looked for the first time at a rock of -Travertine, with its curious petrified vegetable forms, and lower down -at a mighty cavern, under which the smaller cascade rushes--an awful -hollow in the midst of huge, rocky masses. But--rain, rain, rain! No -possibility of seeing the Villa of Hadrian, chief wonder of Tivoli: -and so we had our carriage covered up and turned homeward in despair. - -The last week of our stay we went for the first time to the -picture-gallery of the Capitol, where we saw the famous Guercino--the -Entombment of Petronilla--which we had already seen in mosaic at St. -Peter's. It is a stupendous piece of painting, about which one's only -feeling is that it might as well have been left undone. More -interesting is the portrait of Michael Angelo, by himself--a deeply -melancholy face. And there is also a picture of a bishop, by Giovanni -Bellini, which arrested us a long while. After these, I remember most -distinctly Veronese's Europa, superior to that we afterwards saw at -Venice; a delicious mythological Poussin, all light and joy; and a -Sebastian, by Guido, exceptionally beautiful among the many detestable -things of his in this gallery. - -The Lateran Museum, also, was a sight we had neglected till this last -week, though it turned out to be one of the most memorable. In the -classical museum are the great Antinous, a Bacchus, and the -Sophocles; besides a number of other remains of high interest, -especially in the department of architectural decoration. In the -museum of Christian antiquities there are, besides sculptures, copies -of the frescoes in the Catacombs--invaluable as a record of those -perishable remains. If we ever go to Rome again the Lateran Museum -will be one of the first places I shall wish to revisit. - -We saw the Catacombs of St. Calixtus, on the Appian Way--the long, -dark passages, with great oblong hollows in the rock for the bodies -long since crumbled, and the one or two openings out of the passages -into a rather wider space, called chapels, but no indications of -paintings or other detail--our monkish guide being an old man, who -spoke with an indistinct grunt that would not have enlightened us if -we had asked any questions. In the church through which we entered -there is a strangely barbarous reclining statue of St. Sebastian, with -arrows sticking all over it. - -A spot that touched me deeply was Shelley's grave. The English -cemetery in which he lies is the most attractive burying-place I have -seen. It lies against the old city walls, close to the Porta San Paolo -and the pyramid of Caius Cestius--one of the quietest spots of old -Rome. And there, under the shadow of the old walls on one side, and -cypresses on the other, lies the _Cor cordium_, forever at rest from -the unloving cavillers of this world, whether or not he may have -entered on other purifying struggles in some world unseen by us. The -grave of Keats lies far off from Shelley's, unshaded by wall or trees. -It is painful to look upon, because of the inscription on the stone, -which seems to make him still speak in bitterness from his grave.[11] - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th April, 1860.] - -A wet day for the first time since we left Paris! That assists our -consciences considerably in urging us to write our letters on this -fourth day at Rome, for I will not pretend that writing a letter, even -to you, can be anything more alluring than a duty when there is a blue -sky over the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine, and all the other -marvels of this marvellous place. Since our arrival, in the middle of -Sunday, I have been gradually rising from the depth of disappointment -to an intoxication of delight; and that makes me wish to do for you -what no one ever did for me--warn you that you must expect no grand -impression on your first entrance into Rome, at least, if you enter it -from Civita Vecchia. My heart sank, as it would if you behaved -shabbily to me, when I looked through the windows of the omnibus as it -passed through street after street of ugly modern Rome, and in that -mood the dome of St. Peter's and the Castle of St. Angelo--the only -grand objects on our way--could only look disappointing to me. I -believe the impression on entering from the Naples side is quite -different; there one must get a glimpse of the broken grandeur and -Renaissance splendor that one associates with the word "Rome." So keep -up your spirits in the omnibus when your turn comes, and believe that -you will mount the Capitol the next morning, as we did, and look out -on the Forum and the Coliseum, far on to the Alban mountains, with -snowy Apennines behind them, and feel--what I leave you to imagine, -because the rain has left off, and my husband commands me to put on my -bonnet. (Two hours later.) Can you believe that I have not had a -headache since we set out? But I would willingly have endured more -than one to be less anxious than I am about Mr. Lewes's health. Now -that we are just come in from our walk to the Pantheon he is obliged -to lie down with terrible oppression of the head; and since we have -been in Rome he has been nearly deaf on one side. That is the dark -"crow that flies in heaven's sweetest air" just now; everything else -in our circumstances here is perfect. We are glad to have been driven -into apartments, instead of remaining at the hotel, as we had -intended; for we enjoy the abundance of room and the quiet that belong -to this mode of life, and we get our cooking and all other comforts in -perfection at little more than a third of the hotel prices. Most of -the visitors to Rome this season seem to come only for a short stay; -and, as apartments can't be taken for less than a month, the hotels -are full and the lodgings are empty. Extremely unpleasant for the -people who have lodgings to let, but very convenient for us, since we -get excellent rooms in a good situation for a moderate price. We have -a good little landlady, who can speak nothing but Italian, so that she -serves as a _parlatrice_ for us, and awakens our memory of Italian -dialogue--a memory which consists chiefly of recollecting Italian -words without knowing their meaning, and English words without knowing -the Italian for them. - -I shall tell you nothing of what we have seen. Have you not a husband -who has seen it all, and can tell you much better? Except, perhaps, -one sight which might have had some interest for him, namely, Count -Cavour, who was waiting with other eminences at the Turin station to -receive the Prince de Carignan, the new Viceroy of Tuscany. A really -pleasant sight--not the prince, who is a large, stout "mustache," -squeezed in at the waist with a gold belt, looking like one of those -dressed-up personages who are among the chessmen that the Cavours of -the world play their game with. The pleasant sight was Count Cavour, -in plainest dress, with a head full of power, mingled with _bonhomie_. -We had several fellow-travellers who belonged to Savoy, and were full -of chagrin at the prospect of the French annexation. Our most -agreeable companion was a Baron de Magliano, a Neapolitan who has -married a French wife with a large fortune, and has been living in -France for years, but has now left his wife and children behind for -the sake of entering the Sardinian army, and, if possible, helping to -turn out the Neapolitan Bourbons. I feel some stirrings of the -insurrectionary spirit myself when I see the red pantaloons at every -turn in the streets of Rome. I suppose Mrs. Browning could explain to -me that this is part of the great idea nourished in the soul of the -modern saviour, Louis Napoleon, and that for the French to impose a -hateful government on the Romans is the only proper sequence to the -story of the French Revolution. - -Oh, the beautiful men and women and children here! Such wonderful -babies with wise eyes! such grand-featured mothers nursing them! As -one drives along the streets sometimes, one sees a madonna and child -at every third or fourth upper window; and on Monday a little crippled -girl, seated at the door of a church, looked up at us with a face full -of such pathetic sweetness and beauty that I think it can hardly leave -me again. Yesterday we went to see dear Shelley's tomb, and it was -like a personal consolation to me to see that simple outward sign that -he is at rest, where no hatred can ever reach him again. Poor Keats's -tombstone, with that despairing, bitter inscription, is almost as -painful to think of as Swift's. - -And what have you been doing, being, or suffering in these long twelve -days? While we were standing with weary impatience in the custom-house -at Civita Vecchia, Mr. Congreve was delivering his third lecture, and -you were listening. And what else? _Friday._--Since I wrote my letter -we have not been able to get near the post-office. Yesterday was taken -up with seeing ceremonies, or, rather, with waiting for them. I knelt -down to receive the pope's blessing, remembering what Pius VII. said -to the soldier--that he would never be the worse for the blessing of -an old man. But, altogether, these ceremonies are a melancholy, hollow -business, and we regret bitterly that the Holy Week has taken up our -time from better things. I have a cold and headache this morning, and -in other ways am not conscious of improvement from the pope's -blessing. I may comfort myself with thinking that the King of Sardinia -is none the worse for the pope's curse. It is farcical enough that the -excommunication is posted up at the Church of St. John Lateran, out of -everybody's way, and yet there are police to guard it. - -[Sidenote: Italy, 1860.] - -How much more I have to write about Rome! How I should like to linger -over every particular object that has left an image in my memory! But -here I am only to give a hasty sketch of what we saw and did at each -place at which we paused in our three months' life in Italy. - -It was on the 29th of April that we left Rome, and on the morning of -the 30th we arrived at Naples--under a rainy sky, alas! but not so -rainy as to prevent our feeling the beauty of the city and bay, and -declaring it to surpass all places we had seen before. The weather -cleared up soon after our arrival at the Hotel des Étrangers, and -after a few days it became brilliant, showing us the blue sea, the -purple mountains, and bright city, in which we had almost disbelieved -as we saw them in the pictures. Hardly anything can be more lovely -than Naples seen from Posilippo under a blue sky: the irregular -outline with which the town meets the sea, jutting out in picturesque -masses, then lifted up high on a basis of rock, with the grand Castle -of St. Elmo and the monastery on the central height crowning all the -rest; the graceful outline of purple Vesuvius rising beyond the Molo, -and the line of deeply indented mountains carrying the eye along to -the Cape of Sorrento; and, last of all, Capri sleeping between sea and -sky in the distance. Crossing the promontory of Posilippo, another -wonderful scene presents itself: white Nisida on its island rock; the -sweep of bay towards Pozzuoli; beyond that, in fainter colors of -farther distance, the Cape of Miseno and the peaks of Ischia. - -Our first expedition was to Pozzuoli and Miseno, on a bright, warm -day, with a slipshod Neapolitan driver, whom I christened Baboon, and -who acted as our charioteer throughout our stay at Naples. Beyond -picturesque Pozzuoli, jutting out with precipitous piles of building -into the sea, lies Baiæ. Here we halted to look at a great circular -temple, where there was a wonderful echo that made whispers circulate -and become loud on the opposite side to that on which they were -uttered. Here, for our amusement, a young maiden and a little old man -danced to the sound of a tambourine and fife. On our way to Baiæ we -had stopped to see the Lake Avernus, no longer terrible to behold, and -the amphitheatre of Cumæ, now grown over with greensward, and fringed -with garden stuff. - -From Baiæ we went to Miseno--the Misenum where Pliny was stationed -with the fleet--and looked out from the promontory on the lovely isles -of Ischia and Procida. On the approach to this promontory lies the -Piscina Mirabilis, one of the most striking remains of Roman building. -It is a great reservoir, into which one may now descend dryshod and -look up at the lofty arches festooned with delicate plants, while the -sunlight shoots aslant through the openings above. It was on this -drive, coming back towards Pozzuoli, that we saw the Mesembryanthemum -in its greatest luxuriance--a star of amethyst with its golden tassel -in the centre. The amphitheatre at Pozzuoli is the most interesting in -Italy after the Coliseum. The seats are in excellent preservation, and -the subterranean structures for water and for the introduction of wild -beasts are unique. The temple of Jupiter Serapis is another remarkable -ruin, made more peculiar by the intrusion of the water, which makes -the central structure, with its great columns, an island to be -approached by a plank bridge. - -In the views from Capo di Monte--the king's summer residence--and from -St. Elmo one enjoys not only the view towards the sea, but the wide, -green plain sprinkled with houses and studded with small towns or -villages, bounded on the one hand by Vesuvius, and shut in, in every -other direction, by the nearer heights close upon Naples, or by the -sublimer heights of the distant Apennines. We had the view from St. -Elmo on a clear, breezy afternoon, in company with a Frenchman and his -wife, come from Rome with his family after a two years' residence -there--worth remembering for the pretty bondage the brusque, stern, -thin father was under to the tiny, sickly looking boy. - -It was a grand drive up to Capo di Monte--between rich plantations, -with glimpses, as we went up, of the city lying in picturesque -irregularity below; and as we went down, in the other direction, views -of distant mountain rising above some pretty accident of roof or -groups of trees in the foreground. - -One day we went, from this drive, along the Poggio Reale to the -cemetery--the most ambitious burying-place I ever saw, with building -after building of elaborate architecture, serving as tombs to various -_Arci-confraternità_ as well as to private families, all set in the -midst of well-kept gardens. The humblest kind of tombs there were long -niches for coffins, in a wall bordering the carriage-road, which are -simply built up when the coffin is once in--the inscription being -added on this final bit of masonry. The lines of lofty sepulchres -suggested to one very vividly the probable appearance of the Appian -Way when the old Roman tombs were in all their glory. - -Our first visit to the Museo Borbonico was devoted to the sculpture, -of which there is a precious collection. Of the famous Balbi family, -found at Herculaneum, the mother, in grand drapery, wound round her -head and body, is the most unforgetable--a really grand woman of -fifty, with firm mouth and knitted brow, yet not unbenignant. Farther -on in this transverse hall is a Young Faun with the Infant Bacchus--a -different conception altogether from the fine Munich statue, but -delicious for humor and geniality. Then there is the Aristides--more -real and speaking and easy in attitude even than the Sophocles at -Rome. Opposite is a lovely Antinous, in no mythological character, but -in simple, melancholy beauty. In the centre of the deep recess, in -front of which these statues are placed, is the colossal Flora, who -holds up her thin dress in too finicking a style for a colossal -goddess; and on the floor--to be seen by ascending a platform--is the -precious, great mosaic representing the Battle of the Issus, found at -Pompeii. It is full of spirit, the _ordonnance_ of the figures is very -much after the same style as in the ancient bas-reliefs, and the -colors are still vivid enough for us to have a just idea of the -effect. In the halls on each side of this central one there are -various Bacchuses and Apollos, Atlas groaning under the weight of the -Globe, the Farnese Hercules, the Toro Farnese, and, among other things -less memorable, a glorious Head of Jupiter. - -The bronzes here are even more interesting than the marbles. Among -them there is Mercury Resting, the Sleeping Faun, the little Dancing -Faun, and the Drunken Faun snapping his fingers, of which there is a -marble copy at Munich, with the two remarkable Heads of Plato and -Seneca. - -But our greatest treat at the Museo Borbonico could only be enjoyed -after our visit to Pompeii, where we went, unhappily, in the company -of some Russians whose acquaintance G. had made at the _table d'hôte_. -I hope I shall never forget the solemnity of our first entrance into -that silent city, and the walk along the street of tombs. After seeing -the principal houses we went, as a proper climax, to the Forum, where, -among the lines of pedestals and the ruins of temples and tribunal, we -could see Vesuvius overlooking us; then to the two theatres, and -finally to the amphitheatre. - -This visit prepared us to enjoy the collection of _piccoli bronzi_, of -paintings and mosaics at the Museo. Several of the paintings have -considerable positive merit. I remember particularly a large one of -Orestes and Pylades, which in composition and general conception -might have been a picture of yesterday. But the most impressive -collection of remains found at Pompeii and Herculaneum is that of the -ornaments, articles of food and domestic utensils, pieces of bread, -loaves with the bakers' names on them, fruits, corn, various seeds, -paste in the vessel, imperfectly mixed, linen just wrung in washing, -eggs, oil consolidated in a glass bottle, wine mixed with the lava, -and a piece of asbestos; gold lace, a lens, a lantern with sides of -talc, gold ornaments of Etruscan character, patty-pans (!), moulds for -cakes; ingenious portable cooking apparatus, urn for hot water, -portable candelabrum, to be raised or lowered at will, bells, dice, -theatre-checks, and endless objects that tell of our close kinship -with those old Pompeians. In one of the rooms of this collection there -are the Farnese cameos and engraved gems, some of them--especially of -the latter--marvellously beautiful, complicated, and exquisitely -minute in workmanship. I remember particularly one splendid yellow -stone engraved with an elaborate composition of Apollo and his chariot -and horses--a masterpiece of delicate form. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 5th May, 1860.] - -We left Rome a week ago, almost longing, at last, to come southward in -search of sunshine. Every one likes to boast of peculiar experience, -and we can boast of having gone to Rome in the very worst spring that -has been known for the last twenty years. Here, at Naples, we have had -some brilliant days, though the wind is still cold, and rain has often -fallen heavily in the night. It is the very best change for us after -Rome; there is comparatively little art to see, and there is nature in -transcendent beauty. We both think it the most beautiful place in the -world, and are sceptical about Constantinople, which has not had the -advantage of having been seen by us. That is the fashion of -travellers, as you know: for you must have been bored many times in -your life by people who have insisted on it that you _must_ go and see -the thing _they_ have seen--there is nothing like it. We shall bore -you in that way, I dare say--so prepare yourself. Our plan at present -is to spend the next week in seeing Pæstum, Amalfi, Castellamare, and -Sorrento, and drinking in as much of this Southern beauty, in a quiet -way, as our souls are capable of absorbing. - -The calm blue sea, and the mountains sleeping in the afternoon light, -as we have seen them to-day from the height of St. Elmo, make one feel -very passive and contemplative, and disinclined to bustle about in -search of meaner sights. Yet I confess Pompeii, and the remains of -Pompeian art and life in the Museum, have been impressive enough to -rival the sea and sky. It is a thing never to be forgotten--that walk -through the silent city of the past, and then the sight of utensils -and eatables and ornaments and half-washed linen and hundreds of other -traces of life so startlingly like our own in its minutest details, -suddenly arrested by the fiery deluge. All that you will see some day, -and with the advantage of younger eyes than mine. - -We expect to reach Florence (by steamboat, alas!) on the 17th, so that -if you have the charity to write to me again, address to me there. - -We thought the advance to eighteen in the number of hearers was very -satisfactory, and rejoiced over it. The most solid comfort one can -fall back upon is the thought that the business of one's life--the -work at home after the holiday is done--is to help in some small, -nibbling way to reduce the sum of ignorance, degradation, and misery -on the face of this beautiful earth. I am writing at night--Mr. Lewes -is already asleep, else he would say, "Send my kind regards to them -all." We have often talked of you, and the thought of seeing you again -makes the South Fields look brighter in our imagination than they -could have looked from the dreariest part of the world if you had not -been living in them. - -[Sidenote: Italy, 1860.] - -The pictures at Naples are worth little: the Marriage of St. -Catherine, a small picture by Correggio; a Holy Family, by Raphael, -with a singularly fine St. Ann, and Titian's Paul the Third, are the -only paintings I have registered very distinctly in all the large -collection. The much-praised frescoes of the dome in a chapel of the -cathedral, and the oil-paintings over the altars, by Domenichino and -Spagnoletto, produced no effect on me. Worth more than all these are -Giotto's frescoes in the choir of the little old Church of -l'Incoronata, though these are not, I think, in Giotto's ripest -manner, for they are inferior to his frescoes in the Santa Croce at -Florence--more uniform in the type of face. - -We went to a Sunday-morning service at the cathedral, and saw a -detachment of silver busts of saints ranged around the tribune, Naples -being famous for gold and silver sanctities. - -When we had been a week at Naples we set off in our carriage with -Baboon on an expedition to Pæstum, arriving the first evening at -Salerno--beautiful Salerno, with a bay as lovely, though in a -different way, as the bay of Naples. It has a larger sweep; grander -piles of rocky mountain on the north and northeast; then a stretch of -low plain, the mountains receding; and, finally, on the south, another -line of mountain coast extending to the promontory of Sicosa. - -From Salerno we started early in the morning for Pæstum, with no -alloy to the pleasure of the journey but the dust, which was capable -of making a simoon under a high wind. For a long way we passed through -a well-cultivated plain, the mountains on our left and the sea on our -right; but farther on came a swampy, unenclosed space of great extent, -inhabited by buffaloes, who lay in groups, comfortably wallowing in -the muddy water, with their grand, stupid heads protruding -horizontally. - -On approaching Pæstum, the first thing one catches sight of is the -Temple of Vesta, which is not beautiful either for form or color, so -that we began to tremble lest disappointment were to be the harvest of -our dusty journey. But the fear was soon displaced by almost rapturous -admiration at the sight of the great Temple of Neptune--the finest -thing, I verily believe, that we had yet seen in Italy. It has all the -requisites to make a building impressive: First, _form_. What perfect -satisfaction and repose for the eye in the calm repetition of those -columns; in the proportions of height and length, of front and sides; -the right thing is _found_--it is not being sought after in uneasy -labor of detail or exaggeration. Next, _color_. It is built of -Travertine, like the other two temples; but while they have remained, -for the most part, a cold gray, this Temple of Neptune has a rich, -warm, pinkish brown, that seems to glow and deepen under one's eyes. -Lastly, _position_. It stands on the rich plain, covered with long -grass and flowers, in sight of the sea on one hand, and the sublime -blue mountains on the other. Many plants caress the ruins; the -acanthus is there, and I saw it in green life for the first time; but -the majority of the plants on the floor, or bossing the architrave, -are familiar to me as home flowers--purple mallows, snapdragons, pink -hawksweed, etc. On our way back we saw a herd of buffaloes clustered -near a pond, and one of them was rolling himself in the water like a -gentleman enjoying his bath. - -The next day we went in the morning from Salerno to Amalfi. It is an -unspeakably grand drive round the mighty rocks with the sea below; and -Amalfi itself surpasses all imagination of a romantic site for a city -that once made itself famous in the world. We stupidly neglected -seeing the cathedral, but we saw a macaroni-mill and a paper-mill from -among the many that are turned by the rushing stream, which, with its -precipitous course down the ravine, creates an immense water-power; -and we climbed up endless steps to the Capuchin Monastery, to see -nothing but a cavern where there are barbarous images and a small -cloister with double Gothic arches. - -Our way back to La Cava gave us a repetition of the grand drive we had -had in the morning by the coast, and beyond that an inland drive of -much loveliness, through Claude-like scenes of mountain, trees, and -meadows, with picturesque accidents of building, such as single round -towers, on the heights. The valley beyond La Cava, in which our hotel -lay, is of quite paradisaic beauty; a rich, cultivated spot, with -mountains behind and before--those in front varied by ancient -buildings that a painter would have chosen to place there; and one of -pyramidal shape, steep as an obelisk, is crowned by a monastery, -famous for its library of precious MSS. and its archives. We arrived -too late for everything except to see the shroud of mist gather and -gradually envelop the mountains. - -In the morning we set off, again in brightest weather, to Sorrento, -coasting the opposite side of the promontory to that which we had -passed along the day before, and having on our right hand Naples and -the distant Posilippo. The coast on this side is less grand than on -the Amalfi side, but it is more friendly as a place for residence. The -most charming spot on the way to Sorrento, to my thinking, is Vico, -which I should even prefer to Sorrento, because there is no town to be -traversed before entering the ravine and climbing the mountain in the -background. But I will not undervalue Sorrento, with its orange-groves -embalming the air, its glorious sunsets over the sea, setting the gray -olives aglow on the hills above us, its walks among the groves and -vineyards out to the solitary coast. One day of our stay there we took -donkeys and crossed the mountains to the opposite side of the -promontory, and saw the Siren Isles--very palpable, unmysterious bits -of barren rock now. A great delight to me, in all the excursions round -about Naples, was the high cultivation of the soil and the sight of -the vines, trained from elm to elm, above some other precious crop -carpeting the ground below. On our way back to Naples we visited the -silent Pompeii again. That place had such a peculiar influence over me -that I could not even look towards the point where it lay on the plain -below Vesuvius without a certain thrill. - -Amid much dust we arrived at Naples again on Sunday morning, to start -by the steamboat for Leghorn on the following Tuesday. But before I -quit Naples I must remember the Grotto of Posilippo, a wonderful -monument of ancient labor; Virgil's tomb, which repaid us for a steep -ascent only by the view of the city and bay; and a villa on the way to -Posilippo, with gardens gradually descending to the margin of the sea, -where there is a collection of animals, both stuffed and alive. It -was there we saw the flying-fish, with their lovely blue fins. - -One day and night voyage to Civita Vecchia, and another day and night -to Leghorn--wearisome to the flesh that suffers from nausea even on -the summer sea! We had another look at dear Pisa under the blue sky, -and then on to Florence, which, unlike Rome, looks inviting as one -catches sight from the railway of its cupolas and towers and its -embosoming hills--the greenest of hills, sprinkled everywhere with -white villas. We took up our quarters at the Pension Suisse, and on -the first evening we took the most agreeable drive to be had round -Florence--the drive to Fiesole. It is in this view that the eye takes -in the greatest extent of green, billowy hills, besprinkled with white -houses, looking almost like flocks of sheep; the great, silent, -uninhabited mountains lie chiefly behind; the plain of the Arno -stretches far to the right. I think the view from Fiesole the most -beautiful of all; but that from San Miniato, where we went the next -evening, has an interest of another kind, because here Florence lies -much nearer below, and one can distinguish the various buildings more -completely. It is the same with Bellosguardo, in a still more marked -degree. What a relief to the eye and the thought, among the huddled -roofs of a distant town, to see towers and cupolas rising in abundant -variety, as they do at Florence! There is Brunelleschi's mighty dome, -and close by it, with its lovely colors not entirely absorbed by -distance, Giotto's incomparable Campanile, beautiful as a jewel. -Farther on, to the right, is the majestic tower of the Palazzo -Vecchio, with the flag waving above it; then the elegant Badia and the -Bargello close by; nearer to us the grand Campanile of Santo Spirito -and that of Santa Croce; far away, on the left, the cupola of San -Lorenzo and the tower of Santa Maria Novella; and, scattered far and -near, other cupolas and campaniles of more insignificant shape and -history. - -Even apart from its venerable historical glory, the exterior of the -Duomo is pleasant to behold when the wretched, unfinished _façade_ is -quite hidden. The soaring pinnacles over the doors are exquisite; so -are the forms of the windows in the great semicircle of the apsis; and -on the side where Giotto's Campanile is placed, especially, the white -marble has taken on so rich and deep a yellow that the black bands -cease to be felt as a fault. The entire view on this side, closed in -by Giotto's tower, with its delicate pinkish marble, its delicate -Gothic windows with twisted columns, and its tall lightness carrying -the eye upward, in contrast with the mighty breadth of the dome, is a -thing not easily to be forgotten. The Baptistery, with its paradisaic -gates, is close by; but, except in those gates, it has no exterior -beauty. The interior is almost awful, with its great dome covered with -gigantic early mosaics--the pale, large-eyed Christ surrounded by -images of paradise and perdition. The interior of the cathedral is -comparatively poor and bare; but it has one great beauty--its colored -lanceolate windows. Behind the high-altar is a piece of sculpture--the -last under Michael Angelo's hand, intended for his own tomb, and left -unfinished. It represents Joseph of Arimathea holding the body of -Jesus, with Mary, his mother, on one side, and an apparently angelic -form on the other. Joseph is a striking and real figure, with a hood -over the head. - -For external architecture it is the palaces, the old palaces of the -fifteenth century, that one must look at in the streets of Florence. -One of the finest was just opposite our hotel, the Palazzo Strozzi, -built by Cronaca; perfect in its massiveness, with its iron cressets -and rings, as if it had been built only last year. This is the palace -that the Pitti was built to outvie (so tradition falsely pretends), -and to have an inner court that would contain it. A wonderful union is -that Pitti Palace of cyclopean massiveness with stately regularity. -Next to the Pitti, I think, comes the Palazzo Riccardi--the house of -the Medici--for size and splendor. Then that unique Laurentian -library, designed by Michael Angelo; the books ranged on desks in -front of seats, so that the appearance of the library resembles that -of a chapel with open pews of dark wood. The precious books are all -chained to the desk; and here we saw old manuscripts of exquisite -neatness, culminating in the Virgil of the fourth century, and the -Pandects, said to have been recovered from oblivion at Amalfi, but -falsely so said, according to those who are more learned than -tradition. Here, too, is a little chapel covered with remarkable -frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. - -Grander still, in another style, is the Palazzo Vecchio, with its -unique _cortile_, where the pillars are embossed with arabesque and -floral tracery, making a contrast in elaborate ornament with the large -simplicity of the exterior building. Here there are precious little -works in ivory by Benvenuto Cellini, and other small treasures of art -and jewelry, preserved in cabinets in one of the great upper chambers, -which are painted all over with frescoes, and have curious inlaid -doors showing buildings or figures in wooden mosaic, such as is often -seen in great beauty in the stalls of the churches. The great -council-chamber is ugly in its ornaments--frescoes and statues in bad -taste all round it. - -Orcagna's Loggia de' Lanzi is disappointing at the first glance, from -its sombre, dirty color; but its beauty grew upon me with longer -contemplation. The pillars and groins are very graceful and chaste in -ornamentation. Among the statues that are placed under it there is not -one I could admire, unless it were the dead body of Ajax with the -Greek soldier supporting it. Cellini's Perseus is fantastic. The -Bargello, where we went to see Giotto's frescoes (in lamentable -condition) was under repair, but I got glimpses of a wonderful inner -court, with heraldic carvings and stone stairs and gallery. - -Most of the churches in Florence are hideous on the outside--piles of -ribbed brickwork awaiting a coat of stone or stucco--looking like -skinned animals. The most remarkable exception is Santa Maria Novella, -which has an elaborate facing of black and white marble. Both this -church and San Lorenzo were under repair in the interior, -unfortunately for us; but we could enter Santa Maria so far as to see -Orcagna's frescoes of Paradise and Hell. The Hell has been repainted, -but the Paradise has not been maltreated in this way; and it is a -splendid example of Orcagna's powers--far superior to his frescoes in -the Campo Santo at Pisa. Some of the female forms on the lowest range -are of exquisite grace. The splendid chapel in San Lorenzo, containing -the tombs of the Medici, is ugly and heavy, with all its precious -marbles; and the world-famous statues of Michael Angelo on the tombs -in another smaller chapel--the Notte, the Giorno, and the -Crepuscolo--remained to us as affected and exaggerated in the -original as in copies and casts. - -The two churches we frequented most in Florence were Santa Croce and -the Carmine. In this last are the great frescoes of Masaccio--chief -among them the Raising of the Dead Youth. In the other are Giotto's -frescoes revealed from under the whitewash by which they were long -covered, like those in the Bargello. Of these the best are the -Challenge to Pass through the Fire, in the series representing the -history of St. Francis, and the rising of some saint (unknown to me) -from his tomb, while Christ extends his arms to receive him above, and -wondering venerators look on, on each side. There are large frescoes -here of Taddeo Gaddi's also, but they are not good; one sees in him a -pupil of Giotto, and nothing more. Besides the frescoes, Santa Croce -has its tombs to attract a repeated visit; the tombs of Michael -Angelo, Dante, Alfieri, and Machiavelli. Even those tombs of the -unknown dead under our feet, with their effigies quite worn down to a -mere outline, were not without their interest. I used to feel my heart -swell a little at the sight of the inscription on Dante's -tomb--"Onorate l'altissimo poeta." - -In the Church of the Trinità also there are valuable frescoes by the -excellent Domenico Ghirlandajo, the master of Michael Angelo. They -represent the history of St. Francis, and happily the best of them is -in the best light; it is the death of St. Francis, and is full of -natural feeling, with well-marked gradations from deepest sorrow to -indifferent spectatorship. - -The frescoes I cared for most in all Florence were the few of Fra -Angelico's that a _donna_ was allowed to see, in the Convent of San -Marco. In the chapter-house, now used as a guard-room, is a large -Crucifixion, with the inimitable group of the fainting mother, upheld -by St. John and the younger Mary, and clasped round by the kneeling -Magdalene. The group of adoring, sorrowing saints on the right hand -are admirable for earnest truthfulness of representation. The Christ -in this fresco is not good, but there is a deeply impressive original -crucified Christ outside in the cloisters; St. Dominic is clasping the -cross and looking upward at the agonized Saviour, whose real, pale, -calmly enduring face is quite unlike any other Christ I have seen. - -I forgot to mention, at Santa Maria Novella, the chapel which is -painted with very remarkable frescoes by Simone Memmi and Taddeo -Gaddi. The best of these frescoes is the one in which the Dominicans -are represented by black and white dogs--_Domini Canes_. The human -groups have high merit for conception and lifelikeness; and they are -admirable studies of costume. At this church, too, in the sacristy, is -the Madonna della Stella,[12] with an altar-step by Fra -Angelico--specimens of his minuter painting in oil. The inner part of -the frame is surrounded with his lovely angels, with their seraphic -joy and flower-garden coloring. - -Last of all the churches we visited San Michele, which had been one of -the most familiar to us on the outside, with its statues in niches, -and its elaborate Gothic windows, designed by the genius of Orcagna. -The great wonder of the interior is the shrine of white marble made to -receive the miracle-working image which first caused the consecration -of this mundane building, originally a corn-market. Surely this shrine -is the most wonderful of all Orcagna's productions; for the beauty of -the reliefs he deserves to be placed along with Nicolo Pisano, and for -the exquisite Gothic design of the whole he is a compeer of Giotto. - -For variety of treasures the Uffizi Gallery is pre-eminent among all -public sights in Florence; but the variety is in some degree a cause -of comparative unimpressiveness, pictures and statues being crowded -together and destroying each other's effect. In statuary it has the -great Niobe group; the Venus de Medici; the Wrestlers; the admirable -statue of the Knife-Sharpener, supposed to represent the flayer of -Marsyas; the Apollino; and the Boy taking a Thorn out of his Foot; -with numerous less remarkable antiques. And besides these it has what -the Vatican has not--a collection of early Italian sculpture, supreme -among which is Giovanni di Bologna's Mercury.[13] Then there is a -collection of precious drawings; and there is the cabinet of gems, -quite alone in its fantastic, elaborate minuteness of workmanship in -rarest materials; and there is another cabinet containing ivory -sculptures, cameos, intaglios, and a superlatively fine Niello, as -well as Raffaelle porcelain. The pictures here are multitudinous, and -among them there is a generous proportion of utterly bad ones. In the -entrance gallery, where the early paintings are, is a great Fra -Angelico--a Madonna and Child--a triptych, the two side compartments -containing very fine figures of saints, and the inner part of the -central frame a series of unspeakably lovely angels.[14] Here I always -paused with longing, trying to believe that a copyist there could make -an imitation angel good enough to be worth buying. Among the other -paintings that remain with me, after my visit to the Uffizi, are the -portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, by himself; the portrait of Dante, by -Filippino Lippi;[15] the Herodias of Luini; Titian's Venus, in the -Tribune; Raphael's Madonna and Child with the Bird; and the portrait -falsely called the Fornarina; the two remarkable pictures by Ridolfo -Ghirlandajo; and the Salutation, by Albertinelli, which hangs -opposite; the little prince in pink dress, with two recent teeth, in -the next room, by Angelo Bronzino (No. 1155); the small picture of -Christ in the Garden, by Lorenzo Credi; Titian's Woman with the Golden -Hair, in the Venetian room; Leonardo's Medusa head; and Michael -Angelo's ugly Holy Family--these, at least, rise up on a rapid -retrospect. Others are in the background; for example, Correggio's -Madonna adoring the Infant Christ, in the Tribune. - -For pictures, however, the Pitti Palace surpasses the Uffizi. Here the -paintings are more choice and not less numerous. The Madonna della -Sedia leaves me, with all its beauty, impressed only by the grave gaze -of the Infant; but besides this there is another Madonna of -Raphael--perhaps the most beautiful of all his earlier ones--the -Madonna del Gran Duca, which has the sweet grace and gentleness of its -sisters without their sheeplike look. Andrea del Sarto is seen here in -his highest glory of oil-painting. There are numerous large pictures -of his--Assumptions and the like--of great technical merit; but better -than all these I remember a Holy Family, with a very fine St. Ann, -and the portraits of himself and his fatal, auburn-haired wife. Of -Fra Bartolomeo there is a Pietà of memorable expression,[16] a Madonna -enthroned with saints, and his great St. Mark. Of Titian, a Marriage -of St. Catherine, of supreme beauty; a Magdalen, failing in -expression; and an exquisite portrait of the same woman, who is -represented as Venus at the Uffizi. There is a remarkable group of -portraits by Rubens--himself, his brother, Lipsius, and Grotius--and a -large landscape by him. The only picture of Veronese's that I remember -here is a portrait of his wife when her beauty was gone. There is a -remarkably fine sea-piece by Salvator Rosa; a striking portrait of -Aretino, and a portrait of Vesalius, by Titian; one of Inghirami, by -Raphael; a delicious, rosy baby--future cardinal--lying in a silken -bed;[17] a placid, contemplative young woman, with her finger between -the leaves of a book, by Leonardo da Vinci;[18] a memorable portrait -of Philip II., by Titian; a splendid Judith, by Bronzino; a portrait -of Rembrandt, by himself, etc., etc. - -Andrea del Sarto is seen to advantage at the Pitti Palace; but his -_chef-d'oeuvre_ is a fresco, unhappily much worn--the Madonna del -Sacco--in the cloister of the Annunziata. - -For early Florentine paintings the most interesting collection is that -of the Accademia. Here we saw a Cimabue, which gave us the best idea -of his superiority over the painters who went before him: it is a -colossal Madonna enthroned. And on the same wall there is a colossal -Madonna by Giotto, which is not only a demonstration that he surpassed -his master, but that he had a clear vision of the noble in art. A -delightful picture--very much restored, I fear--of the Adoration of -the Magi made me acquainted with Gentile da Fabriano. The head of -Joseph in this picture is masterly in the delicate rendering of the -expression; the three kings are very beautiful in conception; and the -attendant group, or rather crowd, shows a remarkable combination of -realism with love of the beautiful and splendid. - -There is a fine Domenico Ghirlandajo--the Adoration of the Shepherds; -a fine Lippo Lippi; and an Assumption, by Perugino, which I like well -for its cherubs and angels, and for some of the adoring figures below. -In the smaller room there is a lovely Pietà by Fra Angelico; and there -is a portrait of Fra Angelico himself by another artist. - -One of our drives at Florence, which I have not mentioned, was that to -Galileo's Tower, which stands conspicuous on one of the hills close -about the town. We ascended it for the sake of looking out over the -plain from the same spot as the great man looked from, more than two -centuries ago. His portrait is in the Pitti Palace--a grave man with -an abbreviated nose, not unlike Mr. Thomas Adolphus Trollope. - -One fine day near the end of our stay we made an expedition to -Siena--that fine old town built on an abrupt height overlooking a -wide, wide plain. We drove about a couple of hours or more, and saw -well the exterior of the place--the peculiar piazza or campo in the -shape of a scallop-shell, with its large old Palazzo _publico_, the -Porta Ovile and Porta Romana, the archbishop's palace, and the -cemetery. Of the churches we saw only the cathedral, the Chapel of St. -John the Baptist, and San Domenico. The cathedral has a highly -elaborate Gothic façade, but the details of the upper part are -unsatisfactory--a square window in the centre shocks the eye, and the -gables are not slim and aspiring enough. The interior is full of -interest: there is the unique pavement in a sort of marble Niello, -presenting Raffaellesque designs by Boccafumi, carrying out the -example of the older portions, which are very quaint in their drawing; -there is a picture of high interest in the history of early art--a -picture by Guido of Siena, who was rather earlier than Cimabue; fine -carved stalls and screens in dark wood; and in an adjoining chapel a -series of frescoes by Pinturicchio, to which Raphael is said to have -contributed designs and workmanship, and wonderfully illuminated old -choir-books. The Chapel of St. John the Baptist has a remarkable -Gothic façade, and a baptismal font inside, with reliefs wrought by -Ghiberti and another Florentine artist. To San Domenico we went for -the sake of seeing the famous Madonna by Guido da Siena; I think we -held it superior to any Cimabue we had seen. There is a considerable -collection of the Siennese artists at the Accademia, but the school -had no great genius equal to Giotto to lead it. The Three Graces--an -antique to which Canova's modern triad bears a strong resemblance in -attitude and style--are also at the Accademia. - -An interesting visit we made at Florence was to Michael Angelo's -house--Casa Buonarotti--in the Via Ghibellina. This street is striking -and characteristic: the houses are all old, with broad eaves, and in -some cases with an open upper story, so that the roof forms a sort of -pavilion supported on pillars. This is a feature one sees in many -parts of Florence. Michael Angelo's house is preserved with great -care by his descendants--only one could wish their care had not been -shown in giving it entirely new furniture. However, the rooms are the -same as those he occupied, and there are many relics of his presence -there--his stick, his sword, and many of his drawings. In one room -there is a very fine Titian of small size--the principal figure a -woman fainting. - -The Last Supper--a fresco believed to be by Raphael--is in a room at -the Egyptian Museum.[19] The figure of Peter--of which, apparently, -there exists various sketches by Raphael's hand--is memorable. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 18th May, 1860.] - -Things really look so threatening in the Neapolitan kingdom that we -begin to think ourselves fortunate in having got our visit done. -Tuscany is in the highest political spirits for the moment, and of -course Victor Emanuel stares at us at every turn here, with the most -loyal exaggeration of mustache and intelligent meaning. But we are -selfishly careless about dynasties just now, caring more for the -doings of Giotto and Brunelleschi than for those of Count Cavour. On a -first journey to the greatest centres of art one must be excused for -letting one's public spirit go to sleep a little. As for me, I am -thrown into a state of humiliating passivity by the sight of the great -things done in the far past--it seems as if life were not long enough -to learn, and as if my own activity were so completely dwarfed by -comparison that I should never have courage for more creation of my -own. There is only one thing that has an opposite and stimulating -effect: it is the comparative rarity, even here, of great and truthful -art, and the abundance of wretched imitation and falsity. Every hand -is wanted in the world that can do a little genuine, sincere work. - -We are at the quietest hotel in Florence, having sought it out for the -sake of getting clear of the stream of English and Americans, in which -one finds one's self in all the main tracks of travel, so that one -seems at last to be in a perpetual, noisy picnic, obliged to be civil, -though with a strong inclination to be sullen. My philanthropy rises -several degrees as soon as we are alone. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Major Blackwood, 27th May, 1860.] - -I am much obliged to you for writing at once, and so scattering some -clouds which had gathered over my mind in consequence of an indication -or two in Mr. John Blackwood's previous letter. The _Times_ article -arrived on Sunday. It is written in a generous spirit, and with so -high a degree of intelligence that I am rather alarmed lest the -misapprehensions it exhibits should be due to my defective -presentation, rather than to any failure on the part of the critic. I -have certainly fulfilled my intention very badly if I have made the -Dodson honesty appear "mean and uninteresting," or made the payment of -one's debts appear a contemptible virtue in comparison with any sort -of "Bohemian" qualities. So far as my own feeling and intention are -concerned, no one class of persons or form of character is held up to -reprobation or to exclusive admiration. Tom is painted with as much -love and pity as Maggie; and I am so far from hating the Dodsons -myself that I am rather aghast to find them ticketed with such very -ugly adjectives. We intend to leave this place on Friday (3d), and in -four days after that we shall be at Venice, in a few days from that -time at Milan, and then, by a route at present uncertain, at Berne, -where we take up Mr. Lewes's eldest boy, to bring him home with us. - -We are particularly happy in our weather, which is unvaryingly fine -without excessive heat. There has been a crescendo of enjoyment in our -travels; for Florence, from its relation to the history of modern art, -has roused a keener interest in us even than Rome, and has stimulated -me to entertain rather an ambitious project, which I mean to be a -secret from every one but you and Mr. John Blackwood. - -Any news of "Clerical Scenes" in its third edition? Or has its -appearance been deferred? The smallest details are acceptable to -ignorant travellers. We are wondering what was the last good article -in _Blackwood_, and whether Thackeray has gathered up his slack reins -in the _Cornhill_. Literature travels slowly even to this Italian -Athens. Hawthorne's book is not to be found here yet in the Tauchnitz -edition. - -[Sidenote: Italy, 1860.] - -We left Florence on the evening of the 1st of June, by diligence, -travelling all night and until eleven the next morning to get to -Bologna. I wish we could have made that journey across the Apennines -by daylight, though in that case I should have missed certain grand, -startling effects that came to me in my occasional wakings. Wonderful -heights and depths I saw on each side of us by the fading light of the -evening. Then, in the middle of the night, while the lightning was -flashing and the sky was heavy with threatening storm-clouds, I waked -to find the six horses resolutely refusing or unable to move the -diligence--till, at last, two meek oxen were tied to the axle, and -their added strength dragged us up the hill. But one of the strangest -effects I ever saw was just before dawn, when we seemed to be high up -on mighty mountains, which fell precipitously, and showed us the -awful, pale horizon far, far below. - -The first thing we did at Bologna was to go to the Accademia, where I -confirmed myself in my utter dislike of the Bolognese school--the -Caraccis and Domenichino _et id genus omne_--and felt some -disappointment in Raphael's St. Cecilia. The pictures of Francia here, -to which I had looked forward as likely to give me a fuller and higher -idea of him, were less pleasing to me than the smaller specimens of -him that I had seen in the Dresden and other galleries. He seems to me -to be more limited even than Perugino; but he is a faithful, -painstaking painter, with a religious spirit. Agostino Caracci's -Communion of St. Jerome is a remarkable picture, with real feeling in -it--an exception among all the great pieces of canvas that hang beside -it. Domenichino's figure of St. Jerome is a direct plagiarism from -that of Agostino; but in other points the two pictures are quite -diverse. - -The following morning we took a carriage and were diligent in visiting -the churches. San Petronio has the melancholy distinction of an -exquisite Gothic façade, which is carried up only a little way above the -arches of the doorways; the sculptures on these arches are of wonderful -beauty. The interior is of lofty, airy, simple Gothic, and it contains -some curious old paintings in the various side-chapels--pre-eminent -among which are the great frescoes by the so-called Buffalmacco. The -Paradise is distinguished in my memory by the fact that the blessed are -ranged in seats like the benches of a church or chapel. At Santa -Cecilia--now used as a barrack or guard-room--there are two frescoes by -Francia, the Marriage and Burial of St. Cecilia, characteristic, but -miserably injured. At the great Church of San Domenico the object of -chief interest is the tomb of the said saint, by the ever-to-be-honored -Nicolo Pisano. I believe this tomb was his first great work, and very -remarkable it is; but there is nothing on it equal to the Nativity on -the pulpit at Pisa. On this tomb stands a lovely angel, by Michael -Angelo. It is small in size, holding a small candle-stick, and is a work -of his youth; it shows clearly enough how the feeling for grace and -beauty were strong in him, only not strong enough to wrestle with his -love of the grandiose and powerful. - -The ugly, painful leaning towers of Bologna made me desire not to look -at them a second time; but there are fine bits of massive palatial -building here and there in the colonnaded streets. We trod the court -of the once famous university, where the arms of the various scholars -ornament the walls above and below an interior gallery. This building -is now, as far as I could understand, a communal school, and the -university is transported to another part of the town. - -We left Bologna in the afternoon, rested at Ferrara for the night, and -passed the Euganean Mountains on our left hand as we approached Padua -in the middle of the next day. - -After dinner and rest from our dusty journeying we took a carriage and -went out to see the town, desiring most of all to see Giotto's Chapel. -We paused first, however, at the great Church of San Antonio, which is -remarkable both externally and internally. There are two side chapels -opposite each other, which are quite unique for contrasted effect. On -the one hand is a chapel of oblong form, covered entirely with white -marble _relievi_, golden lamps hanging from the roof; while opposite -is a chapel of the same form, covered with frescoes by Avanzi, the -artist who seems to have been the link of genius between Giotto and -Masaccio. Close by, in a separate building, is the Capella di San -Giorgio, also covered with Avanzi's frescoes; and here one may study -him more completely, because the light is better than in the church. -He has quite a Veronese power of combining his human groups with -splendid architecture. - -The Arena Chapel stands apart, and is approached, at present, through -a pretty garden. Here one is uninterruptedly with Giotto. The whole -chapel was designed and painted by himself alone; and it is said that, -while he was at work on it, Dante lodged with him at Padua. The nave -of the chapel is in tolerably good preservation, but the apsis has -suffered severely from damp. It is in this apsis that the lovely -Madonna, with the Infant at her breast, is painted in a niche, now -quite hidden by some altar-piece or woodwork, which one has to push by -in order to see the tenderest bit of Giotto's painting. This chapel -must have been a blessed vision when it was fresh from Giotto's -hand--the blue, vaulted roof; the exquisite bands of which he was so -fond, representing inlaid marble, uniting roof and walls, and forming -the divisions between the various frescoes which cover the upper part -of the wall. The glory of Paradise at one end, and the histories of -Mary and Jesus on the two sides; and the subdued effect of the series -of monochromes representing the Virtues and Vices below. - -There is a piazza with a plantation and circular public walk, with -wildly affected statues of small and great notorieties, which remains -with one as a peculiarity of Padua; in general the town is merely old -and shabbily Italian, without anything very specific in its aspect. - -From Padua to Venice! - -It was about ten o'clock on a moonlight night--the 4th of June--that -we found ourselves apparently on a railway in the midst of the sea; we -were on the bridge across the Lagoon. Soon we were in a gondola on the -Grand Canal, looking out at the moonlit buildings and water. What -stillness! What beauty! Looking out from the high window of our hotel -on the Grand Canal I felt that it was a pity to go to bed. Venice was -more beautiful than romances had feigned. - -And that was the impression that remained, and even deepened, during -our stay of eight days. That quiet which seems the deeper because one -hears the delicious dip of the oar (when not disturbed by clamorous -church bells) leaves the eye in full liberty and strength to take in -the exhaustless loveliness of color and form. - -We were in our gondola by nine o'clock the next morning, and, of -course, the first point we sought was the Piazza di San Marco. I am -glad to find Ruskin calling the Palace of the Doges one of the two -most perfect buildings in the world; its only defects, to my feeling, -are the feebleness or triviality of the frieze or cornice, and the -want of length in the Gothic windows with which the upper wall is -pierced. This spot is a focus of architectural wonders; but the palace -is the crown of them all. The double tier of columns and arches, with -the rich sombreness of their finely outlined shadows, contrast -satisfactorily with the warmth and light and more continuous surface -of the upper part. Even landing on the Piazzetta, one has a sense, not -only of being in an entirely novel scene, but one where the ideas of a -foreign race have poured themselves in without yet mingling -indistinguishably with the pre-existent Italian life. But this is felt -yet more strongly when one has passed along the Piazzetta and arrived -in front of San Marco, with its low arches and domes and minarets. But -perhaps the most striking point to take one's stand on is just in -front of the white marble guard-house flanking the great tower--the -guard-house with Sansovino's iron gates before it. On the left is San -Marco, with the two square pillars from St. Jean d'Acre standing as -isolated trophies; on the right the Piazzetta extends between the -Doge's Palace and the Palazzo Reale to the tall columns from -Constantinople; and in front is the elaborate gateway leading to the -white marble Scala di Giganti, in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace. -Passing through this gateway and up this staircase, we entered the -gallery which surrounds the court on three sides, and looked down at -the fine sculptured vase-like wells below. Then into the great Sala, -surrounded with the portraits of the doges; the largest oil-painting -here--or perhaps anywhere else--is the Gloria del Paradiso, by -Tintoretto, now dark and unlovely. But on the ceiling is a great Paul -Veronese--the Apotheosis of Venice--which looks as fresh as if it were -painted yesterday, and is a miracle of color and composition--a -picture full of glory and joy of an earthly, fleshly kind, but without -any touch of coarseness or vulgarity. Below the radiant Venice on her -clouds is a balcony filled with upward-looking spectators; and below -this gallery is a group of human figures with horses. Next to this -Apotheosis, I admire another Coronation of Venice on the ceiling of -another Sala, where Venice is sitting enthroned above the globe with -her lovely face in half shadow--a creature born with an imperial -attitude. There are other Tintorettos, Veroneses, and Palmas in the -great halls of this palace; but they left me quite indifferent, and -have become vague in my memory. From the splendors of the palace we -crossed the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons, and saw the horrible, -dark, damp cells that would make the saddest life in the free light -and air seem bright and desirable. - -The interior of St. Mark's is full of interest, but not of beauty; it -is dark and heavy, and ill-suited to the Catholic worship, from the -massive piers that obstruct the view everywhere, shut out the sight of -ceremony and procession, as we witnessed at our leisure on the day of -the great procession of Corpus Christi. But everywhere there are -relics of gone-by art to be studied, from mosaics of the Greeks to -mosaics of later artists than the Zuccati; old marble statues, -embrowned like a meerschaum pipe; amazing sculptures in wood; -Sansovino doors, ambitious to rival Ghiberti's; transparent alabaster -columns; an ancient Madonna, hung with jewels, transported from St. -Sophia, in Constantinople; and everywhere the venerable pavement, once -beautiful with its starry patterns in rich marble, now deadened and -sunk to unevenness, like the mud floor of a cabin. - -Then outside, on the archway of the principal door, there are -sculptures of a variety that makes one renounce the study of them in -despair at the shortness of one's time--blended fruits and foliage, -and human groups and animal forms of all kinds. On our first morning -we ascended the great tower, and looked around on the island city and -the distant mountains and the distant Adriatic. And on the same day we -went to see the Pisani palace--one of the grand old palaces that are -going to decay. An Italian artist who resides in one part of this -palace interested us by his frank manner, and the glimpse we had of -his domesticity with his pretty wife and children. After this we saw -the Church of San Sebastiano, where Paul Veronese is buried, with his -own paintings around, mingling their color with the light that falls -on his tombstone. There is one remarkably fine painting of his here: -it represents, I think, some saints going to martyrdom, but, apart -from that explanation, is a composition full of vigorous, spirited -figures, in which the central ones are two young men leaving some -splendid dwelling, on the steps of which stands the mother, pleading -and remonstrating--a marvellous figure of an old woman with a bare -neck. - -But supreme among the pictures at Venice is the Death of Peter the -Martyr,[20] now happily removed from its original position as an -altar-piece, and placed in a good light in the sacristy of San -Giovanni and Paolo (or San Zani Polo, as the Venetians conveniently -abbreviate it). In this picture, as in that of the Tribute-money at -Dresden, Titian seems to have surpassed himself, and to have reached -as high a point in expression as in color. In the same sacristy there -was a Crucifixion, by Tintoretto, and a remarkable Madonna with -Saints, by Giovanni Bellini; but we were unable to look long away from -the Titian to these, although we paid it five visits during our stay. -It is near this church that the famous equestrian statue stands, by -Verocchio. - -Santa Maria della Salute, built as an _ex voto_ by the Republic on the -cessation of the plague, is one of the most conspicuous churches in -Venice, lifting its white cupolas close on the Grand Canal, where it -widens out towards the Giudecca. - -Here there are various Tintorettos, but the only one which is not -blackened so as to be unintelligible is the _Cena_, which is -represented as a bustling supper party, with attendants and sideboard -accessories, in thoroughly Dutch fashion! The great scene of -Tintoretto's greatness is held to be the Scuola di San Rocco, of which -he had the painting entirely to himself, with his pupils; and here one -must admire the vigor and freshness of his conceptions, though I saw -nothing that delighted me in expression, and much that was -preposterous and ugly. The Crucifixion here is certainly a grand work, -to which he seems to have given his best powers; and among the smaller -designs, in the two larger halls, there were several of thorough -originality--for example, the Annunciation, where Mary is seated in a -poor house, with a carpenter's shop adjoining; the Nativity, in the -upper story of a stable, of which a section is made so as to show the -beasts below; and the Flight into Egypt, with a very charming -(European) landscape. In this same building of San Rocco there are -some exquisite iron gates, a present from Florence, and some -singularly painstaking wood-carving, representing, in one compartment -of wainscot, above the seats that surrounded the upper hall, a -bookcase filled with old books, an inkstand and pen set in front of -one shelf _à s'y méprendre_. - -But of all Tintoretto's paintings the best preserved, and perhaps the -most complete in execution, is the Miracle of St. Mark, at the -Accademia. We saw it the oftener because we were attracted to the -Accademia again and again by Titian's Assumption, which we placed next -to Peter the Martyr among the pictures at Venice. - -For a thoroughly rapt expression I never saw anything equal to the -Virgin in this picture; and the expression is the more remarkable -because it is not assisted by the usual devices to express spiritual -ecstasy, such as delicacy of feature and temperament, or pale -meagreness. Then what cherubs and angelic heads bathed in light! The -lower part of the picture has no interest; the attitudes are -theatrical; and the Almighty above is as unbeseeming as painted -Almighties usually are; but the middle group falls short only of the -Sistine Madonna. - -Among the Venetian painters Giovanni Bellini shines with a mild, -serious light that gives one an affectionate respect towards him. In -the Church of the Scalzi there is an exquisite Madonna by -him--probably his _chef-d'oeuvre_--comparable to Raphael's for -sweetness. - -And Palmo Vecchio, too, must be held in grateful reverence for his -Santa Barbara, standing in calm, grand beauty above an altar in the -Church of Santa Maria Formosa. It is an almost unique presentation of -a hero-woman, standing in calm preparation for martyrdom, without the -slightest air of pietism, yet with the expression of a mind filled -with serious conviction. - -We made the journey to Chioggia, but with small pleasure, on account -of my illness, which continued all day. Otherwise that long floating -over the water, with the forts and mountains looking as if they were -suspended in the air, would have been very enjoyable. Of all dreamy -delights that of floating in a gondola along the canals and out on the -Lagoon is surely the greatest. We were out one night on the Lagoon -when the sun was setting, and the wide waters were flushed with the -reddened light. I should have liked it to last for hours; it is the -sort of scene in which I could most readily forget my own existence -and feel melted into the general life. - -Another charm of evening-time was to walk up and down the Piazza of -San Marco as the stars were brightening and look at the grand, dim -buildings, and the flocks of pigeons flitting about them; or to walk -on to the Bridge of La Paglia and look along the dark canal that runs -under the Bridge of Sighs--its blackness lit up by a gaslight here and -there, and the plash of the oar of blackest gondola slowly advancing. - -One of our latest visits was to the Palazzo Mamfrini, where there are -still the remains of a magnificent collection of pictures--remains -still on sale. - -The young proprietor was walking about transacting business in the -rooms as we passed through them--a handsome, refined-looking man. The -chief treasure left--the Entombment, by Titian--is perhaps a superior -duplicate of the one in the Louvre. After this we went to a private -house (once the house of Bianca Capello) to see a picture which the -joint proprietors are anxious to prove to be a Leonardo da Vinci. It -is a remarkable--an unforgetable--picture. The subject is the Supper -at Emmaus; and the Christ, with open, almost tearful eyes, with loving -sadness spread over the regular beauty of his features, is a -masterpiece. This head is _not_ like the Leonardo sketch at Milan; and -the rest of the picture impressed me strongly with the idea that it is -of German, not Italian, origin. Again, the head is not like that of -Leonardo's Christ in the National Gallery--it is far finer, to my -thinking. - -Farewell, lovely Venice! and away to Verona, across the green plains -of Lombardy, which can hardly look tempting to an eye still filled -with the dreamy beauty it has left behind. Yet I liked our short stay -at Verona extremely. The Amphitheatre had the disadvantage of coming -after the Coliseum and the Pozzuoli Amphitheatre, and would bear -comparison with neither; but the Church of San Zenone was equal in -interest to almost any of the churches we had seen in Italy. It is a -beautiful specimen of Lombard architecture, undisguised by any modern -barbarisms in the interior; and on the walls--now that they have been -freed from their coat of whitewash--there are early frescoes of high -historical value, some of them--apparently of the Giotto -school--showing a remarkable striving after human expression. More -than this, there is in one case an under layer of yet older frescoes, -partly laid bare, and showing the lower part of figures in mummy-like -degradation of drawing; while above these are the upper portion of the -later figures in striking juxtaposition with the dead art from which -they had sprung with the vitality of a hidden germ. There is a very -fine crypt to the church, where the fragments of some ancient -sculptures are built in wrong way upwards. - -This was the only church we entered at Verona; for we contented -ourselves with a general view of the town, driving about to get _coups -d'oeil_ of the fine old walls, the river, the bridges, and surrounding -hills, and mounting up to a high terrace for the sake of a bird's-eye -view; this, with a passing sight of the famous tombs of the Scaligers, -was all gathered in our four or five hours at Verona. - -Heavy rain came on our way to Milan, putting an end to the brilliant -weather we had enjoyed ever since our arrival at Naples. The line of -road lies through a luxuriant country, and I remember the picturesque -appearance of Bergamo--half of it on the level, half of it lifted up -on the green hill. - -In this second visit of mine to Milan my greatest pleasures were the -Brera Gallery and the Ambrosian Library, neither of which I had seen -before. The cathedral no longer satisfied my eye in its exterior; and -though the interior has very grand effects, there are still disturbing -elements. - -At the Ambrosian Library we saw MSS. surpassing in interest any even of -those we had seen in the Laurentian Library at Florence--illuminated -books, sacred and secular, a little Koran, rolled up something after the -fashion of a measuring-tape, private letters of Tasso, Galileo, Lucrezia -Borgia, etc., and a book full of Leonardo da Vinci's engineering -designs. Then, up-stairs, in the picture-gallery, we saw a delicious -Holy Family by Luini, of marvellous perfection in its execution, the -Cartoon for Raphael's School of Athens, and a precious collection of -drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo. Among Leonardo's are -amazingly grotesque faces, full of humor; among Michael Angelo's is the -sketch of the unfortunate Biagio, who figures with ass's ears, in the -lower corner of the Last Judgment. - -At the Brera, among a host of pictures to which I was indifferent, -there were several things that delighted me. Some of Luini's -frescoes--especially the burial or transportation of the body of St. -Catherine by angels--some single figures of young cherubs, and Joseph -and Mary going to their Marriage; the drawing in pastel by Leonardo of -the Christ's head, supposed to be a study for the _Cena_; the Luini -Madonna among trellises--an exquisite oil-painting; Gentile Bellini's -picture of St. Mark preaching at Alexandria; and the Sposalizio by -Raphael. - -At the Church of San Maurizio Maggiore we saw Luini's power tested by -an abundant opportunity. The walls are almost covered with frescoes by -him; but the only remarkable felicity he has is his female figures, -which are eminently graceful. He has not power enough for a -composition of any high character. - -We visited, too, the interesting old Church of San Ambrogio, with its -court surrounded by cloisters, its old sculptured pulpit, chair of St. -Ambrose, and illuminated choir-books; and we drove to look at the line -of old Roman columns, which are almost the solitary remnant of -antiquity left in this ancient city--ancient, at least, in its name -and site. - -We left Milan for Como on a fine Sunday morning, and arrived at -beautiful Bellagio by steamer in the evening. Here we spent a -delicious day--going to the Villa Somma Riva in the morning, and in -the evening to the Serbellone Gardens, from the heights of which we -saw the mountain-peaks reddened with the last rays of the sun. The -next day we reached lovely Chiavenna, at the foot of the Splügen Pass, -and spent the evening in company with a glorious mountain torrent, -mountain peaks, huge bowlders, with rippling miniature torrents and -lovely young flowers among them, and grassy heights with rich Spanish -chestnuts shadowing them. Then, the next morning, we set off by post -and climbed the almost perpendicular heights of the Pass--chiefly in -heavy rain that would hardly let us discern the patches of snow when -we reached the table-land of the summit. About five o'clock we reached -grassy Splügen and felt that we had left Italy behind us. Already our -driver had been German for the last long post, and now we had come to -a hotel where host and waiters were German. Swiss houses of dark wood, -outside staircases and broad eaves, stood on the steep, green, and -flowery slope that led up to the waterfall; and the hotel and other -buildings of masonry were thoroughly German in their aspect. In the -evening we enjoyed a walk between the mountains, whose lower sides -down to the torrent bed were set with tall, dark pines. But the climax -of grand--nay, terrible--scenery came the next day as we traversed the -Via Mala. - -After this came open green valleys, dotted with white churches and -homesteads. We were in Switzerland, and the mighty wall of the -Valtelline Alps shut us out from Italy on the 21st of June. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 23d June, 1860, from Berne.] - -Your letter to Florence reached me duly, and I feel as if I had been -rather unconscionable in asking for another before our return; but to -us, who have been seeing new things every day, a month seems so long a -space of time that we can't help fancying there must be a great -accumulation of news for us at the end of it. - -We had hoped to be at home by the 25th; but we were so enchanted with -Venice that we were seduced into staying there a whole week instead of -three or four days, and now we must not rob the boys of their two -days' holiday with us. - -We have had a wonderful journey. From Florence we went to Bologna, -Ferrara, and Padua, on our way to Venice; and from Venice we have come -by Verona, Milan, and Como, and across the Splügen to Zurich, where we -spent yesterday, chiefly in the company of Moleschott the -physiologist--an interview that has helped to sharpen Mr. Lewes's -appetite for a return to his microscope and dissecting-table. We ought -to be forever ashamed of ourselves if we don't work the better for -this great holiday. We both feel immensely enriched with new ideas and -new veins of interest. - -I don't think I can venture to tell you what my great project is by -letter, for I am anxious to keep it secret. It will require a great -deal of study and labor, and I am athirst to begin. - -As for "The Mill," I am in repose about it now I know it has found its -way to the great public. Its comparative rank can only be decided -after some years have passed, when the judgment upon it is no longer -influenced by the recent enthusiasm about "Adam," and by the fact that -it has the misfortune to be written by me instead of by Mr. Liggins. I -shall like to see Bulwer's criticism, if you will be kind enough to -send it me; but I particularly wish _not_ to see any of the newspaper -articles. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -MARCH TO JUNE, 1860.--FIRST JOURNEY TO ITALY. - - Crossing Mont Cenis by night in diligence--Turin--Sees Count - Cavour--Genoa--Leghorn--Pisa--Civita Vecchia--Disappointment - with first sight of Rome--Better spirits after visit to - Capitol--View from Capitol--Points most struck with in - Rome--Sculpture at Capitol--Sculpture at Vatican first seen - by torchlight--St. Peter's--Other churches--Sistine - Chapel--Paintings--Illumination of St. - Peter's--Disappointment with Michael Angelo's Moses--Visits - to artists' studios--Riedel and Overbeck--Pamfili Doria - Gardens--Frascati--Tivoli--Pictures at Capitol--Lateran - Museum--Shelley's and Keats's graves--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Pope's blessing--Easter ceremonies--From Rome to - Naples--Description--Museo Borbonico--Visit to - Pompeii--Solemnity of street of tombs--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--From Naples to Salerno and Pæstum--Temple of - Vesta--Temple of Neptune fulfils expectations--Amalfi--Drive - to Sorrento--Back to Naples--By steamer to Leghorn--To - Florence--Views from Fiesole and Bellosguardo--The - Duomo--Baptistery--Palaces--Churches--Dante's - tomb--Frescoes--Pictures at the Uffizi--Pictures at the - Pitti--Pictures at the Accademia--Expedition to Siena--Back - to Florence--Michael Angelo's house--Letter to - Blackwood--Dwarfing effect of the past--Letter to Major - Blackwood on _Times'_ criticism of "The Mill on the Floss," - and first mention of an Italian novel--Leave Florence for - Bologna--Churches and pictures--To Padua by Ferrara--The - Arena Chapel--Venice by moonlight--Doge's Palace--St. - Mark's--Pictures--Scuola di San Rocco--Accademia--Gondola to - Chioggia--From Venice to Verona--Milan--Brera Gallery and - Ambrosian Library--Disappointment with - cathedral--Bellagio--Over Splügen to Switzerland--Letter to - Blackwood--Saw Moleschott at Zurich--Home by Berne and - Geneva. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." - -[12] Now in cell No. 33 in the Museo di San Marco. - -[13] Now in the Museo Nazionale. - -[14] Now in Sala Lorenzo Monaco, Uffizi. - -[15] The only portraits of Dante in the Uffizi are No. 1207 in the -room opening out of the Tribune, by an unknown painter (Scuola -Toscana); and No. 553, in the passage to the Pitti--also by an unknown -painter. - -[16] No. 81. Pitti Gallery. - -[17] No. 49, by Tiberio Titti. Pitti Gallery. - -[18] No. 140. Pitti Gallery. - -[19] No. 56 Via de Faenza, Capella di Foligno. - -[20] Since burned. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_July 1._--We found ourselves at home again, after three months of -delightful travel. From Berne we brought our eldest boy Charles, to -begin a new period in his life, after four years at Hofwyl. During our -absence "The Mill on the Floss" came out (April 4), and achieved a -greater success than I had ever hoped for it. The subscription was -3600 (the number originally printed was 4000); and shortly after its -appearance, Mudie having demanded a second thousand, Blackwood -commenced striking off 2000 more, making 6000. While we were at -Florence I had the news that these 6000 were all sold, and that 500 -more were being prepared. From all we can gather, the votes are rather -on the side of "The Mill" as a better book than "Adam." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 1st July, 1860.] - -We reached home by starlight at one o'clock this morning; and I write -in haste, fear, and trembling lest you should already be gone to -Surrey. You know what I should like--that you and your husband should -come to us the first day possible, naming any hour and conditions. We -would arrange meals and everything else as would best suit you. Of -course I would willingly go to London to see _you_, if you could not -come to me. But I fear lest neither plan should be practicable, and -lest this letter should have to be sent after you. It is from your -note only that I have learned your loss.[21] It has made me think of -you with the sense that there is more than ever a common fund of -experience between us. But I will write nothing more now. I am almost -ill with fatigue, and have only courage to write at all because of my -anxiety not to miss you. - -Affectionate regards from both of _us_ to both of _you_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2d July, 1860.] - -I opened your letters and parcel a little after one o'clock on Sunday -morning, for that was the unseasonable hour of our return from our -long, long journey. Yesterday was almost entirely employed in feeling -very weary indeed, but this morning we are attacking the heap of small -duties that always lie before one after a long absence. - -It is pleasant to see your book[22] fairly finished after all delays -and anxieties; but I will say nothing to you about _that_ until I have -read it. I shall read it the first thing before plunging into a course -of study which will take me into a different region of thought. - -We have had an unspeakably delightful journey--one of those journeys -that seem to divide one's life in two, by the new ideas they suggest -and the new veins of interest they open. We went to Geneva, and spent -two days with my old, kind friends, the d'Alberts--a real pleasure to -me, especially as Mr. Lewes was delighted with "Maman," as I used to -call Madame d'Albert. She is as bright and upright as ever; the ten -years have only whitened her hair--a change which makes her face all -the softer in coloring. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 3d July, 1860.] - -We did not reach home till past midnight on Saturday, when you, I -suppose, had already become used to the comfort of having fairly got -through your London season. Self-interest, rightly understood of -course, prompts us to a few virtuous actions in the way of -letter-writing to let the few people we care to hear from know at once -of our whereabouts; and you are one of the first among the few. - -At Berne Mr. Lewes supped with Professors Valentin and Schiff, two -highly distinguished physiologists, and I was much delighted to find -how much attention and interest they had given to his views in the -"Physiology of Common Life." - -A French translation of "Adam Bede," by a Genevese gentleman[23] well -known to me, is now in the press; and the same translator has -undertaken "The Mill on the Floss." He appears to have rendered "Adam" -with the most scrupulous care. I think these are all the incidents we -gathered on our homeward journey that are likely to interest you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 7th July, 1860.] - -I have finished my first rather rapid reading of your book, and now I -thank you for it: not merely for the special gift of the volume and -inscription, but for that of which many others will share the benefit -with me--the "thoughts" themselves. - -So far as my reading in English books of similar character extends, -yours seems to me quite unparalleled in the largeness and insight with -which it estimates Christianity as an "organized experience"--a grand -advance in the moral development of the race. - -I especially delight in the passage, p. 105, beginning, "And how can -it be otherwise," and ending with, "formal rejection of it."[24] On -this and other supremely interesting matters of thought--perhaps I -should rather say of experience--your book has shown me that we are -much nearer to each other than I had supposed. At p. 174, again, there -is a passage beginning, "These sentiments," and ending with -"heroes,"[25] which, for me, expresses the one-half of true human -piety. That thought is one of my favorite altars where I oftenest go -to contemplate, and to seek for invigorating motive. - -Of the work as a whole I am quite incompetent to judge on a single -cursory reading. I admire--I respect--the breadth and industry of mind -it exhibits; and I should be obliged to give it a more thorough study -than I can afford at present before I should feel warranted to urge, -in the light of a criticism, my failure to perceive the logical -consistency of your language in some parts with the position you have -adopted in others. In many instances your meaning is obscure to me, or -at least lies wrapped up in more folds of abstract phraseology than I -have the courage or the industry to open for myself. I think you told -me that some one had found your treatment of great questions -"cold-blooded." I am all the more delighted to find, for my own part, -an unusual fulness of sympathy and heart experience breathing -throughout your book. The ground for that epithet perhaps lay in a -certain professorial tone which could hardly be avoided, in a work -filled with criticism of other people's theories, except by the -adoption of a simply personal style of presentation, in which you -would have seemed to be looking up at the oracles, and trying to -reconcile their doctrines for your own behoof, instead of appearing to -be seated in a chair above them. But you considered your own plan more -thoroughly than any one else can have considered it for you; and I -have no doubt you had good reasons for preferring the more impersonal -style. - -Mr. Lewes sends his kind regards, and when Du Bois Reymond's book on -Johannes Müller, with other preoccupations of a like thrilling kind, -no longer stand in the way, he will open _his_ copy of the "Thoughts -in Aid of Faith." He has felt a new interest aroused towards it since -he has learned something about it from me and the reviewer in the -_Westminster_. - -Madame Bodichon, who was here the other day, told me that Miss -Nightingale and Miss Julia Smith had mentioned their pleasure in your -book; but you will hear further news of all that from themselves. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 9th July, 1860.] - -I return Sir Edward Lytton's critical letter, which I have read with -much interest. On two points I recognize the justice of his criticism. -First, that Maggie is made to appear too passive in the scene of -quarrel in the Red Deeps. If my book were still in MS. I should--now -that the defect is suggested to me--alter, or rather expand, that -scene. Secondly, that the tragedy is not adequately prepared. This is -a defect which I felt even while writing the third volume, and have -felt ever since the MS. left me. The _Epische Breite_ into which I was -beguiled by love of my subject in the two first volumes, caused a want -of proportionate fulness in the treatment of the third, which I shall -always regret. - -The other chief point of criticism--Maggie's position towards -Stephen--is too vital a part of my whole conception and purpose for me -to be converted to the condemnation of it. If I am wrong there--if I -did not really know what my heroine would feel and do under the -circumstances in which I deliberately placed her, I ought not to have -written this book at all, but quite a different book, if any. If the -ethics of art do not admit the truthful presentation of a character -essentially noble, but liable to great error--error that is anguish to -its own nobleness--then, it seems to me, the ethics of art are too -narrow, and must be widened to correspond with a widening psychology. - -But it is good for me to know how my tendencies as a writer clash with -the conclusions of a highly accomplished mind, that I may be warned -into examining well whether my discordance with those conclusions may -not arise rather from an idiosyncrasy of mine than from a conviction -which is argumentatively justifiable. - -I hope you will thank Sir Edward on my behalf for the trouble he has -taken to put his criticism into a form specific enough to be useful. I -feel his taking such trouble to be at once a tribute and a kindness. -If printed criticisms were usually written with only half the same -warrant of knowledge, and with an equal sincerity of intention, I -should read them without fear of fruitless annoyance. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 10th July, 1860.] - -The little envelope with its address of "Marian" was very welcome, and -as Mr. Lewes is sending what a Malaproprian friend once called a -"missile" to Sara, I feel inclined to slip in a word of -gratitude--less for the present than for the past goodness, which came -back to me with keener remembrance than ever when we were at Genoa and -at Como--the places I first saw with you. How wretched I was then--how -peevish, how utterly morbid! And how kind and forbearing you were -under the oppression of my company. I should like you now and then to -feel happy in the thought that you were always perfectly good to me. -That I was not good to you is my own disagreeable affair; the bitter -taste of that fact is mine, not yours. - -Don't you remember Bellagio? It is hardly altered much except in the -hotels, which the eleven years have wondrously multiplied and -bedizened for the accommodation of the English. But if I begin to -recall the things we saw in Italy, I shall write as long a letter as -Mr. Lewes's, which, by-the-bye, now I have read it, seems to be -something of a "missile" in another sense than the Malaproprian. But -Sara is one of the few people to whom candor is acceptable as the -highest tribute. And private criticism has more chance of being -faithful than public. We must have mercy on critics who are obliged to -make a figure in printed pages. They must by all means say striking -things. Either we should not read printed criticisms at all (_I -don't_), or we should read them with the constant remembrance that -they are a fugitive kind of work which, in the present stage of human -nature, can rarely engage a very high grade of conscience or ability. -The fate of a book, which is not entirely ephemeral, is never decided -by journalists or reviewers of any but an exceptional kind. Tell Sara -her damnation--if it ever comes to pass--will be quite independent of -Nationals and Westminsters. Let half a dozen competent people read her -book, and an opinion of it will spread quite apart from either praise -or blame in reviews and newspapers. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, Tuesday evening, July, 1860.] - -Our big boy is a great delight to us, and makes our home doubly -cheery. It is very sweet as one gets old to have some young life about -one. He is quite a passionate musician, and we play Beethoven duets -with increasing appetite every evening. The opportunity of hearing -some inspiring music is one of the chief benefits we hope for to -counterbalance our loss of the wide common and the fields. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 14th July, 1860.] - -We shall certainly read the parts you suggest in the "Education of the -Feelings,"[26] and I dare say I shall read a good deal more of it, -liking to turn over the leaves of a book which I read first in our old -drawing-room at Foleshill, and then lent to my sister, who, with a -little air of maternal experience, pronounced it "very sensible." - -There is so much that I want to do every day--I had need cut myself -into four women. We have a great extra interest and occupation just -now in our big boy Charlie, who is looking forward to a Government -examination, and wants much help and sympathy in music and graver -things. I think we are quite peculiarly blest in the fact that this -eldest lad seems the most entirely lovable human animal of seventeen -and a half that I ever met with or heard of: he has a sweetness of -disposition which is saved from weakness by a remarkable sense of -duty. - -We are going to let our present house, if possible--that is, get rid -of it altogether on account of its inconvenient situation--other -projects are still in a floating, unfixed condition. The water did not -look quite so green at Como--perhaps, as your remark suggests, because -there was a less vivid green to be reflected from my personality as I -looked down on it. I am eleven years nearer to the sere and yellow -leaf, and my feelings are even more autumnal than my years. I have -read no reviews of the "Mill on the Floss" except that in the _Times_ -which Blackwood sent me to Florence. I abstain not from -superciliousness, but on a calm consideration of the probable -proportion of benefit on the one hand, and waste of thought on the -other. It was certain that in the notices of my first book, after the -removal of my _incognito_, there would be much _ex post facto_ wisdom, -which could hardly profit me since _I_ certainly knew who I was -beforehand, and knew also that no one else knew who had not been -told. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles Bray, 18th July, 1860.] - -We are quite uncertain about our plans at present. Our second boy, -Thornie, is going to leave Hofwyl, and to be placed in some more -expensive position, in order to the carrying on of his education in a -more complete way, so that we are thinking of avoiding for the present -any final establishment of ourselves, which would necessarily be -attended with additional outlay. Besides, these material cares draw -rather too severely on my strength and spirits. But until Charlie's -career has taken shape we frame no definite projects. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 6th Aug. 1860.] - -If Cara values the article on Strikes in the _Westminster Review_, she -will be interested to know--if she has not heard it already--that the -writer is _blind_. I dined with him the other week, and could hardly -keep the tears back as I sat at table with him. Yet he is cheerful and -animated, accepting with graceful quietness all the minute attentions -to his wants that his blindness calls forth. His name is Fawcett, and -he is a Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. I am sitting for my -portrait--for the last time, I hope--to Lawrence, the artist who drew -that chalk-head of Thackeray, which is familiar to you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, Friday, Aug. 1860.] - -I know you will rejoice with us that Charlie has won his place at the -Post-office, having been at the head of the list in the examination. -The dear lad is fairly launched in life now. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, Saturday evening, Aug. 1860.] - -I am thoroughly vexed that we didn't go to Lawrence's to-day. We made -an effort, but it was raining too hard at the only time that would -serve us to reach the train. That comes of our inconvenient situation, -so far off the railway; and alas! no one comes to take our house off -our hands. We may be forced to stay here after all. - -One of the things I shall count upon, if we are able to get nearer -London, is to see more of your schools and other good works. That -would help me to do without the fields for many months of the year. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 27th Aug. 1860.] - -I am very sorry that anything I have written should have pained you. -_That_, certainly, is the result I should seek most to avoid in the -very slight communication which we are able to keep up--necessarily -under extremely imperfect acquaintance with each other's present self. - -My first letter to you about your book, after having read it through, -was as simple and sincere a statement of the main impressions it had -produced on me as I knew how to write in few words. My second letter, -in which I unhappily used a formula in order to express to you, in -briefest phrase, my difficulty in discerning the justice of your -_analogical_ argument, _as I understood it_, was written from no other -impulse than the desire to show you that I did not neglect your -abstract just sent to me. The said formula was entirely deprived of -its application by the statement in your next letter that you used the -word "essence" in another sense than the one hitherto received in -philosophical writing, on the question as to the nature of our -knowledge; and the explanation given of your meaning in your last -letter shows me--unless I am plunging into further mistake--that you -mean nothing but what I fully believe. My offensive formula was -written under the supposition that your conclusion meant something -which it apparently did _not_ mean. It is probable enough that I was -stupid; but I should be distressed to think that the discipline of -life had been of so little use to me as to leave me with a tendency -to leap at once to the attitude of a critic, instead of trying first -to be a learner from every book written with sincere labor. - -Will you tell Mr. Bray that we are quitting our present house in order -to be _nearer_ town for Charlie's sake, who has an appointment in the -Post-office, and our time will be arduously occupied during the next -few weeks in arrangements to that end, so that our acceptance of the -pleasant proposition to visit Sydenham for a while is impossible. We -have advertised for a house near Regent's Park, having just found a -gentleman and lady ready to take our present one off our hands. They -want to come in on quarter-day, so that we have no time to spare. - -I have been reading this morning for my spiritual good Emerson's "Man -the Reformer," which comes to me with fresh beauty and meaning. My -heart goes out with venerating gratitude to that mild face, which I -dare say is smiling on some one as beneficently as it one day did on -me years and years ago. - -Do not write again about opinions on large questions, dear Sara. -The liability to mutual misconception which attends such -correspondence--especially in my case, who can only write with -brevity and haste--makes me dread it greatly; and I think there is -no benefit derivable to you to compensate for the presence of that -dread in me. You do not know me well enough as I _am_ (according to -the doctrine of development which you have yourself expounded) to -have the materials for interpreting my imperfect expressions. - -I think you would spare yourself some pain if you would attribute to -your friends a larger comprehension of ideas, and a larger -acquaintance with them, than you appear to do. I should imagine that -many of them, or at least _some_ of them, share with you, much more -fully than you seem to suppose, in the interest and hope you derive -from the doctrine of development, with its geometrical progression -towards fuller and fuller being. Surely it is a part of human piety we -should all cultivate, not to form conclusions, on slight and dubious -evidence, as to other people's "tone of mind," or to regard particular -mistakes as a proof of general moral incapacity to understand us. I -suppose such a tendency (to large conclusions about others) is part of -the original sin we are all born with, for I have continually to check -it in myself. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th Aug. 1860.] - -I think I must tell you the secret, though I am distrusting my power -to make it grow into a published fact. When we were in Florence I was -rather fired with the idea of writing an historical romance--scene, -Florence; period, the close of the fifteenth century, which was marked -by Savonarola's career and martyrdom. Mr. Lewes has encouraged me to -persevere in the project, saying that I should probably do something -in historical romance rather different in character from what has been -done before. But I want first to write another English story, and the -plan I should like to carry out is this: to publish my next English -novel when my Italian one is advanced enough for us to begin its -publication a few months afterwards in "Maga." It would appear without -a name in the Magazine, and be subsequently reprinted with the name of -George Eliot. I need not tell you the wherefore of this plan. You know -well enough the received phrases with which a writer is greeted when -he does something else than what was expected of him. But just now I -am quite without confidence in my future doings, and almost repent of -having formed conceptions which will go on lashing me now until I have -at least tried to fulfil them. - -I am going to-day to give my last sitting to Lawrence, and we were -counting on the Major's coming to look at the portrait and judge of -it. I hope it will be satisfactory, for I am quite set against going -through the same process a second time. - -We are a little distracted just now with the prospect of removal from -our present house, which some obliging people have at last come to -take off our hands. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 5th Sept. 1860.] - -My fingers have been itching to write to you for the last week or -more, but I have waited and waited, hoping to be able to tell you that -we had decided on our future house. This evening, however, I have been -reading your description of Algiers, and the desire to thank you for -it moves me too strongly to be resisted. It is admirably written, and -makes me _see_ the country. I am so glad to think of the deep draughts -of life you get from being able to spend half your life in that fresh, -grand scenery. It must make London and English green fields all the -more enjoyable in their turn. - -As for us, we are preparing to renounce the delights of roving, and to -settle down quietly, as old folks should do, for the benefit of the -young ones. We have let our present house. - -Is it not cheering to have the sunshine on the corn, and the prospect -that the poor people will not have to endure the suffering that comes -on them from a bad harvest? The fields that were so sadly beaten down -a little while ago on the way to town are now standing in fine yellow -shocks. - -I wish you could know how much we felt your kindness to Charley. He is -such a dear good fellow that nothing is thrown away upon him. - -Write me a scrap of news about yourself, and tell me how you and the -doctor are enjoying the country. I shall get a breath of it in that -way. I think I love the fields and shudder at the streets more and -more every month. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Sept. 27._--To-day is the third day we have spent in our new home -here at 10 Harewood Square. It is a furnished house, in which we do -not expect to stay longer than six months at the utmost. Since our -return from Italy I have written a slight tale, "Mr. David Faux, -Confectioner" ("Brother Jacob"), which G. thinks worth printing. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 27th Sept. 1860.] - -The precious check arrived safely to-day. I am much obliged to you for -it, and also for the offer to hasten further payments. I have no -present need of that accommodation, as we have given up the idea of -buying the house which attracted us, dreading a step that might fetter -us to town, or to a more expensive mode of living than might -ultimately be desirable. I hope Mr. Lewes will bring us back a good -report of Major Blackwood's progress towards re-established health. In -default of a visit from him, it was very agreeable to have him -represented by his son,[27] who has the happy talent of making a -morning call one of the easiest, pleasantest things in the world. - -I wonder if you know who is the writer of the article in the _North -British_, in which I am reviewed along with Hawthorne. Mr. Lewes -brought it for me to read this morning, and it is so unmixed in its -praise that if I had any friends I should be uneasy lest a friend -should have written it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 16th Oct. 1860.] - -Since there is no possibility of my turning in to see you on my walk, -as in the old days, I cannot feel easy without writing to tell you my -regret that I missed you when you came. In changing a clearer sky for -a foggy one we have not changed our habits, and we walk after lunch, -as usual; but I should like very much to stay indoors any day with the -expectation of seeing you, if I could know beforehand of your coming. -It is rather sad not to see your face at all from week to week, and I -hope you know that I feel it so. But I am always afraid of falling -into a disagreeable urgency of invitation, since we have nothing to -offer beyond the familiar, well-worn entertainment of our own society. -I hope you and Mr. Congreve are quite well now and free from cares. -Emily, I suppose, is gone with the sunshine of her face to Coventry. -There is sadly little sunshine except that of young faces just now. -Still we are flourishing, in spite of damp and dismalness. We were -glad to hear that the well-written article in the _Westminster_ on the -"Essays and Reviews" was by your friend Mr. Harrison.[28] Though I -don't quite agree with his view of the case, I admired the tone and -style of the writing greatly. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 19th Oct. 1860.] - -There is no objection to Wednesday but this--that it is our day for -hearing a course of lectures, and the lecture begins at eight. Now, -since you can't come often, we want to keep you as long as we can, and -we have a faint hope that Mr. Congreve might be able to come from his -work and dine with us and take you home. But if that were impossible, -could you not stay all night? There is a bed ready for you. Think of -all that, and if you can manage to give us the longer visit, choose -another day when our evening will be unbroken. I will understand by -your silence that you can only come for a shorter time, and that you -abide by your plan of coming on Wednesday. I am really quite hungry -for the sight of you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 2d Nov. 1860.] - -I agree with you in preferring to put simply "New Edition;" and I see, -too, that the practice of advertising numbers is made vulgar and -worthless by the doubtful veracity of some publishers, and the low -character of the books to which they affix this supposed guarantee of -popularity. _Magna est veritas_, etc. I can't tell you how much -comfort I feel in having publishers who believe that. - -You have read the hostile article in the _Quarterly_, I dare say. I -have not seen it; but Mr. Lewes's report of it made me more cheerful -than any review I have heard of since "The Mill" came out. You remember -Lord John Russell was once laughed at immensely for saying that he felt -confident he was right, because all parties found fault with him. I -really find myself taking nearly the same view of my position, with the -Freethinkers angry with me on one side and the writer in the -_Quarterly_ on the other--_not_ because my representations are -untruthful, but because they are impartial--because I don't _load_ my -dice so as to make their side win. The parenthetical hint that the -classical quotations in my books might be "more correctly printed," is -an amusing sample of the grievance that belongs to review-writing in -general, since there happens to be only _one_ classical quotation in -them all--the Greek one from the Philoctetes in "Amos Barton." -By-the-bye, will you see that the readers have not allowed some error -to creep into that solitary bit of pedantry? - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 13th Nov. 1860.] - -I understand your paradox of "expecting disappointments," for that is -the only form of hope with which I am familiar. I should like, for -your sake, that you should rather see us in our _own_ house than in -this; for I fear your carrying away a general sense of _yellow_ in -connection with us--and I am sure that is enough to set you against -the thought of us. There are some staring yellow curtains which you -will hardly help blending with your impression of our moral -sentiments. In our own drawing-room I mean to have a paradise of -greenness. I have lately re-read your "Thoughts," from the beginning -of the "Psychical Essence of Christianity" to the end of the "History -of Philosophy," and I feel my original impression confirmed--that the -"Psychical Essence" and "General Review of the Christian System" are -the most valuable portions. I think you once expressed your regret -that I did not understand the analogy you traced between Feuerbach's -theory and Spencer's. I don't know what gave you that impression, for -_I_ never said so. I see your meaning distinctly in that parallel. If -you referred to something in Mr. Lewes's letter, let me say, once for -all, that you must not impute _my_ opinions to _him_ nor _vice versâ_. -The intense happiness of our union is derived in a high degree from -the perfect freedom with which we each follow and declare our own -impressions. In this respect I know _no_ man so great as he--that -difference of opinion rouses no egoistic irritation in him, and that -he is ready to admit that another argument is the stronger the moment -his intellect recognizes it. I am glad to see Mr. Bray contributing -his quota to the exposure of that odious trickery--spirit-rapping. It -was not headache that I was suffering from when Mr. Bray called, but -extreme languor and unbroken fatigue from morning to night--a state -which is always accompanied in me, psychically, by utter -self-distrust and despair of ever being equal to the demands of life. -We should be very pleased to hear some news of Mr. and Mrs. Call. I -feel their removal from town quite a loss to us. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Nov. 28._--Since I last wrote in this Journal I have suffered much -from physical weakness, accompanied with mental depression. The loss -of the country has seemed very bitter to me, and my want of health and -strength has prevented me from working much--still worse, has made me -despair of ever working well again. I am getting better now by the -help of tonics, and shall be better still if I could gather more -bravery, resignation, and simplicity of striving. In the meantime my -cup is full of blessings: my home is bright and warm with love and -tenderness, and in more material, vulgar matters we are very -fortunate. - -Last Tuesday--the 20th--we had a pleasant evening. Anthony Trollope -dined with us, and made me like him very much by his straightforward, -wholesome _Wesen_. Afterwards Mr. Helps came in, and the talk was -extremely agreeable. He told me the queen had been speaking to him in -great admiration of my books--especially "The Mill on the Floss." It -is interesting to know that royalty can be touched by that sort of -writing, and I was grateful to Mr. Helps for his wish to tell me of -the sympathy given to me in that quarter. - -To-day I have had a letter from M. d'Albert, saying that at last the -French edition of "Adam Bede" is published. He pleases me very much by -saying that he finds not a sentence that he can retrench in the first -volume of "The Mill." - -I am engaged now in writing a story--the idea of which came to me -after our arrival in this house, and which has thrust itself between -me and the other book I was meditating. It is "Silas Marner, the -Weaver of Raveloe." I am still only at about the 62d page, for I have -written slowly and interruptedly. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 7th Dec. 1860.] - -The sight of sunshine usually brings you to my mind, because you are -my latest association with the country; but I think of you much -oftener than I see the sunshine, for the weather in London has been -more uninterruptedly dismal than ever for the last fortnight. -Nevertheless _I_ am brighter; and since I believe your goodness will -make that agreeable news to you, I write on purpose to tell it. -Quinine and steel have at last made me brave and cheerful, and I -really don't mind a journey up-stairs. If you had not repressed our -hope of seeing you again until your sister's return, I should have -asked you to join us for the Exeter Hall performance of the "Messiah" -this evening, which I am looking forward to with delight. The Monday -Popular Concerts at St. James's Hall are our easiest and cheapest -pleasures. I go in my bonnet; we sit in the shilling places in the -body of the hall, and hear to perfection for a shilling! That is -agreeable when one hears Beethoven's quartets and sonatas. Pray bear -in mind that these things are to be had when you are more at liberty. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Dec. 17._--We entered to-day our new home--16 Blandford Square--which -we have taken for three years, hoping by the end of that time to have -so far done our duty by the boys as to be free to live where we list. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Dec. 1860.] - -Your vision of me as "settled" was painfully in contrast with the -fact. The last virtue human beings will attain, I am inclined to -think, is scrupulosity in promising and faithfulness in fulfilment. We -are still far off our last stadium of development, and so it has come -to pass that, though we were in the house on Monday last, our -curtains are not up and our oilcloth is not down. Such is life, seen -from the furnishing point of view! I can't tell you how hateful this -sort of time-frittering work is to me, who every year care less for -houses and detest shops more. To crown my sorrows, I have lost my -pen--my old, favorite pen, with which I have written for eight -years--at least, it is not forth-coming. We have been reading the -proof of Mr. Spencer's second part, and I am supremely gratified by -it, because he brings his argument to a point which I did not -anticipate from him. It is, as he says, a result of his riper thought. -After all the bustle of Monday I went to hear Sims Reeves sing -"Adelaide"--that _ne plus ultra_ of passionate song--and I wish you -had been there for one quarter of an hour, that you might have heard -it too. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 26th Dec. 1860.] - -The bright point in your letter is that you are in a happy state of -mind yourself. For the rest, we must wait, and not be impatient with -those who have their inward trials, though everything outward seems to -smile on them. It seems to those who are differently placed that the -time of freedom from strong ties and urgent claims must be very -precious for the ends of self-culture and good, helpful work towards -the world at large. But it hardly ever is so. As for the forms and -ceremonies, I feel no regret that any should turn to them for comfort -if they can find comfort in them; sympathetically I enjoy them myself. -But I have faith in the working-out of higher possibilities than the -Catholic or any other Church has presented; and those who have -strength to wait and endure are bound to accept no formula which their -whole souls--their intellect as well as their emotions--do not embrace -with entire reverence. The "highest calling and election" is to _do -without opium_, and live through all our pain with conscious, -clear-eyed endurance. - -We have no sorrow just now, except my constant inward "worrit" of -unbelief in any future of good work on my part. Everything I do seems -poor and trivial in the doing; and when it is quite gone from me, and -seems no longer my own, then I rejoice in it and think it fine. That -is the history of my life. - -I have been wanting to go to your school again, to refresh myself with -the young voices there, but I have not been able to do it. My walks -have all been taken up with shopping errands of late; but I hope to -get more leisure soon. - -We both beg to offer our affectionate remembrances to the doctor. Get -Herbert Spencer's new work--the two first quarterly parts. It is the -best thing he has done. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1860.] - -_Dec. 31._--This year has been marked by many blessings, and, above -all, by the comfort we have found in having Charles with us. Since we -set out on our journey to Italy on 25th March, the time has not been -fruitful in work: distractions about our change of residence have run -away with many days; and since I have been in London my state of -health has been depressing to all effort. - -May the next year be more fruitful! - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 12th Jan. 1861.] - -I am writing a story which came _across_ my other plans by a sudden -inspiration. I don't know at present whether it will resolve itself -into a book short enough for me to complete before Easter, or whether -it will expand beyond that possibility. It seems to me that nobody -will take any interest in it but myself, for it is extremely unlike -the popular stories going; but Mr. Lewes declares that I am wrong, and -says it is as good as anything I have done. It is a story of -old-fashioned village life, which has unfolded itself from the merest -millet-seed of thought. I think I get slower and more timid in my -writing, but perhaps worry about houses and servants and boys, with -want of bodily strength, may have had something to do with that. I -hope to be quiet now. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_Feb. 1._--The first month of the New Year has been passed in much -bodily discomfort, making both work and leisure heavy. I have reached -page 209 of my story, which is to be in one volume, and I want to get -it ready for Easter, but I dare promise myself nothing with this -feeble body. - -The other day I had charming letters from M. and Mme. d'Albert, saying -that the French "Adam" goes on very well, and showing an appreciation -of "The Mill" which pleases me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 6th Feb. 1861.] - -I was feeling so ill on Friday and Saturday that I had not spirit to -write and thank you for the basket of eggs--an invaluable present. I -was particularly grateful this morning at breakfast, when a fine large -one fell to my share. - -On Saturday afternoon we were both so utterly incapable that Mr. Lewes -insisted on our setting off forthwith into the country. But we only -got as far as Dorking, and came back yesterday. I felt a new creature -as soon as I was in the country; and we had two brilliant days for -rambling and driving about that lovely Surrey. I suppose we must keep -soul and body together by occasional flights of this sort; and don't -you think an occasional flight to town will be good for you? - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 8th Feb. 1861.] - -I have destroyed almost all my friends' letters to me, because they -were only intended for my eyes, and could only fall into the hands of -persons who knew little of the writers, if I allowed them to remain -till after my death. In proportion as I love every form of -piety--which is venerating love--I hate hard curiosity; and, -unhappily, my experience has impressed me with the sense that hard -curiosity is the more common temper of mind. But enough of that. The -reminders I am getting from time to time of Coventry distress have -made me think very often yearningly and painfully of the friends who -are more immediately affected by it, and I often wonder if more -definite information would increase or lessen my anxiety for them. -Send me what word you can from time to time, that there may be some -reality in my image of things round your hearth. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 15th Feb. 1861.] - -I send you by post to-day about two hundred and thirty pages of MS. I -send it because, in my experience, printing and its preliminaries have -always been rather a slow business; and as the story--if published at -Easter at all--should be ready by Easter week, there is no time to -lose. We are reading "Carlyle's Memoirs" with much interest; but, so -far as we have gone, he certainly does seem to me something of a -"Sadducee"--a very handsome one, judging from the portrait. What a -memory and what an experience for a novelist! But, somehow, experience -and finished faculty rarely go together. Dearly beloved Scott had the -greatest combination of experience and faculty, yet even he never made -the most of his treasures, at least in his _mode_ of presentation. -Send us better news of Major Blackwood, if you can. We feel so old and -rickety ourselves that we have a peculiar interest in invalids. Mr. -Lewes is going to lecture for the Post-office this evening, by Mr. -Trollope's request. I am rather uneasy about it, and wish he were well -through the unusual excitement. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 16th Feb. 1861.] - -I have been much relieved by Mr. Lewes having got through his lecture -at the Post-office[29] with perfect ease and success, for I had feared -the unusual excitement for him. _I_ am better. I have not been working -much lately; indeed, this year has been a comparatively idle one. I -think my _malaise_ is chiefly owing to the depressing influence of -town air and town scenes. The Zoological Gardens are my one outdoor -pleasure now, and we can take it several times a week, for Mr. Lewes -has become a fellow. - -My love is often visiting you. Entertain it well. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Feb. 1861.] - -I am glad to hear that Mr. Maurice impressed you agreeably. If I had -strength to be adventurous on Sunday I should go to hear him preach as -well as others. But I am unequal to the least exertion or -irregularity. My only pleasure away from our own hearth is going to -the Zoological Gardens. Mr. Lewes is a fellow, so we turn in there -several times a week; and I find the birds and beasts there most -congenial to my spirit. There is a Shoebill, a great bird of grotesque -ugliness, whose topknot looks brushed up to a point with an exemplary -deference to the demands of society, but who, I am sure, has no idea -that he looks the handsomer for it. I cherish an unrequited attachment -to him. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 23d Feb. 1861.] - -If you are in London this morning, in this fine, dun-colored fog, you -know how to pity me. But I feel myself wicked for implying that I have -any grievances. Only last week we had a circular from the clergyman at -Attleboro, where there is a considerable population entirely dependent -on the ribbon-trade, telling us how the poor weavers are suffering -from the effects of the Coventry strike. And these less-known, -undramatic tales of want win no wide help, such as has been given in -the case of the Hartley colliery accident. - -Your letter was a contribution towards a more cheerful view of things, -for whatever may be the minor evils you hint at, I know that Mr. -Congreve's better health, and the satisfaction you have in his doing -effective work, will outweigh them. We have had a Dr. Wyatt here -lately, an Oxford physician, who was much interested in hearing of Mr. -Congreve again, not only on the ground of Oxford remembrances, but -from having read his writings. - -I was much pleased with the affectionate respect that was expressed in -all the notices of Mr. Clough[30] that I happened to see in the -newspapers. They were an indication that there must be a great deal of -private sympathy to soothe poor Mrs. Clough, if any soothing is -possible in such cases. That little poem of his which was quoted in -the _Spectator_ about parted friendships touched me deeply. - -You may be sure we are ailing, but I am ashamed of dwelling on a -subject that offers so little variety. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th Feb. 1861.] - -I don't wonder at your finding my story, as far as you have read it, -rather sombre; indeed, I should not have believed that any one would -have been interested in it but myself (since Wordsworth is dead) if -Mr. Lewes had not been strongly arrested by it. But I hope you will -not find it at all a sad story, as a whole, since it sets--or is -intended to set--in a strong light the remedial influences of pure, -natural human relations. The Nemesis is a very mild one. I have felt -all through as if the story would have lent itself best to metrical -rather than to prose fiction, especially in all that relates to the -psychology of Silas; except that, under that treatment, there could -not be an equal play of humor. It came to me first of all quite -suddenly, as a sort of legendary tale, suggested by my recollection of -having once, in early childhood, seen a linen-weaver with a bag on his -back; but, as my mind dwelt on the subject, I became inclined to a -more realistic treatment. - -My chief reason for wishing to publish the story now is that I like my -writings to appear in the order in which they are written, because -they belong to successive mental phases, and when they are a year -behind me I can no longer feel that thorough identification with them -which gives zest to the sense of authorship. I generally like them -better at that distance, but then I feel as if they might just as well -have been written by somebody else. It would have been a great -pleasure to me if Major Blackwood could have read my story. I am very -glad to have the first part tested by the reading of your nephew and -Mr. Simpson, and to find that it can interest them at all. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_March 10._--Finished "Silas Marner," and sent off the last thirty -pages to Edinburgh. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Brays, 19th Mch. 1861, from Hastings.] - -Your letter came to me just as we were preparing to start in search of -fresh air and the fresh thoughts that come with it. I hope you never -doubt that I feel a deep interest in knowing all facts that touch you -nearly. I should like to think that it was some small comfort to Cara -and you to know that, wherever I am, there is one among that number of -your friends--necessarily decreasing with increasing years--who enter -into your present experience with the light of memories; for kind -feeling can never replace fully the sympathy that comes from memory. -My disposition is so faultily anxious and foreboding that I am not -likely to forget anything of a saddening sort. - -Tell Sara we saw Mr. William Smith, author of "Thorndale," a short -time ago, and he spoke of her and her book with interest; he thought -her book "suggestive." He called on us during a visit to London, made -for the sake of getting married. The lady is, or rather was, a Miss -Cumming, daughter of a blind physician of Edinburgh. He said they had -talked to each other for some time of the "impossibility" of marrying, -because they were both too poor. "But," he said, "it is dangerous, -Lewes, to talk even of the impossibility." The difficulties gradually -dwindled, and the advantages magnified themselves. She is a nice -person, we hear; and I was particularly pleased with _him_--he is -modest to diffidence, yet bright and keenly awake. - -I am just come in from our first good blow on the beach, and have that -delicious sort of numbness in arms and legs that comes from walking -hard in a fresh wind. - -"Silas Marner" is in one volume. It was quite a sudden inspiration -that came across me in the midst of altogether different meditations. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th Mch. 1861.] - -The latest number I had heard of was three thousand three hundred, so -that your letter brought me agreeable information. I am particularly -gratified, because this spirited subscription must rest on my -character as a writer generally, and not simply on the popularity of -"Adam Bede." There is an article on "The Mill" in _Macmillan's -Magazine_ which is worth reading. I cannot, of course, agree with the -writer in all his regrets; if I could have done so I should not have -written the book I did write, but quite another. Still, it is a -comfort to me to read any criticism which recognizes the high -responsibilities of literature that undertakes to represent life. The -ordinary tone about art is that the artist may do what he will, -provided he pleases the public. - -I am very glad to be told--whenever you can tell me--that the major is -not suffering heavily. I know so well the preciousness of those smiles -that tell one the mind is not held out of all reach of soothing. - -We are wavering whether we shall go to Florence this spring or wait -till the year and other things are more advanced. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 1st April, 1861.] - -It gave me pleasure to have your letter, not only because of the kind -expressions of sympathy it contains, but also because it gives me an -opportunity of telling you, after the lapse of years, that I remember -gratefully how you wrote to me with generous consideration and belief -at a time when most persons who knew anything of me were disposed -(naturally enough) to judge me rather severely. Only a woman of rare -qualities would have written to me as you did on the strength of the -brief intercourse that had passed between us. - -It was never a trial to me to have been cut off from what is called -the world, and I think I love none of my fellow-creatures the less for -it; still, I must always retain a peculiar regard for those who showed -me any kindness in word or deed at that time, when there was the least -evidence in my favor. The list of those who did so is a short one, so -that I can often and easily recall it. - -For the last six years I have ceased to be "Miss Evans" for any one -who has personal relations with me--having held myself under all the -responsibilities of a married woman. I wish this to be distinctly -understood; and when I tell you that we have a great boy of eighteen -at home, who calls me "mother," as well as two other boys, almost as -tall, who write to me under the same name, you will understand that -the point is not one of mere egoism or personal dignity, when I -request that any one who has a regard for me will cease to speak of me -by my maiden name. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 4th April, 1861.] - -I am much obliged to you for your punctuality in sending me my -precious check. I prize the money fruit of my labor very highly as the -means of saving us dependence, or the degradation of writing when we -are no longer able to write well, or to write what we have not written -before. - -Mr. Langford brought us word that he thought the total subscription -(including Scotland and Ireland) would mount to five thousand five -hundred. That is really very great. And letters drop in from time to -time, giving me words of strong encouragement, especially about "The -Mill;" so that I have reason to be cheerful, and to believe that where -one has a large public, one's words must hit their mark. If it were -not for that, special cases of misinterpretation might paralyze me. -For example, pray notice how one critic attributes to me a disdain for -Tom; as if it were not _my_ respect for Tom which infused itself into -my reader; as if he could have respected Tom if I had not painted him -with respect; the exhibition of the right on both sides being the very -soul of my intention in the story. However, I ought to be satisfied if -I have roused the feeling that does justice to both sides. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 6th April, 1861.] - -I feel more at ease in omitting formalities with you than I should -with most persons, because I know you are yourself accustomed to have -other reasons for your conduct than mere fashion, and I believe you -will understand me without many words when I tell you what Mr. Lewes -felt unable to explain on the instant when you kindly expressed the -wish to see us at your house; namely, that I have found it a necessity -of my London life to make the rule of _never_ paying visits. Without a -carriage, and with my easily perturbed health, London distances would -make any other rule quite irreconcilable for me with any efficient use -of my days; and I am obliged to give up the _few_ visits which would -be really attractive and fruitful in order to avoid the _many_ visits -which would be the reverse. It is only by saying, "I never pay -visits," that I can escape being ungracious or unkind--only by -renouncing all social intercourse but such as comes to our own -fireside, that I can escape sacrificing the chief objects of my life. - -I think it very good of those with whom I have much fellow-feeling, if -they will let me have the pleasure of seeing them without their -expecting the usual reciprocity of visits; and I hope I need hardly -say that you are among the visitors who would be giving me pleasure in -this way. I think your imagination will supply all I have left unsaid, -all the details that run away with our hours when our life extends at -all beyond our own homes; and I am not afraid of your misinterpreting -my stay-at-home rule into churlishness. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 18th April, 1861.] - -We went to hear Beethoven's "Mass in D" last night, and on Wednesday -to hear Mendelssohn's "Walpurgis Nacht" and Beethoven's "Symphony in -B," so that we have had two musical treats this week; but the -enjoyment of such things is much diminished by the gas and bad air. -Indeed, our long addiction to a quiet life, in which our daily walk -among the still grass and trees was a _fête_ to us, has unfitted us -for the sacrifices that London demands. Don't think about reading -"Silas Marner" just because it is come out. I hate _obligato_ reading -and _obligato_ talk about my books. _I never send them to any one_, -and never wish to be spoken to about them, except by an -unpremeditated, spontaneous prompting. They are written out of my -deepest belief, and, as well as I can, for the great public, and every -sincere, strong word will find its mark in that public. Perhaps the -annoyance I suffered (referring to the Liggins' affair) has made me -rather morbid on such points; but, apart from my own weaknesses, I -think the less an author hears about himself the better. Don't mistake -me: I am writing a general explanation, _not_ anything applicable to -you. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_April 19._--We set off on our second journey to Florence, through -France and by the Cornice Road. Our weather was delicious, a little -rain, and we suffered neither from heat nor from dust. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 25th April, 1861.] - -We have had a paradisaic journey hitherto. It does one good to look at -the Provençals--men and women. They are quite a different race from -the Northern French--large, round-featured, full-eyed, with an -expression of _bonhomie_, calm and suave. They are very much like the -pleasantest Italians. The women at Arles and Toulon are remarkably -handsome. On Tuesday morning we set out about ten on our way to Nice, -hiring a carriage and taking post-horses. The sky was gray, and after -an hour or so we had rain; nevertheless our journey to Vidauban, about -half-way to Nice, was enchanting. Everywhere a delicious plain, -covered with bright green corn, sprouting vines, mulberry-trees, -olives, and here and there meadows sprinkled with buttercups, made the -nearer landscapes, and, in the distance, mountains of varying outline. -_Mutter_ felt herself in a state of perfect bliss from only looking -at this peaceful, generous nature; and you often came across the green -blades of corn, and made her love it all the better. We had meant to -go on to Fréjus that night, but no horses were to be had; so we made -up our minds to rest at Vidauban, and went out to have a stroll before -our six-o'clock dinner. Such a stroll! The sun had kindly come out for -us, and we enjoyed it all the more for the grayness of the morning. -There is a crystally clear river flowing by Vidauban, called the -Argent: it rushes along between a fringe of aspens and willows; and -the sunlight lay under the boughs, and fell on the eddying water, -making Pater and me very happy as we wandered. The next morning we set -off early, to be sure of horses before they had been used up by other -travellers. The country was not quite so lovely, but we had the -sunlight to compensate until we got past Fréjus, where we had our -first view of the sea since Toulon, and where the scenery changes to -the entirely mountainous, the road winding above gorges of pine-clad -masses for a long way. To heighten the contrast, a heavy storm came, -which thoroughly laid the dust for us, if it had no other advantage. -The sun came out gloriously again before we reached Cannes, and lit up -the yellow broom, which is now in all its splendor, and clothes vast -slopes by which our road wound. We had still a four-hours' journey to -Nice, where we arrived at six o'clock, with headaches that made us -glad of the luxuries to be found in a great hotel. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_May 5._--Dear Florence was lovelier than ever on this second view, -and ill-health was the only deduction from perfect enjoyment. We had -comfortable quarters in the Albergo della Vittoria, on the Arno; we -had the best news from England about the success of "Silas Marner;" -and we had long letters from our dear boy to make us feel easy about -home. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 5th May, 1861.] - -Your pleasant news had been ripening at the post-office several days -before we enjoyed the receipt of it; for our journey lasted us longer -than we expected, and we didn't reach this place till yesterday -evening. We have come with _vetturino_ from Toulon--the most -delightful (and the most expensive) journey we have ever had. I dare -say you know the Cornice; if not, _do_ know it some time, and bring -Mrs. Blackwood that way into Italy. Meanwhile I am glad to think that -you are having a less fatiguing change to places where you can "carry -the comforts o' the Saut Market" with you, which is not quite the case -with travellers along the Mediterranean coast. I hope I shall soon -hear that you are thoroughly set up by fresh air and fresh -circumstances, along with pleasant companionship. - -Except a thunderstorm, which gave a grand variety to the mountains, -and a little gentle rain, the first day from Toulon, which made the -green corn all the fresher, we have had unbroken sunshine, without -heat and without dust. I suppose this season and late autumn must be -the perfect moments for taking this supremely beautiful journey. We -must be forever ashamed of ourselves if we don't work the better for -it. - -It was very good of you to write to me in the midst of your hurry, -that I might have good news to greet me. It really did lighten our -weariness, and make the noisy streets that prevented sleep more -endurable. I was amused with your detail about Professor Aytoun's -sovereigns. There can be no great paintings of misers under the -present system of paper money--checks, bills, scrip, and the -like--nobody can handle that dull property as men handled the -glittering gold. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 17th May, 1861.] - -The Florentine winds, being of a grave and earnest disposition, have -naturally a disgust for trivial _dilettanti_ foreigners, and seize on -the peculiarly feeble and worthless with much virulence. In -consequence we had a sad history for nearly a week--Pater doing little -else than nurse me, and I doing little else but feel eminently -uncomfortable, for which, as you know, I have a faculty "second to -none." I feel very full of thankfulness for all the creatures I have -got to love--all the beautiful and great things that are given me to -know; and I feel, too, much younger and more hopeful, as if a great -deal of life and work were still before me. Pater and I have had great -satisfaction in finding our impressions of admiration more than -renewed in returning to Florence; the things we cared about when we -were here before seem even more worthy than they did in our memories. -We have had delightful weather since the cold winds abated; and the -evening lights on the Arno, the bridges, and the quaint houses, are a -treat that we think of beforehand. - -Your letters, too, are thought of beforehand. We long for them, and -when they come they don't disappoint us: they tell us everything, and -make us feel at home with you after a fashion. I confess to some dread -of Blandford Square in the abstract. I fear London will seem more -odious to me than ever; but I think I shall bear it with more -fortitude. After all, that is the best place to live in where one has -a strong reason for living. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 19th May, 1861.] - -We have been industriously foraging in old streets and old books. I -feel very brave just now, and enjoy the thought of work--but don't set -your mind on my doing just what I have dreamed. It may turn out that I -can't work freely and fully enough in the medium I have chosen, and -in that case I must give it up; for I will never write anything to -which my whole heart, mind, and conscience don't consent, so that I -may feel that it was something--however small--which wanted to be done -in this world, and that I am just the organ for that small bit of -work. - -I am very much cheered by the way in which "Silas" is received. I hope -it has made some slight pleasure for you too, in the midst of -incomparably deeper feelings of sadness.[31] Your quiet tour among the -lakes was the best possible thing for you. What place is not better -"out of the season"?--although I feel I am almost wicked in my hatred -of being where there are many other people enjoying themselves. I am -very far behind Mr. Buckle's millennial prospect, which is, that men -will be more and more congregated in cities and occupied with human -affairs, so as to be less and less under the influence of -Nature--_i.e._, the sky, the hills, and the plains; whereby -superstition will vanish and statistics will reign for ever and ever. - -Mr. Lewes is kept in continual distraction by having to attend to my -wants--going with me to the Magliabecchian Library, and poking about -everywhere on my behalf--I having very little self-help about me of -the pushing and inquiring kind. - -I look forward with keen anxiety to the next outbreak of war--longing -for some turn of affairs that will save poor Venice from being -bombarded by those terrible Austrian forts. - -Thanks for your letters: we both say, "More--give us more." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 27th May, 1861.] - -Florence is getting hot, and I am the less sorry to leave it because -it has agreed very ill with the dear Paterculus. This evening we have -been mounting to the top of Giotto's tower--a very sublime getting -up-stairs, indeed--and our muscles are much astonished at the unusual -exercise; so you must not be shocked if my letter seems to be written -with dim faculties as well as with a dim light. - -We have seen no one but Mrs. Trollope and her pretty little girl -Beatrice, who is a musical genius. She is a delicate fairy, about ten -years old, but sings with a grace and expression that make it a -thrilling delight to hear her. - -We have had glorious sunsets, shedding crimson and golden lights under -the dark bridges across the Arno. All Florence turns out at eventide, -but we avoid the slow crowds on the Lung' Arno, and take our way "up -all manner of streets." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_May_ and _June_.--At the end of May Mr. T. Trollope came back and -persuaded us to stay long enough to make the expedition to Camaldoli -and La Vernia in his company. We arrived at Florence on the 4th May, -and left it on the 7th June--thirty-four days of precious time spent -there. Will it be all in vain? Our morning hours were spent in looking -at streets, buildings, and pictures, in hunting up old books at shops -or stalls, or in reading at the Magliabecchian Library. Alas! I could -have done much more if I had been well; but that regret applies to -most years of my life. Returned by Lago Maggiore and the St. Gothard; -reached home June 14. Blackwood having waited in town to see us, came -to lunch with us, and asked me if I would go to dine at Greenwich on -the following Monday, to which I said "Yes," by way of exception to my -resolve that I will go nowhere for the rest of this year. He drove us -there with Colonel Stewart, and we had a pleasant evening--the sight -of a game at golf in the park, and a hazy view of the distant -shipping, with the Hospital finely broken by trees in the foreground. -At dinner Colonel Hamley and Mr. Skene joined us; Delane, who had been -invited, was unable to come. The chat was agreeable enough, but the -sight of the gliding ships darkening against the dying sunlight made -me feel chat rather importunate. - -_June 16._--This morning, for the first time, I feel myself quietly -settled at home. I am in excellent health, and long to work steadily -and effectively. If it were possible that I should produce _better_ -work than I have yet done! At least there is a possibility that I may -make greater efforts against indolence and the despondency that comes -from too egoistic a dread of failure. - -_June 19._--This is the last entry I mean to make in my old book, in -which I wrote for the first time at Geneva in 1849. What moments of -despair I passed through after that--despair that life would ever be -made precious to me by the consciousness that I lived to some good -purpose! It was that sort of despair that sucked away the sap of half -the hours which might have been filled by energetic youthful activity; -and the same demon tries to get hold of me again whenever an old work -is dismissed and a new one is being meditated. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 19th June, 1861.] - -Some of one's first thoughts on coming home after an absence of much -length are about the friends one had left behind--what has happened to -them in the meantime, and how are they now? And yet, though we came -home last Friday evening, I have not had the quiet moment for writing -these thoughts until this morning. I know I need put no questions to -you, who always divine what I want to be told. We have had a perfect -journey except as regards health--a large, large exception. The cold -winds alternating with the hot sun, or some other cause, laid very -unkind hold on Mr. Lewes early after our arrival at Florence, and he -was ailing with sore throat and cough continually, so that he has come -back looking thin and delicate, though the ailments seem to be nearly -passed away. - -I wish you could have shared the pleasures of our last expedition from -Florence--to the Monasteries of Camaldoli and La Vernia; I think it -was just the sort of thing you would have entered into with thorough -zest. Imagine the Franciscans of La Vernia, which is perched upon an -abrupt rock rising sheer on the summit of a mountain, turning out at -midnight (and when there is deep snow for their feet to plunge in), -and chanting their slow way up to the little chapel perched at a lofty -distance above their already lofty monastery! This they do every night -throughout the year, in all weathers. - -Give my loving greeting to Cara and Mr. Bray, and then sit down and -write me one of your charming letters, making a little picture of -everybody and everything about you. God bless you! is the -old-fashioned summing up of sincere affection, without the least smirk -of studied civility. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th July, 1861.] - -Your letter gave me a pleasant vision of Sunday sunshine on the -flowers, and you among them, with your eyes brightened by busy and -enjoyable thoughts. - -Yes, I hope we are well out of that phase in which the most -philosophic view of the past was held to be a smiling survey of human -folly, and when the wisest man was supposed to be one who could -sympathize with no age but the age to come. - -When I received your Monday packet I was fresh from six quarto volumes -on the history of the monastic orders, and had just begun a less -formidable modern book on the same subject--Montalembert's "Monks of -the West." Our reading, you see, lay in very different quarters, but I -fancy our thoughts sometimes touched the same ground. I am rather -puzzled and shocked, however, by your high admiration of the articles -on the "Study of History," in the _Cornhill_. I should speak with the -reserve due to the fact that I have only read the second article; and -this, I confess, did not impress me as exhibiting any mastery of the -question, while its tone towards much abler thinkers than the writer -himself is to me extremely repulsive. Such writing as, "We should not -be called upon to believe that every crotchet which tickled the insane -vanity of a conceited Frenchman was an eternal and self-evident -truth," is to me simply disgusting, though it were directed against -the father of lies. It represents no fact except the writer's own -desire to be bitter, and is worthily finished by the dull and -irreverent antithesis of "the eternal truth and infernal lie." - -I quite agree with you--so far as I am able to form a judgment--in -regarding Positivism as one-sided; but Comte was a great thinker, -nevertheless, and ought to be treated with reverence by all smaller -fry. - -I have just been reading the "Survey of the Middle Ages" contained in -the fifth volume of the "Philosophie Positive," and to my apprehension -few chapters can be fuller of luminous ideas. I am thankful to learn -from it. There may be more profundity in the _Cornhill's_ exposition -than I am able to penetrate, or, possibly, the first article may -contain weightier matter than the second. - -Mrs. Bodichon is near us now, and one always gets good from contact -with her healthy, practical life. Mr. Lewes is gone to see Mrs. -Congreve and carry his net to the Wimbledon ponds. I hope he will get -a little strength as well as grist for his microscope. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 18th July, 1861.] - -The English "Imitation" I told you of, which is used by the Catholics, -is Challoner's. I have looked into it again since I saw you, and I -think, if you want to give the book away, this translation is as good -as any you are likely to get among current editions. If it were for -yourself, an old bookstall would be more likely to furnish what you -want. Don't ever think of me as valuing either you or Mr. Congreve -less instead of more. You naughtily implied something of that kind -just when you were running away from me. How could any goodness become -less precious to me unless my life had ceased to be a growth, and had -become mere shrinking and degeneracy? I always imagine that if I were -near you now I should profit more by the gift of your presence--just -as one feels about all past sunlight. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_July 24._--Walked with George over Primrose Hill. We talked of Plato -and Aristotle. - -_July 26._--In the evening went to see Fechter as Hamlet, and sat next -to Mrs. Carlyle. - -_July 30._--Read little this morning--my mind dwelling with much -depression on the probability or improbability of my achieving the -work I wish to do. I struck out two or three thoughts towards an -English novel. I am much afflicted with hopelessness and melancholy -just now, and yet I feel the value of my blessings. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 30th July, 1861.] - -Thornie, our second boy, is at home from Edinburgh for his holidays, -and I am apt to give more thought than is necessary to any little -change in our routine. We had a treat the other night which I wished -you could have shared with us. We saw Fechter in Hamlet. His -conception of the part is very nearly that indicated by the critical -observations in "Wilhelm Meister," and the result is deeply -interesting--the naturalness and sensibility of the _Wesen_ overcoming -in most cases the defective intonation. And even the intonation is -occasionally admirable; for example, "And for my soul, what can he do -to that?" etc., is given by Fechter with perfect simplicity, whereas -the herd of English actors imagine themselves in a pulpit when they -are saying it. _À propos_ of the pulpit, I had another failure in my -search for edification last Sunday. Mme. Bodichon and I went to Little -Portland Street Chapel, and lo! instead of James Martineau there was a -respectable old Unitarian gentleman preaching about the dangers of -ignorance and the satisfaction of a good conscience, in a tone of -amiable propriety which seemed to belong to a period when brains were -untroubled by difficulties, and the lacteals of all good Christians -were in perfect order. I enjoyed the fine selection of collects he -read from the Liturgy. What an age of earnest faith, grasping a noble -conception of life and determined to bring all things into harmony -with it, has recorded itself in the simple, pregnant, rhythmical -English of those collects and of the Bible! The contrast when the good -man got into the pulpit and began to pray in a borrowed, washy -lingo--extempore in more senses than one! - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Aug. 1._--Struggling constantly with depression. - -_Aug. 2._--Read Boccaccio's capital story of Fra Cipolla--one of his -few good stories--and the Little Hunchback in the "Arabian Nights," -which is still better. - -_Aug. 10._--Walked with G. We talked of my Italian novel. In the -evening, Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford. - -_Aug. 12._--Got into a state of so much wretchedness in attempting to -concentrate my thoughts on the construction of my story that I became -desperate, and suddenly burst my bonds, saying, I will not think of -writing! - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th Aug. 1861.] - -That doctrine which we accept rather loftily as a commonplace when we -are quite young--namely, that our happiness lies entirely within, in -our own mental and bodily state, which determines for us the influence -of everything outward--becomes a daily lesson to be learned, and -learned with much stumbling, as we get older. And until we know our -friends' private thoughts and emotions we hardly know what to grieve -or rejoice over for them. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Aug. 17._--Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford came, who gave us some music. - -_Aug. 20._--This morning I conceived the plot of my novel with new -distinctness. - -_Aug. 24._--Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford came, and we had music. These -have been placid, ineffective days, my mind being clouded and -depressed. - -_Aug. 26._--Went with Barbara to her school, and spent the afternoon -there. - -_Aug. 31._--In the evening came Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford, and we had -some music. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 11th Sept. 1861, from Malvern.] - -Your letter was a great delight to us, as usual; and the check, too, -was welcome to people under hydropathic treatment, which appears to -stimulate waste of coin as well as of tissue. Altogether, we are -figures in keeping with the landscape when it is well damped or -"packed" under the early mist. - -We thought rather contemptuously of the hills on our arrival; like -travelled people, we hinted at the Alps and Apennines, and smiled -with pity at our long-past selves, that had felt quite a thrill at the -first sight of them. But now we have tired our limbs by walking round -their huge shoulders we begin to think of them with more respect. We -simply looked at them at first; we feel their presence now, and creep -about them with due humility--whereby, you perceive, there hangs a -moral. I do wish you could have shared for a little while with us the -sight of this place. I fear you have never seen England under so -lovable an aspect. On the southeastern side, where the great green -hills have their longest slope, Malvern stands, well nestled in fine -trees--chiefly "sounding sycamores"--and beyond there stretches to the -horizon, which is marked by a low, faint line of hill, a vast level -expanse of grass and cornfields, with hedge-rows everywhere plumed -with trees, and here and there a rolling mass of wood; it is one of -the happiest scenes the eyes can look on--_freundlich_, according to -the pretty German phrase. On the opposite side of this main range of -hills there is a more undulated and more thickly wooded country which -has the sunset all to itself, and is bright with departing lights when -our Malvern side is in cold evening shadow. We are so fortunate as to -look out over the wide southeastern valley from our sitting-room -window. - -Our landlady is a quaint old personage, with a strong Cheshire accent. -She is, as she tells us, a sharp old woman, and "can see most things -pretty quick;" and she is kind enough to communicate her wisdom very -freely to us less crisply baked mortals. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Sept. 11._--Yesterday we returned from Malvern (having gone there on -4th). During our stay I read Mrs. Jameson's book on the "Legends of -the Monastic Orders," corrected the first volume of "Adam Bede" for -the new edition, and began Marchese's "Storia di San Marco." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 18th Sept. 1861.] - -I enter into your and Cara's furniture-adjusting labors and your -enjoyment of church and chapel afterwards. One wants a temple besides -the outdoor temple--a place where human beings do not ramble apart, -but _meet_ with a common impulse. I hope you have some agreeable lens -through which you can look at circumstances--good health, at least. -And really I begin to think people who are robust are in a position to -pity all the rest of the world--except, indeed, that there are certain -secrets taught only by pain, which are, perhaps, worth the purchase. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Sept. 23._--I have been unwell ever since we returned from Malvern, -and have been disturbed, from various causes, in my work, so that I -have scarcely done anything except correct my own books for a new -edition. To-day I am much better, and hope to begin a more effective -life to-morrow. - -_Sept. 28._--In the evening Mr. Spencer, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. Redford -came. We talked with Mr. Spencer about his chapter on the "Direction -of Force"--_i.e._, line of least resistance. - -_Sept. 29_ (Sunday).--Finished correcting "Silas Marner." I have thus -corrected all my books for a new and cheaper edition, and feel my mind -free for other work. Walked to the Zoo with the boys. - -_Oct. 3._--To-day our new grand piano came--a great addition to our -pleasures. - -_Oct. 4._--My mind still worried about my plot--and without any -confidence in my ability to do what I want. - -_Oct. 5._--In the evening Mr. Redford and Mr. Spencer came, and we had -much music. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 6th Oct. 1861.] - -We are enjoying a great pleasure, a new grand piano, and last evening -we had a Beethoven night. We are looking out for a violinist: we have -our violoncello, who is full of sensibility, but with no negative in -him--_i.e._, no obstinate sense of time--a man who is all assent and -perpetual _rallentando_. We can enjoy the pleasure the more because -Mr. Lewes's health is promising. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Oct. 7._--Began the first chapter of my novel ("Romola"). - -_Oct. 9._--Read Nerli. - -_Oct. 11._--Nardi's "History of Florence." In the afternoon walked -with Barbara, and talked with her from lunch till dinner-time. - -_Oct. 12._--In the evening we had our usual Saturday mixture of -visitors, talk, and music; an agreeable addition being Dr. M'Donnell -of Dublin. - -_Oct. 14._--Went with Barbara to her school to hear the children sing. - -_Oct. 18._--Walked with G. and Mr. Spencer to Hampstead, and continued -walking for more than five hours. In the evening we had music. Mrs. -Bodichon and Miss Parkes were our additional visitors. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 23d Oct. 1861.] - -I am rather jealous of the friends who get so much of you--especially -when they are so unmeritorious as to be evangelical and spoil your -rest. But I will not grumble. I am in the happiest, most contented -mood, and have only good news to tell you. I have hardly any trouble -nearer to me than the American War and the prospects of poor cotton -weavers. While you were shivering at Boulogne we were walking fast to -avoid shivering at Malvern, and looking slightly blue after our sitz -baths. Nevertheless that discipline answered admirably, and Mr. -Lewes's health has been steadily improving since our Malvern -expedition. As for me, imagine what I must be to have walked for five -hours the other day! Or, better still, imagine me always cheerful, and -infer the altered condition of my mucous membrane. The difference must -be there; for it is not in my moral sentiments or in my circumstances, -unless, indeed, a new grand piano, which tempts me to play more than I -have done for years before, may be reckoned an item important enough -to have contributed to the change. We talk of you very often, and the -image of you is awakened in my mind still oftener. You are associated -by many subtile, indescribable ties with some of my most precious and -most silent thoughts. I am so glad you have the comfort of feeling -that Mr. Congreve is prepared for his work again. I am hoping to hear, -when we see you, that the work will be less and less fagging, now the -introductory years are past. - -Charley is going to Switzerland for his holiday next month. We shall -enjoy our dual solitude; yet the dear boy is more and more precious to -us from the singular rectitude and tenderness of his nature. Make -signs to us as often as you can. You know how entirely Mr. Lewes -shares my delight in seeing you and hearing from you. - -[Sidenote: Diary, 1861.] - -_Oct. 28_ and _30_.--Not very well. Utterly desponding about my book. - -_Oct. 31._--Still with an incapable head--trying to write, trying to -construct, and unable. - -_Nov. 6._--So utterly dejected that, in walking with G. in the Park, I -almost resolved to give up my Italian novel. - -_Nov. 10_ (Sunday).--New sense of things to be done in my novel, and -more brightness in my thoughts. Yesterday I was occupied with ideas -about my next English novel; but this morning the Italian scenes -returned upon me with fresh attraction. In the evening read "Monteil." -A marvellous book; crammed with erudition, yet not dull or tiresome. - -_Nov. 14._--Went to the British Museum reading-room for the first -time--looking over costumes. - -_Nov. 20._--Mrs. Congreve, Miss Bury, and Mr. Spencer to lunch. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1861.] - -Your loving words of remembrance find a very full answer in my -heart--fuller than I can write. The years seem to _rush_ by now, and I -think of death as a fast-approaching end of a journey--double and -treble reason for loving as well as working while it is day. We went -to see Fechter's Othello the other night. It is lamentably bad. He has -not weight and passion enough for deep tragedy; and, to my feeling, -the play is so degraded by his representation that it is positively -demoralizing--as, indeed, all tragedy must be when it fails to move -pity and terror. In this case it seems to move only titters among the -smart and vulgar people who always make the bulk of a theatre -audience. We had a visit from our dear friend Mrs. Congreve on -Wednesday--a very infrequent pleasure now; for between our own -absences from home and hers, and the fatigue of London journeying, it -is difficult for us to manage meetings. Mr. Congreve is, as usual, -working hard in his medical studies--toiling backward and forward -daily. What courage and patience are wanted for every life that aims -to produce anything! - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_Nov. 30._--In the evening we had Wilkie Collins, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. -Spencer, and talked without any music. - -_Dec. 3-7._--I continued very unwell until Saturday, when I felt a -little better. In the evening Dr. Baetcke, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. -Redford. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 6th Dec. 1861.] - -Miss Marshall came to see us yesterday. That is always a pleasure to -me, not only from the sense I have of her goodness, but because she -stirs so many remembrances. The first time I saw her was at Rufa's[32] -wedding; and don't you remember the evening we spent at Mrs. Dobson's? -How young we all were then--how old now! She says you are all under -the impression that Mr. Lewes is still very ailing. Thank all good -influences it is not so. He has been mending ever since we went to -Malvern, and is enjoying life and work more than he has done before -for nearly a year. He has long had it in his mind to write a history -of science--a great, great undertaking, which it is happiness to both -of us to contemplate as possible for him. And now he is busy with -Aristotle, and works with all the zest that belongs to fresh ideas. -Strangely enough, after all the ages of writing about Aristotle, there -exists no fair appreciation of his position in natural science. - -I am particularly grumbling and disagreeable to myself just now, and I -think no one bears physical pain so ill as I do, or is so thoroughly -upset by it mentally. - -Bulwer has behaved very nicely to me, and I have a great respect for -the energetic industry with which he has made the most of his powers. -He has been writing diligently in very various departments for more -than thirty years, constantly improving his position, and profiting by -the lessons of public opinion and of other writers. - -I'm sorry you feel any degeneracy in Mr. George Dawson. There was -something very winning about him in old days, and even what was not -winning, but the reverse, affected me with a sort of kindly pity. With -such a gift of tongue as he had, it was inevitable that speech should -outrun feeling and experience, and I could well imagine that his -present self might look back on that self of 21-27 with a sort of -disgust. It so often happens that others are measuring us by our past -self while we are looking back on that self with a mixture of disgust -and sorrow. It would interest me a good deal to know just how Mr. -Dawson preaches now. - -I am writing on my knees with my feet on the fender, and in that -attitude I always write very small--but I hope your sight is not -teased by small writing. - -Give my best love to Cara, and sympathy with her in the pleasure of -grasping an old friend by the hand, and having long talks after the -distance of years. I know Mr. Bray will enjoy this too--and the new -house will seem more like the old one for this warming. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1861.] - -_Dec. 8_ (Sunday).--G. had a headache, so we walked out in the morning -sunshine. I told him my conception of my story, and he expressed great -delight. Shall I ever be able to carry out my ideas? Flashes of hope -are succeeded by long intervals of dim distrust. Finished the eighth -volume of Lastri and began the ninth chapter of Varchi, in which he -gives an accurate account of Florence. - -_Dec. 12._--Finished writing my plot, of which I must make several -other draughts before I begin to write my book. - -_Dec. 13._--Read Poggiana. In the afternoon walked to Molini's and -brought back Savonarola's "Dialogus de Veritate Prophetica," and -"Compendium Revelationum," for £4! - -_Dec. 14._--In the evening came Mr. Huxley, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. -Redford. - -_Dec. 17._--Studied the topography of Florence. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 31st Dec. 1861.] - -It was pleasant to have a greeting from you at this season, when all -signs of human kindness have a double emphasis. As one gets older -epochs have necessarily some sadness, even for those who have, as I -have, much family joy. The past, that one would like to mend, spreads -behind one so lengthily, and the years of retrieval keep -shrinking--the terrible _peau de chagrin_ whose outline narrows and -narrows with our ebbing life. - -I hardly know whether it would be agreeable to you, or worth your -while, ever to come to us on a Saturday evening, when we are always at -home to any friend who may be kind enough to come to us. It would be -very pleasant to us if it were pleasant to you. - - During the latter half of 1861, I find the following among - the books read: "Histoire des Ordres Religieux," Sacchetti's - "Novelle," Sismondi's "History of the Italian Republics," - "Osservatore Fiorentino," Tennemann's "History of - Philosophy," T. A. Trollope's "Beata," Sismondi's "Le Moyen - Age Illustré," "The Monks of the West," "Introduction to - Savonarola's Poems," by Audin de Réans, Renan's "Études - d'Histoire Religieuse," Virgil's "Eclogues," Buhle's "History - of Modern Philosophy," Hallam on the "Study of Roman Law in - the Middle Ages," Gibbon on the "Revival of Greek Learning," - Nardi, Bulwer's "Rienzi," Burlamacchi's "Life of Savonarola," - Pulci, Villari's "Life of Savonarola," Mrs. Jameson's "Sacred - and Legendary Art," "Hymni and Epigrammati" of Marullus, - Politian's "Epistles," Marchese's Works, Tiraboschi, Rock's - "Hierurgia," Pettigrew "On Medical Superstition," Manni's - "Life of Burchiello," Machiavelli's Works, Ginguené, Muratori - "On Proper Names," Cicero "De Officiis," Petrarch's Letters, - Craik's "History of English Literature," "Conti - Carnivaleschi," Letters of Filelfo, Lastri, and Varchi, - Heeren on the Fifteenth Century. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JULY, 1860, TO DECEMBER, 1861. - - Return from Italy to Wandsworth, accompanied by Charles - Lewes--"Mill on the Floss" success--6000 sold--Letter to John - Blackwood--French translation of "Adam Bede," by M. d'Albert - of Geneva--Letter to Miss Hennell on her "Thoughts in Aid of - Faith"--Letter to John Blackwood on Sir Edward Lytton's - criticism of "The Mill on the Floss"--Letter to Mrs. Bray, - recalling feelings on journey to Italy in 1849--Letter to - Miss Sara Hennell--Article on Strikes, by Henry Fawcett, in - _Westminster_--Sitting to Lawrence for portrait--Letter to - Madame Bodichon--Interest in her schools--Letter to Miss - Hennell, explaining criticism of "Thoughts in Aid of - Faith"--Reading Emerson's "Man the Reformer"--Deprecates - writing about opinions on large questions in letters--Letter - to John Blackwood--Italian novel project--Letter to Madame - Bodichon--Love of the country--Removal to 10 Harewood - Square--"Brother Jacob" written--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Frederic Harrison's article in _Westminster_ on - "Essays and Reviews"--Letter to John Blackwood--Religious - party standpoint--Classical quotations--Letter to Miss - Hennell on re-reading "Thoughts in Aid of Faith"--Tribute to - Mr. Lewes's dispassionate judgment--Suffering from loss of - the country--Independence secured--Anthony Trollope and - Arthur Helps--Queen's admiration of "Mill on the - Floss"--Writing "Silas Marner" a sudden inspiration--Letter - to Mrs. Congreve--Monday Popular Concerts--Moved to 16 - Blandford Square--Waste of time in furnishing--Letter to - Madame Bodichon--On religious forms and ceremonies--Herbert - Spencer's new work, the best thing he has done--Letter to - John Blackwood--"Silas Marner"--Letters to Mrs. - Congreve--Zoological Gardens--Visit to Dorking--Letter to - John Blackwood--Scott--Letters to Miss Hennell--Private - correspondence--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Arthur Clough's - death--Letter to John Blackwood--"Silas Marner"--Books belong - to successive mental phases--"Silas Marner" finished--Visit - to Hastings--Letter to Charles Bray--Marriage of Mr. William - Smith--Letter to John Blackwood--Subscription to "Silas - Marner" 3300--Article in _Macmillan_ on "The Mill"--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor--Position--Letter to John Blackwood--Total - Subscription to "Silas Marner" 5500--Criticism on "The - Mill"--Letter to Mrs. P. Taylor--Never pays visits--Letter to - Miss Hennell--Hearing Beethoven and Mendelssohn music--Start - on second journey to Italy--Letter to Charles Lewes, - describing drive from Toulon to Nice--Arrival at - Florence--Letter to John Blackwood--No painting of misers - with paper money--Letter to Charles Lewes--Feels hopeful - about future work--Letter to John Blackwood--Italian novel - simmering--Letter to Charles Lewes--Beatrice - Trollope--Expedition to Camaldoli and La Vernia with Mr. T. - A. Trollope--Return home by Lago Maggiore and St. - Gothard--Dinner at Greenwich with John Blackwood, Colonel - Hamley, etc.--Reflections on waste of youth--Letters to Miss - Hennell describing La Vernia--Improvement in general - philosophic attitude--Articles on "Study of History" in the - _Cornhill_--Positivism one-sided--Admiration of Comte--Letter - to Miss Hennell--Fechter in Hamlet--The Liturgy of the - English Church--Depression--Musical Evenings with Mr. Pigott - and Mr. Redford--Trip to Malvern--Letter to Miss Hennell--New - grand piano--Began "Romola"--Saturday visitors--Letter to - Mrs. Congreve--Better spirits--Renewed depression--Letter to - Miss Hennell--Time flying--Fechter as Othello--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Lewes busy with Aristotle--Bulwer--George - Dawson--Reading towards "Romola"--Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor - on the Past--Books read. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[21] Death of Madame Bodichon's father. - -[22] "Thoughts in Aid of Faith." - -[23] M. d'Albert. - -[24] "And how can it be otherwise than real to us, this belief that -has nourished the souls of us all, and seems to have moulded actually -anew their internal constitution, as well as stored them up with its -infinite variety of external interests and associations! What other -than a very real thing has it been in the life of the world--sprung -out of, and again causing to spring forth, such volumes of human -emotion--making a current, as it were, of feeling, that has drawn -within its own sphere all the moral vitality of so many ages! In all -this reality of influence there is indeed the testimony of -Christianity having truly formed an integral portion of the organic -life of humanity. The regarding it as a mere excrescence, the product -of morbid, fanatical humors, is a reaction of judgment, that, it is to -be hoped, will soon be seen on all hands to be in no way implied of -necessity in the formal rejection of it."--_Thoughts in Aid of Faith_, -p. 105. - -[25] "These sentiments, which are born within us, slumbering as it -were in our nature, ready to be awakened into action immediately they -are roused by hint of corresponding circumstances, are drawn out of -the whole of previous human existence. They constitute our treasured -inheritance out of all the life that has been lived before us, to -which no age, no human being who has trod the earth and laid himself -to rest, with all his mortal burden upon her maternal bosom, has -failed to add his contribution. No generation has had its engrossing -conflict, sorely battling out the triumphs of mind over material -force, and through forms of monstrous abortions concurrent with its -birth, too hideous for us now to bear in contemplation, moulding the -early intelligence by every struggle, and winning its gradual -powers--no single soul has borne itself through its personal -trial--without bequeathing to us of its fruit. There is not a -religious thought that we take to ourselves for secret comfort in our -time of grief, that has not been distilled out of the multiplicity of -the hallowed tears of mankind; not an animating idea is there for our -fainting courage that has not gathered its inspiration from the -bravery of the myriad armies of the world's heroes."--_Thoughts in Aid -of Faith_, p. 174. - -[26] "Education of the Feelings." By Charles Bray. Published 1839. - -[27] Mr. William Blackwood. - -[28] Mr. Frederic Harrison, the now well-known writer, and a member of -the Positivist body. - -[29] Lecture on Cell Forms. - -[30] Arthur Hugh Clough, the poet. - -[31] The death of Major Blackwood. - -[32] Mrs. Charles Hennell (now Mrs. Call). - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_January 1._--Mr. Blackwood sent me a note enclosing a letter from -Montalembert about "Silas Marner." _I began again my novel of -"Romola."_ - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 7th Jan. 1862.] - -It is not unlikely that our thoughts and wishes met about New-year's -Day, for I was only prevented from writing to you in that week by the -fear of saying decidedly that we could _not_ go to you, and yet -finding afterwards that a clear sky, happening to coincide with an -absence of other hinderances, would have made that pleasure possible -for us. I think we believe in each other's thorough affection, and -need not dread misunderstanding. But you must not write again, as you -did in one note, a sort of apology for coming to us when you were -tired, as if we didn't like to see you anyhow and at any time! And we -especially like to think that our house can be a rest to you. - -For the first winter in my life I am hardly ever free from cold. As -soon as one has departed with the usual final stage of stuffiness, -another presents itself with the usual introduction of sore throat. -And Mr. Lewes just now is a little ailing. But we have nothing serious -to complain of. - -You seemed to me so bright and brave the last time I saw you, that I -have had cheerful thoughts of you ever since. Write to me always when -anything happens to you, either pleasant or sad, that there is no -reason for my not knowing, so that we may not spend long weeks in -wondering how all things are with you. - -And do come to us whenever you can, without caring about my going to -you, for this is too difficult for me in chill and doubtful weather. -Are you not looking anxiously for the news from America? - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 13th Jan. 1862.] - -As for the brain being useless after fifty, that is no general rule; -witness the good and hard work that has been done in plenty after that -age. I wish I could be inspired with just the knowledge that would -enable me to be of some good to you. I feel so ignorant and helpless. -The year _is_ opening happily for us, except--alas! the exception is a -great one--in the way of health. Mr. Lewes is constantly ailing, like -a delicate headachy woman. But we have abundant blessings. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 14th Jan. 1862.] - -I hope you are able to enjoy Max Müller's great and delightful book -during your imprisonment. It tempts me away from other things. I have -read most of the numbers of "Orley Farm," and admire it very much, -with the exception of such parts as I have read about Moulder & Co. -Anthony Trollope is admirable in the presentation of even average life -and character, and he is so thoroughly wholesome-minded that one -delights in seeing his books lie about to be read. Have you read -"Beata" yet--the first novel written by his brother at Florence, who -is our especial favorite? Do read it when you can, if the opportunity -has not already come. I am going to be taken to a pantomime in the -daytime, like a good child, for a Christmas treat, not having had my -fair share of pantomime in the world. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Jan. 18_ (Saturday).--We had an agreeable evening. Mr. Burton[33] -and Mr. Clark[34] of Cambridge made an acceptable variety in our -party. - -_Jan. 19-20._--Head very bad--producing terrible depression. - -_Jan. 23._--Wrote again, feeling in brighter spirits. Mr. Smith the -publisher called and had an interview with G. He asked if I were open -to "a magnificent offer." This made me think about money--but it is -better for me not to be rich. - -_Jan. 26_ (Sunday).--Detained from writing by the necessity of -gathering particulars: 1st, about Lorenzo de Medici's death; 2d, about -the possible retardation of Easter; 3d, about Corpus Christi day; 4th, -about Savonarola's preaching in the Quaresima of 1492. Finished "La -Mandragola"--second time reading for the sake of Florentine -expressions--and began "La Calandra." - -_Jan. 31._--Have been reading some entries in my note-book of past -times in which I recorded my _malaise_ and despair. But it is -impossible to me to believe that I have ever been in so unpromising -and despairing a state as I now feel. After writing these words I read -to G. the Proem and opening scene of my novel, and he expressed great -delight in them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 3d Feb. 1862.] - -I was taken to see my pantomime. How pretty it is to see the theatre -full of children! Ah, what I should have felt in my real child days to -have been let into the further history of Mother Hubbard and her Dog! - -George Stephenson is one of my great heroes--has he not a dear old -face? - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 3d Feb. 1862.] - -I think yours is the instinct of all delicate natures--not to speak to -authors about their writings. It is better for us all to hear as -little about ourselves as possible; to do our work faithfully, and be -satisfied with the certainty that if it touches many minds, it cannot -touch them in a way quite aloof from our intention and hope. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Feb. 7._--A week of February already gone! I have been obliged to be -very moderate in work from feebleness of head and body; but I have -rewritten, with additions, the first chapter of my book. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 8th Feb. 1862.] - -I am wondering whether you could spare me, _for a few weeks_, the -Tempest music, and any other vocal music of that or of a kindred -species? I don't want to buy it until our singers have experimented -upon it. Don't think of sending me anything that you are using at all, -but if said music be lying idle, I should be grateful for the loan. We -have several operas--Don Giovanni, Figaro, the Barbiere, Flauto -Magico, and also the music of Macbeth; but I think that is all our -stock of concerted vocal music. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Feb. 11._--We set off to Dorking. The day was lovely, and we walked -through Mr. Hope's park to Betchworth. In the evening I read aloud -Sybel's "Lectures on the Crusades." - -_Feb. 12._--The day was gray, but the air was fresh and pleasant. We -walked to Wootton Park--Evelyn's Wootton--lunched at a little roadside -inn there, and returned to Dorking to dine. During stay at Dorking -finished the first twelve cantos of Pulci. - -_Feb. 13._--Returned home. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 15th Feb. 1862.] - -I think it is a reasonable law that the one who takes wing should be -the first to write--not the bird that stays in the old cage, and may -be supposed to be eating the usual seed and groundsel, and looking at -the same slice of the world through the same wires. - -I think the highest and best thing is rather to suffer with real -suffering than to be happy in the imagination of an unreal good. I -would rather know that the beings I love are in some trouble, and -suffer because of it, even though I can't help them, than be fancying -them happy when they are not so, and making myself comfortable on the -strength of that false belief. And so I am impatient of all ignorance -and concealment. I don't say "that is wise," but simply "that is my -nature." I can enter into what you have felt, for serious illness, -such as seems to bring death near, makes one feel the simple human -brother and sisterhood so strongly that those we were apt to think -almost indifferent to us before, touch the very quick of our hearts. I -suppose if we happened only to hold the hand of a hospital patient -when she was dying, her face, and all the memories along with it, -would seem to lie deeper in our experience than all we knew of many -old friends and blood relations. - -We have had no troubles but the public troubles--anxiety about the war -with America and sympathy with the poor Queen. My best consolation is -that an example on so tremendous a scale (as the war) of the need for -the education of mankind through the affections and sentiments, as a -basis for true development, will have a strong influence on all -thinkers, and be a check to the arid, narrow antagonism which, in some -quarters, is held to be the only form of liberal thought. - -George has fairly begun what we have long contemplated as a happiness -for him--a History of Science, and has written so thorough an analysis -and investigation of Aristotle's Natural Science that he feels it will -make an epoch for the men who are interested at once in the progress -of modern science and in the question how far Aristotle went both in -the observation of facts and in their theoretic combination--a -question never yet cleared up after all these ages. This work makes -him "very jolly," but his dear face looks very pale and narrow. Those -only can thoroughly feel the meaning of death who know what is perfect -love. - -God bless you--that is not a false word, however many false ideas may -have been hidden under it. No--not false ideas, but temporary -ones--caterpillars and chrysalids of future ideas. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Feb. 17._--I have written only the two first chapters of my novel -besides the Proem, and I have an oppressive sense of the -far-stretching task before me, health being feeble just now. I have -lately read again with great delight Mrs. Browning's "Casa Guidi -Windows." It contains, amongst other admirable things, a very noble -expression of what I believe to be the true relation of the religious -mind to the past. - -_Feb. 26._--I have been very ailing all this last week, and have -worked under impeding discouragement. I have a distrust in myself, in -my work, in others' loving acceptance of it, which robs my otherwise -happy life of all joy. I ask myself, without being able to answer, -whether I have ever before felt so chilled and oppressed. I have -written now about sixty pages of my romance. Will it ever be finished? -Ever be worth anything? - -_Feb. 27._--George Smith, the publisher, brought the proof of G.'s -book, "Animal Studies," and laid before him a proposition to give me -£10,000 for my new novel--_i.e._, for its appearance in the -_Cornhill_, and the entire copyright at home and abroad. - -_March 1._--The idea of my novel appearing in the _Cornhill_ is given -up, as G. Smith wishes to have it commenced in May, and I cannot -consent to begin publication until I have seen nearly to the end of -the work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 10th March, 1862, from -Englefield Green.] - -We had agreeable weather until yesterday, which was wet and -blustering, so that we could only snatch two short walks. Pater is -better, I think; and I, as usual, am impudently flourishing in country -air and idleness. On Friday Mr. Bone, our landlord, drove us out in -his pony carriage to see the "meet" of the stag-hounds, and on -Saturday ditto to see the fox-hunters; so you perceive we have been -leading rather a grand life. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_March 11._--On Wednesday last, the 5th, G. and I set off to -Englefield Green, where we have spent a delightful week at the Barley -Mow Inn. I have finished Pulci there, and read aloud the "Château -d'If." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th March, 1862.] - -We returned from our flight into the country yesterday, not without a -sigh at parting with the pure air and the notes of the blackbirds for -the usual canopy of smoke and the sound of cab-wheels. I am not going -out again, and our life will have its old routine--lunch at half-past -one, walk till four, dinner at five. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_March 24._--After enjoying our week at Egham, I returned to -protracted headache. Last Saturday we received as usual, and our party -was joined by Mr. and Mrs. Noel. I have begun the fourth chapter of my -novel, but have been working under a weight. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 27th March, 1862.] - -I congratulate you on being out of London, which is more like a -pandemonium than usual. The fog and rain have been the more oppressive -because I have seen them through Mr. Lewes's almost constant -discomfort. I think he has had at least five days of sick headache -since you saw him. But then he is better tempered and more cheerful -_with_ headache than most people are without it; and in that way he -lightens his burden. Have you noticed in the _Times_ Mr. Peabody's -magnificent deed?--the gift of £150,000 for the amelioration (body and -soul, I suppose) of the poorer classes in London. That is a pleasant -association to have with an American name. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_April 1._--Much headache this last week. - -_April 2._--Better this morning; writing with enjoyment. At the -seventy-seventh page. Read Juvenal this morning and Nisard. - -_April 16._--As I had been ailing for a fortnight or more, we resolved -to go to Dorking, and set off to-day. - -_May 6._--We returned from Dorking after a stay of three weeks, during -which we have had delicious weather. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, May, 1862.] - -Our life is the old accustomed duet this month. We enjoy an interval -of our double solitude. Doesn't the spring look lovelier every year to -eyes that want more and more light? It was rather saddening to leave -the larks and all the fresh leaves to come back to the rolling of cabs -and "the blacks;" but in compensation we have all our conveniences -about us. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_May 23._--Since I wrote last, very important decisions have been -made. I am to publish my novel of "Romola" in the _Cornhill Magazine_ -for £7000, paid in twelve monthly payments. There has been the regret -of leaving Blackwood, who has written me a letter in the most perfect -spirit of gentlemanliness and good-feeling. - -_May 27._--Mr. Helps, Mr. Burton, and Mr. T. A. Trollope dined with -us. - -_May 31._--Finished the second part, extending to page 183. - -_June 30._--I have at present written only the scene between Romola -and her brother in San Marco towards Part IV. This morning I had a -delightful, generous letter from Mr. Anthony Trollope about "Romola." - -_July 6._--The past week has been unfruitful from various causes. The -consequence is that I am no further on in my MS., and have lost the -excellent start my early completion of the third part had given me. - -_July 10._--A dreadful palsy has beset me for the last few days. I -have scarcely made any progress. Yet I have been very well in body. I -have been reading a book often referred to by Hallam--Meiners's "Lives -of Mirandula and Politian." They are excellent. They have German -industry, and are succinctly and clearly written. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th Sept. 1862, from -Littlehampton.] - -Imagine me--not fuming in imperfect resignation under London smoke, -but--with the wide sky of the coast above me, and every comfort -positive and negative around me, even to the absence of staring eyes -and crinolines. Worthing was so full that it rejected us, and, to our -great good-fortune, sent us here. We were pleased to hear that you had -seen Mr. Spencer. We always feel him particularly welcome when he -comes back to town; there is no one like him for talking to about -certain things. - -You will come and dine or walk with us whenever you have nothing -better to do in your visit to town. I take that for granted. We lie, -you know, on the way _between_ the Exhibition and Mr. Noel's. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Sept. 23._--Returned from our stay in the country, first at the Beach -Hotel, Littlehampton, and for the last three days at Dorking. - -_Sept. 26._--At page 62, Part VI. Yesterday a letter came from Mr. T. -A. Trollope, full of encouragement for me. _Ebenezer._ - -_Oct. 2._--At page 85. Scene between Tito and Romola. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 2d Oct. 1862.] - -Welcome to your letter, and welcome to the hope of seeing you again! I -have an engagement on Monday from lunch till dinner. Apart from that, -I know of nothing that will take us farther than for our daily walk, -which, you know, begins at two. But we will alter the order of any day -for the sake of seeing you. Mr. Lewes's absence of a fortnight at Spa -was a great success. He has been quite brilliant ever since. Ten days -ago we returned from a stay of three weeks in the country--chiefly at -Littlehampton, and we are both very well. Everything is prosperous -with us; and we are so far from griefs that if we had a wonderful -emerald ring we should perhaps be wise to throw it away as a -propitiation of the envious gods. - -So much in immediate reply to your kind anxiety. Everything else when -we meet. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Oct. 31._--Finished Part VII., having determined to end at the point -where Romola has left Florence. - -_Nov. 14._--Finished reading "Boccaccio" through for the second time. - -_Nov. 17._--Read the "Orfeo and Stanze" of Poliziano. The latter are -wonderfully fine for a youth of sixteen. They contain a description of -a Palace of Venus, which seems the suggestion of Tennyson's Palace of -Art in many points. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Nov. 1862.] - -I wish I knew that this birthday has found you happier than any that -went before. There are so many things--best things--that only come -when youth is past that it may well happen to many of us to find -ourselves happier and happier to the last. We have been to a Monday -Pop. this week to hear Beethoven's Septett, and an amazing thing of -Bach's, played by the amazing Joachim. But there is too much "Pop." -for the thorough enjoyment of the chamber music they give. You will be -interested to know that there is a new muster of scientific and -philosophic men lately established, for the sake of bringing people -who care to know and speak the truth, as well as they can, into -regular communication. Mr. Lewes was at the first meeting at Clunn's -Hotel on Friday last. The plan is to meet and dine moderately and -cheaply, and no one is to be admitted who is not "thorough" in the -sense of being free from the suspicion of temporizing and professing -opinions on official grounds. The plan was started at Cambridge. Mr. -Huxley is president and Charles Kingsley is vice. If they are -sufficiently rigid about admissions, the club may come to -good--bringing together men who think variously, but have more hearty -feelings in common than they give each other credit for. Mr. Robert -Chambers (who lives in London now) is very warm about the matter. Mr. -Spencer, too, is a member. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 26th Nov. 1862.] - -Pray don't ever ask me again not to rob a man of his religious belief, -as if you thought my mind tended to such robbery. I have too profound -a conviction of the efficacy that lies in all sincere faith, and the -spiritual blight that comes with no faith, to have any negative -propagandism in me. In fact I have very little sympathy with -Freethinkers as a class, and have lost all interest in mere antagonism -to religious doctrines. I care only to know, if possible, the lasting -meaning that lies in all religious doctrine from the beginning till -now. That speech of Carlyle's,[35] which sounds so odious, must, I -think, have been provoked by something in the _manner_ of the -statement to which it came as an answer--else it would hurt me very -much that he should have uttered it. - -You left a handkerchief at our house. I will take care of it till next -summer. I look forward with some longing to that time when I shall -have lightened my soul of one chief thing I wanted to do, and be freer -to think and feel about other people's work. We shall see you oftener, -I hope, and have a great deal more talk than ever we have had before -to make amends for our stinted enjoyment of you this summer. - -God bless you, dear Barbara. You are very precious to us. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Nov. 30_ (Sunday).--Finished Part VIII. Mr. Burton came. - -_Dec. 16._--In the evening Browning paid us a visit for the first -time. - -_Dec. 17._--At page 22 only. I am extremely spiritless, dead, and -hopeless about my writing. The long state of headache has left me in -depression and incapacity. The constantly heavy-clouded and often wet -weather tend to increase the depression. I am inwardly irritable, and -unvisited by good thoughts. Reading the "Purgatorio" again, and the -"Compendium Revelationum" of Savonarola. After this record I read -aloud what I had written of Part IX. to George, and he, to my -surprise, entirely approved of it. - -_Dec. 24._--Mrs. F. Malleson brought me a beautiful plant as a -Christmas offering. In the evening we went to hear the Messiah at Her -Majesty's Theatre. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 24th Dec. 1862.] - -I am very sensitive to words and looks and all signs of sympathy, so -you may be sure that your kind wishes are not lost upon me. - -As you will have your house full, the wish for a "Merry Christmas" may -be literally fulfilled for you. We shall be quieter, with none but our -family trio, but that is always a happy one. We are going to usher in -the day by hearing the Messiah to-night at Her Majesty's. - -Evening will be a pleasanter time for a little genial talk than -"calling hours;" and if you will come to us without ceremony, you will -hardly run the risk of not finding us. We go nowhere except to -concerts. - -We are longing to run away from London, but I dare say we shall not do -so before March. Winter is probably yet to come, and one would not -like to be caught by frost and snow away from one's own hearth. - -Always believe, without my saying it, that it gladdens me to know when -anything I do has value for you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Dec. 1862.] - -It is very sweet to me to have any proof of loving remembrance. That -would have made the book-marker precious even if it had been ugly. But -it is perfectly beautiful--in color, words, and symbols. Hitherto I -have been discontented with the Coventry book-marks; for at the shop -where we habitually see them they have all got--"Let the people praise -Thee, O God," on them, and nothing else. But I can think of no motto -better than those three words. I suppose no wisdom the world will ever -find out will make Paul's words obsolete--"Now abide, etc., but the -greatest of these is Charity." Our Christmas, too, has been quiet. Mr. -Lewes, who talks much less about goodness than I do, but is always -readier to do the right thing, thinks it rather wicked for us to eat -our turkey and plum-pudding without asking some forlorn person to eat -it with us. But I'm afraid we were glad, after all, to find ourselves -alone with "the boy." On Christmas-eve a sweet woman, remembering me -as you have done, left a beautiful plant at the door, and after that -we went to hear the Messiah at Her Majesty's. We felt a considerable -_minus_ from the absence of the organ, contrary to advertisement: -nevertheless it was good to be there. What pitiable people those are -who feel no poetry in Christianity! Surely the acme of poetry hitherto -is the conception of the suffering Messiah and the final triumph, "He -shall reign for ever and for ever." The Prometheus is a very imperfect -fore-shadowing of that symbol wrought out in the long history of the -Jewish and Christian ages. - -Mr. Lewes and I have both been in miserable health during all this -month. I have had a fortnight's incessant _malaise_ and feebleness; -but as I had had many months of tolerable health, it was my turn to be -uncomfortable. If my book-marker were just a little longer, I should -keep it in my beautiful Bible in large print, which Mr. Lewes bought -for me in prevision for my old age. He is not fond of reading the -Bible himself, but "sees no harm" in my reading it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Brays, 29th Dec. 1862.] - -I am not quite sure what you mean by "charity" when you call it -humbug. If you mean that attitude of mind which says "I forgive my -fellow-men for not being as good as I am," I agree with you in hoping -that it will vanish, as also the circumstantial form of alms-giving. -But if you are alluding to anything in my letter, I meant what charity -meant in the elder English, and what the translators of the Bible -meant in their rendering of the thirteenth chapter of 1st -Corinthians--_Caritas_, the highest love or fellowship, which I am -happy to believe that no philosophy will expel from the world. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1862.] - -_Dec. 31_ (Last day of the kind old year).--Clear and pleasantly mild. -Yesterday a pleasant message from Mr. Hannay about "Romola." We have -had many blessings this year. Opportunities which have enabled us to -acquire an abundant independence; the satisfactory progress of our two -eldest boys; various grounds of happiness in our work; and -ever-growing happiness in each other. I hope with trembling that the -coming year may be as comforting a retrospect--with trembling because -my work is not yet done. Besides the finishing of "Romola," we have to -think of Thornie's passing his final examination, and, in case of -success, his going out to India; of Bertie's leaving Hofwyl, and of -our finding a new residence. I have had more than my average amount of -comfortable health until this last month, in which I have been -constantly ailing, and my work has suffered proportionately. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2d Feb. 1863.] - -The letter with the one word in it, like a whisper of sympathy, lay on -my plate when I went down to lunch this morning. The generous movement -that made you send it has gladdened me all day. I have had a great -deal of pretty encouragement from immense big-wigs--some of them -saying "Romola" is the finest book they ever read; but the opinion of -big-wigs has one sort of value, and the fellow-feeling of a long known -friend has another. One can't do quite well without both. _En -revanche_, I am a feeble wretch, with eyes that threaten to get -bloodshot on the slightest provocation. We made a rush to Dorking for -a day or two, and the quiet and fresh air seemed to make a new -creature of me; but when we get back to town, town sensations return. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 9th March, 1863.] - -That scheme of a sort of Philosophical Club that I told you of went to -pieces before it was finished, like a house of cards. So it will be to -the end, I fancy, with all attempts at combinations that are not based -either on material interests or on opinions that are not merely -opinions but _religion_. Doubtless you have been interested in the -Colenso correspondence, and perhaps in Miss Cobbe's rejoinder to Mrs. -Stowe's remonstrating answer to the women of England. I was glad to -see how free the answer was from all tartness or conceit. Miss Cobbe's -introduction to the new edition of Theodore Parker is also very -honorable to her--a little too metaphorical here and there, but with -real thought and good feeling. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 18th April, 1863.] - -It is a comfort to hear of you again, and to know that there is no -serious trouble to mar the spring weather for you. I must carry that -thought as my consolation for not seeing you on Tuesday--not quite a -sufficient consolation, for my eyes desire you very much after these -long months of almost total separation. The reason I cannot have that -pleasure on Tuesday is that, according to a long arranged plan, I am -going on Monday to Dorking again for a fortnight. I should be still -more vexed to miss you if I were in better condition, but at present I -am rather like a shell-less lobster, and inclined to creep out of -sight. I shall write to you, or try to see you, as soon as I can -after my return. I wish you could have told me of a more decided -return to ordinary health in Mr. Congreve, but I am inclined to hope -that the lecturing may rather benefit than injure him, by being a -moral tonic. How much there is for us to talk about! But only to look -at dear faces that one has seen so little of for a long while seems -reason enough for wanting to meet. Mr. Lewes is better than usual just -now, and you must not suppose that there is anything worse the matter -with me than you have been used to seeing in me. Please give my -highest regards to Mr. Congreve, and love to Emily, who, I hope, has -quite got back the roses which had somewhat paled. My pen straggles as -if it had a stronger will than I. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 28th April, 1863, from -Dorking.] - -Glad you enjoyed "Esmond." It is a fine book. Since you have been -interested in the historical suggestions, I recommend you to read -Thackeray's "Lectures on the English Humorists," which are all about -the men of the same period. There is a more exaggerated estimate of -Swift and Addison than is implied in "Esmond;" and the excessive -laudation of men who are considerably below the tip-top of human -nature, both in their lives and genius, rather vitiates the Lectures, -which are otherwise admirable, and are delightful reading. - -The wind is high and cold, making the sunshine seem hard and -unsympathetic. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_May 6._--We have just returned from Dorking, whither I went a -fortnight ago to have solitude while George took his journey to Hofwyl -to see Bertie. The weather was severely cold for several days of my -stay, and I was often ailing. That has been the way with me for a -month and more, and in consequence I am backward with my July number -of "Romola"--the last part but one. - - I remember my wife telling me, at Witley, how cruelly she had - suffered at Dorking from working under a leaden weight at - this time. The writing of "Romola" ploughed into her more - than any of her other books. She told me she could put her - finger on it as marking a well-defined transition in her - life. In her own words, "I began it a young woman--I finished - it an old woman." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 12th May, 1863.] - -Yes! we shall be in town in June. Your coming would be reason good -enough, but we have others--chiefly, that we are up to the ears in -boydom and imperious parental duties. All is as happy and prosperous -with us as heart can lawfully desire, except my health. I have been a -mere wretch for several months past. You will come to me like the -morning sunlight, and make me a little less of a flaccid -cabbage-plant. - -It is a very pretty life you are leading at Hastings, with your -painting all morning, and fair mothers and children to look at the -rest of the day. - -I am terribly frightened about Mrs. ----. She wrote to me, telling me -that we were sure to suit each other, neither of us holding the -opinions of the _Moutons de Panurge_. Nothing could have been more -decisive of the opposite prospect to me. If there is one attitude more -odious to me than any other of the many attitudes of "knowingness," it -is that air of lofty superiority to the vulgar. However, she will soon -find out that I am a very commonplace woman. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_May 16._--Finished Part XIII. Killed Tito in great excitement. - -_May 18._--Began Part XIV.--the last! Yesterday George saw Count -Arrivabene, who wishes to translate "Romola," and says the Italians -are indebted to me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 1st June, 1863.] - -Health seems, to those who want it, enough to make daylight a -gladness. But the explanation of evils is never consoling except to -the explainer. We are just as we were, thinking about the questionable -house (The Priory), and wondering what would be the right thing to do; -hardly liking to lock up any money in land and bricks, and yet -frightened lest we should not get a quiet place just when we want it. -But I dare say we shall have it after all. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_June 6._--We had a little evening party with music, intended to -celebrate the completion of "Romola," which, however, is not -absolutely completed, for I have still to alter the epilogue. - -_June 9._--Put the last stroke to "Romola." _Ebenezer!_ Went in the -evening to hear La Gazza Ladra. - - The manuscript of "Romola" bears the following inscription: - - "To the Husband whose perfect love has been the best source of - her insight and strength, this manuscript is given by his - devoted wife, the writer." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 10th June, 1863.] - -How impossible it is for strong, healthy people to understand the way -in which bodily _malaise_ and suffering eats at the root of one's -life! The philosophy that is true--the religion that is strength to -the healthy--is constantly emptiness to one when the head is -distracted and every sensation is oppressive. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_June 16._--George and I set off to-day to the Isle of Wight, where we -had a delightful holiday. On Friday, the 19th, we settled for a week -at Niton, which, I think, is the prettiest place in all the island. On -the following Friday we went on to Freshwater, and failed, from -threatening rain, in an attempt to walk to Alum Bay, so that we rather -repented of our choice. The consolation was that we shall know better -than to go to Freshwater another time. On the Saturday morning we -drove to Ryde, and remained there until Monday the 29th. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 21st June, 1863.] - -Your letter was a welcome addition to our sunshine this Sabbath -morning. For in this particular we seem to have been more fortunate -than you, having had almost constant sunshine since we arrived at -Sandown, on Tuesday evening. - -This place is perfect, reminding me of Jersey, in its combination of -luxuriant greenth with the delights of a sandy beach. At the _end_ of -our week, if the weather is warmer, we shall go on to Freshwater for -our remaining few days. But the wind at present is a little colder -than one desires it, when the object is to get rid of a cough, and -unless it gets milder we shall go back to Shanklin. I am enjoying the -hedge-row grasses and flowers with something like a released -prisoner's feeling--it is so long since I had a bit of real English -country. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 21st June, 1863.] - -I am very happy in my holiday, finding quite a fresh charm in the -hedge-row grasses and flowers after my long banishment from them. We -have a flower-garden just round us, and then a sheltered grassy walk, -on which the sun shines through the best part of the day; and then a -wide meadow, and beyond that trees and the sea. Moreover, our landlady -has cows, and we get the quintessence of cream--excellent bread and -butter also, and a young lady, with a large crinoline, to wait upon -us--all for 25_s._ per week; or, rather, we get the apartment in which -we enjoy those primitive and modern blessings for that moderate sum. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_July 4._--Went to see Ristori in Adrienne Lecouvreur and did not like -it. I have had hemicrania for several days, and have been almost idle -since my return home. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 11th July, 1863.] - -Constant languor from the new heat has made me shirk all exertion not -imperative. And just now there are not only those excitements of the -season, which even we quiet people get our share of, but there is an -additional boy to be cared for--Thornie, who is this week passing his -momentous examination. - -A pretty thing has happened to an acquaintance of mine, which is quite -a tonic to one's hope. She has all her life been working hard in -various ways, as house-keeper, governess, and several et ceteras that -I can't think of at this moment--a dear little dot, about four feet -eleven in height; pleasant to look at, and clever; a working-woman, -without any of those epicene queernesses that belong to the class. Her -life has been a history of family troubles, and she has that -susceptible nature which makes such troubles hard to bear. More than -once she has told me that courage quite forsook her. She felt as if -there were no good in living and striving; it was difficult to discern -or believe in any results for others, and there seemed none worth -having for herself. Well! a man of fortune and accomplishments has -just fallen in love with her, now she is thirty-three. It is the -prettiest story of a swift decided passion, and made me cry for joy. -Madame Bodichon and I went with her to buy her wedding-clothes. The -future husband is also thirty-three--old enough to make his selection -an honor. Fond of travelling and science and other good things, such -as a man deserves to be fond of who chooses a poor woman in the teeth -of grand relatives: brought up a Unitarian, just turned Catholic. If -you will only imagine everything I have not said, you will think this -a very charming fairy tale. - -We are going this evening to see the French actress in Juliet (Stella -Colas), who is astonishing the town. Last week we saw Ristori, the -other night heard the Faust, and next week we are going to hear the -Elisir d'Amore and Faust again! So you see we are trying to get some -compensation for the necessity of living among bricks in this sweet -summer time. I can bear the opera better than any other evening -entertainment, because the house is airy and the stalls are -comfortable. The opera is a great, great product--pity we can't always -have fine _Weltgeschichtliche_ dramatic motives wedded with fine -music, instead of trivialities or hideousnesses. Perhaps this last is -too strong a word for anything except the Traviata. Rigoletto is -unpleasant, but it is a superlatively fine tragedy in the Nemesis. I -think I don't know a finer. - -We are really going to buy the Priory after all. You would think it -very pretty if you saw it now, with the roses blooming about it. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_July 12._--I am now in the middle of G.'s "Aristotle," which gives me -great delight. - -_July 23._--Reading Mommsen and Story's "Roba di Roma;" also Liddell's -"Rome," for a narrative to accompany Mommsen's analysis. - -_July 29._--In the evening we went to Covent Garden to hear Faust for -the third time. On our return we found a letter from Frederick -Maurice--the greatest, most generous tribute ever given to me in my -life.[36] - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 30th July, 1863.] - -I have wanted for several days to make some feeble sign in writing -that I think of your trouble. But one claim after another has arisen -as a hinderance. Conceive us, please, with three boys at home, all -bigger than their father! It is a congestion of youthfulness on our -mature brains that disturbs the course of our lives a little, and -makes us think of most things as good to be deferred till the boys are -settled again. I tell you so much to make you understand that -"omission" is not with me equivalent to "neglect," and that I _do_ -care for what happens to you. - -Renan is a favorite with me. I feel more kinship with his mind than -with that of any other living French author. But I think I shall not -do more than look through the Introduction to his "Vie de -Jésus"--unless I happen to be more fascinated by the constructive part -than I expect to be from the specimens I have seen. For minds -acquainted with the European culture of this last half-century, -Renan's book can furnish no new result; and they are likely to set -little store by the too facile construction of a life from materials -of which the biographical significance becomes more dubious as they -are more closely examined. It seems to me the soul of Christianity -lies not at all in the facts of an individual life, but in the ideas -of which that life was the meeting-point and the new starting-point. -We can never have a satisfactory basis for the history of the man -Jesus, but that negation does not affect the Idea of the Christ either -in its historical influence or its great symbolic meanings. Still, -such books as Renan's have their value in helping the popular -imagination to feel that the sacred past is, of one woof with that -human present, which ought to be sacred too. - -You mention Renan in your note, and the mention has sent me off into -rather gratuitous remarks, you perceive. But such scrappy talk about -great subjects may have a better excuse than usual, if it just serves -to divert your mind from the sad things that must be importuning you -now. - -[Sidenote: Letter to R. H. Hutton, 8th Aug. 1863.] - -After reading your article on "Romola," with careful reference to the -questions you put to me in your letter, I can answer sincerely that I -find nothing fanciful in your interpretation. On the contrary, I am -confirmed in the satisfaction I felt, when I first listened to the -article, at finding that certain chief elements of my intention have -impressed themselves so strongly on your mind, notwithstanding the -imperfect degree in which I have been able to give form to my ideas. -Of course, if I had been called on to expound my own book, there are -other things that I should want to say, or things that I should say -somewhat otherwise; but I can point to nothing in your exposition of -which my consciousness tells me that it is erroneous, in the sense of -saying something which I neither thought nor felt. You have seized -with a fulness which I had hardly hoped that my book could suggest, -what it was my effort to express in the presentation of Bardo and -Baldasarre; and also the relation of the Florentine political life to -the development of Tito's nature. Perhaps even a judge so discerning -as yourself could not infer from the imperfect result how strict a -self-control and selection were exercised in the presentation of -details. I believe there is scarcely a phrase, an incident, an -allusion, that did not gather its value to me from its supposed -subservience to my main artistic objects. But it is likely enough that -my mental constitution would always render the issue of my labor -something excessive--wanting due proportion. It is the habit of my -imagination to strive after as full a vision of the medium in which a -character moves as of the character itself. The psychological causes -which prompted me to give such details of Florentine life and history -as I have given, are precisely the same as those which determined me -in giving the details of English village life in "Silas Marner," or -the "Dodson" life, out of which were developed the destinies of poor -Tom and Maggie. But you have correctly pointed out the reason why my -tendency to excess in this effort after artistic vision makes the -impression of a fault in "Romola" much more perceptibly than in my -previous books. And I am not surprised at your dissatisfaction with -Romola herself. I can well believe that the many difficulties -belonging to the treatment of such a character have not been overcome, -and that I have failed to bring out my conception with adequate -fulness. I am sorry she has attracted you so little; for the great -problem of her life, which essentially coincides with a chief problem -in Savonarola's, is one that readers need helping to understand. But -with regard to that and to my whole book, my predominant feeling -is--not that I have achieved anything, but--that great, great facts -have struggled to find a voice through me, and have only been able to -speak brokenly. That consciousness makes me cherish the more any proof -that my work has been seen to have some true significance by minds -prepared not simply by instruction, but by that religious and moral -sympathy with the historical life of man which is the larger half of -culture. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_Aug. 10._--Went to Worthing. A sweet letter from Mrs. Hare, wife of -Julius Hare, and Maurice's sister. - -_Aug. 18._--Returned home much invigorated by the week of change, but -my spirits seem to droop as usual now I am in London again. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 19th Aug. 1863.] - -I was at Worthing when your letter came, spending all my daylight -hours out-of-doors, and trying with all my might to get health and -cheerfulness. I will tell you the true reason why I did not go to -Hastings. I thought you would be all the better for not having that -solicitation of your kindness that the fact of my presence there might -have caused. What you needed was precisely to get away from people to -whom you would inevitably want to be doing something friendly, instead -of giving yourself up to passive enjoyment. Else, of course, I should -have liked everything you write about and invite me to. - -We only got home last night, and I suppose we shall hardly be able to -leave town again till after the two younger boys have left us, and -after we have moved into the new house. - -Since I saw you I have had some sweet woman's tenderness shown me by -Mrs. Hare, the widow of Archdeacon Hare, and the sister of Frederick -Maurice. - -I _know_ how you are enjoying the country. I have just been having the -joy myself. The wide sky, the _not_ London, makes a new creature of me -in half an hour. I wonder, then, why I am ever depressed--why I am so -shaken by agitations. I come back to London, and again the air is full -of demons. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray and Miss Sara Hennell, 1st Sept. 1863.] - -I think I get a little freshness from the breeze that blows on you--a -little lifting of heart from your wide sky and Welsh mountains. And -the edge of autumn on the morning air makes even London a place in -which one can believe in beauty and delight. Delicate scent of dried -rose-leaves and the coming on of the autumnal airs are two things -that make me feel happy before I know why. - -The Priory is all scaffolding and paint; and we are still in a -nightmare of uncertainty about our boys. But then I have by my side a -dear companion, who is a perpetual fountain of courage and -cheerfulness, and of considerate tenderness for my lack of those -virtues. And besides that I have Roman history! Perhaps that sounds -like a bitter joke to you, who are looking at the sea and sky and not -thinking of Roman history at all. But this too, read aright, has its -gospel and revelation. I read it much as I used to read a chapter in -the Acts or Epistles. Mommsen's "History of Rome" is so fine that I -count all minds graceless who read it without the deepest stirrings. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Oct. 1863.] - -I cannot be quite easy without sending this little sign of love and -good wishes on the eve of your journey. I shall think of you with all -the more delight, because I shall imagine you winding along the -Riviera and then settling in sight of beautiful things not quite -unknown to me. I hope your life will be enriched very much by these -coming months; but above all, I hope that Mr. Congreve will come back -strong. Tell him I have been greatly moved by the "Discours -Préliminaire."[37] - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 16th Oct. 1863.] - -If I wait to write until I have anything very profitable to say, you -will have time to think that I have forgotten you or else to forget -me--and both consequences would be unpleasant to me. - -Well, our poor boy Thornie parted from us to-day and set out on his -voyage to Natal. I say "poor," as one does about all beings that are -gone away from us for a long while. But he went away in excellent -spirits, with a large packet of recommendatory letters to all sorts of -people, and with what he cares much more for, a first-rate rifle and -revolver--and already with a smattering of Dutch Zulu, picked up from -his grammars and dictionaries. - -What are you working at, I wonder? Cara says you are writing; and, -though I desire not to ask prying questions, I should feel much joy in -your being able to tell me that you are at work on something which -gives you a life apart from circumstantial things. - -I am taking a deep bath of other people's thoughts, and all doings of -my own seem a long way off me. But my bath will be sorely interrupted -soon by the miserable details of removal from one house to another. -Happily Mr. Owen Jones has undertaken the ornamentation of the -drawing-room, and will prescribe all about chairs, etc. I think, after -all, I like a clean kitchen better than any other room. - -We are far on in correcting the proofs of the new edition of "Goethe," -and are about to begin the printing of the "Aristotle," which is to -appear at Christmas or Easter. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1863.] - -_Nov. 5._--We moved into our new house--The Priory, 21 North Bank, -Regent's Park. - -_Nov. 14._--We are now nearly in order, only wanting a few details of -furniture to finish our equipment for a new stage in our life's -journey. I long very much to have done thinking of upholstery, and to -get again a consciousness that there are better things than that to -reconcile one with life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 14th Nov. 1863.] - -At last we are in our new home, with only a few details still left to -arrange. Such fringing away of precious life, in thinking of carpets -and tables, is an affliction to me, and seems like a nightmare from -which I shall find it bliss to awake into my old world of care for -things quite apart from upholstery. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 28th Nov. 1863.] - -I have kissed your letter in sign of my joy at getting it. But the -cold draughts of your Florentine room came across my joy rather -harshly. I know you have good reasons for what you do, yet I cannot -help saying, Why do you stay at Florence, the city of draughts rather -than of flowers? - -Mr. Congreve's suffering during the journey and your suffering in -watching him saddens me as I think of it. For a long while to come I -suppose human energy will be greatly taken up with resignation rather -than action. I wish my feeling for you could travel by some helpful -vibrations good for pains. - -For ourselves, we have enough ease now to be able to give some of it -away. But our removal into our new home on the 5th of November was not -so easy as it might have been, seeing that I was only half recovered -from a severe attack of influenza, which had caused me more terrible -pains in the head and throat than I have known for years. However, the -crisis is past now, and we think our little home altogether charming -and comfortable. Mr. Owen Jones has been unwearied in taking trouble -that everything about us may be pretty. He stayed two nights till -after twelve o'clock, that he might see every engraving hung in the -right place; and as you know I care even more about the fact of -kindness than its effects, you will understand that I enjoy being -grateful for all this friendliness on our behalf. But so tardy a -business is furnishing, that it was not until Monday last that we had -got everything in its place in preparation for the next day--Charlie's -twenty-first birthday--which made our house-warming a doubly -interesting epoch. I wish your sweet presence could have adorned our -drawing-room and made it look still more agreeable in the eyes of all -beholders. You would have liked to hear Jansa play on his violin, and -you would perhaps have been amused to see an affectionate but dowdy -friend of yours splendid in a gray moire antique--the consequence of a -severe lecture from Owen Jones on her general neglect of personal -adornment. I am glad to have got over this crisis of maternal and -house-keeping duty. My soul never flourishes on attention to details -which others can manage quite gracefully without any conscious loss of -power for wider thoughts and cares. Before we began to move I was -swimming in Comte and Euripides and Latin Christianity: _now_ I am -sitting among puddles, and can get sight of no deep water. _Now_ I -have a mind made up of old carpets fitted in new places, and new -carpets suffering from accidents; chairs, tables, and prices; muslin -curtains and down draughts in cold chimneys. I have made a vow never -to think of my own furniture again, but only of other people's. - -[Illustration: Drawing-room at the Priory.] - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 4th Dec. 1863.] - -The book[38] is come, with its precious inscription, and I have read a -great piece of it already (11 A.M.), besides looking through it to get -an idea of its general plan. See how fascination shifts its quarter as -our life goes on! I cannot be induced to lay aside my regular books -for half an hour to read "Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings," but I pounce on a -book like yours, which tries to tell me as much as it can in brief -space of the "natural order," and am seduced into making it my -after-breakfast reading instead of the work I had prescribed for -myself in that pleasant quiet time. I read so slowly and read so few -books that this small fact among my small habits seems a great matter -to me. I thank you, dear Cara, not simply for giving me the book, but -for having put so much faithful labor in a worthy direction, and -created a lasting benefit which I can share with others. Whether the -circulation of a book be large or small, there is always this supreme -satisfaction about solid honest work, that as far as it goes its -effect must be good, and as all effects spread immeasurably, what we -have to care for is _kind_ and not quantity. I am a shabby -correspondent, being in ardent practice of the piano just now, which -makes my days shorter than usual. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 4th Dec. 1863.] - -I am rather ashamed to hear of any one trying to be useful just now, -for I am doing nothing but indulging myself--enjoying being petted -very much, enjoying great books, enjoying our new, pretty, quiet home, -and the study of Beethoven's sonatas for piano and violin, with the -mild-faced old Jansa, and not being at all unhappy as you imagine me. -I sit taking deep draughts of reading--"Politique Positive," -Euripides, Latin Christianity, and so forth, and remaining in glorious -ignorance of "the current literature." Such is our life; and you -perceive that instead of being miserable, I am rather following a -wicked example, and saying to my soul, "Soul, take thine ease." I am -sorry to think of you without any artistic society to help you and -feed your faith. It is hard to believe long together that anything is -"worth while," unless there is some eye to kindle in common with our -own, some brief word uttered now and then to imply that what is -infinitely precious to us is precious alike to another mind. I fancy -that to do without that guarantee one must be rather insane--one must -be a bad poet, or a spinner of impossible theories, or an inventor of -impossible machinery. However, it is but brief space either of time or -distance that divides you from those who thoroughly share your cares -and joys--always excepting that portion which is the hidden private -lot of every human being. In the most entire confidence even of -husband and wife there is always the unspoken residue--the _undivined_ -residue--perhaps of what is most sinful, perhaps of what is most -exalted and unselfish. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Dec. 1863.] - -I get less and less inclined to write any but the briefest letters. My -books seem to get so far off me when once I have written them, that I -should be afraid of looking into "The Mill;" but it was written -faithfully and with intense feeling when it was written, so I will -hope that it will do no mortal any harm. I am indulging myself -frightfully; reading everything except the "current literature," and -getting more and more out of _rapport_ with the public taste. I have -read Renan's book, however, which has proved to be eminently _in_ the -public taste. It will have a good influence on the whole, I imagine; -but this "Vie de Jésus," and still more, Renan's "Letter to Berthelot" -in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, have compelled me to give up the high -estimate I had formed of his mind. Judging from the indications in -some other writings of his, I had reckoned him among the finest -thinkers of the time. Still, his "Life of Jesus" has so much artistic -merit that it will do a great deal towards the culture of ordinary -minds, by giving them a sense of unity between that far off past and -our present. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 26th Dec. 1863.] - -We are enjoying our new house--enjoying its quiet and freedom from -perpetual stair-mounting--enjoying also the prettiness of coloring and -arrangement; all of which we owe to our dear good friend, Mr. Owen -Jones. He has determined every detail, so that we can have the -pleasure of admiring what is our own without vanity. And another -magnificent friend has given me the most splendid reclining chair -conceivable, so that I am in danger of being envied by the gods, -especially as my health is thoroughly good withal. I should like to be -sure that you are just as comfortable externally and internally. I -dare say you are, being less of a cormorant in your demands on life -than I am; and it is _that_ difference which chiefly distinguishes -human lots when once the absolute needs are satisfied. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 28th Dec. 1863.] - -Your affectionate greeting comes as one of the many blessings that are -brightening this happy Christmas. - -We have been giving our evenings up to parental duties--_i.e._, to -games and music for the amusement of the youngsters. I am wonderfully -well in body, but rather in a self-indulgent state mentally, saying, -"Soul, take thine ease," after a dangerous example. - -Of course I shall be glad to see your fair face whenever it can shine -upon me; but I can well imagine, with your multitudinous connections, -Christmas and the New Year are times when all _unappointed_ visits -must be impossible to you. - -All good to you and yours through the coming year! and amongst the -good may you continue to feel some love for me; for love is one of the -conditions in which it is even better to give than to receive. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 19th Jan. 1864.] - -According to your plans you must be in Rome. I have been in good -spirits about you ever since I last heard from you, and the foggy -twilight which, for the last week, has followed the severe frost, has -made me rejoice the more that you are in a better climate and amongst -lovelier scenes than we are groping in. I please myself with thinking -that you will all come back with stores of strength and delightful -memories. Only, if this were the best of all possible worlds, Mr. -Lewes and I should be able to meet you in some beautiful place before -you turn your backs on Italy. As it is, there is no hope of such a -meeting. March is Charlie's holiday month, and when he goes out we -like to stay at home for the sake of recovering for that short time -our unbroken _tête-à-tête_. We have every reason to be cheerful if the -fog would let us. Last night I finished reading the last proofs of the -"Aristotle," which makes an octavo volume of rather less than 400 -pages. I think it is a book which will be interesting and valuable to -the few, but perhaps _only_ to the few. However, George's happiness in -writing his books makes him less dependent than most authors on the -audience they find. He felt that a thorough account of Aristotle's -science was a bit of work which needed doing, and he has given his -utmost pains to do it worthily. These are the two most important -conditions of authorship; all the rest belong to the "less modifiable" -order of things. I have been playing energetically on the piano -lately, and taking lessons in accompanying the violin from Herr Jansa, -one of the old Beethoven Quartette players. It has given me a fresh -kind of muscular exercise, as well as nervous stimulus, and, I think, -has done its part towards making my health better. In fact I am very -well physically. I wish I could be as clever and active as you about -our garden, which might be made much prettier this spring if I had -judgment and industry enough to do the right thing. But it is a -native vice of mine to like all such matters attended to by some one -else, and to fold my arms and enjoy the result. Some people are born -to make life pretty, and others to grumble that it is not pretty -enough. But pray make a point of liking me in spite of my -deficiencies. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 21st Jan. 1864.] - -I comfort myself with the belief that your nature is less rebellious -under trouble than mine--less craving and discontented. - -Resignation to trial, which can never have a _personal_ compensation, -is a part of our life task which has been too much obscured for us by -unveracious attempts at universal consolation. I think we should be -more tender to each other while we live, if that wretched falsity -which makes men quite comfortable about their fellows' troubles were -thoroughly got rid of. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Jan. 1864.] - -I often imagine you, not without a little longing, turning out into -the fields whenever you list, as we used to do in the old days at -Rosehill. That power of turning out into the fields is a great -possession in life--worth many luxuries. - -Here is a bit of news not, I think, too insignificant for you to tell -Cara. The other day Mr. Spencer, senior (Herbert Spencer's father), -called on us, and knowing that he has been engaged in education all -his life, that he is a man of extensive and accurate knowledge, and -that, on his son's showing, he is a very able teacher, I showed him -Cara's "British Empire." Yesterday Herbert Spencer came, and on my -inquiring told me that his father was pleased with Cara's book, and -thought highly of it. Such testimonies as this, given apart from -personal influence and by a practised judge, are, I should think, -more gratifying than any other sort of praise to all faithful writers. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_Jan. 30._--We had Browning, Dallas, and Burton to dine with us, and -in the evening a gentlemen's party. - -_Feb. 14._--Mr. Burton dined with us, and asked me to let him take my -portrait. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 3d March, 1864.] - -It was pleasant to have news of you through the fog, which reduces my -faith in all good and lovely things to its lowest ebb. - -I hope you are less abjectly under the control of the skyey influences -than I am. The soul's calm sunshine in me is half made up of the outer -sunshine. However, we are going on Friday to hear the Judas Maccabæus, -and Handel's music always brings me a revival. - -I have had a great personal loss lately in the death of a sweet -woman,[39] to whom I have sometimes gone, and hoped to go again, for a -little moral strength. She had long been confined to her room by -consumption, which has now taken her quite out of reach except to -memory, which makes all dear human beings undying to us as long as we -ourselves live. - -I am glad to know that you have been interested in "David Gray."[40] -It is good for us all that these true stories should be well told. -Even those to whom the power of helping rarely comes, have their -imaginations instructed so as to be more just and tender in their -thoughts about the lot of their fellows. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 7th March, 1864.] - -I felt it long since I had had news from you, but my days go by, each -seeming too short for what I must do, and I don't like to molest you -with mere questions. - -I have been spoiled for correspondence by Mr. Lewes's goodness in -always writing letters for me where a proxy is admissible. And so it -has come to be a great affair with me to write even a note, while -people who keep up a large correspondence, and set apart their hour -for it, find it easy to cover reams of paper with talk from the end of -the pen. - -You say nothing of yourself, which is rather unkind. We are enjoying a -perfect _tête à tête_. On Friday we are going to hear the Judas -Maccabæus, and try if possible to be stirred to something heroic by -"Sound an alarm." - -I was more sorry than it is usually possible to be about the death of -a person utterly unknown to me, when I read of Maria Martineau's -death. She was a person whose office in life seemed so thoroughly -defined and so valuable. For an invalid like Harriet Martineau to be -deprived of a beloved nurse and companion, is a sorrow that makes one -ashamed of one's small grumblings. But, oh dear, oh dear! when _will_ -people leave off their foolish talk about all human lots being equal; -as if anybody with a sound stomach ever knew misery comparable to the -misery of a dyspeptic. - -Farewell, dear Sara; be generous, and don't always wait an age in -silence because I don't write. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 8th March, 1864.] - -If you were anybody but yourself I should dislike you, because I have -to write letters to you. As it is, your qualities triumph even over -the vice of being in Italy (too far off for a note of three lines), -and expecting to hear from me, though I fear I should be graceless -enough to let you expect in vain if I did not care very much to hear -from _you_, and did not find myself getting uneasy when many weeks -have been passed in ignorance about you. I do hope to hear that you -got your fortnight of sight-seeing before leaving Rome--at least, you -would surely go well over the great galleries. If not, I shall be -vexed with you, and I shall only be consoled for your not going to -Venice by the chance of the Austrians being driven or bought out of -it--on no slighter grounds. For I suppose you will not go to Italy -again for a long, long while, so as to leave any prospect of the -omission being made up for by-and-by. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th March, 1864.] - -We run off to Scotland for the Easter week, setting out on Sunday -evening; so if the spring runs away again, I hope it will run -northward. We shall return on Monday, the 4th April. Some news of your -inwards and outwards would be acceptable; but don't write unless you -really _like_ to write. You see Strauss has come out with a _popular_ -"Life of Jesus." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 25th March, 1864.] - -Fog, east wind, and headache: there is my week's history. But this -morning, when your letter came to me, I had got up well and was -reading the sorrows of the aged Hecuba with great enjoyment. I wish an -immortal drama could be got out of _my_ sorrows, that people might be -the better for them two thousand years hence. But fog, east wind, and -headache are not great dramatic motives. - -Your letter was a reinforcement of the delicious sense of _bien être_ -that comes with the departure of bodily pain; and I am glad, -retrospectively, that beyond our fog lay your moonlight and your view -of the glorious sea. It is not difficult to me to believe that you -look a new creature already. Mr. Lewes tells me the country air has -always a magical effect on me, even in the first hour; but it is not -the air alone, is it? It is the wide sky, and the hills, and the -wild-flowers which are linked with all calming thoughts, just as every -object in town has its perturbing associations. - -I share your joy in the Federal successes--with that check that -attends all joy in a war not absolutely ended. But you have worked and -earned more joy than those who have been merely passives. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_April 6._--Mr. Spencer called for the first time after a long -correspondence on the subject of his relation to Comte. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 9th April, 1864.] - -Yes! I am come back from Scotland--came back last Saturday night. - -I was much pleased to see Cara so wonderfully well and cheerful. She -seems to me ten times more cheerful than in the old days. I am -interested to know more about your work which is filling your life -now, but I suppose I shall know nothing until it is in print--and -perhaps that is the only form in which one can do any one's work full -justice. It is very disappointing to me to hear that Cara has at -present so little promise of monetary results from her conscientious -labor. I fear the fatal system of half profits is working against her -as against others. We are going to the opera to-night to hear the -Favorita. It was the first opera I ever _saw_ (with you I saw it!), -and I have never seen it since--that is the reason I was anxious to go -to-night. - -This afternoon we go to see Mulready's pictures--so the day will be a -full one. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_April 18._--We went to the Crystal Palace to see Garibaldi. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 30th April, 1864.] - -Only think! next Wednesday morning we start for Italy. The move is -quite a sudden one. We need a good shake for our bodies and minds, -and must take the spring-time, before the weather becomes too hot. We -shall not be away more than a month or six weeks at the utmost. Our -friend Mr. Burton, the artist, will be our companion for at least part -of the time. He has just painted a divine picture, which is now to be -seen at the old Water-Color Exhibition. The subject is from a Norse -legend; but that is no matter--the picture tells its story. A knight -in mailed armor and surcoat has met the fair, tall woman he (secretly) -loves, on a turret stair. By an uncontrollable movement he has seized -her arm and is kissing it. She, amazed, has dropped the flowers she -held in her other hand. The subject might have been made the most -vulgar thing in the world--the artist has raised it to the highest -pitch of refined emotion. The kiss is on the fur-lined _sleeve_ that -covers the arm, and the face of the knight is the face of a man to -whom the kiss is a sacrament. - -How I should like a good long talk with you! From what you say of your -book that is to come, I expect to be very much interested in it. I -think I hardly ever read a book of the kind you describe without -getting some help from it. It is to this strong influence that is felt -in all personal statements of inward experience that we must perhaps -refer the excessive publication of religious journals. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_May 4._--We started for Italy with Mr. Burton. - -_June 20._--Arrived at our pretty home again after an absence of seven -weeks. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 25th June, 1864.] - -Your letter has affected me deeply. Thank you very much for writing -it. It seems as if a close view of almost every human lot would -disclose some suffering that makes life a doubtful good--except -perhaps at certain epochs of fresh love, fresh creative activity, or -unusual power of helping others. One such epoch we are witnessing in a -young life that is very near to us. Our "boy" Charles has just become -engaged, and it is very pretty to see the happiness of a pure first -love, full at present of nothing but promise. It will interest you to -know that the young lady who has won his heart, and seems to have -given him her own with equal ardor and entireness, is the -grand-daughter of Dr. Southwood Smith, whom he adopted when she was -three years old, and brought up under his own eye. She is very -handsome, and has a splendid contralto voice. Altogether Pater and I -rejoice--for though the engagement has taken place earlier than we -expected, or should perhaps have chosen, there are counterbalancing -advantages. I always hoped Charlie would be able to choose or rather -find the other half of himself by the time he was twenty-three; the -event has only come a year and a half sooner. This is the news that -greeted us on our return! We had seen before we went that the -acquaintance, which was first made eighteen months or more ago, had -become supremely interesting to Charlie. Altogether we rejoice. - -Our journey was delightful in spite of Mr. Lewes's frequent _malaise_; -for his cheerful nature is rarely subdued even by bodily discomfort. -We saw only one place that we had not seen before--namely, Brescia; -but all the rest seemed more glorious to us than they had seemed four -years ago. Our course was to Venice, where we stayed a fortnight, -pausing only at Paris, Turin and Milan on our way thither, and taking -Padua, Verona, Brescia, and again Milan, as points of rest on our way -back. Our friend Mr. Burton's company was very stimulating, from his -great knowledge, not of pictures only, but of almost all other -subjects. He has had the advantage of living in Germany for five or -six years, and has gained those large, serious views of history which -are a special product of German culture, and this was his first visit -to Italy, so you may imagine his eager enjoyment in finding it -beautiful beyond his hopes. We crossed the Alps by the St. Gothard, -and stayed a day or two at Lucerne; and this, again, was a first sight -of Switzerland to him. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, July, 1864.] - -Looking at my little mats this morning while I was dressing, I felt -very grateful for them, and remembered that I had not shown my -gratitude when you gave them to me. If I were a "conceited" poet, I -should say your presence was the sun, and the mats were the tapers; -but now you are away, I delight in the tapers. How pretty the pattern -is--and your brain counted it out! They will never be worn quite away -while I live, or my little purse for coppers either. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_July 17._--Horrible scepticism about all things paralyzing my mind. -Shall I ever be good for anything again? Ever do anything again? - -_July 19._--Reading Gibbon, Vol. I., in connection with Mosheim, also -Gieseler on the condition of the world at the appearance of -Christianity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 28th Aug. 1864.] - -I am distressed to find that I have let a week pass without writing in -answer to your letter, which made me very glad when I got it. -Remembering you just a minute ago, I started up from Max Müller's new -volume, with which I was consoling myself under a sore throat, and -rushed to the desk that I might not risk any further delay. - -It was just what I wanted to hear about you that you were having some -change, and I think the freshness of the companionship must help other -good influences, not to speak of the "Apologia," which breathed much -life into me when I read it. Pray mark that beautiful passage in which -he thanks his friend Ambrose St. John. I know hardly anything that -delights me more than such evidences of sweet brotherly love being a -reality in the world. I envy you your opportunity of seeing and -hearing Newman, and should like to make an expedition to Birmingham -for that sole end. - -My trouble now is George's delicate health. He gets thinner and -thinner. He is going to try what horseback will do, and I am looking -forward to that with some hope. - -Our boy's love-story runs smoothly, and seems to promise nothing but -good. His attraction to Hampstead gives George and me more of our dear -old _tête-à-tête_, which we can't help being glad to recover. - -Dear Cara and Mr. Bray! I wish they too had joy instead of sadness -from the young life they have been caring for these many years. When -you write to Cara, or see her, assure her that she is remembered in my -most affectionate thoughts, and that I often bring her present -experience before my mind--more or less truly--for we can but blunder -about each other, we poor mortals. - -Write to me whenever you can, dear Sara; I should have answered -immediately but for sickness, visitors, business, etc. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_Sept. 6.--I am reading about Spain, and trying a drama on a subject -that has fascinated me--have written the prologue, and am beginning -the First Act. But I have little hope of making anything -satisfactory._ - -_Sept. 13_ to _30_.--Went to Harrogate and Scarborough, seeing York -Minster and Peterborough. - -[Illustration: Fac-simile of George Eliot's hand-writing.] - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th Sept. 1864, from -Harrogate.] - -We journeyed hither on Tuesday, and found the place quite as pretty -as we expected. The great merit of Harrogate is that one is everywhere -close to lovely open walks. Your "plan" has been a delightful -reference for Mr. Lewes, who takes it out of his pocket every time we -walk. At present, of course, there is not much improvement in health -to be boasted of, but we hope that the delicious bracing air, and also -the chalybeate waters, which have not yet been tried, will not be -without good effect. The journey was long. How hideous those towns of -Holbeach and Wakefield are! It is difficult to keep up one's faith in -a millennium within sight of this modern civilization which consists -in "development of industries." Egypt and her big calm gods seems -quite as good. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Sept. 1864, from -Scarborough.] - -We migrated on Friday last from delightful Harrogate, pausing at York -to see the glorious Cathedral. The weather is perfect, the sea blue as -a sapphire, so that we see to utmost advantage the fine line of coast -here and the magnificent breadth of sand. Even the Tenby sands are not -so fine as these. Better than all, Mr. Lewes, in spite of a sad check -of a few days, is strengthened beyond our most hopeful expectations by -this brief trial of fresh conditions. He is wonderful for the rapidity -with which he "picks up" after looking alarmingly feeble and even -wasted. We paid a visit to Knaresborough the very last day of our stay -at Harrogate, and were rejoiced that we had not missed the sight of -that pretty characteristic northern town. There is a ruined castle -here too, standing just where one's eyes would desire it on a grand -line of cliff; but perhaps you know the place. Its only defect is that -it is too large, and therefore a little too smoky; but except in Wales -or Devonshire I have seen no sea-place on our English coast that has -greater natural advantages. I don't know quite why I should write you -this note all about ourselves--except that your goodness having helped -us to the benefit we have got, I like you to know of the said benefit. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Sunday, Oct. (?) 1864.] - -The wished-for opportunity is coming very soon. Next Saturday Charlie -will go to Hastings, and will not return till Sunday evening. Will -you--can you--arrange to come to us on Saturday to lunch or dinner, -and stay with us till Sunday evening? We shall be very proud and happy -if you will consent to put up with such travelling quarters as we can -give you. You will be rejoicing our hearts by coming, and I know that -for the sake of cheering others you would endure even large privations -as well as small ones. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Monday-week following.] - -What a pure delight it was to have you with us! I feel the better for -it in spite of a cold which I caught yesterday--perhaps owing to the -loss of your sunny presence all of a sudden. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2d Oct. 1864.] - -It makes me very, very happy to see George so much better, and to -return with that chief satisfaction to the quiet comforts of home. We -register Harrogate among the places to be revisited. - -I have had a fit of Spanish history lately, and have been learning -Spanish grammar--the easiest of all the Romance grammars--since we -have been away. Mr. Lewes has been rubbing up his Spanish by reading -Don Quixote in these weeks of _idlesse_; and I have read aloud and -translated to him, like a good child. I find it so much easier to -learn anything than to feel that I have anything worth teaching. - -All is perfectly well with us, now the "little Pater" is stronger, and -we are especially thankful for Charlie's prospect of marriage. We -could not have desired anything more suited to his character and more -likely to make his life a good one. But this blessing which has -befallen us only makes me feel the more acutely the cutting off of a -like satisfaction from the friends I chiefly love. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_Oct. 5._--Finished the first draught of the First Act of my drama, -and read it to George. - -_Oct. 15._--Went to the Maestro (Burton) for a sitting. - -_Nov. 4._--Read my Second Act to George. It is written in verse--my -first serious attempt at blank verse. G. praises and encourages me. - -_Nov. 10._--I have been at a very low ebb, body and mind, for the last -few days, sticking in the mud continually in the construction of my -3d, 4th, and 5th Acts. Yesterday Browning came to tell us of a bust of -Savonarola in terra-cotta, just discovered at Florence. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 23d Nov. 1864.] - -I believe I have thought of you every day for the last fortnight, and -I remembered the birthday--and "everything." But I was a little cross, -because I had heard nothing of you since Mr. Bray's visit. And I said -to myself, "If she wanted to write she _would_ write." I confess I was -a little ashamed when I saw the outside of your letter ten minutes -ago, feeling that I should read within it the proof that you were as -thoughtful and mindful as ever. - -Yes, I do heartily give my greeting--_had_ given it already. And I -desire very much that the work which is absorbing you may give you -some happiness besides that which belongs to the activity of -production. - -It is very kind of you to remember Charlie's date too. He is as happy -as the day is long, and very good--one of those creatures to whom -goodness comes naturally--not any exalted goodness, but every-day -serviceable goodness, such as wears through life. Whereas exalted -goodness comes in brief inspirations, and requires a man to die lest -he should spoil his work. - -I have been ill, but now am pretty well, with much to occupy and -interest me, and with no trouble except those bodily ailments. - -I could chat a long while with you--but I restrain myself, because I -must not carry on my letter-writing into the "solid day." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Christmas-day, 1864.] - -Your precious letter _did_ come last night, and crowned the day's -enjoyment. Our family party went off very well, entirely by dint of -George's exertions. I wish you had seen him acting charades, and heard -him make an after-supper speech. You would have understood all the -self-forgetful goodness that lay under the assumption of boyish animal -spirits. A horrible German whom I have been obliged to see has been -talking for two hours, with the hardest eyes, blind to all -possibilities that he was boring us, and so I have been robbed of all -the time I wanted for writing to you. I can only say now that I bore -you on my heart--you and all yours known to me--even before I had had -your letter yesterday. Indeed you are not apart from any delight I -have in life: I long always that you should share it, if not -otherwise, at least by knowing of it, which to you is a sort of -sharing. Our double loves and best wishes for all of you--Rough being -included, as I trust you include Ben. Are they not idlers with us? -Also a title to regard as well as being _collaborateurs_. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1864.] - -_Dec. 24._--A family party in the evening. - -_Dec. 25._--I read the Third Act of my drama to George, who praised it -highly. We spent a perfectly quiet evening, intending to have our -Christmas-day's jollity on Tuesday when the boys are at home. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Jan. 1._--The last year has been unmarked by any trouble except bad -health. The bright spots in the year have been the publication of -"Aristotle" and our journey to Venice. With me the year has not been -fruitful. I have written three Acts of my drama, and am now in a -condition of body and mind to make me hope for better things in the -coming year. The last quarter has made an epoch for me, by the fact -that, for the first time in my serious authorship I have written -verse. In each other we are happier than ever. I am more grateful to -my dear husband for his perfect love, which helps me in all good and -checks me in all evil--more conscious that in him I have the greatest -of blessings. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 3d Jan. 1865.] - -I hope the wish that this New Year may be a happy one to you does not -seem to be made a mockery by any troubles or anxieties pressing on -you. - -I enclose a check, which I shall be obliged if you will offer to Mr. -Congreve, as I know he prefers that payments should be made at the -beginning of the year. - -I shall think of you on the nineteenth. I wonder how many there really -were in that "small upper room" 1866 years ago. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Jan. 8._--Mrs. Congreve staying with us for a couple of nights. -Yesterday we went to Mr. Burton's to see my portrait, with which she -was much pleased. Since last Monday I have been writing a poem, the -matter of which was written in prose three or four years ago--"My -Vegetarian Friend." - -_Jan. 15_ to _25_.--Visit to Paris. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Friday (?), 27th Jan. 1865.] - -Are we not happy to have reached home on Wednesday before this real -winter came? We enjoyed our visit to Paris greatly, in spite of bad -weather, going to the theatre or opera nearly every night, and seeing -sights all day long. I think the most interesting sight we saw was -Comte's dwelling. Such places, that knew the great dead, always move -me deeply; and I had an unexpected sight of interest in the photograph -taken at the very last. M. Thomas was very friendly, and pleasant to -talk to because of his simple manners. We gave your remembrances to -him, and promised to assure you of his pleasure in hearing of you. I -wish some truer representation of Mr. Congreve hung up in the Salon -instead of that (to me) exasperating photograph. - -We thought the apartment very _freundlich_, and I flattered myself -that I could have written better in the little study there than in my -own. Such self-flattery is usually the most amiable phase of -discontent with one's own inferiority. - -I am really stronger for the change. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Jan. 28._--Finished my poem on "Utopias." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 6th Feb. 1865.] - -I suspect you have come to dislike letters, but until you say so, I -must write now and then to gratify myself. I want to send my love, -lest all the old messages shall have lost their scent, like old -lavender bags. - -Since I wrote to you last we have actually been to Paris! A little -business was an excuse for getting a great deal of pleasure; and I, -for whom change of air and scene is always the best tonic, am much -brightened by our wintry expedition, which ended just in time for us -to escape the heavy fall of snow. - -We are very happy, having almost recovered our old _tête-à-tête_, of -which I am so selfishly fond that I am beginning to feel it an heroic -effort when I make up my mind to invite half a dozen visitors. But it -is necessary to strive against this unsocial disposition, so we are -going to have some open evenings. - -There is great talk of a new periodical--a fortnightly apparition, -partly on the plan of the _Revue des Deux Mondes_. Mr. Lewes has -consented to become its editor, if the preliminaries are settled so as -to satisfy him. - -_Ecco!_ I have told you a little of our news, not daring to ask you -anything about yourself, since you evidently don't want to tell me -anything. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 19th Feb. 1865.] - -The party was a "mull." The weather was bad. Some of the invited were -ill and sent regrets, others were not ardent enough to brave the damp -evening--in fine, only twelve came. We had a charade, which, like our -neighbors, was no better than it should have been, and some rather -languid music, our best musicians half failing us--so ill is merit -rewarded in this world! If the severest sense of fulfilling a duty -could make one's parties pleasant, who so deserving as I? I turn my -inward shudders into outward smiles, and talk fast, with a sense of -lead on my tongue. However, Mr. Pigott made a woman's part in the -charade so irresistibly comic that I tittered at it at intervals in my -sleepless hours. I am rather uncomfortable about you, because you -seemed so much less well and strong the other day than your average. -Let me hear before long how you and Mr. Congreve are. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Feb. 21._--Ill and very miserable. George has taken my drama away -from me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 27th Feb. 1865.] - -The sun shone through my window on your letter as I read it, adding to -its cheeriness. It was good of you to write it. I was ill last week, -and had mental troubles besides--happily such as are unconnected with -any one's experience except my own. I am still ailing, but striving -hard "not to mind," and not to diffuse my inward trouble, according to -Madame de Vaux's excellent maxim. I shall not, I fear, be able to get -to you till near the end of next week--towards the 11th. I think of -you very often, and especially when my own _malaise_ reminds me how -much of your time is spent in the same sort of endurance. Mr. Spencer -told us yesterday that Dr. Ransom said he had cured himself of -dyspepsia by leaving off stimulants--the full benefit manifesting -itself after two or three months of abstinence. I am going to try. All -best regards to Mr. Congreve and tenderest sisterly love to yourself. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_March 1._--I wrote an article for the _Pall Mall Gazette_--"A Word -for the Germans." - -_March 12._--Went to Wandsworth, to spend the Sunday and Monday with -Mr. and Mrs. Congreve. Feeling very ailing; in constant dull pain, -which makes all effort burdensome. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 16th March, 1865.] - -I did not promise, like Mr. Collins, that you should receive a letter -of thanks for your kind entertainment of me; but I feel the need of -writing a word or two to break the change from your presence to my -complete absence from you. It was really an enjoyment to be with you, -in spite of the bodily uneasiness which robbed me of half my mind. One -thing only I regret--that in my talk with you I think I was rather -merciless to other people. Whatever vices I have seem to be -exaggerated by my _malaise_--such "chastening" not answering the -purpose of purification in my case. Pray set down any unpleasant -notions I have suggested about others to my account--_i.e._, as being -_my_ unpleasantness, and not theirs. When one is bilious, other -people's complexions look yellow, and one of their eyes higher than -the other--all the fault of one's own evil interior. I long to hear -from you that you are better, and if you are not better, still to hear -from you before too long an interval. Mr. Congreve's condition is -really cheering, and he goes about with me as a pleasant picture--like -that Raphael the Tuscan duke chose always to carry with him. - -I got worse after I left you; but to-day I am better, and begin to -think there is nothing serious the matter with me except the -"weather," which every one else is alleging as the cause of their -symptoms. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 18th March, 1865.] - -I believe you are one of the few who can understand that in certain -crises direct expression of sympathy is the least possible to those -who most feel sympathy. If I could have been with you in bodily -presence, I should have sat silent, thinking silence a sign of feeling -that speech, trying to be wise, must always spoil. The truest things -one can say about great Death are the oldest, simplest things that -everybody knows by rote, but that no one knows really till death has -come very close. And when that inward teaching is going on, it seems -pitiful presumption for those who are outside to be saying anything. -There is no such thing as consolation when we have made the lot of -another our own. I don't know whether you strongly share, as I do, the -old belief that made men say the gods loved those who died young. It -seems to me truer than ever, now life has become more complex, and -more and more difficult problems have to be worked out. Life, though a -good to men on the whole, is a doubtful good to many, and to some not -a good at all. To my thought it is a source of constant mental -distortion to make the denial of this a part of religion--to go on -pretending things are better than they are. To me early death takes -the aspect of salvation; though I feel, too, that those who live and -suffer may sometimes have the greater blessedness of _being_ a -salvation. But I will not write of judgments and opinions. What I want -my letter to tell you is that I love you truly, gratefully, -unchangeably. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_March 25._--I am in deep depression, feeling powerless. I have -written nothing but beginnings since I finished a little article for -the _Pall Mall_, on the Logic of Servants. Dear George is all -activity, yet is in very frail health. How I worship his good humor, -his good sense, his affectionate care for every one who has claims on -him! That worship is my best life. - -_March 29._--Sent a letter on "Futile Lying," from Saccharissa to the -_Pall Mall_. - -I have begun a novel ("Felix Holt"). - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 11th April, 1865.] - -We are wondering if, by any coincidence or condition of things, you -could come to us on Thursday, when we have our last evening -party--wondering how you are--wondering everything about you, and -knowing nothing. Could you resolve some of our wonderings into -cheering knowledge? It is ages since you made any sign to us. Are _we_ -to be blamed or you? I hope you are not unfavorably affected by the -sudden warmth which comes with the beautiful sunshine. Some word of -you, in pity! - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 22d April, 1865.] - -If the sun goes on shining in this glorious way, I shall think of your -journey with pleasure. The sight of the country _must_ be a good when -the trees are bursting into leaf. But I will remember your warning to -Emily, and not insist too much on the advantages of paying visits. Let -us hear of you sometimes, and think of us as very busy and very happy, -but always including you in our world, and getting uneasy when we are -left too much to our imaginations about you. Tell Emily that Ben and I -are the better for having seen her. He has added to his store of -memories, and will recognize her when she comes again. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_May 4._--Sent an article on Lecky's "History of Rationalism" for the -_Fortnightly_. For nearly a fortnight I have been ill, one way or -other. - -_May 10._--Finished a letter of Saccharissa for the _Pall Mall_. -Reading Æschylus, "Theatre of the Greeks," Klein's "History of the -Drama," etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 11th May, 1865.] - -This note will greet you on your return, and tell you that we were -glad to hear of you in your absence, even though the news was not of -the brightest. Next week we are going away--I don't yet know exactly -where; but it is firmly settled that we start on Monday. It will be -good for the carpets, and it will be still better for us, who need a -wholesome shaking, even more than the carpets do. - -The first number of the _Review_ was done with last Monday, and will -be out on the 15th. You will be glad to hear that Mr. Harrison's -article is excellent, but the "mull" which George declares to be the -fatality with all first numbers is so far incurred with regard to this -very article that, from overwhelming alarm at its length, George put -it (perhaps too hastily) into the smaller type. I hope the importance -of the subject and the excellence of the treatment will overcome that -disadvantage. - -Nurse all pleasant thoughts in your solitude, and count our affection -among them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 18th May, 1865.] - -We have just returned from a five days' holiday at the coast, and are -much invigorated by the tonic breezes. - -We have nothing to do with the _Fortnightly_ as a money speculation. -Mr. Lewes has simply accepted the post of editor, and it was seemly -that I should write a little in it. But do not suppose that I am going -into periodical writing. And your friendship is not required to read -one syllable for our sakes. On the contrary, you have my full sympathy -in abstaining. Rest in peace, dear Sara, and finish your work, that -you may have the sense of having spoken out what was within you. That -is really a good--I mean, when it is done in all seriousness and -sincerity. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_May 28._--Finished Bamford's "Passages from the Life of a Radical." -Have just begun again Mill's "Political Economy," and Comte's "Social -Science," in Miss Martineau's edition. - -_June 7._--Finished _Annual Register_ for 1832. Reading Blackstone. -Mill's second article on "Comte," to appear in the _Westminster_, lent -me by Mr. Spencer. My health has been better of late. - -_June 15._--Read again Aristotle's "Poetics" with fresh admiration. - -_June 20._--Read the opening of my novel to G. Yesterday we drove to -Wandsworth. Walked together on Wimbledon Common, in outer and inner -sunshine, as of old; then dined with Mr. and Mrs. Congreve, and had -much pleasant talk. - -_June 25._--Reading English History, reign of George III.; -Shakespeare's "King John." Yesterday G. dined at Greenwich with the -multitude of so-called writers for the _Saturday_. He heard much -commendation of the _Fortnightly_, especially of Bagehot's articles, -which last is reassuring after Mr. Trollope's strong objections. - -_July 3._--Went to hear the "Faust" at Covent Garden: Mario, Lucca, -and Graziani. I was much thrilled by the great symbolical situations, -and by the music--more, I think, than I had ever been before. - -_July 9_ (Sunday).--We had Browning, Huxley, Mr. Warren, Mr. Bagehot, -and Mr. Crompton, and talk was pleasant. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, Sunday, 10th July, 1865.] - -Success to the canvassing! It is "very meet and right and your bounden -duty" to be with Mr. Taylor in this time of hard work, and I am glad -that your health has made no impediment. I should have liked to be -present when you were cheered. The expression of a common feeling by a -large mass of men, when the feeling is one of good-will, moves me like -music. A public tribute to any man who has done the world a service -with brain or hand has on me the effect of a great religious rite, -with pealing organ and full-voiced choir. - -I agree with you in your feeling about Mill. Some of his works have -been frequently my companions of late, and I have been going through -many _actions de grâce_ towards him. I am not anxious that he should -be in Parliament: thinkers can do more outside than inside the House. -But it would have been a fine precedent, and would have made an epoch, -for such a man to have been asked for and elected solely on the ground -of his mental eminence. As it is, I suppose it is pretty certain that -he will _not_ be elected. - -I am glad you have been interested in Mr. Lewes's article. His great -anxiety about the _Fortnightly_ is to make it the vehicle for sincere -writing--real contributions of opinion on important topics. But it is -more difficult than the inexperienced could imagine to get the sort of -writing which will correspond to that desire of his. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_July 16._--Madame Bohn, niece of Professor Scherer, called. She said -certain things about "Romola" which showed that she had felt what I -meant my readers to feel. She said she knew the book had produced the -same effect on many others. I wish I could be encouraged by this. - -_July 22._--Sat for my portrait--I suppose for the last time. - -_July 23._--I am going doggedly to work at my novel, seeing what -determination can do in the face of despair. Reading Neale's "History -of the Puritans." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 1st Aug. 1865.] - -I received yesterday the circular about the Mazzini Fund. Mr. Lewes -and I would have liked to subscribe to a tribute to Mazzini, or to a -fund for his use, of which the application was defined and guaranteed -by his own word. As it is, the application of the desired fund is only -intimated in the vaguest manner by the Florentine committee. The -reflection is inevitable that the application may ultimately be the -promotion of conspiracy, the precise character of which is necessarily -unknown to subscribers. Now, though I believe there are cases in which -conspiracy may be a sacred, necessary struggle against organized -wrong, there are also cases in which it is hopeless, and can produce -nothing but misery; or needless, because it is not the best means -attainable of reaching the desired end; or unjustifiable, because it -resorts to acts which are more unsocial in their character than the -very wrong they are directed to extinguish; and in these three -supposable cases it seems to me that it would be a social crime to -further conspiracy even by the impulse of a little finger, to which -one may well compare a small money subscription. - -I think many persons to whom the circular might be sent would take -something like this view, and would grieve, as we do, that a -proposition intended to honor Mazzini should come in a form to which -they cannot conscientiously subscribe. - -I trouble you and Mr. Taylor with this explanation, because both Mr. -Lewes and I have a real reverence for Mazzini, and could not therefore -be content to give a silent negative. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 1st Aug. 1865.] - -I fear that my languor on Saturday prevented me from fairly showing -you how sweet and precious your presence was to me then, as at all -times. We have almost made up our minds to start some time in this -month for a run in Normandy and Brittany. We both need the change, -though when I receive, as I did yesterday, a letter from some friend, -telling me of cares and trials from which I am quite free, I am -ashamed of wanting anything. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Aug. 2._--Finished the "Agamemnon" second time. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 6th Aug. 1865.] - -When I wrote to you last I quite hoped that I should see you and Emily -before we left home, but now it is settled that we start on Thursday -morning, and I have so many little things to remember and to do that I -dare not set apart any of the intervening time for the quiet enjoyment -of a visit from you. It is not quite so cheerful a picture as I should -like to carry with me, that of you and Emily so long alone, with Mr. -Congreve working at Bradford. But your friends are sure to think of -you, and want to see you. I hope you did not suffer so severely as we -did from the arctic cold that rushed in after the oppressive heat. Mr. -T. Trollope came from Italy just when it began. He says it is always -the same when he comes to England, people always say it has just been -very hot, and he believes that means they had a few days in which they -were not obliged to blow on their fingers. - -When you write to Mr. Congreve pray tell him that we were very -grateful for his Itinerary, which is likely useful to us--indeed, has -already been useful in determining our route. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Sept. 7._--We returned home after an expedition into Brittany. Our -course was from Boulogne to St. Valéry, Dieppe, Rouen, Caen, Bayeux, -St. Lô, Vire, Avranches, Dol, St. Malo, Rennes, Avray, and -Carnac--back by Nantes, Tours, Le Mans, Chartres, Paris, Rouen, -Dieppe, Abbeville, and so again to Boulogne. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 14th Sept. 1865.] - -We came home again on Thursday night--this day week--after a month's -absence in Normandy and Brittany. I have been thinking of you very -often since, but believed that you did not care to have the -interruption of letters just now, and would rather defer -correspondence till your mind was freer. If I had _suspected_ that you -would feel any want satisfied by a letter I should certainly have -written. I had not heard of Miss Bonham Carter's death, else I should -have conceived something of your state of mind. I think you and I are -alike in this, that we can get no good out of pretended comforts, -which are the devices of self-love, but would rather, in spite of -pain, grow into the endurance of all "naked truths." So I say no word -about your great loss, except that I love you, and sorrow with you. - -The circumstances of life--the changes that take place in -ourselves--hem in the expression of affections and memories that live -within us, and enter almost into every day, and long separations often -make intercourse difficult when the opportunity comes. But the delight -I had in you, and in the hours we spent together, and in all your acts -of friendship to me, is really part of my life, and can never die out -of me. I see distinctly how much poorer I should have been if I had -never known you. If you had seen more of me in late years, you would -not have such almost cruel thoughts as that the book into which you -have faithfully put your experience and best convictions could make -you "repugnant" to me. Whatever else my growth may have been, it has -not been towards irreverence and ready rejection of what other minds -can give me. You once unhappily mistook my feeling and point of view -in something I wrote _à propos_ of an argument in your "Aids to -Faith," and _that_ made me think it better that we should not write on -large and difficult subjects in hasty letters. But it has often been -painful to me--I should say, it has constantly been painful to -me--that you have ever since inferred me to be in a hard and -unsympathetic state about your views and your writing. But I am -habitually disposed myself to the same unbelief in the sympathy that -is given me, and am the last person who should be allowed to complain -of such unbelief in another. And it is very likely that I may have -been faulty and disagreeable in my expressions. - -Excuse all my many mistakes, dear Sara, and never believe otherwise -than that I have a glow of joy when you write to me, as if my -existence were some good to you. I know that I am, and can be, very -little practically; but to have the least value for your thought is -what I care much to be assured of. - -Perhaps, in the cooler part of the autumn, when your book is out of -your hands, you will like to move from home a little and see your -London friends? - -Our travelling in Brittany was a good deal marred and obstructed by -the emperor's _fête_, which sent all the world on our track towards -Cherbourg and Brest. But the Norman churches, the great cathedrals at -Le Mans, Tours, and Chartres, with their marvellous painted glass, -were worth much scrambling to see. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 28th Oct. 1865.] - -I have read Mr. Masson's book on "Recent Philosophy." The earlier part -is a useful and creditable survey, and the classification ingenious. -The later part I thought poor. If, by what he says of Positivism, you -mean what he says at p. 246, I should answer it is simply "stuff"--he -might as well have written a dozen lines of jargon. There are a few -observations about Comte, scattered here and there, which are true and -just enough. But it seems to me much better to read a man's own -writing than to read what others say about him, especially when the -man is first-rate and the "others" are third-rate. As Goethe said long -ago about Spinoza, "Ich zog immer vor von dem Menschen zu erfahren -_wie er dachte_ als von einem anderen zu hören _wie er hätte denken -sollen_."[41] However, I am not fond of expressing criticism or -disapprobation. The difficulty is to digest and live upon any valuable -truth one's self. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Nov. 15._--During the last three weeks George has been very poorly, -but now he is better. I have been reading Fawcett's "Economic -Condition of the Working Classes," Mill's "Liberty," looking into -Strauss's second "Life of Jesus," and reading Neale's "History of the -Puritans," of which I have reached the fourth volume. Yesterday the -news came of Mrs. Gaskell's death. She died suddenly, while reading -aloud to her daughter. - -_Nov. 16._--Writing Mr. Lyon's story, which I have determined to -insert as a narrative. Reading the Bible. - -_Nov. 24._--Finished Neale's "History of the Puritans." Began Hallam's -"Middle Ages." - -_Dec. 4._--Finished second volume of Hallam. The other day read to the -end of chapter nine of my novel to George, who was much pleased and -found no fault. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th Dec. 1865.] - -We send to-day "Orley Farm," "The Small House at Allington," and the -"Story of Elizabeth." The "Small House" is rather lighter than "Orley -Farm." "The Story of Elizabeth" is by Miss Thackeray. It is not so -cheerful as Trollope, but is charmingly written. You can taste it and -reject it if it is too melancholy. I think more of you than you are -likely to imagine, and I believe we talk of you all more than of any -other mortals. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 7th Dec. 1865.] - -It is worth your while to send for the last _Fortnightly_ to read an -article of Professor Tyndall's "On the Constitution of the Universe." -It is a splendid piece of writing on the higher physics, which I know -will interest you. _À propos_ of the feminine intellect, I had a bit -of experience with a superior woman the other day, which reminded me -of Sydney Smith's story about his sermon on the Being of a God. He -says, that after he had delivered his painstaking argument, an old -parishioner said to him, "I don't agree wi' you, Mr. Smith; _I think -there be a God_." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Dec. 11._--For the last three days I have been foundering from a -miserable state of head. I have written chapter ten. This evening read -again Macaulay's Introduction. - -_Dec. 15._--To-day is the first for nearly a week on which I have been -able to write anything fresh. I am reading Macaulay and Blackstone. -This evening we went to hear "The Messiah" at Exeter Hall. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 21st Dec. 1865.] - -"A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" is a sort of hieroglyph for -I love you and wish you well all the year round. Christmas to me is -like a great many other pleasures, which I am glad to imagine as -enjoyed by others, but have no delight in myself. Berried holly and -smiling faces and snap-dragon, grandmamma and the children, turkey and -plum-pudding--they are all precious things, and I would not have the -world without them; but they tire me a little. I enjoy the common days -of the year more. But for the sake of those who are stronger I rejoice -in Christmas. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1865.] - -_Dec. 24._--For two days I have been sticking in the mud from doubt -about my construction. I have just consulted G., and he confirms my -choice of incidents. - -_Dec. 31._--The last day of 1865. I will say nothing but that I -trust--I will strive--to add more ardent effort towards a good result -from all the outward good that is given to me. My health is at a lower -ebb than usual, and so is George's. Bertie is spending his holidays -with us, and shows hopeful characteristics. Charles is happy. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1862, TO DECEMBER, 1865. - - Begins "Romola" again--Letter to Miss Hennell--Max Müller's - book--"Orley Farm"--Anthony Trollope--T. A. Trollope's - "Beata"--Acquaintance with Mr. Burton and Mr. W. G. - Clark--George Smith, publisher, suggests a "magnificent - offer"--Depression about "Romola"--Letter to Mrs. Bray asking - for loan of music--Pantomime--First visit to Dorking--Letter - to Madame Bodichon--Impatience of concealment--Anxiety about - war with America--Sympathy with queen--Mr. Lewes begins - "History of Science"--Mrs. Browning's "Casa Guidi - Windows"--Depression--George Smith offers £10,000 for - "Romola" for the _Cornhill_--Idea given up--Visit to - Englefield Green--Working under a weight--Second visit to - Dorking for three weeks--Delight in spring--Accepts £7000 for - "Romola" in _Cornhill_--Regret at leaving Blackwood--Palsy - in writing--Visit to Littlehampton and to Dorking third - time--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Mr. Lewes at Spa--George Eliot - in better spirits--Letter to Miss Hennell--Joachim's - playing--New Literary Club--Reading Poliziano--Suggestion of - Tennyson's "Palace of Art"--Visit from - Browning--Depression--Letter to Madame Bodichon--No negative - propaganda--Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor--"The Messiah" on - Christmas day--Letter to Miss Hennell--St. Paul's - "Charity"--The Poetry of Christianity--The Bible--Adieu to - year 1862--Letter to Miss Hennell--Encouragement about - "Romola"--Literary Club dissolves--Miss Cobbe--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Depression--Fourth visit to Dorking for - fortnight--Letter to Charles Lewes on Thackeray's - Lectures--The effect of writing "Romola"--Letter to Madame - Bodichon--Odiousness of intellectual superciliousness--Letter - to Mrs. Bray--Thinking of the Priory--"Romola" - finished--Inscription--Visit to Isle of - Wight--Ristori--Letter to Miss Hennell--Thornton - Lewes--London amusements--Opera--Reading Mommsen, Liddell's - "Rome," and "Roba di Roma"--Letter from Frederick Maurice - referred to as most generous tribute ever given--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor--Renan's "Vie de Jésus"--Visit to - Worthing--Mrs. Hare--Return to London--Depression--Letter to - R. H. Hutton on "Romola"--The importance of the medium in - which characters move--Letter to Madame Bodichon--Effect of - London on health--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Delight in - autumn--Mommsen's History--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--The - "Discours Préliminaire"--Removal to the Priory--Mr. Owen - Jones decorates the house--Jansa the violinist--Letter to - Mrs. Bray--"Physiology for Schools"--Letter to Madame - Bodichon--Enjoying rest, and music with Jansa--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Renan--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Enjoyment of - Priory--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Mr. Lewes's "Aristotle" - finished--Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor--Compensation--Letter - to Mrs. P. A. Taylor--Effect of sunshine--Death of Mrs. - Hare--"David Gray"--Letter to Miss Hennell--Dislike of - note-writing--Visit to Glasgow--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Joy in Federal successes--Crystal Palace to see - Garibaldi--Mr. Burton's picture of a Legendary Knight in - Armor--Third visit to Italy with Mr. Burton for seven - weeks--Return to London--Charles Lewes's engagement to Miss - Gertrude Hill--Pleasure in Mr. Burton's companionship in - travel--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Present of - mats--Depression--Reading Gibbon--Gieseler--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Reading Max Müller--Reference to the - "Apologia"--Newman--Reading about Spain--Trying a - drama--Letter to Miss Hennell--Harrogate--Development of - Industries--Scarborough--Letters to Mrs. Congreve--Pleasure - in her visit--Letter to Miss Hennell--Learning Spanish--Two - acts of drama written--Sticking in construction of - remainder--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Christmas - greeting--Retrospect of year 1864--Letter to Mrs. Congreve, - first payment to Positivist Fund--Comparison with "small - upper room" 1866 years ago--Mrs. Congreve staying at the - Priory--Poem "My Vegetarian Friend" written--Visit to - Paris--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Visit to Comte's apartment in - Paris--Finished poem on "Utopias"--Letter to Miss Sara - Hennell--Delight in dual solitude--_Fortnightly - Review_--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Charades--Depression--Mr. - Lewes takes away drama--Article for the _Pall Mall_, "A Word - for the Germans"--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Visit to - Wandsworth--Depression--Letter to Mrs. Congreve after - visit--Letter to Mrs. Bray on a young friend's death--Deep - depression--Admiration of Mr. Lewes's good spirits--"Felix - Holt" begun--Article on Lecky's "History of Rationalism" in - _Fortnightly_--Reading Æschylus, "Theatre of the - Greeks"--Klein's "History of the Drama"--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--First number of the _Fortnightly_--Frederic - Harrison's article--Reading Mill, Comte, and - Blackstone--Aristotle's "Poetics"--Dine with Congreves at - Wandsworth--"Faust" at Covent Garden--Sunday - reception--Browning, Huxley, and Bagehot--Letter to Mrs. - Peter Taylor on J. S. Mill--The _Fortnightly Review_--Mr. - Burton's portrait finished--Mazzini subscription--Letter of - adieu to Mrs. Congreve--Expedition to Brittany for - month--Letter to Miss Hennell--"Pretended - comforts"--Recollection of early feelings--Delight in her - friendship--Masson's "Recent Philosophy"--Comte--Goethe on - Spinoza--Reading Fawcett's "Economic Condition of Working - Classes"--Mill's "Liberty"--Strauss's second "Life of - Jesus"--Neale's "History of the Puritans"--Hallam's "Middle - Ages"--Letter to Miss Hennell on Tyndall's article on "The - Constitution of the Universe"--View of Christmas - day--Retrospect of 1865. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[33] Now Sir Frederic Burton, Director of the National Gallery, to -whom we are indebted for the drawing of George Eliot now in the -National Portrait Gallery, South Kensington, and who was a very -intimate and valued friend of Mr. and Mrs. Lewes. - -[34] Mr. W. G. Clark, late Public Orator at Cambridge, well known as a -scholar, and for his edition of Shakspeare in conjunction with Mr. -Aldis Wright. - -[35] Some general remark of Carlyle's--Madame Bodichon cannot remember -exactly what it was. - -[36] I regret that I have not been able to find this letter. - -[37] Auguste Comte's. - -[38] "Physiology for Schools." By Mrs. Bray. - -[39] Mrs. Julius Hare, who gave her Maurice's book on the Lord's -Prayer. - -[40] A story by Mr. Robert Buchanan in the _Cornhill_, Feb. 1864. - -[41] "I always preferred to learn from the man himself what _he_ -thought, rather than to hear from some one else what _he ought to have -thought_." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 5th Jan. 1866.] - -I have had it in my mind to write to you for many days, wanting to -tell you, yet feeling there might be some impertinence in doing so, of -the delight and gratitude I felt in reading your article on -"Industrial Co-operation." Certain points admirably brought out in -that article would, I think, be worth the labor of a life if one could -help in winning them thorough recognition. I don't mean that my -thinking so is of any consequence, but simply that it is of -consequence to me when I find your energetic writing confirm my own -faith. - -It would be fortunate for us if you had nothing better to do than look -in on us on Tuesday evening. Professor Huxley will be with us, and one -or two others whom you know, and your presence would make us all the -brighter. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Jan. 9._--Professors Huxley and Beesley, Mr. Burton, and Mr. Spencer -dined with us. Mr. Harrison in the evening. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 12th Jan. 1866.] - -The ample and clear statement you have sent me with kind promptness -has put me in high spirits--as high spirits as can belong to an -unhopeful author. Your hypothetical case of a settlement suits my -needs surprisingly well. I shall be thankful to let Sugden alone, and -throw myself entirely on your goodness, especially as what I want is -simply a basis of legal possibilities and not any command of details. -I want to be sure that my chords will not offend a critic -accomplished in thorough bass--not at all to present an exercise in -thorough bass. - -I was going to write you a long story, but, on consideration, it seems -to me that I should tax your time less, and arrive more readily at a -resolution of my doubts on various points not yet mentioned to you, if -you could let me speak instead of writing to you. - -On Wednesday afternoons I am always at home; but on any day when I -could be sure of your coming I would set everything aside for the sake -of a consultation so valuable to me. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Jan. 20._--For the last fortnight I have been unusually disabled by -ill-health. I have been consulting Mr. Harrison about the law in my -book, with satisfactory result. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 22d Jan. 1866.] - -I had not any opportunity, or not enough presence of mind, to tell you -yesterday how much I felt your kindness in writing me that last little -note of sympathy. - -In proportion as compliments (always beside the mark) are discouraging -and nauseating, at least to a writer who has any serious aims, genuine -words from one capable of understanding one's conceptions are precious -and strengthening. - -Yet I have no confidence that the book will ever be worthily written. -And now I have something else to ask. It is that if anything strikes -you as untrue in cases where my drama has a bearing on momentous -questions, especially of a public nature, you will do me the great -kindness to tell me of your doubts. - -On a few moral points, which have been made clear to me by my -experience, I feel sufficiently confident--without such confidence I -could not write at all. But in every other direction I am so much in -need of fuller instruction as to be constantly under the sense that I -am more likely to be wrong than right. - -Hitherto I have read my MS. (I mean of my previous books) to Mr. -Lewes, by forty or fifty pages at a time, and he has told me if he -felt an objection to anything. No one else has had any knowledge of my -writings before their publication. (I except, of course, the -publishers.) - -But now that you are good enough to incur the trouble of reading my -MS., I am anxious to get the full benefit of your participation. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 28th Jan. 1866.] - -We arrived here on Tuesday, and have been walking about four hours -each day, and the walks are so various that each time we have turned -out we have found a new one. George is already much the better for the -perfect rest, quiet, and fresh air. Will you give my thanks to Mr. -Congreve for the "Synthèse" which I have brought with me and am -reading? I expect to understand three chapters well enough to get some -edification. - -George had talked of our taking the train to Dover to pay you a -"morning call." He observes that it would have been a "dreadful sell" -if we had done so. Your letter, therefore, was providential--and -without doubt it came from a dear little Providence of mine that sits -in your heart. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 31st Jan. 1866.] - -I have received both your precious letters--the second edition of the -case, and the subsequent note. The story is sufficiently in the track -of ordinary probability; and the careful trouble you have so -generously given to it has enabled me to feel a satisfaction in my -plot which beforehand I had sighed for as unattainable. - -There is still a question or two which I shall want to ask you, but I -am afraid of taxing your time and patience in an unconscionable -manner. So, since we expect to return to town at the end of next week, -I think I will reserve my questions until I have the pleasure and -advantage of an interview with you, in which _pros_ and _cons_ can be -more rapidly determined than by letter. It seems to me that you have -fitted my phenomena with a _rationale_ quite beautifully. If there is -any one who could have done it better, I am sure I know of no man who -_would_. Please to put your help of me among your good deeds for this -year of 1866. - -To-day we have resolute rain, for the first time since we came down. -You don't yet know what it is to be a sickly wretch, dependent on -these skyey influences. But Heine says illness "spiritualizes the -members." It had need do some good in return for one's misery. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th Feb. 1866.] - -Thanks for your kind letter. Alas! we had chiefly bad weather in the -country. George was a little benefited, but only a little. He is too -far "run down" to be wound up in a very short time. We enjoyed our -return to our comfortable house, and, perhaps, that freshness of home -was the chief gain from our absence. - -You see, to counterbalance all the great and good things that life has -given us beyond what our fellows have, we hardly know now what it is -to be free from bodily _malaise_. - -After the notion I have given you of my health you will not wonder if -I say that I don't know when anything of mine will appear. I can never -reckon on myself. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_March 7._--I am reading Mill's "Logic" again. Theocritus still, and -English History and Law. - -_March 17._--To St. James's Hall hearing Joachim, Piatti, and Hallé in -glorious Beethoven music. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 9th April, 1866.] - -Don't think any evil of me for not writing. Just now the days are -short, and art is long to artists with feeble bodies. If people don't -say expressly that they want anything from me, I easily conclude that -they will do better without me, and have a good weight of idleness, -or, rather, bodily fatigue, which puts itself into the scale of -modesty. I torment myself less with fruitless regrets that my -particular life has not been more perfect. The young things are -growing, and to me it is not melancholy but joyous that the world will -be brighter after I am gone than it has been in the brief time of my -existence. You see my pen runs into very old reflections. The fact is, -I have no details to tell that would much interest you. It is true -that I am going to bring out another book, but just _when_ is not -certain. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 10th April, 1866.] - -The happiness in your letter was delightful to me, as you guessed it -would be. See how much better things may turn out for all mankind, -since they mend for single mortals even in this confused state of the -bodies social and politic. - -As soon as we can leave we shall go away, probably to Germany, for six -weeks or so. But that will not be till June. I am finishing a book -which has been growing slowly, like a sickly child, because of my own -ailments; but now I am in the later acts of it I can't move till it is -done. - -You know all the news, public and private--all about the sad cattle -plague, and the reform bill, and who is going to be married and who is -dead--so I need tell you nothing. You will find the English world -extremely like what it was when you left it--conversation more or less -trivial and insincere, literature just now not much better, and -politics worse than either. Bring some sincerity and energy to make a -little draught of pure air in your particular world. I shall expect -you to be a heroine in the best sense, now you are happier after a -time of suffering. See what a talent I have for telling other people -to be good! - -We are getting patriarchal, and think of old age and death as journeys -not far off. All knowledge, all thought, all achievement seems more -precious and enjoyable to me than it ever was before in life. But as -soon as one has found the key of life, "it opes the gates of death." -Youth has not learned the _art_ of living, and we go on bungling till -our experience can only serve us for a very brief space. That is the -"external order" we must submit to. - -I am too busy to write except when I am tired, and don't know very -well what to say, so you must not be surprised if I write in a dreamy -way. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_April 21._--Sent MS. of two volumes to Blackwood. - -_April 25._--Blackwood has written to offer me £5000 for "Felix Holt." -I have been ailing, and uncertain in my strokes, and yesterday got no -further than p. 52 of Vol. III. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th April, 1866.] - -It is a great pleasure to me to be writing to you again, as in the old -days. After your kind letters, I am chiefly anxious that the -publication of "Felix Holt" may be a satisfaction to you from -beginning to end. - -Mr. Lewes writes about other business matters, so I will only say that -I am desirous to have the proofs as soon and as rapidly as will be -practicable. - -They will require correcting with great care, and there are large -spaces in the day when I am unable to write, in which I could be -attending to my proofs. - -I think I ought to tell you that I have consulted a legal friend about -my law, to guard against errors. The friend is a Chancery barrister, -who "ought to know." - -After I had written the first volume, I applied to him, and he has -since read through my MS. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 27th April, 1866.] - -How very good it was of you to write me a letter which is a guarantee -to me of the pleasantest kind that I have made myself understood. - -The tone of the prevalent literature just now is not encouraging to a -writer who at least wishes to be serious and sincere; and, owing to my -want of health, a great deal of this book has been written under so -much depression as to its practical effectiveness that I have -sometimes been ready to give it up. - -Your letter has made me feel, more strongly than any other testimony, -that it would have been a pity if I had listened to the tempter -Despondency. I took a great deal of pains to get a true idea of the -period. My own recollections of it are childish, and of course -disjointed, but they help to illuminate my reading. I went through the -_Times_ of 1832-33 at the British Museum, to be sure of as many -details as I could. It is amazing what strong language was used in -those days, especially about the Church. "Bloated pluralists," -"Stall-fed dignitaries," etc., are the sort of phrases conspicuous. -There is one passage of prophecy which I longed to quote, but I -thought it wiser to abstain. "Now, the beauty of the Reform Bill is -that, under its mature operation, the people must and will become free -agents"--a prophecy which I hope is true, only the maturity of the -operation has not arrived yet. - -Mr. Lewes is well satisfied with the portion of the third volume -already written; and, as I am better in health just now, I hope to go -on with spirit, especially with the help of your cordial sympathy. I -trust you will see, when it comes, that the third volume is the -natural issue prepared for by the first and second. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 27th April, 1866.] - -A thousand thanks for your note. Do not worry yourself so much about -those two questions that you will be forced to hate me. On Tuesday -next we are to go to Dorking for probably a fortnight. I wished you to -read the first hundred pages of my third volume; but I fear now that I -must be content to wait and send you a duplicate proof of a chapter or -two that are likely to make a lawyer shudder by their poetic license. -Please to be in great distress sometime for want of my advice, and -tease me considerably to get it, that I may prove my grateful memory -of these days. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th April, 1866.] - -To-morrow we go--Mr. Lewes's bad health driving us--to Dorking, where -everything will reach me as quickly as in London. - -I am in a horrible fidget about certain points which I want to be sure -of in correcting my proofs. They are chiefly two questions. I wish to -know, - -1. Whether, in Napoleon's war with England, after the breaking-up of -the Treaty of Amiens, the seizure and imprisonment of civilians was -exceptional, or whether it was continued throughout the war? - -2. Whether, in 1833, in the case of transportation to one of the -colonies, when the sentence did not involve hard labor, the sentenced -person might be at large on his arrival in the colony? - -It is possible you may have some one near at hand who will answer -these questions. I am sure you will help me if you can, and will -sympathize in my anxiety not to have even an allusion that involves -practical impossibilities. - -One can never be perfectly accurate, even with one's best effort, but -the effort must be made. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_May 31._--Finished "Felix Holt." - - The manuscript bears the following inscription: - - "From George Eliot to her dear Husband, this thirteenth year - of their united life, in which the deepening sense of her own - imperfectness has the consolation of their deepening love." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 5th June, 1866.] - -My last hope of seeing you before we start has vanished. I find that -the things urged upon me to be done in addition to my own small -matters of preparation will leave me no time to enjoy anything that I -should have chosen if I had been at leisure. Last Thursday only I -finished writing, in a state of nervous excitement that had been -making my head throb and my heart palpitate all the week before. As -soon as I had finished I felt well. You know how we had counted on a -parting sight of you; and I should have particularly liked to see -Emily and witness the good effect of Derbyshire. But send us a word or -two if you can, just to say how you _all three_ are. We start on -Thursday evening for Brussels. Then to Antwerp, the Hague, and -Amsterdam. Out of Holland we are to find our way to Schwalbach. Let -your love go with us, as mine will hover about you and all yours--that -group of three which the word "Wandsworth" always means for us. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 5th June, 1866.] - -I finished writing ("Felix Holt") on the last day of May, after days -and nights of throbbing and palpitation--chiefly, I suppose, from a -nervous excitement which I was not strong enough to support well. As -soon as I had done I felt better, and have been a new creature ever -since, though a little overdone with visits from friends and attention -(_miserabile dictu!_) to petticoats, etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 6th June, 1866.] - -I can't help being a little vexed that the course of things hinders -my having the great delight of seeing you again, during this visit to -town. Now that my mind is quite free, I don't know anything I should -have chosen sooner than to have a long, long quiet day with you. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_June 7._--Set off on our journey to Holland. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 25th June, 1866, from Schwalbach.] - -I wish you could know how idle I feel, how utterly disinclined to -anything but mere self-indulgence; because that knowledge would enable -you to estimate the affection and anxiety which prompt me to write in -spite of disinclination. June is so far gone, that by the time you get -this letter you will surely have some result of the examination to -tell me of; and I can't bear to deprive myself of that news by not -letting you know where we are. "In Paradise," George says; but the -Paradise is in the fields and woods of beech and fir, where we walk in -uninterrupted solitude in spite of the excellent roads and delightful -resting-places, which seem to have been prepared for visitors in -general. The promenade, where the ladies--chiefly Russian and German, -with only a small sprinkling of English and Americans--display their -ornamental petticoats and various hats, is only the outskirt of -Paradise; but we amuse ourselves there for an hour or so in the early -morning and evening, listening to the music and learning the faces of -our neighbors. There is a deficiency of men, children, and dogs, -otherwise the winding walks, the luxuriant trees and grass, and the -abundant seats of the promenade have every charm one can expect at a -German bath. We arrived here last Thursday, after a fortnight spent in -Belgium and Holland; and we still fall to interjections of delight -whenever we walk out--first at the beauty of the place, and next at -our own happiness in not having been frightened away from it by the -predictions of travellers and hotel-keepers, that we should find no -one here--that the Prussians would break up the railways, etc., -etc.--Nassau being one of the majority of small states who are against -Prussia. I fear we are a little in danger of becoming like the Bürger -in "Faust," and making it too much the entertainment of our holiday to -have a - - "Gespräch von Krieg und Kriegsgeschrei - Wenn hinten, weit, in der Türkei, - Die Völker auf einander schlagen." - -Idle people are so eager for newspapers that tell them of other -people's energetic enthusiasm! A few soldiers are quartered here, and -we see them wisely using their leisure to drink at the Brunnen. They -are the only suggestion of war that meets our eyes among these woody -hills. Already we feel great benefit from our quiet journeying and -repose. George is looking remarkably well, and seems to have nothing -the matter with him. You know how magically quick his recoveries seem. -I am too refined to say anything about our excellent quarters and good -meals; but one detail, I know, will touch your sympathy. We dine in -our own room! It would have marred the _Kur_ for me if I had had every -day to undergo a _table d'hôte_ where almost all the guests are -English, presided over by the British chaplain. Please don't suspect -me of being scornful towards my fellow countrymen or women: the fault -is all mine that I am miserably _gênée_ by the glances of strange -eyes. - -We want news from you to complete our satisfaction, and no one can -give it but yourself. Send us as many matter-of-fact details as you -have the patience to write. We shall not be here after the 4th, but at -Schlangenbad. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 3d Aug. 1866.] - -We got home last night, after a rough passage from Ostend. You have -been so continually a recurrent thought to me ever since I had your -letter at Schwalbach, that it is only natural I should write to you as -soon as I am at my old desk again. The news of Mr. Congreve's -examination being over made me feel for several days that something -had happened which caused me unusual lightness of heart. I would not -dwell on the possibility of your having to leave Wandsworth, which, I -know, would cause you many sacrifices. I clung solely to the great, -cheering fact that a load of anxiety had been lifted from Mr. -Congreve's mind. May we not put in a petition for some of his time -now? And will he not come with you and Emily to dine with us next -week, on any day except Wednesday and Friday? The dinner-hour seems -more propitious for talk and enjoyment than lunch-time; but in all -respects choose what will best suit your health and habits--only let -us see you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 4th Aug. 1866.] - -We returned from our health-seeking journey on Thursday evening, and -your letter was the most delightful thing that awaited me at home. Be -sure it will be much read and meditated; and may I not take it as an -earnest that your help, which has already done so much for me, will be -continued? I mean, that you will help me by your thoughts and your -sympathy--not that you will be teased with my proofs. - -I meant to write you a long letter about the æsthetic problem; but Mr. -Lewes, who is still tormented with headachy effects from our rough -passage, comes and asks me to walk to Hampstead with him, so I send -these hasty lines. Come and see us soon. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 4th Aug. 1866.] - -We got home on Thursday evening, and are still feeling some unpleasant -effects from our very rough passage--an inconvenience which we had -waited some days at Ostend to avoid. But the wind took no notice of -us, and went on blowing. - -I was much pleased with the handsome appearance of the three volumes -which were lying ready for me. My hatred of bad paper and bad print, -and my love of their opposites, naturally get stronger as my eyes get -weaker; and certainly that taste could hardly be better gratified than -it is by Messrs. Blackwood & Sons. - -Colonel Hamley's volume is another example of that fact. It lies now -on my revolving desk as one of the books I mean first to read. I am -really grateful to have such a medium of knowledge, and I expect it to -make some pages of history much less dim to me. - -My impression of Colonel Hamley, when we had that pleasant dinner at -Greenwich, and afterwards when he called in Blandford Square, was -quite in keeping with the high opinion you express. Mr. Lewes liked -the article on "Felix" in the Magazine very much. He read it the first -thing yesterday morning, and told me it was written in a nice spirit, -and the extracts judiciously made. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 10th Aug. 1866.] - -I have had a delightful holiday, and find my double self very much the -better for it. We made a great round in our journeying. From Antwerp -to Rotterdam, the Hague, Leyden, Amsterdam, Cologne; then up the Rhine -to Coblentz, and thence to Schwalbach, where we stayed a fortnight. -From Schwalbach to Schlangenbad, where we stayed till we feared the -boats would cease to go to and fro; and, in fact, only left just in -time to get down the Rhine to Bonn by the Dutch steamer. From Bonn, -after two days, we went to Aix; then to dear old Liége, where we had -been together thirteen years before; and, to avoid the King of the -Belgians, ten minutes backwards to the baths of pretty Chaudfontaine, -where we remained three days. Then to Louvain, Ghent, and Bruges; and, -last of all, to Ostend, where we waited for a fine day and calm sea, -until we secured--a very rough passage indeed. - -Ought we not to be a great deal wiser and more efficient personages, -or else to be ashamed of ourselves? Unhappily, this last alternative -is not a compensation for wisdom. - -I thought of you--to mention one occasion among many--when we had the -good fortune, at Antwerp, to see a placard announcing that the company -from the Ober-Ammergau, Bavaria, would represent, that Sunday evening, -the _Lebensgeschichte_ of our Saviour Christ, at the Théatre des -Variétés. I remembered that you had seen the representation with deep -interest--and these actors are doubtless the successors of those you -saw. Of course we went to the theatre. And the Christ was, without -exaggeration, beautiful. All the rest was inferior, and might even -have had a painful approach to the ludicrous; but both the person and -the action of the Jesus were fine enough to overpower all meaner -impressions. Mr. Lewes, who, you know, is keenly alive to everything -"stagey" in physiognomy and gesture, felt what I am saying quite as -much as I did, and was much moved. - -Rotterdam, with the grand approach to it by the broad river; the rich -red brick of the houses; the canals, uniformly planted with trees, and -crowded with the bright brown masts of the Dutch boats--is far finer -than Amsterdam. The color of Amsterdam is ugly; the houses are of a -chocolate color, almost black (an artificial tinge given to the -bricks), and the woodwork on them screams out in ugly patches of -cream-color; the canals have no trees along their sides, and the -boats are infrequent. We looked about for the very Portuguese -synagogue where Spinoza was nearly assassinated as he came from -worship. But it no longer exists. There are no less than three -Portuguese synagogues now--very large and handsome. And in the evening -we went to see the worship there. Not a woman was present, but of -devout men not a few--a curious reversal of what one sees in other -temples. The chanting and the swaying about of the bodies--almost a -wriggling--are not beautiful to the sense; but I fairly cried at -witnessing this faint symbolism of a religion of sublime, far-off -memories. The skulls of St. Ursula's eleven thousand virgins seem a -modern suggestion compared with the Jewish Synagogue. At Schwalbach -and Schlangenbad our life was led chiefly in the beech woods, which we -had all to ourselves, the guests usually confining themselves to the -nearer promenades. The guests, of course, were few in that serious -time; and between war and cholera we felt our position as health--and -pleasure--seekers somewhat contemptible. - -There is no end to what one could say, if one did not feel that long -letters cut pieces not to be spared out of the solid day. - -I think I have earned that you should write me one of those perfect -letters in which you make me see everything you like about yourself -and others. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Aug. 30._--I have taken up the idea of my drama, "The Spanish Gypsy," -again, and am reading on Spanish subjects--Bouterwek, Sismondi, -Depping, Llorante, etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 15th Aug. 1866.] - -I have read several times your letter of the 19th, which I found -awaiting me on my return, and I shall read it many times again. Pray -do not even say, or inwardly suspect, that anything you take the -trouble to write to me will not be valued. On the contrary, please to -imagine as well as you can the experience of a mind morbidly -desponding, of a consciousness tending more and more to consist in -memories of error and imperfection rather than in a strengthening -sense of achievement--and then consider how such a mind must need the -support of sympathy and approval from those who are capable of -understanding its aims. I assure you your letter is an evidence of a -fuller understanding than I have ever had expressed to me before. And -if I needed to give emphasis to this simple statement, I should -suggest to you all the miseries one's obstinate egoism endures from -the fact of being a writer of novels--books which the dullest and -silliest reader thinks himself competent to deliver an opinion on. But -I despise myself for feeling any annoyance at these trivial things. - -That is a tremendously difficult problem which you have laid before -me; and I think you see its difficulties, though they can hardly press -upon you as they do on me, who have gone through again and again the -severe effort of trying to make certain ideas thoroughly incarnate, as -if they had revealed themselves to me first in the flesh and not in -the spirit. I think æsthetic teaching is the highest of all teaching, -because it deals with life in its highest complexity. But if it ceases -to be purely æsthetic--if it lapses anywhere from the picture to the -diagram--it becomes the most offensive of all teaching. Avowed Utopias -are not offensive, because they are understood to have a scientific -and expository character: they do not pretend to work on the emotions, -or couldn't do it if they did pretend. I am sure, from your own -statement, that you see this quite clearly. Well, then, consider the -sort of agonizing labor to an English-fed imagination to make out a -sufficiently real background for the desired picture--to get -breathing, individual forms, and group them in the needful relations, -so that the presentation will lay hold on the emotions as human -experience--will, as you say, "flash" conviction on the world by means -of aroused sympathy. - -I took unspeakable pains in preparing to write "Romola"--neglecting -nothing I could find that would help me to what I may call the "idiom" -of Florence, in the largest sense one could stretch the word to; and -then I was only trying to give _some_ out of the normal relations. I -felt that the necessary idealization could only be attained by adopting -the clothing of the past. And again, it is my way (rather too much so, -perhaps) to urge the human sanctities through tragedy--through pity and -terror, as well as admiration and delight. I only say all this to show -the tenfold arduousness of such a work as the one your problem demands. -On the other hand, my whole soul goes with your desire that it should -be done; and I shall at least keep the great possibility (or -impossibility) perpetually in my mind, as something towards which I -must strive, though it may be that I can do so only in a fragmentary -way. - -At present I am going to take up again a work which I laid down before -writing "Felix." It is--_but, please, let this be a secret between -ourselves_--an attempt at a drama, which I put aside at Mr. Lewes's -request, after writing four acts, precisely because it was in that -stage of creation--or _Werden_--in which the idea of the characters -predominates over the incarnation. Now I read it again, I find it -impossible to abandon it; the conceptions move me deeply, and they -have never been wrought out before. There is not a thought or symbol -that I do not long to use: but the whole requires recasting; and, as I -never recast anything before, I think of the issue very doubtfully. -When one has to work out the dramatic action for one's self, under the -inspiration of an idea, instead of having a grand myth or an Italian -novel ready to one's hand, one feels anything but omnipotent. Not that -I should have done any better if I had had the myth or the novel, for -I am not a good user of opportunities. I think I have the right -_locus_ and historic conditions, but much else is wanting. - -I have not, of course, said half what I meant to say; but I hope -opportunities of exchanging thoughts will not be wanting between us. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 6th Sept. 1866.] - -It is so long since we exchanged letters, that I feel inclined to -break the silence by telling you that I have been reading with much -interest the "Operations of War," which you enriched me with. Also -that I have had a pretty note, in aged handwriting, from Dean Ramsay, -with a present of his "Reminiscences of Scottish Life." I suppose you -know him quite well, but I never heard you mention him. Also--what -will amuse you--that my readers take quite a tender care of my text, -writing to me to tell me of a misprint, or of "one phrase" which they -entreat to have altered, that no blemish may disfigure "Felix." Dr. -Althaus has sent me word of a misprint which I am glad to know of--or, -rather, of a word slipped out in the third volume. "She _saw_ streaks -of light, etc. ... _and_ sounds." It must be corrected when the -opportunity comes. - -We are very well, and I am swimming in Spanish history and literature. -I feel as if I were molesting you with a letter without any good -excuse, but you are not bound to write again until a wet day makes -golf impossible, and creates a dreariness in which even letter-writing -seems like a recreation. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 11th Sept. 1866.] - -I am glad to know that Dean Ramsay is a friend of yours. His sympathy -was worth having, and I at once wrote to thank him. Another -wonderfully lively old man--Sir Henry Holland--came to see me about -two Sundays ago, to bid me good-bye before going on an excursion -to--North America!--and to tell me that he had just been re-reading -"Adam Bede" for the fourth time. "I often read in it, you know, -besides. But this is the fourth time quite through." I, of course, -with the mother's egoism on behalf of the youngest born, was jealous -for "Felix." Is there any possibility of satisfying an author? But one -or two things that George read out to me from an article in -_Macmillan's Magazine_, by Mr. Mozley, did satisfy me. And yet I -sicken again with despondency under the sense that the most carefully -written books lie, both outside and inside people's minds, deep -undermost in a heap of trash. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Sept. 15._--Finished Depping's "Juifs au Moyen Âge." Reading Chaucer, -to study English. Also reading on Acoustics, Musical Instruments, etc. - -_Oct. 15._--Recommenced "The Spanish Gypsy," intending to give it a -new form. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1866.] - -For a wonder I remembered the day of the month, and felt a delightful -confidence that I should have a letter from her who always remembers -such things at the right moment. You will hardly believe in my -imbecility. I can never be quite sure whether your birthday is the -21st or the 23d. I know every one must think the worse of me for this -want of retentiveness that seems a part of affection; and it is only -justice that they should. Nevertheless I am not quite destitute of -lovingness and gratitude, and perhaps the consciousness of my own -defect makes me feel your goodness the more keenly. I shall reckon it -part of the next year's happiness for me if it brings a great deal of -happiness to you. That will depend somewhat--perhaps chiefly--on the -satisfaction you have in giving shape to your ideas. But you say -nothing on that subject. - -We knew about Faraday's preaching, but not of his loss of faculty. I -begin to think of such things as very near to me--I mean, decay of -power and health. But I find age has its fresh elements of -cheerfulness. - -Bless you, dear Sara, for all the kindness of many years, and for the -newest kindness that comes to me this morning. I am very well now, and -able to enjoy my happiness. One has happiness sometimes without being -able to enjoy it. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Nov. 22._--Reading Renan's "Histoire des Langues Sémitiques"--Ticknor's -"Spanish Literature." - -_Dec. 6._--We returned from Tunbridge Wells, where we have been for a -week. I have been reading Cornewall Lewis's "Astronomy of the -Ancients," Ockley's "History of the Saracens," "Astronomical -Geography," and Spanish ballads on Bernardo del Carpio. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 7th Dec. 1866.] - -We have been to Tunbridge Wells for a week, hoping to get plenty of -fresh air, and walking in that sandy, undulating country. But for -three days it rained incessantly. - -No; I don't feel as if my faculties were failing me. On the contrary, -I enjoy all subjects--all study--more than I ever did in my life -before. But that very fact makes me more in need of resignation to the -certain approach of age and death. Science, history, poetry--I don't -know which draws me most, and there is little time left me for any -one of them. I learned Spanish last year but one, and see new vistas -everywhere. That makes me think of time thrown away when I was -young--time that I should be so glad of now. I could enjoy everything, -from arithmetic to antiquarianism, if I had large spaces of life -before me. But instead of that I have a very small space. Unfeigned, -unselfish, cheerful resignation is difficult. But I strive to get it. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Dec. 11._--Ill ever since I came home, so that the days seem to have -made a muddy flood, sweeping away all labor and all growth. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 22d Dec. 1866.] - -Just before we received Dr. Congreve's letter we had changed our -plans. George's increasing weakness and the more and more frequent -intervals in which he became unable to work, made me at last urge him -to give up the idea of "finishing," which often besets us vainly. It -will really be better for the work as well as for himself that he -should let it wait. However, I care about nothing just now except that -he should be doing all he can to get better. So we start next Thursday -for Bordeaux, staying two days in Paris on our way. Madame Mohl writes -us word that she hears from friends of the delicious weather--mild, -sunny weather--to be had now on the French southwestern and -southeastern coast. You will all wish us well on our journey, I know. -But _I_ wish I could carry a happier thought about you than that of -your being an invalid. I shall write to you when we are at Biarritz or -some other place that suits us, and when I have something good to -tell. No; in any case I shall write, because I shall want to hear all -about you. Tell Dr. Congreve we carry the "Politique" with us. Mr. -Lewes gets more and more impressed by it, and also by what he is able -to understand of the "Synthèse." I am writing in the dark. Farewell. -With best love to Emily, and dutiful regards to Dr. Congreve. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1866.] - -_Dec. 27._--Set off in the evening on our journey to the south. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1866, TO DECEMBER, 1866. - - Letters to Frederic Harrison on Industrial - Co-operation--Consults him about law in "Felix Holt"--Asks - his opinion on other questions--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Visit to Tunbridge Wells--Reading Comte's - "Synthèse"--Letter to F. Harrison on "case" for "Felix - Holt"--Letter to Miss Hennell--Joy in the world getting - better--Letter to Madame Bodichon--"Felix Holt" growing like - a sickly child--Want of sincerity in England--Desire for - knowledge increases--Blackwood offers £5000 for "Felix - Holt"--Letters to John Blackwood renewing - correspondence--Thanks for encouragement--Painstaking with - "Felix Holt"--Letter to F. Harrison on legal points--The book - finished--Inscription--Letter of adieu to Mrs. - Congreve--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Excitement of finishing "Felix - Holt"--Journey to Holland and Germany--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve from Schwalbach--Return to the Priory--Letter to F. - Harrison asking for sympathy--Letter to John - Blackwood--Colonel Hamley--Letter to Miss Hennell describing - German trip--Miracle play at Antwerp--Amsterdam - synagogue--Takes up drama "The Spanish Gypsy" again--Reading - on Spanish subjects--Letter to F. Harrison--Need of - sympathy--Æsthetic teaching--Tells him of the proposed - drama--Letters to John Blackwood--Dean Ramsay--Sir Henry - Holland--Article on "Felix Holt" in _Macmillan's - Magazine_--"The Spanish Gypsy" recommenced--Reading Renan's - "Histoire des Langues Sémitiques" and Ticknor's "Spanish - Literature"--Visit to Tunbridge Wells for a week--Reading - Cornewall Lewis's "Astronomy of the Ancients"--Ockley's - "History of the Saracens," and Spanish Ballads--Letter to - Miss Hennell--Enjoyment of study--Depression--Letter of adieu - to Mrs. Congreve--Set off on journey to Spain. - - -END OF VOL. II. - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Obvious typographical errors were repaired. - -Duplicate sidenotes (repeated at the top of continuation pages) were -deleted. - -Latin-1 file: _underscores_ enclose italicized content. - -Sidenote at the bottom of p. 215, and repeated on continuation p. 216, -"Letter to Miss Sara Hennell"--p. 215 sidenote (retained) shows "18th -April," but continuation sidenote on p. 216 (deleted) shows "13th -April." - -Sidenote p. 227, "Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th Aug. -1861"--original reads "1860." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3), by -George Eliot - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE, VOL. 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