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diff --git a/43045-8.txt b/43045-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 609b308..0000000 --- a/43045-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14026 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's George Eliot's Life, Vol. III (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. III (of 3) - as related in her Letters and Journals - -Author: George Eliot - -Editor: J. W. Cross - -Release Date: June 29, 2013 [EBook #43045] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE, VOL. III *** - - - - -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 III 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. III.--SUNSET - - -"OUR FINEST HOPE IS FINEST MEMORY" - - -[Illustration: No. 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.] - - - - - 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 III - - - 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. III. - - - CHAPTER XIV. - JANUARY, 1867, TO DECEMBER, 1867. - - Tour in Spain Page 1 - - - CHAPTER XV. - JANUARY, 1868, TO DECEMBER, 1868. - - "The Spanish Gypsy" 24 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - JANUARY, 1869, TO DECEMBER, 1872. - - Poems--"Middlemarch" 55 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - JANUARY, 1873, TO DECEMBER, 1875. - - "Brewing," "Deronda" 138 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - MARCH, 1876, TO NOVEMBER, 1878. - - "Daniel Deronda"--Illness and Death of Mr. Lewes 197 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - JANUARY, 1879, TO 22D DECEMBER, 1880. - - "Theophrastus Such"--Marriage with Mr. Cross--Death 249 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. III. - - NO. 4 CHEYNE WALK, CHELSEA _Frontispiece._ - - THE HEIGHTS, WITLEY. - From a Sketch by Mrs. Allingham _To face p. 216._ - - - - -GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - - The new year of 1867 opens with the description of the journey - to Spain. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, Jan. 1867, from Bordeaux.] - -We prolonged our stay in Paris in order to see Madame Mohl, who was -very good to us; invited the Scherers and other interesting people to -meet us at dinner on the 29th, and tempted us to stay and breakfast -with her on the 31st, by promising to invite Renan, which she did -successfully, and so procured us a bit of experience that we were glad -to have, over and above the pleasure of seeing a little more of -herself and M. Mohl. I like them both, and wish there were a chance of -knowing them better. We paid for our pleasure by being obliged to walk -in the rain (from the impossibility of getting a carriage) all the way -from the Rue de Rivoli--where a charitable German printer, who had -taken us up in his _fiacre_, was obliged to set us down--to the Hôtel -du Helder, through streets literally jammed with carriages and -omnibuses, carrying people who were doing the severe social duties of -the last day in the year. The rain it raineth every day, with the -exception of yesterday; we can't travel away from it, apparently. But -we start in desperation for Bayonne in half an hour. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 16th Jan. 1867, from Biarritz.] - -Snow on the ground here, too--more, we are told, than has been seen -here for fifteen years before. But it has been obliging enough to -fall in the night, and the sky is glorious this morning, as it was -yesterday. Sunday was the one exception since the 6th, when we arrived -here to a state of weather which has allowed us to be out of doors the -greater part of our daylight. We think it curious that, among the many -persons who have talked to us about Biarritz, the Brownings alone have -ever spoken of its natural beauties; yet these are transcendent. We -agree that the sea never seemed so magnificent to us before, though we -have seen the Atlantic breaking on the rocks at Ilfracombe and on the -great granite walls of the Scilly Isles. In the southern division of -the bay we see the sun set over the Pyrenees; and in the northern we -have two splendid stretches of sand, one with huge fragments of dark -rock scattered about for the waves to leap over, the other an unbroken -level, firm to the feet, where the hindmost line of wave sends up its -spray on the horizon like a suddenly rising cloud. This part of the -bay is worthily called the Chambre de l'Amour; and we have its -beauties all to ourselves, which, alas! in this stage of the world, -one can't help feeling to be an advantage. The few families and -bachelors who are here (chiefly English) scarcely ever come across our -path. The days pass so rapidly, we can hardly believe in their number -when we come to count them. After breakfast we both read the -"Politique"--George one volume and I another--interrupting each other -continually with questions and remarks. That morning study keeps me in -a state of enthusiasm through the day--a moral glow, which is a sort -of _milieu subjectif_ for the sublime sea and sky. Mr. Lewes is -converted to the warmest admiration of the chapter on language in the -third volume, which about three years ago he thought slightly of. I -think the first chapter of the fourth volume is among the finest of -all, and the most finely written. My gratitude increases continually -for the illumination Comte has contributed to my life. But we both of -us study with a sense of having still much to learn and to understand. -About ten or half-past ten we go out for our morning walk; and then, -while we plunge about in the sand or march along the cliff, George -draws out a book and tries my paces in Spanish, demanding a -quick-as-light translation of nouns and phrases. Presently I retort -upon him, and prove that it is easier to ask than to answer. We find -this system of _vivâ-voce_ mutual instruction so successful that we -are disgusted with ourselves for not having used it before through all -our many years of companionship; and we are making projects for giving -new interest to Regent's Park by pursuing all sorts of studies in the -same way there. We seldom come indoors till one o'clock, and we turn -out again at three, often remaining to see the sunset. One other thing -I have been reading here which I must tell you of. It is a series of -three papers by Saveney, in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ of last year, -on "La Physique Moderne," an excellent summary, giving a glimpse of -the great vista opened in that region. I think you would like to read -them when you are strong enough for that sort of exertion. - -We stayed three days in Paris, and passed our time very agreeably. The -first day we dined with Madame Mohl, who had kindly invited Professor -Scherer and his wife, Jules Simon, Lomenie, Lavergne, "and others" to -meet us. That was on the Saturday, and she tempted us to stay the -following Monday by saying she would invite Renan to breakfast with -us. Renan's appearance is something between the Catholic priest and -the dissenting minister. His manners are very amiable, his talk -pleasant, but not distinguished. We are entertaining great projects as -to our further journeying. It will be best for you to address _Poste -Restante_, Barcelona. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 2d Feb. 1867.] - -Are you astonished to see our whereabouts? We left Biarritz for San -Sebastian, where we stayed three days; and both there and all our way -to Barcelona our life has been a succession of delights. We have had -perfect weather, blue skies, and a warm sun. We travelled from San -Sebastian to Saragossa, where we passed two nights; then to Lerida for -one night, and yesterday to Barcelona. You know the scenery from San -Sebastian to Alsasua, through the lower Pyrenees, because it lies on -the way to Burgos and Madrid. At Alsasua we turned off through Navarre -into Aragon, seeing famous Pampeluna, looking as beautiful as it did -ages ago among the grand hills. At Saragossa the scene was thoroughly -changed; all through Aragon, as far as we could see, I should think -the country resembles the highlands of Central Spain. There is the -most striking effect of hills, flanking the plain of Saragossa, I ever -saw. They are of palish clay, washed by the rains into undulating -forms, and some slight herbage upon them makes the shadows of an -exquisite blue. - -These hills accompanied us in the distance all the way through Aragon, -the snowy mountains topping them in the far distance. The land is all -pale brown, the numerous towns and villages just match the land, and -so do the sheepfolds, built of mud or stone. The herbage is all of an -ashy green. Perhaps if I had been in Africa I should say, as you do, -that the country reminded me of Africa; as it is, I think of all I -have read about the East. The men who look on while others work at -Saragossa also seem to belong to the East, with a great striped -blanket wrapped grandly round them, and a kerchief tied about their -hair. But though Aragon was held by the Moors longer than any part of -Northern Spain, the features and skins of the people seem to me to -bear less traces of the mixture there must have been than one would -fairly expect. Saragossa has a grand character still, in spite of the -stucco with which the people have daubed the beautiful small brick of -which the houses are built. Here and there one sees a house left -undesecrated by stucco; and all of them have the fluted tiles and the -broad eaves beautifully ornamented. Again, one side of the old -cathedral still shows the exquisite inlaid work which, in the -_façade_, has been overlaid hideously. Gradually, as we left Aragon -and entered Catalonia, the face of the country changed, and we had -almost every sort of beauty in succession; last of all, between -Monserrat and Barcelona, a perfect garden, with the richest red -soil--blossoms on the plum and cherry trees, aloes thick in the -hedges. At present we are waiting for the Spanish hardships to begin. -Even at Lerida, a place scarcely at all affected by foreign -travellers, we were perfectly comfortable--and such sights! The people -scattered on the brown slopes of rough earth round the fortress--the -women knitting, etc., the men playing at cards, one wonderful, gaudily -dressed group; another of handsome gypsies. We are actually going by -steam-boat to Alicante, and from Alicante to Malaga. Then we mean to -see Granada, Cordova, and Seville. We shall only stay here a few -days--if this weather continues. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 18th Feb. 1867, from Granada.] - -Your kind letter, written on the 5th, reached me here this morning. I -had not heard of the criticism in the _Edinburgh_. Mr. Lewes read the -article, but did not tell me of the reviewer's legal wisdom, thinking -that it would only vex me to no purpose. However, I had felt sure that -something of that sort must have appeared in one review article or -another. I am heartily glad and grateful that you have helped justice -in general, as well as justice to me in particular, by getting the -vindication written for the _Pall Mall_. It was the best possible -measure to adopt. Since we left Barcelona, a fortnight ago, we have -seen no English papers, so that we have been in the dark as to English -news. - -Were you not surprised to hear that we had come so far? The journey -from San Sebastian by Saragossa and Lerida turned out to be so easy -and delightful that we ceased to tremble, and determined to carry out -our project of going by steamer to Alicante and Malaga. You cannot do -better than follow our example; I mean, so far as coming to Spain is -concerned. Believe none of the fictions that bookmakers get printed -about the horrors of Spanish hotels and cookery, or the hardships of -Spanish travel--still less about the rudeness of Spaniards. It is true -that we have not yet endured the long railway journeys through Central -Spain, but wherever we have been hitherto we have found nothing -formidable, even for our rickety bodies. - -We came hither from Malaga in the _berlina (coupé)_ of the diligence, -and have assured ourselves that Mr. Blackburne's description of a -supposed hen-roost, overturned in the Alameda at Malaga, which proved -to be the Granada diligence, is an invention. The vehicle is -comfortable enough, and the road is perfect; and at the end of it we -have found ourselves in one of the loveliest scenes on earth. - -We shall remain here till the 23d, and then go to Cordova first, to -Seville next, and finally to Madrid, making our way homeward from -thence by easy stages. We expect to be in the smoky haze of London -again soon after the middle of March, if not before. - -I wish I could believe that you were all having anything like the -clear skies and warm sun which have cheered our journeying for the -last month. At Alicante we walked among the palm-trees with their -golden fruit hanging in rich clusters, and felt a more delightful -warmth than that of an English summer. Last night we walked out and -saw the towers of the Alhambra, the wide Vega, and the snowy -mountains, by the brilliant moonlight. You see, we are getting a great -deal of pleasure, but we are not working, as you seem charitably to -imagine. We tire ourselves, but only with seeing or going to see -unforgetable things. You will say that we ought to work to better -purpose when we get home. Amen. But just now we read nothing but -Spanish novels--and not much of those. We said good-bye to philosophy -and science when we packed up our trunks at Biarritz. - -Please keep some friendship warm for us, that we may not be too much -chilled by the English weather when we get back. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st Feb. 1867.] - -We are both heartily rejoiced that we came to Spain. It was a great -longing of mine, for, three years ago, I began to interest myself in -Spanish history and literature, and have had a work lying by me, -partly written, the subject of which is connected with Spain. Whether -I shall ever bring it to maturity so as to satisfy myself sufficiently -to print it is a question not settled; but it is a work very near my -heart. We have had perfect weather ever since the 27th of -January--magnificent skies and a summer sun. At Alicante, walking -among the palm-trees, with the bare brown rocks and brown houses in -the background, we fancied ourselves in the tropics; and a gentleman -who travelled with us assured us that the aspect of the country -closely resembled Aden, on the Red Sea. Here, at Granada, of course, -it is much colder, but the sun shines uninterruptedly; and in the -middle of the day, to stand in the sunshine against a wall, reminds me -of my sensations at Florence in the beginning of June. The aspect of -Granada as we first approached it was a slight disappointment to me, -but the beauty of its position can hardly be surpassed. To stand on -one of the towers of the Alhambra and see the sun set behind the dark -mountains of Loja, and send its after-glow on the white summits of the -Sierra Nevada, while the lovely Vega spreads below, ready to yield all -things pleasant to the eye and good for food, is worth a very long, -long journey. We shall start to-morrow evening for Cordova; then we -shall go to Seville, back to Cordova, and on to Madrid. - -During our short stay in Paris we went a little into society, and saw, -among other people who interested us, Professor Scherer, of whom you -know something. He charmed me greatly. He is a Genevese, you know, and -does not talk in ready-made epigrams, like a clever Frenchman, but -with well-chosen, moderate words, intended to express what he really -thinks and feels. He is highly cultivated; and his wife, who was with -him, is an Englishwoman of refined, simple manners. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 10th Mch. 1867, from Biarritz.] - -At Biarritz again, you see, after our long, delightful journey, in -which we have made a great loop all round the east and through the -centre of Spain. Mr. Lewes says he thinks he never enjoyed a journey -so much, and you will see him so changed--so much plumper and -ruddier--that if pity has entered much into your regard for him he -will be in danger of losing something by his bodily prosperity. We -crowned our pleasures in Spain with the sight of the pictures in the -Madrid gallery. The skies were as blue at Madrid as they had been -through the previous part of our journeying, but the air was bitterly -cold; and naughty officials receive money for warming the museum, but -find other uses for the money. I caught a severe cold the last day of -our visit, and, after an uncomfortable day and night's railway -journey, arrived at Biarritz, only fit for bed and coddling. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_March 16._--This evening we got home after a journey to the south of -Spain. I go to my poem and the construction of two prose works--if -possible. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 18th Mch. 1867.] - -We got home on Saturday evening, after as fine a passage from Calais -to Dover as we ever had, even in summer. Your letter was among the -pleasant things that smiled at me on my return, and helped to -reconcile me to the rather rude transition from summer to winter which -we have made in our journey from Biarritz. This morning it is snowing -hard and the wind is roaring--a sufficiently sharp contrast to the hot -sun, the dust, and the mosquitoes of Seville. - -We have had a glorious journey. The skies alone, both night and day, -were worth travelling all the way to see. We went to Cordova and -Seville, but we feared the cold of the central lands in the north, and -resisted the temptation to see Toledo, or anything else than the -Madrid pictures, which are transcendent. - -Among the letters awaiting me was one from an American travelling in -Europe, who gives me the history of a copy of "Felix Holt," which, he -says, has been read by no end of people, and is now on its way through -Ireland, "where he found many friends anxious but unable to get it." -It seems people nowadays economize in nothing but books. I found also -the letter of a "Conveyancer" in the _Pall Mall_, justifying the law -of "Felix Holt" in answer to the _Edinburgh_ reviewer. I did not know, -before I was told of this letter in reply, that the _Edinburgh_ -reviewer had found fault with my law. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_March 21._--Received from Blackwood a check for £2166 13_s._ 4_d._, -being the second instalment of £1666 13_s._ 4_d._ towards the £5000 -for "Felix Holt," together with £500 as the first instalment of £1000 -for ten years' copyright of the cheap edition of my novels. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st Mch. 1867.] - -Your letters, with the valuable enclosure of a check for £2166 13_s._ -4_d._, have come to me this morning, and I am much obliged to you for -your punctual attention. - -I long to see a specimen of the cheap edition of the novels. As to the -illustrations, I have adjusted my hopes so as to save myself from any -great shock. When I remember my own childish happiness in a -frightfully illustrated copy of the "Vicar of Wakefield," I can -believe that illustration may be a great good relatively, and that my -own present liking has no weight in the question. - -I fancy that the placarding at railway stations is an effective -measure, for Ruskin was never more mistaken than in asserting that -people have no spare time to observe anything in such places. I am a -very poor reader of advertisements, but even I am forced to get them -unpleasantly by heart at the stations. - -It is rather a vexatious kind of tribute when people write, as my -American correspondent did, to tell me of one paper-covered American -copy of "Felix Holt" brought to Europe and serving for so many readers -that it was in danger of being worn away under their hands. He, good -man, finds it easy "to urge greater circulation by means of cheap -sale," having "found so many friends in Ireland anxious but unable to -obtain the book." I suppose putting it in a yellow cover with figures -on it, reminding one of the outside of a show, and charging a shilling -for it, is what we are expected to do for the good of mankind. Even -then I fear it would hardly bear the rivalry of "The Pretty Milliner," -or of "The Horrible Secret." - -The work connected with Spain is not a romance. It is--prepare your -fortitude--it is--a poem. I conceived the plot, and wrote nearly the -whole as a drama in 1864. Mr. Lewes advised me to put it by for a time -and take it up again, with a view to recasting it. He thinks hopefully -of it. I need not tell you that I am _not_ hopeful, but I am quite -sure the subject is fine. It is not historic, but has merely historic -connections. The plot was wrought out entirely as an incorporation of -my own ideas. Of course, if it is ever finished to my satisfaction, it -is not a work for us to get money by, but Mr. Lewes urges and insists -that it shall be done. I have also my private projects about an -English novel, but I am afraid of speaking as if I could depend on -myself; at present I am rather dizzy, and not settled down to home -habits of regular occupation. - -I understand that the conveyancer who wrote to the _Pall Mall_ is an -excellent lawyer in his department, and the lecturer on Real Property -at the Law Institution. - -If a reviewer ever checked himself by considering that a writer whom -he thinks worth praising would take some pains to know the truth about -a matter which is the very hinge of said writer's story, review -articles would cut a shrunken figure. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_May 5._--We went to Bouverie Street to hear the first of a course of -lectures on Positivism, delivered by Dr. Congreve. There were present -seventy-five people, chiefly men. - -_May 11._--We had Mr. and Mrs. Call to dine with us, and an evening -party afterwards. - -_May 12._--We went to hear Dr. Congreve's second lecture. The morning -was thoroughly wet; the audience smaller, but still good. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 13th May, 1867.] - -Yesterday we went to the second of a course of lectures which Dr. -Congreve is delivering on Positivism in Bouverie Street. At the first -lecture on the 5th there was a considerable audience--about -seventy-five, chiefly men--of various ranks, from lords and M.P.'s -downwards, or upwards, for what is called social distinction seems to -be in a shifting condition just now. Yesterday the wet weather -doubtless helped to reduce the audience; still it was good. Curiosity -brings some, interest in the subject others, and the rest go with the -wish to express adhesion more or less thorough. - -I am afraid you have ceased to care much about pictures, else I should -wish that you could see the Exhibition of Historical Portraits at -Kensington. It is really worth a little fatigue to see the English of -past generations in their habit as they lived--especially when -Gainsborough and Sir Joshua are the painters. But even Sir Godfrey -Kneller delights me occasionally with a finely conceived portrait -carefully painted. There is an unforgetable portrait of Newton by -him. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_May 27._--Went with G. to the Academy Exhibition. - -_May 29._--Went to the Exhibition of French Pictures--very agreeable -and interesting. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 30th May, 1867.] - -I do sympathize with you most emphatically in the desire to see women -socially elevated--educated equally with men, and secured as far as -possible, along with every other breathing creature, from suffering -the exercise of any unrighteous power. That is a broader ground of -sympathy than agreement as to the amount and kind of result that may -be hoped for from a particular measure. But on this special point I am -far from thinking myself an oracle, and on the whole I am inclined to -hope for much good from the serious presentation of women's claims -before Parliament. I thought Mill's speech sober and judicious from -his point of view--Karslake's an abomination. - -_À propos_ of what you say about Mr. Congreve, I think you have -mistaken his, or rather Comte's, position. There is no denial of an -unknown cause, but only a denial that such a conception is the proper -basis of a practical religion. It seems to me pre-eminently desirable -that we should learn not to make our personal comfort a standard of -truth. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_June 1_ (Saturday).--Wrote up to the moment when Fedalma appears in -the Plaça. - -_June 5._--Blackwood dined with us, and I read to him my poem down to -page 56. He showed great delight. - -_June 26._--We went to Niton for a fortnight, returning July 10. - -_July 16._--Received £2166 13_s._ 4_d._ from Blackwood, being the -final instalment for "Felix Holt," and (£500) copyright for ten -years. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 28th July, 1867.] - -Again we take flight! To North Germany this time, and chiefly to -Dresden, where we shall be accessible through the _Poste Restante_. I -am ashamed of saying anything about our health--we are both "objects" -for compassion or contempt, according to the disposition of the -subject who may contemplate us. - -Mr. Beesley (I think it was he) sent us Dr. Congreve's pamphlet last -night, and I read it aloud to George. We both felt a cordial -satisfaction in it. We have been a good deal beset by little -engagements with friends and acquaintances lately, and these, with the -preparations for our journey, have been rather too much for me. Mr. -Lewes is acting on the advice of Sir Henry Holland in giving up -zoologizing for the present, because it obliges him to hang down his -head. That is the reason we go inland, and not to the coast, as I -think I hinted to you that we expected to do. - -You are sympathetic enough to be glad to hear that we have had -thoroughly cheerful and satisfactory letters from both our boys in -Natal. They are established in their purchased farm, and are very -happy together in their work. Impossible for mortals to have less -trouble than we. I should have written to you earlier this week--for -we start to-morrow--but that I have been laid prostrate with crushing -headache one half of my time, and always going out or seeing some one -the other half. - -Farewell, dear. Don't write unless you have a real desire to gossip -with me a little about yourself and our mutual friends. You know I -always like to have news of you, but I shall not think it unkind--I -shall only think you have other things to do--if you are silent. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_July 29._--We went to Dover this evening as the start on a journey -into Germany (North). - -_Oct. 1._--We returned home after revisiting the scenes of cherished -memories--Ilmenau, Dresden, and Berlin. Of new places we have seen -Wetzlar, Cassel, Eisenach, and Hanover. At Ilmenau I wrote Fedalma's -soliloquy after her scene with Silva, and the following dialogue -between her and Juan. At Dresden I rewrote the whole scene between her -and Zarca. - -_Oct. 9._--Reading "Los Judios en Espâna," Percy's "Reliques," "Isis," -occasionally aloud. - -_Oct. 10._--Reading the "Iliad," Book III. Finished "Los Judios en -Espâna," a wretchedly poor book. - -_Oct. 11._--Began again Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella." - -_Oct. 19._--George returned last evening from a walking expedition in -Surrey with Mr. Spencer. - - This entry is an interesting one to me, as it fixes the date - of the first acquaintance with my family. Mr. Herbert Spencer - was an old friend of ours, and in the course of their walk he - and Mr. Lewes happened to pass through Weybridge, where my - mother at that time lived. They came to dinner. Mr. Lewes, - with his wonderful social powers, charmed all, and they - passed a delightful evening. I was myself in America at the - time, where I was in business as a banker at New York. My - eldest sister had just then published a little volume of - poems,[1] which was kindly received by the press. On the - invitation of Mr. Lewes she went shortly afterwards to see - George Eliot, then in the zenith of her fame; nor did she - ever forget the affectionate manner in which the great author - greeted her. This was the beginning of a close friendship - between the families, which lasted, and increased in - intimacy, to the end. Mr. Spencer, in writing to tell me that - it was he who first made Mr. Lewes acquainted with George - Eliot, adds, "You will perhaps be struck by the curious - coincidence that it was also by me that Lewes was introduced - to your family at Weybridge and remoter issues entailed." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Oct. 1867.] - -Before I got your letter I was about to write to you and direct your -attention to an article in the forthcoming (October) number of the -_Quarterly Review_, on the Talmud. You really must go out of your way -to read it. It is written by one of the greatest Oriental scholars, -the man among living men who probably knows the most about the Talmud; -and you will appreciate the pregnancy of the article. There are also -beautiful, soul-cheering things selected for quotation. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_Oct. 31._--I have now inserted all that I think of for the first part -of the "Spanish Gypsy." On Monday I wrote three new Lyrics. I have -also rewritten the first scenes in the gypsy camp, to the end of the -dialogue between Juan and Fedalma. But I have determined to make the -commencement of the second part continue the picture of what goes -forward in Bedmar. - -_Nov. 1._--Began this morning Part II. "Silva was marching homeward," -etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 9th Nov. 1867.] - -About putting Fedalma in type. There would be advantages, but also -disadvantages; and on these latter I wish to consult you. I have more -than three thousand lines ready in the order I wish them to stand in, -and it would be good to have them in print to read them critically. -Defects reveal themselves more fully in type, and emendations might be -more conveniently made on proofs, since I have given up the idea of -copying the MS. as a whole. On the other hand, _could the thing be -kept private when it had once been in the printing-office_? And I -particularly wish not to have it set afloat, for various reasons. -Among others, I want to keep myself free from all inducements to -premature publication; I mean, publication before I have given my work -as much revision as I can hope to give it while my mind is still -nursing it. Beyond this, delay would be useless. The theory of laying -by poems for nine years may be a fine one, but it could not answer for -me to apply it. I could no more live through one of my books a second -time than I can live through last year again. But I like to keep -checks on myself, and not to create external temptations to do what I -should think foolish in another. If you thought it possible to secure -us against the oozing out of proofs and gossip, the other objections -would be less important. One difficulty is, that in my MS. I have -frequently two readings of the same passage, and, being uncertain -which of them is preferable, I wish them both to stand for future -decision. But perhaps this might be managed in proof. The length of -the poem is at present uncertain, but I feel so strongly what Mr. -Lewes insists on, namely, the evil of making it too long, that I shall -set it before me as a duty not to make it more than nine thousand -lines, and shall be glad if it turns out a little shorter. - -Will you think over the whole question? I am sure your mind will -supply any prudential considerations that I may have omitted. - -I am vexed by the non-success of the serial edition of the works. It -is not, Heaven knows, that I read my own books or am puffed up about -them, but I have been of late quite astonished by the strengthening -testimonies that have happened to come to me of people who care about -every one of my books, and continue to read them--especially young -men, who are just the class I care most to influence. But what sort of -data can one safely go upon with regard to the success of editions? - -"Felix Holt" is immensely tempted by your suggestion,[2] but George -Eliot is severely admonished by his domestic critic not to scatter his -energies. - -Mr. Lewes sends his best regards. He is in high spirits about the -poem. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_Nov. 22._--Began an "Address to the Working Men, by Felix Holt," at -Blackwood's repeated request. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1867.] - -Yes, indeed--when I do _not_ reciprocate "chaos is come again." I was -quite sure your letter would come, and was grateful beforehand. - -There is a scheme on foot for a Woman's College, or, rather, -University, to be built between London and Cambridge, and to be in -connection with the Cambridge University, sharing its professors, -examinations, and degrees! _Si muove._ - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 1st Dec. (?) 1867.] - -I have written to Miss Davies to ask her to come to see me on Tuesday. - -I am much occupied just now, but the better education of women is one -of the objects about which I have _no doubt_, and shall rejoice if -this idea of a college can be carried out. - -I see Miss Julia Smith's beautiful handwriting, and am glad to think -of her as your guardian angel. - -The author of the glorious article on the Talmud _is_ "that bright -little man" Mr. Deutsch--a very dear, delightful creature. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_Dec. 4._--Sent off the MS. of the "Address" to Edinburgh. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 7th Dec. 1867.] - -I agree with you about the phrase "Masters of the country."[3] I wrote -that part twice, and originally I distinctly said that the epithet was -false. Afterwards I left that out, preferring to make a stronger -_argumentum ad hominem_, in case any workman believed himself a future -master. - -I think it will be better for you to write a preliminary note, washing -your hands of any over-trenchant statements on the part of the -well-meaning Radical. I much prefer that you should do so. - -Whatever you agree with will have the advantage of not coming from one -who can be suspected of being a special pleader. - -What you say about Fedalma is very cheering. But I am chiefly anxious -about the road still untravelled--the road I have still _zurück zu -legen_. - -Mr. Lewes has to request several proofs of Fedalma, to facilitate -revision. But I will leave him to say how many. We shall keep them -strictly to ourselves, you may be sure, so that three or four will be -enough--one for him, one for me, and one for the resolution of our -differences. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood 12th Dec. 1867.] - -I am very grateful to you for your generous words about my work. That -you not only feel so much sympathy, but are moved to express it so -fully, is a real help to me. - -I am very glad to have had the revise of the "Address." I feel the -danger of not being understood. Perhaps, by a good deal longer -consideration and gradual shaping, I might have put the ideas into a -more concrete, easy form. - -Mr. Lewes read the proof of the poem all through to himself for the -first time last night, and expressed great satisfaction in the -impression it produced. Your suggestion of having it put into type is -a benefit for which we have reason to be obliged to you. - -I cannot help saying again that it is a strong cordial to me to have -such letters as yours, and to know that I have such a _first reader_ -as you. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_Dec. 21._--Finished reading "Averroës and Averroisme" and "Les -Médicins Juifs." Reading "First Principles." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 22d Dec. 1867.] - -Our Christmas will be very quiet. On the 27th Mr. Lewes means to start -on a solitary journey to Bonn, and perhaps to Würzburg, for anatomical -purposes. I don't mean that he is going to offer himself as an -anatomical subject, but that he wants to get answers to some questions -bearing on the functions of the nerves. It is a bad time for him to -travel in, but he hopes to be at home again in ten days or a -fortnight, and _I_ hope the run will do him good rather than harm. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1867.] - -_Dec. 25._--George and I dined happily alone; he better for weeks than -he has been all the summer before; I more ailing than usual, but with -much mental consolation, part of it being the delight he expresses in -my poem, of which the first part is now in print. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 26th Dec. 1867.] - -Thanks for the pretty remembrance. You were not unthought of before it -came. Now, however, I rouse all my courage under the thick fog to tell -you my inward wish--which is that the new year, as it travels on -towards its old age, may bring you many satisfactions undisturbed by -bodily ailment. - -Mr. Lewes is going to-morrow on an unprecedented expedition--a rapid -run to Bonn, to make some anatomical researches with Professor Schutze -there. If he needs more than he can get at Bonn, he may go to -Heidelberg and Würzburg. But in any case he will not take more than a -fortnight. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 28th Dec. 1867.] - -Public questions which, by a sad process of reduction, become piteous -private questions, hang cloudily over all prospects. The state of -Europe, the threat of a general war, the starvation of multitudes--one -can't help thinking of these things at one's breakfast. Nevertheless, -there is much enjoyment going on, and abundance of rosy children's -parties. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 30th Dec. 1867.] - -It is very good and sweet of you to propose to come round for me on -Sunday, and I shall cherish particularly the remembrance of that -kindness. But, on our reading your letter, Mr. Lewes objected, on -grounds which I think just, to my going to any public manifestation -without him, since his absence could not be divined by outsiders. - -I am companioned by dyspepsia, and feel life a struggle under the -leaden sky. Mme. Bodichon writes that in Sussex the air is cold and -clear, and the woods and lanes dressed in wintry loveliness of fresh, -grassy patches, mingled with the soft grays and browns of the trees -and hedges. Mr. Harrison shed the agreeable light of his kind eyes on -me yesterday for a brief space; but I hope I was more endurable to my -visitors than to myself, else I think they will not come again. I -object strongly to myself, as a bundle of unpleasant sensations with a -palpitating heart and awkward manners. Impossible to imagine the large -charity I have for people who detest me. But don't you be one of them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th Dec. 1867.] - -I am much obliged to you for your handsome check, and still more -gratified that the "Address" has been a satisfaction to you. - -I am very glad to hear of your projected visit to town, and shall -hope to have a good batch of MS. for you to carry back. Mr. Lewes is -in an unprecedented state of delight with the poem, now that he is -reading it with close care. He says he is astonished that he can't -find more faults. He is especially pleased with the sense of variety -it gives; and this testimony is worth the more because he urged me to -put the poem by (in 1865) on the ground of monotony. He is really -exultant about it now, and after what you have said to me I know this -will please you. - -Hearty wishes that the coming year may bring you much good, and that -the "Spanish Gypsy" may contribute a little to that end. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1867, TO DECEMBER, 1867. - - Letter to Madame Bodichon from Bordeaux--Madame - Mohl--Scherer--Renan--Letter to Mrs. Congreve from - Biarritz--Delight in Comte's "Politique"--Gratitude to him - for illumination--Learning Spanish--Papers in the _Revue des - Deux Mondes_, by Saveney--Letter to Madame Bodichon from - Barcelona--Description of - scenery--Pampeluna--Saragossa--Lerida--Letter to F. Harrison - from Granada--The vindication of the _law_ in "Felix - Holt"--Spanish travelling--Letter to John Blackwood from - Granada--Alicante--Granada--Letter to Mrs. Congreve from - Biarritz--Delight of the journey--Madrid pictures--Return to - the Priory--Letter to John Blackwood--"Felix Holt"--Cheap - edition of novels--"Spanish Gypsy"--Dr. Congreve's Lectures - on Positivism--Letter to Miss Hennell--Historical Portraits - at South Kensington--Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor--Women's - claims--Comte's position--Fortnight's Visit to the Isle of - Wight--Letter of adieu to Mrs. Congreve--Two months' visit to - North Germany--Return to England--Reading on Spanish - subjects--Mr. Lewes and Mr. Spencer at - Weybridge--Acquaintance with Mrs. Cross and family--Letter to - Miss Hennell--Deutsch's article on the Talmud--Letter to - Blackwood about putting "Spanish Gypsy" in type--"Address to - Workingmen, by Felix Holt"--Letter to Miss Hennell--Girton - College--Letter to Madame Bodichon--The higher education of - women--Letter to John Blackwood on the "Address"--Christmas - day at the Priory--Letter to Miss Hennell--Visit of Mr. Lewes - to Bonn--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Depression--Letter to John - Blackwood--Mr. Lewes on "Spanish Gypsy." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "An Old Story and Other Poems," by Elizabeth D. Cross. - -[2] "Address to the Working Men." - -[3] In the "Address to the Working Men." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 9th Jan. 1868.] - -There is a good genius presiding over your gifts--they are so -felicitous. You always give me something of which I have felt the want -beforehand, and can use continually. It is eminently so with my pretty -mittens; there was no little appendage I wanted more; and they are -just as warm at the wrist as I could have wished them to be--warming, -too, as a mark of affection at a time when all cheering things are -doubly welcome. - -Mr. Lewes came home last night, and you may imagine that I am glad. -Between the bad weather, bad health, and solitude, I have been so far -unlike the wicked that I have not flourished like the green bay-tree. -To make amends, he--Mr. Lewes, not the wicked--has had a brilliant -time, gained great instruction, and seen some admirable men, who have -received him warmly. - -I go out of doors very little, but I shall open the drawer and look at -my mittens on the days when I don't put them on. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_Jan._--Engaged in writing Part III. of "Spanish Gypsy." - -_Feb. 27._--Returned last evening from a very pleasant visit to -Cambridge.[4] I am still only at p. 5 of Part IV., having had a -wretched month of _malaise_. - -_March 1._--Finished Guillemin on the "Heavens," and the 4th Book of -the "Iliad." I shall now read Grote. - -_March 6._--Reading Lubbock's "Prehistoric Ages." - -_March 8._--Saturday concert. Joachim and Piatti, with Schubert's -Ottett. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 17th Mch. 1868.] - -We go to-morrow morning to Torquay for a month, and I can't bear to go -without saying a word of farewell to you. How sadly little we have -seen each other this winter! It will not be so any more, I hope, will -it? - -We are both much in need of the change, for Mr. Lewes has got rather -out of sorts again lately. When we come back I shall ask you to come -and look at us before the bloom is off. I should like to know how you -all are; but you have been so little inspired for note-writing lately -that I am afraid to ask you to send me a line to the post-office at -Torquay. I really deserve nothing of my friends at present. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Mch. 1868.] - -I don't know whether you have ever seen Torquay. It is pretty, but not -comparable to Ilfracombe; and, like all other easily accessible -sea-places, it is sadly spoiled by wealth and fashion, which leave no -secluded walks, and tattoo all the hills with ugly patterns of roads -and villa gardens. Our selfishness does not adapt itself well to these -on-comings of the millennium. - -I am reading about savages and semi-savages, and think that our -religious oracles would do well to study savage ideas by a method of -comparison with their own. Also, I am studying that semi-savage poem, -the "Iliad." How enviable it is to be a classic. When a verse in the -"Iliad" bears six different meanings, and nobody knows which is the -right, a commentator finds this equivocalness in itself admirable! - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, end of Mch. 1868.] - -Mr. Lewes quite agrees with you, that it is desirable to announce the -poem. His suggestion is, that it should be simply announced as "a -poem" first, and then a little later as "The Spanish Gypsy," in order -to give a new detail for observation in the second announcement. I -chose the title, "The Spanish Gypsy," a long time ago, because it is a -little in the fashion of the elder dramatists, with whom I have -perhaps more cousinship than with recent poets. Fedalma might be -mistaken for an Italian name, which would create a definite -expectation of a mistaken kind, and is, on other grounds, less to my -taste than "The Spanish Gypsy." - -This place is becoming a little London, or London suburb. Everywhere -houses and streets are being built, and Babbacombe will soon be joined -to Torquay. - -I almost envy you the excitement of golf, which helps the fresh air to -exhilarate, and gives variety of exercise. Walking can never be so -good as a game--if one loves the game. But when a friend of Mr. -Lewes's urges him angrily to play rackets for his health, the prospect -seems dreary. - -We are afraid of being entangled in excursion trains, or crowds of -Easter holiday-makers, in Easter week, and may possibly be driven back -next Wednesday. But we are loath to have our stay so curtailed. - -Mr. Lewes sends his kind regards, and pities all of us who are less -interested in ganglionic cells. He is in a state of beatitude about -the poem. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th April, 1868.] - -We find a few retired walks, and are the less discontented because the -weather is perfect. I hope you are sharing the delights of sunshine -and moonlight. There are no waves here, as you know; but under such -skies as we are having, sameness is so beautiful that we find no -fault, and there is a particular hill at Babbacombe of the richest -Spanish red. On the whole, we are glad we came here, having avoided -all trouble in journeying and settling. But we should not come again -without special call, for in a few years all the hills will be parts -of a London suburb. - -How glorious this weather is for the hard workers who are looking -forward to their Easter holiday! But for ourselves, we are rather -afraid of the railway stations in holiday time. Certainly, we are ill -prepared for what Tennyson calls the "To-be," and it is good that we -shall soon pass from this objective existence. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 6th April, 1868.] - -I think Ruskin has not been encouraged about women by his many and -persistent attempts to teach them. He seems to have found them wanting -in real scientific interest--bent on sentimentalizing in everything. - -What I should like to be sure of, as a result of higher education for -women--a result that will come to pass over my grave--is their -recognition of the great amount of social unproductive labor which -needs to be done by women, and which is now either not done at all or -done wretchedly. No good can come to women, more than to any class of -male mortals, while each aims at doing the highest kind of work, which -ought rather to be held in sanctity as what only the few can do well. -I believe, and I want it to be well shown, that a more thorough -education will tend to do away with the odious vulgarity of our -notions about functions and employment, and to propagate the true -gospel, that the deepest disgrace is to insist on doing work for which -we are unfit--to do work of any sort badly. There are many points of -this kind that want being urged, but they do not come well from me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 17th April, 1868.] - -Your letter came just at the right time to greet us. Thanks for that -pretty remembrance. We are glad to be at home again with our home -comforts around us, though we became deeply in love with Torquay in -the daily heightening of spring beauties, and the glory of perpetual -blue skies. The eight hours' journey (one hour more than we paid for) -was rather disturbing; and, I think, Mr. Lewes has got more zoological -experience than health from our month's delight--but a delight it -really has been to us to have perfect quiet with the red hills, the -sunshine, and the sea. - -I shall be absorbed for the next fortnight, so that I cannot allow -myself the sort of pleasure you kindly project for us; and when May -begins, I want you to come and stay a night with us. I shall be ready -by and by for such holiday-making, and you must be good to me. Will -you give Dr. Congreve my thanks for his pamphlet, which I read at -Torquay with great interest? All protests tell, however slowly and -imperceptibly, and a protest against the doctrine that England is to -keep Ireland under all conditions was what I had wished to be made. -But in this matter he will have much more important concurrence than -mine. I am bearing much in mind the great task of the translation. -When it is completed we shall be able and glad to do what we were not -able to do in the case of the "Discours Préliminaire," namely, to take -our share, if we may, in the expenses of publication. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_April 16._--Returned home, bringing Book IV. finished. - -_April 18._--Went with Mr. Pigott to see Holman Hunt's great picture, -Isabella and the Pot of Basil. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st April, 1868.] - -I send you by to-day's post the MS. of Book IV., that it may be at -hand whenever there is opportunity for getting it into print, and -letting me have it in that form for correction. It is desirable to get -as forward as we can, in case of the Americans asking for delay after -their reception of the sheets--if they venture to make any -arrangement. I shall send the MS. of Book V. (the last) as soon as -headache will permit, but that is an uncertain limit. We returned from -Torquay on the 16th, leaving the glorious weather behind us. We were -more in love with the place on a better acquaintance: the weather, and -the spring buds, and the choirs of birds, made it seem more of a -paradise to us every day. - -The poem will be less tragic than I threatened: Mr. Lewes has -prevailed on me to return to my original conception, and give up the -additional development, which I determined on subsequently. The poem -is rather shorter in consequence. Don't you think that my artistic -deference and pliability deserve that it should also be better in -consequence? I now end it as I determined to end it when I first -conceived the story. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_April 25._--Finished the last dialogue between Silva and Fedalma. Mr. -and Mrs. Burne Jones dined with us. - -_April 29._--Finished "The Spanish Gypsy." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 29th Aug. 1868.] - -I send you by to-day's post the conclusion of the poem in MS., and the -eighteen sheets of revise. The last book is brief, but I may truly use -the old epigram--that it would have taken less time to make it longer. -It is a great bore that the name of my heroine is wrongly spelled in -all the earlier sheets. It is a fresh proof of the fallibility of our -impressions as to our own doings, that I would have confidently -affirmed the name to be spelled Fedalma (as it ought to be) in my -manuscript. Yet I suppose I should have affirmed falsely, for the _i_ -occurs in the slips constantly. - -As I shall not see these paged sheets again, will you charitably -assure me that the alterations are safely made? - - Among my wife's papers were four or five pages of MS. headed, - "Notes on the Spanish Gypsy and Tragedy in General." There is - no evidence as to the date at which this fragment was - written, and it seems to have been left unfinished. But there - was evidently some care to preserve it; and as I think she - would not have objected to its presentation, I give it here - exactly as it stands. It completes the history of the poem. - -[Sidenote: Notes on "The Spanish Gypsy."] - -The subject of "The Spanish Gypsy" was originally suggested to me by a -picture which hangs in the Scuola di' San Rocco at Venice, over the -door of the large Sala containing Tintoretto's frescoes. It is an -Annunciation, said to be by Titian. Of course I had seen numerous -pictures of this subject before; and the subject had always attracted -me. But in this my second visit to the Scuola di' San Rocco, this -small picture of Titian's, pointed out to me for the first time, -brought a new train of thought. It occurred to me that here was a -great dramatic motive of the same class as those used by the Greek -dramatists, yet specifically differing from them. A young maiden, -believing herself to be on the eve of the chief event of her -life--marriage--about to share in the ordinary lot of womanhood, full -of young hope, has suddenly announced to her that she is chosen to -fulfil a great destiny, entailing a terribly different experience from -that of ordinary womanhood. She is chosen, not by any momentary -arbitrariness, but as a result of foregoing hereditary conditions: she -obeys. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Here, I thought, is a -subject grander than that of Iphigenia, and it has never been used. I -came home with this in my mind, meaning to give the motive a clothing -in some suitable set of historical and local conditions. My -reflections brought me nothing that would serve me except that moment -in Spanish history when the struggle with the Moors was attaining its -climax, and when there was the gypsy race present under such -conditions as would enable me to get my heroine and the hereditary -claim on her among the gypsies. I required the opposition of race to -give the need for renouncing the expectation of marriage. I could not -use the Jews or the Moors, because the facts of their history were too -conspicuously opposed to the working-out of my catastrophe. Meanwhile -the subject had become more and more pregnant to me. I saw it might be -taken as a symbol of the part which is played in the general human lot -by hereditary conditions in the largest sense, and of the fact that -what we call duty is entirely made up of such conditions; for even in -cases of just antagonism to the narrow view of hereditary claims, the -whole background of the particular struggle is made up of our -inherited nature. Suppose for a moment that our conduct at great -epochs was determined entirely by reflection, without the immediate -intervention of feeling, which supersedes reflection, our -determination as to the right would consist in an adjustment of our -individual needs to the dire necessities of our lot, partly as to our -natural constitution, partly as sharers of life with our -fellow-beings. Tragedy consists in the terrible difficulty of this -adjustment-- - - "The dire strife of poor Humanity's afflicted will, - Struggling in vain with ruthless destiny." - -Looking at individual lots, I seemed to see in each the same story, -wrought out with more or less of tragedy, and I determined the -elements of my drama under the influence of these ideas. - -In order to judge properly of the dramatic structure it must not be -considered first in the light of doctrinal symbolism, but in the light -of a tragedy representing some grand collision in the human lot. And -it must be judged accordingly. A good tragic subject must represent a -possible, sufficiently probable, not a common, action; and to be -really tragic, it must represent irreparable collision between the -individual and the general (in differing degrees of generality). It is -the individual with whom we sympathize, and the general of which we -recognize the irresistible power. The truth of this test will be seen -by applying it to the greatest tragedies. The collision of Greek -tragedy is often that between hereditary, entailed Nemesis and the -peculiar individual lot, awakening our sympathy, of the particular man -or woman whom the Nemesis is shown to grasp with terrific force. -Sometimes, as in the Oresteia, there is the clashing of two -irreconcilable requirements, two duties, as we should say in these -times. The murder of the father must be avenged by the murder of the -mother, which must again be avenged. These two tragic relations of the -individual and general, and of two irreconcilable "oughts," may -be--will be--seen to be almost always combined. The Greeks were not -taking an artificial, entirely erroneous standpoint in their art--a -standpoint which disappeared altogether with their religion and their -art. They had the same essential elements of life presented to them as -we have, and their art symbolized these in grand schematic forms. The -Prometheus represents the ineffectual struggle to redeem the small -and miserable race of man, against the stronger adverse ordinances -that govern the frame of things with a triumphant power. Coming to -modern tragedies, what is it that makes Othello a great tragic -subject? A story simply of a jealous husband is elevated into a most -pathetic tragedy by the hereditary conditions of Othello's lot, which -give him a subjective ground for distrust. Faust, Rigoletto (Le Roi -s'Amuse), Brutus. It might be a reasonable ground of objection against -the whole structure of "The Spanish Gypsy" if it were shown that the -action is outrageously improbable--lying outside all that can be -congruously conceived of human actions. It is _not_ a reasonable -ground of objection that they would have done better to act otherwise, -any more than it is a reasonable objection against the Iphigenia that -Agamemnon would have done better not to sacrifice his daughter. - -As renunciations coming under the same great class, take the -renunciation of marriage, where marriage cannot take place without -entailing misery on the children. - -A tragedy has not to expound why the individual must give way to the -general; it has to show that it is compelled to give way; the tragedy -consisting in the struggle involved, and often in the entirely -calamitous issue in spite of a grand submission. Silva presents the -tragedy of entire rebellion; Fedalma of a grand submission, which is -rendered vain by the effects of Silva's rebellion. Zarca, the struggle -for a great end, rendered vain by the surrounding conditions of life. - -Now, what is the fact about our individual lots? A woman, say, finds -herself on the earth with an inherited organization; she may be lame, -she may inherit a disease, or what is tantamount to a disease; she -may be a negress, or have other marks of race repulsive in the -community where she is born, etc. One may go on for a long while -without reaching the limits of the commonest inherited misfortunes. It -is almost a mockery to say to such human beings, "Seek your own -happiness." The utmost approach to well-being that can be made in such -a case is through large resignation and acceptance of the inevitable, -with as much effort to overcome any disadvantage as good sense will -show to be attended with a likelihood of success. Any one may say, -that is the dictate of mere rational reflection. But calm can, in -hardly any human organism, be attained by rational reflection. -Happily, we are not left to that. Love, pity, constituting sympathy, -and generous joy with regard to the lot of our fellow-men comes -in--has been growing since the beginning--enormously enhanced by wider -vision of results, by an imagination actively interested in the lot of -mankind generally; and these feelings become piety--_i.e._, loving, -willing submission and heroic Promethean effort towards high -possibilities, which may result from our individual life. - -There is really no moral "sanction" but this inward impulse. The will -of God is the same thing as the will of other men, compelling us to -work and avoid what they have seen to be harmful to social existence. -Disjoined from any perceived good, the divine will is simply so much -as we have ascertained of the facts of existence which compel -obedience at our peril. Any other notion comes from the supposition of -arbitrary revelation. - -That favorite view, expressed so often in Clough's poems, of doing -duty in blindness as to the result, is likely to deepen the -substitution of egoistic yearnings for really moral impulses. We -cannot be utterly blind to the results of duty, since that cannot be -duty which is not already judged to be for human good. To say the -contrary is to say that mankind have reached no inductions as to what -is for their good or evil. - -The art which leaves the soul in despair is laming to the soul, and is -denounced by the healthy sentiment of an active community. The -consolatory elements in "The Spanish Gypsy" are derived from two -convictions or sentiments which so conspicuously pervade it that they -may be said to be its very warp, on which the whole action is woven. -These are: (1) The importance of individual deeds. (2) The -all-sufficiency of the soul's passions in determining sympathetic -action. - -In Silva is presented the claim of fidelity to social pledges. In -Fedalma the claim constituted by an hereditary lot less consciously -shared. - -With regard to the supremacy of love: if it were a fact without -exception that man or woman never did renounce the joys of love, there -could never have sprung up a notion that such renunciation could -present itself as a duty. If no parents had ever cared for their -children, how could parental affection have been reckoned among the -elements of life? But what are the facts in relation to this matter? -Will any one say that faithfulness to the marriage tie has never been -regarded as a duty, in spite of the presence of the profoundest -passion experienced after marriage? Is Guinivere's conduct the type of -duty? - - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 7th May, 1868.] - -Yes, I am at rest now--only a few pages of revise to look at more. My -chief excitement and pleasure in the work are over: for when I have -once written anything, and it is gone out of my power, I think of it -as little as possible. Next to the doing of the thing, of course, Mr. -Lewes's delight in it is the cream of all sympathy, though I care -enough about the sympathy of others to be very grateful for any they -give me. Don't you imagine how the people who consider writing simply -as a money-getting profession will despise me for choosing a work by -which I could only get hundreds, where for a novel I could get -thousands? I cannot help asking you to admire what my husband is, -compared with many possible husbands--I mean, in urging me to produce -a poem rather than anything in a worldly sense more profitable. I -expect a good deal of disgust to be felt towards me in many quarters -for doing what was not looked for from me, and becoming unreadable to -many who have hitherto found me readable and debatable. Religion and -novels every ignorant person feels competent to give an opinion upon, -but _en fait de poésie_, a large number of them "only read -Shakespeare." But enough of that. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 25th May, 1868.] - -Before we set off to Germany I want to tell you that a copy of "The -Spanish Gypsy" will be sent to you. If there had been time before our -going away I should have written on the fly-leaf that it was offered -by the author "in grateful remembrance." For I especially desire that -you should understand my reasons for asking you to accept the book to -be retrospective and not prospective. - -And I am going out of reach of all letters, so that you are free from -any need to write to me, and may let the book lie till you like to -open it. - -I give away my books only by exception, and in venturing to make you -an exceptional person in this matter, I am urged by the strong wish -to express my value for the help and sympathy you gave me two years -ago. - - The manuscript of "The Spanish Gypsy" bears the following - inscription: - - "To my dear--every day dearer--Husband." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 26th (?) May, 1868.] - -Yes, indeed, I not only remember your letter, but have always kept it -at hand, and have read it many times. Within these latter months I -have seemed to see in the distance a possible poem shaped on your -idea. But it would be better for you to encourage the growth towards -realization in your own mind, rather than trust to transplantation. - -My own faint conception is that of a frankly Utopian construction, -freeing the poet from all local embarrassments. Great epics have -always been more or less of this character--only the construction has -been of the past, not of the future. - -Write to me _Poste Restante_, Baden-Baden, within the next fortnight. -My head will have got clearer then. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_May 26._--We set out this evening on our journey to Baden, spending -the night at Dover. Our route was by Tournay, Liége, Bonn, and -Frankfort, to Baden, where we stayed nine days; then to Petersthal, -where we stayed three weeks; then to Freiburg, St. Märgen, Basle, -Thun, and Interlaken. From Interlaken we came by Fribourg, Neuchâtel, -Dijon, to Paris and Folkestone. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 7th July, 1868.] - -We got your letter yesterday here among the peaceful mountain-tops. -After ascending gradually (in a carriage) for nearly four hours, we -found ourselves in a region of grass, corn, and pine woods, so -beautifully varied that we seem to be walking in a great park laid -out for our special delight. The monks, as usual, found out the -friendly solitude, and this place of St. Märgen was originally nothing -but an Augustinian monastery. About three miles off is another place -of like origin, called St. Peter's, formerly a Benedictine monastery, -and still used as a place of preparation for the Catholic priesthood. -The monks have all vanished, but the people are devout Catholics. At -every half-mile by the roadside is a carefully kept crucifix; and last -night, as we were having our supper in the common room of the inn, we -suddenly heard sounds that seemed to me like those of an accordion. -"Is that a zittern?" said Mr. Lewes to the German lady by his side. -"No--it is prayer." The servants, by themselves--the host and hostess -were in the same room with us--were saying their evening prayers, -men's and women's voices blending in unusually correct harmony. The -same loud prayer is heard at morning, noon, and evening, from the -shepherds and workers in the fields. We suppose that the believers in -Mr. Home and in Madame Rachel would pronounce these people "grossly -superstitious." The land is cultivated by rich peasant proprietors, -and the people here, as in Petersthal, look healthy and contented. -This really adds to one's pleasure in seeing natural beauties. In -North Germany, at Ilmenau, we were constantly pained by meeting -peasants who looked underfed and miserable. Unhappily, the weather is -too cold and damp, and our accommodations are too scanty, under such -circumstances, for us to remain here and enjoy the endless walks and -the sunsets that would make up for other negatives in fine, warm -weather. We return to Freiburg to-morrow, and from thence we shall go -on by easy stages through Switzerland, by Thun and Vevay to Geneva, -where I want to see my old friends once more. - -We shall be so constantly on the move that it might be a vain trouble -on your part to shoot another letter after such flying birds. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_July 23._--Arrived at home (from Baden journey). - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th July, 1868.] - -We got home last night--sooner than we expected, because we gave up -the round by Geneva, as too long and exciting. I dare say the three -weeks since we heard from you seem very short to you, passed amid your -usual occupations. To us they seem long, for we have been constantly -changing our scene. Our two months have been spent delightfully in -seeing fresh natural beauties, and with the occasional cheering -influence of kind people. But I think we were hardly ever, except in -Spain, so long ignorant of home sayings and doings, for we have been -chiefly in regions innocent even of _Galignani_. The weather with us -has never been oppressively hot; and storms or quiet rains have been -frequent. But our bit of burned-up lawn is significant of the dryness -here. I believe I did not thank you for the offer of "Kinglake," which -we gratefully accept. And will you kindly order a copy of the poem to -be sent to Gerald Massey, Hemel-Hempstead. - -A friendly gentleman at Belfast sends me a list of emendations for -some of my verses, which are very characteristic and amusing. - -I hope you have kept well through the heat. We are come back in great -force, for such feeble wretches. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th July, 1868.] - -As to the reviews, we expected them to be written by omniscient -personages, but we did _not_ expect so bad a review as that Mr. Lewes -found in the _Pall Mall_. I have read no notice except that in the -_Spectator_, which was modest in tone. A very silly gentleman, Mr. -Lewes says, undertakes to admonish me in the _Westminster_; and he -thinks the best _literary_ notice of the poem that has come before him -is in the _Athenæum_. After all, I think there would have been good -reason to doubt that the poem had either novelty or any other -considerable intrinsic reason to justify its being written, if the -periodicals had cried out "Hosanna!" I am sure you appreciate all the -conditions better than I can, after your long experience of the -relations between authors and critics. I am serene, because I only -expected the unfavorable. To-day the heat is so great that it is -hardly possible even to read a book that requires any thought. London -is a bad exchange for the mountains. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th July, 1868.] - -I enclose a list of corrections for the reprint. I am indebted to my -friendly correspondent from Belfast for pointing out several -oversights, which I am ashamed of, after all the proof-reading. But, -among the well-established truths of which I never doubt, the -fallibility of my own brain stands first. - -I suppose Mudie and the other librarians will not part with their -copies of the poems quite as soon as they would part with their more -abundant copies of a novel. And this supposition, if warranted, would -be an encouragement to reprint another moderate edition at the same -price. Perhaps, before a cheaper edition is prepared, I may add to the -corrections, but at present my mind resists strongly the effort to go -back on its old work. - -I think I never mentioned to you that the occasional use of irregular -verses, and especially verses of twelve syllables, has been a -principle with me, and is found in all the finest writers of blank -verse. I mention it now because, as you have a certain _solidarité_ -with my poetical doings, I would not have your soul vexed by the -detective wisdom of critics. Do you happen to remember that saying of -Balzac's, "When I want the world to praise my novels I write a drama; -when I want them to praise my drama I write a novel"? - -On the whole, however, I should think I have more to be grateful for -than to grumble at. Mr. Lewes read me out last night some very -generous passages from the _St. Paul's Magazine_. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_August._--Reading 1st book of Lucretius, 6th book of the "Iliad," -"Samson Agonistes," Warton's "History of English Poetry," Grote, 2d -volume, "Marcus Aurelius," "Vita Nuova," vol. iv. chap. i. of the -"Politique Positive," Guest on "English Rhythms," Maurice's "Lectures -on Casuistry." - -_Sept. 19._--We returned from a visit to Yorkshire. On Monday we went -to Leeds, and were received by Dr. Clifford Allbut, with whom we -stayed till the middle of the day on Wednesday. Then we went by train -to Ilkley, and from thence took a carriage to Bolton. The weather had -been gray for two days, but on this evening the sun shone out, and we -had a delightful stroll before dinner, getting our first view of the -Priory. On Thursday we spent the whole day in rambling through the -woods to Barden Tower and back. Our comfortable little inn was the Red -Lion, and we were tempted to lengthen our stay. But on Friday morning -the sky was threatening, so we started for Newark, which we had -visited in old days on our expedition to Gainsborough. At Newark we -found our old inn, the Ram, opposite the ruins of the castle, and then -we went for a stroll along the banks of the Trent, seeing some -charming, quiet landscapes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 20th Sept. 1868.] - -This note comes to greet you on your return home, but it cannot greet -you so sweetly as your letter did me on our arrival from Leeds last -night. I think it gave me a deeper pleasure than any I have had for a -long while. I am very grateful to you for it. - -We went to Leeds on Monday, and stayed two days with Dr. Allbut. Dr. -Bridges dined with us one day, and we had a great deal of delightful -chat. But I will tell you everything when we see you. Let that be -soon--will you not? We shall be glad of any arrangement that will give -us the pleasure of seeing you, Dr. Congreve, and Emily, either -separately or all together. Please forgive me if I seem very fussy -about your all coming. I want you to understand that we shall feel it -the greatest kindness in you if you will all choose to come, and also -choose _how_ to come--either to lunch or dinner, and either apart or -together. I hope to find that you are much the better for your -journey--better both in body and soul. One has immense need of -encouragement, but it seems to come more easily from the dead than -from the living. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th Sept. 1868.] - -Your letter gave an additional gusto to my tea and toast this morning. -The greater confidence of the trade in subscribing for the second -edition is, on several grounds, a satisfactory indication; but, as you -observe, we shall be still better pleased to know that the copies are -not slumbering on the counters, but having an active life in the hands -of readers. - -I am now going carefully through the poem for the sake of correction. -I have read it through once, and have at present found some ten or -twelve _small_ alterations to be added to those already made. But I -shall go through it again more than once, for I wish to be able to put -"revised" to the third edition, and to leave nothing that my -conscience is not ready to swear by. I think it will be desirable for -me to see proofs. It is possible, in many closely consecutive -readings, not to see errors which strike one immediately on taking up -the pages after a good long interval. - -We are feeling much obliged for a copy of "Kinglake," which I am -reading aloud to Mr. Lewes as a part of our evening's entertainment -and edification, beginning again from the beginning. - -This week we have had perfect autumnal days, though last week, when we -were in Yorkshire, we also thought that the time of outside chills and -inside fires was beginning. - -We do not often see a place which is a good foil for London, but -certainly Leeds is in a lower circle of the great town--_Inferno_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 25th Sept. 1868.] - -I can imagine how delicious your country home has been under the -glorious skies we have been having--glorious even in London. Yesterday -we had Dr. and Mrs. Congreve, and went with them to the Zoological -Gardens, and on our return, about 5 o'clock, I could not help pausing -and exclaiming at the exquisite beauty of the light on Regent's Park, -exalting it into something that the young Turner would have wanted to -paint. - -We went to Leeds last week--saw your favorite, David Cox, and thought -of you the while. Certainly there was nothing finer there in landscape -than that Welsh funeral. Among the figure-painters, Watts and old -Philip are supreme. - -We went on from Leeds to Bolton, and spent a day in wandering through -the grand woods on the banks of the Wharfe. Altogether, our visit to -Yorkshire was extremely agreeable. Our host, Dr. Allbut, is a good, -clever, graceful man, enough to enable one to be cheerful under the -horrible smoke of ugly Leeds; and the fine hospital, which, he says, -is admirably fitted for its purpose, is another mitigation. You would -like to see the tasteful, subdued ornamentation in the rooms which are -to be sick wards. Each physician is accumulating ornamental objects -for his own ward--chromo-lithographs, etc.--such as will soothe sick -eyes. - -It was quite cold in that northerly region. Your picture keeps a -memory of sunshine on my wall even on this dark morning. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st Oct. 1868.] - -I have gone through the poem twice for the sake of revision, and have -a crop of small corrections--only in one case extending to the -insertion of a new line. But I wish to see the proof-sheets, so that -"Revised by the Author" may be put in the advertisement and on the -title-page. - -Unhappily, my health has been unusually bad since we returned from -abroad, so that the time has been a good deal wasted on the endurance -of _malaise_; but I am brooding over many things, and hope that coming -months will not be barren. As to the criticisms, I suppose that better -poets than I have gone through worse receptions. In spite of my reason -and of my low expectations, I am too susceptible to all discouragement -not to have been depressingly affected by some few things in the shape -of criticism which I have been obliged to know. Yet I am ashamed of -caring about anything that cannot be taken as strict evidence against -the value of my book. So far as I have been able to understand, there -is a striking disagreement among the reviewers as to what is best and -what is worst; and the weight of agreement, even on the latter point, -is considerably diminished by the reflection that three different -reviews may be three different phases of the same gentleman, taking -the opportunity of earning as many guineas as he can by making easy -remarks on George Eliot. But, as dear Scott's characters say, "Let -that fly stick in the wa'--when the dirt's dry, it'll rub out." I -shall look at "Doubles and Quits," as you recommend. I read the two -first numbers of "Madame Amelia," and thought them promising. - -I sympathize with your melancholy at the prospect of quitting the -country; though, compared with London, beautiful Edinburgh is country. -Perhaps some good, thick mists will come to reconcile you with the -migration. - -We have been using the fine autumn days for flights into Kent between -Sundays. The rich woods about Sevenoaks and Chislehurst are a delight -to the eyes, and the stillness is a rest to every nerve. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_Oct. 22._--Received a letter from Blackwood, saying that "The Spanish -Gypsy" must soon go into a third edition. I sent my corrections for -it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 27th Oct. 1868.] - -At last I have spirit enough in me to thank you for your valuable -gift, which Emily kindly brought me in her hand. I am grateful for -it--not only because the medallion[5] is a possession which I shall -always hold precious, but also because you thought of me among those -whom you would choose to be its owners. - -I hope you are able to enjoy some walking in these sunshiny mornings. -We had a long drive round by Hendon and Finchley yesterday morning, -and drank so much clear air and joy from the sight of trees and fields -that I am quite a new-old creature. - -I think you will not be sorry to hear that the "Spanish Gypsy" is so -nearly out of print again that the publishers are preparing a new, -cheaper edition. The second edition was all bought up (subscribed -for) by the booksellers the first day. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 30th Oct. 1868.] - -Your pretty letter is irresistible. May we then be with you on Tuesday -somewhere about twelve, and return home on Wednesday by afternoon -daylight? If the weather should be very cold or wet on Tuesday we must -renounce or defer our pleasure, because we are both too rickety to run -the risk of taking cold. So you see we are very much in need of such -sweet friendliness as yours gives us faith in, to keep us cheerful -under the burden of the flesh. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_Nov. 3._--Went to dine and sleep at the Congreves, at Wandsworth. - -_Nov. 4._--We set off for Sheffield, where we went over a great iron -and steel factory under the guidance of Mr. Benzon. On Saturday, the -7th, we went to Matlock and stayed till Tuesday. I recognized the -objects which I had seen with my father nearly thirty years -before--the turn of the road at Cromford, the Arkwrights' house, and -the cottages with the stone floors chalked in patterns. The landscape -was still rich with autumn leaves. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, Thursday evening, 12th Nov. 1868.] - -We got home last night after delicious days spent at Matlock. I was so -renovated that my head was clearer, and I was more unconscious of my -body than at the best of times for many months. But it seemed suddenly -colder when we were in London, and old uneasy sensations are -revisiting us both to-day. - -I wonder whether you will soon want to come to town, and will send me -word that you will come and take shelter with us for the night? The -bed is no softer and no broader; but will you not be tempted by a new -carpet and a new bit of matting for your bath?--perhaps there will -even be a new fender? If you want to shop, I will take you in the -brougham. - -I think you will be just able to make out this note, written by a -sudden impulse on my knee over the fire. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 16th Nov. 1868.] - -No oracle would dare to predict what will be our next migration. Don't -be surprised if we go to the borders of the White Sea, to escape the -fitful fast and loose, hot and cold, of the London climate. - -We enjoyed our journey to the north. It was a great experience to me -to see the stupendous iron-works at Sheffield; and then, for a -variety, we went to the quiet and beauty of Matlock, and I recognized -all the spots I had carried in my memory for more than five-and-twenty -years. I drove through that region with my father when I was a young -grig--not very full of hope about my woman's future. I am one of those -perhaps exceptional people whose early, childish dreams were much less -happy than the real outcome of life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Nov. 1868.] - -I think your birthday comes after mine; but I am determined to write -beforehand to prove to you that I bear you in my thoughts without any -external reminder. - -I suppose we are both getting too old to care about being wished -_many_ happy returns of the day. We shall be content to wish each -other as many more years as can carry with them some joy and calm -satisfaction in the sense of living. But there is one definite -prospect for you which I may fairly hope for, as I do most -tenderly--the prospect that this time next year you will be looking -back on your achieved work as a good seed-sowing. Some sadness there -must always be in saying good-bye to a work which is done with love; -but there may--I trust there _will_--be a compensating good in feeling -that the thing you yearned to do is gone safely out of reach of -casualties that might have cut it short. - -We have been to Sheffield at the seducing invitation of a friend, who -showed us the miraculous iron-works there; and afterwards we turned -aside to beautiful Matlock, where I found again the spots, the turns -of road, the rows of stone cottages, the rushing river Derwent, and -the Arkwright mills--among which I drove with my father when I was in -my teens. We had glorious weather, and I was quite regenerated by the -bracing air. Our friend Mr. Spencer is growing younger with the years. -He really looks brighter and more enjoying than he ever did before, -since he was in the really young, happy time of fresh discussion and -inquiry. His is a friendship which wears well, because of his -truthfulness. He always asks with sympathetic interest how you are -going on. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_Nov. 22._--The return of this St. Cecilia's Day finds me in better -health than has been usual with me in these last six months. But I am -not yet engaged in any work that makes a higher life for me--a life -that is young and grows, though in my other life I am getting old and -decaying. It is a day for resolves and determinations. I am meditating -the subject of Timoleon. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 30th Nov. 1868.] - -I like to think of you painting the physiological charts, although -they tire your eyes a little; for you must be sure that the good of -such work is of a kind that goes deep into young lives. "Fearfully and -wonderfully made" are words quite unshaken by any theory as to the -making; and I think a great awe in the contemplation of man's delicate -structure, freighted with terrible destinies, is one of the most -important parts of education. A much-writing acquaintance of ours one -day expressed his alarm for "the masses" at the departure of a -religion which had _terror_ in it. Surely terror is provided for -sufficiently in this life of ours--if only the dread could be directed -towards the really dreadful. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 12th Dec. 1868.] - -We have been having a little company, and are rejoicing to think that -our duties of this sort are done for the present. We like our studies -and our dual solitude too well to feel company desirable more than one -day a-week. I wish our affection may be with you as some little -cheering influence through the dark months. We hardly estimate enough -the difference of feeling that would come to us if we did not imagine -friendly souls scattered here and there in places that make the chief -part of the world so far as we have known it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 16th Dec. 1868.] - -Tell Dr. Congreve that the "mass of positivism," in the shape of "The -Spanish Gypsy," is so rapidly finding acceptance with the public that -the second edition, being all sold, the third, just published, has -already been demanded to above 700. Do not think that I am becoming an -egotistical author. The news concerns the doctrine, not the writer. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Brays, 19th Dec. 1868.] - -I am moved to congratulate you on writing against the ballot with such -admirably good sense--having just read your "slip" at the -breakfast-table. It has been a source of amazement to me that men -acquainted with practical life can believe in the suppression of -bribery by the ballot, as if bribery in all its Protean forms could -ever disappear by means of a single external arrangement. They might -as well say that our female vanity would disappear at an order that -women should wear felt hats and cloth dresses. It seems to me that you -have put the main unanswerable arguments against the ballot with -vigorous brevity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 29th Dec. 1868.] - -Thanks for letting me know about the meeting. I shall not be able to -join it bodily, but I am glad always to have the possibility of being -with you in thought. I have a twofold sympathy on the occasion, for I -cannot help entering specially into your own wifely anxieties, and I -shall be glad to be assured that Dr. Congreve has borne the excitement -without being afterwards conscious of an excessive strain. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1868.] - -_Dec. 30._--I make to-day the last record that I shall enter of the -old year 1868. It has been as rich in blessings as any preceding year -of our double life, and I enjoy a more and more even cheerfulness and -continually increasing power of dwelling on the good that is given to -me and dismissing the thought of small evils. The chief event of the -year to us has been the publication and friendly reception by the -public of "The Spanish Gypsy." The greatest happiness (after our -growing love) which has sprung and flowed onward during the latter -part of the year is George's interest in his psychological inquiries. -I have, perhaps, gained a little higher ground and firmer footing in -some studies, notwithstanding the yearly loss of retentive power. We -have made some new friendships that cheer us with the sense of new -admiration of actual living beings whom we know in the flesh, and who -are kindly disposed towards us. And we have had no real trouble. I -wish we were not in a minority of our fellow-men! I desire no added -blessing for the coming year but this--that I may do some good, -lasting work, and make both my outward and inward habits less -imperfect--that is, more directly tending to the best uses of life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 31st Dec. 1868.] - -Many thanks for the check, which I received yesterday afternoon. Mr. -Lewes is eminently satisfied with the sales; and, indeed, it does -appear from authoritative testimony that the number sold is unusually -large even for what is called a successful poem. - -The cheap edition of the novels is so exceptionally attractive in -print, paper, and binding, for 3_s._ 6_d._, that I cannot help -fretting a little at its not getting a more rapid sale. The fact -rather puzzles me, too, in presence of the various proofs that the -books really are liked. I suppose there is some mystery of reduced -prices accounting for the abundant presentation of certain works and -series on the bookstalls at the railways, and the absence of others, -else surely those pretty volumes would have a good chance of being -bought by the travellers whose taste shrinks from the diabolical -red-and-yellow-pictured series. I am sure you must often be in a state -of wonderment as to how the business of the world gets done so as not -to ruin two thirds of the people concerned in it; for, judging from -the silly propositions and requests sometimes made to me by -bald-headed, experienced men, there must be a very thin allowance of -wisdom to the majority of their transactions. - -Mr. Lewes is attracted by the biographical studies of George the -Second's time; but last night, after he had done reading about -Berkeley, I heard him laughing over "Doubles and Quits." It is -agreeable to think that I have that bit of cheerful reading in store. - -Our first snow fell yesterday, and melted immediately. This morning -the sun is warm on me as I write. The doctors say that the season has -been horribly unhealthy, and that they have been afraid to perform -some operations from the low state of vitality in the patients, due to -the atmospheric conditions. This looks like very wise writing, and -worthy of Molière's "Médecin." - -Mr. Lewes joins me in sincere good wishes to Mr. William Blackwood, as -well as yourself, for the coming year--wishes for general happiness. -The chief, particular wish would be that we should all in common look -back next Christmas on something achieved in which we share each -other's satisfaction. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Hon. Robert Lytton (now Lord Lytton). No date. -Probably in 1868.] - -I am much obliged to you for mentioning, in your letter to Mr. Lewes, -the two cases of inaccuracy (I fear there may be more) which you -remembered in the "Spanish Gypsy." How I came to write Zincálo instead -of Zíncalo is an instance which may be added to many sadder examples -of that mental infirmity which makes our senses of little use to us in -the presence of a strong prepossession. As soon as I had conceived my -story with its gypsy element, I tried to learn all I could about the -names by which the gypsies called themselves, feeling that I should -occasionally need a musical name, remote from the vulgar English -associations which cling to "gypsy." I rejected Gitana, because I -found that the gypsies themselves held the name to be opprobrious; and -Zíncalo--which, with a fine capacity for being wrong, I at once got -into my head as Zincálo--seemed to be, both in sound and meaning, just -what I wanted. Among the books from which I made notes was "Pott, die -Zigeuner," etc.; and in these notes I find that I have copied the sign -of the tonic accent in Romanó, while in the very same sentence I have -not copied it in Zíncalo, though a renewed reference to Pott shows it -in the one word as well as the other. But "my eyes were held"--by a -demon prepossession--"so that I should not see it." Behold the -fallibility of the human brain, and especially of George Eliot's. - -I have been questioned about my use of Andalus for Andalusia, but I -had a sufficient authority for that in the "Mohammedan Dynasties," -translated by Gayangos. - -It may interest you, who are familiar with Spanish literature, to know -that after the first sketch of my book was written I read Cervantes' -novel "La Gitanélla," where the hero turns gypsy for love. The novel -promises well in the earlier part, but falls into sad commonplace -towards the end. I have written my explanation partly to show how much -I value your kind help towards correcting my error, and partly to -prove that I was not careless, but simply stupid. For in authorship I -hold carelessness to be a mortal sin. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1868, TO DECEMBER, 1868. - - Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Mr. Lewes's return from Bonn--First - visit to Cambridge--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Month's visit to - Torquay--Letter to Miss Hennell--Reading the "Iliad"--Letter - to John Blackwood--Title of "Spanish Gypsy"--Letter to Madame - Bodichon--Women's work--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--England and - Ireland--Translation of the "Politique"--Return to London - from Torquay--Letter to John Blackwood--Ending of "Spanish - Gypsy"--The poem finished--George Eliot's "Notes on the - Spanish Gypsy and Tragedy in general"--Suggestion of the poem - an Annunciation by Titian, at Venice--Motive--Hereditary - conditions--Gypsy race--Determination of conduct--Nature of - tragedy--Collision between the individual and the - general--Greek tragedy--Hereditary misfortunes--Growth of - human sympathy--Moral sanction is obedience to facts--Duty - what tends to human good--Letter to Mrs. Bray on the writing - of poetry instead of novels--Letter to F. Harrison presenting - copy of "Spanish Gypsy"--Inscription on MS. of "Spanish - Gypsy"--Letter to F. Harrison on suggestion of a poem--Six - weeks' journey to Baden, etc.--Letter to John Blackwood from - St. Märgen--Catholic worship--Return to London--Letters to - John Blackwood--_Pall Mall_ review of "Spanish Gypsy"--Saying - of Balzac--Letter to William - Blackwood--Versification--Reading Lucretius, Homer, Milton, - Warton, Marcus Aurelius, Dante, Comte, Guest, Maurice--Visit - to Dr. Clifford Allbut at Leeds--Visit to Newark--Letter to - Mrs. Congreve--Letters to John Blackwood--Second edition of - "Spanish Gypsy"--"Kinglake"--Criticisms on "Spanish - Gypsy"--Visit to the Congreves--Visit to Sheffield with Mr. - Benzon--Matlock--Letters to Madame Bodichon and Miss Hennell - on Sheffield journey--Herbert Spencer--Meditating subject of - Timoleon--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Physiological charts--Letter - to Madame Bodichon on influence of friends--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Positivism in "Spanish Gypsy"--Letter to Charles - Bray on vote by ballot--Retrospect of 1868--Letter to John - Blackwood--The cheap edition of novels--Letter to the Hon. - Robert Lytton--Pronunciation in "Spanish Gypsy"--Cervantes' - "La Gitanélla." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[4] Visit to Mr. W. G. Clark. - -[5] Of Comte. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_Jan. 1._--I have set myself many tasks for the year--I wonder how -many will be accomplished?--a novel called "Middlemarch," a long poem -on Timoleon, and several minor poems. - -_Jan. 23._--Since I wrote last I have finished a little poem on old -Agatha. But the last week or two I have been so disturbed in health -that no work prospers. I have made a little way in constructing my new -tale; have been reading a little on philology; have finished the 24th -Book of the "Iliad," the 1st Book of the "Faery Queene," Clough's -poems, and a little about Etruscan things, in Mrs. Grey and Dennis. -Aloud to G. I have been reading some Italian, Ben Jonson's "Alchemist" -and "Volpone," and Bright's speeches, which I am still reading, -besides the first four cantos of "Don Juan." But the last two or three -days I have seemed to live under a leaden pressure--all movement, -mental or bodily, is grievous to me. In the evening read aloud -Bright's fourth speech on India, and a story in Italian. In the -_Spectator_ some interesting facts about loss of memory and "double -life." In the _Revue des Cours_, a lecture by Sir W. Thomson, of -Edinburgh, on the retardation of the earth's motion round its axis. - -_Jan. 27._--The last two days I have been writing a rhymed poem on -Boccaccio's story of "Lisa." Aloud I have read Bright's speeches, and -"I Promessi Sposi." To myself I have read Mommsen's "Rome." - -_Feb. 6._--We went to the third concert. Madame Schumann played finely -in Mendelssohn's quintet, and a trio of Beethoven's. As a solo she -played the sonata in D minor. In the evening I read aloud a short -speech of Bright's on Ireland, delivered twenty years ago, in which he -insists that nothing will be a remedy for the woes of that country -unless the Church Establishment be annulled: after the lapse of twenty -years the measure is going to be adopted. Then I read aloud a bit of -the "Promessi Sposi," and afterwards the _Spectator_, in which there -is a deservedly high appreciation of Lowell's poems. - -_Feb. 14._--Finished the poem from Boccaccio. We had rather a numerous -gathering of friends to-day, and among the rest came Browning, who -talked and quoted admirably _à propos_ of versification. The Rector of -Lincoln thinks the French have the most perfect system of -versification in these modern times! - -_Feb. 15._--I prepared and sent off "How Lisa Loved the King" to -Edinburgh. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th Feb. 1869.] - -I have looked back to the verses in Browning's poem about Elisha, and -I find no mystery in them. The foregoing context for three pages -describes that function of genius which revivifies the past. Man, says -Browning (I am writing from recollection of his general meaning), -cannot create, but he can restore: the poet gives forth of his own -spirit, and reanimates the forms that lie breathless. His use of -Elisha's story is manifestly symbolical, as his mention of Faust -is--the illustration which he abandons the moment before to take up -that of the Hebrew seer. I presume you did not read the context -yourself, but only had the two concluding verses pointed out or quoted -to you by your friends. It is one of the afflictions of authorship to -know that the brains which should be used in understanding a book are -wasted in discussing the hastiest misconceptions about it; and I am -sure you will sympathize enough in this affliction to set any one -right, when you can, about this quotation from Browning. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_Feb. 20._--A glorious concert: Hallé, Joachim, and Piatti winding up -with Schubert's trio. - -_Feb. 21._--Mr. Deutsch and Mrs. Pattison lunched with us--he in -farewell before going to the East. A rather pleasant gathering of -friends afterwards. - -_Feb. 24._--I am reading about plants, and Helmholtz on music. A new -idea of a poem came to me yesterday. - -_March 3._--We started on our fourth visit to Italy, viâ France and -the Cornice. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th May, 1869, from Paris.] - -I found your letter at Florence on our arrival there (on the 23d); but -until now bodily ease and leisure enough to write to you have never -happened to me in the same moments. Our long journey since we left -home on the 3d March, seen from a point of view which, happily, no one -shares with me, has been a history of ailments. In shunning the -English March, we found one quite as disagreeable, without the -mitigation of home comforts; and though we went even as far as Naples -in search of warmth, we never found it until we settled in Rome, at -the beginning of April. Here we had many days of unbroken sunshine, -and enjoyed what we were never able to enjoy during our month's stay -in 1860--the many glorious views of the city and the mountains. The -chief novelty to us in our long route has been the sight of Assisi and -Ravenna; the rest has been a revisiting of scenes already in our -memories; and to most of them we have probably said our last -good-bye. Enough of us and our travels. The only remarkable thing -people can tell of their doings in these days is that they have stayed -at home. - -The _Fortnightly_ lay uncut at Mr. Trollope's, and Mr. Lewes had -nothing more pressing to do than to cut it open at the reply to -Professor Huxley.[6] He presently came to me, and said it was -excellent. It delighted him the more because he had just before, at -Rome, alighted on the _Pall Mall_ account of the article, which -falsely represented it as entirely apologetic. At the first spare -moment I plunged into an easy-chair, and read, with thorough -satisfaction in the admirable temper and the force of the reply. We -intend to start for Calais this evening; and as the rain prevents us -from doing anything agreeable out of doors, I have nothing to hinder -me from sitting, with my knees up to my chin, and scribbling, now that -I am become a little sounder in head and in body generally than -beautiful Italy allowed me to be. As beautiful as ever--more -beautiful--it has looked to me on this last visit; and it is the fault -of my _physique_ if it did not agree with me. Pray offer my warmest -sympathy to Dr. Congreve in the anxieties of his difficult task. What -hard work it seems to go on living sometimes! Blessed are the dead. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_May 5._--We reached home after our nine weeks' absence. In that time -we have been through France to Marseilles, along the Cornice to -Spezia, then to Pisa, Florence, Naples, Rome, Assisi, Perugia, -Florence again, Ravenna, Bologna, Verona; across the Brenner Pass to -Munich; then to Paris _viâ_ Strasburg. In such a journey there was -necessarily much interest both in renewing old memories and recording -new; but I never had such continuous bad health in travelling as I -have had during these nine weeks. On our arrival at home I found a -delightful letter from Mrs. H. B. Stowe, whom I have never seen, -addressing me as her "dear friend." - - It was during this journey that I, for the first time, saw my - future wife, at Rome. My eldest sister had married Mr. W. H. - Bullock (now Mr. W. H. Hall), of Six-Mile-Bottom, - Cambridgeshire, and they were on their wedding journey at - Rome when they happened to meet Mr. and Mrs. Lewes by chance - in the Pamfili Doria Gardens. They saw a good deal of one - another, and when I arrived, with my mother and another - sister, we went by invitation to call at the Hôtel Minerva, - where Mr. Lewes had found rooms on their first arrival in - Rome. I have a very vivid recollection of George Eliot - sitting on a sofa with my mother by her side, entirely - engrossed with her. Mr. Lewes entertained my sister and me on - the other side of the room. But I was very anxious to hear - also the conversation on the sofa, as I was better acquainted - with George Eliot's books than with any other literature. And - through the dimness of these fifteen years, and all that has - happened in them, I still seem to hear, as I first heard - them, the low, earnest, deep, musical tones of her voice; I - still seem to see the fine brows, with the abundant - auburn-brown hair framing them, the long head, broadening at - the back, the gray-blue eyes, constantly changing in - expression, but always with a very loving, almost - deprecating, look at my mother, the finely-formed, thin, - transparent hands, and a whole _Wesen_ that seemed in - complete harmony with everything one expected to find in the - author of "Romola." The next day Mr. and Mrs. Lewes went on - to Assisi and we to Naples, and we did not meet again till - the following August at Weybridge. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 8th May, 1869.] - -I value very highly the warrant to call you friend which your letter -has given me. It lay awaiting me on our return, the other night, from -a nine weeks' absence in Italy, and it made me almost wish that you -could have a momentary vision of the discouragement--nay, paralyzing -despondency--in which many days of my writing life have been passed, -in order that you might fully understand the good I find in such -sympathy as yours--in such an assurance as you give me that my work -has been worth doing. But I will not dwell on any mental sickness of -mine. The best joy your words give me is the sense of that sweet, -generous feeling in you which dictated them, and I shall always be the -richer because you have in this way made me know you better. I must -tell you that my first glimpse of you as a woman came through a letter -of yours, and charmed me very much. The letter was addressed to Mrs. -Follen; and one morning when I called on her in London (how many years -ago![7]) she was kind enough to read it to me because it contained a -little history of your life, and a sketch of your domestic -circumstances. I remember thinking that it was very kind of you to -write that long letter in reply to the inquiries of one who was -personally unknown to you; and looking back with my present experience -I think it was still kinder than it then appeared. For at that time -you must have been much oppressed with the immediate results of your -fame. I remember, too, that you wrote of your husband as one who was -richer in Hebrew and Greek than in pounds or shillings; and as the -ardent scholar has always been a character of peculiar interest to me, -I have rarely had your image in my mind without the accompanying image -(more or less erroneous) of such a scholar by your side. I shall -welcome the fruit of his Goethe studies, whenever it comes. In the -meantime let me assure you that whoever else gave you that description -of my husband's "History of Philosophy"--namely, "that it was to solve -and settle all things"--he himself never saw it in that light. The -work has been greatly altered, as well as enlarged, in three -successive editions; and his mind is so far from being a captive to -his own written words that he is now engaged in physiological and -psychological researches which are leading him to issues at variance -in some important respects with the views expressed in some of his -published works. He is one of the few human beings I have known who -will often, in the heat of an argument, see, and straightway confess, -that he is in the wrong, instead of trying to shift his ground or use -any other device of vanity. - -I have good hopes that your fears are groundless as to the obstacles -your new book may find here from its thorough American character. Most -readers who are likely to be really influenced by writing above the -common order will find that special aspect an added reason for -interest and study, and I dare say you have long seen, as I am -beginning to see with new clearness, that if a book which has any sort -of exquisiteness happens also to be a popular, widely circulated -book, its power over the social mind for any good is, after all, due -to its reception by a few appreciative natures, and is the slow result -of radiation from that narrow circle. I mean, that you can affect a -few souls, and that each of these in turn may affect a few more, but -that no exquisite book tells properly and directly on a multitude, -however largely it may be spread by type and paper. Witness the things -the multitude will say about it, if one is so unhappy as to be obliged -to hear their sayings. I do not write this cynically, but in pure -sadness and pity. Both travelling abroad, and staying at home among -our English sights and sports, one must continually feel how slowly -the centuries work towards the moral good of men. And that thought -lies very close to what you say as to your wonder or conjecture -concerning my religious point of view. I believe that religion, too, -has to be modified--"developed," according to the dominant phrase--and -that a religion more perfect than any yet prevalent must express less -care for personal consolation, and a more deeply-awing sense of -responsibility to man, springing from sympathy with that which of all -things is most certainly known to us, the difficulty of the human lot. -I do not find my temple in Pantheism, which, whatever might be its -value speculatively, could not yield a practical religion, since it is -an attempt to look at the universe from the outside of our relations -to it (that universe) as human beings. As healthy, sane human beings, -we must love and hate--love what is good for mankind, hate what is -evil for mankind. For years of my youth I dwelt in dreams of a -pantheistic sort, falsely supposing that I was enlarging my sympathy. -But I have travelled far away from that time. Letters are necessarily -narrow and fragmentary, and, when one writes on wide subjects, are -liable to create more misunderstanding than illumination. But I have -little anxiety of that kind in writing to you, dear friend and -fellow-laborer, for you have had longer experience than I as a writer, -and fuller experience as a woman, since you have borne children and -known the mother's history from the beginning. I trust your quick and -long-taught mind as an interpreter little liable to mistake me. - -When you say, "We live in an orange grove and are planting many more," -and when I think that you must have abundant family love to cheer you, -it seems to me that you must have a paradise about you. But no list of -circumstances will make a paradise. Nevertheless, I must believe that -the joyous, tender humor of your books clings about your more -immediate life, and makes some of that sunshine for yourself which you -have given to us. - -I see the advertisement of "Old Town Folk," and shall eagerly expect -it. - -That and every other new link between us will be reverentially valued. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_May 8_ (Saturday).--Poor Thornie arrived from Natal, sadly wasted by -suffering. - -_May 24._--Sold "Agatha" to Fields & Osgood, for the _Atlantic -Monthly_, for £300. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 26th May, 1869.] - -That "disturbance" in my favorite work, with which you and Dr. -Congreve are good enough to sympathize, is unhappily greater now than -it has been for years before. Our poor Thornie came back to us about -seventeen days ago. We can never rejoice enough that we were already -at home, seeing that we held it impossible for him to set out on his -voyage until at least six weeks later than he did. Since he arrived -our lives have been chiefly absorbed by cares for him; and though we -now have a nurse to attend on him constantly, we spend several hours -of the day by his side. There is joy in the midst of our trouble, from -the tenderness towards the sufferer being altogether unchecked by -anything unlovable in him. Thornie's disposition seems to have become -sweeter than ever with the added six years; and there is nothing that -we discern in his character or habits to cause us grief. Enough of our -troubles. I gather from your welcome letter, received this morning, -that there is a good deal of enjoyment for you in your temporary home, -in spite of bad weather and faceache, which I hope will have passed -away when you read this. - -Mr. Beesley[8] wrote to me to tell me of his engagement, and on Sunday -we had the pleasure of shaking him by the hand and seeing him look -very happy. His is one of a group of prospective marriages which we -have had announced to us since we came home. Besides Mr. Harrison's, -there is Dr. Allbut's, our charming friend at Leeds. I told Mr. -Beesley that I thought myself magnanimous in really rejoicing at the -engagements of men friends, because, of course, they will be -comparatively indifferent to their old intimates. - -Dear Madame Bodichon is a precious help to us. She comes twice a week -to sit with Thornie, and she is wonderfully clever in talking to young -people. One finds out those who have real practical sympathy in times -of trouble. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 9th June, 1869.] - -Your letter has fulfilled two wishes of mine. It shows me that you -keep me in your kind thoughts, and that you are very happy. I had been -told by our friends, the Nortons, of your engagement, but I knew -nothing more than that bare fact, and your letter gives me more of a -picture. A very pretty picture--for I like to think of your love -having grown imperceptibly along with sweet family affections. I do -heartily share in your happiness, for however space and time may keep -us asunder, you will never to my mind be lost in the distance, but -will hold a place of marked and valued interest quite apart from those -more public hopes about you which I shall not cease to cherish. - -Both Mr. Lewes and I shall be delighted to see you any evening. I -imagine that when you are obliged to stay in town the evening will be -the easiest time for you to get out to us. Any time after eight you -will find us thoroughly glad to shake hands with you. Do come when you -can. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_July 3._--Finished my reading in Lucretius. Reading Victor Hugo's -"L'homme qui rit;" also the Frau von Hillern's novel, "Ein Arzt der -Seele." This week G. and I have been to Sevenoaks, but were driven -home again by the cold winds and cloudy skies. "Sonnets on -Childhood"--five--finished. - -_July 10._--I wrote to Mrs. Stowe, in answer to a second letter of -hers, accompanied by one from her husband. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 11th July, 1869.] - -I hoped before this to have seen our friend, Mrs. Fields, on her -return from Scotland, and to have begged her to send you word of a -domestic affliction which has prevented me from writing to you since I -received your and your husband's valued letters. Immediately on our -return from Italy, Mr. Lewes's second son, a fine young man of -five-and-twenty, returned to us from Natal, wasted by suffering from -a long-standing spinal injury. This was on the 8th of May, and since -then we have both been absorbed in our duties to this poor child, and -have felt our own health and nervous energy insufficient for our -needful activity of body and mind. He is at present no better, and we -look forward to a long trial. Nothing but a trouble so great as this -would have prevented me from writing again to you, not only to thank -you and Professor Stowe for your letters, but also to tell you that I -have received and read "Old Town Folks." I think few of your many -readers can have felt more interest than I have felt in that picture -of an elder generation; for my interest in it has a double root--one, -in my own love for our old-fashioned provincial life, which had its -affinities with a contemporary life, even all across the Atlantic, and -of which I have gathered glimpses in different phases, from my father -and mother, with their relations; the other is, my experimental -acquaintance with some shades of Calvinistic orthodoxy. I think your -way of presenting the religious convictions which are not your own, -except by indirect fellowship, is a triumph of insight and true -tolerance. A thorough comprehension of the mixed moral influence shed -on society by dogmatic systems is rare even among writers, and one -misses it altogether in English drawing-room talk. I thank you -sincerely for the gift (in every sense) of this book, which, I can -see, has been a labor of love. - -Both Mr. Lewes and I are deeply interested in the indications which -the Professor gives of his peculiar psychological experience, and we -should feel it a great privilege to learn much more of it from his -lips. It is a rare thing to have such an opportunity of studying -exceptional experience in the testimony of a truthful and in every -way distinguished mind. He will, I am sure, accept the brief thanks -which I can give in this letter, for all that he has generously -written to me. He says, "I have had no connection with any of the -modern movements, except as father confessor;" and I can well believe -that he must be peculiarly sensitive to the repulsive aspects which -those movements present. Your view as to the cause of that "great wave -of spiritualism" which is rushing over America--namely, that it is a -sort of Rachel-cry of bereavement towards the invisible existence of -the loved ones, is deeply affecting. But so far as "spiritualism" (by -which I mean, of course, spirit-communication, by rapping, guidance of -the pencil, etc.) has come within reach of my judgment on our side of -the water, it has appeared to me either as degrading folly, imbecile -in the estimate of evidence, or else as impudent imposture. So far as -my observation and experience have hitherto gone, it has even seemed -to me an impiety to withdraw from the more assured methods of studying -the open secret of the universe any large amount of attention to -alleged manifestations which are so defiled by low adventurers and -their palpable trickeries, so hopelessly involved in all the -doubtfulness of individual testimonies as to phenomena witnessed, -which testimonies are no more true objectively because they are honest -subjectively, than the Ptolemaic system is true because it seemed to -Tycho Brahé a better explanation of the heavenly movements than the -Copernican. This is a brief statement of my position on the subject, -which your letter shows me to have an aspect much more compulsory on -serious attention in America than I can perceive it to have in -England. I should not be as simply truthful as my deep respect for you -demands, if I did not tell you exactly what is my mental attitude in -relation to the phenomena in question. But whatever you print on the -subject and will send me I shall read with attention, and the idea you -give me of the hold which spiritualism has gained on the public mind -in the United States is already a fact of historic importance. - -Forgive me, dear friend, if I write in the scantiest manner, -unworthily responding to letters which have touched me profoundly. You -have known so much of life, both in its more external trials and in -the peculiar struggles of a nature which is made twofold in its -demands by the yearnings of the author as well as of the woman, that I -can count on your indulgence and power of understanding my present -inability to correspond by letter. - -May I add my kind remembrances to your daughter to the high regard -which I offer to your husband? - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_July 14._--Returned from Hatfield, after two days' stay. - -_July 15._--Began Nisard's "History of French -Literature"--Villehardouin, Joinville, Froissart, Christine de Pisan, -Philippe de Comines, Villers. - -_July 16._--Read the articles Phoenicia and Carthage in "Ancient -Geography." Looked into Jewitt's "Universal History" again for -Carthaginian religion. Looked into Sismondi's "Littérature du Midi" -for Roman de la Rose; and ran through the first chapter about the -formation of the Romance languages. Read about _Thallogens_ and -_Acrogens_ in the "Vegetable World." Read Drayton's "Nymphidia"--a -charming poem--a few pages of his "Polyolbion." Re-read Grote, -v.-vii., on Sicilian affairs, down to rise of Dionysius. - -_July 18._--Miss Nannie Smith came, after a long absence from England; -Professor Masson and Dr. Bastian, Madame Bodichon, and Dr. Payne. Some -conversation about Saint-Simonism, _à propos_ of the meeting on -Woman's Suffrage the day before, M. Arles Dufour being uneasy because -Mill did not in his speech recognize what women owed to -Saint-Simonism. - -_July 19._--Writing an introduction to "Middlemarch." I have just -re-read the 15th Idyll of Theocritus, and have written three more -sonnets. My head uneasy. We went in the afternoon to the old -water-colors, finding that the exhibition was to close at the end of -the week. Burne-Jones's Circe and St. George affected me, by their -colors, more than any of the other pictures--they are poems. In the -evening read Nisard on Rabelais and Marot. - -_July 22._--Read Reybaud's book on "Les Réformateurs Modernes." In the -afternoon Mrs. P. Taylor came and saw Thornie, who has been more -uneasy this week, and unwilling to move or come out on the lawn. - -_July 23._--Read Theocritus, Id. 16. Meditated characters for -"Middlemarch." Mrs. F. Malleson came. - -_July 24._--Still not quite well and clear-headed, so that little -progress is made. I read aloud Fourier and Owen, and thought of -writing something about Utopists. - -_July 25._--Read Plato's "Republic" in various parts. After lunch Miss -Nannie Smith, Miss Blythe, Mr. Burton, and Mr. Deutsch. In the evening -I read Nisard, and Littré on Comte. - -_Aug. 1._--Since last Sunday I have had an uncomfortable week from -mental and bodily disturbance. I have finished eleven sonnets on -"Brother and Sister," read Littré, Nisard, part of 22d Idyll of -Theocritus, Sainte-Beuve, aloud to G. two evenings. Monday evening -looked through Dickson's "Fallacies of the Faculty." On Tuesday -afternoon we went to the British Museum to see a new bronze, and I was -enchanted with some fragments of glass in the Slade collection, with -dyes of sunset in them. Yesterday, sitting in Thornie's room, I read -through all Shakespeare's "Sonnets." Poor Thornie has had a miserably -unsatisfactory week, making no progress. After lunch came Miss N. -Smith and Miss Blythe, Mr. Burton, Mr. and Mrs. Burne-Jones, and Mr. -Sanderson. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 1st Aug. 1869.] - -My last words to you might appear to imply something laughably opposed -to my real meaning. "Think of me only as an example" meant--an example -to be avoided. It was an allusion in my mind to the servant-girl who, -being arrested for theft, said to her fellow-servant, "Take example by -me, Sally." With the usual caprice of language, we say. "Make an -example of her," in that sense of holding up for a warning, which the -poor girl and I intended. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_Aug. 2._--Began "Middlemarch" (the Vincy and Featherstone parts). - -_Aug. 5._--Thornie during the last two or three days gives much more -hopeful signs: has been much more lively, with more regular appetite -and quieter nights. This morning I finished the first chapter of -"Middlemarch." I am reading Renouard's "History of Medicine." - -_Aug. 31._--We went to Weybridge, walked on St. George's Hill, and -lunched with Mrs. Cross and her family. - - This visit to Weybridge is a very memorable one to me, - because there my own first intimacy with George Eliot began, - and the bonds with my family were knitted very much closer. - Mr. and Mrs. Bullock were staying with us; and my sister, who - had some gift for music, had set one or two of the songs from - the "Spanish Gypsy." She sang one of them--"On through the - woods, the pillared pines"--and it affected George Eliot - deeply. She moved quickly to the piano, and kissed Mrs. - Bullock very warmly, in her tears. Mr. and Mrs. Lewes were in - deep trouble owing to the illness of Thornton Lewes; we were - also in much anxiety as to the approaching confinement of my - sister with her first child; and I was on the eve of - departure for America. Sympathetic feelings were strong - enough to overleap the barrier (often hard to pass) which - separates acquaintanceship from friendship. A day did the - work of years. Our visitors had come to the house as - acquaintances, they left it as lifelong friends. And the - sequel of that day greatly intensified the intimacy. For - within a month my sister had died in childbirth, and her - death called forth one of the most beautiful of George - Eliot's letters. A month later Thornton Lewes died. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_Sept. 1._--I meditated characters and conditions for "Middlemarch," -which stands still in the beginning of chapter iii. - -_Sept. 2._--We spent the morning in Hatfield Park, arriving at home -again at half-past three. - -_Sept. 10._--I have achieved little during the last week, except -reading on medical subjects--Encyclopædia about the "Medical -Colleges," "Cullen's Life," Russell's "Heroes of Medicine," etc. I -have also read Aristophanes' "Ecclesiazusoe," and "Macbeth." - -_Sept. 11._--I do not feel very confident that I can make anything -satisfactory of "Middlemarch." I have need to remember that other -things which have been accomplished by me were begun under the same -cloud. G. has been reading "Romola" again, and expresses profound -admiration. This is encouraging. - -_Sept. 15._--George and I went to Sevenoaks for a couple of nights, -and had some delicious walks. - -_Sept. 21._--Finished studying again Bekker's "Charikles." I am -reading Mandeville's Travels. As to my work, _im Stiche gerathen_. -Mrs. Congreve and Miss Bury came; and I asked Mrs. Congreve to get me -some information about provincial hospitals, which is necessary to my -imagining the conditions of my hero. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 21st Sept. 1869.] - -As to the Byron subject, nothing can outweigh to my mind the heavy -social injury of familiarizing young minds with the desecration of -family ties. The discussion of the subject in newspapers, periodicals, -and pamphlets is simply odious to me, and I think it a pestilence -likely to leave very ugly marks. One trembles to think how easily that -moral wealth may be lost which it has been the work of ages to produce -in the refinement and differencing of the affectionate relations. As -to the high-flown stuff which is being reproduced about Byron and his -poetry, I am utterly out of sympathy with it. He seems to me the most -_vulgar-minded_ genius that ever produced a great effect in -literature. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1869.] - -_Sept. 22._--We went down to Watford for a change. - -_Sept. 24._--Returned home this morning because of the unpromising -weather. It is worth while to record my great depression of spirits, -that I may remember one more resurrection from the pit of melancholy. -And yet what love is given to me! What abundance of good I possess! -All my circumstances are blessed; and the defect is only in my own -organism. Courage and effort! - -_Oct. 5._--Ever since the 28th I have been good for little, ailing in -body and disabled in mind. On Sunday an interesting Russian pair came -to see us--M. and Mme. Kovilevsky: she, a pretty creature, with -charming modest voice and speech, who is studying mathematics (by -allowance, through the aid of Kirchhoff) at Heidelberg; he, amiable -and intelligent, studying the concrete sciences apparently--especially -geology; and about to go to Vienna for six months for this purpose, -leaving his wife at Heidelberg! - -I have begun a long-meditated poem, "The Legend of Jubal," but have -not written more than twenty or thirty verses. - -_Oct. 13._--Yesterday Mr. W. G. Clark of Cambridge came to see us, and -told of his intention to give up his oratorship and renounce his -connection with the Church. - -I have read rapidly through Max Müller's "History of Sanskrit -Literature," and am now reading Lecky's "History of Morals." I have -also finished Herbert Spencer's last number of his "Psychology." My -head has been sadly feeble, and my whole body ailing of late. I have -written about one hundred verses of my poem. Poor Thornie seems to us -in a state of growing weakness. - -_Oct. 19._--This evening at half-past six our dear Thornie died. He -went quite peacefully. For three days he was not more than fitfully -and imperfectly conscious of the things around him. He went to Natal -on the 17th October, 1863, and came back to us ill on the 8th May, -1869. Through the six months of his illness his frank, impulsive mind -disclosed no trace of evil feeling. He was a sweet-natured boy--still -a boy, though he had lived for twenty-five years and a half. On the -9th of August he had an attack of paraplegia, and although he -partially recovered from it, it made a marked change in him. After -that he lost a great deal of his vivacity, but he suffered less pain. -This death seems to me the beginning of our own. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th Dec. 1869.] - -The day after our dear boy's funeral we went into the quietest and -most beautiful part of Surrey, four miles and a half from any railway -station. I was very much shaken in mind and body, and nothing but the -deep calm of fields and woods would have had a beneficent effect on -me. We both of us felt, more than ever before, the blessedness of -being in the country, and we are come back much restored. It will -interest you, I think, to know that a friend of ours, Mr. W. G. Clark, -the public orator at Cambridge, laid down his oratorship as a -preparatory step to writing a letter to his bishop renouncing, or, -rather, claiming to be free from, his clerical status, because he no -longer believes what it presupposes him to believe. Two other men whom -we know are about to renounce Cambridge fellowships on the same -ground. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 31st Dec. 1869.] - -We shall be delighted to have you on Monday. I hope you will get your -business done early enough to be by a good fire in our drawing-room -before lunch. Mr. Doyle is coming to dine with us, but you will not -mind that. He is a dear man, a good Catholic, full of varied -sympathies and picturesque knowledge. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 15th Jan. 1870.] - -I am moved to write to you rather by the inclination to remind you of -me than by the sense of having anything to say. On reading "The -Positivist Problem"[9] a second time, I gained a stronger impression -of its general value, and I also felt less jarred by the more personal -part at the close. Mr. Lewes would tell you that I have an -unreasonable aversion to personal statements, and when I come to like -them it is usually by a hard process of _con_-version. But my second -reading gave me a new and very strong sense that the last two or three -pages have the air of an appendix, added at some distance of time from -the original writing of the article. Some more thoroughly explanatory -account of your non-adhesion seems requisite as a nexus--since the -statement of your non-adhesion had to be mentioned after an argument -for the system against the outer Gentile world. However, it is more -important for me to say that I felt the thorough justice of your -words, when, in conversation with me, you said, "I don't see why there -should be any mystification; having come to a resolution after much -inward debate, it is better to state the resolution." Something like -that you said, and I give a hearty "Amen," praying that I may not be -too apt myself to prefer the haze to the clearness. But the fact is, I -shrink from decided "deliverances" on momentous subjects from the -dread of coming to swear by my own "deliverances," and sinking into an -insistent echo of myself. That is a horrible destiny--and one cannot -help seeing that many of the most powerful men fall into it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 16th Mch. 1870.] - -Cara has told me about your republication of the "Inquiry," and I have -a longing to write--not intrusively, I hope--just to say "thank you" -for the good it does me to know of your being engaged in that act of -piety to your brother's memory. I delight in the act itself, and in -the satisfaction which I know you have in performing it. When I -remember my own obligation to the book, I must believe that among the -many new readers a cheap edition will reach there must be minds to -whom it will bring welcome light in studying the New Testament--sober, -serious help towards a conception of the past, instead of stage-lights -and make-ups. And this value is, I think, independent of the opinions -that might be held as to the different degrees of success in the -construction of probabilities or in particular interpretations. -Throughout there is the presence of grave sincerity. I would gladly -have a word or two directly from yourself when you can scribble a note -without feeling me a bore for wanting it. People who write many -letters without being forced to do so are fathomless wonders to me, -but you have a special faculty for writing such letters as one cares -to read, so it is a pity that the accomplishment should lie quite -unused. I wonder if you have read Emerson's new essays. I like them -very much. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 3d April, 1870.] - -We shall leave Berlin on Tuesday, so that I must ask you to send me -the much-desired news of you to Vienna, addressed to the Hon. Robert -Lytton, British Embassy. We do not yet know the name of the hotel -where rooms have been taken for us. Our journey has not been -unfortunate hitherto. The weather has been cold and cheerless, but we -expected this, and on the 1st of April the sun began to shine. As for -my _Wenigkeit_, it has never known a day of real bodily comfort since -we got to Berlin: headache, sore throat, and _Schnupfen_ have been -alternately my companions, and have made my enjoyment very languid. -But think of this as all past when you get my letter; for this -morning I have a clearer head, the sun is shining, and the better time -seems to be come for me. Mr. Lewes has had a good deal of satisfaction -in his visits to laboratories and to the _Charité_, where he is just -now gone for the third time to see more varieties of mad people, and -hear more about Psychiatrie from Dr. Westphal, a quiet, unpretending -little man, who seems to have been delighted with George's sympathetic -interest in this (to me) hideous branch of practice. I speak with all -reverence: the world can't do without hideous studies. - -People have been very kind to us, and have overwhelmed us with -attentions, but we have felt a little weary in the midst of our -gratitude, and since my cold has become worse we have been obliged to -cut off further invitations. - -We have seen many and various men and women, but except Mommsen, -Bunsen, and Du Bois Reymond, hardly any whose names would be known to -you. If I had been in good health I should probably have continued to -be more amused than tired of sitting on a sofa and having one person -after another brought up to bow to me, and pay me the same compliment. -Even as it was, I felt my heart go out to some good women who seemed -really to have an affectionate feeling towards me for the sake of my -books. But the sick animal longs for quiet and darkness. - -The other night, at Dr. Westphal's, I saw a young English lady -marvellously like Emily in face, figure, and voice. I made advances to -her on the strength of that external resemblance, and found it carried -out in the quickness of her remarks. But new gentlemen to be introduced -soon divided us. Another elegant, pretty woman there was old Boeckh's -daughter. One enters on all subjects by turns in these evening -parties, which are something like reading the Conversations-Lexicon in -a nightmare. Among lighter entertainments we have been four times to -the opera, being tempted at the very beginning of our stay by Gluck, -Mozart, and an opportunity of hearing Tannhäuser for the second time. -Also we have enjoyed some fine orchestral concerts, which are to be had -for sixpence! Berlin has been growing very fast since our former stay -here, and luxury in all forms has increased so much that one only here -and there gets a glimpse of the old-fashioned German housekeeping. But -though later hours are becoming fashionable, the members of the -Reichstag who have other business than politics complain of having to -begin their sitting at eleven, ending, instead of beginning, at four, -when the solid day is almost gone. We went to the Reichstag one -morning, and were so fortunate as to hear Bismarck speak. But the -question was one of currency, and his speech was merely a brief -winding-up. - -Now I shall think that I have earned a letter telling me all about -you. May there be nothing but good to tell of! Pray give my best love -to Emily, and my earnest wishes to Dr. Congreve, that he may have -satisfaction in new work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 18th May, 1870.] - -I gladly and gratefully keep the portrait.[10] For my own part, I -should have said, without hesitation, "Prefix it to the 'Inquiry.'" -One must not be unreasonable about portraits. How can a thing which is -always the same be an adequate representation of a living being who is -always varying--especially of a living being who is sensitive, bright, -many-sided, as your brother was? But I think the impression which this -portrait gives excites interest. I am often sorry for people who lose -half their possible good in the world by being more alive to -deficiencies than to positive merits. - -I like to know that you have felt in common with me while you read -"Jubal." Curiously enough, Mr. Lewes, when I first read it to him, -made just the remark you make about the scene of Jubal coming with the -lyre. We laughed at Mr. Bray's sharp criticism. Tell him it is not the -fashion for authors ever to be in the wrong. They have always -justifying reasons. But also it is the fashion for critics to know -everything, so that the authors don't think it needful to tell their -reasons. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1870.] - -_May 20._--I am fond of my little old book in which I have recorded so -many changes, and shall take to writing in it again. It will perhaps -last me all through the life that is left to me. Since I wrote in it -last, the day after Thornie's death, the chief epochs have been our -stay at Limpsfield, in Surrey, till near the beginning of December; my -writing of "Jubal," which I finished on the 13th of January; the -publication of the poem in the May number of _Macmillan's Magazine_; -and our journey to Berlin and Vienna, from which we returned on the -6th of this month, after an absence of eight weeks. This is a -fortnight ago, and little has been done by me in the interim. My -health is in an uncomfortable state, and I seem to be all the weaker -for the continual depression produced by cold and sore throat, which -stretched itself all through our long journey. These small bodily -grievances make life less desirable to me, though every one of my best -blessings--my one perfect love, and the sympathy shown towards me for -the sake of my works, and the personal regard of a few friends--have -become much intensified in these latter days. I am not hopeful about -future work. I am languid, and my novel languishes too. But to-morrow -may be better than to-day. - -_May 25._--We started for Oxford, where we were to stay with the -Rector of Lincoln and his wife. After luncheon G. and I walked alone -through the town, which, on this first view, was rather disappointing -to me. Presently we turned through Christ Church into the meadows, and -walked along by the river. This was beautiful to my heart's content. -The buttercups and hawthorns were in their glory, the chestnuts still -in sufficiently untarnished bloom, and the grand elms made a border -towards the town. After tea we went with Mrs. Pattison and the rector -to the croquet-ground near the Museum. On our way we saw Sir Benjamin -Brodie, and on the ground Professor Rawlinson, the "narrow-headed -man;" Mrs. Thursfield and her son, who is a Fellow (I think, of -Corpus); Miss Arnold, daughter of Mr. Thomas Arnold, and Professor -Phillips, the geologist. At supper we had Mr. Bywater and Miss Arnold, -and in chat with them the evening was passed. - -_May 26._--G. and I went to the Museum, and had an interesting morning -with Dr. Rolleston, who dissected a brain for me. After lunch we went -again to the Museum, and spent the afternoon with Sir Benjamin Brodie, -seeing various objects in his laboratories; among others, the method -by which weighing has been superseded in delicate matters by -_measuring_ in a graduated glass tube. Afterwards Mrs. Pattison took -me a drive in her little pony carriage round by their country refuge, -the Firs, Haddington, and by Littlemore, where I saw J. H. Newman's -little conventual dwelling. Returning, we had a fine view of the -Oxford towers. To supper came Sir Benjamin and Lady Brodie. - -_May 27._--In the morning we walked to see the two Martyrs' Memorial, -and then to Sir Benjamin Brodie's pretty place near the river and -bridge. Close by their grounds is the original ford whence the place -took its name. The Miss Gaskells were staying with them, and, after -chatting some time, we two walked with Sir Benjamin to New College, -where we saw the gardens surrounded by the old city wall; the chapel -where William of Wykeham's crosier is kept; and the cloisters, which -are fine, but gloomy, and less beautiful than those of Magdalen, which -we saw in our walk on Thursday before going to the Museum. After lunch -we went to the Bodleian, and then to the Sheldonian Theatre, where -there was a meeting _à propos_ of Palestine Exploration. Captain -Warren, conductor of the Exploration at Jerusalem, read a paper, and -then Mr. Deutsch gave an account of the interpretation, as hitherto -arrived at, of the Moabite Stone. I saw squeezes of this stone for the -first time, with photographs taken from the squeezes. After tea Mrs. -Thursfield kindly took us to see a boat-race. We saw it from the Oriel -barge, under the escort of Mr. Crichton, Fellow of Merton, who, on our -return, took us through the lovely gardens of his college. At supper -were Mr. Jowett, Professor Henry Smith, and Miss Smith, his sister, -Mr. Fowler, author of "Deductive Logic," etc. - -_May 28._--After a walk to St. John's College we started by the train -for London, and arrived at home about two o'clock. - -_May 29._--Mr. Spencer, Mrs. Burne-Jones, and Mr. Crompton came. I -read aloud No. 3 of "Edwin Drood." - -_May 30._--We went to see the autotypes of Michael Angelo's frescoes, -at 36 Rathbone Place. I began Grove on the "Correlation of the -Physical Forces"--needing to read it again--with new interest, after -the lapse of years. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 13th June, 1870.] - -Dr. Reynolds advises Mr. Lewes to leave London again, and go to the -bracing air of the Yorkshire coast. I said that we should be here till -the beginning of August, but the internal order proposes and the -external order disposes--if we are to be so priggish as to alter all -our old proverbs into agreement with new formulas! Dickens's death -came as a great shock to us. He lunched with us just before we went -abroad, and was telling us a story of President Lincoln having told -the Council, on the day he was shot, that something remarkable would -happen, because he had just dreamt, for the third time, a dream which -twice before had preceded events momentous to the nation. The dream -was, that he was in a boat on a great river, all alone, and he ended -with the words, "I drift--I drift--I drift." Dickens told this very -finely. I thought him looking dreadfully shattered then. It is -probable that he never recovered from the effect of the terrible -railway accident. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 23d June, 1870, from Cromer.] - -We have been driven away from home again by the state of Mr. Lewes's -health. Dr. Reynolds recommended the Yorkshire coast; but we wanted to -know Cromer, and so we came here first, for the sake of variety. To me -the most desirable thing just now seems to be to have one home, and -stay there till death comes to take me away. I get more and more -disinclined to the perpetual makeshifts of a migratory life, and care -more and more for the order and habitual objects of home. However, -there are many in the world whose whole existence is a makeshift, and -perhaps the formula which would fit the largest number of lives is "a -doing without, more or less patiently." The air just now is not very -invigorating anywhere, I imagine, and one begins to be very anxious -about the nation generally, on account of the threatening drought. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Robert Lytton (now Lady Lytton), -8th July, 1870, from Harrogate.] - -I did not like to write to you[11] until Mr. Lytton sent word that I -might do so, because I had not the intimate knowledge that would have -enabled me to measure your trouble; and one dreads, of all things, to -speak or write a wrong or unseasonable word when words are the only -signs of interest and sympathy that one has to give. I know now, from -what your dear husband has told us, that your loss is very keenly felt -by you, that it has first made you acquainted with acute grief, and -this makes me think of you very much. For learning to love any one is -like an increase of property--it increases care, and brings many new -fears lest precious things should come to harm. I find myself often -thinking of you with that sort of proprietor's anxiety, wanting you to -have gentle weather all through your life, so that your face may never -look worn and storm-beaten, and wanting your husband to be and do the -very best, lest anything short of that should be disappointment to -you. At present the thought of you is all the more with me because -your trouble has been brought by death; and for nearly a year death -seems to me my most intimate daily companion. I mingle the thought of -it with every other, not sadly, but as one mingles the thought of some -one who is nearest in love and duty with all one's motives. I try to -delight in the sunshine that will be when I shall never see it any -more. And I think it is possible for this sort of impersonal life to -attain great intensity--possible for us to gain much more independence -than is usually believed of the small bundle of facts that make our -own personality. I don't know why I should say this to you, except -that my pen is chatting as my tongue would if you were here. We women -are always in danger of living too exclusively in the affections, and -though our affections are, perhaps, the best gifts we have, we ought -also to have our share of the more independent life--some joy in -things for their own sake. It is piteous to see the helplessness of -some sweet women when their affections are disappointed; because all -their teaching has been that they can only delight in study of any -kind for the sake of a personal love. They have never contemplated an -independent delight in ideas as an experience which they could confess -without being laughed at. Yet surely women need this sort of defence -against passionate affliction even more than men. Just under the -pressure of grief, I do not believe there is any consolation. The word -seems to me to be drapery for falsities. Sorrow must be sorrow, ill -must be ill, till duty and love towards all who remain recover their -rightful predominance. Your life is so full of those claims that you -will not have time for brooding over the unchangeable. Do not spend -any of your valuable time now in writing to me, but be satisfied with -sending me news of you through Mr. Lytton when he has occasion to -write to Mr. Lewes. - -I have lately finished reading aloud Mendelssohn's "Letters," which we -had often resolved and failed to read before. They have been quite -cheering to us from the sense they give of communion with an eminently -pure, refined nature, with the most rigorous conscience in art. In -the evening we have always a concert to listen to--a concert of modest -pretensions, but well conducted enough to be agreeable. - -I hope this letter of chit-chat will not reach you at a wrong moment. -In any case, forgive all mistakes on the part of one who is always -yours sincerely and affectionately. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1870.] - -_Aug. 4._--Two months have been spent since the last record! Their -result is not rich, for we have been sent wandering again by G.'s want -of health. On the 15th June we went to Cromer, on the 30th to -Harrogate, and on the 18th July to Whitby, where Mrs. Burne-Jones also -arrived on the same day. On Monday, August 1, we came home again for a -week only, having arranged to go to Limpsfield next Monday. To-day, -under much depression, I begin a little dramatic poem,[12] the subject -of which engaged my interest at Harrogate. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 12th Aug. 1870.] - -We, too, you see, have come back to a well-tried refuge--the same -place that soothed us in our troubles last October--and we especially -delight in this deep country after the fuss which belongs even to -quiet watering-places, such as Cromer, Harrogate, and Whitby, which -are, after all, "alleys where the gentle folks live." We are excited, -even among the still woods and fields, by the vicissitudes of the war, -and chiefly concerned because we cannot succeed in getting the day's -_Times_. We have entered into the period which will be marked in -future historical charts as "The period of German ascendency." But how -saddening to think of the iniquities that the great harvest-moon is -looking down on! I am less grieved for the bloodshed than for the -hateful trust in lies which is continually disclosed. Meanwhile -Jowett's "Translation of Plato" is being prepared for publication, and -he has kindly sent us the sheets of one volume. So I pass from -discussions of French lying and the Nemesis that awaits it to -discussions about rhetorical lying at Athens in the fourth century -before Christ. The translations and introductions to the "Dialogues" -seem to be charmingly done. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 25th Aug. 1870.] - -We shall return to town on Monday, various small reasons concurring to -make us resolve on quitting this earthly paradise. I am very sorry for -the sufferings of the French nation; but I think these sufferings are -better for the moral welfare of the people than victory would have -been. The war has been drawn down on them by an iniquitous government; -but in a great proportion of the French people there has been -nourished a wicked glorification of selfish pride, which, like all -other conceit, is a sort of stupidity, excluding any true conception -of what lies outside their own vain wishes. The Germans, it seems, -were expected to stand like toy-soldiers for the French to knock them -down. It is quite true that the war is in some respects the conflict -of two differing forms of civilization. But whatever charm we may see -in the southern Latin races, this ought not to blind us to the great -contributions which the German energies have made in all sorts of ways -to the common treasure of mankind. And who that has any spirit of -justice can help sympathizing with them in their grand repulse of the -French project to invade and divide them? If I were a Frenchwoman, -much as I might wail over French sufferings, I cannot help believing -that I should detest the French talk about the "Prussians." They -wanted to throttle the electric eel for their own purposes. - -But I imagine that you and the doctor would not find us in much -disagreement with you in these matters. One thing that is pleasant to -think of is the effort made everywhere to help the wounded. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1870.] - -_Oct. 27._--On Monday the 8th August we went to our favorite Surrey -retreat--Limpsfield--and enjoyed three weeks there reading and walking -together. The weather was perfect, and the place seemed more lovely to -us than before. Aloud I read the concluding part of Walter Scott's -Life, which we had begun at Harrogate; two volumes of Froude's -"History of England," and Comte's "Correspondence with Valat." We -returned on Monday the 29th. - -During our stay at Limpsfield I wrote the greater part of "Armgart," -and finished it at intervals during September. Since then I have been -continually suffering from headache and depression, with almost total -despair of future work. I look into this little book now to assure -myself that this is not unprecedented. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 18th Nov. 1870.] - -Yesterday, for the first time, we went to hear A. (a popular -preacher). I remembered what you had said about his vulgar, false -emphasis; but there remained the fact of his celebrity. I was glad of -the opportunity. But my impressions fell below the lowest judgment I -ever heard passed upon him. He has the gift of a fine voice, very -flexible and various; he is admirably fluent and clear in his -language, and every now and then his enunciation is effective. But I -never heard any pulpit reading and speaking which in its level tone -was more utterly common and empty of guiding intelligence or emotion; -it was as if the words had been learned by heart and uttered without -comprehension by a man who had no instinct of rhythm or music in his -soul. And the doctrine! It was a libel on Calvinism that it should be -presented in such a form. I never heard any attempt to exhibit the -soul's experience that was more destitute of insight. The sermon was -against fear, in the elect Christian, as being a distrust of God; but -never once did he touch the true ground of fear--the doubt whether the -signs of God's choice are present in the soul. We had plenty of -anecdotes, but they were all poor and pointless--Tract Society -anecdotes of the feeblest kind. It was the most superficial -grocer's-back-parlor view of Calvinistic Christianity; and I was -shocked to find how low the mental pitch of our society must be, -judged by the standard of this man's celebrity. - -Mr. Lewes was struck with some of his tones as good actor's tones, and -was not so wroth as I was. But just now, with all Europe stirred by -events that make every conscience tremble after some great principle -as a consolation and guide, it was too exasperating to sit and listen -to doctrine that seemed to look no further than the retail Christian's -tea and muffins. He said "Let us approach the throne of God" very much -as he might have invited you to take a chair; and then followed this -fine touch--"We feel no love to God because he hears the prayers of -others; it is because he hears my prayer that I love him." - -You see I am relieving myself by pouring out my disgust to you. Oh, -how short life--how near death--seems to me! But this is not an -uncheerful thought. The only great dread is the protraction of life -into imbecility or the visitation of lingering pain. That seems to me -the insurmountable calamity, though there is an ignorant affectation -in many people of underrating what they call bodily suffering. I -systematically abstain from correspondence, yet the number of -acquaintances and consequent little appeals so constantly increases -that I often find myself inwardly rebelling against the amount of -note-writing that I cannot avoid. Have the great events of these -months interfered with your freedom of spirit in writing? One has to -dwell continually on the permanent, growing influence of ideas in -spite of temporary reactions, however violent, in order to get courage -and perseverance for any work which lies aloof from the immediate -wants of society. You remember Goethe's contempt for the Revolution of -'30 compared with the researches on the Vertebrate Structure of the -Skull? "My good friend, I was not thinking of those people." But the -changes we are seeing cannot be doffed aside in that way. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, Nov. 1870.] - -Lying awake early in the morning, according to a bad practice of mine, -I was visited with much compunction and self-disgust that I had ever -said a word to you about the faults of a friend whose good qualities -are made the more sacred by the endurance his lot has in many ways -demanded. I think you may fairly set down a full half of any alleged -grievances to my own susceptibility, and other faults of mine which -necessarily call forth less agreeable manifestations from others than -as many virtues would do, if I had them. I trust to your good sense to -have judged well in spite of my errors in the presentation of any -matter. But I wish to protest against myself, that I may, as much as -possible, cut off the temptation to what I should like utterly to -purify myself from for the few remaining years of my life--the -disposition to dwell for a moment on the faults of a friend. - -Tell the flower and fern giver, whoever it may be, that some strength -comes to me this morning from the pretty proof of sympathy. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 2d Dec. 1870.] - -I have it on my conscience that I may not have given you a clear -impression of my wishes about the poor pensioner who was in question -between us to-day, so I write at once to secure us both against a -possible misunderstanding. I would rather not apply any more money in -that direction, because I know of other channels[13]--especially a -plan which is being energetically carried out for helping a -considerable group of people without almsgiving, and solely by -inducing them to work--into which I shall be glad to pour a little -more aid. The repugnance to have relief from the parish was a feeling -which it was good to encourage in the old days of contra-encouragement -to sturdy pauperism; but I question whether one ought now to indulge -it, and not rather point out the reasons why, in a case of real -helplessness, there is no indignity in receiving from a public fund. - -After you had left me, it rang in my ears that I had spoken of my -greater cheerfulness as due to a reduced anxiety about myself and my -doings, and had not seemed to recognize that the deficit or evil in -other lives could be a cause of depression. I was not really so -ludicrously selfish while dressing myself up in the costume of -unselfishness. But my strong egoism has caused me so much melancholy, -which is traceable simply to a fastidious yet hungry ambition, that I -am relieved by the comparative quietude of personal craving which age -is bringing. That is the utmost I have to boast of, and, really, to be -cheerful in these times could only be a virtue in the sense in which -it was felt to be so by the old Romans when they thanked their general -for not despairing of the republic. - -I have been reading aloud to Mr. Lewes this evening Mr. Harrison's -article on "Bismarckism," which made me cry--it is in some passages -movingly eloquent. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1870.] - -_Dec. 2._--I am experimenting in a story ("Miss Brooke") which I began -without any very serious intention of carrying it out lengthily. It is -a subject which has been recorded among my possible themes ever since -I began to write fiction, but will probably take new shapes in the -development. I am to-day at p. 44. I am reading Wolf's "Prolegomena to -Homer." In the evening, aloud, "Wilhelm Meister" again! - -_Dec. 12._--George's mother died this morning quite peacefully as she -sat in her chair. - -_Dec. 17._--Reading "Quintus Fixlein" aloud to G. in the evening. -Grote on Sicilian history. - -_Dec. 31._--On Wednesday the 21st we went to Ryde to see Madame -Bodichon at Swanmore Parsonage, a house which she had taken for two -months. We had a pleasant and healthy visit, walking much in the -frosty air. On Christmas Day I went with her to the Ritualist Church -which is attached to the parsonage, and heard some excellent intoning -by the delicate-faced, tenor-voiced clergyman. On Wednesday last, the -28th, Barbara came up to town with us. We found the cold here more -severe than at Ryde; and the papers tell us of still harder weather -about Paris, where our fellow-men are suffering and inflicting -horrors. - -Here is the last day of 1870. I have written only one hundred -pages--good printed pages--of a story which I began about the opening -of November, and at present mean to call "Miss Brooke." Poetry halts -just now. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2d Jan. 1871.] - -We spent our Christmas in the Isle of Wight, and on Christmas Day I -went to a Ritualist church and heard some fine intoning of the service -by a clear, strong, tenor voice, sweet singing from boys' throats, -and all sorts of Catholic ceremonial in a miniature way. - -It is good to see what our neighbors are doing. To live in seclusion -with one's own thoughts is apt to give one very false notions as to -the possibilities of the present time in the matter of conversion -either to superstition or anti-superstition. - -In this cruel time, I no sooner hear of an affliction than I see it -multiplied in some one of the endless forms of suffering created by -this hellish war. In the beginning I could feel entirely with the -Germans, and could say of that calamity called "victory," I am glad. -But now I can be glad of nothing. No people can carry on a long, -fierce war without being brutalized by it, more or less, and it pains -me that the educated voices have not a higher moral tone about -national and international duties and prospects. But, like every one -else, I feel that the war is too much with me, and am rather anxious -to avoid unwise speech about it than to utter what may seem to me to -be wisdom. The pain is that one can _do_ so little. - -I have not read "Sir Harry Hotspur," but as to your general question, -I reply that there certainly are some women who love in that way, but -"their sex as well as I may chide them for it." Men are very fond of -glorifying that sort of dog-like attachment. It is one thing to love -because you falsely imagine goodness--that belongs to the finest -natures--and another to go on loving when you have found out your -mistake. But married constancy is a different affair. I have seen a -grandly heroic woman who, out of her view as to the responsibilities -of the married relation, condoned everything, took her drunken husband -to her home again, and at last nursed and watched him into penitence -and decency. But there may be two opinions even about this sort of -endurance--_i.e._, about its ultimate tendency, not about the beauty -of nature which prompts it. This is quite distinct from mere animal -constancy. It is duty and human pity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Colonel Hamley (now General Sir Edward Hamley), -24th Jan. 1871.] - -I write to say God bless you for your letter to the _Times_, of this -morning. It contains the best expression of right principle--I was -almost ready to say, the only good, sensible words--that I have yet -seen on the actual state of things between the Germans and the French. - -You will not pause, I trust, but go on doing what can be done only by -one who is at once a soldier, a writer, and a clear-headed man of -principle. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1871.] - -_March 19_ (Sunday).--It is grievous to me how little, from one cause -or other, chiefly languor and occasionally positive ailments, I manage -to get done. I have written about two hundred and thirty-six pages -(print) of my novel, which I want to get off my hands by next -November. My present fear is that I have too much matter--too many -_momenti_. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 3d April, 1871.] - -I happened to-day to be talking to a very sweet-faced woman (the -sister of Dr. Bridges, whom I think you know something of), and she -mentioned, _à propos_ of educating children in the love of animals, -that she had felt the want of some good little book as a help in this -matter. I told her of yours, and when I said that it was written by -Mrs. Bray, the author of "Physiology for Schools," she said, "Oh, I -know that book well." I have made her a present of my copy of "Duty to -Animals," feeling that this was a good quarter in which to plant that -offset. For she had been telling me of her practical interest in the -infant and other schools in Suffolk, where she lives. We have had a -great pleasure to-day in learning that our friend Miss Bury is engaged -to be married to Mr. Geddes, a Scotch gentleman. There is a streak of -sadness for her family in the fact that she is to go to India with -her husband next November, but all else is bright in her prospect. It -is very sweet to see, and think of, the happiness of the young. I am -scribbling with an infirm head, at the end of the day, just for the -sake of letting you know one proof, in addition doubtless to many -others which you have already had, that your pretty little book is -likely to supply a want. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Gilchrist, 19th April, 1871.] - -We are very much obliged to you for your kind, methodical -thoughtfulness as to all which is necessary for our accommodation at -Brookbank, and also for your hints about the points of beauty to be -sought for in our walks. That "sense of standing on a round world," -which you speak of, is precisely what I most care for among -out-of-door delights. The last time I had it fully was at St. Märgen, -near Freiburg, on green hilltops, whence we could see the Rhine and -poor France. - -The garden has been, and is being, attended to, and I trust we shall -not find the commissariat unendurable. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 6th June, 1871.] - -It seems like a resurrection of a buried-alive friendship once more to -have a letter from you. Welcome back from your absorption in the -Franchise! Somebody else ought to have your share of work now, and you -ought to rest. - -Ever since the 1st of May we have been living in this queer cottage, -which belongs to Mrs. Gilchrist, wife of the Gilchrist who wrote the -life of William Blake the artist. We have a ravishing country round -us, and pure air and water; in short, all the conditions of health, if -the east wind were away. We have old prints for our dumb -companions--charming children of Sir Joshua's, and large-hatted ladies -of his and Romney's. I read aloud--almost all the evening--books of -German science, and other gravities. So, you see, we are like two -secluded owls, wise with unfashionable wisdom, and knowing nothing of -pictures and French plays. I confess that I should have gone often to -see Got act if I had been in town, he is so really great as an actor. -And yet one is ashamed of seeking amusement in connection with -anything that belongs to poor, unhappy France. I am saved from the -shame by being safely shut out from the amusement. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 17th June, 1871.] - -How about Madame Mohl and her husband? I have been wondering through -all the horrors whether M. Mohl had returned to Paris, and whether -their house, containing, too probably, the results of much studious -work, lies buried among ruins. But I will not further recall the -sorrows in that direction. - -I am glad to see the words "very satisfactory" in connection with the -visit to Hitchin and Cambridge. Ely Cathedral I saw last year, but too -cursorily. It has more of the massive grandeur that one adores in Le -Mans and Chartres than most of our English cathedrals, though I am -ready to recall the comparison as preposterous. - -I don't know how long we shall stay here; perhaps, more or less, till -the end of August, for I have given up the idea of going to the Scott -Festival at Edinburgh, to which I had accepted an invitation. The -fatigue of the long journey, with the crowd at the end, would be too -much for me. - -Let us know beforehand when you are about coming. - -George is gloriously well, and studying, writing, walking, eating, and -sleeping with equal vigor. He is enjoying the life here immensely. Our -country could hardly be surpassed in its particular kind of -beauty--perpetual undulation of heath and copse, and clear views of -hurrying water, with here and there a grand pine wood, steep, -wood-clothed promontories, and gleaming pools. - -If you want delightful reading get Lowell's "My Study Windows," and -read the essays called "My Garden Acquaintances" and "Winter." - -Get the volumes of a very cheap publication--the "Deutscher -Novellenschatz." Some of the tales are remarkably fine. I am reading -aloud the last three volumes, which are even better than the others. I -have just been so deeply interested in one of the stories--"Diethelm -von Buchenberg"--that I want everybody to have the same pleasure who -can read German. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Gilchrist, 3d July, 1871.] - -We are greatly obliged to you for the trouble you have so -sympathetically taken on our behalf, and we shall prepare to quit our -quiet shelter on Wednesday, the 2d of August. During the first weeks -of our stay I did not imagine that I should ever be so fond of the -place as I am now. The departure of the bitter winds, some improvement -in my health, and the gradual revelation of fresh and fresh beauties -in the scenery, especially under a hopeful sky such as we have -sometimes had--all these conditions have made me love our little world -here and wish not to quit it until we can settle in our London home. I -have the regret of thinking that it was my original indifference about -it (I hardly ever like things until they are familiar) that hindered -us from securing the cottage until the end of September, for the -chance of coming to it again after a temporary absence. But all -regrets ought to be merged in thankfulness for the agreeable weeks we -have had, and probably shall have till the end of July. And among the -virtues of Brookbank we shall always reckon this, that our -correspondence about it has been with you rather than with any one -else, so that, along with the country, we have had a glimpse of your -ready, quick-thoughted kindness. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 13th July, 1871.] - -One word to you in response to Emily's note, which comes to me this -morning, and lets me know that by this time she is probably in the -last hour of her unmarried life. My thoughts and love and tender -anxiety are with her and with all of you. When you receive this she -will, I suppose, be far away, and it is of little consequence that I -can make no new sign to her of my joy in her joy. - -For the next few weeks my anxiety will be concentrated on you and -yours at Yarmouth. Pray, when your mind and body are sufficiently free -from absorbing occupation, remember my need of news about you, and -write to me. The other day I seemed to get a glimpse of you through -Mrs. Call, who told me that you looked like a new creature--so much -stronger than you were wont; and she told me of Dr. Congreve's address -at the school, which raised my keenest sympathy, and made me feel -myself a very helpless friend. - -Please give my love to the children, and tell Sophy especially that I -think her happy in this--that there is a place made for all the effort -of her young life to fill it with something like the goodness and -brightness which she has known and has just now to part with. I expect -her to be your guardian angel, perhaps in a new way--namely, in saving -you from some fatigue about details. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 15th July, 1871.] - -I still feel that I owe you my thanks for your kind letter, although -Mr. Lewes undertook to deliver them in the first instance. You -certainly made a seat at the Commemoration Table[14] look more -tempting to me than it had done before; but I think that prudence -advises me to abstain from the fatigue and excitement of a long -railway journey, with a great gathering at the end of it. If there is -a chance that "Middlemarch" will be good for anything, I don't want to -break down and die without finishing it. And whatever "the tow on my -distaff" may be, my strength to unwind it has not been abundant -lately. - -_À propos_ of bodily prosperity, I am sincerely rejoiced to know, by -your postscript this morning, that Mr. Simpson is recovered. I hope he -will not object to my considering him a good friend of mine, though it -is so long since I saw him. The blank that is left when thorough -workers like him are disabled is felt not only near at hand, but a -great way off. I often say--after the fashion of people who are -getting older--that the capacity for good work, of the kind that goes -on without trumpets, is diminishing in the world. - -The continuous absence of sunshine is depressing in every way, and -makes one fear for the harvest, and so grave a fear that one is -ashamed of mentioning one's private dreariness. You cannot play golf -in the rain, and I cannot feel hopeful without the sunlight; but I -dare say you work all the more, whereas when my spirits flag my work -flags too. - -I should have liked to see Principal Tulloch again, and to have made -the acquaintance of Captain Lockhart, whose writing is so jaunty and -cheery, yet so thoroughly refined in feeling. Perhaps I may still have -this pleasure in town, when he comes up at the same time with you. -Please give my kind regards to Mr. William Blackwood. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th July, 1871.] - -Thanks for the prompt return of the MS., which arrived this morning. - -I don't see how I can leave anything out, because I hope there is -nothing that will be seen to be irrelevant to my design, which is to -show the gradual action of ordinary causes rather than exceptional, -and to show this in some directions which have not been from time -immemorial the beaten path--the Cremorne walks and shows of fiction. -But the best intentions are good for nothing until execution has -justified them. And you know I am always compassed about with fears. I -am in danger in all my designs of parodying dear Goldsmith's satire on -Burke, and think of refining when novel-readers only think of -skipping. - -We are obliged to turn out of this queer cottage next week; but we -have been fortunate enough to get the more comfortable house on the -other side of the road, so that we can move without any trouble. Thus -our address will continue to be the same until the end of August. - -Tennyson, who is one of the "hill-folk" about here, has found us out. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Robert Lytton[15] (now Lady -Lytton), 25th July, 1871.] - -This morning your husband's letter came to us, but if I did not know -that it would be nearly a week before any words of mine could reach -you, I should abstain from writing just yet, feeling that in the first -days of sorrowing it is better to keep silence. For a long while after -a great bereavement our only companionship is with the lost one. Yet I -hope it will not be without good to you to have signs of love from -your friends, and to be reminded that you have a home in their -affections, which is made larger for you by your trouble. For weeks my -thought has been continually going out to you, and the absence of news -has made me so fearful that I have mourned beforehand. I have been -feeling that probably you were undergoing the bitterest grief you had -ever known. But under the heart-stroke, is there anything better than -to grieve? Strength will come back for the duty and the fellowship -which gradually bring new contentments, but at first there is no joy -to be desired that would displace sorrow. - -What is better than to love and live with the loved? But that must -sometimes bring us to live with the dead; and this too turns at last -into a very tranquil and sweet tie, safe from change and injury. - -You see, I make myself a warrant out of my regard for you, to write as -if we had long been near each other. And I cannot help wishing that we -were physically nearer--that you were not on the other side of Europe. -We shall trust in Mr. Lytton's kindness to let us hear of you by and -by. But you must never write except to satisfy your own longing. May -all true help surround you, dear Mrs. Lytton, and whenever you can -think of me, believe in me as yours with sincere affection. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Mary Cross, 31st July, 1871.] - -I read your touching story[16] aloud yesterday to Mr. Lewes, and we -both cried over it. Your brother wrote to me that you had doubts about -giving your name. My faith is, that signature is right in the absence -of weighty special reasons against it. - -We think of you all very often, and feel ourselves much the richer for -having a whole dear family to reckon among our friends. We are to stay -here till the end of the month. When the trees are yellow, I hope you -will be coming to see us in St. John's Wood. How little like the -woods we have around us! I suppose Weybridge is more agreeable than -other places at present, if it has any of its extra warmth in this -arctic season. - -Our best love, to your dear mother supremely, and then to all. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 2d Aug. 1871.] - -I always say that those people are the happiest who have a peremptory -reason for staying in one place rather than another. Else I should be -sorry for you that you are kept in London--by Parliamentary business, -of course. - -There is sunshine over our fields now, but the thermometer is only 64° -in the house, and in the warmest part of the day I, having a talent -for being cold, sit shivering, sometimes even with a warm-water bottle -at my feet. I wonder if you went to the French plays to see the -supreme Got? That is a refined pleasure which I enjoyed so much in -Paris a few years ago that I was sorry to be out of reach of it this -spring. - -About the Crystal Palace music I remember feeling just what you -mention--the sublime effect of the Handel choruses, and the total -futility of the solos. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 3d Aug. 1871.] - -Thanks for your little picture of things. Eminently acceptable in -place of vague conjectures. I am a bitter enemy to make-believe about -the human lot, but I think there is a true alleviation of distress in -thinking of the intense enjoyment which accompanies a spontaneous, -confident, intellectual activity. This may not be a counterpoise to -the existing evils, but it is at least a share of mortal good, and -good of an exquisite kind. - -Are you not happy in the long-wished-for sunshine? I have a pretty -lawn before me, with hills in the background. The train rushes by -every now and then to make one more glad of the usual silence. - -A good man writes to me from Scotland this morning, asking me if he is -not right in pronouncing Rom[)o]la, in defiance of the world around -him (not a large world, I hope) who _will_ say Rom[=o]la. Such is -correspondence in these days; so that quantity is magnificent _en -gros_ but shabby _en détail_--_i.e._, in single letters like this. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 14th Aug. 1871.] - -We shall stay here only till the end of this month--at least, I have -no hope that our _propriétaires_ will be induced to protract their -absence; and if the lingering smell of paint does not drive us away -from the Priory again, we expect to stay there from the first of -September, without projects of travel for many, many months. - -We enjoy our roomy house and pretty lawn greatly. Imagine me seated -near a window, opening under a veranda, with flower-beds and lawn and -pretty hills in sight, my feet on a warm-water bottle, and my writing -on my knees. In that attitude my mornings are passed. We dine at two; -and at four, when the tea comes in, I begin to read aloud. About six -or half-past we walk on to the commons and see the great sky over our -head. At eight we are usually in the house again, and fill our evening -with physics, chemistry, or other wisdom if our heads are at par; if -not, we take to folly, in the shape of Alfred de Musset's poems, or -something akin to them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 29th Oct. 1871.] - -Yesterday we returned from Weybridge, where, for a few days, I have -been petted by kind friends (delightful Scotch people), and have had -delicious drives in the pure autumn air. That must be my farewell to -invalidism and holiday making. I am really better--not robust or fat, -but perhaps as well as I am likely to be till death mends me. - -Your account of Mr. Main[17] sets my mind at ease about him; for in -this case I would rather have your judgment than any opportunity of -forming my own. The one thing that gave me confidence was his power of -putting his finger on the right passages, and giving emphasis to the -right idea (in relation to the author's feeling and purpose). Apart -from that, enthusiasm would have been of little value. - -One feels rather ashamed of authoresses this week after the -correspondence in the _Times_. One hardly knows which letter is in the -worst taste. However, if we are to begin with marvelling at the little -wisdom with which the world is governed, we can hardly expect that -much wisdom will go to the making of novels. - -I should think it quite a compliment if the general got through "Miss -Brooke." Mr. Lewes amused himself with the immeasurable contempt that -Mr. Casaubon would be the object of in the general's mind. - -I hardly dare hope that the second part will take quite so well as the -first, the effects being more subtile and dispersed; but Mr. Lewes -seems to like the third part better than anything that has gone before -it. But can anything be more uncertain than the reception of a book by -the public? I am glad to see that the "Coming Race" has got into a -fourth edition. Let us hope that the Koom Posh may be at least -mitigated by the sale of a good book or two. - -As for me, I get more and more unable to be anything more than a -feeble sceptic about all publishing plans, and am thankful to have so -many good heads at work for me. _Allah illah allah!_ - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1871.] - -We who are getting old together have the tie of common infirmities. -But I don't find that the young troubles seem lighter on looking back. -I prefer my years now to any that have gone before. I wish you could -tell me the same thing about yourself. And, surely, writing your book -is, on the whole, a joy to you--it is a large share in the meagre lot -of mankind. All hail for the morrow! How many sweet laughs, how much -serious pleasure in the great things others have done, you and I have -had together in a past islet of time that remains very sunny in my -remembrance. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1871.] - -_Dec. 1._--This day the first part of "Middlemarch" was published. I -ought by this time to have finished the fourth part, but an illness -which began soon after our return from Haslemere has robbed me of two -months. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th Dec. 1871.] - -If you have not yet fallen in with Dickens's "Life" be on the lookout -for it, because of the interest there is in his boyish experience, and -also in his rapid development during his first travels in America. The -book is ill organized, and stuffed with criticism and other matter -which would be better in limbo; but the information about the -childhood, and the letters from America, make it worth reading. We -have just got a photograph of Dickens, taken when he was writing, or -had just written, "David Copperfield"--satisfactory refutation of that -keepsakey, impossible face which Maclise gave him, and which has been -engraved for the "Life" in all its odious beautification. This -photograph is the young Dickens, corresponding to the older Dickens -whom I knew--the same face, without the unusually severe wear and -tear of years which his latest looks exhibited. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1872.] - -_Dec. 20._--My health has become very troublesome during the last -three weeks, and I can get on but tardily. Even now I am only at page -227 of my fourth part. But I have been also retarded by construction, -which, once done, serves as good wheels for progress. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 1st Jan. 1872.] - -Your good wishes and pleasant bits of news made the best part of my -breakfast this morning. I am glad to think that, in desiring happiness -for you during the new year, I am only desiring the continuance of -good which you already possess. - -I suppose we two, also, are among the happiest of mortals, yet we have -had a rather doleful Christmas, the one great lack, that of health, -having made itself particularly conspicuous in the surrounding fog. -Having no grandchildren to get up a Christmas-tree for, we had nothing -to divert our attention from our headaches. - -Mr. Main's book broke the clouds a little, and now the heavens have -altogether cleared, so that we are hoping to come back from a visit of -three days to Weybridge with our strength renewed--if not like the -eagle's, at least like a convalescent tomtit's. - -The "Sayings" are set off by delightful paper and print, and a binding -which opens with inviting ease. I am really grateful to every one -concerned in the volume, and am anxious that it should not be in any -way a disappointment. The selections seem to me to be made with an -exquisite sensibility to the various lights and shades of life; and -all Mr. Main's letters show the same quality. It is a great help to me -to have such an indication that there exist careful readers for whom -no subtilest intention is lost. - -We have both read the story of the "Megara" with the deepest interest; -indeed, with a quite exceptional enjoyment of its direct, -unexaggerated painting. - -The prescription of two days' golfing per week will, I hope, keep up -your condition to the excellent pitch at which it was on your return -from Paris. Good news usually acts as a tonic when one's case is not -too desperate; and I shall be glad if you and we can get it in the -form of more success for "Middlemarch." Dickens's "Life," you see, -finds a large public ready to pay more. But the British mind has long -entertained the purchase of expensive biographies. The proofs lately -given that one's books don't necessarily go out like lucifer matches, -never to be taken up again, make one content with moderate immediate -results, which perhaps are as much as can reasonably be expected for -any writing which does not address itself either to fashions or -corporate interests of an exclusive kind. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 18th Jan. 1872.] - -It is like your kindness to write me your encouraging impressions on -reading the third book. I suppose it is my poor health that just now -makes me think my writing duller than usual. For certainly the -reception of the first book by my old readers is quite beyond my most -daring hopes. One of them, who is a great champion of "Adam Bede" and -"Romola," told Mr. Lewes yesterday that he thought "Middlemarch" -surpassed them. All this is very wonderful to me. I am thoroughly -comforted as to the half of the work which is already written; but -there remains the terror about the _un_written. Mr. Lewes is much -satisfied with the fourth book, which opens with the continuation of -the Featherstone drama. - -We went yesterday to the Tichborne trial, which was an experience of -great interest to me. We had to come away after the third hour of -Coleridge's speaking; but it was a great enjoyment to me to hear what -I did. Coleridge is a rare orator--not of the declamatory, but of the -argumentative order. - -Thanks, not formal, but sincerely felt, for the photographs. This -likeness will always carry me back to the first time I saw you, in our -little Richmond lodging, when I was thinking anxiously of "Adam Bede," -as I now am of "Middlemarch." - -I felt something like a shudder when Sir Henry Maine asked me last -Sunday whether this would not be a very long book; saying, when I told -him it would be four good volumes, that that was what he had -calculated. However, it will not be longer than Thackeray's books, if -so long. And I don't see how the sort of thing I want to do could have -been done briefly. - -I have to be grateful for the gift of "Brougham's Life," which will be -a welcome addition to my means of knowing the time "when his ugliness -had not passed its bloom." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 22d Jan. 1872.] - -Your letter seems to pierce the rainy fog with a little sunlight. Cold -and clearness are the reverse of what we are usually having here. -Until the last few days my chief consciousness has been that of -struggling against inward as well as outward fog; but I am now better, -and have only been dragged back into headachiness by a little too much -fatigue from visitors. I give you this account as a preface to my -renunciation of a journey to Dover, which would be very delightful, if -I had not already lost too much time to be warranted in taking a -holiday. - -Next Saturday we are going to have a party--six to dine, and a small -rush of people after dinner, for the sake of music. I think it is four -years at least since we undertook anything of that kind. - -A great domestic event for us has been the arrival of a new dog, who -has all Ben's virtues, with more intelligence, and a begging attitude -of irresistible charm. He is a dark-brown spaniel. You see what -infantine innocence we live in! - -Glad you are reading my demigod Milton! We also are rather -old-fashioned in our light reading just now; for I have rejected -Heyse's German stories, brand new, in favor of dear old Johnson's -"Lives of the Poets," which I read aloud in my old age with a -delicious revival of girlish impressions. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1872.] - -_Jan. 29._--It is now the last day but one of January. I have finished -the fourth part--_i.e._, the second volume--of "Middlemarch." The -first part, published on December 1, has been excellently well -received; and the second part will be published the day after -to-morrow. About Christmas a volume of extracts from my works was -published, under the title, "Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings, in Prose -and Verse." It was proposed and executed by Alexander Main, a young -man of thirty, who began a correspondence with me by asking me how to -pronounce Romola, in the summer, when we were at Shottermill. -Blackwood proposed that we should share the profits, but we refused. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 29th Jan. 1872.] - -I do lead rather a crawling life under these rainy fogs and low -behavior of the barometer. But I am a little better, on the whole, -though just now overdone with the fatigue of company. We have been to -hear Coleridge addressing the jury on the Tichborne trial--a very -interesting occasion to me. He is a marvellous speaker among -Englishmen; has an exquisitely melodious voice, perfect gesture, and a -power of keeping the thread of his syntax to the end of his sentence, -which makes him delightful to follow. We are going some other day, if -possible, to hear a cross-examination of Ballantyne's. The digest of -the evidence which Coleridge gives is one of the best illustrations of -the value or valuelessness of testimony that could be given. I wonder -if the world, which retails Guppy anecdotes, will be anything the -wiser for it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 21st Feb. 1872.] - -To hear of a friend's illness after he has got well through it is the -least painful way of learning the bad news. I hope that your attack -has been a payment of insurance. - -You probably know what it grieved us deeply to learn the other -day--that our excellent friend Mr. William Smith is dangerously ill. -They have been so entirely happy and wrapped up in each other that we -cannot bear to think of Mrs. Smith's grief. - -Thanks for the list of sales since February 12th. Things are -encouraging, and the voices that reach us are enthusiastic. But you -can understand how people's interest in the book heightens my anxiety -that the remainder should be up to the mark. It has caused me some -uneasiness that the third part is two sheets less than the first. But -Mr. Lewes insisted that the death of old Featherstone was the right -point to pause at; and he cites your approbation of the part as a -proof that effectiveness is secured in spite of diminished quantity. -Still it irks me to ask 5_s._ for a smaller amount than that already -given at the same price. Perhaps I must regard the value as made up -solely by effectiveness, and certainly the book will be long enough. - -I am still below par in strength, and am too much beset with visitors -and kind attentions. I long for the quiet spaces of time and the -absence of social solicitations that one enjoys in the country, out of -everybody's reach. - -I am glad to hear of the pleasure "Middlemarch" gives in your -household: that makes quite a little preliminary public for me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 4th Mch. 1872.] - -I can understand very easily that the two last years have been full -for you of other and more imperative work than the writing of letters -not absolutely demanded either by charity or business. The proof that -you still think of me affectionately is very welcome now it is come, -and all the more cheering because it enables me to think of you as -enjoying your retreat in your orange orchard--your western -Sorrento--the beloved Rabbi still beside you. I am sure it must be a -great blessing to you to bathe in that quietude--as it always is to us -when we go out of reach of London influences, and have the large space -of country days to study, walk, and talk in. Last year we spent our -summer months in Surrey, and did not leave England. Unhappily, the -country was not so favorable to my bodily health as to my spiritual, -and on our return to town I had an illness which was the climax of the -summer's _malaise_. That illness robbed me of two months, and I have -never quite recovered a condition in which the strict duties of the -day are not felt as a weight. But just now we are having some clear -spring days, and I am in hope of prospering better, the sunshine being -to me the greatest visible good of life--what I call the wealth of -life, after love and trust. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 8th Mch. 1872.] - -When I am more at liberty I will certainly read Mr. Owen's books, if -he is good enough to send them to me. I desire on all subjects to keep -an open mind, but hitherto the various phenomena reported or attested -in connection with ideas of spirit-intercourse, "psychion," and so on, -have come before me here in the painful form of the lowest -_charlatanerie_. Take Mr. H. as an example of what I mean. I could not -choose to enter a room where he held a _séance_. He is an object of -moral disgust to me; and nothing of late reported by Mr. Crookes, Lord -Lindsay, and the rest carries conviction to my mind that Mr. H. is not -simply an impostor, whose professedly abnormal manifestations have -varied their fashion in order to create a new market, just as if they -were _papier mâché_ wares or pomades for the idle rich. But apart from -personal contact with people who get money by public exhibitions as -mediums, or with semi-idiots, such as those who make a court for a -Mrs. Guppy or other feminine personage of that kind, I would not -willingly place any barriers between my mind and any possible channel -of truth affecting the human lot. - -The spirit in which you have written in the paper you kindly sent me -is likely to teach others--to rouse them, at least, to attention in a -case where you have been deeply impressed. - -I write to you quite openly, dear friend, but very imperfectly, for my -letters are always written in shreds of time. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 14th Mch. 1872.] - -Thanks for the budget of this morning. The sales, we think, are very -cheering, and we may well be content if they continue in the same -ratio. But the Greek proverb about the beginning being the half of the -whole wants as much defining and excepting from as most other -proverbs. - -I have just had sent me a copy of the magazine _Für die Literatur des -Auslander_, containing a review of "Miss Brooke," which will be good -for Asher's edition, and is otherwise satisfactory as an intelligent -appreciation. It mentions at the end the appearance of Mr. Main's -book, "The Sayings." A Frenchman, apparently accomplished, a M. -Landolphe, who has made some important translations, is going to -translate the whole of "Middlemarch;" and one of the contributors to -the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ has written for leave to extract -Dorothea's history. - -I fancy we have done a good turn to English authors generally by -setting off Asher's series, for we have heard that Tauchnitz has -raised his offers. There is another way in which benefit might come -that would be still more desirable--namely, to make him more careful -in his selections of books for reprint. But I fear that this effect is -not so certain. You see Franz Duncker, who publishes the German -translation of "Middlemarch," has also begun an English series. This -is really worth while, for the Germans are excellent readers of our -books. I was astonished to find so many in Berlin who really knew -one's books, and did not merely pay compliments after the fashion of -the admirers who made Rousseau savage--running after him to pay him -visits, and not knowing a word of his writing. - -You and other good readers have spoiled me, and made me rather shudder -at being read only once; and you may imagine how little satisfaction I -get from people who mean to please me by saying that they shall wait -till "Middlemarch" is finished, and then sit up to read it "at one -go-off." - -We are looking for a country retreat not too far from town, so that -we may run up easily. There is nothing wanting to our happiness except -that "Middlemarch" should be well ended without growing signs of its -author's debility. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 17th March, 1872.] - -Before I received your letter this morning, I was going to write you a -word of sympathy, knowing how deeply you would be feeling the death of -Mazzini. Such a man leaves behind him a wider good than the loss of -his personal presence can take away. - - "The greatest gift the hero leaves his race - Is to have been a hero." - -I must be excused for quoting my own words, because they are my -_credo_. I enter thoroughly into your sense of wealth in having known -him. - -Brighton does not suit Mr. Lewes. But he was near going there for a -night a little while ago to see our friends, Mr. and Mrs. William -Smith. He (the author of "Thorndale," etc.) is, I fear, wasting -fatally with organic disease, and we grieve much at the too-probably -near parting of a husband and wife who have been among the perfectly -happy couples of the world. She is a charming woman, and I wish that -you may happen to know her. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d March, 1872.] - -Owing to my loss of two months in illness, and my infirm health ever -since, I have not yet finished the writing of "Middlemarch." This -payment of wintry arrears makes one prefer the comforts of a London -home; but we are obliged to see more company than my health is equal -to, and for this reason I dare say we shall soon migrate. To-day we -have been to our last morning concert--or Saturday Pop.--held on a -Friday because of the University boat-race to-morrow. These concerts -are an easy pleasure which we are sorry to part with. This is one of -my bad weeks, owing probably to the change in the weather, and I am -constantly struggling with hemicrania and _malaise_. Even writing this -scrap of a note is the feather too much, and I must leave off. You -have known too much of nervous weakness not to understand this. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1872.] - -_May 8._--I have been reposing for more than a week in the hope of -getting stronger, my life having been lately a swamp of illness, with -only here and there a bit of firm walking. In consequence of this -incessant interruption (almost every week having been half nullified -for me so far as my work has been concerned) I have only finished the -fifth book, and have still three books to write--equal to a large -volume and a half. - -The reception of the book hitherto has been quite beyond what I could -have believed beforehand, people exalting it above everything else I -have written. Kohn is publishing an English edition in Germany; -Duncker is to publish a translation; and Harpers pay me £1200 for -reprinting it in America. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 4th June, 1872.] - -I am glad to know that you are having a time of refreshing in fine -scenery, with entire freedom to paint. I am in a corresponding state -of relief from the noises and small excitements that break up the day -and scatter one's nervous energy in London. - -We have been in our hiding-place about twelve days now, and I am -enjoying it more and more--getting more bodily ease and mental -clearness than I have had for the last six months. Our house is not in -the least beautiful, but it is well situated and comfortable, -perfectly still in the middle of a garden surrounded by fields and -meadows, and yet within reach of shops and civilization. - -We managed to get to the Academy one day before leaving town. I was -delighted with Walker's picture--were you?--and Mason's unfinished -Reaper, and a few, very few, others. - -Also we went twice to the opera in order to save ourselves from any -yearnings after it when we should have settled in the country. - -We tell no one our address, and have our letters sent on from the -Priory. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 4th June, 1872.] - -We too are in a country refuge, you see, and this bit of Surrey, as I -dare say you know, is full of beauty of the too garden-like sort for -which you pity us. How different from your lodge in the wilderness! I -have read your description three or four times--it enchants me so -thoroughly--and Mr. Lewes is just as much enamoured of it. We shall -never see it, I imagine, except in the mirror of your loving words; -but thanks, many and warm, dear friend, for saying that our presence -would be welcome. I have always had delight in descriptions of -American forests since the early days when I read "Atala," which I -believe that you would criticise as half unveracious. I dwelt on the -descriptions in "Dred" with much enjoyment. - -Pray give my special thanks to the Professor for his letter. His -handwriting, which does really look like Arabic--a very graceful -character, surely--happens to be remarkably legible to me, and I did -not hesitate over a single word. Some of the words, as expressions of -fellowship, were very precious to me, and I hold it very good of him -to write to me that best sort of encouragement. I was much impressed -with the fact--which you had told me--that he was the original of the -"visionary boy" in "Old Town Folk;" and it must be deeply interesting -to talk with him on his experience. Perhaps I am inclined, under the -influence of the facts, physiological and psychological, which have -been gathered of late years, to give larger place to the -interpretation of vision-seeing as _subjective_ than the Professor -would approve. It seems difficult to limit--at least to limit with any -precision--the possibility of confounding sense by impressions, -derived from inward conditions, with those which are directly -dependent on external stimulus. In fact, the division between within -and without in this sense seems to become every year a more subtle and -bewildering problem. - -_Your_ experience with the _planchette_ is amazing; but that the words -which you found it to have written were dictated by the spirit of -Charlotte Brontë is to me (whether rightly or not) so enormously -improbable, that I could only accept it if every condition were laid -bare, and every other explanation demonstrated to be impossible. If it -were another spirit aping Charlotte Brontë--if here and there at rare -spots and among people of a certain temperament, or even at many spots -and among people of all temperaments, tricksy spirits are liable to -rise as a sort of earth-bubbles and set furniture in movement, and -tell things which we either know already or should be as well without -knowing--I must frankly confess that I have but a feeble interest in -these doings, feeling my life very short for the supreme and awful -revelations of a more orderly and intelligible kind which I shall die -with an imperfect knowledge of. If there were miserable spirits whom -we could help, then I think we should pause and have patience with -their trivial-mindedness; but otherwise I don't feel bound to study -them more than I am bound to study the special follies of a -particular phase of human society. Others who feel differently, and -are attracted towards this study, are making an experiment for us as -to whether anything better than bewilderment can come of it. At -present it seems to me that to rest any fundamental part of religion -on such a basis is a melancholy misguidance of men's minds from the -true sources of high and pure emotion. - -I am comforted to think that you partly agree with me there. - -I have not time to write more than this very imperfect fragmentary -sketch of _only one_ aspect which the question of spirit-communications -wears to me at present--being always rather brain-weary after my -morning's work, and called for by my husband to walk with him and read -aloud to him. I spend nearly three hours every day in this exercise of -reading aloud, which, happily, I can carry on without fatigue of lungs. -Yet it takes strength as well as time. - -Mr. Lewes is gone into town to-day, so I have an additional hour at -liberty, and have been glad to be able to send you a letter which is -not worth anything, indeed, but which satisfies my need to thank you -and the Professor for your sweet friendliness--very sweet to me, I -assure you. Please accept my entire frankness as a proof of that high -value I set on you. And do not call anything I may have written a -prejudice--it is simply a statement of how certain things appear to my -inward eyesight, which I am ready to have rectified by more light. - -About photographs--I have _no_ photograph of myself, having always -avoided having one taken. That makes me seem very selfish in being -particularly glad to get yours. - -Mrs. Fields, with the beautiful face and charming manners, sent me a -letter a little while ago, inviting us in the most tempting way to go -to Boston. She said that this pretty action was done at your -prompting, which is just like you as you have always shown yourself to -me. - -Dear friend, how much you have lived through, both in the flesh and in -the spirit! My experience has been narrow compared with yours. I -assure you I feel this, so do not misinterpret anything I say to you -as being written in a flippant or critical spirit. One always feels -the want of the voice and eyes to accompany a letter and give it the -right tone. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 4th July, 1872.] - -You were very good and dear to want to give me the pleasure of knowing -that the news was good, instead of leaving me to my small stock of -hopefulness. Ask Emily to care a little even now, with baby on her -mind, that her old friends are the better for hearing that she is -well. Four or five months ago it happens that I was writing some -playfulness about a baby and baby's hair, which is now in print, to -appear next month. I am not afraid that Emily should be revolted by my -blasphemy! - -Mr. Lewes had "a lovely time" from Saturday to Monday at Weybridge. He -was feeling languid, and yet was tempted to sit at his desk. The -little change has been very serviceable, and he is now bright. - -Our first book, read aloud by me after we came down, was Wallace's -"Eastern Archipelago," which, I think, you had spoken well of to Mr. -Lewes. It is delightful. The biography of the infant ourang-outang -alone is worth getting the book for. We are now in the middle of -Tylor's "Primitive Culture," which is worth studying, and useful for -reference on special points, if you happen to want knowledge about -the ideas of the savage tribes. - -Our days go by in delicious peace, unbroken except by my little inward -anxieties about all unfinished work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 19th July, 1872.] - -This morning came the joyful news that Gertrude has a fine healthy -baby--a daughter. We have just been saying in our walk that by the end -of this century our one-day-old granddaughter will probably be married -and have children of her own, while we are pretty sure to be at rest. -This obvious kind of wisdom does very well for discourse in the -delicious sunshine, as we wander over a hilly, half fern-clad, half -grassy wilderness called South Park, from which we can overlook two -fertile bosky valleys. We like this bit of country better and better. -As to health, I am not quite so prosperous as I was at first, but to -make amends, Mr. Lewes is in a good average condition, and only now -and then has a morning in which he is forced to wander about instead -of going to his beloved work. We have had much happiness here, much -sympathy in letters from far-off friends unknown in the flesh, and -peaceful enjoyment of our occupations. But we have longed for more -continuous warmth and brightness, and to-day may perhaps be the -beginning of that one wanting condition. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 1st Aug. 1872(?).] - -The death of that honored, good creature, Mr. William Smith, touched -us particularly, because of the perfect marriage-bond which had made -the last eleven years of his life unspeakably precious both to him and -his wife. Mr. Lewes offered to go to Brighton to see him; but he was -so reduced, so very feeble in body, though he kept to the last much -brightness of mind, that Mrs. Smith feared for him the excitement of -seeing friends who came, specially, from a distance. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 4th Aug. 1872.] - -I like to think that your journey was a success. But I had felt sure, -that unless bad health or bad weather overtook you, both Mrs. -Blackwood and you must have great happiness in taking that bright, -lovely daughter abroad and watching her fresh impressions. I imagine -her laudable indignation at the crushing of the little lizard! Those -little creatures darting about the stones seem part of the happiness -of Italian sunshine, as the small birds hopping after the rain seem -part of the moist happiness at home. - -I shall send Part VII. in a few days. Since Mr. Lewes tells me that -the _Spectator_ considers me the most melancholy of authors, it will -perhaps be a welcome assurance to you that there is no unredeemed -tragedy in the solution of the story. - -Mr. Lewes examines the newspapers before I see them, and cuts out any -criticisms which refer to me, so as to save me from these spiritual -chills--though, alas! he cannot save me from the physical chills which -retard my work more seriously. I had hoped to have the manuscript well -out of my hands before we left this place at the end of the month, but -the return of my dyspeptic troubles makes me unable to reckon on such -a result. - -It will be a good plan, I think, to quicken the publication towards -the end; but we feel convinced that the slow plan of publication has -been of immense advantage to the book in deepening the impression it -produces. Still I shudder a little to think what a long book it will -be--not so long as "Vanity Fair" or "Pendennis," however, according to -my calculation. - -How good the articles on French manners and domestic life are in -"Maga." The spirit in which they are written is excellent. - - The manuscript of "Middlemarch" bears the following - inscription: - -"To my dear Husband, George Henry Lewes, in this nineteenth year of -our blessed union." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, Sept. 1872.] - -I am tired of behaving like an ungrateful wretch--making no sign in -answer to affectionate words which have come to me with cheering -effect. And I want to tell you and Mr. Hall (alas! for the dear old -name[18] which had such cherished associations) that I long too much -to see you all at Six-Mile Bottom, to give up utterly the prospect of -that good. We imagine that the place is near Ipswich, which is no more -than an hour and fifty minutes from London. If so, the journey would -be easily managed, and would be worth taking for the sake of one whole -day and two half days with you--just as if you were the hour nearer, -at Weybridge--before we set our faces towards Germany. I am not -hopeless that we might do that in the second week of September, if you -are not quite disgusted with the thought of me as a person who is -always claiming pity for small ailments, and also if Mr. Hall can -secure me against being shot from the other side of the hedge by the -Prince of Wales,[19] while we are discussing plantations. - -I dare not count much on fulfilling any project, my life for the last -year having been a sort of nightmare, in which I have been scrambling -on the slippery bank of a pool, just keeping my head above water. But -I shall be the happier for having told you that I delight in the -double invitation for the sake of the love it assures me of, and that -I do want to see you all. - -You are all gloriously well, I hope, and Alkie looking more and more -cherubic, and Emily and Florence blooming. My best love to all. -Particular regards to J., and regrets that we were not on his route -from Brindisi. I read his paper on New York with much interest and -satisfaction. - -You are often among my imaged companions both in dreaming and waking -hours. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, Oct. 1872, from Homburg.] - -It was a delightful surprise to see your handwriting when we went to -inquire at the _Poste Restante_. We had, on the whole, a fortunate -journey, and are especially grateful to Mr. Hall for suggesting the -route by Trèves, where we spent two nights and an exquisite day. I was -continually reminded of Rome when we were wandering in the outskirts -in search of the antiquities, and the river banks are a loveliness -into the bargain which Rome has not. We had even an opportunity of -seeing some dissipation, for there happened to be an excellent circus, -where we spent our evening. The pretty country through which we passed -had an additional interest for us about Libramont. - -The air, the waters, the plantations here are all perfect--"only man -is vile." I am not fond of denouncing my fellow-sinners, but gambling -being a vice I have no mind to, it stirs my disgust even more than my -pity. The sight of the dull faces bending round the gaming-tables, the -raking up of the money, and the flinging of the coins towards the -winners by the hard-faced croupiers, the hateful, hideous women -staring at the board like stupid monomaniacs--all this seems to me the -most abject presentation of mortals grasping after something called a -good that can be seen on the face of this little earth. Burglary is -heroic compared with it. I get some satisfaction in looking on, from -the sense that the thing is going to be put down. Hell is the only -right name for such places. - -It was cruel to find the bitter cold just set in as we arrived. For -two days we were as cold as in clear winter days at Berlin. There are -no amusements for the evening here, and the pleasure of listening to -the excellent band in the afternoons is diminished by the chillness -which makes one fear to sit down in the open air. But we like being -idle, and the days pass easily. - -It is good to have in our memories the two happy days at Six-Mile -Bottom; and the love that surrounded me and took care of me there is -something very precious to believe in among hard-faced strangers. Much -gratitude for the anticipated letter that will come to tell us more -news of you by-and-by. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 4th Oct. 1872.] - -At last I begin a letter which is intended not as a payment but as an -acknowledgment of debt. It will have at least the recommendation of -requiring no answer. After some perfect autumnal days we are -languishing with headache from two days' damp and mugginess, and feel -it almost as much work as we are equal to to endure our _malaise_. But -on the whole we are not sorry that we came to this place rather than -any other. On dry days the air is perfect, and the waters are really -an enticing drink. Then there is a wood close by where we can wander -in delicious privacy: which is really better than the company here, -save and except a few friends whom we found at first, and who have now -moved off to Baden. The Kursaal is to me a hell, not only for the -gambling but for the light and heat of the gas, and we have seen -enough of its monstrous hideousness. There is very little dramatic -_Stoff_ to be picked up by watching or listening. The saddest thing to -be witnessed is the play of a young lady, who is only twenty-six -years old, and is completely in the grasp of this mean, money-making -demon. It made me cry to see her young, fresh face among the hags and -brutally stupid men around her. Next year, when the gambling has -vanished, the place will be delightful; there is to be a subvention -from Government to keep up the beautiful grounds; and it is likely -that there will be increase enough in the number of decent visitors to -keep the town tolerably prosperous. One attraction it has above other -German baths that I have seen is the abundance of pleasant apartments -to be had, where one can be as peaceful as the human lot allows in a -world of pianos. - -Asher's cheap editions are visible everywhere by the side of -Tauchnitz, but the outside is not, I think, quite equally -recommendable and recommending. - -We brought no books with us, but have furnished our table with German -books which we bought at Frankfort, from learned writing about -Menschlich Sprache and Vernunft down to Kotzebue's comedies, so that -we have employment for the rainy hours when once our heads are clear -of aches. The certainty that the weather is everywhere else bad will -help our resolution to stay here till the 12th at least. In the mean -time we hope to have the proof of the finale to "Middlemarch." - -I am rejoiced to learn from Mr. William's letter that Mr. Simpson has -returned from his excursion in good condition. That must be a comfort -to you, both for friendship and for work's sake. - -We mean to return by Paris, and hope that the weather will not drive -us away from health and pleasure-seeking until the end of the month. I -fear, from the accounts of your Scottish weather, that you will have -enjoyed Strathtyrum less than usual, and will be resigned to Edinburgh -before your proper time. How one talks about the weather! It is -excusable here where there is no grave occupation, and no amusement -for us, who don't gamble, except seeking health in walks and water -drinking. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 27th Oct. 1872, from Boulogne.] - -I had meant to write to you again from Germany, but I was hindered -from doing so by the uncertainty of our plans, which vacillated -between further wanderings in South Germany and the usual dreary -railway journeying by Strasburg to Paris. As it was, we left Homburg -on the 13th and had ten days of delicious autumnal weather and -quietude at Stuttgart and Carlsruhe--ten days which made the heart of -our enjoyment. We still hesitated whether we should go to Augsburg, -and even Munich, making our way home through Germany and Belgium, and -turning our shoulders on Paris. Our evil genius persuaded us to go to -Paris and to make the journey by night--whence came headache and -horrible disgust with the shops of the Rue de la Paix and the -Boulevard. After going to Versailles in the rain, seeing the sad ruins -of the Hotel de Ville, missing the Theatre Français, and getting -"Patrie" in exchange, we rushed away to this place, where we are -trying to recover the sense of benefit from our change, which forsook -us on quitting old Germany. We have an affinity for what the world -calls "dull places," and always prosper best in them. We are sure to -be at home next week, and I hope before long to have some news of you -there--some dear faces coming to bring it. We shall linger here a few -days and take a favorable time for crossing, but our patience will -hardly last beyond Friday. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 1st Nov. 1872.] - -We returned yesterday evening from six weeks' absence in Germany, and -I found your dear, sad letter among the many awaiting me. I prize very -highly the fact that you like to write to me and bear me in your mind -as one who has a certain fellowship in your sorrow; and I do trust -that this letter may reach you in time to prevent you from thinking, -even for a moment, that I could be indifferent about responding to any -word you send me. I shall address it to the care of Blackwood & Sons, -because I imagine you to be by this time in Edinburgh with that -delightful friend, Mrs. Stirling, whom I had much kindness from many -years ago when I was on a visit to Mr. and Mrs. George Combe. She took -me to hear Dr. Guthrie and Dr. Candlish, and through her I saw -Craigcrook. I like to think of those hours and her pleasant talk. - -Mr. Lewes, I am thankful to say, has been getting more robust for the -last two years, and is very bright and active. I think there is hardly -any one left to whom he would so willingly have written or talked -about the subjects which are filling his mind as that dear one who is -gone from your side, but is perpetually present in your consciousness. -To-day I have been reading the memorial article in _Blackwood_, and -have been hoping that there is nothing in it which jars on your -feeling. Everybody will think as I do--that the bits from your pen are -worth all the rest. I have been especially moved, though, by the two -stanzas quoted at the end. Mr. Lewes judges that the writer of the -article did not personally know your husband, and wishes that more -special touches had been given. I know, dear friend, that the sorrow -is irremediable; but the pain--the anguish--will become less sharp and -life will be less difficult. You will think of things to do such as he -would approve of your doing, and every day will be sacred with his -memory--nay, his presence. There is no pretence or visionariness in -saying that he is still part of you. Mr. Lewes sends his affectionate -regards, which you will not reject. We mention your name to each other -with a certain tenderness, as if your sorrow somehow belonged to our -love for each other. But I hardly dare to think of what these words -which I have written mean. Sometimes in the midst of happiness I cry -suddenly at the thought that there must come a parting. Are not you -and I very near to one another? I mean in feeling. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 19th Nov. 1872.] - -I found a letter from dear Mrs. William Smith on my return, and I have -had another since in answer to mine. It is inevitable that her sense -of loss should deepen for some time to come. I am hoping that -by-and-by active interests will arise to make her feel that her life -is useful. - -The article in _Blackwood_ was chiefly valuable for the extracts it -contained from Mrs. Smith's own memoir. One felt that the writer of -the article had not known Mr. William Smith personally; but her -sketches did something to supply that defect. Mr. Lewes felt a -peculiar attachment to him. He had always been thoroughly sympathetic, -both morally and intellectually, and it was a constant regret to us -that he and Mrs. Smith were so far away. There was no man with whom -Mr. Lewes would have found it so pleasant to discuss questions of -science and philosophy--his culture was so rare and his disposition so -free from littleness: and his wife was worthy of him. - -Gertrude's little Blanche is a charming young lady--fat, cooing, and -merry. It is a great comfort to see her with this hope fulfilled--I -mean to see Gertrude with her hope fulfilled, and not Blanche, as the -grammar seemed to imply. That small person's hopes are at present easy -of fulfilment. - -We have made but one expedition since our return, and that was to see -the pictures at Bethnal Green--altogether a cheering and delightful -sight. Of course you saw them long ago. The Troyon is my favorite. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 19th Nov. 1872.] - -I will impute your total silence towards me for many, many months to -your preoccupation with the work now announced, and will not believe -that a greeting from me at this time of the year will be less welcome -than of old. I remember that last year one of your prettily-expressed -wishes was that I should write another book and--I think you -added--send it to you to read. On the strength of this remembrance, -you will be one of the three exceptional people to whom we order -"Middlemarch" to be sent. But do not write to me about it, because -until a book has quite gone away from me and become entirely of the -_non-ego_--gone thoroughly from the wine-press into the casks--I would -rather not hear or see anything that is said about it. - -Cara sent me word that you were looking, as usual, very pretty, and -showing great energy on interesting occasions. But this was two months -ago, and some detailed news from yourself would be a delightful gift. - -I am getting stronger, and showing some meagre benefit from being -indulged in all possible ways. Mr. Lewes makes a martyr of himself in -writing all my notes and business letters. Is not that being a sublime -husband? For all the while there are studies of his own being put -aside--studies which are a seventh heaven to him. - -Is there any one who does not need patience? For when one's outward -lot is perfect, the sense of inward imperfection is the more pressing. - -You are never long without entering into my thoughts, though you may -send nothing fresh to feed them. But I am ashamed of expressing regard -for my friends, since I do no earthly thing for them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1872.] - -A kiss to you on your birthday! with gratitude for your delightful -letter, such as only you can write me. How impossible it is to _feel_ -that we are as old as we are! Sometimes it seems a little while since -you and I were walking over the Radford fields, with the youth in our -limbs, talking and laughing with that easy companionship which it is -difficult to find in later life. I am busy now reading Mr. Lewes's -manuscript, which has been accumulating fast during my "Middlemarch" -time. Did I tell you that in the last two years he has been mastering -the principles of mathematics? That is an interesting fact, -impersonally, at his age. Old Professor Stowe--Mrs. H. B. Stowe's -husband--sent me this story, which is almost better than Topsy. He -heard a school-master asking a little black girl the usual questions -about creation--who made the earth, the sea, etc. At last came, "And -who made you?" Some deliberation was necessary, after which she said, -"Nobody; _I was so afore_." Expect to be immensely disappointed with -the close of "Middlemarch." But look back to the Prelude. I wish I -could take the wings of the morning every now and then to cheer you -with an hour's chat, such as you feel the need of, and then fly back -on the wings of the wind. I have the most vivid thoughts of you, -almost like a bodily presence; but these do you no good, since you can -only believe that I have them--and you are tired of believing after -your work is done. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 1st Dec. 1872.] - -Before your letter came, Mr. Lewes had been expressing to me his -satisfaction (and he is very hard to satisfy with articles on me) in -the genuineness of judgment, wise moderation, and excellent selection -of points in "Maga's" review of "Middlemarch." I have just now been -reading the review myself--Mr. Lewes had meant at first to follow his -rule of not allowing me to see what is written about myself--and I am -pleased to find the right moral note struck everywhere, both in remark -and quotation. Especially I am pleased with the writer's sensibility -to the pathos in Mr. Casaubon's character and position, and with the -discernment he shows about Bulstrode. But it is a perilous matter to -approve the praise which is given to our own doings. - -I think that such an article as that which you hint at on the tone of -the Bar is very desirable. We are usually at one on points of feeling. -Is it not time now to insist that ability and not lying is the force -of a barrister--that he has not to make himself a bad actor in order -to put a case well, but to get the clearness and breadth of vision -which will enable him to handle the evidence effectively? -Untruthfulness usually ends by making men foolish. I have never read -"Spiritual Wives," but judging from the extracts which have come -before me, it must be a nasty book. Still, if people will be censors, -let them weigh their words. I mean that the words were unfair by the -disproportionateness of the condemnation which everybody with some -conscience must feel to be one of the great difficulties in denouncing -a particular person. Every unpleasant dog is only one of many, but we -kick him because he comes in our way, and there is always some want of -distributive justice in the kicking. - -I shall be agreeably surprised if there is a respectable subscription -for the four volumes. Already the numbers taken have been -satisfactorily large, considering the indisposition of the public to -buy books by comparison with other wares, and especially to buy novels -at a high price. I fancy every private copy has done duty for a -circle. Friends of mine in the country have implied that they lent -their copies to all the readers in their neighborhood. A little fuss -of advertisement, together with the reviews, will perhaps create a few -more curious inquirers after the book, and impress its existence on -the slower part of the reading world. But really the reading world is, -after all, very narrow, as, according to the _Spectator_, the -"comfortable" world also is--the world able to give away a sovereign -without pinching itself. Those statistics just given about incomes are -very interesting. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 11th Dec. 1872.] - -A thousand thanks for your kind interest in our project, and for the -trouble you have taken in our behalf. I fear the land buying and -building[20] is likely to come to nothing, and our construction to -remain entirely of the aerial sort. It is so much easier to imagine -other people doing wise things than to do them one's self! -Practically, I excel in nothing but paying twice as much as I ought -for everything. On the whole, it would be better if my life could be -done for me, and I could look on. However, it appears that the -question of the land at Shere may remain open until we can discuss it -with you at Weybridge; and there is no telling what we may not venture -on with your eyes to see through. - -But, oh dear, I don't like anything that is troublesome under the name -of pleasure. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 12th Dec. 1872.] - -I have had the news that you are safely landed at Pooree, so now I can -write with some courage. I have got some comfort--I trust it is not -false comfort--out of the probability that there will be much good -mingled with the evil of this winter's exile for you. You must be the -richer for it mentally, and your health may be the better--and then, -you will be back again in the late spring. In this way I make myself -contented under the incompleteness of our life without you, and I am -determined not to grumble at my share of the loss which falls so sadly -on Dr. Congreve and the children. Dr. Congreve kindly let me know when -you had got through the trials of the Red Sea, rather better than -might have been expected; and Sophie tells me that you speak of the -brilliant coloring in your new world as quite equal to any description -you had read. Beyond that all is a blank to me except the fact of your -arrival at Pooree, and all my feeling is taken up with the joy there -must have been in the meeting with Mr. Geddes. You find it very -difficult to write in the heat--so don't make the thought of me -disagreeable by associating it with a claim on you for a letter. I -will be grateful for scraps from your correspondence with home, and -wait for my turn when you come back to us. For ourselves, we think our -little granddaughter, Blanche, the perfection of a baby. She is, -dispassionately speaking, very pretty, and has a cooing, chanting song -of her own which it makes me happy to hear. Mr. Lewes goes on at his -writing with as much interest as ever, and is bringing the first part -of his work into its final shape. Since we came home I have been -reading his manuscript, which has been piling itself up in -preparation for my leisure, and I have been wearing my gravest -philosophic cap. Altogether we are dangerously happy. You remember -Mrs. Blank of Coventry? You know hers was another name for astonishing -cleverness in that town. Now, of course, she is old, and her -cleverness seems to have a mouldy flavor. _Apropos_ of the seventh -book of "Middlemarch"--which you may not have read, but never -mind--Mrs. Blank, having lain awake all night from compassion for -Bulstrode, said, "Poor, dear creature, after he had done so much for -that wretch, sitting up at night and attending on him! _and I don't -believe it was the brandy that killed him_--and what is to become of -Bulstrode now, he has nobody left but Christ!" I think this is worth -sending to India, you see; it is a little bit of old Coventry life -that may make you and Emily laugh with all the more lively memory in -the midst of your strange scenery. But there is a hovering terror -while I write to you from far off, lest my trivialities should find -you when you are ill or have some cause for being sad. In any case, -however, you will take my letter for a simple proof that I dwell on -you and Emily as images constantly present in my mind, and very often -moving to the foreground in my contemplation. Mr. Lewes is one with me -in many affectionate thoughts about you, and your names are often on -our lips. We are going to pass the Christmas week with our friends at -Weybridge; and I shall be glad to escape the London aspects of that -season--aspects that are without any happy association for me. Mr. -Lewes has just been in to speak to me, and begs me to say that he -hopes baby is raised to the _n_^{th} power. You see the lofty point of -view from which he regards the world at present. But there is enough -of the sap of affection in him to withstand all the dryness of the -dryest mathematics, and he has very hearty regards for you all, -including Mr. Geddes, not as a matter of course, but with special -emphasis. Good-bye, dear, dear friend. May it give you some little -satisfaction to think of me as yours always lovingly. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 18th Dec. 1872.] - -Your letter was very welcome to me. I wanted to know how you were; and -I think that I discern in your words some growth of courage to face -the hard task--it is a hard task--of living a separate life. I reckon -it a great good to me that any writing of mine has been taken into -companionship by you, and seemed to speak with you of your own -experience. Thank you for telling me of that. - -This weather, which is so melancholy in the privation it must cause to -those who are worst off in the world, adds a little weight to -everybody's griefs. But I trust that you find it a comfort, not an -oppression, to be among friends who make a little claim on your -attention. When you go to How, please tell me all about the place, and -whom you have near you, because I like to be able to imagine your -circumstances. - -I have been, and am still, reading Mr. Lewes's manuscript--and I often -associate this with your dear husband, to whom I imagine mine would -have liked to send his proofs when the matter had reached the printing -stage. - -We are both very well, and Mr. Lewes is enjoying his morning at his -desk. He likes very much to be included in your love, and has always -thought you one of the most charming women among our acquaintance. -Please not to say that he has bad taste in women. We both cherish very -tender thoughts of your sorrow, dear friend. Let me always be assured -that you think of me as yours affectionately. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mr. Simpson, 18th Dec. 1872.] - -We have to thank you for two things especially. First, for the good -bargain you have made for "Middlemarch" with Australia; and secondly, -for the trouble you have kindly taken with the MS., which has come to -us safely in its fine Russian coat. - -The four volumes, we imagine, must have been subscribed long ago; and -we should be glad to know, if it were convenient--perhaps even if it -were _in_convenient--what are the figures representing the courage of -"the trade" in the matter of a 42_s._ novel, which has already been -well distributed. - -We both hope that your health is well confirmed, and that you are -prepared for Christmas pleasures, among which you would probably, like -Caleb Garth, reckon the extra "business" which the jolly season -carries in its hinder wallet. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1869, TO DECEMBER, 1872. - - Poem on Agatha--Reading on Philology, "Iliad," "Faery Queen," - Clough's Poems, Bright's Speeches, "Volpone," Lecture by Sir - Wm. Thomson--Writing "How Lisa Loved the King"--Browning and - Rector of Lincoln on Versification--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Browning's "Elisha"--Fourth visit to Italy--Two - months away--Letter to Mrs. Congreve from Paris--Dr. - Congreve's Reply to Professor Huxley in - _Fortnightly_--Meeting in Rome with Mrs. Bullock and Mr. and - Mrs. Cross--Letter to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe--Effect of - books--Religion of the future--Arrival of Thornton Lewes from - Natal--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Marriage engagements of Mr. - Beesley, Mr. Frederic Harrison, and Dr. Clifford - Allbut--Finished five "Sonnets on Childhood"--Letter to Mrs. - Stowe--"Old Town Folks"--Presentation of alien religious - convictions--Spiritualism--Reading Drayton and Grote--Writing - Introduction to "Middlemarch"--Reading - Theocritus--Burne-Jones's Pictures--Reading Littré on - Comte--Sainte Beuve--Thornton Lewes's continued - illness--Visit to Mrs. Cross at Weybridge--Reading for - "Middlemarch"--Asks Mrs. Congreve to get information about - provincial hospitals--Letter to Miss Hennell--The Byron - scandal--Byron a vulgar-minded genius--The - Kovilevskys--"Legend of Jubal" begun--Mr. W. G. - Clark--Reading Max Müller--Lecky and Herbert Spencer--Death - of Thornton Lewes--Letter to Miss Hennell describing month's - visit to Limpsfield--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Mr. - Doyle--Letter to F. Harrison on the Positivist - Problem--Aversion to personal statements--Shrinking from - deliverances--Letter to Miss Hennell on Charles Hennell's - "Inquiry"--Letter to Mrs. Congreve from Berlin--Sees Mommsen, - Bunsen, and Du Bois Reymond--Visit to Vienna--Return to - London--Three days' visit to the Rector of Lincoln College, - Oxford, and Mrs. Pattison--Meets Sir Benjamin - Brodie--Professor Rawlinson and Professor Phillips--Dr. - Rolleston and the Miss Gaskells, and Miss Arnold--Mr. Jowett, - Professor Henry Smith, and Mr. Fowler--Re-reading Grove "On - the Correlation of the Physical Forces"--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Dickens's Death, and his story of President - Lincoln--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--Visit to Cromer--Growing - dislike of migratory life--Letter to Mrs. Lytton on the death - of Lord Clarendon--Danger of women living too exclusively in - the affections--Reading Mendelssohn's letters--From Cromer to - Harrogate and Whitby--Meets Mrs. Burne-Jones there--"Armgart" - begun--Three weeks' visit to Limpsfield--Letter to Miss - Hennell on the beginning of the war between Germany and - France--Jowett's "Plato"--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--The French - nation--"Armgart" finished at Limpsfield--Return to the - Priory--Letter to Miss Hennell--A popular preacher--Growing - influence of ideas--Goethe's contempt for revolution of - 1830--Letter to Mme. Bodichon on the faults of one's - friends--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Industrial schemes--Greater - cheerfulness--Frederic Harrison on Bismarckism--Writing "Miss - Brooke"--Reading Wolf's "Prolegomena to Homer" and "Wilhelm - Meister"--Visit to Mme. Bodichon at Ryde--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Ritualism at Ryde--Brutalizing effect of German - war--Trollope's "Sir Harry Hotspur"--Limits of woman's - constancy--Miss Bury's engagement to Mr. Geddes--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor--Three and a half months' visit to - Petersfield--Mode of life--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--Lowell's - "My Study Windows"--"Diethelm von Buchenberg" in _Deutschen - Novellenschatz_--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Mrs. Geddes's - marriage--Letter to John Blackwood--Relinquishment of Scott - Commemoration--Captain Lockhart--Letter to John Blackwood on - MS. of "Middlemarch"--Visit from Tennyson--Letter to Mrs. - Lytton on death of her son--Letter to Miss Mary Cross on - story in _Macmillan's Magazine_--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Suffering from cold--Got's acting--Crystal Palace - music--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Delight in intellectual - activity--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Enjoyment of - Cherrimans--Letter to John Blackwood--Visit to Weybridge--Mr. - Main, the collector of the "Sayings"--Reception of - "Middlemarch"--Letters to Miss Hennell--Foster's "Life of - Dickens"--Low health--Tichborne trial--Letters to John - Blackwood: pleased with the "Sayings"--Visit to - Weybridge--Length of "Middlemarch"--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Reading Johnson's "Lives of the Poets"--Finished - second volume of "Middlemarch"--Letter to Mrs. - Stowe--Spiritualistic phenomena--Letter to John - Blackwood--German and French interest in - "Middlemarch"--Asher's edition--German readers--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor on death of Mazzini--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Low health--Letter to Mrs. Stowe--Spirit - communications--Letter to Mrs. Congreve on Wallace's "Eastern - Archipelago"--Tylor's "Primitive Culture"--Letter to John - Blackwood--"Middlemarch" finished--Letter to Mrs. Cross on - invitation to Six-Mile Bottom, Cambridge--Month's visit to - Homburg--Letter to Mrs. Cross--Trèves--On gambling at - Homburg--Letter to John Blackwood--Play of a young lady at - Homburg--German reading--Letter to Mrs. Cross from - Boulogne--Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith of condolence on loss of - her husband--Memorial article on Mr. Wm. Smith--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor on Mr. Wm. Smith--Letters to Miss - Hennell--Presentation copies of "Middlemarch"--Mr. Lewes - studying mathematics--Letter to John Blackwood--"Maga's" - review of "Middlemarch"--Tone of the Bar--Letter to J. W. - Cross on building a house at Shere--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve--Happiness--Story of Coventry lady and - Bulstrode--Letter to Mr. Simpson--MS. of "Middlemarch." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[6] Dr. Congreve's article, "Mr. Huxley on M. Comte," in _Fortnightly -Review_, April, 1869. - -[7] See _ante_, vol. i. p. 220. - -[8] Professor Edmund Spenser Beesley, a well-known member of the -Positivist body, who married Miss Crompton, daughter of Mr. Justice -Crompton. - -[9] An article by Mr. Frederic Harrison in the _Fortnightly Review_ of -November, 1869. - -[10] Portrait of Charles Hennell. - -[11] Written after the death of Lord Clarendon, who, Lady Lytton tells -me, had been like a father to her. - -[12] "Armgart." - -[13] Miss Octavia Hill. Walmer Street Industrial Experiment, tried by -Canon Fremantle under Miss Hill's supervision. - -[14] Scott Commemoration. - -[15] Written just before the death of Mrs. Lytton's eldest boy. - -[16] "Marie of Villefranche." _Macmillan's Magazine_, August, 1871. - -[17] The collector of "The Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings of George -Eliot." - -[18] Mr. W. H. Bullock--changed his name to Hall. - -[19] The Six-Mile Bottom shooting had been let to H. R. H. that year. - -[20] A site offered near Shere, in Surrey. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1873.] - -_Jan. 1._--At the beginning of December the eighth and last book of -"Middlemarch" was published, the three final numbers having been -published monthly. No former book of mine has been received with more -enthusiasm--not even "Adam Bede;" and I have received many deeply -affecting assurances of its influence for good on individual minds. -Hardly anything could have happened to me which I could regard as a -greater blessing than the growth of my spiritual existence when my -bodily existence is decaying. The merely egoistic satisfactions of -fame are easily nullified by toothache, and _that_ has made my chief -consciousness for the last week. This morning, when I was in pain, and -taking a melancholy breakfast in bed, some sweet-natured creature sent -a beautiful bouquet to the door for me, bound round with the written -wish that "Every year may be happier and happier, and that God's -blessing may ever abide with the immortal author of 'Silas Marner.'" -Happily my dear husband is well, and able to enjoy these things for -me. That he rejoices in them is my most distinct personal pleasure in -such tributes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 3d Jan. 1873.] - -It was very pleasant to have your greeting on the New Year, though I -was keeping its advent in melancholy guise. I am relieved now from the -neuralgic part of my ailment, and am able to write something of the -hearty response I feel to your good wishes. - -We both hope that the coming year may continue to you all the family -joys which must make the core of your happiness, without underrating -golf and good contributors to "Maga." Health has to be presupposed as -the vehicle of all other good, and in this respect you may be possibly -better off in '73 than in '72, for I think you have had several -invalidings within the last twelve months. - -Mr. Langford wrote yesterday that he knew of an article on -"Middlemarch" being in preparation for the _Times_, which certainly -was never before so slow in noticing a book of mine. Whether such an -article will affect the sale favorably seems eminently uncertain, and -can only complicate Mr. Simpson's problem. - -We have been glad to welcome our good friend, Mr. Anthony Trollope, -after his long absence. He is wonderfully full of life and energy, and -will soon bring out his two thick volumes on Australian colonies. - -My friendly Dutch publishers lately sent us a handsome row of -volumes--George Eliot's "Romantische Werke," with an introduction, in -which comparisons are safely shrouded for me in the haze of Dutch, so -that if they are disadvantageous, I am not pained. - -Please give my best wishes for the coming year to Mr. William -Blackwood. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 4th Jan. 1873.] - -At last I break my silence, and thank you for your kind care about me. -I am able to enjoy my reading at the corner of my study fire, and am -at that unpitiable stage of illness which is counterbalanced by extra -petting. I have been fearing that you too may be undergoing some -_malaise_ of a kindred sort, and I should like to be assured that you -have quite got through the troubles which threatened you. - -How good you have all been to me, and what a disappointing investment -of affection I have turned out! But those evening drives, which -perhaps encouraged the faceache, have left me a treasure of picture -and poetry in my memory quite worth paying for, and in these days all -prices are high. - -The new year began very prettily for me at half-past eight in the -morning with a beautiful bouquet, left by an unknown at our door, and -an inscription asking that "God's blessing might ever abide with the -immortal author of 'Silas Marner.'" - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th Feb. 1873.] - -I am much pleased with the color and the lettering of the guinea -edition, and the thinner paper makes it delightfully handy. Let us -hope that some people still want to read it, since a friend of ours, -in one short railway bit to and fro, saw two persons reading the -paper-covered numbers. Now is the moment when a notice in the _Times_ -might possibly give a perceptible impulse. - -Kohn, of Berlin, has written to ask us to allow him to reprint the -"Spanish Gypsy" for £50, and we have consented. Some Dresdener, who -has translated poems of Tennyson's, asked leave to translate the -"Spanish Gypsy" in 1870, but I have not heard of his translation -appearing. - -The rain this morning is welcome, in exchange for the snow, which in -London has none of its country charms left to it. Among my books, -which comfort me in the absence of sunshine, is a copy of the "Handy -Royal Atlas" which Mr. Lewes has got for me. The glorious index is all -the more appreciable by me, because I am tormented with German -historical atlases which have no index, and are covered with names -swarming like ants on every map. - -The catalogue coming in the other day renewed my longing for the cheap -edition of Lockhart's novels, though I have some compunction in -teasing your busy mind with my small begging. I should like to take -them into the country, where our days are always longer for reading. - -I have a love for Lockhart because of Scott's Life, which seems to me -a perfect biography. How different from another we know of! - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 28th Feb. 1873.] - -After your kind words I will confess that I should very much like to -have the "Manual of Geography" by Mackay, and Bayne's "Port Royal -Logic." - -_À propos_ of the "Lifted Veil," I think it will not be judicious to -reprint it at present. I care for the idea which it embodies and which -justifies its painfulness. A motto which I wrote on it yesterday -perhaps is a sufficient indication of that idea: - - "Give me no light, great heaven, but such as turns - To energy of human fellowship; - No powers, save the growing heritage - That makes completer manhood." - -But it will be well to put the story in harness with some other -productions of mine, and not send it forth in its dismal loneliness. -There are many things in it which I would willingly say over again, -and I shall never put them in any other form. But we must wait a -little. The question is not in the least one of money, but of care for -the best effect of writing, which often depends on circumstances, much -as pictures depend on light and juxtaposition. - -I am looking forward with interest to "Kenelm Chillingly," and -thinking what a blessed lot it is to die on just finishing a book, if -it could be a good one. I mean, it is blessed only to quit activity -when one quits life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 1st Mch. 1873.] - -If I had been quite sure of your address I should have written to you -even before receiving your dear letter, over which I have been crying -this morning. The prompting to write to you came from my having ten -days ago read your Memoir--brief yet full--of the precious last months -before the parting. Mrs. P. Taylor brought me her copy as a loan. But -may I not beg to have a copy of my own? It is to me an invaluable bit -of writing; the inspiration of a great sorrow, born of a great love, -has made it perfect; and ever since I read it I have felt a -strengthening companionship from it. You will perhaps think it strange -when I tell you that I have been more cheerful since I read the record -of his sweet, mild heroism, which threw emphasis on every blessing -left in his waning life, and was silent over its pangs. I have even -ventured to lend this copy, which is not my own, to a young married -woman of whom I am very fond, because I think it is an unforgetable -picture of that union which is the ideal of marriage, and which I -desire young people to have in their minds as a goal. - -It is a comfort in thinking of you that you have two lovable young -creatures with you. I have found quite a new interest in young people -since I have been conscious that I am getting older; and if all -personal joy were to go from me as it has gone from you, I could -perhaps find some energy from that interest, and try to teach the -young. I wish, dear friend, it were possible to convey to you the -sense I have of a great good in being permitted to know of your -happiness, and of having some communion with the sorrow which is its -shadow. Your words have a consecration for me, and my husband shares -my feeling. He sends his love along with mine. He sobbed with -something which is a sort of grief better worth having than any -trivial gladness, as he read the printed record of your love. He, -too, is capable of that supreme, self-merging love. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 14th Mch. 1873.] - -This is good news about the guinea edition, but I emphatically agree -with you that it will be well to be cautious in further printing. I -wish you could see a letter I had from California the other day, -apparently from a young fellow, and beginning, "Oh, you dear lady! I -who have been a Fred Vincy ever so long ... have played vagabond and -ninny ever since I knew the meaning of such terms," etc., etc. - -I am sorry to infer, from what you say about being recommended to go -to a German bath, that you have been out of health lately. There -really is a good deal of curative virtue in the air, waters, and -exercise one gets at such places, and if the boredom were not strong -enough to counteract the better influences, it would be worth while to -endure. - -That phrase of Miss Stuart's--"fall flat on the world"--is worth -remembering. I should think it is not likely to prove prophetic, if -she is at all like her cousin, whose fair, piquant face remains very -vividly before me. The older one gets, the more one delights in these -young things, rejoicing in their joys. - -The ministerial crisis interests me, though it does not bring me any -practical need for thinking of it, as it does to you. I wish there -were some solid, philosophical Conservative to take the reins--one who -knows the true functions of stability in human affairs, and, as the -psalm says, "Would also practice what he knows." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Edward Burne-Jones, 20th Mch. 1873.] - -I suppose my hesitation about writing to you to tell you of a debt I -feel towards you is all vanity. If you did not know me, you might -think a great deal more of my judgment than it is worth, and I should -feel bold in that possibility. But when judgment is understood to -mean simply one's own impression of delight, one ought not to shrink -from making one's small offering of burnt clay because others can give -gold statues. - -It would be narrowness to suppose that an artist can only care for the -impressions of those who know the methods of his art as well as feel -its effects. Art works for all whom it can touch. And I want in -gratitude to tell you that your work makes life larger and more -beautiful to me. I mean that historical life of all the world, in -which our little personal share often seems a mere standing-room from -which we can look all round, and chiefly backward. Perhaps the work -has a strain of special sadness in it--perhaps a deeper sense of the -tremendous outer forces which urge us, than of the inner impulse -towards heroic struggle and achievement--but the sadness is so -inwrought with pure, elevating sensibility to all that is sweet and -beautiful in the story of man and in the face of the earth that it can -no more be found fault with than the sadness of mid-day, when Pan is -touchy, like the rest of us. Don't you agree with me that much -superfluous stuff is written on all sides about purpose in art? A -nasty mind makes nasty art, whether for art or any other sake; and a -meagre mind will bring forth what is meagre. And some effect in -determining other minds there must be, according to the degree of -nobleness or meanness in the selection made by the artist's soul. - -Your work impresses me with the happy sense of noble selection and of -power determined by refined sympathy. That is why I wanted to thank -you in writing, since lip-homage has fallen into disrepute. - -I cannot help liking to tell you a sign that my delight must have -taken a little bit of the same curve as yours. Looking, _à propos_ of -your picture, into the "Iphigenia in Aulis," to read the chorus you -know of, I found my blue pencil-marks made seven years ago (and gone -into that forgetfulness which makes my mind seem very large and -empty)--blue pencil-marks made against the dance--loving Kithara and -the footsteps of the muses and the nereids dancing on the shining -sands. I was pleased to see that my mind had been touched in a dumb -way by what has touched yours to fine utterance. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 15th April, 1873] - -Welcome back to Europe! What a comfort to see your handwriting dated -from San Remo--to think that Dr. Congreve's anxieties about your -voyage are at an end, and that you are once more in the post which is -more specially and permanently yours! Mr. Lewes finds fault with your -letter for not telling enough; but the mere fact of your safety seems -to fill it quite full for me, and I can think of no drawbacks--not -even of the cold, which I hope is by this time passing away for you, -as it is for us. You must be so rich in memories that we and our small -ordinary news must appear very flat to you, but we will submit to be a -little despised by you if only we can have you with us again. I have -never lost the impression of Dr. Congreve's look when he paid us his -farewell visit, and spoke of his anxiety about your voyage, fearing -that you had started too late; and that impression gives me all the -keener sympathy with the repose I trust he is feeling. About ourselves -I have only good news to tell. We are happier than ever, and have no -troubles. We are searching for a country-house to go to at the end of -May or earlier. I long for the perfect peace and freedom of the -country again. The hours seem to stretch themselves there, and to hold -twice as much thought as one can get into them in town, where -acquaintances and small claims inevitably multiply. - -Imagine us nearly as we were when we last saw you--only a little -older--with unchanged affection for you and undimmed interest in -whatever befalls you. Do not tax yourself to write unless you feel a -pleasure in that imperfect sort of communication. I will try not to -fear evil if you are silent, but you know that I am glad to have -something more than hope to feed on. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 25th April, 1873.] - -It was a cordial to me this morning to learn that you have the project -of going with your young friend to Cambridge at the end of the autumn. -I could not have thought of anything better to wish for on your behalf -than that you should have the consciousness of helping a younger life. -I know, dear friend, that so far as you directly are concerned with -this life the remainder of it can only be patience and resignation. -But we are not shut up within our individual life, and it is one of -the gains of advancing age that the good of young creatures becomes a -more definite, intense joy to us. With that renunciation for ourselves -which age inevitably brings, we get more freedom of soul to enter into -the life of others; what we can never learn they will know, and the -gladness which is a departed sunlight to us is rising with the -strength of morning to them. - -I am very much interested in the fact of young women studying at -Cambridge, and I have lately seen a charming specimen of the pupils at -Hitchin--a very modest, lovely girl, who distinguished herself in the -last examination. One is anxious that, in the beginning of a higher -education for women--the immediate value of which is chiefly the -social recognition of its desirableness--the students should be -favorable subjects for experiment, girls or young women whose natures -are large and rich enough not to be used up in their efforts after -knowledge. - -Mr. Lewes is very well and goes on working joyously. Proofs come in -slowly, but he is far from being ready with all the manuscript which -will be needed for his preliminary volume--the material, which has -long been gathered, requiring revision and suggesting additions. - -Do think it a privilege to have that fine _physique_ of yours instead -of a headachy, dyspeptic frame such as many women drag through life. -Even in irremediable sorrow it is a sort of blasphemy against one's -suffering fellow-beings to think lightly of any good which they would -be thankful for in exchange for something they have to bear. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1873.] - -_May 19._--We paid a visit to Cambridge at the invitation of Mr. -Frederick Myers, and I enjoyed greatly talking with him and some -others of the "Trinity Men." In the evenings we went to see the -boat-race, and then returned to supper and talk--the first evening -with Mr. Henry Sidgwick, Mr. Jebb, Mr. Edmund Gurney; the second, with -young Balfour, young Lyttelton, Mr. Jackson, and Edmund Gurney again. -Mrs. and Miss Huth were also our companions during the visit. On the -Tuesday morning we breakfasted at Mr. Henry Sidgwick's with Mr. Jebb, -Mr. W. G. Clark, Mr. Myers, and Mrs. and Miss Huth. - -_May 22._--We went to the French play at the Princess's and saw Plessy -and Desclée in "Les Idées de Madame Aubray." I am just finishing again -Aristotle's "Poetics," which I first read in 1856. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 25th May, 1873.] - -Our plans have been upset by the impossibility of finding a house in -the country that is suitable to us, and weariness of being deluded -into journeys of investigation by fanciful advertisements has inclined -Mr. Lewes for the present to say that we will go abroad. Still, I have -nothing to tell that is absolutely settled, and I must ask you, when -you return, to send a note to this house. If I am in England it will -be forwarded to me, and you will get a prompt answer. If I am silent -you will conclude that I am gone abroad. I think it is at the end of -June that you are to come home? - -Here we have been wearing furs and velvet, and having fires all -through the past week, chiefly occupied by Mr. Lewes and me in a visit -to Cambridge. We were invited ostensibly to see the boat-race, but the -real pleasure of the visit consisted in talking with a hopeful group -of Trinity young men. On Monday we had a clear, cold day, more like -the fine weather of mid-winter than any tradition of May time. I hope -that you have had no such revisiting of winter at San Remo. How much -we should enjoy having you with us to narrate everything that has -happened to you in the last eventful half year! I shall feel the loss -of this, as an immediate prospect, to be the greatest disadvantage in -our going abroad next month--if we go. - -Your last news of Emily and of "baby's teeth" is cheerful. "Baby's -teeth" is a phrase that enters much into our life just now. Little -Blanche had a sad struggle with her first little bit of ivory, but she -has been blooming again since, and is altogether a ravishing child. -To-day we have had a large collection of visitors, and I have the -usual Sunday evening condition of brain. But letters are so constantly -coming and claiming my time to answer them, that I get fidgety lest I -should neglect to write to you; and I was determined not to let -another day pass without letting you have a proof that I think of you. -When I am silent please believe that the silence is due to feebleness -of body, which narrows my available time. Mr. Lewes often talks of -you, and will value any word from you about yourself as much as I -shall. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 2d June, 1873.] - -Thanks for sending me word of poor Miss Rebecca Franklin's death. It -touches me deeply. She was always particularly good and affectionate -to me, and I had much happiness in her as my teacher. - -In September a house near Chislehurst will be open to us--a house -which we think of ultimately making our sole home, turning our backs -on London. But we shall be allowed to have it, furnished, for a year -on trial. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1873.] - -_June._--In the beginning of June we paid a visit to Mr. Jowett at -Oxford, meeting there Mr. and Mrs. Charles Roundell, then newly -married. We stayed from Saturday to Monday, and I was introduced to -many persons of interest. Professor T. Green, Max Müller, Thomson, the -Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, a Mr. Wordsworth, the grandson -of the poet, who had spent some time in India, and a host of others. - -_June 23._--Started for the Continent. Fontainebleau, Plombières, etc. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 9th Aug. 1873.] - -I feel myself guilty that I have allowed the vicissitudes of -travelling to hinder me from writing to you, for the chance that a -letter from me might be welcome to you in what I have been imagining -as the first weeks of your return to England and the house in -Mecklenburgh Square. I am sure that I should not have been guilty in -this way if I had been at any time able to say where you should send -me an answer which I could call for at a _Poste Restante_. But we have -been invariably uncertain as to the length of our stay in any one -place and as to our subsequent route; and I confess that I shrink from -writing a letter full of my own doings, without the prospect of -getting some news in return. I am usually in a state of fear rather -than of hope about my absent friends; and I dread lest a letter -written in ignorance about them should be ill-timed. But at last all -fears have become weaker than the uneasy sense that I have omitted to -send you a sign of your loved presence in my thoughts, and that you -may have lost a gleam of pleasure through my omission. - -We left home on the 23d of June, with a sketch of a journey in our -minds, which included Grenoble, the Grande Chartreuse, Aix-les-Bains, -Chambéry, and Geneva. The last place I wished to get to, because my -friend Mme. d'Albert is not likely to live much longer, and I thought -that I should like to see her once more. But during a short stay at -Fontainebleau I began to feel that lengthy railway journeys were too -formidable for us old, weak creatures, and, moreover, that July and -August were not the best months for those southern regions. We were -both shattered, and needed quiet rather than the excitement of seeing -friends and acquaintances--an excitement of which we had been having -too much at home--so we turned aside by easy stages to the Vosges, and -spent about three weeks at Plombières and Luxeuil. We shall carry home -many pleasant memories of our journey--of Fontainebleau, for example, -which I had never seen before. Then of the Vosges, where we count on -going again. Erckmann-Chatrian's books had been an introduction to -the lovely region; and several of them were our companions there. But -what small experiences these are compared with yours; and how we long -for the time when you will be seated with us at our country-house -(Blackbrook, near Bromley, is the name of the house), and tell us as -much as you can think of about this long year in which we have been -deprived of you. If you receive this letter in time to write me a -line, which would reach me by the 15th, I shall be most grateful if -you will give me that undeserved indulgence. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th Aug. 1873.] - -On our return yesterday from our nine-weeks' absence I found a letter -from Mr. Main, in which he shows some anxiety that I should write you -the "formal sanction" you justly require before admitting extracts -from "Middlemarch" in the new edition of the "Sayings." I have no -objection, if you see none, to such an enlargement of the volume, and -I satisfy our good Mr. Main's promptitude by writing the needed -consent at once. - -We used our plan of travel as "a good thing to wander from," and went -to no single place (except Fontainebleau) to which we had beforehand -projected going. - -Our most fortunate wandering was to the Vosges--to Plombières and -Luxeuil--which have made us in love with the mode of life at the -_Eaux_ of France, as greatly preferable to the ways of the German -_Bad_. - -We happened to be at Nancy just as the Germans were beginning to quit -it, and we saw good store of _tricolores_ and paper lanterns ready in -the shop windows for those who wished to buy the signs of national -rejoicing. I can imagine that, as a Prussian lady told us, the Germans -themselves were not at all rejoiced to leave that pretty town for -"les bords de la Spree," where, in French dialogue, all Germans are -supposed to live. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1873.] - -_Sept. 4._--Went to Blackbrook, near Bickley. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 17th Sept. 1873.] - -Thanks, dear friend, for the difficult exertion you gave to the -telling of what I so much wished to know--the details of the -trouble[21] which you have all had to go through either directly or -sympathetically. But I will not dwell now on what it cost you, I fear, -too much pain to recall so as to give me the vivid impressions I felt -in reading your letter. The great practical result of such trouble is -to make us all more tender to each other; this is a world in which we -must pay heavy prices for love, as you know by experience much deeper -than mine. - -I will gossip a little about ourselves now. We gave up our intention -of going far southward, fearing the fatigue of long railway journeys, -and the heat (which hardly ever came) of July and August in the region -we had thought of visiting. So, after staying a very enjoyable time at -Fontainebleau, we went to the Vosges, and at Plombières and Luxeuil we -should have felt ourselves in paradise if it had not been for a sad -deafness of George's, which kept us uneasy and made us hurry to that -undesirable place, Frankfort, in order to consult Spiess. At Frankfort -the nearest bath was the also undesirable Homburg; so we spent or -wasted a fortnight there, winning little but the joy of getting away -again. The journey home, which we took very easily, was -interesting--through Metz, Verdun, Rheims, and Amiens. - -As to our house, spite of beautiful lawn, tall trees, fine -kitchen-garden, and good, invigorating air, we have already made up -our minds that it will not do for our home. Still, we have many things -to enjoy, but we shall not probably remain here longer than to the end -of October. - -My motherly love to all such young ones as may be around you. I do not -disturb George in order to ask for messages from him, being sure that -his love goes with mine. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 19th Sept. 1873.] - -I quite assent to your proposal that there should be a new edition of -"Middlemarch" in one volume, at 7_s._ 6_d._--to be prepared at once, -but not published too precipitately. - -I like your project of an illustration; and the financial arrangements -you mention are quite acceptable to me. - -For one reason especially I am delighted that the book is going to be -reprinted--namely, _that I can see the proof-sheets and make -corrections_. Pray give orders that the sheets be sent to me. I should -like the binding to be of a rich, sober color, with very plain Roman -lettering. It might be called a "revised edition." - -Thanks for the extract from Mr. Collins's letter. I did not know that -there was really a Lowick, in a Midland county too. Mr. Collins has my -gratitude for feeling some regard towards Mr. Casaubon, in whose life -_I_ lived with much sympathy. - -When I was at Oxford, in May, two ladies came up to me after dinner: -one said, "How could you let Dorothea marry _that_ Casaubon?" The -other, "Oh, I understand her doing that, but why did you let her marry -the other fellow, whom I cannot bear?" Thus two "ardent admirers" -wished that the book had been quite different from what it is. - -I wonder whether you have abandoned--as you seemed to agree that it -would be wise to do--the project of bringing out my other books in a -cheaper form than the present 3_s._ 6_d._, which, if it were not for -the blemish of the figure illustrations, would be as pretty an edition -as could be, and perhaps as cheap as my public requires. Somehow, the -cheap books that crowd the stalls are always those which look as if -they were issued from Pandemonium. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 11th Oct. 1873.] - -I am rather ashamed of our grumblings. We are really enjoying the -country, and have more than our share of everything. George has happy -mornings at his desk now, and we have fine bracing air to walk in--air -which I take in as a sort of nectar. We like the bits of scenery round -us better and better as we get them by heart in our walks and drives. -The house, with all its defects, is very pretty, and more delightfully -secluded, without being remote from the conveniences of the world, -than any place we have before thought of as a possible residence for -us. - -I am glad that you have been seeing the Cowper Temples. My knowledge -of them has not gone beyond dining with them at Mrs. Tollemache's, and -afterwards having a good conversational call from them, but they both -struck me very agreeably. - -Mr. Henry Sidgwick is a chief favorite of mine--one of whom his -friends at Cambridge say that they always expect him to act according -to a higher standard than they think of attributing to any other chief -man, or of imposing on themselves. "Though we kept our own fellowships -without believing more than he did," one of them said to me, "we -should have felt that Henry Sidgwick had fallen short if he had not -renounced his." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 12th Oct. 1873.] - -Our plan is not to give up our London house, but to have a country -place as a retreat. We want a good house in a lovely country, _away -from rows of villas_, but within easy reach of all conveniences. This -seems an immodest requirement in a world where one good is hardly to -be got without renunciation of another. You perceive that we are -getting very old and fastidious. - -I like to interpret your enjoyment of Brighton and its evening skies -as a proof that you flourish there physically. All things are to be -endured and counted even as a fuller life, with a body free from pain -and depressing sensations of weakness; but illness is a partial death, -and makes the world dim to us. - -We have no great strength to boast of; but we are so unspeakably happy -in all other respects that we cannot grumble at this tax on us as -elderly mortals. - -Our little Blanche grows in grace, and her parents have great delight -in her--Charles being quite as fond a father as if he had beforehand -been an idolizer of babies. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, Sunday, 20th Oct. 1873.] - -The chances of conversation were against my being quite clear to you -yesterday as to the cases in which it seems to me that conformity is -the higher rule. What happened to be said or not said is of no -consequence in any other light than that of my anxiety not to appear -what I should _hate to be_--which is surely not an ignoble, egoistic -anxiety, but belongs to the worship of the Best. - -All the great religions of the world, historically considered, are -rightly the objects of deep reverence and sympathy--they are the -record of spiritual struggles, which are the types of our own. This is -to me pre-eminently true of Hebrewism and Christianity, on which my -own youth was nourished. And in this sense I have no antagonism -towards any religious belief, but a strong outflow of sympathy. Every -community met to worship the highest Good (which is understood to be -expressed by God) carries me along in its main current; and if there -were not reasons against my following such an inclination, I should go -to church or chapel constantly for the sake of the delightful emotions -of fellowship which come over me in religious assemblies--the very -nature of such assemblies being the recognition of a binding belief or -spiritual law, which is to lift us into willing obedience and save us -from the slavery of unregulated passion or impulse. And with regard to -other people, it seems to me that those who have no definite -conviction which constitutes a protesting faith may often more -beneficially cherish the good within them and be better members of -society by a conformity, based on the recognized good in the public -belief, than by a nonconformity which has nothing but negatives to -utter. _Not_, of course, if the conformity would be accompanied by a -consciousness of hypocrisy. That is a question for the individual -conscience to settle. But there is enough to be said on the different -points of view from which conformity may be regarded to hinder a ready -judgment against those who continue to conform after ceasing to -believe, in the ordinary sense. But with the utmost largeness of -allowance for the difficulty of deciding in special cases, it must -remain true that the highest lot is to have definite beliefs about -which you feel that "necessity is laid upon you" to declare them, as -something better which you are bound to try and give to those who have -the worse. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 5th Nov. 1873.] - -It was a cheerful accompaniment to breakfast this morning to have a -letter from you, with the pretty picture you suggested of Miss -Blackwood's first ball. I am glad that I have seen the "little -fairy," so as to be able to imagine her. - -We are both the better for the delicious air and quiet of the country. -We, too, like you, were sorry to quit the woods and fields for the -comparatively disturbed life which even we are obliged to lead in -town. Letters requesting interviews can no longer be made void by -one's absence; and I am much afflicted by these interruptions, which -break up the day without any adequate result of good to any mortal. In -the country the days have broad spaces, and the very stillness seems -to give a delightful roominess to the hours. - -Is it not wonderful that the world can absorb so much "Middlemarch" at -a guinea the copy? I shall be glad to hear particulars, which, I -imagine, will lead to the conclusion that the time is coming for the -preparation of a 7_s._ 6_d._ edition. I am not fond of reading proofs, -but I am anxious to correct the sheets of this edition, both in -relation to mistakes already standing, and to prevent the accumulation -of others in the reprinting. - -I am slowly simmering towards another big book; but people seem so -bent on giving supremacy to "Middlemarch" that they are sure not to -like any future book so well. I had a letter from Mr. Bancroft (the -American ambassador at Berlin) the other day, in which he says that -everybody in Berlin reads "Middlemarch." He had to buy two copies for -his house; and he found the rector of the university, a stupendous -mathematician, occupied with it in the solid part of the day. I am -entertaining you in this graceful way about myself because you will be -interested to know what are the chances for our literature abroad. - -That Ashantee business seems to me hideous. What is more murderous -than stupidity? To have a husband gone on such an expedition is a -trial that passes my imagination of what it is possible to endure in -the way of anxiety. - -We are looking forward to the "Inkerman" volume as something for me to -read aloud. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 11th Nov. 1873.] - -During the latter part of our stay at Blackbrook we had become very -fond of the neighborhood. The walks and drives round us were -delightfully varied--commons, wooded lanes, wide pastures--and we felt -regretfully that we were hardly likely to find again a country-house -so secluded in a well-inhabited region. - -We have seen few people at present. The George Howards are come from a -delicious, lonely _séjour_ in a tower of Bamborough Castle!--and he -has brought many sketches home. That lodging would suit you, wouldn't -it? A castle on a rock washed by the sea seems to me just a paradise -for you. - -We have been reading John Mill's "Autobiography," like the rest of the -world. The account of his early education and the presentation of his -father are admirable; but there are some pages in the latter half that -one would have liked to be different. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 6th Dec. 1873.] - -Our wish to see you after all the long months since June, added to -your affectionate invitation, triumphs over our disinclination to -move. So, unless something should occur to make the arrangement -inconvenient to you, we will join the dear party on your hearth in the -afternoon of the 24th, and stay with you till the 26th. - -Notwithstanding my trust in your words, I feel a lingering uneasiness -lest we should be excluding some one else from enjoying Christmas with -you. - -J.'s friend, Dr. Andrew Clark, has been prescribing for Mr. -Lewes--ordering him to renounce the coffee which has been a chief -charm of life to him, but being otherwise mild in his prohibitions. - -I hear with much comfort that you are better, and have recovered your -usual activity. Please keep well till Christmas, and then love and pet -me a little, for that is always very sweet. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 22d Dec. 1873.] - -In writing any careful presentation of human feelings, you must count -on that infinite stupidity of readers who are always substituting -their crammed notions of what ought to be felt for any attempt to -recall truly what they themselves have felt under like circumstances. -We are going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our friends -at Weybridge. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 28th Dec. 1873.] - -We have been spending our Christmas in the country, and it is only on -my return that I got your kind note, with its pretty symbols of -remembrance. Such little signs are very sweet, coming from those whom -one loves well in spite of long separation. I am very glad to have -seen you in your new home, and to be able to imagine you among your -household treasures--especially to imagine both you and your husband -in enjoyable health. We have been invalidish lately, and have put -ourselves under the discipline of Dr. Andrew Clark, who is not one of -the "three meat-meals and alcohol" physicians, but rather one of those -who try to starve out dyspepsia. - -We both send our kind regards to Mr. Taylor, and hope that he may -remain robust for his parliamentary campaign. Life, I trust, will deal -gently with you in future, dear friend, and give you years of peace -after your period of anxiety and of parting from old places and -habits. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1874.] - -_Jan. 1._--The happy old year, in which we have had constant enjoyment -of life, notwithstanding much bodily _malaise_, is gone from us -forever. More than in any former year of my life love has been poured -forth to me from distant hearts, and in our home we have had that -finish to domestic comfort which only faithful, kind servants can -give. Our children are prosperous and happy--Charles evidently growing -in mental efficiency; we have abundant wealth for more than our actual -needs; and our unspeakable joy in each other has no other alloy than -the sense that it must one day end in parting. My dear husband has a -store of present and prospective good in the long work which is likely -to stretch through the remaining years of his intellectual activity; -and there have not been wanting signs that what he has already -published is being appreciated rightly by capable persons. He is -thinner than ever, but still he shows wonderful elasticity and nervous -energy. I have been for a month rendered almost helpless for -intellectual work by constant headache, but am getting a little more -freedom. Nothing is wanting to my blessings but the uninterrupted -power of work. For as to all my unchangeable imperfections I have -resigned myself. - -_Jan. 17._--I received this morning, from Blackwood, the account of -"Middlemarch" and of "The Spanish Gypsy" for 1873. Of the guinea -edition of "Middlemarch," published in the spring, 2434 copies have -been sold. Of "The Spanish Gypsy" 292 copies have been sold during -1873, and the remaining copies are only 197. Thus, out of 4470 which -have been printed, 4273 have been distributed. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 12th Feb. 1874.] - -We have received the volume--your kind and valuable gift--and I have -read it aloud with Mr. Lewes, all except the later pages, which we -both feel too much to bear reading them in common. You have given a -deeply interesting and, we think, instructive picture, and Mr. Lewes -has expressed his wish that it had not been restricted to a private -circulation. But I understand your shrinking from indiscriminate -publicity, at least in the first instance. Perhaps, if many judges on -whom you rely concur with Mr. Lewes, you will be induced to extend the -possible benefit of the volume. I care so much for the demonstration -of an intense joy in life on the basis of "plain living and high -thinking" in this time of more and more eager scrambling after wealth -and show. And then there are exquisite bits which you have rescued -from that darkness to which his self-depreciation condemned them. I -think I never read a more exquisite little poem than the one called -"Christian Resignation;" and Mr. Lewes, when I read it aloud, at once -exclaimed, "How very fine--read it again!" I am also much impressed -with the wise mingling of moderation with sympathy in that passage, -given in a note, from the article on Greg's "Political Essays." - -What must have been the effort which the writing cost you I can--not -fully, but almost--imagine. But believe, dear friend, that in our -judgment you have not poured out these recollections in a cry of -anguish all in vain. I feel roused and admonished by what you have -told, and if I--then others. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 20th Feb. 1874.] - -I imagined you absorbed by the political crisis, like the rest of the -world except the Lord Chief-justice, who must naturally have felt his -summing-up deserving of more attention. I, who am no believer in -salvation by ballot, am rather tickled that the first experiment with -it has turned against its adherents. - -I have been making what will almost certainly be my last corrections -of the "Spanish Gypsy," and that causes me to look forward with -special satisfaction to the probable exhaustion of the present -edition. The corrections chiefly concern the quantity of the word -Zincálo, which ought to be Zíncalo; but there are some other -emendations; and, altogether, they make a difference to more than -seventy pages. But it would still be worth while to retain the -stereotypes, replacing simply the amended pages, there being about 400 -in the whole book. I am sadly vexed that I did not think of having -these corrections ready for the German reprint. - -I have been compunctious lately about my having sprinkled cold water -on the proposal suggested by Mr. Simpson, of bringing out my novels in -a cheaper way--on thinner paper and without illustrations. The -compunction was roused by my happening, in looking at old records, to -alight on some letters, one especially, written by a working-man, a -certain E. Hall,[22] more than ten years ago, begging me to bring out -my books in a form cheap enough to let a poor man more easily "get a -read of them." Hence, if you and Mr. Simpson see good to revive the -design in question, I am perfectly in accord. - -You did send me a copy of Lord Lytton's "Fables"--many thanks for -doing so. Mr. Lewes had seen several of them in manuscript, and -thought well of their merits. I am reading them gradually. They are -full of graceful fancies and charming verse. So far as cleverness goes -it seems to me he can do almost anything; and the leanings of his mind -are towards the best things. The want I feel is of more definiteness -and more weight. The two stanzas to his wife, placed before "Far and -Near," are perfect. - -I think I have never written to you since I wanted to tell you that I -admired very much the just spirit in which the notice of Mill's -"Autobiography" was written in the Magazine. Poor Dickens's latter -years wear a melancholy aspect, do they not? But some of the extracts -from his letters in the last volume have surprisingly more freshness -and naturalness of humor than any of the letters earlier given. Still, -something should be done by dispassionate criticism towards the reform -of our national habits in the matter of literary biography. Is it not -odious that as soon as a man is dead his desk is raked, and every -insignificant memorandum which he never meant for the public is -printed for the gossiping amusement of people too idle to re-read his -books? "He gave the people of his best. His worst he kept, his best he -gave;" but there is a certain set, not a small one, who are titillated -by the worst and indifferent to the best. I think this fashion is a -disgrace to us all. It is something like the uncovering of the dead -Byron's club-foot. - -Mr. Lewes is in a more flourishing condition than usual, having been -helped by Dr. Andrew Clark, who ministers to all the brain-workers. I -have been ill lately: weeks of _malaise_ having found their climax in -lumbar-neuralgia, or something of that sort, which gave fits of pain -severe enough to deserve even a finer name. - -My writing has not been stimulated as Scott's was under circumstances -of a like sort, and I have nothing to tell you securely. - -Please give an expression of my well-founded sympathy to Mr. William -Blackwood. My experience feelingly convinces me of the hardship there -must be in his. I trust I shall hear of the lameness as a departed -evil. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 6th Mch. 1874.] - -I send you by this post a small collection of my poems, which Mr. -Lewes wishes me to get published in May. - -Such of them as have been already printed in a fugitive form have been -received with many signs of sympathy, and every one of those I now -send you represents an idea which I care for strongly, and wish to -propagate as far as I can. Else I should forbid myself from adding to -the mountainous heap of poetical collections. - -The form of volume I have in my eye is a delightful duodecimo edition -of Keats's poems (without the "Endymion") published during his life: -just the volume to slip in the pocket. Mine will be the least bit -thicker. - -I should like a darkish green cover, with Roman lettering. But you -will consider the physique and price of the book, and kindly let me -know your thoughts. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 25th Mch. 1874.] - -I fear the fatal fact about your story[23] is the absence of God and -hell. "My dear madam, you have not presented motives to the children!" -It is really hideous to find that those who sit in the scribes' seats -have got no further than the appeal to selfishness, which they call -God. The old Talmudists were better teachers. They make Rachel -remonstrate with God for his hardness, and remind him that she was -kinder to her sister Leah than he to his people--thus correcting the -traditional God by human sympathy. However, we must put up with our -contemporaries, since we can neither live with our ancestors nor with -posterity. - -It is cheering to see the programme of your new society. There -certainly is an awakening of conscience about animals in general as -our fellow-creatures--even the vogue of Balaam's ass is in that sense -a good sign. A lady wrote to me the other day that when she went to -church in the island of Sark the sermon turned on that remonstrant -hero or heroine. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 27th Mch. 1874.] - -I can imagine how great an encouragement you feel from the enthusiasm -generously expressed in Mr. C.'s letter. It is always an admirable -impulse to express deeply felt admiration, but it is also possible -that you have some grateful readers who do not write to you. I have -heard men whose greatest delight is literature, say that they should -never dream of writing to an author on the ground of his books alone. - -Poor Mr. Francis Newman must be aged now and rather weary of the world -and explanations of the world. He can hardly be expected to take in -much novelty. I have a sort of affectionate sadness in thinking of the -interest which, in far-off days, I felt in his "Soul" and "Phases of -Faith," and of the awe I had of him as a lecturer on mathematics at -the Ladies' College. How much work he has done in the world which has -left no deep, conspicuous mark, but has probably entered beneficially -into many lives! - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 23d April, 1874.] - -How glorious this opening spring is! At this moment even London is so -beautiful that I come home filled with the Park landscapes, and see -them as a background to all my thoughts. Your account of Mr. George -Dawson is rather melancholy. I remember him only as a bright, -vigorous, young man--such as perhaps his sons are now. I imagine it is -his fortune, or, rather, misfortune, to have talked too much and too -early about the greatest things. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Mary Cross, 11th May, 1874.] - -I could not dwell on your sweet gift[24] yesterday--I should perhaps -have begun to cry, which would not have been _convenable_ in a -hostess. For I have been in a suffering, depressed condition lately, -so your good, loving deed has come just at the right time--when I need -the helpfulness that love brings me--and my heart turns to you with -grateful blessing this Monday morning. - -I have been looking at the little paintings with a treble delight, -because they were done for _me_, because you chose for them subjects -of my "making," and because they are done with a promising charm of -execution (which Mr. Lewes feels as well as I). It gives me special -gladness that you have this sort of work before you. Some skill or -other with the hands is needful for the completeness of the life, and -makes a bridge over times of doubt and despondency. - -Perhaps it will please you to know that nineteen years ago, when Mr. -Lewes and I were looking at a print of Goethe's statue by Ritzchl, -which stands on a pedestal ornamented with _bassi relievi_ of his -characters, I said (little believing that my wish would ever be -fulfilled), "How I should like to be surrounded with creatures of my -own making!" And yesterday, when I was looking at your gift, that -little incident recurred to me. Your love seemed to have made me a -miniature pedestal. - -I was comforted yesterday that you and J. had at least the pleasure of -hearing Bice Trollope sing, to make some amends for the long, cold -journey. Please do not any of you, forget that we shall only be three -weeks more in this corner of the world, and that we want to see you as -often as you care to come. - -Best love to all, the mother being chief among the all. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1874.] - -_May 19._--This month has been published a volume of my poems--"Legend -of Jubal, and other Poems." On the 1st of June we go into the country -to the cottage, Earlswood Common, for four months, and I hope there to -get deep shafts sunk in my prose book. My health has been a wretched -drag on me during this last half-year. I have lately written "a -symposium." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Cross, 14th June, 1874.] - -I have so much trust in your love for us that I feel sure you will -like to know of our happiness in the secure peace of the country, and -the good we already experience in soul and body from the sweet breezes -over hill and common, the delicious silence, and the unbroken spaces -of the day. Just now the chill east wind has brought a little check to -our pleasure in our long afternoon drives; and I could wish that Canon -Kingsley and his fellow-worshippers of that harsh divinity could have -it reserved entirely for themselves as a tribal god. - -We think the neighborhood so lovely that I must beg you to tell J. we -are in danger of settling here unless he makes haste to find us a -house in your "country-side"--a house with undeniable charms, on high -ground, in a strictly rural neighborhood (water and gas laid on, -nevertheless), to be vacant precisely this autumn! - -My philosopher is writing away with double _verve_ in a projecting -window, where he can see a beautiful green slope crowned and studded -with large trees. I, too, have an agreeable corner in another room. -Our house has the essentials of comfort, and we have reason to be -contented with it. - -I confess that my chief motive for writing about ourselves is to earn -some news of you, which will not be denied me by one or other of the -dear pairs of hands always ready to do us a kindness. - -Our Sunday is really a Sabbath now--a day of thorough peace. But I -shall get hungry for a sight of some of the Sunday visitors before the -end of September. - -I include all your family in a spiritual embrace, and am always yours -lovingly. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 16th June, 1874.] - -We are revelling in the peace of the country, and have no drawback to -our delight except the cold winds, which have forced us to put on -winter clothing for the last four or five days. - -Our wide common is very breezy, and the wind makes mournful music -round our walls. But I should think it is not possible to find a much -healthier region than this round Reigate and Redhill; and it is -prettier than half the places one crosses the Channel to see. We have -been hunting about for a permanent country home in the neighborhood, -but no house is so difficult to get as one which has at once seclusion -and convenience of position, which is neither of the suburban-villa -style nor of the grand hall and castle dimensions. - -The restoration of the empire (in France), which is a threatening -possibility, seems to me a degrading issue. In the restoration of the -monarchy I should have found something to rejoice at, but the -traditions of the empire, both first and second, seem to my sentiment -bad. Some form of military despotism must be, as you say, the only -solution where no one political party knows how to behave itself. The -American pattern is certainly being accepted as to senatorial manners. -I dare say you have been to Knebworth and talked over French matters -with Lord Lytton. We are grieved to hear from him but a poor account -of sweet Lady Lytton's health and spirits. She is to me one of the -most charming types of womanliness, and I long for her to have all a -woman's best blessings. - -The good news about the small remainder of "Jubal" is very welcome, -and I will write at once to Mr. Simpson to send him my two or three -corrections, and my wishes about the new edition. The price of the -book will well bear a thicker and a handsomely tinted paper, -especially now it has proved movable; and I felt so much the -difference to the eye and touch of the copies on rich tinted paper, -that I was much vexed with myself for having contributed to the shabby -appearance of the current edition by suggesting the thin Keats volume -as a model. People have become used to more luxurious editions; and I -confess to the weakness of being affected by paper and type in -something of the same subtile way I am affected by the odor of a room. - -Many thanks for Lord Neaves's pleasant little book, which is a capital -example of your happily planned publication. - -I came down here half poisoned by the French theatre, but I am -flourishing now, and am brewing my future big book with more or less -(generally less) belief in the quality of the liquor which will be -drawn off. The secured peacefulness and the pure air of the country -make our time of double worth; and we mean to give no invitations to -London friends desirous of change. We are selfishly bent on dual -solitude. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 1st July, 1874.] - -I am so glad to know from your kind letter that you are interesting -yourself, with Madame Belloc, in the poor workhouse girls. You see my -only social work is to rejoice in the labors of others, while I live -in luxurious remoteness from all turmoil. Of course you have seen -Mrs. Senior's report. I read it, and thought it very wise, very -valuable in many ways, and since then she has sent me word how much -she has been worried about it by (as I imagine) obstructive officials. - -We are revelling in our country peacefulness, in spite of the chills -and rain, driving about every day that the weather will allow, and -finding in each drive new beauties of this loveliest part of a lovely -country. We are looking out for a house in this neighborhood as a -permanent retreat; not with the idea of giving up our London house, at -least for some years, but simply of having a place to which we may -come for about six months of the year, and perhaps finally shrink into -altogether. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 1st July, 1874.] - -Only the day before your letter came to me I had been saying, "I -wonder how our dear Mrs. William Smith is?" so that your impulse to -write to me satisfied a need of mine. I cannot help rejoicing that you -are in the midst of lovely scenery again, for I had had a presentiment -that Cambridge was antipathetic to you; and, indeed, I could not have -imagined that you would be in the right place there but for the -promised helpfulness of your presence to a young friend. - -You tell me much that is interesting. Your picture of Mr. and Mrs. -Stirling, and what you say of the reasons why one may wish even for -the anguish of being _left_ for the sake of waiting on the beloved one -to the end--all that goes to my heart of hearts. It is what I think of -almost daily. For death seems to me now a close, real experience, like -the approach of autumn or winter, and I am glad to find that advancing -life brings this power of imagining the nearness of death I never had -till of late years. I remember all you told me of your niece's -expected marriage, and your joy in the husband who has chosen her. It -is wealth you have--that of several sweet nieces to whom being with -you is a happiness. You can feel some sympathy in their cheerfulness, -even though sorrow is always your only private good--can you not, dear -friend?--and the time is short at the utmost. The blessed reunion, if -it may come, must be patiently waited for; and such good as you can do -others, by loving looks and words, must seem to you like a closer -companionship with the gentleness and benignity which you justly -worshipped while it was visibly present, and still more, perhaps, now -it is veiled, and is a memory stronger than vision of outward things. -We are revelling in the sweet peace of the country, and shall remain -here till the end of September. - -Mr. Lewes sends his affectionate remembrances with mine. I am -scribbling while he holds my bed-candle, so pray forgive any -incoherency. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 17th July, 1874.] - -I have two questions to ask of your benevolence. First, was there not -some village near Stonehenge where you stayed the night, nearer to -Stonehenge than Amesbury? Secondly, do you know anything specific -about Holmwood _Common_ as a place of residence? It is ravishingly -beautiful; is it in its higher part thoroughly unobjectionable as a -site for a dwelling? - -It seems that they have been having the heat of Tophet in London, -whereas we have never had more than agreeable sunniness, this common -being almost always breezy. And the country around us must, I think, -be the loveliest of its undulating, woody kind in all England. - -I remember, when we were driving together last, something was said -about my disposition to melancholy. I ought to have said then, but did -not, that I am no longer one of those whom Dante found in hell border -because they had been sad under the blessed sunlight.[25] I am -uniformly cheerful now--feeling the preciousness of these moments, in -which I still possess love and thought. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 3d Aug. 1874.] - -It was sweet of you to write me that nice long letter. I was athirst -for some news of you. Life, as you say, is a big thing. No wonder -there comes a season when we cease to look round and say, "How shall I -enjoy?" but, as in a country which has been visited by the sword, -pestilence, and famine, think only how we shall help the wounded, and -how find seed for the next harvest--how till the earth and make a -little time of gladness for those who are being born without their own -asking. I am so glad of what you say about the Latin. Go on conquering -and to conquer a little kingdom for yourself there. - -We are, as usual, getting more than our share of peace and other good, -except in the matter of warmth and sunshine. Our common is a sort of -ball-room for the winds, and on the warmest days we have had here we -have found them at their music and dancing. They roar round the -corners of our house in a wintry fashion, while the sun is shining on -the brown grass. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 8th Aug. 1874.] - -Thanks for sending me the good news. The sale of "Middlemarch" is -wonderful "out of all whooping," and, considered as manifesting the -impression made by the book, is more valuable than any amount of -immediate distribution. I suppose there will be a new edition of the -"Spanish Gypsy" wanted by Christmas; and I have a carefully corrected -copy by me, containing my final alterations, to which I desire to -have the stereotyped plates adjusted. - -As to confidence in the work to be done I am somewhat in the condition -suggested to Armgart, "How will you bear the poise of eminence with -dread of falling?" And the other day, having a bad headache, I did -what I have sometimes done before at intervals of five or six -years--looked into three or four novels to see what the world was -reading. The effect was paralyzing, and certainly justifies me in that -abstinence from novel-reading which, I fear, makes me seem -supercilious or churlish to the many persons who send me their books, -or ask me about their friends' books. To be delivered from all doubts -as to one's justification in writing at this stage of the world, one -should have either a plentiful faith in one's own exceptionalness, or -a plentiful lack of money. Tennyson said to me, "Everybody writes so -well now;" and if the lace is only machine-made, it still pushes out -the hand-made, which has differences only for a fine, fastidious -appreciation. To write indifferently after having written well--that -is, from a true, individual store which makes a special -contribution--is like an eminent clergyman spoiling his reputation by -lapses, and neutralizing all the good he did before. However, this is -superfluous stuff to write to you. It is only a sample of the way in -which depression works upon me. I am not the less grateful for all the -encouragement I get. - -I saw handsome Dean Liddell at Oxford. He is really a grand figure. -They accuse him of being obstructive to much-needed reforms. For my -own part I am thankful to him for his share in "Liddell and Scott" and -his capital little Roman History. _À propos_ of books and St. Andrews, -I have read aloud to Mr. Lewes Professor Flint's volume, and we have -both been much pleased with its conscientious presentation and -thorough effort at fairness. - -We have enjoyed the country, as we always do; but we have been, for -our constitutions, a little unfortunate in the choice of a spot which -is the windiest of the windy. That heat which we have read and heard -of has hardly been at all felt by us; and we have both suffered a -little from chills. You will perceive from my letter I am just now -possessed by an evil spirit in the form of headache; but on the whole -I am much the stronger for the peace and the delicious air, which I -take in as a conscious addition to the good of living. - -We have been near buying a little country hermitage on Holmwood -Common--a grand spot, with a view hard to match in our flat land. But -we have been frightened away by its windiness. I rather envy Major -Lockhart and the rest of the golfian enthusiasts; to have a seductive -idleness which is really a healthy activity is invaluable to people -who have desk-work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 11th Nov. 1874.] - -I feel rather disgraced by the fact that I received your last kind -letter nearly two months ago. But a brief note of mine, written -immediately on hearing of you from Mrs. Fields, must have crossed -yours and the Professor's kind letters to me; and I hope it proved to -you that I love you in my heart. - -We were in the country then, but soon afterwards we set out on a -six-weeks' journey, and we are but just settled in our winter home. - -Those unspeakable troubles in which I necessarily felt more for _you_ -than for any one else concerned, are, I trust, well at an end, and you -are enjoying a time of peace. It was like your own sympathetic energy -to be able, even while the storm was yet hanging in your sky, to -write to me about my husband's books. Will you not agree with me that -there is one comprehensive Church whose fellowship consists in the -desire to purify and ennoble human life, and where the best members of -all narrower Churches may call themselves brother and sister in spite -of differences? I am writing to your dear husband as well as to you, -and in answer to his question about Goethe, I must say, for my part, -that I think he had a strain of mysticism in his soul--of so much -mysticism as I think inevitably belongs to a full, poetic nature--I -mean the delighted bathing of the soul in emotions which overpass the -outlines of definite thought. I should take the "Imitation" as a type -(it is one which your husband also mentions), but perhaps I might -differ from him in my attempt to interpret the unchangeable and -universal meanings of that great book. - -Mr. Lewes, however, who has a better right than I to a conclusion -about Goethe, thinks that he entered into the experience of the -mystic--as in the confessions of the _Schöne Seele_--simply by force -of his sympathetic genius, and that his personal individual bent was -towards the clear and plastic exclusively. Do not imagine that Mr. -Lewes is guided in his exposition by theoretic antipathies. He is -singularly tolerant of difference, and able to admire what is unlike -himself. - -He is busy now correcting the proofs of his second volume. I wonder -whether you have headaches and are rickety as we are, or whether you -have a glorious immunity from those ills of the flesh. Your husband's -photograph looks worthy to represent one of those wondrous Greeks who -wrote grand dramas at eighty or ninety. - -I am decidedly among the correspondents who may exercise their -friends in the virtue of giving and hoping for nothing again. -Otherwise I am unprofitable. Yet believe me, dear friend, I am always -with lively memories of you, yours affectionately. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Nov. 1874.] - -We have spent this year in much happiness, and are sorry to part with -it. From the beginning of June to the end of September we had a house -in Surrey, and enjoyed delicious quiet with daily walks and drives in -the lovely scenery round Reigate and Dorking. October we spent in a -country visit to friends (Six-Mile Bottom) and in a journey to Paris, -and through the Ardennes homeward, finishing off our travels by some -excursions in our own country, which we are ready to say we will never -quit again--it is so much better worth knowing than most places one -travels abroad to see. We make ourselves amends for being in London by -going to museums to see the wonderful works of men; and the other day -I was taken over the Bank of England and to Woolwich Arsenal--getting -object-lessons in my old age, you perceive. Mr. Lewes is half through -the proof-correcting of his second volume; and it will be matter of -rejoicing when the other half is done, for we both hate -proof-correcting (do you?)--the writing always seems worse than it -really is when one reads it in patches, looking out for mistakes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Ponsonby (now Lady Ponsonby), 10th -Dec. 1874.] - -My books have for their main bearing a conclusion the opposite of that -in which your studies seem to have painfully imprisoned you--a -conclusion without which I could not have cared to write any -representation of human life--namely, that the fellowship between man -and man which has been the principle of development, social and moral, -is not dependent on conceptions of what is not man: and that the idea -of God, so far as it has been a high spiritual influence, is the ideal -of a goodness entirely human (_i.e._, an exaltation of the human). - -Have you quite fairly represented yourself in saying that you have -ceased to pity your suffering fellow-men, because you can no longer -think of them as individualities of immortal duration, in some other -state of existence than this of which you know the pains and the -pleasures?--that you feel less for them now you regard them as more -miserable? And, on a closer examination of your feelings, should you -find that you had lost all sense of quality in actions, all -possibility of admiration that yearns to imitate, all keen sense of -what is cruel and injurious, all belief that your conduct (and -therefore the conduct of others) can have any difference of effect on -the well-being of those immediately about you (and therefore on those -afar off), whether you carelessly follow your selfish moods, or -encourage that vision of others' needs which is the source of justice, -tenderness, sympathy in the fullest sense--I cannot believe that your -strong intellect will continue to see, in the conditions of man's -appearance on this planet, a destructive relation to your sympathy. -This seems to me equivalent to saying that you care no longer for -color, now you know the laws of the spectrum. - -As to the necessary combinations through which life is manifested, and -which seem to present themselves to you as a hideous fatalism, which -ought logically to petrify your volition, have they, _in fact_, any -such influence on your ordinary course of action in the primary -affairs of your existence as a human, social, domestic creature? And -if they don't hinder you from taking measures for a bath, without -which you know that you cannot secure the delicate cleanliness which -is your second nature, why should they hinder you from a line of -resolve in a higher strain of duty to your ideal, both for yourself -and others? But the consideration of molecular physics is not the -direct ground of human love and moral action any more than it is the -direct means of composing a noble picture or of enjoying great music. -One might as well hope to dissect one's own body and be merry in doing -it, as take molecular physics (in which you must banish from your -field of view what is specifically human) to be your dominant guide, -your determiner of motives, in what is solely human. That every study -has its bearing on every other is true; but pain and relief, love and -sorrow, have their peculiar history, which make an experience and -knowledge over and above the swing of atoms. - -The teaching you quote as George Sand's would, I think, deserve to be -called nonsensical if it did not deserve to be called wicked. What -sort of "culture of the intellect" is that which, instead of widening -the mind to a fuller and fuller response to all the elements of our -existence, isolates it in a moral stupidity?--which flatters egoism -with the possibility that a complex and refined human society can -continue, wherein relations have no sacredness beyond the inclination -of changing moods?--or figures to itself an æsthetic human life that -one may compare to that of the fabled grasshoppers who were once men, -but having heard the song of the Muses could do nothing but sing, and -starved themselves so till they died and had a fit resurrection as -grasshoppers? "And this," says Socrates, "was the return the Muses -made them." - -With regard to the pains and limitations of one's personal lot, I -suppose there is not a single man or woman who has not more or less -need of that stoical resignation which is often a hidden heroism, or -who, in considering his or her past history, is not aware that it has -been cruelly affected by the ignorant or selfish action of some -fellow-being in a more or less close relation of life. And to my mind -there can be no stronger motive than this perception, to an energetic -effort that the lives nearest to us shall not suffer in a like manner -from _us_. - -The progress of the world--which you say can only come at the right -time--can certainly never come at all save by the modified action of -the individual beings who compose the world; and that we can say to -ourselves with effect, "There is an order of considerations which I -will keep myself continually in mind of, so that they may continually -be the prompters of certain feelings and actions," seems to me as -undeniable as that we can resolve to study the Semitic languages and -apply to an Oriental scholar to give us daily lessons. What would your -keen wit say to a young man who alleged the physical basis of nervous -action as a reason why he could not possibly take that course? - -As to duration and the way in which it affects your view of the human -history, what is really the difference to your imagination between -infinitude and billions when you have to consider the value of human -experience? Will you say that, since your life has a term of -threescore years and ten, it was really a matter of indifference -whether you were a cripple with a wretched skin disease, or an active -creature with a mind at large for the enjoyment of knowledge, and with -a nature which has attracted others to you? - -Difficulties of thought--acceptance of what is, without full -comprehension--belong to every system of thinking. The question is to -find the least incomplete. - -When I wrote the first page of this letter I thought I was going to -say that I had not courage to enter on the momentous points you had -touched on in the hasty, brief form of a letter. But I have been led -on sentence after sentence--not, I fear, with any inspiration beyond -that of my anxiety. You will at least pardon any ill-advised things I -may have written on the prompting of the moment. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1875.] - -_Jan. 13._--Here is a great gap since I last made a record. But the -time has been filled full of happiness. A second edition of "Jubal" -was published in August; and the fourth edition of the "Spanish Gypsy" -is all sold. This morning I received a copy of the fifth edition. The -amount of copies sold of "Middlemarch" up to 31st December is between -nineteen and twenty thousand. - -Yesterday I also received the good news that the engagement between -Emily Cross and Mr. Otter is settled. - -The last year has been crowded with proofs of affection for me and of -value for what work I have been able to do. This makes the best motive -or encouragement to do more; but, as usual, I am suffering much from -doubt as to the worth of what I am doing, and fear lest I may not be -able to complete it so as to make it a contribution to literature and -not a mere addition to the heap of books. I am now just beginning the -part about "Deronda," at page 234. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Francis Otter, 13th (?) Jan. 1875.] - -Your letter was a deeply felt pleasure to me last night; and I have -one from Emily this morning, which makes my joy in the prospect of -your union as thorough as it could well be. I could not wish either -her words or yours to be in the least different. Long ago, when I had -no notion that the event was probable, my too hasty imagination had -prefigured it and longed for it. To say this is to say something of -the high regard with which all I have known of you has impressed -me--for I hold our sweet Emily worthy of one who may be reckoned among -the best. The possibility of a constantly growing blessedness in -marriage is to me the very basis of good in our mortal life; and the -believing hope that you and she will experience that blessedness seems -to enrich me for the coming years. I shall count it among my -strengthening thoughts that you both think of me with affection, and -care for my sympathy. Mr. Lewes shares in all the feelings I express, -and we are rejoicing together. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 15th Jan. 1875.] - -Please never wonder at my silence, or believe that I bear you in any -the less lively remembrance because I do not write to you. - -Writing notes is the _crux_ of my life. It often interferes with my -morning hours (before 1 o'clock), which is the only time I have for -quiet work. For certain letters are unavoidable demands, and though my -kind husband writes them for me whenever he can, they are not all to -be done by proxy. - -That glorious bit of work of yours about the Home for Girls[26] is -delightful to hear of. Hardly anything is more wanted, I imagine, than -homes for girls in various employments--or, rather, for unmarried -women of all ages. - -I heard also the other day that your name was among those of the -ladies interested in the beginning of a union among the bookbinding -women, which one would like to succeed and spread. - -I hope, from your ability to work so well, that you are in perfect -health yourself. Our friend Barbara, too, looks literally the pink of -well-being, and cheers one's soul by her interest in all worthy -things. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Ponsonby (now Lady Ponsonby), 30th -Jan. 1875.] - -I should urge you to consider your early religious experience as a -portion of valid knowledge, and to cherish its emotional results in -relation to objects and ideas which are either substitutes or -metamorphoses of the earlier. And I think we must not take every great -physicist--or other "ist"--for an apostle, but be ready to suspect him -of some crudity concerning relations that lie outside his special -studies, if his exposition strands us on results that seem to stultify -the most ardent, massive experience of mankind, and hem up the best -part of our feelings in stagnation. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 7th Feb. 1875.] - -Last night I finished reading aloud to Mr. Lewes the "Inkerman" -volume, and we both thank you heartily for the valuable present. It is -an admirable piece of writing; such pure, lucid English is what one -rarely gets to read. The masterly marshalling of the material is -certainly in contrast with the movements described. To my non-military -mind the Inkerman affair seems nothing but a brave blundering into -victory. Great traits of valor--Homeric movements--but also a powerful -lack of brains in the form of generalship. I cannot see that the -ordering up of the two 18-pounder guns was a vast mental effort, -unless the weight of the guns is to be counted in the order as well as -in the execution. But the grand fact of the thousands beaten by the -hundreds remains under all interpretation. Why the Russians, in their -multitudinous mass, should have chosen to retreat into Sebastopol, -moving at their leisure, and carrying off all their artillery, seems a -mystery in spite of General Dannenberg's memorable answer to -Mentschikoff. - -There are some splendid movements in the story--the tradition of the -"Minden Yell," the "Men, remember Albuera," and the officer of the -77th advancing with, "Then I will go myself," with what followed, are -favorite bits of mine. My mind is in the anomalous condition of hating -war and loving its discipline, which has been an incalculable -contribution to the sentiment of duty. - -I have not troubled myself to read any reviews of the book. My eye -caught one in which the author's style was accused of affectation. But -I have long learned to apply to reviewers an aphorism which tickled me -in my childhood--"There must be some such to be some of all sorts." -Pray tell Mr. Simpson that I was much pleased with the new dress of -the "Spanish Gypsy." - -The first part of "Giannetto" raised my interest, but I was -disappointed in the unravelling of the plot. It seems to me neither -really nor ideally satisfactory. But it is a long while since I read a -story newer than "Rasselas," which I re-read two years ago, with a -desire to renew my childish delight in it, when it was one of my -best-loved companions. So I am a bad judge of comparative merits among -popular writers. I am obliged to fast from fiction, and fasting is -known sometimes to weaken the stomach. I ought to except Miss -Thackeray's stories--which I cannot resist when they come near me--and -bits of Mr. Trollope, for affection's sake. You would not wonder -at my fasting, if you knew how deplorably uncalled-for and -"everything-that-it-should-not-be" my own fiction seems to me in times -of inward and outward fog--like this morning, when the light is dim on -my paper. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Ponsonby (now Lady Ponsonby), 11th -Feb. 1875.] - -_Do_ send me the papers you have written--I mean as a help and -instruction to me. I need very much to know how ideas lie in other -minds than my own, that I may not miss their difficulties while I am -urging only what satisfies myself. I shall be deeply interested in -knowing exactly what you wrote at that particular stage. Please -remember that I don't consider myself a teacher, but a companion in -the struggle of thought. What can consulting physicians do without -pathological knowledge? and the more they have of it, the less -absolute--the more tentative--are their procedures. - -You will see by the _Fortnightly_, which you have not read, that Mr. -Spencer is very anxious to vindicate himself from neglect of the -logical necessity that the evolution of the abstraction "society" is -dependent on the modified action of the units; indeed, he is very -sensitive on the point of being supposed to teach an enervating -fatalism. - -Consider what the human mind _en masse_ would have been if there had -been no such combination of elements in it as has produced poets. All -the philosophers and _savants_ would not have sufficed to supply that -deficiency. And how can the life of nations be understood without the -inward light of poetry--that is, of emotion blending with thought? - -But the beginning and object of my letter must be the end--please send -me your papers. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 10th May, 1875.] - -We cannot believe that there is reason to fear any painful -observations on the publication of the memoir in one volume with -"Gravenhurst" and the essays. The memoir is written with exquisite -judgment and feeling; and without estimating too highly the taste and -carefulness of journalists in their ordinary treatment of books, I -think that we may count on their not being impressed otherwise than -respectfully and sympathetically with the character of your dear -husband's work, and with the sketch of his pure, elevated life. I -would also urge you to rely on the fact that Mr. Blackwood thinks the -publication desirable, as a guarantee that it will not prove -injudicious in relation to the outer world--I mean, the world beyond -the circle of your husband's especial friends and admirers. I am -grieved to hear of your poor eyes having been condemned to an inaction -which, I fear, may have sadly increased the vividness of that inward -seeing, already painfully strong in you. There has been, I trust, -always some sympathetic young companionship to help you--some sweet -voice to read aloud to you, or to talk of those better things in human -lots which enable us to look at the good of life a little apart from -our own particular sorrow. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 11th May, 1875.] - -The doctors have decided that there is nothing very grave the matter -with me: and I am now so much better that we even think it possible I -may go to see Salvini, in the Gladiator, to-morrow evening. This is to -let you know that there is no reason against your coming, with or -without Margaret, at the usual time on Friday. - -Your words of affection in the note you sent me are very dear to my -remembrance. I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I -am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same mind. But the realm -of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of -light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very -dear. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 14th May, 1875.] - -You are right--there is no time, but only the sense of not having -time; especially when, instead of filling the days with useful -exertion, as you do, one wastes them in being ill, as I have been -doing of late. However, I am better now, and will not grumble. Thanks -for all the dear words in your letter. Be sure I treasure the memory -of your faithful friendship, which goes back--you know how far. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 1st June, 1875.] - -If you could, some day this week or the beginning of next, allow me -half an hour's quiet _tête-à-tête_, I should be very much obliged by -such a kindness. - -The trivial questions I want to put could hardly be shapen in a letter -so as to govern an answer that would satisfy my need. And I trust that -the interview will hardly be more troublesome to you than writing. - -I hope, when you learn the pettiness of my difficulties, you will not -be indignant, like a great doctor called in to the favorite cat. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 9th Aug. 1875, from -Rickmansworth.] - -We admire our bit of Hertfordshire greatly; but I should be glad of -more breezy common land and far-reaching outlooks. For fertility, -wealth of grand trees, parks, mansions, and charming bits of stream -and canal, our neighborhood can hardly be excelled. And our house is a -good old red-brick Georgian place, with a nice bit of garden and -meadow and river at the back. Perhaps we are too much in the valley, -and have too large a share of mist, which often lies white on our -meadows in the early evening. But who has not had too much moisture in -this calamitously wet, cold summer? - -Mr. Lewes is very busy, but not in zoologizing. We reserve that for -October, when we mean to go to the coast for a few weeks. It is a long -while since I walked on broad sands and watched the receding tide; and -I look forward agreeably to a renewal of that old pleasure. - -I am not particularly flourishing in this pretty region, probably -owing to the low barometer. The air has been continually muggy, and -has lain on one's head like a thick turban. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 14th Aug. 1875.] - -What a comfort that you are at home again and well![27] The sense of -your nearness had been so long missing to us that we had begun to take -up with life as inevitably a little less cheerful than we remembered -it to have been formerly, without thinking of restoration. - -My box is quite dear to me, and shall be used for stamps, as you -recommend, unless I find another use that will lead me to open it and -think of you the oftener. It is very precious to me that you bore me -in your mind, and took that trouble to give me pleasure--in which you -have succeeded. - -Our house here is rather a fine old brick Georgian place, with a -lovely bit of landscape; but I think we have suffered the more from -the rainy, close weather, because we are in a valley, and can see the -mists lie in a thick, white stratum on our meadows. Mr. Lewes has -been, on the whole, flourishing and enjoying--writing away with vigor, -and making a discovery or theory at the rate of one per diem. - -Of me you must expect no good. I have been in a piteous state of -debility in body and depression in mind. My book seems to me so -unlikely ever to be finished in a way that will make it worth giving -to the world, that it is a kind of glass in which I behold my -infirmities. - -That expedition on the Thames would be a great delight, if it were -possible to us. But our arrangements forbid it. Our loving thanks to -Mr. Druce, as well as to you, for reviving the thought. We are to -remain here till the 23d of September; then to fly through town, or -at least only perch there for a night or so, and then go down to the -coast, while the servants clean our house. We expect that Bournemouth -will be our destination. - -Let us have news of you all again soon. Let us comfort each other -while it is day, for the night cometh. - -I hope this change of weather, in which we are glorying both for the -country's sake and our own, will not make Weybridge too warm for Mrs. -Cross. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Ponsonby, 19th Aug. 1875.] - -I don't mind how many letters I receive from one who interests me as -much as you do. The receptive part of correspondence I can carry on -with much alacrity. It is writing answers that I groan over. Please -take it as a proof of special feeling that I declined answering your -kind inquiries by proxy. - -This corner of Hertfordshire is as pretty as it can be of the kind. -There are really rural bits at every turn. But for my particular taste -I prefer such a region as that round Haslemere--with wide, furzy -commons and a grander horizon. Also I prefer a country where I don't -make bad blood by having to see one public house to every six -dwellings--which is literally the case in many spots around us. My -gall rises at the rich brewers in Parliament and out of it, who plant -these poison shops for the sake of their million-making trade, while -probably their families are figuring somewhere as refined -philanthropists or devout Evangelicals and Ritualists. - -You perceive from this that I am dyspeptic and disposed to melancholy -views. In fact, I have not been flourishing, but I am getting a little -better; grateful thanks that you will care to know it. On the whole -the sins of brewers, with their drugged ale and devil's traps, -depress me less than my own inefficiency. But every fresh morning is -an opportunity that one can look forward to for exerting one's will. I -shall not be satisfied with your philosophy till you have conciliated -necessitarianism--I hate the ugly word--with the practice of willing -strongly, willing to will strongly, and so on, that being what you -certainly can do and have done about a great many things in life, -whence it is clear that there is nothing in truth to hinder you from -it--except, you will say, the absence of a motive. But that absence I -don't believe in in your case--only in the case of empty, barren -souls. - -Are you not making a transient confusion of intuitions with innate -ideas? The most thorough experientialists admit intuition--_i.e._, -direct impressions of sensibility underlying all proof, as necessary -starting-points for thought. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1875.] - -_Oct. 10._--On the 15th June, we went to a house we had taken at -Rickmansworth. Here, in the end of July, we received the news that our -dear Bertie had died on June 29th. Our stay at Rickmansworth, though -otherwise peaceful, was not marked by any great improvement in health -from the change to country instead of town--rather the contrary. We -left on 23d September, and then set off on a journey into Wales, which -was altogether unfortunate on account of the excessive rain. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 10th Oct. 1875.] - -I behaved rather shabbily in not thanking you otherwise than by proxy -for the kind letter you sent me to Rickmansworth, but I had a bad time -down there, and did less of everything than I desired. Last night we -returned from our trip--a very lively word for a journey made in the -worst weather; and since I am, on the whole, the better for a -succession of small discomforts in hotels, and struggling walks taken -under an umbrella, I have no excuse for not writing a line to my -neglected correspondents. - -You will laugh at our nervous caution in depositing our MSS. at the -Union Bank before we set out. We could have borne to hear that our -house had been burned down, provided no lives were lost, and our -unprinted matter, our _oeuvres inédites_, were safe out of it. - -About _my_ unprinted matter, Mr. Lewes thinks it will not be well to -publish the first part till February. The four first monthly parts are -ready for travelling now. It will be well to begin the printing in -good time, so that I may not be hurried with the proofs; and I must -beg Mr. Simpson to judge for me in that matter with kind carefulness. - -I can't say that I am at all satisfied with the book, or that I have a -comfortable sense of doing in it what I want to do; but Mr. Lewes _is_ -satisfied with it, and insists that since he is as anxious as possible -for it to be fine, I ought to accept his impressions as trustworthy. -So I resign myself. - -I read aloud the "Abode of Snow" at Rickmansworth, to our mutual -delight; and we are both very much obliged to you for the handsome -present. But what an amazing creature is this Andrew Wilson to have -kept pluck for such travelling while his body was miserably ailing! -One would have said that he had more than the average spirit of hardy -men to have persevered even in good health after a little taste of the -difficulties he describes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 20th Oct. 1875.] - -The arrangements as to the publication of my next book are already -determined on. Ever since "Adam Bede" appeared I have been continually -having proposals from the proprietors or editors of periodicals, but -I have always declined them, except in the case of "Romola," which -appeared in the _Cornhill_, and was allowed to take up a varying and -unusual number of pages. I have the strongest objection to cutting up -my work into little bits; and there is no motive to it on my part, -since I have a large enough public already. But, even apart from that -objection, it would not now be worth the while of any magazine or -journal to give me a sum such as my books yield in separate -publication. I had £7000 for "Romola," but the mode in which -"Middlemarch" was issued brings in a still larger sum. I ought to say, -however, that the question is not entirely one of money with me: if I -could gain _more_ by splitting my writing into small parts, I would -not do it, because the effect would be injurious as a matter of art. -So much detail I trouble you with to save misapprehension. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 18th Nov. 1875.] - -Your enjoyment of the proofs cheers me greatly; and pray thank Mrs. -Blackwood for her valuable hints on equine matters. I have not only -the satisfaction of using those hints, I allow myself the inference -that where there is no criticism on like points I have made no -mistake. - -I should be much obliged to Mr. Simpson--whom I am glad that Gwendolen -has captivated--if he would rate the printers a little about their -want of spacing. I am anxious that my poor heroes and heroines should -have all the advantage that paper and print can give them. - -It will perhaps be a little comfort to you to know that poor Gwen is -spiritually saved, but "so as by fire." Don't you see the process -already beginning? I have no doubt you do, for you are a wide-awake -reader. - -But what a climate to expect good writing in! Skating in the morning -and splashy roads in the afternoon is just typical of the alternation -from frigid to flaccid in the author's bodily system, likely to give a -corresponding variety to the style. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 20th Nov. 1875.] - -I got my head from under the pressure of other matters, like a frog -from under the water, to send you my November greeting. My silence -through the rest of the months makes you esteem me the more, I hope, -seeing that you yourself hate letter-writing--a remarkable exception -to the rule that people like doing what they can do well, if one can -call that a rule of which the reverse seems more frequent--namely, -that they like doing what they do ill. - -We stayed till nearly the end of September at the house we had taken -in Hertfordshire. After that we went into Wales for a fortnight, and -were under umbrellas nearly the whole time. - -I wonder if you all remember an old governess of mine who used to -visit me at Foleshill--a Miss Lewis? I have found her out. She is -living at Leamington, very poor as well as old, but cheerful, and so -delighted to be remembered with gratitude. How very old we are all -getting! But I hope you don't mind it any more than I do. One sees so -many contemporaries that one is well in the fashion. The approach of -parting is the bitterness of age. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 15th Dec. 1875.] - -Your letter is an agreeable tonic, very much needed, for that wretched -hinderance of a cold last week has trailed after it a series of -headaches worse than itself. An additional impression, like Mr. -Langford's, of the two volumes is really valuable, as a sign that I -have not so far failed in relation to a variety of readers. But you -know that in one sense I count nothing done as long as anything -remains to do; and it always seems to me that the worst difficulty is -still to come. In the sanest, soberest judgment, however, I think the -third volume (which I have not yet finished) would be regarded as the -difficult bridge. I will not send you any more MS. until I can send -the whole of vol. iii. - -We think that Mr. Simpson has conducted our Australian business -admirably. Remembering that but for his judgment and consequent -activity we might have got no publication at all in that quarter, we -may well be content with £200. - -Mr. Lewes has not got the Life of Heine, and will be much pleased and -obliged by your gift. - -Major Lockhart's lively letter gives one a longing for the fresh, -breezy life and fine scenery it conjures up. You must let me know when -there is a book of his, because when I have done my own I shall like -to read something else by him. I got much pleasure out of the two -books I did read. But when I am writing, or only thinking of writing, -fiction of my own, I cannot risk the reading of other English fiction. -I was obliged to tell Anthony Trollope so when he sent me the first -part of his "Prime Minister," though this must seem sadly ungracious -to those who don't share my susceptibilities. - -Apparently there are wild reports about the subject-matter of -"Deronda"--among the rest, that it represents French life! But that is -hardly more ridiculous than the supposition that after refusing to go -to America, I should undertake to describe society there! It is -wonderful how "Middlemarch" keeps afloat in people's minds. Somebody -told me that Mr. Henry Sidgwick said it was a bold thing to write -another book after "Middlemarch," and we must prepare ourselves for -the incalculableness of the public reception in the first instance. I -think I have heard you say that the chief result of your ample -experience has been to convince you of that incalculableness. - -What a blow for Miss Thackeray--the death of that sister to whom she -was so closely bound in affection. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1875.] - -_Dec. 25._--After our return from Wales in October I grew better and -wrote with some success. For the last three weeks, however, I have -been suffering from a cold and its effects so as to be unable to make -any progress. Meanwhile the two first volumes of "Daniel Deronda" are -in print, and the first book is to be published on February 1st. I -have thought very poorly of it myself throughout, but George and the -Blackwoods are full of satisfaction in it. Each part as I see it -before me _im werden_ seems less likely to be anything else than a -failure; but I see on looking back this morning--Christmas Day--that I -really was in worse health and suffered equal depression about -"Romola;" and, so far as I have recorded, the same thing seems to be -true of "Middlemarch." - -I have finished the fifth book, but am not far on in the sixth, as I -hoped to have been; the oppression under which I have been laboring -having positively suspended my power of writing anything that I could -feel satisfaction in. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -JANUARY, 1873, TO DECEMBER, 1875. - - Reception of "Middlemarch"--Letter to John Blackwood--Mr. - Anthony Trollope--Dutch translation of George Eliot's - novels--Letter to Mrs. Cross--Evening drives at - Weybridge--Letter to John Blackwood--German reprint of - "Spanish Gypsy"--"The Lifted Veil"--"Kenelm - Chillingly"--Letter to Mrs. William Smith on her Memoir of - her husband--Pleasure in young life--Letter to John - Blackwood--Want of a Conservative leader--Letter to Mr. - Burne-Jones--The function of art--Purpose in art--"Iphigenia - in Aulis"--Letter to Mrs. Congreve--Welcoming her - home--Letter to Mrs. William Smith on women at - Cambridge--Visit to Mr. Frederic Myers at Cambridge--Meets - Mr. Henry Sidgwick, Mr. Jebb, Mr. Edmund Gurney, Mr. Balfour, - and Mr. Lyttelton, and Mrs. and Miss Huth--Letter to Mrs. - Bray--Death of Miss Rebecca Franklin--Visit to the Master of - Balliol--Meets Mr. and Mrs. Charles Roundell--Professor - Green--Max Müller--Thomson, the Master of Trinity College, - Cambridge--Nine-weeks' trip to the Continent--Letter to Mrs. - Congreve from Homburg--Fontainebleau, Plombières, and - Luxeuil--Two months' stay at Bickley--Letter to Mrs. Cross on - journey abroad and Blackbrook--Letter to John Blackwood--New - edition of "Middlemarch"--A real Lowick in a Midland - county--Cheap editions--Letter to Mrs. Cross on the pleasures - of the country and on Mr. Henry Sidgwick--Letter to Mrs. - Peter Taylor--House in the country--Letter to J. W. Cross on - conformity--Letter to John Blackwood--Interruptions of town - life--Simmering towards another book--Berlin reading - "Middlemarch"--Ashantee war--Letter to Madame Bodichon--The - George Howards--John Stuart Mill's Autobiography--Letter to - Mrs. Cross on Christmas invitation--Dr. Andrew Clark--Letter - to Mrs. Bray on stupidity of readers--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Retrospect of 1873--Sales of "Middlemarch" and - "Spanish Gypsy"--Letter to Mrs. William Smith--"Plain living - and high thinking"--Letter to John Blackwood--Conservative - reaction--Cheaper edition of novels--Lord Lytton's - "Fables"--Dickens's Life and biography in general--Letter to - John Blackwood--Volume of poems--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Motives - for children--Letter to Miss Hennell--Francis Newman--George - Dawson--"The Legend of Jubal and other Poems" - published--"Symposium" written--Letter to Miss Mary Cross - thanking her for a vase--Letter to Mrs. Cross--Delight in - country--Letter to John Blackwood--Threatened restoration of - the empire in France--"Brewing" "Deronda"--Letter to Mrs. - Peter Taylor on Mrs. Nassau Senior's report--Letter to Mrs. - William Smith on consolations in loss--Letter to Madame - Bodichon--No disposition to melancholy--Letter to Mrs. - Burne-Jones--The serious view of life--Letter to John - Blackwood--Justifications for writing--Dean Liddell--Letter - to Mrs. Stowe--Goethe's mysticism--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Visit to Six-Mile Bottom--Paris and the - Ardennes--Bank of England and Woolwich Arsenal--Letter to - Mrs. Ponsonby--The idea of God an exaltation of human - goodness--Vision of others' needs--Ground of moral - action--Need of altruism--The power of the will--Difficulties - of thought--Sales of books--Retrospect of 1874--Letter to - Francis Otter on his engagement--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Note-writing--Home for girls--Letter to Mrs. - Ponsonby--Value of early religious experience--Limitations of - scientists--Letter to John Blackwood--Kinglake's - "Crimea"--Discipline of war--"Rasselas"--Miss - Thackeray--Anthony Trollope--Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby--Desire - to know the difficulties of others--Companion in the struggle - of thought--Mr. Spencer's teaching--The value of - poets--Emotion blending with thought--Letter to Mrs. William - Smith--Her memoir--Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones--The world of - light and speech--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Rickmansworth--Letter to F. Harrison asking for - consultation--Letter to J. W. Cross--"The - Elms"--Depression--Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby--The Brewing - interest--Conciliation of necessitarianism with will--Innate - ideas--Death of Herbert Lewes--Trip to Wales--Letter to John - Blackwood--Not satisfied with "Deronda"--Letter to Mrs. Peter - Taylor--Mode of publication of books--Letter to John - Blackwood--Gwendolen--Letter to Miss Hennell--Miss - Lewis--Letter to John Blackwood--Impressions of - "Deronda"--Major Lockhart--Depression about "Deronda." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[21] Death of Mrs. Cross's sister of cholera, at Salzburg. - -[22] See _ante_, p. 66. - -[23] "Paul Bradley." - -[24] A vase with paintings from "Romola" on tiles. - -[25] - "Tristi fummo - Nell'aer dolce che dal sol s'allegra." - - _Inferno_, cant. vii. 121, 122. - -[26] Bessborough Gardens. - -[27] I had been abroad for six weeks. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 17th March, 1876.] - -We have just come in from Weybridge, but are going to take refuge -there again on Monday for a few days more of fresh air and long, -breezy afternoon walks. Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in sending -me the cheering account of sales. - -Mr. Lewes has not heard any complaints of not understanding Gwendolen, -but a strong partisanship for and against her. My correspondence about -the misquotation of Tennyson has quieted itself since the fifth -letter. But one gentleman has written me a very pretty note, taxing me -with having wanted insight into the technicalities of Newmarket, when -I made Lush say, "I will _take_ odds." He judges that I should have -written, "I will lay odds." On the other hand, another expert contends -that the case is one in which Lush would be more likely to say, "I -will take odds." What do you think? I told my correspondent that I had -a dread of being righteously pelted with mistakes that would make a -cairn above me--a monument and a warning to people who write novels -without being omniscient and infallible. - -Mr. Lewes is agitating himself over a fifth reading of revise, Book -VI., and says he finds it more interesting than on any former reading. -It is agreeable to have a home criticism of this kind! But I am deep -in the fourth volume, and cannot any longer care about what is past -and done for--the passion of the moment is as much as I can live in. - -We had beautiful skies with our cold, and only now and then a snow -shower. It is grievous to read of the suffering elsewhere from floods. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 30th March, 1876.] - -I am well pleased that "Deronda" touches you. I _wanted_ you to prefer -the chapter about Mirah's finding, and I hope you will also like her -history in Part III., which has just been published. - -We want very much to get away, but I fear we shall hardly be able to -start till the end of May. At present we think of the Maritime Alps as -a destination for the warm summer--if we have such a season this year; -but we shall wander a little on our way thither, and not feel bound to -accomplish anything in particular. Meanwhile we are hearing some nice -music occasionally, and we are going to see Tennyson's play, which is -to be given on the 15th. The occasion will be very interesting, and I -should be very sorry to miss it. - -We have been getting a little refreshment from two flights between -Sundays to Weybridge. But we have had the good a little drained from -us by going out to dinner two days in succession. At Sir James Paget's -I was much interested to find that a gentle-looking, clear-eyed, -neatly-made man was Sir Garnet Wolseley; and I had some talk with him, -which quite confirmed the impression of him as one of those men who -have a power of command by dint of their sweet temper, calm demeanor, -and unswerving resolution. The next subject that has filled our chat -lately has been the Blue Book on Vivisection, which you would like to -look into. There is a great deal of matter for reflection in the -evidence on the subject, and some good points have been lately put in -print, and conversation that I should like to tell you of if I had -time. Professor Clifford told us the other Sunday that Huxley -complained of his sufferings from "the profligate lying of virtuous -women." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_April 12._--On February 1st began the publication of "Deronda," and -the interest of the public, strong from the first, appears to have -increased with Book III. The day before yesterday I sent off Book VII. -The success of the work at present is greater than that of -"Middlemarch" up to the corresponding point of publication. What will -be the feeling of the public as the story advances I am entirely -doubtful. The Jewish element seems to me likely to satisfy nobody. I -am in rather better health--having, perhaps, profited by some eight -days' change at Weybridge. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 18th April, 1876.] - -Your sympathetic letter is a welcome support to me in the rather -depressed condition which has come upon me from the effect, I imagine, -of a chill taken in the sudden change from mildness to renewed winter. -You can understand how trying it is to have a week of incompetence at -the present stage of affairs. I am rather concerned to see that the -part is nearly a sheet smaller than any of the other parts. But Books -V. and VI. are proportionately thick. It seemed inadmissible to add -anything after the scene with Gwendolen; and to stick anything in not -necessary to development between the foregoing chapters is a form of -"matter in the wrong place" particularly repulsive to my authorship's -sensibility. - -People tell us that the book is enormously discussed, and I must share -with you rather a neat coincidence which pleased us last week. Perhaps -you saw what Mr. Lewes told me of--namely, that [a critic] opined that -the scenes between Lush and Grandcourt were not _vraisemblable_--were -of the imperious feminine, not the masculine, character. Just -afterwards Mr. Lewes was chatting with a friend who, without having -read the [criticism] or having the subject in the least led up to by -Mr. Lewes, said that he had been at Lady Waldegraves', where the -subject of discussion had been "Deronda;" and Bernal Osborne, -delivering himself on the book, said that the very best parts were the -scenes between Grandcourt and Lush. Don't you think that Bernal -Osborne has seen more of the Grandcourt and Lush life than that critic -has seen? But several men of experience have put their fingers on -those scenes as having surprising verisimilitude; and I naturally was -peculiarly anxious about such testimony, where my construction was -founded on a less direct knowledge. - -We are rather vexed, now it is too late, that I did not carry out a -sort of incipient intention to expunge a motto from Walt Whitman which -I inserted in Book IV. Of course the whole is irrevocable by this -time; but I should have otherwise thought it worth while to have a new -page, not because the motto itself is objectionable to me--it was one -of the finer things which had clung to me from among his writings--but -because, since I quote so few poets, my selection of a motto from Walt -Whitman might be taken as a sign of a special admiration, which I am -very far from feeling. How imperfectly one's mind acts in -proof-reading! Mr. Lewes had taken up Book IV. yesterday to re-read it -for his pleasure merely; and though he had read it several times -before, he never till yesterday made a remark against taking a motto -from Walt Whitman. I, again, had continually had an _appetency_ -towards removing the motto, and had never carried it out--perhaps from -that sort of flaccidity which comes over me about what _has been_ -done, when I am occupied with what _is being_ done. - -People in their eagerness about my characters are quite angry, it -appears, when their own expectations are not fulfilled--angry, for -example, that Gwendolen accepts Grandcourt, etc., etc. - -One reader is sure that Mirah is going to die very soon, and, I -suppose, will be disgusted at her remaining alive. Such are the -reproaches to which I make myself liable. However, that you seem to -share Mr. Lewes's strong feeling of Book VII. being no falling off in -intensity makes me brave. Only endings are inevitably the least -satisfactory part of any work in which there is any merit of -development. - -I forgot to say that the "tephillin" are the small leather bands or -phylacteries, inscribed with supremely sacred words, which the Jew -binds on his arms and head during prayer. - -Any periphrasis which would be generally intelligible would be -undramatic; and I don't much like explanatory foot-notes in a -poem or story. But I must consider what I can do to remedy the -unintelligibility. - -The printers have sadly spoiled the beautiful Greek name Kalonymos, -which was the name of a celebrated family of scholarly Jews, -transplanted from Italy into Germany in mediæval times. But my writing -was in fault. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 6th May, 1876.] - -Your letter was one of the best cordials I could have. Is there -anything that cheers and strengthens more than the sense of another's -worth and tenderness? And it was that sense that your letter stirred -in me, not only by the words of fellowship and encouragement you give -directly to me, but by all you tell me of your own feeling under your -late painful experience. I had felt it long since I had heard of your -and the Professor's well being; but I need not say one word to you of -the reasons why I am not active towards my distant friends except in -thought. I _do_ think of them, and have a tenacious memory of every -little sign they have given me. Please offer my reverential love to -the Professor, and tell him I am ruthlessly proud that I kept him out -of his bed. I hope that both you and he will continue to be interested -in my spiritual children. My cares for them are nearly at an end, and -in a few weeks we expect to set out on a Continental journey, as the -sort of relaxation which carries one most thoroughly away from studies -and social claims. You rightly divine that I am a little overdone, but -my fatigue is due not to any excess of work so much as to the -vicissitudes of our long winter, which have affected me severely as -they have done all delicate people. It is true that some nervous wear, -such as you know well, from the excitement of writing, may have made -me more susceptible to knife-like winds and sudden chills. - -Though you tenderly forbade me to write in answer to your letter, I -like to do it in these minutes when I happen to be free, lest -hinderances should come in the indefinite future. I am the happier for -thinking that you will have had this little bit of a letter to assure -you that the sweet rain of your affection did not fall on a sandy -place. - -I make a delightful picture of your life in your orange-grove--taken -care of by dear daughters. Climate enters into _my_ life with an -influence the reverse of what I like to think of in yours. Sunlight -and sweet air make a new creature of me. But we cannot bear now to -exile ourselves from our own country, which holds the roots of our -moral and social life. One fears to become selfish and emotionally -withered by living abroad, and giving up the numerous connections with -fellow countrymen and women whom one can further a little towards both -public and private good. - -I wonder whether you ever suffered much from false writing (about your -biography and motives) in the newspapers. I dare say that pro-slavery -prints did not spare you. But I should be glad to think that there was -less impudent romancing about you as a _citoyenne_ of the States than -there appears to be about me as a stranger. But it is difficult for us -English, who have not spent any time in the United States, to know the -rank that is given to the various newspapers; and we may make the -mistake of giving emphasis to some American journalism which is with -you as unknown to respectable minds as any low-class newspaper with -us. - -When we come back from our journeying, I shall be interesting myself -in the MS. and proofs of my husband's third volume of his Problems, -which will then go to press, and shall plunge myself into the -mysteries of our nervous tissue as the Professor has been doing into -the mysteries of the Middle Ages. I have a cousinship with him in that -taste--but how to find space in one's life for all the subjects that -solicit one? My studies have lately kept me away from the track of my -husband's researches, and I feel behindhand in my wifely sympathies. -You know the pleasure of such interchange--husband and wife each -keeping to their own work, but loving to have cognizance of the -other's course. - -God bless you, dear friend. Beg the Professor to accept my -affectionate respect, and believe me always yours with love. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_June 3._--Book V. published a week ago. Growing interest in the -public, and growing sale, which has from the beginning exceeded that -of "Middlemarch;" the Jewish part apparently creating strong interest. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 3d June, 1876.] - -The useful "companion," which your loving care has had marked with my -initials, will go with me, and be a constant sign of the giver's -precious affection, which you have expressed in words such as I most -value. - -Even success needs its consolations. Wide effects are rarely other -than superficial, and would breed a miserable scepticism about one's -work if it were not now and then for an earnest assurance such as you -give me that there are lives in which the work has done something "to -strengthen the good and mitigate the evil." - -I am pursued to the last with some bodily trouble--this week it has -been sore throat. But I am emerging, and you may think of me next week -as raising my "Ebenezer." - -Love and blessings to you all. - - The manuscript of "Daniel Deronda" bears the following - inscription: - -"To my dear Husband, George Henry Lewes. - - "Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, - * * * * * - Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, - With what I most enjoy contented least; - Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising - Haply I think on thee--and then my state - Like to the lark at break of day arising - From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; - For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings, - That then I scorn to change my state with kings." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_June 10._--We set off on our journey, intending to go to San Martino -Lantosc in the Maritime Alps. But I was ill at Aix, where the heat had -become oppressive, and we turned northwards after making a pilgrimage -to Les Charmettes--stayed a few days at Lausanne, then at Vevey, where -again I was ill; then by Berne and Zurich to Ragatz, where we were -both set up sufficiently to enjoy our life. After Ragatz to -Heidelberg, the Klönthal, Schaffhausen, St. Blasien in the Black -Forest, and then home by Strasburg, Nancy, and Amiens, arriving -September 1. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 6th July, 1876, from Ragatz.] - -After much travelling we seem to have reached the right place for our -health and comfort, and as we hope to stay here for at least a -fortnight, I have begun to entertain selfish thoughts about you and -the possibility of having news from you. Our month's absence seems -long to us--filled with various scenes and various ailments--but to -you, I dare say, the request for a letter to tell us what has happened -will seem to have come before there is anything particular to tell. - -On our arriving at Aix the effect of railway travelling and heat on me -warned us to renounce our project of going to the Maritime Alps and to -turn northward; so after resting at Aix we went to Chambéry, just to -make a pilgrimage to Les Charmettes, and then set our faces northward, -staying at beautiful Lausanne and Vevey for a week, and then coming on -by easy stages to this nook in the mountains. In spite of illness we -have had much enjoyment of the lovely scenery we have been dwelling in -ever since we entered Savoy, where one gets what I most delight -in--the combination of rich, well-cultivated land, friendly to man, -and the grand outline and atmospheric effect of mountains near and -distant. - -This place seems to be one of the quietest baths possible. Such -fashion as there is, is of a German, unimposing kind; and the King of -Saxony, who is at the twin hotel with this, is, I imagine, a much -quieter kind of eminence than a London stock-broker. At present the -company seems to be almost exclusively Swiss and German, but all the -appliances for living and carrying on the "cure" are thoroughly -generous and agreeable. We rose at five this morning, drank our -glasses of warm water, and walked till a quarter to seven, then -breakfasted; and from half-past eight to eleven walked to Bad Pfeffers -and back again, along a magnificent ravine where the Tamine boils down -beneath a tremendous wall of rock, and where it is interesting to see -the electric telegraph leaping from the summit, crossing the gulf, and -then quietly running by the roadside till it leaps upward again to the -opposite summit. - -You may consider us as generally ill-informed, and as ready to make -much of a little news as any old provincial folk in the days when the -stage-coach brought a single London paper to the village Crown or Red -Lion. We have known that Servia has declared war against Turkey, and -that Harriet Martineau is dead as well as George Sand. - -Our weather has been uniformly splendid since we left Paris, with the -exception of some storms, which have conveniently laid the dust. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 2d Sept. 1876.] - -We reached home only last night, and had scarcely taken our -much-needed dinner before a parcel was brought in which proved to be -"Daniel Deronda" in the four bound volumes, and various letters with -other "missiles"--as an acquaintance of mine once quite naively called -his own favors to his correspondents--which have at present only gone -to swell a heap that I mean to make acquaintance with very slowly. Mr. -Lewes, however, is more eager than I, and he has just brought up to me -a letter which has certainly gratified me more than anything else of -the sort I ever received. It is from Dr. Hermann Adler, the Chief -Rabbi here, expressing his "warm appreciation of the fidelity with -which some of the best traits of the Jewish character have been -depicted by" etc., etc. I think this will gratify you. - -We are both the better for our journey, and I consider myself in as -good case as I can ever reasonably expect. We can't be made young -again, and must not be surprised that infirmities recur in spite of -mineral waters and air 3000 feet above the sea-level. After Ragatz, we -stayed at Stachelberg and Klönthal--two lovely places, where an -English face is seldom seen. Another delicious spot, where the air is -fit for the gods of Epicurus, is St. Blasien, in the Schwarzwald, -where also we saw no English or American visitors, except such as -_übernachten_ there and pass on. We have done exploits in walking, -usually taking four or five hours of it daily. - -I hope that you and yours have kept well and have enjoyed the heat -rather than suffered from it. I confess myself glad to think that this -planet has not become hopelessly chilly. Draughts and chills are my -enemies, and but for them I should hardly ever be ailing. - -The four volumes look very handsome on the outside. Please thank Mr. -William Blackwood for many kind notes he wrote me in the days of MS. -and proofs--not one of which I ever answered or took notice of except -for my own behoof. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 6th Sept. 1876.] - -We got home again last Friday, much strengthened by our journey, -notwithstanding vicissitudes. I suppose you will not be in town for -ages to come, but I let you know that I am here in case you have -anything to say to me by letter--about "objects." - -After leaving Ragatz we still kept in eastern Switzerland, in high -valleys unvisited by the English; and in our homeward line of travel -we paused in the Schwarzwald at St. Blasien, which is a _Luft-kur_, -all green hills and pines, with their tops as still as if it were the -abode of the gods. - -But imagine how we enjoy being at home again in our own chairs, with -the familiar faces giving us smiles which are not expecting change in -franc pieces! - -We are both pretty well, but of course not cured of all infirmities. -Death is the only physician, the shadow of his valley the only -journeying that will cure us of age and the gathering fatigue of -years. Still we are thoroughly lively and "spry." - -I hope that the hot summer has passed agreeably for you and not been -unfavorable to your health or comfort. Of course a little news of you -will be welcome, even if you don't particularly want to say anything -to me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 2d Oct. 1876.] - -My blessing on you for your sweet letter, which I count among the -blessings given to me. Yes. Women can do much for the other women (and -men) to come. My impression of the good there is in all unselfish -efforts is continually strengthened. Doubtless many a ship is drowned -on expeditions of discovery or rescue, and precious freights lie -buried. But there was the good of manning and furnishing the ship with -a great purpose before it set out. - -We are going into Cambridgeshire this week, and are watching the -weather with private views.[28] - -I have had some very interesting letters both from Jews and from -Christians about "Deronda." Part of the scene at the club is -translated into Hebrew in a German-Jewish newspaper. On the other -hand, a Christian (highly accomplished) thanks me for embodying the -principles by which Christ wrought and will conquer. This is better -than the laudation of readers who cut the book up into scraps, and -talk of nothing in it but Gwendolen. I meant everything in the book to -be related to everything else there. - -I quite enter into Miss Jekyll's view of negative beauty. Life tends -to accumulate "messes" about one, and it is hard to rid one's self of -them because of the associations attached. I get impatient sometimes, -and long, as Andrew Fairservice would say, to "kaim off the fleas," as -one does in a cathedral spoiled by monuments out of keeping with the -pillars and walls. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith, 14th Oct. 1876.] - -I had felt it long before you let me have some news of you. How could -you repeat deliberately that bad dream of your having made yourself -"objectionable?" I will answer for it that you were never -objectionable to any creature except perhaps to your own self--a too -modest and shrinking self. I trusted in your understanding last spring -that I was glad to hear from my friends without having to make the -effort of answering, when answering was not demanded for practical -purposes. My health was not good, and I was absorbed as to my working -power, though not as to my interest and sympathy. - -You have been in my mind of late, not only on your own account but in -affectionate association with our dear Mrs. Ruck, whose acquaintance I -owe to you. - -On my return from abroad I found among my heap of letters a delightful -one from her, written, I think, at the end of June, as bright and -cheering as the hills under the summer sky. And only a day or two -after we saw that sad news in the _Times_. I think of her beautiful, -open face, with the marks of grief upon it. Why did you write me such -a brief letter, telling me nothing about your own life? I am a poor -correspondent, and have to answer many letters from people less -interesting to me than you are. Will you not indulge me by writing -more to me than you expect me to write to you? That would be generous. -We both came back the better for our three months' journeying, though -I was so ill after we had got to the south that we thought of -returning, and went northward in that expectation. But Ragatz set me -up, so far as I expect to be set up, and we greatly enjoyed our fresh -glimpses of Swiss scenery. - -Mr. Lewes is now printing his third volume of "Problems of Life and -Mind," and is, as usual, very happy over his work. He shares my -interest in everything that relates to you; and be assured--will you -not?--that such interest will always be warm in us. I shall not, while -I live, cease to be yours affectionately. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_Oct. 20._--Looking into accounts _apropos_ of an offer from Blackwood -for another ten years of copyright, I find that before last Christmas -there had been distributed 24,577 copies of "Middlemarch." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe,[29] 29th Oct. 1876.] - -"Evermore thanks" for your last letter, full of generous sympathy that -can afford to be frank. The lovely photograph of the grandson will be -carefully preserved. It has the sort of beauty which seems to be -peculiarly abundant in America, at once rounded and delicate in form. - -I do hope you will be able to carry out your wish to visit your son at -Bonn, notwithstanding that heavy crown of years that your dear Rabbi -has to carry. If the sea voyage could be borne without much -disturbance, the land journey might be made easy by taking it in short -stages--the plan we always pursue in travelling. You see I have an -interested motive in wishing you to come to Europe again, since I -can't go to America. But I enter thoroughly into the disinclination to -move when there are studies that make each day too short. If we were -neighbors, I should be in danger of getting troublesome to the revered -Orientalist, with all kinds of questions. - -As to the Jewish element in "Deronda," I expected from first to last, -in writing it, that it would create much stronger resistance, and even -repulsion, than it has actually met with. But precisely because I felt -that the usual attitude of Christians towards Jews is--I hardly know -whether to say more impious or more stupid when viewed in the light of -their professed principles, I therefore felt urged to treat Jews with -such sympathy and understanding as my nature and knowledge could -attain to. Moreover, not only towards the Jews, but towards all -Oriental peoples with whom we English come in contact, a spirit of -arrogance and contemptuous dictatorialness is observable which has -become a national disgrace to us. There is nothing I should care more -to do, if it were possible, than to rouse the imagination of men and -women to a vision of human claims in those races of their fellow-men -who most differ from them in customs and beliefs. But towards the -Hebrews we western people, who have been reared in Christianity, have -a peculiar debt, and, whether we acknowledge it or not, a peculiar -thoroughness of fellowship in religious and moral sentiment. Can -anything be more disgusting than to hear people called "educated" -making small jokes about eating ham, and showing themselves empty of -any real knowledge as to the relation of their own social and -religious life to the history of the people they think themselves -witty in insulting? They hardly know that Christ was a Jew. And I find -men, educated, supposing that Christ spoke Greek. To my feeling, this -deadness to the history which has prepared half our world for us, this -inability to find interest in any form of life that is not clad in the -same coat-tails and flounces as our own, lies very close to the worst -kind of irreligion. The best that can be said of it is, that it is a -sign of the intellectual narrowness--in plain English, the -stupidity--which is still the average mark of our culture. - -Yes, I expected more aversion than I have found. But I was happily -independent in material things, and felt no temptation to accommodate -my writing to any standard except that of trying to do my best in -what seemed to me most needful to be done, and I sum up with the -writer of the Book of Maccabees--"If I have done well and as befits -the subject, it is what I desired; and if I have done ill, it is what -I could attain unto." - -You are in the middle of a more glorious autumn than ours, but we, -too, are having now and then a little sunshine on the changing woods. -I hope that I am right in putting the address from which you wrote to -me on the 25th September, so that my note may not linger away from -you, and leave you to imagine me indifferent or negligent. - -Please offer my reverent regard to Mr. Stowe. - -We spent three months in East Switzerland, and are the better for it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1876.] - -Any one who knows from experience what bodily infirmity is--how it -spoils life even for those who have no other trouble--gets a little -impatient of healthy complainants, strong enough for extra work and -ignorant of indigestion. I at least should be inclined to scold the -discontented young people who tell me in one breath that they never -have anything the matter with them, and that life is not worth having, -if I did not remember my own young discontent. It is remarkable to me -that I have entirely lost my _personal_ melancholy. I often, of -course, have melancholy thoughts about the destinies of my fellow -creatures, but I am never in that _mood_ of sadness which used to be -my frequent visitant even in the midst of external happiness; and -this, notwithstanding a very vivid sense that life is declining and -death close at hand. We are waiting with some expectation for Miss -Martineau's Autobiography, which, I fancy, will be charming so far as -her younger and less renowned life extends. All biography diminishes -in interest when the subject has won celebrity--or some reputation -that hardly comes up to celebrity. But autobiography at least saves a -man or woman that the world is curious about from the publication of a -string of mistakes called "Memoirs." It would be nice if we could be a -trio--I mean you, Cara, and I--chatting together for an hour as we -used to do when I had walked over the hill to see you. But that -pleasure belongs to "the days that are no more." Will you believe that -an accomplished man some years ago said to me that he saw no place for -the exercise of _resignation_ when there was no personal divine will -contemplated as ordaining sorrow or privation? He is not yet aware -that he is getting old and needing that unembittered compliance of -soul with the inevitable which seems to me a full enough meaning for -the word "resignation." - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_Dec. 1._--Since we came home at the beginning of September I have -been made aware of much repugnance or else indifference towards the -Jewish part of "Deronda," and of some hostile as well as adverse -reviewing. On the other hand, there have been the strongest -expressions of interest, some persons adhering to the opinion, started -during the early numbers, that the book is my best. Delightful letters -have here and there been sent to me; and the sale both in America and -in England has been an unmistakable guarantee that the public has been -touched. Words of gratitude have come from Jews and Jewesses, and -these are certain signs that I may have contributed my mite to a good -result. The sale hitherto has exceeded that of "Middlemarch," as to -the £2 2_s._ four-volume form, but we do not expect an equal success -for the guinea edition which has lately been issued. - -_Dec. 11._--We have just bought a house in Surrey, and think of it as -making a serious change in our life--namely, that we shall finally -settle there and give up town. - - This was a charming house--The Heights, Witley, near - Godalming. It stands on a gentle hill overlooking a lovely - bit of characteristic English scenery. In the foreground - green fields, prettily timbered, undulate up to the high - ground of Haslemere in front, with Blackdown (where Tennyson - lives) on the left hand, and Hind Head on the right--"Heights - that laugh with corn in August, or lift the plough-team - against the sky in September." Below, the white steam-pennon - flies along in the hollow. The walks and drives in the - neighborhood are enchanting. A land of pine-woods and copses, - village greens and heather-covered hills, with the most - delicious old red or gray brick, timbered cottages nestling - among creeping roses; the sober-colored tiles of their roofs, - covered with lichen, offering a perpetual harmony to the eye. - The only want in the landscape is the want of flowing water. - About the house there are some eight or nine acres of - pleasure ground and gardens. It quite fulfilled all - expectations, as regards beauty and convenience of situation, - though I am not quite sure that it was bracing enough for - health. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1876.] - -_Dec. 15._--At the beginning of this week I had deep satisfaction from -reading in the _Times_ the report of a lecture on "Daniel Deronda," -delivered by Dr. Hermann Adler to the Jewish working-men--a lecture -showing much insight and implying an expectation of serious benefit. -Since then I have had a delightful letter from the Jewish Theological -Seminary at Breslau, written by an American Jew named Isaacs, who -excuses himself for expressing his feeling of gratitude on reading -"Deronda," and assures me of his belief that it has even already had -an elevating effect on the minds of some among his people--predicting -that the effect will spread. - -I have also had a request from Signor Bartolommeo Aquarone, of Siena, -for leave to translate "Romola," and declaring that as one who has -given special study to the history of San Marco, and has written a -life of Fra Jeronimo Savonarola, he cares that "Romola" should be -known to his countrymen, for their good. _Magnificat anima mea!_ And -last night I had a letter from Dr. Benisch, editor of the _Jewish -Chronicle_, announcing a copy of the paper containing an article -written by himself on reading "Deronda" (there have long ago been two -articles in the same journal reviewing the book), and using strong -words as to the effect the book is producing. I record these signs, -that I may look back on them if they come to be confirmed. - -_Dec. 31._--We have spent the Christmas with our friends at Weybridge, -but the greater part of the time I was not well enough to enjoy -greatly the pleasures their affection prepared for us. - -Farewell 1876. - -[Illustration: The Heights, Witley. From a Sketch by Mrs. Allingham.] - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1877.] - -_Jan. 1._--The year opens with public anxieties. First, about the -threatening war in the East; and next, about the calamities consequent -on the continued rains. As to our private life, all is happiness, -perfect love, and undiminished intellectual interest. G.'s third -volume is about half-way in print. - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 19th Jan. 1877.] - -I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word "meliorist" except -myself. But I begin to think that there is no good invention or -discovery that has not been made by more than one person. - -The only good reason for referring to the "source" would be that you -found it useful for the doctrine of meliorism to cite one -unfashionable confessor of it in the face of the fashionable extremes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th Jan. 1877.] - -What are we to do about "Romola?" It ought to range with the cheap -edition of my books--which, _exceptis excipiendis_, is a beautiful -edition--as well as with any handsomer series which the world's -affairs may encourage us to publish. The only difficulty lies in the -illustrations required for uniformity. The illustrations in the other -volumes are, as Mr. Lewes says, not queerer than those which amuse us -in Scott and Miss Austin, with one exception--namely, that where Adam -is making love to Dinah, which really enrages me with its -unctuousness. I would gladly pay something to be rid of it. The next -worst is that of Adam in the wood with Arthur Donnithorne. The rest -are endurable to a mind well accustomed to resignation. And the -vignettes on the title-pages are charming. But if an illustrator is -wanted, I know one whose work is exquisite--Mrs. Allingham. - -This is not a moment for new ventures, but it will take some time to -prepare "Romola." I should like to see proofs, feeling bound to take -care of my text; and I have lately been glancing into a book on -Italian things, where almost every citation I alighted on was -incorrectly printed. I have just read through the cheap edition of -"Romola," and though I have only made a few alterations of an -unimportant kind--the printing being unusually correct--it would be -well for me to send this copy to be printed from. I think it must be -nearly ten years since I read the book before, but there is no book of -mine about which I more thoroughly feel that I could swear by every -sentence as having been written with my best blood, such as it is, and -with the most ardent care for veracity of which my nature is capable. -It has made me often sob with a sort of painful joy as I have read the -sentences which had faded from my memory. This helps one to bear false -representations with patience; for I really don't love any gentleman -who undertakes to state my opinions well enough to desire that I -should find myself all wrong in order to justify his statement. - -I wish, whenever it is expedient, to add "The Lifted Veil" and -"Brother Jacob," and so fatten the volume containing "Silas Marner," -which would thus become about 100 pages thicker. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Allingham, 8th March, 1877.] - -Mr. Lewes feels himself innocent of dialect in general, and of Midland -dialect in especial. Hence I presume to take your reference on the -subject as if it had been addressed to me. I was born and bred in -Warwickshire, and heard the Leicestershire, North Staffordshire, and -Derbyshire dialects during visits made in my childhood and youth. -These last are represented (mildly) in "Adam Bede." The Warwickshire -talk is broader, and has characteristics which it shares with other -Mercian districts. Moreover, dialect, like other living things, tends -to become mongrel, especially in a central, fertile, and manufacturing -region, attractive of migration; and hence the Midland talk presents -less interesting relics of elder grammar than the more northerly -dialects. - -Perhaps, unless a poet has a dialect ringing in his ears, so as to -shape his metre and rhymes according to it at one jet, it is better to -be content with a few suggestive touches; and, I fear, that the stupid -public is not half grateful for studies in dialect beyond such -suggestions. - -I have made a few notes, which may perhaps be not unacceptable to you -in the absence of more accomplished aid: - -1. The vowel always a double sound, the _y_ sometimes present, -sometimes not; either _aäl_ or _yaäl_. _Hither_ not heard except in -_c'moother_, addressed to horses. - -2. _Thou_ never heard. In general, the 2d person singular not used in -Warwickshire except occasionally to young members of a family, and -then always in the form of _thee_--_i.e._, _'ee_. For the _emphatic_ -nominative, _yo_, like the Lancashire. For the accusative, _yer_, -without any sound of the _r_. The demonstrative _those_ never heard -among the common people (unless when caught by infection from the -parson, etc.). _Self_ pronounced _sen_. The _f_ never heard in _of_, -nor the _n_ in _in_. - -3. Not year but 'ear. On the other hand, with the usual -"compensation," head is pronounced _y_ead. - -4. "A gallows little chap as e'er ye see." - -5. Here's _to_ you, maäster. - Saäm to yo. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 20th March, 1877.] - -You must read Harriet Martineau's "Autobiography." The account of her -childhood and early youth is most pathetic and interesting; but as in -all books of the kind, the charm departs as the life advances, and the -writer has to tell of her own triumphs. One regrets continually that -she felt it necessary not only to tell of her intercourse with many -more or less distinguished persons--which would have been quite -pleasant to everybody--but also to pronounce upon their entire merits -and demerits, especially when, if she had died as soon as she -expected, these persons would nearly all have been living to read her -gratuitous rudenesses. Still I hope the book will do more good than -harm. Many of the most interesting little stories in it about herself -and others she had told me (and Mr. Atkinson) when I was staying with -her, almost in the very same words. But they were all the better for -being told in her silvery voice. She was a charming talker, and a -perfect lady in her manners as a hostess. - -We are only going to bivouac in our Surrey home for a few months, to -try what alterations are necessary. We shall come back to this corner -in the autumn. We don't think of giving up London altogether at -present, but we may have to give up life before we come to any -decision on that minor point. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 15th May, 1877.] - -Pray bring Madame Mario to see us again. But bear in mind that on -Sunday the 27th--which probably will be our last Sunday in -London--Holmes the violinist is coming to play, with Mrs. Vernon -Lushington to accompany him. Don't mention to any one else that they -are coming, lest the audience should be larger than he wishes. - -We are working a little too hard at "pleasure" just now. This morning -we are going for the third time to a Wagner rehearsal at 10 o'clock. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 15th May, 1877.] - -I have not read, and do not mean to read, Mrs. Chapman's volume, so -that I can judge of it only by report. You seem to me to make a very -good case for removing the weight of blame from her shoulders and -transferring it to the already burdened back of Harriet Martineau. But -I confess that the more I think of the book and all connected with -it, the more it deepens my repugnance--or, rather, creates a new -repugnance in me--to autobiography, unless it can be so written as to -involve neither self-glorification nor impeachment of others. I like -that the "He, being dead, yet speaketh," should have quite another -meaning than that. But however the blame may be distributed, it -remains a grievously pitiable thing to me that man, or woman, who has -cared about a future life in the minds of a coming generation or -generations, should have deliberately, persistently mingled with that -prospect the ignoble desire to perpetuate personal animosities, which -can never be rightly judged by those immediately engaged in them. And -Harriet Martineau, according to the witness of those well acquainted -with facts which she represents in her Autobiography, was quite -remarkably apt to have a false view of her relations with others. In -some cases she gives a ridiculously inaccurate account of the tenor or -bearing of correspondence held with her. One would not for a moment -want to dwell on the weakness of a character on the whole valuable and -beneficent, if it were not made needful by the ready harshness with -which she has inflicted pain on others. - -No; I did not agree with you about the Byron case. I understand by the -teaching of my own egoism--and therefore I can sympathize with--any -act of self-vindicating or vindictive rage under the immediate -infliction of what is felt to be a wrong or injustice. But I have no -sympathy with self-vindication, or the becoming a proxy in -vindication, deliberately bought at such a price as that of vitiating -revelations--which may even possibly be false. To write a letter in a -rage is very pardonable--even a letter full of gall and bitterness, -meant as a sort of poisoned dagger. We poor mortals can hardly escape -these sins of passion. But I have no pity to spare for the rancor that -corrects its proofs and revises, and lays it by chuckling with the -sense of its future publicity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Professor Dr. David Kaufmann, 31st May, 1877.] - -Hardly, since I became an author, have I had a deeper satisfaction--I -may say, a more heartfelt joy--than you have given me in your estimate -of "Daniel Deronda." - -I must tell you that it is my rule, very strictly observed, not to -read the criticisms on my writings. For years I have found this -abstinence necessary to preserve me from that discouragement as an -artist which ill-judged praise, no less than ill-judged blame, tends -to produce in me. For far worse than any verdict as to the proportion -of good and evil in our work, is the painful impression that we write -for a public which has no discernment of good and evil. - -Certainly if I had been asked to choose _what_ should be written about -my books, and _who_ should write it, I should have sketched--well, not -anything so good as what you have written, but an article which must -be written by a Jew who showed not merely a sympathy with the best -aspirations of his race, but a remarkable insight into the nature of -art and the processes of the artistic mind. - -Believe me, I should not have cared to devour even ardent praise if it -had not come from one who showed the discriminating sensibility, the -perfect response to the artist's intention, which must make the -fullest, rarest joy to one who works from inward conviction and not in -compliance with current fashions. - -Such a response holds for an author not only what is best in "the life -that now is," but the promise of "that which is to come." I mean that -the usual approximative narrow perception of what one has been -intending and profoundly feeling in one's work, impresses one with the -sense that it must be poor perishable stuff, without roots to take any -lasting hold in the minds of men; while any instance of complete -comprehension encourages one to hope that the creative prompting has -foreshadowed and will continue to satisfy a need in other minds. - -Excuse me that I write but imperfectly, and perhaps dimly, what I have -felt in reading your article. It has affected me deeply, and though -the prejudice and ignorant obtuseness which has met my effort to -contribute something towards the ennobling of Judaism in the -conceptions of the Christian community, and in the consciousness of -the Jewish community, has never for a moment made me repent my choice, -but rather has been added proof that the effort was needed--yet I -confess that I had an unsatisfied hunger for certain signs of -sympathetic discernment which you only have given. - -I may mention as one instance your clear perception of the relation -between the presentation of the Jewish elements and those of English -social life. - -I write under the pressure of small hurries; for we are just moving -into the country for the summer, and all things are in a vagrant -condition around me. But I wished not to defer answering your letter -to an uncertain opportunity. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 14th June, 1877.] - -I am greatly indebted to you for your letter. It has done something -towards rousing me from what I will not call self-despair but -resignation to being of no use. - -I wonder whether you at all imagine the terrible pressure of disbelief -in my own {duty/right} to speak to the public, which is apt with me to -make all beginnings of work like a rowing against tide. Not that I am -without more than my fair ounce of self-conceit and confidence that I -know better than the critics, whom I don't take the trouble to read, -but who seem to fill the air as with the smoke of bad tobacco. - -But I will not dwell on my antithetic experiences. I only mention them -to show why your letter has done me a service, and also to help in the -explanation of my mental attitude towards your requests or -suggestions. - -I do not quite understand whether you have in your mind any plan of -straightway constructing a liturgy to which you wish me to contribute -in a direct way. That form of contribution would hardly be within my -powers. But your words of trust in me as possibly an organ of feelings -which have not yet found their due expression is as likely as any -external call could be to prompt such perfectly unfettered productions -as that which you say has been found acceptable. - -I wasted some time, three years ago, in writing (what I do not mean to -print) a poetic dialogue embodying or rather shadowing very -imperfectly the actual contest of ideas. Perhaps what you have written -to me may promote and influence a different kind of presentation. At -any rate all the words of your letter will be borne in mind, and will -enter into my motives. - -We are tolerably settled now in our camping, experimental fashion. -Perhaps, before the summer is far advanced, you may be in our -neighborhood, and come to look at us. I trust that Mrs. Harrison is -by this time in her usual health. Please give my love to her, and -believe me always, with many grateful memories, yours sincerely. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 2d July, 1877.] - -It was a draught of real comfort and pleasure to have a letter written -by your own hand, and one altogether cheerful.[30] I trust that you -will by-and-by be able to write me word of continued progress. Hardly -any bit of the kingdom, I fancy, would suit your taste better than -your neighborhood of the Land's End. You are not fond of bushy -midland-fashioned scenery. We are enjoying the mixture of wildness and -culture extremely, and so far as landscape and air go we would not -choose a different home from this. But we have not yet made up our -minds whether we shall keep our house or sell it. - -Some London friends are also occasional dwellers in these parts. The -day before yesterday we had Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Harrison, whose -parents have a fine old Tudor house--Sutton Place--some three miles -beyond Guildford. And do you remember Edmund Gurney? He and his -graceful bride lunched with us the other day. And Miss Thackeray is -married to-day to young Ritchie. I saw him at Cambridge, and felt that -the nearly twenty years' difference between them was bridged hopefully -by his solidity and gravity. This is one of several instances that I -have known of lately, showing that young men with even brilliant -advantages will often choose as their life's companion a woman whose -attractions are chiefly of the spiritual order. - -I often see you enjoying your sunsets and the wayside flowers. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Allingham, 26th Aug. 1877.] - -I hope that this letter may be sent on to you in some delicious nook -where your dear wife is by your side preparing to make us all richer -with store of new sketches. I almost fear that I am implying -unbecoming claims in asking you to send me a word or two of news about -your twofold, nay, fourfold self. But you must excuse in me a -presumption which is simply a feeling of spiritual kinship, bred by -reading in the volume you gave me before we left town. - -That tremendous tramp--"Life, Death; Life, Death"[31]--makes me care -the more, as age makes it the more audible to me, for those younger -ones who are keeping step behind me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Professor Kaufmann, 12th Oct. 1877.] - -I trust it will not be otherwise than gratifying to you to know that -your stirring article on "Daniel Deronda" is now translated into -English by a son of Professor Ferrier, who was a philosophical writer -of considerable mark. It will be issued in a handsomer form than that -of the pamphlet, and will appear within this autumnal publishing -season, Messrs. Blackwood having already advertised it. Whenever a -copy is ready we shall have the pleasure of sending it to you. There -is often something to be borne with in reading one's own writing in a -translation, but I hope that in this case you will not be made to -wince severely. - -In waiting to send you this news, I seem to have deferred too long the -expression of my warm thanks for your kindness in sending me the -Hebrew translations of Lessing and the collection of Hebrew poems--a -kindness which I felt myself rather presumptuous in asking for, since -your time must be well filled with more important demands. Yet I must -further beg you, when you have an opportunity, to assure Herr Bacher -that I was most gratefully touched by the sympathetic verses with -which he enriched the gift of his work. - -I see by your last letter that your Theological Seminary was to open -on the 4th of this month, so that this too retrospective letter of -mine will reach you when you are in the midst of your new duties. I -trust that this new institution will be a great good to professor and -students, and that your position is of a kind that you contemplate as -permanent. To teach the young personally has always seemed to me the -most satisfactory supplement to teaching the world through books; and -I have often wished that I had such a means of having fresh, living -spiritual children within sight. - -One can hardly turn one's thought towards Eastern Europe just now -without a mingling of pain and dread, but we mass together distant -scenes and events in an unreal way, and one would like to believe that -the present troubles will not at any time press on you in Hungary with -more external misfortune than on us in England. - -Mr. Lewes is happily occupied in his psychological studies. We both -look forward to the reception of the work you kindly promised us, and -he begs me to offer you his best regards. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Ponsonby, 17th Oct. 1877.] - -I like to know that you have been thinking of me and that you care to -write to me, and though I will not disobey your considerate -prohibition so far as to try to answer your letter fully, I must -content my soul by telling you that we shall be settled in the old -place by the end of the first week in November, and that I shall be -delighted to see you then. There are many subjects that I shall have a -special pleasure in talking of with you. - -Let me say now that the passage quoted from your friend's letter is -one that I am most glad to find falling in with your own attitude of -mind. The view is what I have endeavored to represent in a little poem -called "Stradivarius," which you may not have happened to read. - - I say, not God Himself can make man's best - Without best men to help Him. - -And next: I think direct personal portraiture--or caricature--is a -bastard kind of satire that I am not disposed to think the better of -because Aristophanes used it in relation to Socrates. Do you know that -pretty story about Bishop Thirlwall? When somebody wanted to bring to -him Forchhammer as a distinguished German writer, he replied, "No; I -will never receive into my house the man who justified the death of -Socrates!" - -"O that we were all of one mind, and that mind good!" is an -impossible-to-be-realized wish: and I don't wish it at all in its full -extent. But I think it would be possible that men should differ -speculatively as much as they do now, and yet be "of one mind" in the -desire to avoid giving unnecessary pain, in the desire to do an honest -part towards the general well-being, which has made a comfortable -_nidus_ for themselves, in the resolve not to sacrifice another to -their own egoistic promptings. Pity and fairness--two little words -which, carried out, would embrace the utmost delicacies of the moral -life--seem to me not to rest on an unverifiable hypothesis but on -facts quite as irreversible as the perception that a pyramid will not -stand on its apex. - -I am so glad you have been enjoying Ireland in quiet. We love our bit -of country and are bent on keeping it as a summer refuge. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 6th Nov. 1877, from the Priory.] - -_Apropos_ of authorship, I was a little uneasy on Sunday because I had -seemed in the unmanageable current of talk to echo a too slight way of -speaking about a great poet. I did not mean to say Amen when the -"Idylls of the King" seemed to be judged rather _de haut en bas_. I -only meant that I should value for my own mind "In Memoriam" as the -chief of the larger works; and that while I feel exquisite beauty in -passages scattered through the "Idylls," I must judge some smaller -wholes among the lyrics as the works most decisive of Tennyson's high -place among the immortals. - -Not that my deliverance on this matter is of any moment, but that I -cannot bear to fall in with the sickening fashion of people who talk -much about writers whom they read little, and pronounce on a great -man's powers with only half his work in their mind, while if they -remembered the other half they would find their judgments as to his -limits flatly contradicted. Then, again, I think Tennyson's dramas -such as the world should be glad of--and would be, if there had been -no prejudgment that he could not write a drama. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 10th Nov. 1877.] - -Never augur ill because you do not hear from me. It is, you know, my -profession _not_ to write letters. Happily I can meet your kind -anxiety by contraries. I have for two months and more been in better -health than I have known for several years. This pleasant effect is -due to the delicious air of the breezy Surrey hills; and, further, to -a friend's insistence on my practising lawn-tennis as a daily -exercise. - -We are in love with our Surrey house, and only regret that it hardly -promises to be snug enough for us chilly people through the winter, so -that we dare not think of doing without the warmer nest in town. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1877.] - -_Nov. 10._--We went to the Heights, Witley, at the beginning of June, -after a delightful visit to Cambridge, and returned to this old home -on the 29th October. We are at last in love with our Surrey house, and -mean to keep it. The air and abundant exercise have quite renovated my -health, and I am in more bodily comfort than I have known for several -years. But my dear husband's condition is less satisfactory, his -headaches still tormenting him. - -Since the year began several little epochs have marked themselves. -Blackwood offered for another ten years' copyright of my works, the -previous agreement for ten years having expired. I declined, choosing -to have a royalty. G.'s third volume has been well received, and has -sold satisfactorily for a book so little in the popular taste. A -pleasant correspondence has been opened with Professor Kaufmann, now -Principal of the Jewish Theological Seminary at Pesth; and his -"Attempt at an Appreciation of 'Daniel Deronda'" has been translated -into English by young Ferrier, son of Professor Ferrier. - -A new Cabinet edition of my works, including "Romola," has been -decided on, and is being prepared; and there have been multiplied -signs that the spiritual effect of "Deronda" is growing. In America -the book is placed above all my previous writings. - -Our third little Hampstead granddaughter has been born, and was -christened Saturday--the 3d--Elinor. - -Yesterday Mr. Macmillan came to ask me if I would undertake to write -the volume on Shakespeare, in a series to be issued under the title -"Men of Letters." I have declined. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 16th Nov. 1877.] - -Having a more secure freedom than I may have next week, I satisfy my -eagerness to tell you that I am longing for the news of you which you -have accustomed me to trust in as sure to come at this time of the -year. You will give me, will you not, something more than an -affectionate greeting? You will tell me how and where you have been, -and what is the actual state of your health and spirits--whether you -can still interest yourself in writing on great subjects without too -much fatigue, and what companionship is now the most precious to you? -We returned from our country home (with which we are much in love) at -the beginning of this month, leaving it earlier than we wished because -of the need to get workmen into it. Our bit of Surrey has the beauties -of Scotland wedded to those of Warwickshire. During the last two -months of our stay there I was conscious of more health and strength -than I have known for several years. Imagine me playing at lawn-tennis -by the hour together! The world I live in is chiefly one that has -grown around me in these later years, since we have seen so little of -each other. Doubtless we are both greatly changed in spiritual as well -as bodily matters, but I think we are unchanged in the friendship -founded on early memories. I, for my part, feel increasing gratitude -for the cheering and stimulus your companionship gave me, and only -think with pain that I might have profited more by it if my mind had -been more open to good influences. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1877.] - -_Nov. 26._--The other day we saw in the _Times_ that G.'s name had -been proposed for the Rectorship of St. Andrews. Blackwood writes me -that in less than a month they have sold off all but 400 of the 5250 -printed; and in October were sold 495 of the 3_s._ 6_d._ edition of -"Adam Bede." - -Our friend Dr. Allbut came to see us last week, after we had missed -each other for three or four years. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 3d Dec. 1877.] - -I have been made rather unhappy by my husband's impulsive proposal -about Christmas. We are dull old persons, and your two sweet young -ones ought to find each Christmas a new bright bead to string on their -memory, whereas to spend the time with us would be to string on a -dark, shrivelled berry. They ought to have a group of young creatures -to be joyful with. Our own children always spend their Christmas with -Gertrude's family, and we have usually taken our sober merry-making -with friends out of town. Illness among these will break our custom -this year; and thus _mein Mann_, feeling that our Christmas was free, -considered how very much he liked being with you, omitting the other -side of the question--namely, our total lack of means to make a -suitably joyous meeting, a real festival, for Phil and Margaret. I was -conscious of this lack in the very moment of the proposal, and the -consciousness has been pressing on me more and more painfully ever -since. Even my husband's affectionate hopefulness cannot withstand my -melancholy demonstration. - -So pray consider the kill-joy proposition as entirely retracted, and -give us something of yourselves, only on simple black-letter days -when the Herald Angels have not been raising expectations early in the -morning. - -I am not afraid of your misunderstanding one word. You know that it is -not a little love with which I am yours ever. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 13th Dec. 1877.] - -Your note yesterday gave me much comfort, and I thank you for sparing -the time to write it. - -The world cannot seem quite the same to me as long as you are all in -anxiety about her who is most precious to you[32]--in immediate urgent -anxiety that is. For love is never without its shadow of anxiety. We -have this treasure in earthen vessels. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1877.] - -_Dec. 31._--To-day I say a final farewell to this little book, which -is the only record I have made of my personal life for sixteen years -and more. I have often been helped, in looking back in it, to compare -former with actual states of despondency, from bad health or other -apparent causes. In this way a past despondency has turned to present -hopefulness. But of course, as the years advance, there is a new -rational ground for the expectation that my life may become less -fruitful. The difficulty is to decide how far resolution should set in -the direction of activity rather than in the acceptance of a more -negative state. Many conceptions of work to be carried out present -themselves, but confidence in my own fitness to complete them worthily -is all the more wanting because it is reasonable to argue that I must -have already done my best. In fact, my mind is embarrassed by the -number and wide variety of subjects that attract me, and the enlarging -vista that each brings with it. - -I shall record no more in this book, because I am going to keep a more -business-like diary. Here ends 1877. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 17th Jan. 1878.] - -Yes, it is a comfort to me, in the midst of so many dispiriting -European signs, that France has come so far through her struggle. And -no doubt you are rejoicing too that London University has opened all -its degrees to women. - -I think we know no reading more amusing than the _Times_ just now. We -are deep among the gravities. I have been reading aloud Green's first -volume of his new, larger "History of the English People;" and this -evening have begun Lecky's "History of England in the Eighteenth -Century"--in fact, we are dull old fogies, who are ill-informed about -anything that is going on of an amusing kind. On Monday we took a -youth to the pantomime, but I found it a melancholy business. The dear -old story of Puss in Boots was mis-handled in an exasperating way, and -every incident as well as pretence of a character turned into a motive -for the most vulgar kind of dancing. I came away with a headache, from -which I am only to-day recovered. It is too cruel that one can't get -anything innocent as a spectacle for the children! - -Mr. Lewes sends his best love, but is quite barren of suggestions -about books--buried in pink and lilac periodicals of a physiological -sort, and preoccupied with the case of a man who has an artificial -larynx, with which he talks very well. - -What do you say to the phonograph, which can report gentlemen's bad -speeches with all their stammering? - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 26th Jan. 1878.] - -I like to think of you and Mrs. Blackwood taking your daughter to -Rome. It will be a delightful way of reviving memories, to mingle and -compare them with her fresh impressions, and in a spiritual sense to -have what Shakespeare says is the joy of having offspring--"to see -your blood warm while you feel it cold." I wish that and all other -prospects were not marred by the threat of widening war. - -Last night I finished reading Principal Tulloch's small but full -volume on "Pascal"--a present for which I am much obliged. It is -admirably fair and dispassionate, and I should think will be an -acceptable piece of instruction to many readers. The brief and graphic -way in which he has made present and intelligible the position of the -Port Royalists is an example of just what is needed in such a series -as the Foreign Classics. But of course they are the most fortunate -contributors who have to write about the authors, less commonly -treated of, and especially when they are prepared to write by an early -liking and long familiarity--as in the present case. I have read every -line of appreciation with interest. My first acquaintance with Pascal -came from his "Pensées" being given to me, as a school prize, when I -was fourteen; and I am continually turning to them now to revive my -sense of their deep though broken wisdom. It is a pity that "La -Bruyère" cannot be done justice to by any merely English presentation. -There is a sentence of his which touches with the finest point the -diseased spot in the literary culture of our time--"Le plaisir de la -critique nous ôté celui d'être vivement touchés de tres belles -choses." We see that our present fashions are old, but there is this -difference, that they are followed by a greater multitude. - -You may be sure I was very much cheered by your last despatch--the -solid unmistakable proof that my books are not yet superfluous. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 23d March, 1878.] - -As to my enjoyment of the "Two Grenadiers," it would have been -impossible but for the complete reduction of it to symbolism in my own -mind, and my belief that it really touches nobody now, as enthusiasm -for the execrable Napoleon I. But I feel that the devotion of the -common soldier to his leader (the sign for him of hard duty) is the -type of all higher devotedness, and is full of promise to other and -better generations. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 7th June, 1878.] - -The royalties did themselves much credit.[33] The Crown Prince is -really a grand-looking man, whose name you would ask for with -expectation, if you imagined him no royalty. He is like a grand -antique bust--cordial and simple in manners withal, shaking hands, and -insisting that I should let him know when we next came to Berlin, just -as if he had been a Professor Gruppe, living _au troisième_. _She_ is -equally good-natured and unpretending, liking best to talk of nursing -soldiers, and of what her father's taste was in literature. She opened -the talk by saying, "You know my sister Louise"--just as any other -slightly embarrassed mortal might have done. We had a picked party to -dinner--Dean of Westminster, Bishop of Peterborough, Lord and Lady -Ripon, Dr. Lyon Playfair, Kinglake (you remember "Eothen"--the old -gentleman is a good friend of mine), Froude, Mrs. Ponsonby (Lord -Grey's granddaughter), and two or three more "illustrations;" then a -small detachment coming in after dinner. It was really an interesting -occasion. - -We go to Oxford to-morrow (to the Master of Balliol). - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 27th June, 1878, from Witley.] - -I hope we are not wrong in imagining you settled at Strathtyrum, with -a fresh power of enjoying the old scenes after your exile, in spite of -the abstinence from work--the chief sweetness of life. Mr. Lewes, too, -is under a regimen for gout, which casts its threatening shadow in the -form of nightly cramps and inward _malaise_. He wants me to tell you -something amusing--a bit of Baboo English, from an Indian journal sent -us by Lord Lytton. _Apropos_ of Sir G. Campbell's rash statement that -India was no good to England, the accomplished writer says, "But -British House of Commons stripped him to pieces, and exposed his _cui -bono_ in all its naked hideousness!" After all, I think the cultivated -Hindoo writing what he calls English, is about on a par with the -authors of leading articles on this side of the globe writing what -_they_ call English--accusing or laudatory epithets and phrases, -adjusted to some dim standard of effect quite aloof from any knowledge -or belief of their own. - -Letter-writing, I imagine, is counted as "work" from which you must -abstain; and I scribble this letter simply from the self-satisfied -notion that you will like to hear from me. You see I have asked no -questions, which are the torture-screws of correspondence, hence you -have nothing to answer. How glad I shall be of an announcement that -"No further bulletins will be sent, Mr. Blackwood having gone to golf -again." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 18th July, 1878.] - -I thought you understood that I have grave reasons for not speaking on -certain public topics. No request from the best friend in the -world--even from my own husband--ought to induce me to speak when I -judge it my duty to be silent. If I had taken a contrary decision, I -should not have remained silent till now. My function is that of the -_æsthetic_, not the doctrinal teacher--the rousing of the nobler -emotions, which make mankind desire the social right, not the -prescribing of special measures, concerning which the artistic mind, -however strongly moved by social sympathy, is often not the best -judge. It is one thing to feel keenly for one's fellow-beings; another -to say, "This step, and this alone, will be the best to take for the -removal of particular calamities." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 30th July, 1878.] - -I did hope that by the time your military evolutions were over, we -might see our way to enjoying the kind welcome which you and Mrs. -Blackwood have offered us. No expedition attracts us more than the -projected visit to Strathtyrum. Unhappily, Mr. Lewes continues to be -troubled and depressed by symptoms that, with the recollection upon us -of the crippling gout which once followed them, quite rob us of the -courage to leave home. The journey and the excitement, which would be -part of his pleasure if he were tolerably well, seem to him now -dangerous to encounter--and I am not myself robust enough to venture -on a risk of illness to him; so that I cannot supply the daring he -needs. We begin to think that we shall be obliged to defer our -pleasure of seeing you in your own home--so promising of walks and -talks, such as we can never have a chance of in London--until we have -the disadvantage of counting ourselves a year older. I am very sorry. -But it is better to know that you are getting well, and we unable to -see you, than to think of you as an invalid, unable to receive us. We -must satisfy ourselves with the good we have--including the peace, and -the promise of an abundant wheat harvest. - -Please ask Mrs. and Miss Blackwood to accept my best regards, and -assure them that I counted much on a longer, quieter intercourse with -them in a few sunny days away from hotels and callers. - -Do not write when writing seems a task. Otherwise you know how well I -like to have a letter from you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Blackwood, 15th Aug. 1878.] - -We have certainly to pay for all our other happiness, which is a -Benjamin's share, by many small bodily miseries. Mr. Lewes continues -ailing, and I am keeping him company with headache. "Rejoice, O young -man, in the days of thy youth," and keep a reserve of strength for the -more evil days. Especially avoid breaking your neck in hunting. Mr. -Lewes did once try horseback, some years ago, but found the exercise -too violent for him. I think a Highland sheltie would be the suitable -nag, only he is very fond of walking; and between that and lawn-tennis -he tires himself sufficiently. - -I shall hope by and by to hear more good news about your uncle's -health. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 26th Aug. 1878.] - -Shall you mind the trouble of writing me a few words of news about you -and yours? just to let me know how things are with you, and deliver me -from evil dreams. - -We have been so ailing in the midst of our country joys that I need to -hear of my friends being well as a ground for cheerfulness--a bit of -sugar in the cup of resignation. Perhaps this fine summer has been -altogether delightful to you. Let me know this good, and satisfy the -thirsty sponge of my affection. If you object to my phrase, please to -observe that it is Dantesque--which will oblige you to find it -admirable. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 26th Aug. 1878.] - -You remember the case of the old woman of whom her murderers confessed -that they had beaten her to death, "partly with crowbars and partly -with their fists." Well, I have been beaten into silence since your -kind letter, partly by visitors and partly by continual headache. I am -a shade or two better this morning, and my soul has half awaked to run -its daily stage of duty. Happily I was temporarily relieved from -headache during our friends' (the Tom Trollopes') visit. We took them -to see Tennyson, and they were delighted with the reading which he -very amiably gave us. Then the Du Mauriers came to dine with us on the -Thursday, and so the time was not, I hope, too languid for our -visitors. - -Mr. Lewes continues to show improvement in health, so that the balance -of good is not much altered by my deficit. - -We shall be pleased to have any news of you, whether by post or -person. - - At this time I was in the habit of going over occasionally - from Weybridge on Sundays. The shadow of trouble was on both - our houses. My mother was in her last illness, and Mr. Lewes - was constantly ailing, though none of us then thought that he - would be taken first. But the sharing of a common anxiety - contributed to make our friendship much more intimate. In our - drives in the neighborhood of Witley, Mr. Lewes used - sometimes to be suddenly seized with severe cramping pains. I - think he was himself aware that something was far wrong, but - the moment the pain ceased the extraordinary buoyancy of his - spirits returned. Nothing but death could quench that bright - flame. Even on his worst days he had always a good story to - tell; and I remember on one occasion, between two bouts of - pain, he sang through, with great _brio_, though without much - voice, the greater portion of the tenor part in the "Barber - of Seville"--George Eliot playing his accompaniment, and - both of them thoroughly enjoying the fun. - - They led a very secluded life at Witley--as always in their - country retreats--but enjoyed the society of some of their - neighbors. Sir Henry and Lady Holland, who lived next door; - charming Mrs. Thellusson and her daughter, Mrs. Greville, who - lived between Witley and Godalming, were especial friends. - The Tennysons, too, and the Du Mauriers and Allinghams, were - all within easy visiting distance. George Eliot's dislike of - London life continued to increase with the increasing number - of her acquaintance, and consequent demands on time. The - Sunday receptions, confined to a small number of intimate - friends in 1867, had gradually extended themselves to a great - variety of interesting people. - - These receptions have been so often and so well described - that they have hitherto occupied rather a disproportionate - place in the accounts of George Eliot's life. It will have - been noticed that there is very little allusion to them in - the letters; but, owing to the seclusion of her life, it - happened that the large majority of people who knew George - Eliot as an author never met her elsewhere. Her _salon_ was - important as a meeting-place for many friends whom she cared - greatly to see, but it was not otherwise important in her own - life. For she was eminently _not_ a typical mistress of a - _salon_. It was difficult for her, mentally, to move from one - person to another. Playing around many disconnected subjects, - in talk, neither interested her nor amused her much. She took - things too seriously, and seldom found the effort of - entertaining compensated by the gain. Fortunately Mr. Lewes - supplied any qualities lacking in the hostess. A brilliant - talker, a delightful _raconteur_, versatile, full of resource - in the social difficulties of amalgamating diverse groups, - and bridging over awkward pauses, he managed to secure for - these gatherings most of the social success which they - obtained. Many of the _réunions_ were exceedingly agreeable - and interesting, especially when they were not too crowded, - when general conversation could be maintained. But the larger - the company grew the more difficult it was to manage. The - English character does not easily accommodate itself to the - exigencies of a _salon_. There is a fatal tendency to break - up into small groups. The entertainment was frequently varied - by music when any good performer happened to be present. I - think, however, that the majority of visitors delighted - chiefly to come for the chance of a few words with George - Eliot alone. When the drawing-room door of the Priory opened, - a first glance revealed her always in the same low arm-chair - on the left-hand side of the fire. On entering, a visitor's - eye was at once arrested by the massive head. The abundant - hair, streaked with gray now, was draped with lace, arranged - mantilla-fashion, coming to a point at the top of the - forehead. If she were engaged in conversation her body was - usually bent forward with eager, anxious desire to get as - close as possible to the person with whom she talked. She had - a great dislike to raising her voice, and often became so - wholly absorbed in conversation that the announcement of an - incoming visitor sometimes failed to attract her attention; - but the moment the eyes were lifted up, and recognized a - friend, they smiled a rare welcome--sincere, cordial, - grave--a welcome that was felt to come straight from the - heart, not graduated according to any social distinction. - Early in the afternoon, with only one or two guests, the talk - was always general and delightful. Mr. Lewes was quite as - good in a company of three as in a company of thirty. In - fact, he was better, for his _verve_ was not in the least - dependent on the number of his audience, and the flow was - less interrupted. Conversation was no effort to him; nor was - it to her so long as the numbers engaged were not too many, - and the topics were interesting enough to sustain discussion. - But her talk, I think, was always most enjoyable _à deux_. It - was not produced for effect, nor from the lip, but welled up - from a heart and mind intent on the one person with whom she - happened to be speaking. She was never weary of giving of her - best so far as the wish to give was concerned. In addition to - the Sundays "at home" the Priory doors were open to a small - circle of very intimate friends on other days of the week. Of - evening entertainments there were very few, I think, after - 1870. I remember some charming little dinners--never - exceeding six persons--and one notable evening when the Poet - Laureate read aloud "Maud," "The Northern Farmer," and parts - of other poems. It was very interesting on this occasion to - see the two most widely known representatives of contemporary - English literature sitting side by side. George Eliot would - have enjoyed much in her London life if she had been stronger - in health, but, with her susceptible organization, the - _atmosphere_ oppressed her both physically and mentally. She - always rejoiced to escape to the country. The autumn days - were beginning to close in now on the beautiful Surrey - landscape, not without some dim, half-recognized presage to - her anxious mind of impending trouble. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 24th Sept. 1878.] - -I am not inclined to let you rest any longer without asking you to -send me some account of yourself, for it is long since I got my last -news from Edinburgh. I should like to know that you have continued to -gather strength, and that you have all been consequently more and more -enjoying your life at Strathtyrum. It is an ugly theory that happiness -wants the contrast of illness and anxiety, but I know that Mrs. -Blackwood must have a new comfort in seeing you once more with your -usual strength. - -We have had "a bad time" in point of health, and it is only quite -lately that we have both been feeling a little better. The fault is -all in our own frames, not in our air or other circumstances; for we -like our house and neighborhood better and better. The general -testimony and all other arguments are in favor of this district being -thoroughly healthy. But we both look very haggard in the midst of our -blessings. - -Are you not disturbed by yesterday's Indian news? One's hopes for the -world's getting a little rest from war are continually checked. Every -day, after reading the _Times_, I feel as if all one's writing were -miserably trivial stuff in the presence of this daily history. Do you -think there are persons who admire Russia's "mission" in Asia as they -did the mission in Europe? - -Please write me anything that comes easily to the end of your pen, and -make your world seem nearer to me. Good Mr. Simpson, I hope, lets you -know that he is prospering in his pursuit of pleasure without -work--which seems a strange paradox in association with my idea of -him. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 15th Oct. 1878.] - -The days pass by without my finding time to tell you what I want to -tell you--how delighted I was to have a good account of you. But every -bright day, and we have had many such, has made me think the more of -you, and hope that you were drawing in strength from the clear, sweet -air. I miss so much the hope that I used always to have of seeing you -in London and talking over everything just as we used to do--in the -way that will never exactly come with any one else. How unspeakably -the lengthening of memories in common endears our old friends! The new -are comparatively foreigners, with whom one's talk is hemmed in by -mutual ignorance. The one cannot express, the other cannot divine. - -We are intensely happy in our bit of country, as happy as the cloudy -aspect of public affairs will allow any one who cares for them to be, -with the daily reading of the _Times_. - -A neighbor of ours was reciting to me yesterday some delicious bits of -dialogue with a quaint Surrey woman; _e.g._, "O ma'am, what I have -gone through with my husband! He is so uneddicated--he never had a -tail-coat in his life!" - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 23d Nov. 1878, from the Priory.] - -When Mr. Lewes sent you my MS.[34] the other morning he was in that -state of exhilarated activity which often comes with the sense of ease -after an attack of illness which had been very painful. In the -afternoon he imprudently drove out, and undertook, with his usual -eagerness, to get through numerous details of business, over-fatigued -himself, and took cold. The effect has been a sad amount of suffering -from feverishness and headache, and I have been in deep anxiety, am -still very unhappy, and only comforted by Sir James Paget's assurances -that the actual trouble will be soon allayed. - -I have been telling the patient about your letter and suggestion that -he should send a form of slip as advertisement for the Magazine. He -says--and the answer seems to have been a matter of premeditation with -him--that it will be better not to announce the book in this way at -once--"the Americans and Germans will be down on us." I cannot -question him further at present, but I have no doubt he has been -thinking about the matter, and we must not cross his wish in any way. - -I have thought that a good form of advertisement, to save people from -disappointment in a book of mine not being a story, would be to print -the list of contents, which, with the title, would give all but the -very stupid a notion to what form of writing the work belongs. But -this is a later consideration. I am glad you were pleased with the -opening. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, Sunday evening, 24th Nov. -1878.] - -For the last week I have been in deep trouble. Mr. Lewes has been -alarmingly ill. To-day Sir James Paget and Dr. Quain pronounce him in -all respects better, and I am for the first time comforted. You will -not wonder now at my silence. Thanks for your affectionate -remembrances. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th Nov. 1878.] - -Mr. Lewes continues sadly ill, and I am absorbed in nursing him. When -he wrote about Parliament meeting, he was thinking that it would be -called together at the usual time--perhaps February. The book can be -deferred without mischief. I wish to add a good deal, but, of course, -I can finish nothing now, until Mr. Lewes is better. The doctors -pronounced him in every respect better yesterday, and he had a quiet -night, but since five o'clock this morning he has had a recurrence of -trouble. You can feel for him and me, having so lately known what -severe illness is. - - - Mr. Lewes died on the 28th November, 1878. - - -_SUMMARY._ - -MARCH, 1876, TO NOVEMBER, 1878. - - Letter to John Blackwood--Visit to Weybridge--"Daniel - Deronda"--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--Meets Sir Garnet - Wolseley--Vivisection--Letter to John Blackwood--Public - discussion of "Deronda"--Motto from Walt Whitman--Inscription - on the MS. of "Deronda"--Letter to Mrs. Stowe--Thanks for - sympathy--Drawbacks to going too much abroad--Mr. Lewes's - "Problems"--Letter to J. W. Cross on the effect of her - writing--Three-months' trip to Continent--Letter to John - Blackwood--Visit to Chambéry and Les Charmettes--Lausanne and - Vevey--Ragatz--Return to London--Letter to John - Blackwood--Dr. Hermann Adler--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--St. - Blasien--Women's work--Visit to Six-Mile Bottom--Meets - Turguenieff--Jewish appreciation of "Deronda"--Letter to Mrs. - William Smith--Mrs. Ruck--Letter to Mrs. Stowe--Jewish - element in "Deronda"--Letter to Miss Hennell--Miss - Martineau's "Autobiography," and biography in - general--Resignation--Gratitude of Jews for - "Deronda"--Purchase of house at Witley, near Godalming--Dr. - Hermann Adler's lectures on "Daniel Deronda"--Application to - translate "Romola" into Italian--Christmas at - Weybridge--Opening of year 1877--Letter to James Sully--The - word "meliorism"--Letter to John Blackwood--Illustrations of - cheap editions--"Romola"--Letter to William - Allingham--Warwickshire dialect--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Harriet - Martineau's "Autobiography"--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--Holmes - and Mrs. Vernon Lushington playing--Letter to Miss - Hennell--Mrs. Chapman on Harriet Martineau--Mrs. Stowe and - the Byron case--Letter to Professor Kaufmann--Gratitude for - his estimate of "Deronda"--Letter to F. Harrison--Sympathy - incentive to production--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--Miss - Thackeray's marriage--Letter to W. Allingham on his - poems--Letter to Professor Kaufmann--Translation of his - article by Mr. Ferrier--Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby--Reference to - Stradivarius--Pity and fairness--Letter to J. W. - Cross--Appreciation of Tennyson's poems and dramas--Letter to - Mrs. Peter Taylor--Improvement in health at Witley--Proposal - to write on Shakespeare for "Men of Letters" series--Letter - to Miss Hennell--Gain of health and strength at - Witley--Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones--Christmas plans--Farewell - to Journal and to year 1877--Letter to Mme. Bodichon--State - of France--London University opening degrees to - women--Reading Green's "History of the English People" and - Lecky--The phonograph--Letter to John - Blackwood--"Pascal"--"La Bruyère"--Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones - on the "Two Grenadiers"--Letter to Mrs. Bray--Meeting with - Crown Prince and Princess of Germany at Mr. Goschen's--Visit - to Oxford to the Master of Balliol--Letter to John - Blackwood--Indian story of Lord Lytton's--Letter to Mrs. - Peter Taylor--Function the æsthetic not the doctrinal - teacher--Letter to John Blackwood--Mr. Lewes's - ill-health--Letter to William Blackwood--Letter to Mrs. - Burne-Jones complaining of health--Letter to J. W. Cross--Mr. - Lewes's continued illness--Life at Witley--Effect of - receptions at the Priory--Description of receptions--Letter - to John Blackwood--Complaining of health--Letter to Mme. - Bodichon--Delight in old friends--Letters to John - Blackwood--MS. of "Theophrastus Such"--Mr. Lewes's last - illness--Postponement of publication of "Theophrastus"--Mr. - Lewes's death. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[28] This was a visit to Six-Mile Bottom, where M. Turguenieff, who -was a very highly valued friend of Mr. and Mrs. Lewes, had come to -compare his experiences of Russian and English sport. I remember -George Eliot telling me that she had never met any literary man whose -society she enjoyed so thoroughly and so unrestrainedly as she did -that of M. Turguenieff. They had innumerable bonds of sympathy. - -[29] This letter is in acknowledgment of a letter from Mrs. Beecher -Stowe on "Daniel Deronda." - -[30] Mme. Bodichon had been dangerously ill. - -[31] Refers to a poem by W. Allingham, "The General Chorus," with a -burden: - - "Life, Death; Life, Death; - Such is the song of human breath." - - -[32] The beginning of my mother's last illness. - -[33] Dinner at Mr. Goschen's. - -[34] "The Impressions of Theophrastus Such." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - - For many weeks after Mr. Lewes's death, George Eliot saw no - one except Mr. Charles Lewes, and the very few persons she - was obliged to receive on necessary business. She read no - letters, and wrote none, but at once began to occupy herself - busily with Mr. Lewes's unfinished MSS., in which work Mr. - Charles Lewes was able to assist her in the arrangement. The - only entry in her diary on the 1st January, 1879, is "Here I - and sorrow sit." At the end of two months this desolation had - told terribly on her health and spirits; and on the last day - of January she was greatly comforted by a visit from Sir - James Paget--a friend for whom she had always had the highest - and most cordial regard during the many years she had known - him. Meantime she had begun to write a few short notes, and - she mentions in her journal of 2d January, "A kind letter - from Professor Michael Foster, of Cambridge, offering to help - me on any physiological point;" and on the 19th January, - "Ruminating on the founding of some educational - instrumentality as a memorial to be called by his name." - There are the following letters in January and February. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 7th Jan. 1879.] - -I bless you for all your goodness to me, but I am a bruised creature, -and shrink even from the tenderest touch. As soon as I feel able to -see anybody I will see _you_. Please give my love to Bessie[35] and -thank her for me--I mean, for her sweet letter. I was a long while -before I read any letters, but tell her I shall read hers again and -again. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 13th Jan. 1879.] - -It was a long while before I read any letters, and as yet I have -written none, except such as business required of me. You will believe -that this has not been for want of gratitude to all my friends for -their goodness to me. I can trust to your understanding of a sorrow -which has broken my life. I write now because I ought not to allow any -disproportionate expense to be incurred about my printed sheets. - -To me, now, the writing seems all trivial stuff, but since he wished -it to be printed, and you seem to concur, I will correct the sheets -(if you will send me the remainder) gradually as I am able, and they -can be struck off and laid by for a future time. I submit this -proposition to your judgment, not knowing what may be most expedient -for your printing-office. - -Thank you for all your kind words. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 22d Jan. 1879.] - -Sometime, if I live, I shall be able to see you--perhaps sooner than -any one else--but not yet. Life seems to get harder instead of easier. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 30th Jan. 1879.] - -When I said "sometime" I meant still a distant time. I want to live a -little time that I may do certain things for his sake. So I try to -keep up my strength, and I work as much as I can to save my mind from -imbecility. But that is all at present. I can go through anything that -is mere business. But what used to be joy is joy no longer, and what -is pain is easier because he has not to bear it. - -I bless my friends for all their goodness to me. Please say so to all -of them that you know, especially Mr. Hall. Tell him I have read his -letter again and again. - -If you feel prompted to say anything, write it to me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 4th Feb. 1879.] - -Do not believe that your love is lost upon me, dear. I bless you for -all your goodness to me, and keep every sign of it in my memory. - -I have been rather ill lately, but my head is clearer this morning. -The world's winter is going, I hope, but my everlasting winter has set -in. You know that and will be patient with me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 6th Feb. 1879.] - -Bless you for your loving thought. But for all reasons, bodily and -mental, I am unable to move. I am entirely occupied with his -manuscripts, and must be on this spot among all the books. Then, I am -in a very ailing condition of body--cannot count on myself from day to -day--and am not fit to undertake any sort of journey. I have never yet -been outside the gate. Even if I were otherwise able, I could not bear -to go out of sight of the things he used and looked on. - -Bless you once more. If I could go away with _anybody_ I could go away -with you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 7th Feb. 1879.] - -I do need your affection. Every sign of care for me from the beings I -respect and love is a help to me. In a week or two I think I shall -want to see you. Sometimes, even now, I have a longing, but it is -immediately counteracted by a fear. The perpetual mourner--the grief -that can never be healed--is innocently enough felt to be wearisome by -the rest of the world. And my sense of desolation increases. Each day -seems a new beginning--a new acquaintance with grief. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, Saturday, 22d Feb. 1879.] - -If you happen to be at liberty to-morrow, or the following Friday, or -to-morrow week, I hope I shall be well enough to see you. Let me know -which day. - - On Sunday, the 23d February, I saw her for the first time, - and there is the following letter next day. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 24th Feb. 1879.] - -A transient absence of mind yesterday made me speak as if it were -possible for me to entertain your thoughtful, kind proposal that I -should move to Weybridge for a short time. But I cannot leave this -house for the next two months--if for no other reason, I should be -chained here by the need of having all the books I want to refer to. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 25th Feb. 1879.] - -Pray do not announce "Theophrastus" in any way. It would be -intolerable to my feelings to have a book of my writing brought out -for a long while to come. What I wish to do is, to correct the sheets -thoroughly, and then have them struck off and laid by till the time of -publication comes. One reason which prompted me to set about the -proofs--in addition to my scruples about occupying the type--was that -I was feeling so ill, I thought there was no time to be lost in -getting done everything which no one else would do if I left it -undone. But I am getting better, I think; and my doctors say there is -nothing the matter with me to urge more haste than the common -uncertainty of life urges on us all. - -There is a great movement now among the Jews towards colonizing -Palestine, and bringing out the resources of the soil. Probably Mr. -Oliphant is interested in the work, and will find his experience in -the West not without applicability in the East. - -It is a satisfaction to you, I hope, that your son is about to be -initiated in George Street. I trust he will one day carry on the good -traditions of the name "John Blackwood." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 5th Mch. 1879.] - -Your letter, which tells me that you are benefiting by the clear, -sunny air, is very welcome. Yes, here too the weather is more -merciful, and I drive out most days. I am better bodily, but I never -feel thoroughly comfortable in that material sense, and I am -incredibly thin. As to my mind, I am full of occupation, but the -sorrow deepens down instead of diminishing. I mean to go to Witley in -a few months, that I may look again on the spots that he enjoyed, and -that we enjoyed together, but I cannot tell beforehand whether I shall -care to go again afterwards. - -Everybody is very kind to me, and by and by I shall begin to see a few -intimate friends. I can do or go through anything that is business or -duty, but time and strength seem lacking for everything else. You must -excuse my weakness, remembering that for nearly twenty-five years I -have been used to find my happiness in his. I can find it nowhere -else. But we can live and be helpful without happiness, and I have had -more than myriads who were and are better fitted for it. - -I am really very busy, and have been sadly delayed by want of health. -One project I have entered on is to found a studentship, which will be -called after his name. I am getting help from experienced men. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 5th Mch. 1879.] - -I send the corrected sheets of "Theophrastus," and shall be much -obliged if you will order a complete revise to be sent me before they -are struck off. Whenever the book is published (I cannot contemplate -its appearing before June, and if that is a bad time it must stand -over till the autumn season) I beg you kindly to write for me a -notice, to be printed on the fly-leaf, that the MS. was placed in your -hands last November, or simply last year. - -I think you will enter into my feeling when I say that to create a -notion on the part of the public of my having been occupied in writing -"Theophrastus" would be repugnant to me. And I shrink from putting -myself forward in any way. - -I hope you are benefiting by the milder weather. I drive out a little -now, but you must be prepared to see me a much changed creature. I -think I should hardly know myself. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_March 8._--Gertrude[36] and the children came to tea. - -_March 9._--Mr. Henry Sidgwick came to discuss the plan of the -studentship. - -_March 13._--Professor Michael Foster came to discuss the studentship, -and we arrived at a satisfactory clearness as to the conditions. He -mentioned as men whom he thought of as suitable trustees, Huxley, Pye -Smith, Thiselton Dyer, Francis Balfour, and Henry Sidgwick. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 20th Mch. 1879.] - -DEAR FRIEND,--When you have time to come to me about six o'clock I -shall love to see you. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_March 22._--Mrs. Congreve came again. Mrs. Burne-Jones came. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Blackwood, 25th Mch. 1879.] - -I am so dissatisfied with "Theophrastus" on reading the revise that I -have proposed to suppress it in this original form, and regenerate it -whenever--if ever--I recover the power to do so. You see the cruel -weather has travelled after you. It makes one feel every grievance -more grievously in some respects, though to me the sunshine is in one -sense sadder. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_March 30._--Mr. Bowen (now Lord Justice Bowen) came, Mr. Spencer, and -J. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 5th April, 1879.] - -After weighing what you have said, I agree to the publication of -"Theophrastus" in May. If you had at all suspected that the book would -injure my influence, you would not have wished me to give it forth in -its present form, and in the uncertainty of one's inner and outer life -it is not well to depend on future capabilities. There are some -things in it which I want to get said, and if the book turned out to -be effective in proportion to my other things, the form would lend -itself to a "second series"--supposing I lived and kept my faculties. - -As to the price for the right of translating, you will judge. If you -will kindly undertake these negotiations for me, I shall be thankful. -And pray remember that I don't _want_ the book to be translated, so -that it will be well to wait for the application, and to ask a -sufficient sum to put the publisher on his guard as to the selection -of a translator. But, of course, this little book cannot be paid for -according to the difficulty of translation. - -You see, I have been so used to have all trouble spared me that I am -ready to cast it on any willing shoulders. But I am obliged now to -think of business in many ways. - -I am so glad to know that Mrs. Blackwood has the comfort of a good -report about you from the doctors. Perhaps it may seem to you the -wrong order of sympathy to be glad for your sake in the _second_ -place. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_April 8._--Mrs. Stuart came. - - Mrs. Stuart was a devoted friend whose acquaintance had been - formed some years before through the presentation of some - beautiful wood-carving which she had executed as an offering - to George Eliot. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 8th April, 1879.] - -DEAR FRIENDS,--Will you come to see me some day? I am always in from -my drive and at liberty by half-past four. Please do not say to any -one that I am receiving visitors generally. Though I have been so long -without making any sign, my heart has been continually moved with -gratitude towards you. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 8th April, 1879.] - -Your letter was very welcome this morning, for I do not like to be -very long without having some picture of you, and your words of -affection are always sweet. - -The studentship I mention is to supply an income to a young man who is -qualified and eager to carry on physiological research, and would not -otherwise have the means of doing so. Mr. H. Sidgwick, Michael Foster, -and other men of kindred mind are helping me in settling the scheme. I -have been determined in my choice of the studentship by the idea of -what would be a sort of prolongation of _his_ life. That there should -always, in consequence of his having lived, be a young man working in -the way he would have liked to work, is a memorial of him that comes -nearest my feeling. It is to be at Cambridge to begin with, and we -thought at first of affiliating it to the university; but now the -notion is that it will be well to keep it free, so that the trustees -may move it where and when they will. But the scheme is not yet -drafted. - -I am going to bring out one of "The Problems" in a separate volume at -the beginning of May, and am now correcting the proofs. - -My going to Witley is an experiment. I don't know how I shall bear -being there, but I hope there will be nothing to hinder my _having -you_ there if you will undertake the troublous journey for my sake. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 9th April, 1879.] - -I enclose the proof of title-page and motto. Whether the motto (which -is singularly apt and good) should be on the title-page or fly-leaf I -leave you to judge. Certainly, everybody who does not read Latin will -be offended by its claiming notice, and will consider that only the -deepest-dyed pedantry could have found the motive for it. But I will -not leave it out altogether. - -I have had such various letters from time to time, asking me to -reprint or write essays, that, perhaps, some of the public will not be -disappointed that the volume is not a story. But that must be as it -may; and if you think the acceptance dubious, it is much the better -plan not to stereotype. - -What energy there is in Mr. Kinglake in spite of the somewhat -shattered health that his _Wesen_ gives one the impression of! Among -incidents of war that one can dwell on with anything like gladness, -that account of the rescue of the colors at Isandlana is memorable, is -it not? - -I go out every day, drive beyond the ranks of hideous houses in the -Kilburn outskirts, and get to lanes where I can walk, in perfect -privacy, among the fields and budding hedgerows. - -I hope Mr. Julian Sturgis will take care of his writing and do -something lasting. He seems to me to have a strain above the common in -him; and he is not writing for his bread, or even his butter. I don't -know why I say this just now, except that I had it in my mind to say -long ago, and it has just come upper-most as I was thinking of the -Magazine. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Professor Kaufmann, 17th April, 1879.] - -Your kind letter has touched me very deeply. I confess that my mind -had, more than once, gone out to you as one from whom I should like to -have some sign of sympathy with my loss. But you were rightly inspired -in waiting till now, for during many weeks I was unable even to listen -to the letters which my generous friends were continually sending me. -Now, at last, I am eagerly interested in every communication that -springs out of an acquaintance with my husband and his works. - -I thank you for telling me about the Hungarian translation of his -"History of Philosophy;" but what would I not have given if the -volumes could have come, even only a few days, before his death! For -his mind was perfectly clear, and he would have felt some joy in that -sign of his work being effective. - -I do not know whether you will enter into the comfort I feel that he -never knew he was dying, and fell gently asleep after ten days of -illness, in which the suffering was comparatively mild. - -One of the last things he did at his desk was to despatch a manuscript -of mine to the publishers. The book (not a story, and not bulky) is to -appear near the end of May, and, as it contains some words I wanted to -say about the Jews, I will order a copy to be sent to you. - -I hope that your labors have gone on uninterruptedly for the benefit -of others, in spite of public troubles. The aspect of affairs with us -is grievous--industry languishing, and the best part of our nation -indignant at our having been betrayed into an unjustifiable war in -South Africa. - -I have been occupied in editing my husband's MSS., so far as they are -left in sufficient completeness to be prepared for publication without -the obtrusion of another mind instead of his. A brief volume on "The -Study of Psychology" will appear immediately, and a further volume of -psychological studies will follow in the autumn. But his work was cut -short while he still thought of it as the happy occupation of -far-stretching months. Once more let me thank you for remembering me -in my sorrow. - -[Sidenote: Letter to J. W. Cross, 22d April, 1879.] - -I am in dreadful need of your counsel. Pray come to me when you -can--morning, afternoon, or evening. - - From this time forward I saw George Eliot constantly. My - mother had died in the beginning of the previous December, a - week after Mr. Lewes; and, as my life had been very much - bound up with hers, I was trying to find some fresh interest - in taking up a new pursuit. Knowing very little Italian, I - began Dante's "Inferno" with Carlyle's translation. The first - time I saw George Eliot afterwards, she asked me what I was - doing, and, when I told her, exclaimed, "Oh, I must read that - with you." And so it was. In the following twelve months we - read through the "Inferno" and the "Purgatorio" together; not - in a _dilettante_ way, but with minute and careful - examination of the construction of every sentence. The - prodigious stimulus of such a teacher (_cotanto maestro_) - made the reading a real labor of love. Her sympathetic - delight in stimulating my newly awakened enthusiasm for Dante - did something to distract her mind from sorrowful memories. - The divine poet took us into a new world. It was a renovation - of life. At the end of May I induced her to play on the piano - at Witley for the first time; and she played regularly after - that whenever I was there, which was generally once or twice - a week, as I was living at Weybridge, within easy distance. - - Besides Dante, we read at this time a great many of - Sainte-Beuve's "Causeries," and much of Chaucer, Shakespeare, - and Wordsworth. But I am anticipating. We will return to the - correspondence in its order. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 22d April, 1879.] - -When I shall be able to get to Witley is altogether uncertain. The -cold winds make one less hungry for the country, but still it will be -a relief to me, in some respects, to get away from town. I am much -stronger than I was, and am again finding interest in this wonderful -life of ours. But I am obliged to keep my doors closed against all but -the few until I go away. You, however, I shall hope to see. I am -founding a studentship of Physiology, to be called "The George Henry -Lewes Studentship." It will be placed, in the first instance, at -Cambridge, where there is the best physiological school in the -kingdom. But the trustees (with my consent during my life) will have -the power of moving it where they judge best. This idea, which I early -conceived, has been a great stay to me. But I have plenty to think of, -plenty of creatures depending on me, to make my time seem of some -value. And there are so many in the world who have to live without any -great enjoyment. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_April 26._--Mr. and Mrs. Hall came. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 3d May, 1879.] - -If you can come to me next week for a parting word, will you try to -learn beforehand whether and when your husband can give me half an -hour at the end of his working-day? I should like to see him before I -go, which I hope to do soon after the 13th. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1879.] - -_May 6._--Mr. and Mrs. Call, Eleanor and Florence (Cross) came. - -_May 8._--Mr. Burne-Jones came. - -_May 10._--Edith Simcox and Mr. Pigott came. - -_May 13._--Dr. Andrew Clark came and gave me important suggestions -about the studentship. - -_May 21._--Saw Mr. Anthony Trollope. - -_May 22._--Came down to Witley--lovely mild day. - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 28th May, 1879.] - -Mr. Lewes always wrote the dramatic criticisms in the _Leader_, and -for a year or two he occasionally wrote such criticisms in the _Pall -Mall_. Of the latter, the chief were reprinted in the little book on -"Actors, and the Art of Acting." What was written in the -_Fortnightly_ (1865-66) is marked by signature. The most -characteristic contributions to the _Cornhill_ (1864-65) were "The -Mental Condition of Babies," "Dangers and Delights of Tobacco," "Was -Nero a Monster?" "Shakespeare in France," and "Miseries of a Dramatic -Author." - -But after 1866 his contributions to any periodical were very -scanty--confined to a few articles in the _Pall Mall Gazette_, one on -"The Reign of Law," in the _Fortnightly_, and the series on Darwin, -now incorporated in "The Physical Basis of Mind." After these, his -sole contributions were an article on Dickens (1872), two on -"Spiritualism" and "Mesmerism" (1876), and one on "The Dread and -Dislike of Science" (1878). - -Charles, I think, mentioned to you my desire that you should do me the -valuable service of looking over the proofs of the remaining volume of -"Problems," and you were so generous as to express your willingness to -undertake that labor. The printing will not begin till after the -16th--Dr. Michael Foster, who has also kindly offered to help me in -the same way, not being sufficiently at leisure till after that date. - -I have been rather ill again lately, but am hoping to benefit by the -country quietude. You, too, I am sorry to hear, are not over strong. -This will make your loan of mind and eyesight all the more appreciated -by me. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 3d June, 1879.] - -Your letter, full of details--just the sort of letter I like to -have--has been among my comforts in these last damp, chill days. The -first week I was not well, and had a troublesome attack of pain, but I -am better, and try to make life interesting by always having something -to do. - -I am wishing Margaret many happy returns of this day, and am making a -picture of you all keeping the little _fête_. A young birthday, when -the young creature is promising, is really a happy time; one can hope -reasonably; and the elder ones may be content that gladness has passed -onward from them into newer vessels. I should like to see the -blue-eyed maid with her bangles on her arms. - -Please give my love to all and sundry who make any sign of love for -me; and any amount you like is ready for you to draw upon. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 10th June, 1879.] - -I am greatly obliged to you for sending me the paper you are to read -to-day; and I appreciate it the more highly because your diligence is -in contrast with the general sluggishness of readers about any but -idle reading. It is melancholy enough that to most of our polite -readers the social factor in psychology would be a dull subject; for -it is certainly no conceit of ours which pronounces it to be the -supremely interesting element in the thinking of our time. - -I confess the word factor has always been distasteful to me as the -name for the grandest of forces. If it were only mathematical I should -not mind, but it has many other associated flavors which spoil it for -me. - -Once more--ever more--thanks. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 10th June, 1879.] - -You will like to know that Mr. Frederic Harrison has sent me a brief -paper, which is to be read to-day at the Metaphysical Society, on the -"Social Factor in Psychology," opening with a quotation from the -"Study of Psychology," and marking throughout his high appreciation of -your father's work. Also the Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, kindly -sent (with his initials only) to Trübner four errata which he had -found in reading the "Study of Psychology." Trübner did not know who -was the kind corrector, and very properly sent the paper to me, -offering to have the corrections made on the plates if I wished it. I -said, "By all means," and have written to thank the Rector. What a -blessing to find a man who really reads a book! - -I have received the enclosed letter, with other papers (about country -lodgings at Sevenoaks for poor children). Will you look out a single -copy of as many of my books (poems included) as you can find, and send -them in a parcel, saying that they come from me for the Free Library? -Please not to mind this trouble, as it is for the _impecunious_ -readers. (You know I am nothing if not "sesquipedalian" and -scientific; and a word of five syllables will do for both qualities.) - -I wish you could see Coquelin in Tabourin. He is a wonderful actor, -when he gets the right part for him. He has a penetrating personality -that one cannot be indifferent to, though possibly it may be -unpleasant to some people. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Blackwood, 12th June, 1879.] - -I was beginning, with my usual apprehensiveness, to fear that you had -no good news to tell me, since I did not hear from you, and I should -have gone on fearing till to-morrow morning if I had not happened to -drive to Godalming and ask for the second post. We only get one post a -day at the benighted Witley, so that if you want me to get a letter -quickly it must be posted early at Edinburgh. - -I am heartily glad to know that the invalid is going on well, and I -trust that the softer air we are having now will help him forward. - -"Theophrastus" seems to be really welcomed by the public. Mr. -Blackwood will be amused to hear that one gentleman told Charles, or -implied, that "Theophrastus" was a higher order of book, and _more -difficult to write_ than a novel. Wait long enough, and every form of -opinion will turn up. However, poor "Theophrastus" is certainly not -composed of "chips" any more than my other books. - -Another amusing bit of news is, that the other day Mrs. Pattison sent -me an extract from the _livret_ of the Paris _Salon_, describing a -picture painted by a French artist from "The Lifted Veil," and -representing the moment when the resuscitated woman, fixing her eyes -on her mistress, accuses her of having poisoned her husband. I call -this amusing--I ought rather to have said typical of the relation my -books generally have with the French mind. - -Thank you for sending me the list of orders. It does interest me to -see the various country demands. I hope the movement will continue to -cheer us all, and you are sure to let me know everything that is -pleasant, so I do not need to ask for that kindness. - -The weather is decidedly warmer, and Tuesday was a perfectly glorious -day. But rain and storm have never let us rest long together. I am not -very bright, and am ready to interpret everything in the saddest -sense, but I have no definite ailment. - -My best regards to the convalescent, who, I have no doubt, will write -to me when he is able to do so. But I am only one of many who will be -glad to hear from him. - -[Sidenote: Letter from Madame Bodichon to Miss Bonham-Carter, 12th -June, 1879.] - - "I spent an hour with Marian (5th June). She was more - delightful than I can say, and left me in good spirits for - her--though she is wretchedly thin, and looks, in her long, - loose, black dress, like the black shadow of herself. She - said she had so much to do that she must keep well--'the - world was so _intensely interesting_.' She said she would - come _next year_ to see me. We both agreed in the great love - we had for life. In fact, I think she will do more for us - than ever." - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 20th June, 1879.] - -I have been having my turn of illness of rather a sharp kind. -Yesterday, when your letter came, I was in more acute pain than I have -ever known in my life before, but before the morning was over I was -sufficiently relieved to read your pleasant news. I am writing in bed, -but am in that most keenly conscious ease which comes after unusual -suffering. The way in which the public takes "Theophrastus" is really -a comfort to me. I have had some letters, not of the complimentary, -but of the grateful kind, which are an encouragement to believe in the -use of writing. But you would be screamingly amused with one, -twenty-three pages long (from an Edinburgh man, by-the-bye), who has -not read the book, but has read of it, and thinks that his own case is -still more worthy of presentation than Merman's. - -I think a valuable series (or couple of volumes) might be made up from -"Maga" of articles written _hot_ by travellers and military men, and -not otherwise republished--chronicles and descriptions by -eye-witnesses--which might be material for historians. - -What a comfort that the Afghan war is concluded! But on the back of it -comes the black dog of Indian finance, which means, alas! a great deal -of hardship to poor Hindûs. Let me hear more news of you before long. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 29th June, 1879.] - -Your description of the effects you feel from the restless, tormenting -winds would serve well to represent my experience too. It seems -something incredible written in my memory that when I was a little -girl I loved the wind--used to like to walk about when it was blowing -great guns. And now the wind is to me what it was to early peoples--a -demon-god, cruelly demanding all sorts of human sacrifices. Thank you, -dear, for caring whether I have any human angels to guard me. None are -permanently here except my servants, but Sir James Paget has been down -to see me, I have a very comfortable country practitioner to watch -over me from day to day, and there is a devoted friend who is backward -and forward continually to see that I lack nothing. - -It is a satisfaction to me that you felt the need for "Debasing the -Moral Currency" to be written. I was determined to do it, though it -might make me a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to all the -comic tribe. - -Do not rate my illness too high in the scale of mortal misery. I am -prone to make much of my ailments, and am among the worst at enduring -pain. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 29th June, 1879.] - -Thank you for sending me the pretty little book.[37] I am deeply -touched by the account of its origin, and I remember well everything -you said to me of Mr. Brown in old days when he was still with you. I -had only cut a very little way into the volume when a friend came and -carried it off, but my eyes had already been arrested by some remarks -on the character of Harold Transome, which seemed to me more -penetrating and finely felt than almost anything I have read in the -way of printed comment on my own writing. When my friend brings back -the volume I shall read it reverentially, and most probably with a -sense of being usefully admonished. For praise and sympathy arouse -much more self-suspicion and sense of shortcoming than all the blame -and depreciation of all the Pepins. - -I am better, and I hope on the way to complete recovery, but I am -still at some distance from that goal. Perhaps if the winds would give -one some rest from their tormenting importunity, both you and I should -get on faster. - -I am looking forward to reading the "Recollections of Ekowe" in -"Maga," which came to me yesterday, with its list of my own doings and -misdoings on the cover. - -Does not this Zulu war seem to you a horribly bad business? - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 30th June, 1879.] - -Sir Henry Maine has sent me the one letter that has rejoiced my heart -about the "Study of Psychology." He says: "In this branch of Mr. -Lewes's studies I am almost as one of the ignorant, but I think I have -understood every sentence in the book, and I believe I have gained -great knowledge from it. It has been the most satisfactory piece of -work I have done for a long time." I have written to tell him that he -has rescued me from my scepticism as to any one's reading a serious -book except the author or editor. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 2d July, 1879.] - -The sight of your handwriting on the pamphlet sent me urges me to do -the sooner what I should have already done but for a rather sharp -illness, which has kept me chiefly in bed for nearly a fortnight, and -from which I am not yet quite free. - -I enclose a copy of Michael Foster's draft of conditions for the -studentship, which I put into the lawyer's hands some ten or twelve -days ago, and which is now come to me drawn up in legal form. You said -it would interest you to see the draft, and I have been bearing this -in mind, but have not been able to go to the desk where the copy lay. - -I hope to hear that you have been going on well despite the cruel, -restless winds and sad intermittence of sunshine. On the 12th I am -going to have two daughters-in-law, _five_ grandchildren, and servant -for a week--if I can get well enough, as I have good hope now that I -shall. The strawberries will be ripe then, and as I don't eat any -myself it would be dolorous not to be able to have the children, and -see them enjoy the juicy blessing. - -[Sidenote: Letter to John Blackwood, 16th July, 1879.] - -I was beginning to want some news of you, and was almost ready to ask -for it. It is the more welcome for having had time to ripen into a -decidedly good report of your condition. About myself I have a very -poor story to tell, being now in the fifth week of a troublesome -illness, in which, like you, I have been partly fed on "poisonous -decoctions." To-day, however, happens to show a considerable -improvement in my symptoms, and I have been walking in the warmer air -with more ease than hitherto. Driving I have not been able to manage -for some time, the motion of the carriage shaking me too much. The -best of care has been taken of me. I have an excellent country doctor -(Mr. Parsons of Godalming) who watches me daily; and Sir James Paget -and Dr. Andrew Clark have been down to add their supervision. I begin -to think that if I can avoid any evil condition, such as a chill that -would bring on a relapse, I may soon be pretty well again. The point -to be achieved is to stop the wasting of my not too solid flesh. - -I am glad to hear that the third edition of "Theophrastus" has had so -lively a movement. If the remainder should be sold off I think it -would be well just to print a small number of copies to carry on, and -avoid bringing out a cheaper edition too soon after people have been -paying for the expensive one. - -I have been always able to write my letters and read my proofs, -usually in bed before the fatigue of dressing, but the rest of my time -has been very unprofitable--spent chiefly in pain and languor. I am -feeling easy now, and you will well understand that after undergoing -pain this ease is opening paradise. Invalids must be excused for being -eloquent about themselves. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 22d July, 1879.] - -I feel a perhaps too selfish need to tell you that things have gone -ill with me since I last wrote to you. Why do I want to let you know -this not agreeable news about myself? Chiefly because I want you to be -quite clear that if I do not write to say, "When can you come to me?" -it is not from indifference, but from misfortune of another sort. -Meanwhile it will do me good to have little items of news from you, -when you can find half an hour for the kind deed of writing me a -letter. What helps me most is to be told things about others, and your -letters are just of the sort I like to have. - -I am just now in one of my easier hours, and the demon wind has -abated. He seems to enter into my pains with hideous rejoicing. - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 7th Aug. 1879.] - -Thank you for your kind note. There are to be more than as many proofs -as you have already had, for which I must crave the valuable aid of -your reading. - -You will understand all the better how much comfort it is to me to -have your help as well as Professor Foster's, when I tell you that for -the last eight weeks I have been seriously out of health, and have -often been suffering much pain--a state which I imagine you know by -experience to heighten all real anxieties, and usually to create -unreal. - -It cheers me to be told by you that you think the volume interesting. -In reading the MS. again and again I had got into a state of tremor -about it which deprived me of judgment--just as if it were writing of -my own, which I could not trust myself to pronounce upon. - -I hope that your own health, and Mrs. Sully's too, will have been -benefited by your change from south to north. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 11th Aug. 1879.] - -I think that I am really getting better, and shall have to stay among -the minority in this world a little longer than I had expected. - -Will you send me word how long you shall be at liberty, and whether -you would think it worth while to come down to me one morning and stay -till the afternoon of the following day? Your letter is delightful to -me. Several spiritual kisses for it. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 19th Aug. 1879.] - -Thank you for your sweet affection. I have had rather a trying -illness, which lasted, without great relief, for nearly eight weeks. -But I hope that I am now out of it--that is, so far established that I -may go on without a relapse. The cold weather was against me, as it -was and is against much more important matters. The days of warmth and -sunlight which have now and then blessed us have been my best -medicine, though I acknowledge the benefit of pepsin and steel, and -many other drugs. The gray skies and recurring rain are peculiarly -dispiriting to me, and one seems to feel their influence all the more -for the wide, beautiful view of field and hill which they sadden and -half conceal. In town one thinks less of the sky. - -If you are ever writing to our dear Mrs. William Smith do give my love -to her, and tell her I am very grateful to her for the letter she -wrote me with the postmark _Ventnor_ upon it. With her usual delicacy -of feeling she did not send her address, so that I could not write in -return. - -[Sidenote: Letter to William Blackwood, 3d Sept. 1879.] - -I am much obliged to you for writing me your letter of pleasant news. - -It is wonderful how "Theophrastus" goes on selling in these bad times, -and I have only to hope in addition that the buyers will be the better -for it. Apparently we shall get through this last edition before -Christmas, and then perhaps you will think of adding the volume to the -Cabinet Edition. I am especially rejoiced to hear that your uncle is -better again, and I trust that Strathtyrum is sharing our sunshine, -which will be the best cure for him as for me. I am getting strong, -and also am gaining flesh on my moderate scale. It really makes a -difference to one's spirits to think that the harvest may now possibly -be got in without utter ruin to the produce and unhappy producers. But -this year will certainly prove a serious epoch, and initiate many -changes in relation to farming. I fear, from what I have read, that -the rich Lothians will have to be called compassionately the poor -Lothians. By the way, if you happen to want any translation done from -the French, and have not just the right person to do it, I think I can -recommend a Miss Bradley Jenkins, of 50 Cornwall Road, Wesbourne Park, -as one who has an unusually competent knowledge of French. We sat side -by side on the same form translating Miss Edgeworth into French when -we were girls. - -I have not seen her for many years, but I know that she has been -engaged in a high order of teaching, and I have lately heard from her -that she is anxious to get work of the kind in question. She already -spoke French well when we were pupils together, and she has since been -an unintermitting student. - -I wonder, talking of translators, how the young Mr. Ferrier is going -on, who translated Kaufmann's pamphlet on "Deronda." What Mr. -Blackwood told me of him interested me about his future. - -Oblige us all by not falling into another accident when the next -hunting season comes. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 3d Sept. 1879.] - -Before I received your letter the other day I was intending to write -to you to ask whether, now that I am stronger and the fine weather -shows some signs of permanence, you feel any revival of the -inclination to come and see me for a couple of days. I hardly like to -propose your taking the journey, now that you are not being brought -near me by other visits--for the railway from you to us is, I think, -rather tiresome. But if your inclination really lies towards coming -you will be affectionately welcomed. - -About the sea-side I am hopeless. The latter part of October is likely -to be too cold for me to move about without risk of chills; and I hope -to be back in town before the end of the month. I am not very fond of -the sea-side, and this year it is likely to be crowded with people who -have been hindered by the bad weather from going earlier. I prefer the -Surrey hills and the security from draughts in one's own home. The one -attraction of a coast place to me is a great breadth of sand to pace -on when it is in its fresh firmness after the fall of the tide. But -the sea itself is melancholy to me, only a little less so under warm -sunlight, with plenty of fishing-smacks changing their shadows. All -this is to let you know why I do not yield to the attraction of being -with you, where we could chat as much or as little as we liked. I feel -very much your affectionateness in wishing to have me near you. - -Write me word soon whether you feel able to come as far as this for my -sake. - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 10th Sept. 1879.] - -I have read the article[38] with very grateful feelings. I think that -he would himself have regarded it as a generally just estimate. And I -am much obliged to you for sending it to me in proof. - -Your selection of subjects for remark, and the remarks themselves, are -in accordance with my feeling to a comforting extent; and I shall -always remain your debtor for writing the article. - -I trust you will not be forced to omit anything about his scientific -and philosophical work, because that is the part of his life's labor -which he most valued. - -Perhaps you a little underrate the (original) effect of his "Life of -Goethe in Germany." It was received with enthusiasm, and an immense -number of copies, in both the English and German form, have been sold -in Germany since its appearance in 1854. - -I wish you were allowed to put your name to the article. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 17th Sept. 1879.] - -I am getting strong now after a long spell of medical discipline. All -these long months I have been occupied with my husband's manuscripts: -also with the foundation of a Physiological Studentship, which is my -monument to his memory, and which is now all settled, as you may -perhaps have seen by advertisements.[39] But I am not yet through the -proof-reading of the final volume of "Problems of Life and Mind," -which will contain the last sheets he ever wrote. - -I hear very good accounts of Madame Bodichon, who is coming to me for -a couple of days on the 29th. - -You are wonderful for life and energy, in spite of your delicate -looks. May you have all the strength you need for your sympathetic -tasks! - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 7th Oct. 1879.] - -I have not yet thanked you--and I do so now very gratefully--for the -help you have given me in my sad and anxious task. Your eyes have been -a most precious aid, not only as a matter of fact, but as a ground of -confidence. For I am not at all a good proof-reader, and have a -thorough distrust of myself. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 18th Oct. 1879.] - -I cannot wish not to have been cheered by your triple letter, even -though I have caused you to rise earlier in the morning, and to feel a -disproportionate remorse. "Maggior difetto men vergogna lava," as says -Virgil to the blushing Dante. And you have given me the fuller measure -because I had to wait a little. - -Your legend of "Fair Women" interests me very much. I feel a citizen -of the world again, knowing all the news. But the core of good news -in your letter is that your husband is well again, and again happy in -his work. Your collapse is what I feared for you; and you must call -the getting change of air and scene--I was going to say "a duty," but -are you one of those wonderful beings who find everything easier under -that name? But at least one prefers doing a hard duty to grimacing -with a pretence of pleasure in things that are no pleasure. - -I am greatly comforted this morning by the fact that the (apparently) -right man is found for the George Henry Lewes Studentship--an ardent -worker, who could not have carried on his pursuit without this help. I -know you are not unmindful of what touches me deeply. - -Go on your visit, dear, and come back well--then show yourself without -unnecessary delay to your loving friend. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, Saturday, 20th Oct. 1879.] - -I have had a delightful bit of news from Dr. Foster this morning. He -had mentioned to me before that there was an Edinburgh student whom he -had in his mind as the right one to elect. This morning he writes: -"The trustees meet to-morrow to receive my nomination. I have chosen -Dr. Charles Roy, an Edinburgh man, and Scotchman--not one of my own -pupils. He is, I think, the most promising--by far the most -promising--of our young physiologists, putting aside those who do not -need the pecuniary assistance of the studentship. And the help comes -to him just when it is most needed--he is in full swing of work, and -was casting about for some means of supporting himself which would -least interfere with his work, when I called his attention to the -studentship. I feel myself very gratified that I can, at the very -outset, recommend just the man, as it appears to me, for the post." - -This is a thing your father would have chosen as a result of his life. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, Tuesday, 27th Oct. 1879.] - -I have just had some news that grieves me. Mr. Blackwood is -dangerously ill, and I fear, from Mr. William's letter, that there is -little hope of recovery. He will be a heavy loss to me. He has been -bound up with what I most cared for in my life for more than twenty -years; and his good qualities have made many things easy to me that, -without him, would often have been difficult.[40] - -I wrote to Mr. Trübner to tell him that the printing of the "Problems" -being finished, I should be glad if he would arrange with you about -the conditions of publication. Bear in mind your father's wish that -the volumes should not be made dearer than necessary. - -I am going to Weybridge on Friday, and I intend to be at the Priory by -Saturday before dusk. But it is _just possible_ I may be detained till -Monday morning. So if you have any good occupation for Sunday you had -better call on your way home on Monday. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Eleanor Cross, 29th Oct. 1879.] - -Your affectionate note would quite have determined me to do what, when -your brother kindly proposed it, raised a certain longing in me. I -thought that I should like to see you all in the remembered home -again. But I have had a little check in health, and I am feeling so -depressed that I shrink from making any engagement which involves -others. - -A visitor to-day and my own languor threatens to throw me backward in -my arrangements for leaving, and I have a sense of impossibility -about everything that, under other conditions, would be a pleasure. I -am afraid lest a fit of sadness should make me an oppression to you -all; and my conclusion this morning is that I must give up the few -hours' happiness of feeling your family love around me as I used to -do, and simply go straight up to town with my servants. - -But if Friday morning brings me better hopes I will telegraph to you, -since you allow me to wait till the eleventh hour. If you receive no -telegram you will understand that I am still too downhearted to -venture on a visit even to those who are among the best-loved of my -friends. In that case you must all make me amends for my loss by -coming to see me in the old place in town. - - Came to Weybridge on 31st October, and returned to the Priory - on 1st November. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 8th Nov. 1879.] - -I came here just a week ago, and I had a superstition that you would -come to me yesterday. But I used no enchantments--and so you didn't -come. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 22d Nov. 1879, from the -Priory.] - -I am very grateful to you for your kind letter. News about you all had -been much desired by me; but I have now so many business letters to -write that I am apt to defer such as are not absolutely necessary. The -careful index is a sign of your effective industry, and I have no -doubt that it will be a great help to yourself as well as to your -readers. One very often needs an index to one's own writing. My chief -objects are quite completed now. The Dr. Roy appointed to the -studentship is held by competent persons to be the most hopeful of our -young physiologists: and there is a volume of 501 pages (the last) of -"Problems of Life and Mind" ready to appear next month. I am quite -recovered from the ailment which made me good for little in the -summer, and indeed am stronger than I ever expected to be again. -People are very good to me, and I am exceptionally blessed in many -ways; but more blessed are the dead who rest from their labors, and -have not to dread a barren, useless survival. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 6th Dec. 1879, from the -Priory.] - -I am very well, dear kind friend, all things considered. One cannot -help getting occasional chills and headaches in this hard, wintry -time. - -Oh, yes, I read the _Times_ with great interest, and am much concerned -to know what my contemporaries are doing. My time is very fully -occupied, for I have now to write a great many letters, such as used -to be written for me, and I would willingly spend the time thus taken -up in another sort of reading and writing. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 5th Jan. 1880.] - -Thank you a thousand times, my dear friend, for your tender New Year's -greeting and inquiries. I have passed well from "under the saws and -harrows" of the severe cold, and am better, both in apparent organic -soundness and in strength for all occupation, than I once thought was -possible for me. - -Our dear Barbara is painting in water colors again from her -window--just as of old. I know you will be glad to hear of this. And I -am now seeing many other friends, who interest me and bring me reports -of their several worlds. The great public calamities of the past year -have helped to quiet one's murmuring spirit in relation to private -sorrows, and the prospect for the future is not yet very bright. One -thinks of mothers like Mrs. Ruck, whose best-loved sons are in -Afghanistan. But we must live as much as we can for human joy, -dwelling on sorrow and pain only so far as the consciousness of it may -help us in striving to remedy them. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 19th Jan. 1880.] - -Life has seemed worse without my glimpses of you. And now I have not -the amends of thinking that you are out of our Egyptian darkness and -getting health in the country. I must drive over to ask about you as -soon as I can. - - As the year went on, George Eliot began to see all her old - friends again. But her life was nevertheless a life of - heart-loneliness. Accustomed as she had been for so many - years to solitude _à deux_, the want of close companionship - continued to be very bitterly felt. She was in the habit of - going with me very frequently to the National Gallery, and to - other exhibitions of pictures, to the British Museum - sculptures, and to South Kensington. This constant - association engrossed me completely, and was a new interest - to her. A bond of mutual dependence had been formed between - us. On the 28th March she came down to Weybridge and stayed - till the 30th; and on the 9th April it was finally decided - that our marriage should take place as soon, and as - privately, as might be found practicable. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Eleanor Cross, 13th April, 1880.] - -You can hardly think how sweet the name sister is to me, that I have -not been called by for so many, many years. - -Without your tenderness I do not believe it would have been possible -for me to accept this wonderful renewal of my life. Nothing less than -the prospect of being loved and welcomed by you all could have -sustained me. But now I cherish the thought that the family life will -be the richer and not the poorer through your brother's great gift of -love to me. - -Yet I quail a little in facing what has to be gone through--the -hurting of many whom I care for. You are doing everything you can to -help me, and I am full of gratitude to you all for his sake as well as -my own. The springs of affection are reopened in me, and it will make -me better to be among you--more loving and trustful. - -I valued Florence's little visit very much. You and she will come -again--will you not?--to your sister. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Frederic Harrison, 19th April, 1880.] - -I have found the spot in "The Prelude" where the passage I mentioned -occurs. It is in book viii., "The Retrospect," towards the end: - - "The human nature unto which I felt - That I belonged, and reverenced with love, - Was not a punctual presence, but a spirit - Diffused through time and space, with aid derived - Of evidence from monuments, erect, - Prostrate, or leaning towards their common rest - In earth, the widely scattered wreck sublime - Of vanished nations." - -The bit of brickwork in the rock is - - "With aid derived from evidence." - -I think you would find much to suit your purpose in "The Prelude," -such as-- - - "There is - One great society alone on earth: - The noble Living and the noble Dead." - -Except for travelling, and for popular distribution, I prefer Moxon's -one-volumed edition of Wordsworth to any selection. No selection gives -you the perfect gems to be found in single lines, or in half a dozen -lines which are to be found in the "dull" poems. - -I am sorry Matthew Arnold has not included the sonnet beginning-- - - "I griev'd for Buonaparté with a vain - And an unthinking grief--" - -and which has these precious lines, - - "'Tis not in battles that from youth we train - The governor who must be wise and good, - And temper with the sternness of the brain - Thoughts motherly, and meek as womanhood. - _Wisdom doth live with children round her knees._" - -Has he the magnificent sonnet on Toussaint l'Ouverture? I don't know -where there is anything finer than the last eight lines of it. - -Please don't acknowledge this note, else you will neutralize my -pleasure in sending it by making me feel that I have given you -trouble. - -[Sidenote: Letter to the Hon. Lady Lytton, 24th April, 1880.] - -The beautiful photograph has reached me safely, and I am very grateful -to you for your kindness in sending it to me. In comparing it with the -photograph which you gave me seven or eight years ago I see the effect -of a saddening experience which the years must bring to us all, but, -to my feeling, the face is the more endearing because of that effect. - -You have been very often in my thoughts, because I have associated you -with public affairs, and have imagined sympathetically how they must -have affected your private life. I am sure that this momentous -experience in India has been a hard discipline both for you and for -Lord Lytton. I can imagine he has often been sick at heart with the -near vision, which his post forces on him, of human meanness and -rancor. You, too, must have gathered some melancholy knowledge of that -sort, which has perhaps changed a little the curves of the mouth and -the glance of the eyes since those Vienna days, when the delightful M. -de Villers helped to make the hours pleasant to us. - -I saw the photographs of your daughters, which gave me an idea how -fast the dramatic authoress has developed physically as well as -mentally. When I first saw her at Vienna she was the prettiest little -rosebud. - -Mrs. Strachey called the other day when I was out, and among other -reasons for my being sorry not to have seen her, was the having missed -some authentic news about your probable movements. What happens to you -will always have interest for me, since I have long been, with sincere -regard, yours most truly. - - On the 24th April George Eliot came down to Weybridge, and - stayed till the 26th. - -[Sidenote: Letter to James Sully, 26th April, 1880.] - -I am deeply obliged to you for the care with which you have treated -the final volume of "The Problems" in the _Academy_, which you have -kindly sent me. I think you could hardly have written more effectively -towards exciting an interest in the work in the minds of the -comparatively few who really care for the study of psychology. You -have added one more to the obligations which will make me always yours -gratefully. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 5th May, 1880.] - -I have something to tell you which will doubtless be a great surprise -to you; but since I have found that other friends, less acquainted with -me and my life than you are, have given me their sympathy, I think that -I can count on yours. I am going to do what not very long ago I should -myself have pronounced impossible for me, and therefore I should not -wonder at any one else who found my action incomprehensible. By the -time you receive this letter I shall (so far as the future can be -matter of assertion) have been married to Mr. J. W. Cross, who, you -know, is a friend of years, a friend much loved and trusted by Mr. -Lewes, and who, now that I am alone, sees his happiness in the -dedication of his life to me. This change in my position will make no -change in my care for Mr. Lewes's family, and in the ultimate -disposition of my property. Mr. Cross has a sufficient fortune of his -own. We are going abroad for a few months, and I shall not return to -live at this house. Mr. Cross has taken the lease of a house, No. 4 -Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where we shall spend the winter and early spring, -making Witley our summer home. - -I indulge the hope that you will some day look at the river from the -windows of our Chelsea house, which is rather quaint and picturesque. - -Please tell Bessie[41] for me, with my love to her. I cannot write to -more than two or three persons. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 5th May, 1880.] - -A great, momentous change is going to take place in my life. My -indisposition last week and several other subsequent circumstances -have hindered me from communicating it to you, and the time has been -but short since the decision was come to. But with your permission -Charles will call on you and tell you what he can on Saturday. - -Yours and Emily's ever, with unchanging love. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1880.] - -_May 6._--Married this day at 10.15 to John Walter Cross, at St. -George's, Hanover Square. Present, Charles, who gave me away, Mr. and -Mrs. Druce, Mr. Hall, William, Mary, Eleanor, and Florence Cross. We -went back to the Priory, where we signed our wills. Then we started -for Dover and arrived there a little after five o'clock. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Eleanor Cross, 9th May, 1880.] - -Your letter was a sweet greeting to us on our arrival here yesterday. - -We had a millennial cabin on the deck of the Calais-Douvres, and -floated over the strait as easily as the saints float upward to heaven -(in the pictures). At Amiens we were very comfortably housed, and paid -two enraptured visits, evening and morning, to the cathedral. I was -delighted with J.'s delight in it. And we read our dear old cantos of -the "Inferno" that we were reading a year ago, declining afterwards on -"Eugénie Grandet." The nice woman who waited on us made herself very -memorable to me by her sketch of her own life. She went to England -when she was nineteen as a lady's maid--had been much _ennuyée de sa -mère_, detested _les plaisirs_, liked only her regular every-day work -and _la paix_. - -Here we have a very fair _appartement_, and plenty of sunlight, _au -premier_. Before dinner we walked up to the Arc de l'Étoile and back -again, enjoying the lovely greenth and blossoms of the horse-chestnuts, -which are in their first glory, innocent of dust or of one withered -petal. This morning at twelve o'clock we are going to the Russian -church, where J. has never been, and where I hope we shall hear the -wonderful intoning and singing as I heard it years ago. - -This is the chronicle of our happy married life, three days long--all -its happiness conscious of a dear background in those who are loving -us at Weybridge, at Thornhill, and at Ranby. - -You are all inwoven into the pattern of my thoughts, which would have -a sad lack without you. I like to go over again in imagination all the -scene in the church and in the vestry, and to feel every loving look -from the eyes of those who were rejoicing for us. Besides Professor -Sellar's letter, which touched J. with grateful surprise, we have had -one to him from Mr. Frederic Harrison, saying everything affectionate, -and two very finely felt letters from Edith Simcox--one to him -enclosing the one to me. Certainly, she has a rare generosity and -elevation which find their easy channel in writing. My love to Henry -and to the gentle Berthe,[42] who was an invisible presence at our -wedding. - -I think I must thank Florence, too, for her letter to J.; for we -accept to the full the principle of "what is mine is thine" on each -side. What most comforted him this morning was a letter from Albert -Druce about the Chelsea house. His usual exclamation over anything -from Albert is that his brother-in-law is the most satisfactory of -men! - -Write us word about everything, and consider yourselves all very much -loved and spiritually petted by your loving sister. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 21st May, 1880, from Grenoble.] - -This place is so magnificently situated, in a smiling valley, with the -Isère flowing through it, and surrounded by grand and various lines of -mountains, and we were so enraptured by our expedition yesterday to -the Grande Chartreuse that we congratulate ourselves greatly on our -choice of route. I think it unlikely that we shall want to wander -beyond the second week in July. We shall begin to long for home just -when the rest of the London world are longing for travel. We are -seeing nature in her happiest moment now--the foliage on all the -tremendous heights, the soft slopes, and the richly clad valleys on -the way to the Chartreuse is all fresh and tender, shone through by a -sunlight which cherishes and does not burn us. I had but one regret in -seeing the sublime beauty of the Grande Chartreuse. It was that the -Pater had not seen it. I would still give up my own life willingly if -he could have the happiness instead of me. But marriage has seemed to -restore me to my old self. I was getting hard, and if I had decided -differently, I think I should have become very selfish. To feel daily -the loveliness of a nature close to me, and to feel grateful for it, -is the fountain of tenderness and strength to endure. - -Glorious weather always, and I am very well--quite amazingly able to -go through fatigue. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Miss Florence Cross, 25th May, 1880.] - -Our life since we wrote to you has been a chapter of -delights--Grenoble--Grande Chartreuse--Chambéry--paradisiacal walk to -Les Charmettes--roses gathered in Jean Jacques' garden--Mont Cenis -Tunnel and emergence into Italian sunshine. Milan, comfortable -_appartement_, delicious privacy, and great minds condescending to -relax themselves! We got here yesterday, and of course our first walk -was to the post, where we found your delightful budget and other -letters, which we took to a _café_ in the grand _galleria_ and read at -our ease to the accompaniment of tea. - -Two of my letters yesterday touched me very gratefully. One was from -"Brother Jimmy"--the prettiest letter possible. The other letter that -moved me was one from my own brother. Then J. had a graceful letter of -congratulation from Mr. Henry James, who is still at Florence. I think -you did not send that letter of Mr. Edmund Gurney's which you mention. -I am fond of seeing the letters which put my friends in an amiable -light for my imagination. And now that I have had that charming letter -from my new brother in America, I feel that my family initiation is -complete. No woman was ever more sweetly received by brothers and -sisters than I have been; and it is a happy, new longing in my life -that I may return into their bosoms some of the gladness they have -poured into mine. - -I have been uninterruptedly well, and feel quite strong with all sorts -of strength except strong-mindedness. We are going to hear the music -in the Duomo at eleven, and after that we intend to pay our first -visit to the Brera gallery. It is our present plan to stay here for -some days, and we enjoy the thought of a little stationary life such -as we have not had since we left Paris. We often talk of our sisters, -oftener think of them. You are our children, you know. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Isaac P. Evans, 26th May, 1880.] - -Your letter was forwarded to me here, and it was a great joy to me to -have your kind words of sympathy, for our long silence has never -broken the affection for you which began when we were little ones. My -husband, too, was much pleased to read your letter. I have known his -family for eleven years, and they have received me among them very -lovingly. The only point to be regretted in our marriage is that I am -much older than he; but his affection has made him choose this lot of -caring for me rather than any other of the various lots open to him. - -Emily Clarke has lately sent me rather a sad account of Sarah's[43] -health. I trust that it is now better, for I think it is her lungs -that chiefly trouble her, and summer may act beneficently on them. -Please give my love to her, and tell her that I like the assurance of -her share in the good wishes you send me. - -I have often heard of Frederick[44] through the admiration of those -who have heard him preach; and it has been a happy thought to me that -you and Sarah must feel it a great comfort to have him as well as -Walter settled near you. - -Edith is the only one of your children whom I have seen since they -have been grown up, and I thought her a noble-looking woman. - -We are going to remain abroad until some time in July, and shall then -return to the Heights, Witley, Surrey. Our home in London will be 4 -Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, looking on a very picturesque bit of the river. - -I hope that your own health is quite good now, and that you are able -to enjoy the active life which I know you are fond of. Always your -affectionate sister. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 28th May, 1880.] - -Many thanks for your delightful letter, which came to me yesterday, -with a loving though brief letter from Mrs. Congreve to keep it -company in making the day agreeable. - -We arrived here on Monday, and have been induced by a nice quiet -apartment and pleasant attendance to carry out our plan of resting -here and deliberately seeing what is to be seen in this cheerful, -prosperous city. I am glad to find that the Luini pictures come up to -my remembrance, and that J. is much impressed by his introduction to -them. I continue remarkably well, and am every day surprising myself -by the amount of walking, standing, and looking that I can go through. -To-morrow or the next day we intend to go on to Verona, then, after a -sufficient pause to enjoy that glorious place, we shall move on to -Padua and Venice, where it will be best for you to send anything you -may have to send. I like to see the letters. They make one realize the -fact of one's home and little world there amid the dreaminess of -foreign travel. We take our meals in our own apartment and see nothing -of our fellow-guests in the hotel--only hear their British and -American voices when they air themselves in the _cortile_ after their -dinner. - -The weather has hitherto been delicious, not excessively warm, always -with a pleasant movement in the air; but this morning there is a -decided advance in heat, and we shall both have our theory of great -heat being the best thing for us well tested in the next month. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 29th May and 1st June, 1880, -from Verona.] - -The change I make in the date of this letter is a sign of the -difficulty you well know that one finds in writing all the letters one -wants to write while travelling. Ever since Charles forwarded to me -your dear letter while I was in Paris I have been meaning to write to -you. That letter was doubly sweet to me because it was written before -you received mine, _intended_ to inform you of my marriage before it -appeared in the newspapers. Charles says that my friends are chiefly -hurt because I did not tell them of the approaching change in my life. -But I really did not finally, absolutely, decide--I was in a state of -doubt and struggle--until only a fortnight before the event took -place, so that at last everything was done in the utmost haste. -However, there were four or five friends, of whom you were one, to -whom I was resolved to write, so that they should at least get my -letter on the morning of the 6th. - -I had more than once said to Mr. Cross that you were that one of my -friends who required the least explanation on the subject--who would -spontaneously understand our marriage. But Charles sends me word that -my friends in general are very sympathetic, and I should like to -mention to you that Bessie[45] is one whose very kind words he has -sent to me, for you may have an opportunity of giving my love to her, -and telling her that it is very sweet to me to feel that her affection -is constant to me in this as it was in other crises of my life. I -wish, since you can no longer come in and out among us as you used to -do, that you already knew my husband better. His family welcome me -with the uttermost tenderness. All this is wonderful blessing falling -to me beyond my share, after I had thought that my life was ended, and -that, so to speak, my coffin was ready for me in the next room. Deep -down below there is a hidden river of sadness, but this must always be -with those who have lived long--and I am able to enjoy my newly -reopened life. I shall be a better, more loving creature than I could -have been in solitude. To be constantly, lovingly grateful for the -gift of a perfect love is the best illumination of one's mind to all -the possible good there may be in store for man on this troublous -little planet. - -We leave Verona to-day, and stay a little at Padua on our way to -Venice. Hitherto we have had delightful weather, and just the -temperature we rejoice in. We are both fond of warmth, and could bear -more heat than we have the prospect of at present. - -Yesterday we had a drive on the skirting heights of Verona, and saw -the vast fertile plain around, with the Euganean hills, blue in the -distance, and the Apennines just dimly visible on the clear margin of -the horizon. I am always made happier by seeing well-cultivated land. - -We came into Italy by way of Grenoble (seeing the Grande Chartreuse), -Chambéry, and the Mont Cenis Tunnel; since then we have been staying -at Milan and enjoying the Luini frescoes and a few other great things -there. The great things are always by comparison few, and there is -much everywhere one would like to help seeing, after it has once -served to give one a notion of historical progression. - -We shall stay at Venice for ten days or a fortnight; so if you have a -scribe, or would write yourself, to tell me that all is going on well -with you, the letter would not, as the Scotch say, "go amissing." - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 9th June, 1880, from Venice.] - -We both enjoyed reading your letter on the morning after our arrival -at this enchanting city, where the glorious light, with comparative -stillness and total absence of dust, makes a paradise much more -desirable than that painted by Tintoretto on the wall of the Consiglio -Maggiore. Nothing but the advent of mosquitoes would make it easy for -us to tear ourselves away from this place, where every prospect -pleases, but also where one is obliged to admit that man is somewhat -vile. I am sadly disappointed in the aspect of the Venetian populace. -Even physically they look less endowed than I thought them when we -were here under the Austrian dominion. We have hardly seen a sweet or -noble woman's face since we arrived; but the men are not quite so -ill-looking as the women. The singing here (by itinerant performers in -gondolas) is disgraceful to Venice and to Italy. Coarse voices, much -out of tune, make one shudder when they strike suddenly under the -window. - -Our days here are passed quite deliciously. We see a few beautiful -pictures or other objects of interest, and dwell on them sufficiently -every morning, not hurrying ourselves to do much; and afterwards we -have a _giro_ in our gondola, enjoying the air and the sight of -marvellous Venice from various points of view and under various -aspects. Hitherto we have had no _heat_, only warmth, with a light -breeze. To-day, for the first time, one thinks that violent exercise -must be terribly trying for our red-skinned fellow-mortals at work on -the gondolas and the barges. But for us it is only pleasant to find -the air warm enough for sitting out in the evening. We shall not soon -run away from Venice unless some plague--_e.g._, mosquitoes--should -arise to drive us. We edify ourselves with what Ruskin has written -about Venice, in an agreeable pamphlet shape, using his knowledge -gratefully, and shutting our ears to his wrathful innuendoes against -the whole modern world. And we are now nearly at the end of Alfieri's -autobiography, which is a deeply interesting study of character. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 10th June, 1880.] - -It may well seem incredible to you, for it is hardly credible to -myself, that while I have been longing to write to you ever since I -received your dear letter, I have not found the time to satisfy my -longing. Perhaps you are more able than most people to conceive the -difficulty of getting a clear half-hour between the business of -travelling and the attention to little details of packing and toilet, -over and above the companionship of talk and reading. Certainly I have -thought of you all the more, but you have not known that, and I have -lost my claim to hear about you--a use and wont which I would not -willingly part with. - -I wonder whether you have imagined--I believe that you are quick to -imagine for the benefit of others--all the reasons why it was left at -last to Charles to tell you of the great, once undreamed-of change in -my life. The momentous decision, in fact, was not made till scarcely -more than a fortnight before my marriage; and even if opportunity had -lent itself to my confiding everything to you, I think I could hardly -have done it at a time when your presence filled me rather with a -sense of your and Emily's trouble[46] than with my own affairs. -Perhaps Charles will have told you that the marriage deprives no one -of any good I felt bound to render before--it only gives me a more -strenuous position, in which I cannot sink into the self-absorption -and laziness I was in danger of before. The whole history is something -like a miracle-legend. But instead of any former affection being -displaced in my mind, I seem to have recovered the loving sympathy -that I was in danger of losing. I mean, that I had been conscious of a -certain drying-up of tenderness in me, and that now the spring seems -to have risen again. Who could take your place within me or make me -amends for the loss of you? And yet I should not take it bitterly if -you felt some alienation from me. Such alienation is very natural -where a friend does not fulfil expectations of long standing. - -We have already been ten days at Venice, but we hope to remain as long -again, not fearing the heat, which has hitherto been only a false -alarm in the minds of English travellers. If you could find time to -send me word how you all are--yourself, Dr. Congreve after his -holiday, and Emily, with all her cares about removal--a letter sent to -the _Poste Restante_ here would reach me, even if we had left before -the next ten days were over. We shall hardly be at Witley before the -middle of July: but the sense of neighborhood to you at Witley is -sadly ended now. - - We thought too little of the heat, and rather laughed at - English people's dread of the sun. But the mode of life at - Venice has its peculiar dangers. It is one thing to enjoy - heat when leading an active life, getting plenty of exercise - in riding or rowing in the evenings; it is another thing to - spend all one's days in a gondola--a delicious, dreamy - existence--going from one church to another--from palaces to - picture-galleries--sight-seeing of the most exhaustively - interesting kind--traversing constantly the _piccoli rei_, - which are nothing more than drains, and with bedroom-windows - always open on the great drain of the Grand Canal. The effect - of this continual bad air, and the complete and sudden - deprivation of all bodily exercise, made me thoroughly ill. - As soon as I could be moved we left Venice, on the 23d of - June, and went to Innspruck, where we stayed for a week, and - in the change to the pure, sweet, mountain air I soon - regained strength. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 7th July, 1880, from -Stuttgart.] - -I was made very glad by Gertrude's letter, which assured me that -Witley had been enjoyed by you and the little ones. We stayed six days -at Innspruck, finding it more and more beautiful under the sunshine -which had been wanting to it during our first two days. Then we went -on to Munich, and yesterday we arrived here, as a temporary -resting-place on our way to Wildbad, which, we hope, will put the -finishing-touch to J.'s recovery of his usual health. - -I wish I had been able to let you know in time that you could have -remained a little longer at Witley, as I think we shall hardly be at -home before the 20th if we find Wildbad what we want. Your _Mutter_ is -marvellously well and strong. It seems more natural to her to have -anxiety than to be free from it. Let us hope that she will not run -down like a jelly-fish now that her anxiety is over. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 13th July, 1880, from Wildbad.] - -I received your welcome letter yesterday morning, and felt inclined to -answer it the next minute. J. is quite well again, but is inclined to -linger a little in the sweet air of the Schwarzwald, which comes to -one on gently stirred wings, laden with the scent of the pine -forests. We mean to drive from here to Baden, which is within easy -distance. - -Yesterday we sallied forth for a walk over the mountain, to a place -where we could rest and lunch, returning in the afternoon. The sky was -brilliant. But in half an hour the clouds gathered and threatened a -storm. We were prudent enough to turn back, and by the time we were in -the hotel again the thunder was rolling and the rain pouring down. -This continued till about two o'clock, and then again the sky became -clear. I never saw so incalculable a state of weather as we have in -this valley. One quarter of an hour the blue sky is only flecked by -lightest cirrus clouds, the next it is almost hidden by dark rain -clouds. But we are going to start on our promised expedition this -morning, the sunshine flattering us that it is quite confirmed. - -I think you had better address your next letter _Poste Restante_, -Strasburg, as I am uncertain how long we shall rest at Baden. - - Left Wildbad on the 17th July, and had a delightful drive - through the Black Forest by Herrenalb to Baden, and thence by - Strasburg, Metz, Luxemburg, and Brussels, arriving at Witley - on Monday the 26th of July. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 1st Aug. 1880.] - -We arrived here in all safety last Monday, and if I had not had your -welcome little note this morning I think I should soon have written to -you without any such extra stimulus. - -Mr. Cross had a sharp but brief attack at Venice, due to the -unsanitary influences of that wondrous city in the later weeks of -June. We stayed a little too long there, with a continuous sirocco -blowing, and bad smells under the windows of the hotel; and these -conditions found him a little below par from long protracted anxiety -before our marriage. But ever since we left Venice (on the 23d of -June) he has been getting strong again, and we have enjoyed a -leisurely journey through Germany in constant warmth and sunshine, -save for an occasional thunderstorm. The climate in this beloved -country of ours is a sad exchange, and makes one think of a second bad -harvest, with all its consequences. Still, it is a delight to be at -home and enjoy perfect stillness, after the noisiness of foreign bells -and foreign voices indoors and out. It would be very pretty to pay you -a visit next April, if we are all alive, and I think Mr. Cross would -like it very much. He sends you, hoping you will accept them, his best -remembrances, which have been kept up by our often talking about you. -I have been amazingly well through all the exertion of our travels, -and in the latter half of the time have done a great deal of walking. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor, 2d Aug. 1880.] - -How sweet of you to write me a little welcome as soon as you knew that -I was at home again. - -Yes, we are both well now, and _glad_ to be at home again, though the -change of climate is not of the exhilarating sort. One is so sorry for -all the holiday-makers, whose best enjoyment of these three days would -have been in the clear air and sunshine. - -Do not reproach me for not telling you of my marriage beforehand. It -is difficult to speak of what surprises ourselves, and the decision -was sudden, though not the friendship which led to the decision. - -My heart thoroughly responds to your remembrance of our long--our -thirty-years' relation to each other. Let me tell you this once what I -have said to others--that I value you as one of the purest-minded, -gentlest-hearted women I have ever known, and where such a feeling -exists, friendship can live without much aid from sight. - -We shall probably not be in town again till the beginning of November. -Our address then will be 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where we shall have -an outlook on the river and meadows beyond. Just now we have the -prospect of going on family visits to married sisters, which prevents -us from feeling quite settled. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 12th Aug. 1880.] - -I expected your letter, and expected, too, just the sort of letter I -have received, telling me everything delightfully. I can follow you -everywhere in your journeying except to Ober Wesel. I hope you will -have enjoyed St. Blasien and some of the walks there consecrated by -the beloved Pater's footsteps. We reversed your drive and went to -Freiburg, so that I can enter into your enjoyment of the Höllenthal. I -am glad that your weather has been temperate. Here we have now had -four sunny and really hot days, and this morning promises to be the -fifth. That is consolatory as to the harvest, and is very agreeable as -to our private life. The last two evenings we have walked in the -garden after eight o'clock--the first time by starlight, the second -under a vapory sky, with the red moon setting. The air was perfectly -still and warm, and I felt no need of extra clothing. - -Our life has had no more important events than calls from neighbors -and our calls in return. To-morrow we pay our visit to the Druces at -Sevenoaks, where, you may remember, Mr. Druce has built a beautiful -house. At the beginning of September we are to visit Mr. and Mrs. -Otter at Ranby, and after that we shall go to Six-Mile Bottom for a -day or two. Then our wanderings will be over. - -I went to the Priory the other day, and found a treatise on Blood -Pressure, by Dr. Roy, which he had sent me there, and which he has -published as the "George Henry Lewes Student." I imagine that he has -come to pursue his studies in England, as he intended to do. Delbeuf's -article on the last volume of the "Problems" (in the Belgian -_Athenæum_) is very nicely done. He has read the book. - -I am pretty well, but find myself more languid than I was when abroad. -I think the cause is perhaps the moisture of the climate. There is -something languorous in this climate, or, rather, in its effects. J. -gets a little better every day, and so each day is more enjoyable. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 9th Sept. 1880.] - -We have just come home after paying family visits in Lincolnshire and -Cambridgeshire, else I should have answered your letter earlier. The -former one reached me in Venice, when I was in great trouble on -account of Mr. Cross's illness. I had had reason to believe that my -letters, ordered to be posted on the 5th of May, had not been -delivered; so I asked Charles to inquire about the letter I wrote to -you--not because it demanded an answer, but because I wished you to -know that I had written. - -I am so glad to know that you have been enjoying our brief English -summer. The good harvest makes the country everywhere cheerful, and we -have been in great, even districts where the fields, full of sheaves -or studded with ricks, stretch wide as a prairie. Now, we hope not to -leave this place again till November, when we intend to go to Chelsea -for the winter and earliest spring. - -I almost envy you the opportunity of seeing Wombwell's Menagerie. I -suppose I got more delight out of that itinerant institution when I -was nine or ten years old than I have ever got out of the Zoological -Gardens. The smells and the sawdust mingled themselves with my -rapture. Everything was good. - -It was very dear of you to write to me before you finished your -holiday. My love attends you all. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 14th Sept. 1880.] - -Your letter this morning is a welcome assurance about you. We have -been away in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, paying visits to the -Otters and the Halls. The weather, which is now broken, was glorious -through all our wandering, which we made very interesting by pausing -to see Ely, Peterborough, and Lincoln cathedrals. The Otters have a -very pretty, happy household. He is a country gentleman now, acting as -a magistrate, and glancing towards Parliament. But he keeps up his -reading, and is delightful to talk to. Emily looks very pretty in her -matronly position, with three little children. The Halls, too, are -very pleasant to behold in their home life. He has done wonders in -building nice cottages and schools, and sinking wells where they were -wanted, and founding a co-operative store--and, in general, doing -whatever opportunity allows towards slowly improving this confused -world. We saw (at Six-Mile Bottom) Mr. and Mrs. Sidgwick. Perhaps you -know that they have had, and have, the admirable public spirit to let -their house and arrange to live for a year in the new Newnham House, -in order to facilitate matters for the double institution. - -We are very well. Mr. Cross gets stronger and brighter every day. We -often mention you, because you are associated with so many of my -memories. - -Our only bugbear--it is a very little one--is the having to make -preliminary arrangements towards settling ourselves in the new house -(4 Cheyne Walk). It is a quaint house; and a Mr. Armitage of -Manchester, of whom you may have heard, has been superintending the -decoration and furnishing, but not to the exclusion of old things, -which we must carry and stow, especially wallings of books. I am -become so lazy that I shrink from all such practical work. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 23d Sept. 1880.] - -I have been and am suffering under an attack of a comparatively mild -sort, but I expect to be well in two or three days, and am just going -to drive to Godalming to meet my husband. Hence I write this -hurriedly. We should like to see you and Gertrude from Saturday to -Monday some week next month if it would be pleasant to you. - - This attack was a recurrence of the renal disorder of the - previous year. On the 29th September we went for ten days to - Brighton as the most accessible place for a bracing change. - The first effects of the sea breezes were encouraging, but - the improvement was not maintained. Shortly after our return - to Witley Dr. Andrew Clark,[47] "the beloved physician," came - down to consult with Mr. Parsons of Godalming--on 22d - October. From that time there was gradual but slow - improvement, and, during November, a decided recovery of - strength. But an English autumn was not favorable to the - invalid. Her sensibility to climatic influences was extreme. - It will have been noticed in the preceding letters how - constantly change of air and scene was required. I had never - seen my wife out of England, previous to our marriage, except - the first time at Rome, when she was suffering. My general - impression, therefore, had been that her health was always - very low, and that she was almost constantly ailing. - Moreover, I had been with her very frequently during her - long, severe illness at Witley in 1879. I was the more - surprised, after our marriage, to find that from the day she - set her foot on Continental soil till the day she returned to - Witley she was never ill--never even unwell. She began at - once to look many years younger. During the eleven years of - our acquaintance I had never seen her so strong in health. - The greater dryness and lightness of the atmosphere seemed to - have a magical effect. At Paris we spent our mornings at the - Louvre or the Luxembourg, looking at pictures or sculpture, - or seeing other sights--always fatiguing work. In the - afternoons we took long walks in the Bois, and very often - went to the theatre in the evening. Reading and writing - filled in all the interstices of time; yet there was no - consciousness of fatigue. And we had the same experience at - all the places we stayed at in Italy. On our way home she was - able to take a great deal of walking exercise at Wildbad and - Baden. Decrease of physical strength coincided exactly with - the time of our return to the damper climate of England. The - specific form of illness did not declare itself until two - months later, but her health was never again the same as it - had been on the Continent. Towards the middle of October she - was obliged to keep her bed, but without restriction as to - amount of reading and talking, which she was always able to - enjoy, except in moments of acute pain. - - During her illness I read aloud, among other books, Comte's - "Discours Préliminaire," translated by Dr. Bridges. This - volume was one of her especial favorites, and she delighted - in making me acquainted with it. For all Comte's writing she - had a feeling of high admiration, intense interest, and very - deep sympathy. I do not think I ever heard her speak of any - writer with a more grateful sense of obligation for - enlightenment. Her great debt to him was always thankfully - acknowledged. But the appreciation was thoroughly selective, - so far as I was able to judge. Parts of his teaching were - accepted and other parts rejected. Her attitude towards him, - as the founder of a new religion, may be gathered from the - references and allusions in the foregoing correspondence, and - from the fact that for many years, and up to the time of her - death, she subscribed to the Comtist Fund, but never, so far - as I am aware, more directly associated herself with the - members of the Positivist Church. It was a limited adherence. - - We generally began our reading at Witley with some chapters - of the Bible, which was a very precious and sacred book to - her, not only from early associations, but also from the - profound conviction of its importance in the development of - the religious life of man. She particularly enjoyed reading - aloud some of the finest chapters of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and - St. Paul's Epistles. With a naturally rich, deep voice, - rendered completely flexible by constant practice; with the - keenest perception of the requirements of emphasis, and with - the most subtile modulations of tone, her reading threw a - glamour over indifferent writing, and gave to the greatest - writing fresh meanings and beauty. The Bible and our elder - English poets best suited the organ-like tones of her voice, - which required, for their full effect, a certain solemnity - and majesty of rhythm. Her reading of Milton was especially - fine; and I shall never forget four great lines of the - "Samson Agonistes" to which it did perfect justice-- - - "But what more oft in nations grown corrupt, - And by their vices brought to servitude, - Than to love bondage more than liberty, - Bondage with ease than strenuous liberty." - - The delighted conviction of justice in the thought--the sense - of perfect accord between thought, language, and - rhythm--stimulated the voice of the reader to find the - exactly right tone. Such reading requires for its perfection - a rare union of intellectual, moral, and physical qualities. - It cannot be imitated. It is an art, like singing--a personal - possession that dies with the possessor, and leaves nothing - behind except a memory. Immediately before her illness we had - read, together, the first part of "Faust." Reading the poem - in the original with such an interpreter was the opening of a - new world to me. Nothing in all literature moved her more - than the pathetic situation and the whole character of - Gretchen. It touched her more than anything in Shakespeare. - During the time that we were reading the "Faust" we were also - constantly reading, together, Shakespeare, Milton, and - Wordsworth: some of Scott's novels and Lamb's essays too, in - which she greatly delighted. For graver study we read through - Professor Sayce's "Introduction to the Science of Language." - Philology was a subject in which she was most deeply - interested; and this was my first experience of what seemed - to me a limitless persistency in application. I had noticed - the persistency before, while looking at pictures, or while - hearing her play difficult music; for it was characteristic - of her nature that she took just as great pains to play her - very best to a single unlearned listener as most performers - would do to a room full of critical _cognoscenti_. Professor - Sayce's book was the first which we had read together - requiring very sustained attention ("The Divina Commedia" we - had read in very short bits at a time), and it revealed to me - more clearly the depth of George Eliot's mental - concentration. Continuous thought did not fatigue her. She - could keep her mind on the stretch hour after hour: the body - might give way, but the brain remained unwearied. - - Her memory held securely her great stores of reading. Even of - light books her recollections were always crisp, definite, - and vivid. On our way home from Venice, after my illness, we - were reading French novels of Cherbuliez, Alphonse Daudet, - Gustave Droz, George Sand. Most of these books she had read - years before, and I was astonished to find what clear-cut, - accurate impressions had been retained, not only of all the - principal characters, but also of all the subsidiary - personages--even their names were generally remembered. But, - on the other hand, her verbal memory was not always to be - depended on. She never could trust herself to write a - quotation without verifying it. - - In foreign languages George Eliot had an experience more - unusual among women than among men. With a complete literary - and scholarly knowledge of French, German, Italian, and - Spanish, she _spoke_ all four languages with difficulty, - though accurately and grammatically; but the mimetic power of - catching intonation and accent was wanting. Greek and Latin - she could read with thorough delight to herself; and Hebrew - was a favorite study to the end of her life. In her younger - days, especially at Geneva, inspired by Professor de la - Rive's lectures, she had been greatly interested in - mathematical studies. At one time she applied herself - heartily and with keen enjoyment to geometry, and she thought - that she might have attained to some excellence in that - branch if she had been able to pursue it. In later days the - map of the heavens lay constantly on her table at Witley, and - she longed for deeper astronomical knowledge. She had a - passion for the stars; and one of the things to which we - looked forward on returning to London was a possible visit to - Greenwich Observatory, as she had never looked through a - great telescope of the first class. Her knowledge of - wild-flowers gave a fresh interest each day to our walks in - the Surrey lanes, as every hedgerow is full of wonders--to - "those who know;" but she would, I think, have disclaimed for - herself real botanical knowledge, except of an elementary - sort. - - This wide and varied culture was accompanied with an - unaffected distrust of her own knowledge, with the sense of - how little she really knew, compared with what it was - possible for her to have known, in the world. Her standard - was always abnormally high--it was the standard of an expert; - and she believed in the aphorism that to know any subject - well we must know the details of it. - - During our short married life our time was so much divided - between travelling and illness that George Eliot wrote very - little, so that I have but slight personal experience of how - the creative effort affected her. But she told me that, in - all that she considered her best writing, there was a "not - herself," which took possession of her, and that she felt her - own personality to be merely the instrument through which - this spirit, as it were, was acting. Particularly she dwelt - on this in regard to the scene in "Middlemarch" between - Dorothea and Rosamond, saying that, although she always knew - they had, sooner or later, to come together, she kept the - idea resolutely out of her mind until Dorothea was in - Rosamond's drawing-room. Then, abandoning herself to the - inspiration of the moment, she wrote the whole scene exactly - as it stands, without alteration or erasure, in an intense - state of excitement and agitation, feeling herself entirely - possessed by the feelings of the two women. Of all the - characters she had attempted she found Rosamond's the most - difficult to sustain. With this sense of "possession" it is - easy to imagine what the cost to the author must have been of - writing books, each of which has its tragedy. We have seen - the suffering alluded to in the letters on the "Mill on the - Floss," "Felix Holt," and "Romola." - - For those who would know the length and the breadth of George - Eliot's intellectual capacity she has written her books. Here - I am only putting down some of my own personal impressions - or recollections, which must be taken for what they are - worth. In doing this I should like to dwell on the - catholicity of her judgment. Singularly free from the spirit - of detraction, either in respect of her contemporaries or her - predecessors, she was always anxious to see the best and the - most noble qualities of human beings or of books, in cases - where she felt some general sympathy notwithstanding - particular disagreements. And it was this wide sympathy, this - understanding of so many points of view, that gained for her - the passionate devotion not only of personal friends, but - also of literary admirers, from the most widely sundered - sections of society. Probably few people have ever received - so many intimate confidences from confidants of such diverse - habits of thought. - - This many-sidedness, however, makes it exceedingly difficult - to ascertain, either from her books or from the closest - personal intimacy, what her exact relation was to any - existing religious creed or to any political party. Yet - George Eliot's was emphatically a religious mind. My own - impression is that her whole soul was so imbued with, and her - imagination was so fired by, the scientific spirit of the - age--by the constant rapid development of ideas in the - Western world--that she could not conceive that there was, as - yet, any religious formula sufficient nor any known political - system likely to be final. She had great hope for the future, - in the improvement of human nature by the gradual development - of the affections and the sympathetic emotions, and "by the - slow, stupendous teaching of the world's events," rather than - by means of legislative enactments. Party measures and party - men afforded her no great interest. Representative - government, by numerical majorities, did not appeal to her as - the last word of political wisdom. Generally speaking, she - had little patience with talk about practical politics, which - seemed to her under our present system to be too often very - unpractically handled by ignorant amateurs. The amateur was - always a "stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence." Her - wrath used often to be roused, in late years, by the - increased bitterness in the language of parties, and by the - growing habit of attributing, for political effect, the most - shameful motives to distinguished statesmen. - - She was keenly anxious to redress injustices to women, and to - raise their general status in the community. This, she - thought, could best be effected by women improving their - work--ceasing to be amateurs. But it was one of the most - distinctly marked traits in her character that she - particularly disliked everything generally associated with - the idea of a "masculine woman." She was, and as a woman she - wished to be, above all things, feminine--"so delicate with - her needle, and an admirable musician." She was proud, too, - of being an excellent housekeeper--an excellence attained - from knowing how things ought to be done, from her early - training, and from an inborn habit of extreme orderliness. - Nothing offended her more than the idea that because a woman - had exceptional intellectual powers therefore it was right - that she should absolve herself, or be absolved, from her - ordinary household duties. - - It will have been seen from the letters that George Eliot was - deeply interested in the higher education of women, and that - she was among the earliest contributors to Girton College. - After meeting Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, in September, - 1880, when they had gone to reside at the new hall of Newnham - College for a time, she was anxious to be associated in that - work also, but she did not live to carry out the plan - herself. The danger she was alive to in the system of - collegiate education was the possible weakening of the bonds - of family affection and family duties. In her view, the - family life holds the roots of all that is best in our mortal - lot; and she always felt that it is far too ruthlessly - sacrificed in the case of English _men_ by their public - school and university education, and that much more is such a - result to be deprecated in the case of women. But, the - absolute good being unattainable in our mixed condition of - things, those women especially who are obliged to earn their - own living must do their best with the opportunities at their - command, as "they cannot live with posterity," when a more - perfect system may prevail. Therefore, George Eliot wished - God-speed to the women's colleges. It was often in her mind - and on her lips that the only worthy end of all learning, of - all science, of all life, in fact, is, that human beings - should love one another better. Culture merely for culture's - sake can never be anything but a sapless root, capable of - producing at best a shrivelled branch. - - In her general attitude towards life George Eliot was neither - optimist nor pessimist. She held to the middle term, which - she invented for herself, of "meliorist." She was cheered by - the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the - mass; for in her view each individual must find the better - part of happiness in helping another. She often thought it - wisest not to raise too ambitious an ideal, especially for - young people, but to impress on ordinary natures the immense - possibilities of making a small home circle brighter and - better. Few are born to do the great work of the world, but - all are born to this. And to the natures capable of the - larger effort the field of usefulness will constantly widen. - - In her personal bearing George Eliot was seldom moved by the - hurry which mars all dignity in action. Her commanding brows - and deep, penetrating eyes were seconded by the sweet, - restrained, impressive speech, which claimed something like - an awed attention from strangers. But to those very near to - her there was another side of her nature, scarcely suspected - by outside friends and acquaintances. No one could be more - capable of enjoying and of communicating genuine, loving, - hearty, uncontrollable laughter. It was a deep-seated wish, - expressed in the poem of "Agatha"--"I would have young things - merry." And I remember, many years ago, at the time of our - first acquaintance, how deeply it pained her when, in reply - to a direct question, I was obliged to admit that, with all - my admiration for her books, I found them, on the whole, - profoundly sad. But sadness was certainly not the note of her - intimate converse. For she had the distinctively feminine - qualities which lend a rhythm to the movement of life. The - quick sympathy that understands without words; the capacity - for creating a complete atmosphere of loving interest; the - detachment from outside influences; the delight in - everything worthy--even the smallest thing--for its own sake; - the readiness to receive as well as to give impressions; the - disciplined mental habit which can hold in check and conquer - the natural egoism of a massive, powerful personality; the - versatility of mind; the varied accomplishments--these are - characteristics to be found more highly developed among - gifted women than among gifted men. Add to these the crowning - gift of genius, and, in such companionship, we may possess - the world without belonging to it. - - The November days had come now--cold and clear. My wife was - able again to enjoy the daily drives and walks on which she - was very dependent for health. The letters continue. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 3d Nov. 1880.] - -Since I wrote to you I have been much more ill, and have only, during -the last few days, begun to feel myself recovering strength. But I -have been cared for with something much better than angelic -tenderness. The fine, clear air, if it lasts, will induce us to linger -in the country; and, indeed, I am not yet quite fit to move; for, -though I appear to be quite cured of my main ailment, half my bodily -self has vanished. We are having deliciously clear days here, and I -get out for short drives and walks. I really have nothing to complain -of now except a little lack of strength. I play on the piano again, -and walk with perfect ease. There is a long chapter about myself! - -[Sidenote: Letter to Madame Bodichon, 7th Nov. 1880.] - -Three weeks ago I had a rather troublesome attack, but I am getting -well now, though still reduced and comparatively weak. We shall -probably linger here till near the end of the month, for the autumnal -landscape is very beautiful, and I am not yet quite fit for the -exertion of moving. It is a comfort to think that you can be very -snug through the winter in your nice house. What a pity we are not -within an easy driving distance from you! - -Mr. Hall is here to-day. He gave a lecture on Leclaire, the -house-painter in Paris who initiated an excellent plan of co-operative -sharing for his workmen. It has been printed, and when I have another -copy I will send it you. Leclaire is mentioned by John S. Mill in the -notes to his "Political Economy," but had not been otherwise taken -much notice of. Still, you may know all about him. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones, 18th Nov. 1880.] - -Thanks for your loving remembrance of me. We have been kept in the -country by two sufficient causes: I have been ill, and the house at -Cheyne Walk has not been ready to receive us. I suppose we shall not -be there till the end of the month instead of the beginning. One of -the good things I look forward to is the sight of your dear face -again. You will see little more than half of me, for nearly half has -been consumed. But I have been nursed with supreme tenderness, and am -daily gaining some strength. Much love to both. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Charles L. Lewes, 23d Nov. 1880.] - -We are lingering here for three reasons: the beauty of the weather, -the unreadiness of the house, and my unfitness to bear the hurry of -moving. I am getting better, but have not yet been able to bear much -exertion. - -Thanks for your pretty letter. I do not think I shall have many -returns of Novembers, but there is every prospect that such as remain -to me will be as happy as they can be made by the devoted tenderness -which watches over me. Your years will probably be many, and it is -cheering to me to think that you have many springs of happiness in -your lot that are likely to grow fuller with advancing time. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Bray, 28th Nov. 1880.] - -I have thought of you all the more because I have not even heard -anything of you for several months. You will wonder less why I have -not written, as a consequence of those thoughts, when I tell you that -I have been ill, and not allowed to do anything but indulge myself and -receive indulgence. I am very well now, and am every day consciously -gathering strength, so that, if I could like giving trouble, I should -look back on my illness as a great opportunity of enjoying the -tenderest watching and nursing. I kept my bed only about a week, and -have always been equal, except at short intervals, to much reading and -talking, so that there is no fair cause for any grumbling on my part. -It has not been so bad an illness as that of last summer. You see we -are not yet at Cheyne Walk, but we are to be settled there by the end -of next week. I have had no trouble, but have remained here on my -cushions while Mr. Cross has gone early for several mornings running -to superintend the removal. It is difficult to give you materials for -imagining my "world." Think of me as surrounded and cherished by -family love; by brothers and sisters whose characters are admirable to -me, and who have for years been my friends. But there is no excessive -visiting among us, and the life of my own hearth is chiefly that of -dual companionship. If it is any good for me that my life has been -prolonged till now, I believe it is owing to this miraculous affection -which has chosen to watch over me. - -[Sidenote: Journal, 1880.] - -_Dec. 3._--Came to 4 Cheyne Walk. - -_Dec. 4._--Went to Popular Concert at St. James's Hall. Heard Madame -Neruda, Piatti, and Miss Zimmermann. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Congreve, 6th Dec. 1880.] - -Only on Friday evening did we get into this new house, and I had -deferred writing to you till I could say "Come and see me." I can say -so now, but on reflection I have come to the conclusion that you would -like yourself to fix a time beforehand, the journey here being rather -long. Perhaps you will like to choose a day on which you could go to -Emily also, her house being less formidably distant--across the park -and down Sloane Street would be an easy way to us. This week we shall -be much engaged in household matters, such as the reduction to order -of the chaos which still reigns in certain places least obvious to -visitors, and the procuring of small objects, either necessary or -desirable. But after this week I shall be most glad if you and Dr. -Congreve will come to see us just _as_ and _when_ you would find the -least inconvenience in doing so--either at lunch-time (half-past one) -or at a later hour. - -I find myself in a new climate here--the London air and this -particular house being so warm compared with Witley. I hope that you -too find the air mild, for I know that suits you best. - - Dr. and Mrs. Congreve paid their promised visit the week - after this letter was written; and Madame Belloc lunched with - us the following day. Order was beginning to reign in the new - house. The books had all been arranged as nearly as possible - in the same order that they had occupied at the Priory, Mr. - Radermacher of the Pantechnicon having given his personal - attention to this arrangement of some thousands of volumes, - for which George Eliot was particularly grateful. - Notwithstanding all this care, however, there were many - unforeseen details of furnishing still to be completed, which - caused a considerable expenditure of time. We continued - reading aloud Max Müller's "Lectures on the Science of - Language," and Duffield's translation of "Don Quixote;" we - were also reading "Hermann and Dorothea," Tennyson's last - volume of poems, just published, and Mr. Frederic Myers's - volume on Wordsworth. In the evenings we had always a little - feast of music, and were becoming in every way reconciled to - town life, notwithstanding the loss of country quiet, light, - and beauty. On the afternoon of Friday, the 17th December, we - went to see the "Agamemnon" performed in Greek by Oxford - undergraduates. The representation was a great enjoyment--an - exciting stimulus--and my wife proposed that during the - winter we should read together some of the great Greek - dramas. The following afternoon we went to the Saturday - Popular Concert at St. James's Hall. It was a cold day. The - air in the hall was overheated, and George Eliot allowed a - fur cloak which she wore to slip from her shoulders. I was - conscious of a draught, and was afraid of it for her, as she - was very sensitive to cold. I begged her to resume the cloak, - but, smiling, she whispered that the room was really too hot. - In the evening she played through several of the pieces that - we had heard at the concert, with all her accustomed - enjoyment of the piano, and with a touch as true and as - delicate as ever. On Sunday there was very slight trouble in - the throat, but not sufficient to prevent her from coming - down-stairs to breakfast as usual. In the afternoon she was - well enough to receive visits from Mr. Herbert Spencer and - one or two other friends. Afterwards she began the following - letter to Mrs. Strachey. It was left unfinished in her - writing-case, and is printed as it stands. - -[Sidenote: Letter to Mrs. Strachey, 19th Dec. 1880.] - -I have been thinking so much of Lady Colvile, and yet I shrank from -troubling even your more indirect sympathetic sorrow with a letter. I -am wondering how far her health is in a state to endure this loss--a -loss which extends even to me, who only occasionally saw, but was -always cheered by, the expression of a wise and sweet nature, which -clearly shone in Sir James Colvile's manner and conversation. One -great comfort I believe she has--that of a sister's affection. - - Here the letter is broken off. The pen which had delighted - and comforted so many minds and hearts here made its last - mark. The spring, which had broadened out into so wide a - river of speech, ceased to flow. - - Little more remains to be told. On Monday the doctor treated - the case as one of laryngeal sore throat; and when Dr. Andrew - Clark came for consultation on Wednesday evening the - pericardium was found to be seriously affected. While the - doctors were at her bedside she had just time to whisper to - me, "Tell them I have great pain in the left side," before - she became unconscious. Her long illness in the autumn had - left her no power to rally. She passed away, about ten - o'clock at night, on the 22d December, 1880. - - She died, as she would herself have chosen to die, without - protracted pain, and with every faculty brightly vigorous. - - Her body rests in Highgate Cemetery, in the grave next to Mr. - Lewes. In sleet and snow, on a bitter day--the 29th - December--very many whom she knew, very many whom she did not - know, pressed to her grave-side with tributes of tears and - flowers. - - Her spirit joined that choir invisible "whose music is the - gladness of the world." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[35] Madame Belloc. - -[36] Mrs. Charles Lewes. - -[37] "The Ethics of George Eliot's Works," by J. C. Brown. Blackwood: -1879. - -[38] Article on G. H. Lewes.--_New Quarterly Review_, Oct. 1879. - -[39] "George Henry Lewes Studentship."--This studentship has been -founded in memory of Mr. George Henry Lewes, for the purpose of -enabling the holder for the time being to devote himself wholly to the -prosecution of original research in physiology. The studentship, the -value of which is slightly under £200 per annum, paid quarterly in -advance, is tenable for three years, during which time the student is -required to carry on, under the guidance of a director, physiological -investigations, to the complete exclusion of all other professional -occupations. No person will be elected as a "George Henry Lewes -Student" who does not satisfy the trustees and director, first, as to -the promise of success in physiological inquiry; and, second, as to -the need of pecuniary assistance. Otherwise all persons of both sexes -are eligible. Applications, together with such information concerning -ability and circumstances as the candidate may think proper, should be -sent to the present director, Dr. Michael Foster, New Museums, -Cambridge, not later than October 15, 1879. The appointment will be -made and duly advertised as soon as possible after that date. - -[40] Mr. John Blackwood died on 29th October, 1879. - -[41] Madame Belloc. - -[42] Mrs. Hall. - -[43] Mrs. Isaac Evans (since deceased). - -[44] Rev. Frederick Evans, Rector of Bedworth. - -[45] Madame Belloc. - -[46] Mr. Geddes's death. - -[47] Now Sir Andrew Clark. - - - - -INDEX. - - - "Abode of Snow," by Andrew Wilson, iii. 190. - - A breezy common, iii. 108. - - "Adam Bede," progress of, i. 338; - second volume finished in Dresden, ii. 42; - £800 offered for copyright for four years, 47; - its history, 48-52; - author's love of, 51; - subscription to, 59; - cheap edition suggested by working man, 66; - sale increasing, 67, 68; - quoted in House of Commons, 69; - French translation proposed, 73; - additional £400 from publishers, 80; - fourth edition (5000) sold in a fortnight, 88; - sixth edition, 96; - seventh edition (2000), 101; - Blackwoods propose to pay £800 above agreed price, 101; - 16,000 copies sold in one year, 105; - copyright conceded, 111; - third volume written in six weeks, 113. - - "Adam Bede, Junior," a sequel, advertised, ii. 104. - - "Address to the Working Men," by Felix Holt, iii. 18. - - Adler, Dr. Hermann, appreciation of Jewish character in "Deronda," - iii. 207; - lecture on "Deronda" by, 215. - - Æsthetic teaching the highest of all teaching, ii. 318. - - Æsthetic, the, not a doctrinal teacher, iii. 237. - - Afghanistan, effect of the sad news from, iii. 278. - - "Agatha" sold to Fields & Osgood for _Atlantic Monthly_, iii. 63. - - Aix to Vevey, journey to, iii. 205. - - Allbut, Dr. Clifford, Leeds, iii. 41, 42. - - Allingham, William, letter to, on Midland dialect, iii. 218; - on his poems, 226. - - Altruism, the need of, iii. 178, 179. - - Amalfi, grand drive, ii. 153. - - America, interest in, i. 219; - the war in, anxiety regarding, ii. 242; - delight in descriptions of, iii. 115; - invited to visit, 118. - - Amsterdam, Jewish synagogues in, ii. 317. - - "An Inquiry concerning the Origin of Christianity," by Charles - Hennell, influence of, on George Eliot, i. 68; - read again with admiration, 119. - - Anders, Mr., apologizes for the Liggins business, ii. 78. - - Antwerp, pictures at, i. 239, 240. - - Apennines, across the, ii. 168. - - Application, persistence in, iii. 304. - - Appreciation of Dickens's letter, ii. 6. - - Ardennes, journey to the, iii. 176. - - "Aristotle," by G. H. Lewes, ii. 271. - - "Armgart," a dramatic poem, iii. 85. - - Art, the function of, iii. 144; - purpose in, 144. - - Articles written by Mr. Lewes, iii. 260, 261; - by military men, 265. - - Ashantee War, the, iii. 157. - - Asher's cheap editions of "George Eliot," iii. 124. - - Atkinson, Mr., i. 193. - - Australia, proposed visit to, i. 221. - - Authors and booksellers, meeting of, i. 201. - - Authorship acknowledged to the Brays and Miss Hennell, ii. 83. - - Autobiography, repugnance to, iii. 221. - - Autumn, love for, i. 67; ii. 263, 264. - - "A Word for the Germans," ii. 288. - - Aytoun, Professor, admiration of "Gilfil's Love-Story," i. 326; - on "Adam Bede," ii. 81. - - - Bâle, a morning in, ii. 87. - - Ballot, dislike of the, iii. 49; - the first experiment of the, 161. - - Balzac, a saying of, iii, 41. - - Bancroft, American Minister, Berlin, on "Middlemarch," iii. 157. - - Bank of England visited, iii. 176. - - "Beata," by T. A. Trollope, ii. 239. - - Bedworth, country about, i. 5-7. - - Beesley, Professor Edmund Spencer, iii. 64. - - Bellagio and the Splügen Pass, ii. 181. - - Benisch, Dr., editor of _Jewish Chronicle_, iii. 216. - - Berlin, popularity of "Middlemarch" in, iii. 157. - - Berlin, visit to the _Charité_, iii. 77; - society and music at, 77; - increase in luxury in, 78. - - Berlin recollections: meets Varnhagen, i. 251, 252; - impressions of the city, 251; - new acquaintances, 253; - portrait of Kleist, 253; - Fräulein Solmar's _salon_, 253; - General Pfuhl, 254; - Baron Sternberg, 254; - "Lisez les Chroniques," 254; - Professor Gruppe, 255, 263; - Waagen on Goethe, 256; - Edward Magnus, 257; - celebrities, 258; - Professor Stahr, 258, 263; - Schiller's portrait, 258; - Rauch the sculptor, 258; - his atelier, 259, 260; - Dessoir the actor, 260; - "Nathan der Weise," 261; - Johanna Wagner, 261; - Gluck's "Orpheus," 261; - Roger and Arabella Goddard, 264; - Vivier anecdotes, 264, 265; - works of art, 265; - evenings in, 266; - _table d'hôte_, reading between the courses, 266; - work at and books read, 268; - translating Spinoza's "Ethics," 268; - remarks on books read, 270; - return to England, 271. - - Bethnal Green, pictures at, iii. 128. - - Biarritz, its natural beauties, iii. 2; - the Chambre de l'Amour, 2; - journey to Barcelona from, 4. - - Bible and the Liturgy of the English Church, ii. 226. - - Bible reading, iii. 302. - - Bickley, country-house at, iii. 152. - - Birthday greetings, iii. 47. - - Bishop Steignton, visit to, i. 185. - - Blackie, Professor, Edinburgh, letter of sympathy from, ii. 111, 113. - - _Blackwood's Magazine_ on "Adam Bede," ii. 70. - - Blackwood, John, his favorable opinion of "Amos Barton," i. 302; - accepts it for "Maga," 304; - receives kind letter from author, 307; - cautions regarding "huddling up stories," 319; - not enthusiastic about "Janet's Repentance," 326; - calls on Lewes, and George Eliot reveals herself, ii. 10; - letter from George Eliot on artistic combination, 31; - offers £800 for copyright of "Adam Bede" for four years, 47; - letter to, regarding Liggins, 73; - his liberal treatment of George Eliot, 102; - proposals for "Mill on the Floss," 110; - concedes copyright of "Adam Bede," 111; - suggests title of "Mill on the Floss," 112; - letter from author on finishing "Mill on the Floss," 114; - letter to, from George Eliot at Berne, 182, 183; - do. from Florence, 218; - offers £5000 for "Felix Holt," 308; - letters to, about "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 16, 26; - about Scott Commemoration, 97; - "Middlemarch," 103; - his favorable impressions of "Middlemarch," 106; - letter to, from Homburg, 123; - New Year's greetings from George Eliot, 138; - letter on "Middlemarch," 153; - on another book simmering in her head, 157; - on corrected edition of "Spanish Gypsy," 161, 162; - letter to, with volume of poems, 164; - on printing of "Deronda," 190, 191, 197; - on re-reading "Romola," 217, 218; - offers for second ten-years' copyright, 230; - letter to, declining invitation to Strathtyrum, 237; - on her continued ill-health, 244; - his death, 276. - - Blackwood, Major, his opinion of "Amos Barton," i. 306; - hopeful about the "Scenes," 342; - calls on Lewes, and suspects identity of George Eliot, 342; - letter regarding the Liggins affair, ii. 81; - letter from author on "Mill on the Floss," 167. - - Blackwood, William, his favorable news of "Clerical Life," ii. 116; - letter to, on Mr. Lewes's illness, iii. 239; - on "Theophrastus Such," 254, 263, 271. - - Blanc, Louis, anecdote of, i. 195. - - Bodichon, Madame, discovers author of "Adam Bede," ii. 77; - letters to: on artistic combinations, 93; - on Mrs. Gaskell's letter, 107; - the rewards of the artist, 107; - on settling in London, 198; - on religious forms and ceremonies, 205; - on the necessity of sympathy, 268; - on her Spanish tour, iii. 4; - on cheerfulness, 172; - on "Deronda," 198; - on woman's work, 208; - on her illness, 225; - on improvement in health, 252; - letter regarding "Lewes Studentship," 267; - letter announcing her marriage, 283; - on sympathy with marriage, 289. - - Bohn, Madame, visit from, ii. 293. - - Bologna, its pictures and churches, ii. 169; - the leaning towers, 170. - - Bonham-Carter, Miss, letter to, from Madame Bodichon, iii. 264. - - Bonheur, Rosa, her pictures, i. 333. - - Books belong to successive mental phases, ii. 211. - - Books read at Malvern, 1861, ii. 228-230, 234-236. - - Books read, with remarks on, i. 268-271, 322, 341, 344; ii. 58, 299; - iii. 25, 41, 68, 71, 72. - - Booksellers and authors, meeting of, i. 201. - - Bookstalls, literary taste at, iii. 51. - - Brabant, Miss, i. 85. - - Bracebridge, Mr., and Liggins, ii. 99. - - Bray, Charles, his work, "The Philosophy of Necessity," i. 67; - influence of his opinions, 68; - words of affection in time of depression, 135; - letter to, on rumors of authorship, ii. 13. - - Bray, Mrs., letters to: on favorite books, i. 86; - reading and music, 87; - poetry of Christianity, 93; - chameleon-like nature, 158; - orthodox friends, 162; - anxiety for letters, 164; - need of encouragement, 165; - life in Geneva, 169, 170; - Christmas wishes, 174; - severe winter, 175; - yearning for friends at home, 175; - a singular advertisement, 195; - _Westminster_ reviewers, 199; - love for music, 202; - feels well and "plucky," 207; - in Edinburgh again, 211; - pleasant travelling, 213; - a Saturday's work, 214; - work in the Strand, 215; - domestic grievances, 229; - view of union with Mr. Lewes, 235; - on careless cooking, 316; - on the charms of Richmond Park, 326; - unbelief in others' love, 337; - authorship acknowledged to, ii. 83; - recollections of journey of 1849, 191; - asking for music, 241; - on her "Physiology for Schools," 267; - on writing poetry instead of novels, iii. 31; - on happiness in recovery, 313. - - Bremer, Frederica, i. 188, 190. - - Brewing interest in Parliament, the, iii. 188, 189. - - Brewster, Sir David, i. 190. - - Bridges, Dr., Leeds, iii. 42. - - Bright on Ireland, iii. 56. - - Brittany, trip to, ii. 296. - - Broadstairs, delight with, i. 205. - - Brodie, Sir Benjamin, iii. 80. - - Brontë, Charlotte, life of, i. 317. - - Brooks, Shirley, delighted with "Adam Bede," ii. 70. - - "Brother Jacob" written, ii. 199. - - "Brother and Sister," sonnets, iii. 70. - - Brougham, Lord, a delicious _non sequitur_, i. 214. - - Brown, Dr. John, sends "Rab and his Friends" to author of "Adam - Bede," ii. 60; - kindly letter in reply, 60. - - Brown, J. C., "Ethics of George Eliot's Works," iii. 266. - - Browne, Dr., chemist, Edinburgh, i. 195. - - Browning, first visit from, ii. 249; - "Elisha," iii. 56. - - Browning, Mrs., her "Casa Guidi Windows", ii. 243. - - Buchanan, Robert, his "David Grey," ii. 273. - - Buckle, personal dislike to, ii. 47. - - Buckle's "History of Civilization," i. 341, 345. - - Buckle's ideal not George Eliot's, ii. 220. - - Bulstrode, new view of, iii. 133. - - Bunyan, reading again with pleasure, ii. 105. - - Burne-Jones, Edward, letter to, on the function of art, iii. 144. - - Burne-Jones, Mrs., iii. 29; - letter to, on the serious view of life, 172; - on her illness, 185; - on Christmas plans, 232; - on her sense of depression, 239. - - Burton, Mr., wishes to take portrait, ii. 273; - his picture of a knight in armor, 277. - - Burton, Sir Frederick, Director of the National Gallery, ii. 240. - - Byron, a vulgar-minded genius, iii. 72. - - - Call, Mr., author of "Reverberations and other Poems," i. 335. - - Calvinism, a libel on, iii. 88. - - Camaldoli, expedition to, ii. 221. - - Cambridge, a visit to, iii. 147; - a group of "Trinity" men, 147. - - Cambridgeshire, visit to, iii. 299. - - Caricature, a bastard kind of satire, iii. 228. - - _Caritas_, the highest love, ii. 252. - - Carlyle, Mrs., pleasant letter from, ii. 7; - her conception of George Eliot, 8. - - Carlyle, on the Glasgow artisan, i. 55; - eulogium on Emerson, 140; - "Life of Sterling," 189; - anecdotes of, 190, 257; - his denunciation of the opera, 192; - letter to George Eliot on "Frederic," 343; - G. A. anxious he should read her novels, ii. 63. - - "Carlyle's Memoirs," ii. 208. - - Catholicity of judgment, iii. 307. - - Cavour, Count, ii. 122, 143. - - Cerebellum, function of the, i. 210. - - Chapman, Mrs., on Harriet Martineau, iii. 220. - - Charade party, failure of, ii. 287. - - Charity of the Apostle Paul, the, ii. 251. - - Chart of Ecclesiastical History, i. 45. - - Cheap books, opinion of, iii. 154. - - Cheap edition of "Adam Bede" suggested by working man, ii. 66. - - Cheap editions of novels, arrangements for, iii. 10. - - Cheap music in England, ii. 81. - - Cheerful, now uniformly, iii. 172. - - Chiem See, journey by, ii. 34. - - Childhood's real feelings, i. 91. - - Child's idea of God, a, i. 153, 154. - - Chills, spiritual and physical, iii. 120. - - Chioggia, journey to, ii. 177. - - "Christianity and Infidelity," Baillie Prize Essay, i. 311. - - Chronological order in writing, ii. 211. - - Church-going resumed, i. 82. - - Clark, Sir James, pleasant evening with, i. 222; - meeting with, 226, 230. - - Clark, W. G., late public orator at Cambridge, ii. 240; - visit to, at Cambridge, iii. 24; - resigns his oratorship, 74. - - "Clerical Tutor," discouraged to proceed with, i. 336. - - Club criticism of "Amos Barton," i. 308. - - Coaching days, i. 7. - - Cobbe, Miss, her introduction to Theodore Parker, ii. 253. - - Cobden, disappointed with, i. 196. - - Cologne, journey to, i. 267. - - Colossians, Epistle to the, i. 51. - - Combe, George, friendship with, i. 186; - on the _Westminster_, 204; - visit to, in Edinburgh, 211. - - Comprehensive Church, one, iii. 175. - - Comte and his critics, ii. 224; - admiration of, 224; - delight in his "Politique," iii. 2. - - Comte's "Discours Préliminaire," ii. 264. - - Comte's works, reading, iii. 302. - - Conceptions of new work, iii. 233. - - Confidence, desire for, i. 128. - - Conformity, letter to J. W. Cross on, iii. 155. - - Congreve, Mrs., letters to, ii. 82, 84, 141; - visits George Eliot in London, 232; - letter to, on Thornton Lewes's illness, iii. 63; - leaves for India, 132; - returns to Europe, 145; - letter to, after marriage with Mr. Cross, 292; - invited to Cheyne Walk, 314. - - Congreve, Richard, ii. 62, 67, 73; - friendship of Mr. and Mrs., 76, 80; - Christmas Day with, 110; - his lectures on Positivism, iii. 12; - his article Huxley on Comte, 58. - - Conolly, Dr., i. 233. - - Conscience in work, iii. 27. - - Conservative reaction, on the, iii. 143. - - Contemporary fiction, iii. 183. - - Continent, start for, visiting Fontainebleau, Plombières, iii. 149; - three months' trip to the, 205. - - Continental tour, six weeks' journey to Baden, etc., iii. 37; - St. Märgen, 37; - peasant proprietors in the Black Forest, 38. - - Continental trip with the Brays, i. 150. - - Coquelin's acting, iii. 263. - - Correggio's Madonnas, ii. 43. - - Correspondence, views on, i. 134. - - Country, delight in the, iii. 154. - - Country districts, remoteness of, i. 5. - - Country-house, visions of a, ii. 61. - - Country life, monotony of, i. 25; - enjoyment of, ii. 275. - - Country quiet, the benefits of, iii. 110. - - Critical attitude, the, iii. 79. - - Criticism, sensibility to, ii. 63. - - Critics, indifference to opinions of, iii. 224. - - Cross, J. W., first meeting at Rome with George Eliot, iii. 59; - meet again at Weybridge, 71; - letter to, on buying a house, 131; - on conformity, 155; - on depression, 187; - on effect of her writing, 204; - on Tennyson, 229; - letters to, after Lewes's death, 250-252; - his engagement, 279; - his marriage, 282; - illness in Venice, 294. - - Cross, Miss Eleanor, letter to, iii. 276; - on her engagement to Mr. Cross, 279; - on her marriage tour, 283. - - Cross, Miss Elizabeth D., "An Old Story and other Poems," iii. 15. - - Cross, Miss Florence, letter to from Milan on the enjoyment of - travel, iii. 286. - - Cross, Miss Mary, her "Marie of Villefranche," iii. 100; - letter to, on gift of a vase, 166. - - Cross, Mrs., letters to, accepting invitation to Six-Mile Bottom, - iii. 121; - letter to, from Homburg, 122; - on return home, 125; - on journey abroad, and country-house at Bickley, 152; - on the pleasures of the country, 154; - on Christmas invitation, 158; - on silence of the country, 167. - - Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, dinner with, iii. 236; - their simple manner, 236; - guests at table, 236. - - Cruikshank, George, i. 202. - - Cumming, article on, in the _Westminster_, i. 277. - - - D'Albert, M. and Mme. _See_ Durade. - - Dallas, Mr., an admirer of "Adam Bede," ii. 64. - - Daniel, the prophecies of, i. 122. - - "Daniel Deronda," writing, iii. 180; - fear for MS. being burned, 190; - anticipations of, 193, 194; - public interest in, 199, 214; - finished, 204; - Jewish element in, 211. - - Darwin's "Origin of Species," ii. 104, 105, 108. - - Dawson, Mr. George, lecturer, i. 129; ii. 233; iii. 165. - - Dean Ramsay, letter from, with his "Reminiscences of Scottish - Life," ii. 320. - - Death, imagining the nearness of, iii. 170. - - "Debasing the Moral Currency," iii. 266. - - Delight in the country, iii. 154; - in old friends, 245. - - Depression from damp, iii. 187. - - Derbyshire, memories of, iii. 47. - - Deutsch, his article on the Talmud, iii. 18. - - "Deutscher Novellenschatz," iii. 96. - - "Development of Industries," effect of, ii. 281. - - Development of religion, iii. 62. - - Dialect in "Adam Bede," ii. 72; iii. 219. - - Dickens, Charles, meeting with, i. 201; - letter from, ii. 2; - recognizes woman's hand in "Clerical Life," 3; - dines at Wandsworth, 102; - asks for a story for "All the Year Round," 104; - his death, iii. 82; - his "Life" by Forster, 104. - - Dinah Morris, the character of, ii. 49. - - Dinner at Greenwich, with Blackwood, Colonel Stewart, Colonel - Hamley, and Mr. Skene, ii. 222. - - Discontent of the young, iii. 213. - - Discouraged with her writings, ii. 86. - - D'Israeli's "Tancred," i. 118, 123; - his theory of races, 124; - funeral oration on the Duke of Wellington, 215. - - Distrust of her own knowledge, iii. 305. - - "Divina Commedia," reading the, with Mr. Cross, iii. 259. - - Dorking, fourth visit to, ii. 254. - - Doyle, Mr., iii. 74. - - Drama, trying a, ii. 280. - - Drawbacks to living abroad, iii. 203. - - Drawings from "Romola," iii. 166. - - Dresden: end of vol. ii. of "Adam Bede" written, ii. 42; - Holbein's "Madonna," 42; - the "Sistine Madonna," 43; - the Correggios, 43; - Murillo's "St. Rodriguez," 43; - Dutch and Flemish pictures, 44; - Veronese, 44; - the theatres and concerts, 45. - - Druce, Mr., visit to, at Sevenoaks, iii. 297. - - Dulwich Picture-gallery, ii. 79. - - Durade, M. d'Albert, i. 164; - residence with, 165; - their household, 166; - affection to, 173; - paints her portrait, 178; - visits England, 181; - wished to translate the "Scenes," ii. 109; - two days with, 186; - translates the "Scenes," 187. - - Dürer, Albert, his paintings, ii. 24. - - Dutch translation of George Eliot's novels, iii. 139. - - Dutch and Flemish pictures in Dresden, ii. 44. - - Dwelling on faults, abstention from, iii. 89. - - Dying in harness, on, iii. 141. - - Dyspeptic troubles and their cure, ii. 288. - - - Early death, thoughts on, ii. 290. - - Edinburgh criticisms more favorable than London, ii. 64. - - Edinburgh, enjoyment of, i. 211; - visit to Craigcrook, 212. - - Editor's life, i. 215, 221. - - Education of Women, iii. 27; - the higher, 146. - - Effect of talking of her own books, ii. 85. - - Effect of writing, the, iii. 306. - - Egotism, cure for, i. 128. - - "Elijah," delight in hearing, i. 112, 118. - - Ellis, Mr. and Mrs., i. 191. - - Emerson, first meeting with, i. 139; - Carlyle's eulogium on, 140; - his "Man the Reformer," ii. 196. - - Empire in France, the, iii. 168. - - Englefield Green, delightful week at, ii. 244. - - English, attitude of the, towards Orientals, iii. 212; - ignorance of the Jews, 212. - - English domestic life _versus_ German, i. 271. - - English and French working classes, difference between, i. 131. - - "Englishwoman's Journal" on the Infant Seamstresses, ii. 97. - - Enjoying the thought of work, ii. 219. - - Enriched with new ideas after journey to Italy, ii. 182. - - "Ethics of George Eliot's Works," by J. C. Brown, iii. 266. - - Evans, Christiana (sister), married to Mr. Edward Clark, surgeon, - i. 22; - relations between the sisters, 22, 23; - her husband's death, 216; - plans for her family, 217; - letter to her brother Isaac regarding, 318; - visit to her sister, ii. 96. - - Evans, Isaac (brother), recollections of his sister, i. 11; - her susceptibility to terror, 12; - their happy childhood, 12; - his marriage, 61; - renewed correspondence with his sister on her marriage with Mr. - Cross, iii. 287; - notice of his family, 287. - - Evans, J. C., offers £1000 for a story for American periodical, - ii. 94. - - Evans, Mrs. Samuel (aunt), the Dinah Morris of "Adam Bede," i. 33. - - Evans, Robert (father), his career, i. 1, 2; - removed to Griff, 2; - influence of his ideas on his daughter, 4; - his position, 8; - his wife, partly represented in Mrs. Poyser, 10; - her death, 22; - removal to Foleshill Road, Coventry, 61; - strong disapproval of his daughter's religious views, 75; - she visits her brother at Griff, 79; - regrets her impetuosity, and returns to Foleshill, 81; - his illness, 100; - visits Dover with his daughter, 107; - trip to Isle of Wight, 120; - illness increases, and visits St. Leonards, 135; - returns to Coventry, 139; - his death, 148. - - Evidence, the value of, iii. 109. - - Evil-speaking, contrition for, i. 141. - - - "Fables," by Lord Lytton, iii. 162. - - Fairness and pity, where necessary, iii. 228. - - Fame in dreams, ii. 89. - - Family reunion, iii. 268; joys, iii. 286. - - Faraday, letter from, acknowledging presentation copy of "Clerical - Life," ii. 9. - - Farming, an epoch in, iii. 271. - - Faucit, Helen, admiration of, i. 222. - - Faults, abstention from dwelling on, iii. 89. - - "Faust," reading in the original, iii. 303. - - Faux, David, Confectioner (Brother Jacob), written, ii. 199. - - Fawcett, Henry, articles on Strikes by, ii. 194. - - "Fawn of Sertorius," i. 108. - - Fechter in "Hamlet," ii. 225; - his "Othello," 232. - - Feeling old for her years, ii. 193. - - "Felix Holt," writing commenced, ii. 290; - reading for, 292; - Blackwood offers £5000 for, 308; - pains taken with, 309; - finished in excitement, 311; - final instalment received from Blackwood, iii. 13; - payment for copyright, 13. - - Feminine characteristics, iii. 310, 311. - - Ferrier, Mr., translates Kaufmann's article on "Deronda," iii. 216. - - Feuerbach, translation of, published; first and only time her real - name appeared in print, i. 233. - - Fiction, contemporary, iii. 183. - - Fiction-reading condemned, i. 36. - - Fiction-writing, first mention of, i. 296; - how I came to write, 298-300. - - First authorship, i. 42. - - First novel, i. 298; - title of, 299. - - Flemish and Dutch pictures in Dresden, ii. 44. - - Florence: view from Fiesole and Bellasguardo, ii. 155; - the Duomo and Campanile, 156; - the palaces and libraries, 157; - the Loggia di Lanza, 158; - Santa Maria Novella, 158; - Santa Croce and the Carmine, 159; - the frescoes, 159; S. Maria Novella, 160; - San Michele, the shrine, 160; - the Uffizi Gallery, 161; - and pictures, 162; - Pitti pictures, 162; - paintings at the Accademia, 163; - Galileo's tower, 164; - Michael Angelo's house, 165, 166. - - Flower, Mr., i. 191. - - Fontainebleau, visit to, iii. 150. - - Forster, W. E., his article on Slavery, i. 218; - "Life of Dickens," iii. 104. - - Foster, Professor Michael, his draught of conditions for Lewes - scholar studentship, iii. 267, 269. - - France, the Empire in, iii. 168. - - Franco-German war, iii. 86, 92. - - Franklin, Miss Rebecca, her school at Coventry, i. 17; - her death, iii. 149. - - Freethinkers, little sympathy with, as a class, ii. 249. - - French and English working classes, difference between, i. 131. - - French revolution of 1848, i. 129. - - Froude's "Shadows of the Clouds," i. 146. - - Fuller, Margaret, her Journal, i. 198. - - Function of art, the, iii. 144. - - Furnishing, on troubles of, ii. 267. - - "Futile Lying," letter on, ii. 290. - - - Gambler, a girl, iii. 124. - - Garibaldi at the Crystal Palace, ii. 276. - - Gaskell, Mrs., suspected to have written "Adam Bede," ii. 82; - letter from, 102; - expresses admiration of "Scenes" and "Adam Bede," 107. - - Gaskell's, Mrs., "Ruth," i. 219. - - Geneva, life at Campagne Plongeon, i. 151-157; - Genevese preachers, 153, 154; - _Fête_ of Navigation, 157; - effect of change of life, 159; - plans for lessons, 160; - Baronne de Ludwigsdorff, 161; - home remembrances, 170; - beauty of scenery, 171; - delight in town life, 171; - the Juras, 178; - last days in, 179. - - Genevese preachers, i. 153, 154. - - Genoa, the cathedral, ii. 124. - - George Eliot.--1819-37: - Birth at Arbury farm, i. 1; - removal to Griff, 2; - anecdotes of father, 9; - character of mother, 10; - at Dame's school, 10; - at Miss Lathom's school at Attleboro, 11; - happy childhood, 12; - first books read, 13; - first journey to Staffordshire, 15; - Miss Wallington's school at Nuneaton, 15; - writes out "Waverley," 16; - favorite books, 17; - charade-acting, 17; - riot at Nuneaton, 20; - first letter to Miss Lewis, 21; - mother's illness and death, 22; - housekeeper at Griff, 24; - life and studies there, 24. - 1838-41: - First visit to London, i. 28; - religious asceticism, 29; - nineteenth birthday, 32; - religious objections to music, 32; - religious reflections, 34; - besetting sin, ambition, 35; - objections to fiction-reading, 36; - first poem, 42; - books read and studies pursued, 44; - German lessons begun, 45; - chart of ecclesiastical history, 46; - Italian studies, 49; - dislike to housekeeping work, 50; - reads Isaac Taylor, 51; - visits Birmingham to hear "Messiah," 53; - translates German poem, 54; - her reading, 57; - removal to Foleshill Road, Coventry, 59. - 1841-46: Coventry life, i. 61; - mental depression, 64; - friendship with Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 67; - reads Charles Hennell's "Inquiry," 67, 68; - effect of this book, 74; - gives up going to church, 75; - family difficulties, 79; - regrets her impetuosity, 81; - resumes going to church, 82; - intimacy with Miss Sara Hennell and Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 83; - attitude towards immortality, 84; - excursion to Stratford and Malvern, 85; - meets Robert Owen, 86; - studies German and music, 86, 87; - opinion in regard to conformity, 89; - translation of Strauss's "Leben Jesu," 90; - despair about publication of Strauss, 94; - trip to the Highlands, 97. - 1846-49: - Strauss translation published, i. 107; - classical books wanted, 108; - suspected of novel-writing, 108; - reading Foster's life, 109; - thoughts on Jesus at Emmaus, 110; - a child's idea of God, 111, 112; - visits London and hears "Elijah," 112; - re-reading Hennell's "Inquiry," 119; - visit to Isle of Wight with father, 120; - admiration of Richardson, 121; - delight in George Sand's "Lettres d'un Voyageur," 122; - dislike to Jews, 125; - supremacy of Hebrew poetry, 125; - admiration of Roberts and Creswick, 127; - opinion of Mr. Dawson the lecturer, 129; - sympathy with revolution, 130; - France and England contrasted, 131; - sympathy with nonconformity, 133; - visit to St. Leonards, 135; - father's illness, 135; - mental depression, 136; - how to be overcome, 136; - admiration of Louis Blanc, 137; - recovery from depression, 138; - opinion of "Jane Eyre," 138; - meets Emerson, 138; - again suffering from depression, 141; - contrition for evil-speaking, 141; - reading Macaulay's "History," 142; - bodily suffering, 143; - on the influence of Sand's and Rousseau's writings, 143, 144; - writes review of the "Nemesis of Faith," 145; - translates Spinoza's "Tractatus Theologico-Politicus," 147; - father's death, 148. - 1849-50: - Goes abroad with Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 150; - Geneva, life at Campagne Plongeon, 151,152; - prophetic anticipation of position seven years later, 158; - effect of change of life, 159; - plans for lessons, 160; - finds apartments in Geneva, 164; - enjoyment of society, 165; - need of encouragement, 165; - life in Geneva, 169, 170; - yearning for friends at home, 170; - remarks on translations of Spinoza, 172; - desire for a woman's duty, 173; - portrait by M. d'Albert, 178; - remarks on education of children, 179; - leaving Geneva, 180. - 1850-54: Return to England, 181; - reviews Mackay's "Progress of the Intellect" in _Westminster_, - 184; - assistant editor of _Westminster Review_, 186; - introduced to Mr. Lewes, 189; - intimacy begins, 192; - help in despondency, 198; - growing intimacy with Mr. Herbert Spencer, 201; - dislike of scrap-work, 203; - visit to Edinburgh, 211; - an editor's life, 214, 215; - ill with rheumatism, 218; - interest in America, 219; - growing intimacy with Mr. Lewes, 221, 232; - contemplates publishing "The Idea of a Future Life," 229; - union with Mr. Lewes, 234, 235; - letter to Mrs. Bray, 235, 236. - 1854-55: - Visits Antwerp with Mr. Lewes, i. 239; - extracts from journal, 239 _et seq._; - Weimar, i. 240-251; - Berlin recollections, 251-268; - work at Weimar and Berlin, 268; - remarks on books read, 268-271; - return to England, 271. - 1855-57: - Articles written, i. 275; - effect of article on Cumming, 278; - reading on physiology, 279; - miscellaneous writing, 280; - Spinoza's "Ethics," translation finished, 281; - wishes not to be known as translator, 283; - articles on Young and Riehl, 286; - tendency to scientific accuracy, 287; - naturalistic experiences, 288; - first mention of fiction-writing, 296; - "how I came to write fiction," 298; - correspondence about "Amos Barton," 300; - "Mr. Gilfil's Love-story" begun, 305; - Blackwood's high admiration of the story, 307; - name of George Eliot assumed, 309; - artistic bent, 310; - Caterina and the dagger scene, 313; - trip to the Scilly Isles, 313; - social life at St. Mary's, 316; - on conclusions of stories, 319; - Jersey recollections, 319-322; - Mr. Liggins, 323; - opinions of "Mr. Gilfil's Love-story," 324, 325; - happiness in her life, 328; - Blackwood's opinion of "Janet's Repentance," 329; - haunted by new story, 334; - "Adam Bede" begun, 337; - receives £120 for first edition of "Clerical Life," 337; - unbelief in others' love, 337; - sympathy with individuals, 339; - objection to theism, 339; - evening studies, 342; - Major Blackwood suspects identity of George Eliot, 324; - review of the year 1857. - 1858: - The _Times_ reviews of "Scenes of Clerical Life," ii. 1; - letter from Charles Dickens, recognizing woman's hand, 3; - from Froude, 3; - from Mrs. Carlyle, 7; - reveals herself to John Blackwood, 10; - visit to Germany, 14-46; - progress with "Adam Bede," 32; - latter half written, 42; - description of life at Dresden, 45; - history of "Adam Bede," 48-52; - retrospect of year, 55. - 1859-60: - Reading up for "Mill on the Floss," ii. 58; - letter to John Blackwood on "Adam Bede," 58; - wishes Carlyle to read her novels, 63; - awakening to fame, 68; - Mr. Liggins said to be author of "Adam Bede," 71; - finished the "Lifted Veil," 75; - reveals herself to Brays as author of "Adam Bede," 83; - trip to Switzerland, 87; - fourth edition (5000) of "Adam Bede" sold in a fortnight, 88; - receives £800 beyond bargain for success, 102; - 16,000 sold in one year, 107; - Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, 115; - "Mill on the Floss" finished, 116; - start for Italy, 116. - 1860: - First journey to Italy, ii. 120; - Rome, first sight of, 126; - description of Naples, 144, 145; - visit to Pompeii, 148; - Florence, 155; - first mention of Italian novel, 168; - Venice, 172; - home by Berne and Geneva, 181; - enriched with new ideas, 182. - 1860-61: - "Mill on the Floss" success, ii. 185; - sitting to Lawrence for portrait, 194; - independence secured, 203; - the queen's admiration of "Mill on the Floss," 203; - success of "Silas Marner," 214; - second journey to Italy, 216; - hopeful about future work, 220; - began "Romola," 230; - studying for, 235, 236. - 1862-65: - Begins "Romola" again, ii. 238; - offered £10,000 for "Romola" for the _Cornhill_, but idea given - up, 244; - £7000 accepted under new terms, 245; - the effect of writing "Romola," 255; - continued ill-health, 256, 258; - letter from Frederick Maurice, 259; - third visit to Italy, 278; - trying a drama, 280; - retrospect of year 1864, 282; - "A Word for the Germans" written, 288; - "Felix Holt" begun, 290; - readings, 292; - expedition to Brittany, 296; - retrospect of 1865, 299. - 1866: - Mr. Harrison's legal help in "Felix Holt," ii. 303, 304, 310; - offered £5000 for "Felix Holt" by Blackwood, 308; - visit to Holland and Germany, 312; - "The Spanish Gypsy" taken up again, 317; - reading for, 321; - start for Spain, 324. - 1867: - Journey to Spain, iii. 1; - learning Spanish, 3; - letters from Spain, 4-9; - return to the Priory, 9; - two months' visit to North Germany, 14; - acquaintance with Mrs. Cross and family, 15; - "Address to the Working Men," 19. - 1868: - Month's visit to Torquay, iii. 25; - "Spanish Gypsy" finished, 29; - notes on the "Spanish Gypsy," 30; - on the writing of poetry instead of novels, 36; - six weeks' journey to Baden, 37; - meditating subject of Timoleon, 49; - retrospect of the year, 50; - cheap edition of novels, 51. - 1869-72: - Poem on "Agatha," iii. 55; - writing "How Lisa Loved the King," 56; - fourth visit to Italy, 57; - religion of the future, 62; - "Sonnets on Childhood" finished, 65; - the phenomena of spiritualism, 67; - the Byron scandal, 72; - "Legend of Jubal" begun, 73; - letter on the Positivist problem, 75; - visit to Germany, 76; - three days' visit to Oxford, 80; - growing dislike of migratory life, 82; - "Armgart" begun, 85; - industrial schemes, 90; - visit to Petersfield, 94; - visit from Tennyson, 99; - delight in intellectual activity, 101; - reception of "Middlemarch," 103; - Foster's "Life of Dickens," 104; - "Middlemarch" finished, 121; - a month's visit to Homburg, 122; - a girl gambler, 124; - memorial article on author of "Thorndale," 126; - "Maga" on "Middlemarch," 130. - 1873-75: - Reception of "Middlemarch," iii. 138; - Dutch translation of novels, 139; - German reprints, 140; - visit to Cambridge, 147; - visit to the Master of Balliol, 149; - nine weeks' trip to the Continent, 150; - another book simmering in her thoughts, 157; - retrospect of 1873, 160; - cheaper edition of novels, 162; - "Legend of Jubal" published, 167; - journey to the Ardennes, 176; - sales of her books, 180; - value of early religious experience, 182; - not satisfied with "Deronda," 193; - depression in finishing, 194. - 1876-78: - Public interest in "Deronda," iii. 199; - Mrs. Stowe's admiration of "Deronda," 202; - letter to J. W. Cross, 204; - trip to the Continent, 205; - Jewish appreciation of "Deronda," 209; - Dr. Adler's lecture on, 216; - Mrs. Stowe and the Byron case, 221; - appreciation of Tennyson, 229; - gaining strength at Witley, 231; - meets Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, 236; - visit to Oxford, 236; - Mr. Lewes's ill-health, 239; - reception at the Priory, 241; - Mr. Lewes's last illness and death, 245-247. - 1879-80: - First weeks of loneliness, iii. 249; - announcement of "Theophrastus Such" delayed, 252; - project of Physiological Studentship, 254; - dissatisfied with "Theophrastus," 254; - letter to J. W. Cross asking counsel, 258; - reception of "Theophrastus" by the public, 263, 264; - serious renal attack, 265; - conditions for the studentship, 267; - renewed interest in social news, 270; - Dr. Roy appointed to studentship, 275; - death of John Blackwood, 276; - engagement to Mr. Cross, 279; - married at St. George's, Hanover Square, 283; - left for the Continent, 283; - letters from France and Italy, 284-294; - Mr. Cross's illness in Venice, 294; - arrival in England, 295; - recurrence of illness, 300; - recovery of strength, 313; - settled in Cheyne Walk, 313; - first appearance of sore throat, 315; - letter to Mrs. Strachey (unfinished), 316; - sudden death, 316. - - German editions of "Middlemarch," iii. 114. - - German poem, translation of, i. 54. - - German reading, iii. 124. - - German Revolution of '48 caused by real oppression, i. 258. - - German translation of "Adam Bede," ii. 116; - first volume received, 116. - - Germans, Vivier's anecdotes of, i. 264, 265; - domestic life of, 271. - - Germany, North, journey to, iii. 14; - places revisited and new scenes, 15. - - Germany, second visit to, 1854: - Munich, ii. 14-34; - Ischl, 37; - Vienna, 38; - Prague, 40; - Dresden, 45; - Leipzig, 46. - - Germany, visit to, in 1854; - extracts from journal: Weimar, i. 240; - Berlin, 251, 252. - - Gift of a vase from Miss Mary Cross, iii. 166. - - Girl gambler, a, iii. 124. - - Girton College scheme, iii. 18. - - Goethe on Spinoza, ii. 298. - - Goschen, Mr., dinner with, iii. 236; - meets Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, 236. - - Got's acting, iii. 101. - - Granada, the Alhambra, iii. 7; - view from, 8. - - Grand Chartreuse, expedition to the, iii. 285. - - Grandcourt and Lush, iii. 200. - - Grandison, Sir Charles, i. 121. - - Green, Professor T., iii. 149. - - Ground of moral action, iii. 178. - - Gurney, Mr. Edmund, iii. 147. - - Gurney, Rev. Archer, on "Scenes of Clerical Life," i. 324. - - Guthrie, Dr., address by, i. 230. - - - Hamilton, Sir William, valuable contributions, i. 278. - - Hamley, Colonel (now General Sir Edward Hamley), impressions of, - ii. 315; - thanks for letter to the _Times_, iii. 93. - - Handel Festival, the, ii. 82. - - Hannay, Mr., on "Romola," ii. 252. - - Happiness in recovery of health, iii. 313. - - Hare, Mrs. Julius, ii. 263; - her death, 273. - - Harrison, Frederic, letter to, on industrial co-operation, ii. 303; - his legal advice in "Felix Holt," 303; - more consultations with, 305, 306; - letter to, on æsthetic teaching, etc., 318; - receives a copy of "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 36; - consultation with, 186. - - Harrogate, its lovely walks, ii. 281. - - Haughton, Mrs., letters to: - on contrition for evil-speaking, i. 141; - on friends at home, 159; - on the bondage of luxuries, 177; - on her proof-reading, 231. - - Haunted by new story, i. 334. - - Hawthorne, admiration of, i. 208. - - Heine, article on, in _Westminster_, i. 279. - - Helps, Arthur, dinner with, i. 230; - incident in Spain, 242; - on "Clerical Life," ii. 2. - - Hemans's "The Forest Sanctuary," i. 57. - - Hennell, Charles, analysis of "An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of - Christianity," i. 68-74; - his marriage, 85. - - Hennell, Miss Mary, author of "An Outline of the various Social - Systems founded on the Principle of Co-operation," her death, - i. 84. - - Hennell, Miss Sara, first meeting with, i. 82; - letters to, on mental characteristics, 84; - dangers of nonconformity, 89, 90; - translating Strauss, 92; - Strauss difficulties, 96; - title of translation, 98; - finishing translation, 101; - longing for idleness, 102; - thankfulness for help in translation, 103; - visit to Mrs. Hennell, 107; - desire for classics, 108; - relief from work, 109; - admiration of "Heliados," 111; - philosophy and religion, 121; - "Live and teach," 122; - "sweet uses" of adversity, 135; - depression by father's illness, 136; - the "Romanticist," 139; - a longing for sympathy, 141; - bodily suffering, 143; - return to England, 180, 181; - Mr. Chapman's soirées, 190; - delight with change of life, 206; - letter from Berlin, 262; - on essay "Christianity and Infidelity," 311; - peacefully busy, 334; - delight in Mr. Lewes's books, ii. 11; - on the death of a mother, 12; - admiration of Liebig, 25; - sympathy with, on her mother's death, 32; - letter from Dresden, 45; - about Mrs. Clarke, 66, 67; - recollections of Mr. Liggins, 72; - authorship acknowledged to, 83; - "expecting disappointments," 201, 202; - settled in new house, 204, 205; - on the blessings of good health, 229; - old remembrances, 233; - on her low health, 306; - a birthday letter, iii. 129. - - Hereditary misfortunes, iii. 34. - - Hereford, Dean of, i. 227. - - Herts, country-house in, iii. 186. - - Higher education of women, iii. 13, 146. - - History of "Adam Bede," ii. 48-52. - - "History of Europe," Alison's, i. 282. - - History reading, iii. 234. - - Holbein's Madonna, ii. 42. - - Holland and Germany, journey to, ii. 312; - the route taken, 315. - - Holland, Sir Henry, visit from, ii. 321. - - Holmwood Common, iii. 174. - - Homburg, the gaming-tables, iii. 122. - - Home, enjoyment of, iii. 208. - - Home for Girls, iii. 181. - - Home life, i. 13; iii. 107, 108. - - "Horsedealer in Syria," ii. 101. - - Housekeeping work, dislike of, i. 50. - - How I came to write fiction, i. 298-300. - - Hungarian, "Adam Bede" translated into, ii. 115. - - Hunt, Leigh, his "The Religion of the Heart," i. 226. - - Huth, Mrs. and Miss, iii. 147. - - Hutton, R. H., letter to, on "Romola," ii. 261. - - "Huxley on M. Comte," Dr. Congreve's article on, iii. 58. - - Huxley, Mr., an agreeable evening with, i. 220. - - Hyrtl, the German anatomist, ii. 39. - - - "Idea of a Future Life," contemplates publishing, i. 229. - - Ilfracombe recollections: journey to, i. 285; - naturalistic experiences, 288; - zoological expeditions, 289; - Devonshire lanes, 289; - Rev. Mr. Tugwell, 290; - the scientific spirit, 291; - leave for Tenby, 292. - - Illness a partial death, iii. 155. - - Illustrations in cheap edition, not _queerer_ than in other books, - iii. 217. - - Impetuosity regretted, i. 81. - - "Impossibility of marrying," dangers of speaking of, ii. 212. - - Incentive to production, iii. 224. - - Independence of external good, i. 81. - - Indian newspaper-writing, iii. 237. - - Individual versus the general, the, iii. 33. - - Industrious poor, helping the, iii. 90. - - Inkermann, battle of, a mere brave blundering, iii. 182. - - Inman, Dr., Liverpool, ii. 114. - - Innspruck and Wildbad, iii. 294, 295. - - Intellectual activity, enjoyment of, iii. 101. - - Intellectual superciliousness, ii. 255. - - "Introduction to the Science of Language," iii. 303. - - "Iphigenia in Aulis," iii. 145. - - Irregular verses, the use of, iii. 40. - - Ischl, the Gmunden See, ii. 37; - voyage down the Danube, 38. - - Isle of Wight, trip to the, ii. 72, 256. - - Italian novel, first mention of, ii. 168. - - Italian studies, i. 49. - - Italy, first journey to, 1860: - Turin, ii. 122; - Genoa, 123; - Leghorn, 124; - Pisa, 125; - Rome, 126-144; - Naples, 144; - Salerno, 151; - Pæstum, 152; - Amalfi, 153; - Sorrento, 153, 154; - Florence, 155; - Bologna, 168; - Padua, 170; - Venice, 172; - Verona, 179; - Milan, 179-181. - - Italy, second journey to, ii. 216; - stay at Florence, 217; - renewed delight in, 219; - work during the visit, 221. - - Italy, third visit to, ii. 277; - Mr. Burton's companionship, 278; - the Alps by the St. Gothard, 278. - - Italy, fourth visit to, iii. 57; - places visited, 58. - - Italy, fifth visit to: Milan, iii. 288; - Verona, 289; - Venice, 291. - - - "Jane Eyre," opinion of, i. 138. - - Jansa, Herr, takes lessons from, ii. 271. - - Jersey recollections, 1857: - scenery, i. 319; - inland walks, 320, 321; - coast beauties, 321; - books read, 322. - - Jesus at Emmaus, thoughts on, i. 110. - - Jewish appreciation of "Deronda," iii. 207, 216. - - Jews, dislike of, i. 125; - English ignorance of the, iii. 212. - - Jones, Mr. Owen, decorates the new house, ii. 265, 266. - - Journal, 1855: - Third book of "Ethics," preface written, i. 273; - _Westminster Review_, 274; - wrote for the _Leader_, 275. - 1856: - Working at Spinoza, i. 281; - first mention of fiction-writing, 296; - "Mr. Gilfil's Love-story" begun, 305. - 1857: - Pleasant letters regarding "Gilfil," i. 323, 324; - finished "Janet's Repentance," 336; - began "Adam Bede," 336; - books read, 342; - the year's work, 344. - 1858: - News from the city regarding "Clerical Life," ii. 12; - visit to Germany, 14-46; - "Adam Bede" finished, 48. - 1859: - A trip to Lucerne, ii. 87; - return to England, 88; - declined American offer for new story, 94; - anxiety and doubt about new novel, 97. - 1860: - Seeing friends, ii. 114; - first journey to Italy, 120-182. - 1861: - Second journey, ii. 216; - struggling constantly with depression, 227; - continued ill-health, 243-245; - despondency, 279. - 1868: - Books, reading, iii. 25; - retrospect of year, 50. - 1869: - Work in prospect, iii. 55; - beginning "Middlemarch," 69; - "Legend of Jubal" begun, 73. - 1870: - In languid health, iii. 79. - 1871: - First part of "Middlemarch" published, iii. 104. - 1873: - Success of "Middlemarch," iii. 138; - retrospect of year, 159. - 1875: - Sales of books, iii. 180. - 1876: - Depression in writing "Deronda," iii. 194. - 1877: - Cabinet edition decided on, iii. 230; - declined to renew copyright agreement, 230; - close of her journal, 233. - 1879: - Seeing visitors, iii. 260. - 1880: - Her marriage with Mr. Cross, iii. 283; - came to 4 Cheyne Walk, 311. - - Jowett, Mr., Master of Balliol, visit to, iii. 149. - - Julian the Apostate, Strauss's pamphlet on, i. 139. - - Justification in writing, iii. 173. - - - Kaufmann, Dr. David, letter to, on his estimate of "Daniel - Deronda," iii. 222; - on the function of the teacher, 226; - on Lewes's death, 257. - - Kenelm Chillingly, iii. 141. - - Knight, Charles, i. 202. - - - La Bruyère's wisdom, iii. 235. - - Lamartine as a poet, i. 130. - - Languages, her knowledge of, iii. 305. - - La Vernia, description of, ii. 223. - - Lawrence wishes to take her portrait, ii. 115; - sits for it, 194. - - Lecky's "History of Rationalism," ii. 291. - - Lecture on "Daniel Deronda," by Dr. Adler, iii. 216. - - Leeds, the horrible smoke of, iii. 43; - its fine hospital, 44. - - "Legend of Jubal," some verses written, iii. 73; - published as "Legend of Jubal, and other Poems," 167; - new edition of, 169. - - Leghorn, the Jewish synagogue, ii. 125; - to Civita Vecchia, 125; - a pleasant companion, 126. - - Leipzig, two days at, ii. 45; - its picture-gallery, 45. - - Leroux, Pierre, his theories, i. 194. - - Letters to her friends almost all destroyed, ii. 207. - - "Letter to Berthelot," Renan's, ii. 269. - - Lewes, Charles, first letter to, ii. 91; - on musical parties, 98; - on liking for algebra, 106; - returns from Hofwyl, 185; - receives appointment in Post-office, 194; - letters from Florence to, 216, 219, 221; - from Isle of Wight, 257; - his engagement, 278; - letters to, on Harrison's paper, iii. 262; - on printing the "Problems," 276; - from Grenoble, 285; - from Milan, 288; from Venice, 291; - from Stuttgart and Wildbad, 294, 295; - on his visit to St. Blasien, 297; - on recurrence of illness, 300. - - Lewes, George H., i. 188; - first introduction to Miss Evans, 189; - meet at the theatre, 192; - article on "Julia von Krüdener," 192; - his Comte papers, 209; - growing intimacy, 221; - his "History of Philosophy," 227; - illness, 231; - intimate relations with Miss Evans, 232; - their union, 235; - completed life of Goethe at Weimar, 267; - estimation of George Eliot, 277; - necessity for hard work, 277; - proposes sending boys to Hofwyl, 284; - goes to Switzerland with them, 297; - highly pleased with "Amos Barton," 300; - letter to John Blackwood with MS. of "Scenes of Clerical Life," 300; - George Eliot revealed to John Blackwood, ii. 10; - suggestions in "Adam Bede," 49, 50; - extract from Journal, 55; - "Physiology of Common Life," 92; - "Studies in Animal Life," 113; - dispassionate judgment, 202; - delicate health, 223; - busy with Aristotle, 233; - "History of Science" begun, 243; - views of Bible-reading, 251; - buoyant nature, 290; - walking expedition with Mr. Spencer, iii. 15; - acquaintance with Mrs. Cross, 15; - visits Bonn, 20; - death of his mother, 91; - proposed for Rectorship of St. Andrews, 232; - continued illness, 240; - his death, 247. - - Lewes, Herbert, his death, iii. 189. - - Lewes Studentship proposed, iii. 253; - plans for, and trustees, 254. - - Lewes, Thornton, leaves for Natal, ii. 264; - returns, iii. 63; - his death, 73. - - Lewis, Miss, Leamington, iii. 192. - - Lewis, Miss, letters to: - On first visit to London, i. 28; - on living for eternity, 30; - emulation of Wilberforce, 31; - oratorios, 32; - bad effect of novels, 37; - religious controversies, 39; - first authorship, 42; - studies pursued, 44; - Italian studies, 49; - Mrs. Somerville's "Connection of the Physical Sciences," 50; - opinions of Isaac Taylor, 51; - German translation, 54; - a walled-in world, 55; - sensitiveness, 57; - war's purgations, 59; - satisfaction with new life, 62; - depression of mind, 64; - mind requiring rest, 65; - desire for brain waves, 66; - religious doubts and difficulties, 74, 75; - on self-denial, 78. - - Lichfield, recollections of, ii. 96. - - Liddell, Dean, Oxford, iii. 173. - - Liebig, Professor, ii. 23; - admiration of, 25, 29. - - "Life of Goethe," i. 275. - - "Lifted Veil," finished April, 1859, ii. 75; - the idea of the story, iii. 141. - - Liggins, Mr., first mention of, i. 323; - calls himself George Eliot, ii. 71; - some recollections of, 72; - Mr. Anders's apology, 78; - Mr. Bracebridge's letter regarding, 99. - - Limitations of scientists, iii. 182. - - Lincoln, President, anecdote of, iii. 82. - - Lincoln, the Rector of, iii. 81. - - Lincolnshire, visits to, iii. 288. - - "Lisa," writing rhymed poem on, iii. 55. - - Literary biography, iii. 163. - - Literary taste at bookstalls, iii. 51. - - Littlehampton, trip to, ii. 247. - - Liturgy of the English Church and the Bible, ii. 226. - - Living abroad, drawbacks to, iii. 203. - - Lockhart, Captain, his writings, iii. 98, 193. - - Lonely days: "here I and sorrow sit," iii. 249. - - Louis Blanc, admiration of, i. 138. - - Louis Philippe and his sons, i. 130. - - Lowell's "My Study Windows," iii. 96. - - Lucerne, a trip to, ii. 87; - visit from Mrs. Congreve, 87. - - Lush and Grandcourt, iii. 200. - - Lushington, Mrs. Vernon, iii. 220. - - Lyrics for "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 16. - - Lytton, Hon. Mrs. Robert (now Lady Lytton), letter of sympathy to, - iii. 83; - on thoughts of death, 99, 100; - on Lord Lytton's Indian experiences, 281. - - Lytton, Hon. Robert (now Lord Lytton), on pronunciation in "Spanish - Gypsy," iii. 52; - explanation of errors, 52. - - Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer, letter from, thanking author of "Adam - Bede," ii. 74, 75; - visit from, 115; - criticises "Adam Bede," 115; - his criticisms of "Maggie," 190. - - - Macaulay, interest in, i. 142. - - Mackay's "Progress of the Intellect" reviewed, i. 183; - extracts from, 183-185, 190. - - "Macmillan," article on "The Mill on the Floss" in, ii. 212. - - Macmillan, Mr., his proposal for volume on Shakespeare, iii. 231. - - Madrid, the Gallery, iii. 9. - - Madonna di San Sisto, first impression of, ii. 43. - - Main, Mr., collector of "The Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings of - George Eliot," iii. 103; - opinions of, 105. - - Maine, Sir Henry, on Lewes's "Physiology," iii. 267. - - Malvern, trip to, ii. 228; - improved health from, 230, 231. - - "Man's Nature and Development," i. 187. - - "Marie of Villefranche," by Miss Mary Cross, iii. 100. - - Marriage, possibilities in, iii. 181. - - Marriage, the ideal, iii. 142. - - Martineau, Harriet, "The Crofton Boys," i. 93; - meeting with, 94, 193; - invitation from, 197; - article on "Niebuhr," 203; - visit to, at Ambleside, 212; - respect for her, ii. 103; - her autobiography, iii. 214, 219. - - Martineau, James, i. 192; - critique of Kingsley's "Phaethon," 219; - on Sir William Hamilton, 223; - invitation from, 54; "Comte," 55. - - Martineau, Maria, her death, ii. 274. - - "Masculine woman," dislike of the, iii. 308. - - Masson, Mr., on Recent Philosophy, ii. 298. - - Mathematics, her love for, iii. 305. - - Matlock, recollections of, iii. 47. - - Maurice, Frederick, generous tribute from, ii. 259. - - Mazzini, asked to write on "Freedom _v._ Despotism," i. 194; - his speeches, 198. - - Mazzini Fund, the, ii. 294. - - Mazzini's death, iii. 113. - - "Meliorist," the word, iii. 217. - - Memorial article on author of "Thorndale," iii. 126. - - Mendelssohn's "Letters," iii. 84. - - Mental characteristics described, i. 84. - - "Middlemarch," writing introduction, iii. 69; - reading for, 71, 72; - the design of, 99; - anticipations of, 103; - first part published, 104; - French and German interest in, 112; - delayed by ill-health, 113; - £1200 from Harpers for reprint, 114; - finished, 121; - reviewed in _Blackwood's Magazine_, 130; - new edition called for, 153; - number sold in 1873, 160; - December, 1874, 20,000 sold, 180. - - Milan, the Ambrosian Library, ii. 180; - the "Brera," 180; - Church of San Ambrogio, 181; - the "Luini" pictures, iii. 288. - - Military men, articles by, iii. 265. - - Mill, John Stuart, his "Autobiography," iii. 158. - - "Mill on the Floss," first volume finished as "Sister Maggie," - ii. 101; - Blackwood's proposals for, 110; - discussions as to title, 111; - Blackwood's suggestion adopted, 112; - Harpers, New York, give £300 for American edition, 115; - third volume finished, 116; - inscription on, 116; - sad at finishing, 117; - first and second editions (6000) sold, 185. - - Miracle play at Antwerp, the, ii. 316. - - Miscellaneous writing, i. 280. - - Misconception of others, on, ii. 197. - - "Miss Brooke," experimenting on, iii. 91. - - Mixed marriages in Germany, ii. 28. - - Modern German art, ii. 27. - - Mohl, Madame, dinner with, iii. 1. - - Moleschott, of Zurich, ii. 182. - - Molière's "Misanthrope," ii. 108. - - Mommsen's "History of Rome," ii. 264. - - Mont Cenis, passage of, ii. 120. - - Moral action, ground of, iii. 178. - - Moral sanction is obedience to facts, iii. 34. - - Morality with the "Bible shut," i. 230. - - More, Mrs. Hannah, her letters, i. 123. - - Müller, Max, ii. 239; iii. 149. - - Munich, the opera, ii. 18; - Samson and Delilah, 18; - Schwanthaler's "Bavaria," 19; - appreciation of Rubens, 20; - Catholic and Protestant worship, 21; - the Glyptothek and Pinnacothek, 21; - Kaulbach, Bodenstedt, and Genelli, 22, 23; - Professor Wagner, 23; - Professor Martius, 23; - Liebig, 23, 25; - Heyse and Geibel, 23; - music of the "Faust," 24; - Professor Löher, 24; - Albert Dürer's paintings, 24; - Bluntschli and Melchior Meyr, 25; - the _Tafel-rund_, 26; - the Siebolds, 26, 33; - Kaulbach's pictures, 27; - mixed marriages, 28; - porcelain-painting, 30; - Madame Bodenstedt, 30; - visit to Grosshesselohe, 31; - Lewes leaves for Switzerland, 33; - leaves for Dresden, 33. - - Murillo's St. Rodriguez, ii. 43. - - Music, cheap, inconveniences connected with, in England, ii. 81. - - Musical evenings with Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford, ii. 227, 229, 230. - - Musical parties, ii. 99. - - Myers, Mr. Frederick, Cambridge, iii. 147. - - "My Vegetarian Friend," written, ii. 285. - - - Nancy, the Germans at, iii. 151. - - Naples: first impressions, ii. 144; - visits to Baiæ, Avernus, and Misena, 145; - to Pozzuoli and Capo di Monte, 146; - the Cemetery, 147; - Museo Borbonico, 147; - Pompeii, 148; - its remains, 149; - beauty of, 150; - the pictures at, 151; - Giotto's frescoes, 151; - leave for Florence, 154. - - Nearness of death, imagining the, iii. 170. - - Negative attitude unsatisfactory, iii. 156. - - "Nemesis of Faith," reviews the, i. 145; - note from Froude, 145. - - New house, enjoyment of, ii. 269, 270. - - Newman, Francis, i. 140; iii. 165. - - Newman's "Apologia," ii. 280. - - Newman's, J. H., "Lectures on the Position of Catholics," i. 192. - - New misery in writing, i. 227. - - New Year's wishes, iii. 139. - - Nichol's "Architecture of the Heavens," i. 65. - - Nightingale, Miss Florence, note from, i. 206; ii. 61. - - Noel, Mr., i. 191. - - Nonconformity, effect of, i. 79; - dangers of, 90. - - Normandy, trip to, ii. 296. - - _North British_, favorable review, ii. 199. - - Notes on the "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 30, 31. - - Novel-writing, suspected of, i. 108. - - Nuneaton, riot at, i. 20. - - Nürnberg, description of, ii. 14; - its roofs and balconies, 15; - the Frauen-Kirche, 16; - effect of Catholic "Function," 17; - Albert Dürer's house, 17. - - - Old people's judgments, i. 118. - - "Old Town Folks," appreciation of, iii. 66. - - Oliphant, Lawrence, and the colonizing of Palestine, iii. 252. - - Oliphant, Mrs., the novelist, ii. 11. - - _Once a Week_, a story requested for, ii. 104, 106. - - Oratorios at Birmingham, i. 53. - - Oratorios condemned, i. 32. - - Orientals, English attitude towards, iii. 211. - - Osborne, Bernal, on "Deronda," iii. 200. - - Otter, Francis, letter to, on his engagement, iii. 180, 181. - - Owen, Professor, i. 202; - on the cerebellum, 210; - sends his "Palæontology," ii. 116. - - Owen, Robert, i. 86. - - Oxford, first visit to, iii. 80; - people met with, 80. - - Oxford Tracts and Christian Year, i. 48. - - - Padua, Church of San Antonio, ii. 170; - the Arena Chapel, 171; - Giotto's painting, 171. - - Pæstum, the Temple of Neptune, ii. 152. - - Paris, visit to Comte's apartment, ii. 286. - - Parkes, Miss (Madame Belloc), friendship with, i. 195; iii. 289. - - "Pascal," by Principal Tulloch, iii. 235. - - Passionate affliction, defence against, iii. 84. - - Patience, the need of, iii. 128. - - "Paul Bradley," by Mrs. Bray, iii. 164. - - Pays no visits in London, ii. 215. - - Peabody, George, his magnificent gift, ii. 245. - - Pears, Mrs., letters to: on religious difficulties, i. 76; - on desire for truth, 77; - on her impetuosity, 81; - her friendship with Mr. Robert Evans, 147. - - Penmaenmawr, ii. 96. - - Permanent influence of ideas, the, iii. 89. - - Persistence in application, iii. 304. - - Personal bearing, her, iii. 310. - - Personal portraiture objected to, iii. 228. - - Personality, independence of our, iii. 84. - - Phenomena of spiritualism, the, iii. 67. - - Philosophical Club, first meeting of, ii. 248; - dissolution of, 253. - - "Philosophy of Necessity," the, i. 339. - - Phrenological indications, i. 78. - - Phrenology, the position of, i. 340. - - Physiological reading, i. 279. - - Physiological Studentship, the purpose of, iii. 256. - - "Physiology for Schools," Mrs. Bray's, ii. 267. - - Pigott, Mr. Edward Smith, i. 293. - - Pisa, description of, ii. 125; - the cathedral, 125. - - Pity and fairness, where requisite, iii. 228. - - Plain living and high thinking, iii. 161. - - Plombières and the Vosges, iii. 150. - - Poem in _Christian Observer_, i. 43. - - Poetry instead of novels, on writing, iii. 36. - - Poetry of Christianity, i. 93; ii. 251. - - Poets, the value of, iii. 184. - - Political and religious standpoint, iii. 308. - - Pompeii and its remains, ii. 149, 150, 154. - - Ponsonby, Hon. Mrs. (now Lady Ponsonby), letter to, on the idea - of God an exaltation of human goodness, etc., iii. 176; - on the desire to know the difficulties of others, 184; - on excess of public-houses, 188; - on pity and fairness, 228. - - Poor, helping industrious, iii. 90. - - "Popular author," characteristics of the, ii. 59. - - Popular Concerts, Monday, ii. 204, 248. - - Popular judgment of books, iii. 62. - - Popular preacher, a, iii. 87. - - Positivism in "The Spanish Gypsy," iii. 49. - - Positivism regarded as one-sided, ii. 224. - - Possession, the sense of, iii. 306. - - Power of the will, the, iii. 179. - - Poyser, Mrs., her dialogue, ii. 54; - quoted in House of Commons, 69. - - Prague: the Jewish burial-ground, ii. 40; - impressive view, 41. - - Preacher, a popular, criticised, iii. 87. - - Presentation copies never sent, ii. 216. - - Press notices of "Adam Bede," ii. 60. - - "Pretended comforts," ii. 296. - - Prince Albert, admiration of, i. 202. - - Printed rancor, on, iii. 221. - - Priory, receptions at the, iii. 241. - - Private correspondence almost all destroyed, ii. 207. - - Private theatricals, i. 176, 178. - - "Problems of Life and Mind," by G. H. Lewes, iii. 203, 210. - - _Prospective Review_, i. 219; - on Goethe, 224. - - Psychical troubles, i. 232. - - Public-houses, excess of, iii. 188. - - Public interest in "Deronda," iii. 199. - - Public school and University education, iii. 309. - - Publishing books, on different methods of, iii. 190, 191. - - "Pug," letter to John Blackwood on, ii. 91. - - - Quackery of infidelity, i. 89. - - _Quarterly_ on "The Mill on the Floss," ii. 201. - - Queen's admiration of "The Mill on the Floss," ii. 203. - - Quiet joy in success, ii. 72. - - Quirk, Mr., finally renounces Liggins, ii. 96. - - - Race characteristics, i. 125. - - Ragatz, "The Cure" at, iii. 206; - gain in health from, 210. - - Rancor, on printed, iii. 221. - - Rawlinson, Professor, iii. 80. - - Reade, Charles, on "Adam Bede," ii. 70. - - Reading aloud, the effect of her, iii. 302, 303. - - Reading world very narrow, iii. 131. - - Reeves, Sims, singing "Adelaide," ii. 205. - - Religion and art, i. 126; - the development of, iii. 62. - - Religious controversies, i. 39, 47; - aspirations, 63; - doubts and difficulties, 74, 76; - forms and ceremonies, ii. 205; - assemblies, the need of, iii. 156; - and political standpoint, 308. - - Renan, estimate of, ii. 269; - his appearance, iii. 3. - - Renan's "Vie de Jésus," ii. 260. - - Renunciation, on, iii. 35. - - Repugnance to autobiography, iii. 221. - - Responsibility of authorship, ii. 89. - - Retrospect of year 1819, i. 4, 5; - of 1857, 346; - of 1858, ii. 55; - of 1864, 285; - of 1865, 300; - of 1868, iii. 50; - of year 1873, 159. - - Reviews, effect of, ii. 192; - abstains from reading, 193. - - Reviews of "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 40, 44. - - Revolution, sympathy with, i. 130. - - Revolutionary spirit, i. 138. - - "Revue des Deux Mondes," review of "Adam Bede," ii. 105; - Lewes accepts editorship of periodical on plan of, ii. 287. - - Rewards of the artist, the, ii. 107. - - Richmond Park, the charms of, i. 326; - sunset effects, 341. - - Riehl's "Die Familie," i. 344. - - Ritualistic services at Ryde, iii. 91. - - Rive, M. le Professeur de la, his lectures, i. 175, 177. - - Romance in real life, a, ii. 258, 259. - - Rome: from Civita Vecchia to, ii. 126; - first sight of, 126; - disappointed with, 127; - view from the Capitol, 128; - the Sabine and Alban hills, 128; - the temples and palaces, 129; - the arches and columns, 129, 130; - the Coliseum and baths, 130; - the Lateran and Vatican sculptures, 131; - St. Peter's, 132; - mediæval churches, 133; - Sistine chapel, 133; - palaces, 133, 134; - illumination of St. Peter's, 134; - the Quirinal, 134; - San Pietro in Vincoli, 134; - Michael Angelo's "Moses," 135; - modern artists, 135; - Riedel and Overbeck, 136; - Pamfili Doria gardens, 137; - Villa Albani and Frascati, 137; - Tivoli, 138; - pictures at the Capitol, 139; - the Lateran Museum, 139; - Shelley's and Keats's graves, 140; - removal to apartments, 142; - the French occupation, 143; - beautiful mothers and children, 143; - the Pope's blessing, 144. - - "Romola," first conception of, ii. 197; - began the first chapter, 230; - studying for, 234; - begins it again, 238; - Smith offers £10,000 for it to appear in the _Cornhill_, 244; - £7000 accepted, 245; - slow progress in writing, 246, 250; - opinions of, 252; - strain of writing, 255; - finished Part XIII., 255; - completion of, 256; - application to translate into Italian, iii. 216. - - Rosehill, visit to, i. 193. - - Roundell, Mr. and Mrs. Charles, iii. 149. - - Roy, Dr. Charles, elected Lewes Physiological student, iii. 275; - his treatise on "Blood Pressure," 298. - - Rubens, appreciation of, ii. 20. - - Rumors of authorship, ii. 13. - - Ruskin and Alfieri, reading, iii. 292. - - Ruskin's Works, opinion of, ii. 5. - - Ryde, visit to, iii. 91; - ritualistic service at, 91. - - - Salerno, visit to, ii. 151. - - Salzburg, description of scenery, ii. 36. - - Sand's, George, "Lettres d'un Voyageur," i. 122. - - Saragossa, the old cathedral, iii. 5. - - Saturday Popular Concerts, last visit to, iii. 315. - - _Saturday Review_, the, i. 281. - - Saveney on "La Physique Moderne," iii. 3. - - Scarborough, visit to, ii. 281. - - "Scenes of Clerical Life:" "Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton," i. 299; - offered to Blackwood, 300; - accepted, 304; - sensitiveness of author, 304; - "Mr. Gilfil's Love-story" begun, 305; - "Amos Barton," published in January (1856) Magazine, 305; - opinions regarding authorship, 308, 309; - assumes the name of George Eliot, 310; - Caterina and the dagger scene, 313; - "Mr. Gilfil" finished, 319; - epilogue to, 319; - opinions of, 324; - "Janet's Repentance" begun, 326; - Blackwood's opinion of, 328; - increased circulation, 342; - favorable opinions of, ii. 10. - - Scherer, Professor, Geneva, iii. 8. - - School-fellows, excels her, i, 19. - - Schwalbach, description of, ii. 312. - - Scientists, limitations of, iii. 182. - - Scilly Islands, recollections of: St. Mary's, i. 314; - Beauties of the coast, 314; - sunlight on the waves, 315; - social life, 316. - - Scotch Reign of Terror, disbelief in a, i. 132. - - Scotland, trip to, i. 97; visit to, ii. 275. - - Scott Commemoration, afraid of journey to, iii. 97, 98. - - Scott, Life of Sir Walter, ii. 61. - - Scrap-work, dislike of, i. 203. - - Sculpture and painting, i. 127. - - Sensibility to criticism, ii. 63. - - Sequel to "Adam Bede" proposed, ii. 100. - - Shakespeare's "Passionate Pilgrim," i. 273. - - Shakespeare, the acting preferred to the reading, ii. 109. - - Shakespeare, volume on, requested by Macmillan, iii. 231. - - Sheffield, visit to, iii. 46; early recollections of, 46. - - Shelley's "Cloud," i. 53. - - Shottermill, life at, iii. 94. - - Sibree, John, letters to, i. 123; - on "Tancred" and D'Israeli, 123, 124; - race characteristics, 125; - religion and art, 126; - painting and sculpture, 127; - sympathy with him, 128; - necessity of utterance, 132; - desire for a change, 133. - - Sibree, Miss Mary (Mrs. John Cash), her recollections of Miss Evans - at Coventry, i. 113-116; - letter to, 327. - - Sidgwick, Mr. Henry, iii. 147. - - Siebold the anatomist, ii. 26. - - Siena, expedition to, ii. 164; - the Cathedral, 164, 165; - its paintings, 165. - - "Silas Marner, the Weaver of Raveloe," a sudden inspiration, ii. 204; - story begun, 207; - its sombre character, 210; - subscription to, 5500, 212. - - Silence of the country, iii. 107. - - "Silly Novels by Lady Novelists," article on, finished, i. 297. - - Simpson, Mr. George, Edinburgh, letter to, iii. 135; - proposed a yet cheaper edition of novels, 162; - author's regret at not adopting the plan, 162. - - "Small upper room" 1866 years ago, comparison with, ii. 285. - - Smith, Albert, on "Amos Barton," i. 308. - - Smith, Barbara (Madame Bodichon), i. 205, 295. - _See_ Madame Bodichon. - - Smith, Mr. George, offers £10,000 for "Romola," to appear in the - _Cornhill_, ii. 244; - accepted for £7000, 245. - - Smith, Mrs. William, letters to, on the Memoir of her husband, - iii. 126, 142; - on the higher education of women, 146; - on her poems, 160. - - Smith, Sydney, anecdote of, ii. 299. - - Smith, William, author of "Thorndale," ii. 5, 212; - his illness, iii. 109; - his death, 119; - memoir of, 185. - - Social dangers, i. 56. - - Somerville's, Mrs., "Connection of the Physical Sciences," i. 50. - - "Sonnets on Childhood," iii. 65. - - Sorrento, visit to, ii. 153; - its neighborhood, Vico, and the Syren Isles, 154. - - Spain, set off on journey to, ii. 324; - return home, iii. 9. - - "Spanish Gypsy," reading for, ii. 280; - first act finished, 283; - taken up again, 317; - reading for, 321; - recommenced in new form, 321; - reading for, iii. 15; - Mr. Lewes's opinion of, 22; - shortening of, 29; - finished, 29; - notes on, 30; - the _motif_ of the poem, 30; - reviews of, 39, 40; - second and third editions, 42, 45; - reprinted in Germany, 140; - number sold in 1873, 160; - fifth edition published, 180. - - Spanish grammar, studying, ii. 282. - - Spanish, new system of learning, iii. 3; - scenery, 4; - travelling, 6. - - Speke, Captain, the African traveller, ii. 95, 101. - - Spencer, Herbert, first meeting with, i. 187; - intimacy with, 201, 203; - "Universal Postulate," 225; - "Genesis of Science," 234; - Essays, 371; - his influence on Lewes, ii. 55, 56; - enthusiastic letter from, 89; - his new work, 206; - visit from, 276; - introduces Lewes to Mrs. Cross, iii. 15; - his teaching, 184; - last visit from, 315. - - Spencer, Mr., senior, teacher, ii. 272. - - Spinoza's "Ethics," desires not to be known as translator, i. 283. - - Spinoza's "Tractatus Theologico-Politicus," i. 147, 172. - - Spiritualistic evidence, iii. 111; - phenomena, 116. - - "Spiritual Wives," a nasty book, iii. 130. - - Spiritualism, the phenomena of, iii. 67; - one aspect of, 117. - - Splügen Pass, journey across, ii. 181. - - Springs of affection reopened, iii. 280. - - Stachelberg and Klönthal, iii. 207. - - Staffordshire, first journey to, i. 15. - - Stanley, Lord, his opinion of the "Scenes," i. 325. - - _Statesman_ review of "Clerical Life," ii. 6. - - Stella Collas in "Juliet," ii. 259. - - Stephenson, George, one of her heroes, ii. 241. - - St. Blasien, in the Schwarz Wald, iii. 207. - - St. Leonards, visit to, i. 223. - - St. Paul's, charity children singing, i. 203. - - Stories, on conclusions of, i. 319. - - Stowe, Mrs., Miss Cobbe's rejoinder to, ii. 253; - letters to, iii. 60; - on early memories of, 60; - the popular judgment of books, 61; - the development of religion, 62; - a woman's experience, 63; - on appreciation of "Old Town Folks," 66; - Professor Stowe's psychological experience, 67; - phenomena of spiritualism, 67; - on the benefits of country quiet, 110; - on spiritualistic phenomena, 116; - on Goethe, 175; - on her admiration for "Deronda," 202; - on the Jewish element in "Deronda," 211. - - Stowe, Mrs., letter to Mrs. Follen, i. 220. - - Stowe, Professor, his psychological experience, iii. 66; - a story by, iii. 129. - - Strachey, Mrs., letter to (unfinished), iii. 315. - - "Stradivarius," referred to, iii. 228. - - Strain of writing "Romola," ii. 255. - - Strauss, translation of, i. 90, 94; - delay in publication, 95; - difficulties, 96; - title, 98; - finishing translation, 101; - Miss Hennell's help in translation, 103; - review of, 109; - interview with, 240; - renewed acquaintance with, ii. 46. - - Strength while abroad, iii. 301. - - Stuart, Mrs., visit from, iii. 255. - - Study, enjoyment of, ii. 322. - - Studying for "Romola," ii. 234, 240, 246, 249, 250. - - Sturgis, Julian, high opinion of, iii. 257. - - Sully, James, letter to, on Mr. Lewes's articles, iii. 260, 269, 273; - thanking him for proof-reading, 274. - - "Sunshine through the Clouds," i. 233. - - Surrey, enjoyment, iii. 170. - - Surrey hills preferred to the sea-side, iii. 272. - - Swansea, cockle-women at, i. 292. - - Swayne, Rev. Mr., his delight with "Mr. Gilfil's Love-Story," i. 311. - - Switzerland, letters during residence in 1849, i. 151-179. - - Sympathy, with other women, iii. 100; - the necessity of, ii. 269; - recovery of, iii. 293. - - - Tauchnitz offers for "Clerical Life," ii. 52; - offers £100 for German reprint of "Adam Bede," 115. - - Taylor, Isaac, influence of, i. 51. - - Taylor, Mrs. Peter, i. 196; - sympathy with, 197; - letters to, 218, 219; - generous letter from, with reply, 293, 294; - on her domestic position, ii. 213, 214; - letter to, on Christmas at Weybridge, iii. 159; - on difficulties of note writing, 181; - on the Lewes Studentship, 273. - - Taylor, Professor Tom, i. 201. - - Tenby, zoological delights, i. 293; - St. Catherine's Rock, 295; - work done here, 295; - Mr. Pigott's visit, 296; - leave and return to Richmond, 297. - - Tennyson, appreciation of, iii. 229. - - "Terror" in religious education, iii. 48. - - Thackeray, Miss, "The Story of Elizabeth," ii. 299; - her marriage, iii. 225. - - Thackeray's "Esmond," i. 214; - opinion of "Gilfil's Love-Story," 323; - favorable opinion of "Clerical Life," ii. 10. - - "The Impressions of Theophrastus Such," MS. sent to publishers, - iii. 245; - publication postponed, 252; - third edition about sold out, 268. - - Theism, objection to, i. 339, 340. - - Thirlwall, Bishop, story of, iii. 228. - - Thompson, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, iii. 149. - - Thorns in actual fame, ii. 90. - - Thorwaldsen's Christ scourged, i. 126. - - "Thoughts in Aid of Faith," by Miss Hennell, ii. 186, 188, 195; - favorable view of, by Miss Nightingale and Miss Julia Smith, 190. - - "Thoughts in Aid of Faith," ii. 73. - - Thoughts on death, iii. 100; - on early death, ii. 290. - - Tichborne trial, the, iii. 106; - Coleridge's address, 107. - - _Times_ reviews "Adam Bede," ii. 73; - letter to, denying Liggin's authorship, 74. - - Titian's paintings, ii. 43, 45. - - "Too good to be true," i. 140. - - Torquay, visit to, iii. 25. - - Toulon to Nice, drive from, ii. 216, 217. - - Town life, depression of, ii. 203. - - Tragedy, notes on, iii. 32. - - Translator's difficulties, a, i. 99. - - Traunstein, our fellow-travellers at, ii. 35. - - Trèves, a visit to, iii. 122. - - Trollope, Anthony, his "Orley Farm," delightful letter from, ii. 246. - - Truth, desire for, i. 77. - - Truth of feeling a bond of union, i. 88. - - Tryan, Rev. Mr., an ideal character, i. 332. - - Tulloch, Principal, his "Pascal," iii. 235. - - Turguenieff, M., iii. 209. - - Turin: Count Cavour, ii. 122; - Prince de Carignan, 122. - - Tylor's "Primitive Culture," iii. 118. - - Tyndall, Professor, "On the Constitution of the Universe," ii. 299. - - - University and public school education, iii. 309. - - Use of irregular verses, iii. 40. - - "Utopias," poem on, ii. 286. - - - Venice: the Grand Canal by moonlight, ii. 172; - San Marco and Doge's Palace, 173; - pictures in the palace, 173; - interior of St. Mark's, 174; - "Death of Peter the Martyr," 175; - the Scuola di San Rocco, 176; - Tintoretto and Titian, 176; - Giovanni Bellini and Palma Vecchio, 177; - sunset on the Lagoon, 177; - Piazza of San Marco, 178; - a remarkable picture, 178. - - Verona, the church of San Zenone, ii. 179; - the tombs of the Scaligers, 179. - - Veronese, his "Finding of Moses," etc., ii. 44. - - Via Mala, its grand scenery, ii. 182. - - Vienna: Belvedere pictures, ii. 39; - the Liechtenstein collection, 39; - Hyrtl, the anatomist, 39; - journey to Prague, 40. - - "Villette," i. 220. - - Vision of others' needs, iii. 177. - - Vision-seeing subjective, iii. 116. - - "Visiting my Relations," a volume of poetry from the authoress of, - ii. 97. - - - Wales, visit to, iii. 189. - - Wallace's "Eastern Archipelago," iii. 118. - - Wallington, Miss, her school at Nuneaton, i. 15. - - Walt Whitman, motto from, iii. 200. - - Wandsworth, takes new house at, ii. 59. - - Warwickshire magistrate, correspondence with, ii. 97. - - "Waverley," writes out, i. 16. - - Weimar recollections: interview with Strauss, i. 240; - the Dichter Zimmer, 240; - Scholl, 240; - excursion to Ettersburg, 241; - Arthur Helps, 242; - Goethe's beech, 242; - expedition to Ilmenau, 242; - Wagner's operas, 243; - "Der Freischütz," 243; - Schiller's house, 244; - Goethe's house, 244; his study, 245; - the _Gartenhaus_, 246; - the _Webicht_, 247; - Marquis de Ferrière, 247; - Liszt on Spontoni, 248; - breakfast with, 249; - his playing, 250; - his trophies, 250; - our expenses, 251; - work at and books read, 268-271; - wrote article on "Madame de Sablé," 268; - remarks on books read, 269-271; - return to England, 271. - - _Westminster_, the, on "Essays and Reviews," ii. 200. - - _Westminster Review_, assistant editor of, i. 186; - heavy work, 193; - its difficulties, 227; - wishes to give up editorship, 229. - - _Westminster_ reviewers, i. 199, 200, 205, 210. - - Weybridge, Christmas visit to, iii. 71, 140, 159. - - Wharton's "Summary of the Laws relating to Women," i. 220. - - Whitby, visit to, iii. 85. - - Wicksteed's review of Strauss's translation in "Prospective," i. 109. - - Wilberforce, emulation of, i. 31. - - Wildbad to Brussels, iii. 295. - - Will, power of the, iii. 179. - - Wilson, Andrew, the "Abode of Snow," iii. 190. - - Witley, house bought at, iii. 215; - life at, 240; - Sunday receptions, 241. - - Wolseley, Sir Garnet, iii. 198. - - Woman's duty, yearning for a, i. 173; - earnings, 282; - full experience, iii. 63; - constancy, on, 92, 93. - - Womanhood, her ideal of, iii. 308. - - Women's Colleges, iii. 309. - - Woolwich Arsenal, a visit to, iii. 176. - - Wordsworth's Poems, i. 45. - - Wordsworth's Thoughts on Humanity, iii. 280. - - Work at Weimar and Berlin, i. 268. - - World of light and speech, iii. 185. - - Writing under difficulties, ii. 307. - - - Young, discontent of the, iii. 213. - - Young Englandism, no sympathy with, i. 124. - - Young men, desire to influence, iii. 18. - - Yorkshire, visit to, iii. 41. - - - Zoological Gardens, pleasure in, ii. 209; - friendship with the Shoebill, 209. - - -THE END. - - - - -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. - - * * * * * - -POPULAR EDITION. - -_ADAM BEDE._ Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - -_DANIEL DERONDA._ 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $1.50. - -_ESSAYS and LEAVES FROM A NOTE-BOOK._ 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - -_FELIX HOLT, THE RADICAL._ Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - -_MIDDLEMARCH._ 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $1.50. - -_ROMOLA._ Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - -_SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE, and SILAS MARNER._ Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, -75 cents. - -_THE IMPRESSIONS OF THEOPHRASTUS SUCH._ 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - -_THE MILL ON THE FLOSS._ 12mo, Cloth, 75 cents. - - * * * * * - -CHEAPER EDITIONS. - -_BROTHER JACOB.--THE LIFTED VEIL._ 32mo, Paper, 20 cents. - -_DANIEL DERONDA._ 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. - -_ESSAYS and LEAVES FROM A NOTE-BOOK._ 4to, Paper. - -_FELIX HOLT, THE RADICAL._ 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. - -_JANET'S REPENTANCE._ 32mo, Paper, 20 cents. - -_MIDDLEMARCH._ 8vo, Paper, 75 cents. - -_MR. GILFIL'S LOVE STORY._ 32mo, Paper, 20 cents. - -_ROMOLA._ Ill'd. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. - -_SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE._ 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. - -_THE IMPRESSIONS OF THEOPHRASTUS SUCH._ 4to, Paper, 10 cents. - -_THE MILL ON THE FLOSS._ 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. - -_THE SAD FORTUNES OF THE REV. 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