Edith Simcox, Autobiography, 21 December 1879
Title
Edith Simcox, Autobiography, 21 December 1879
Title
Edith Simcox, Autobiography, 21 December 1879
Sender
Edith Simcox
Recipient
U
Date(s)
- 1879-12-21
Place
London
Letter Content
Edith Simcox, Autobiography, 21 December 1879
MS: Bodleian.
Sunday 21 December 1879
Last Thursday between a day at the shop and an evening at the Craven school, I made up my mind to seek her. She was alone and we were uninterrupted. She was looking and feeling well in health -- surprisingly so to herself -- she was sweet and dear, showed me bits of letters about him -- one from a German who said how few writers either German or English understood equally the philosophy -- or even the philosophical languages of the 2 countries as he did. I asked about Mrs. Stuart, she had not heard from her since she went south, but thought she was at Alassio. She had thought her much changed by her illness -- I suggested that she had only seen her before in a happy mood. I stayed an hour and hardly know what we spoke of -- School Board, Delboeuf on double consciousness in dreams,
Cabul, 514 and Ireland, Dr. Roy, who is full of delightful young enthusiasm about the heart and pulse, and has sent her his published Memoirs and a letter from Leipzig where he was studying to say Ludwig 515 knew all about the Studentship, thought the arrangements admirable and hoped it would tend to raise the status of physiological research in England. I mentioned what had struck me as curious in walking there -- a waggon came close behind me as I was crossing a side road up which the waggon was turning out of the main road. I had a dim vision of it out of the corners of my eyes as dangerously near and had to control the first irrational impulse to start back right under the shafts. I took this first as an explanation of why horses wear blinkers and then reflected that one habitually sees what is in front and therefore in the case of danger one habitually starts back and it seems, does so still when the danger is seen at an unaccustomed angle. This led her to say she had an exceptional power of seeing out of the corners of her eyes and used to dispute with him about the dictum of physiologists that you can only see colours with a certain part of the retina and that what is behind is seen black and only judged to be coloured. She was very beautiful and let me give her dear cheek long clinging kisses. I said, looking at the letters she was writing -- did she not want a Secretary -- she said Charlie was unhappy because she would let him do so little for her and would break his heart (I doubt it) if she let anyone else do anything. She said she must keep her faculties from stupefying and met my half uttered prayers by saying I had quite enough to do, I should attend to my own business -- whereto I, Yes, but one coveted a little pleasure too -- it was human nature. She owned human nature did crave (in reference to our mention before of the dangers of Boxing day) its taste of gin -- I said and kissed her crape -- was not mine of an innocent sort, and then went away. She asked me about Mr. Overton and said he had elected Mrs. Congreve as his director after 5 minutes discourse and had shown the Ms. of his book to her first of any one: it represented I heard elsewhere the work 3 years Sundays. I left her cheered and comforted.
MS: Bodleian.
Sunday 21 December 1879
Last Thursday between a day at the shop and an evening at the Craven school, I made up my mind to seek her. She was alone and we were uninterrupted. She was looking and feeling well in health -- surprisingly so to herself -- she was sweet and dear, showed me bits of letters about him -- one from a German who said how few writers either German or English understood equally the philosophy -- or even the philosophical languages of the 2 countries as he did. I asked about Mrs. Stuart, she had not heard from her since she went south, but thought she was at Alassio. She had thought her much changed by her illness -- I suggested that she had only seen her before in a happy mood. I stayed an hour and hardly know what we spoke of -- School Board, Delboeuf on double consciousness in dreams,
Cabul, 514 and Ireland, Dr. Roy, who is full of delightful young enthusiasm about the heart and pulse, and has sent her his published Memoirs and a letter from Leipzig where he was studying to say Ludwig 515 knew all about the Studentship, thought the arrangements admirable and hoped it would tend to raise the status of physiological research in England. I mentioned what had struck me as curious in walking there -- a waggon came close behind me as I was crossing a side road up which the waggon was turning out of the main road. I had a dim vision of it out of the corners of my eyes as dangerously near and had to control the first irrational impulse to start back right under the shafts. I took this first as an explanation of why horses wear blinkers and then reflected that one habitually sees what is in front and therefore in the case of danger one habitually starts back and it seems, does so still when the danger is seen at an unaccustomed angle. This led her to say she had an exceptional power of seeing out of the corners of her eyes and used to dispute with him about the dictum of physiologists that you can only see colours with a certain part of the retina and that what is behind is seen black and only judged to be coloured. She was very beautiful and let me give her dear cheek long clinging kisses. I said, looking at the letters she was writing -- did she not want a Secretary -- she said Charlie was unhappy because she would let him do so little for her and would break his heart (I doubt it) if she let anyone else do anything. She said she must keep her faculties from stupefying and met my half uttered prayers by saying I had quite enough to do, I should attend to my own business -- whereto I, Yes, but one coveted a little pleasure too -- it was human nature. She owned human nature did crave (in reference to our mention before of the dangers of Boxing day) its taste of gin -- I said and kissed her crape -- was not mine of an innocent sort, and then went away. She asked me about Mr. Overton and said he had elected Mrs. Congreve as his director after 5 minutes discourse and had shown the Ms. of his book to her first of any one: it represented I heard elsewhere the work 3 years Sundays. I left her cheered and comforted.
Citation
Edith Simcox, Edith Simcox, Autobiography, 21 December 1879, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/91785