GE to Charles Ritter, London, 22 May 1878
Title
GE to Charles Ritter, London, 22 May 1878
Title
GE to Charles Ritter, London, 22 May 1878
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Charles Ritter
Date(s)
- 1878-05-22
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Charles Ritter, London, 22 May 1878
MS: Biblioth'e8que Publique et Universitaire, Geneva, Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
May 22. 78.
Dear M. Ritter
Is not this the passage to which you refer in your letter just received? -- (The quotation is of course from Young.)
" -- [Far beneath A soul immortal is a mortal joy.]
Happily for human nature, we are sure no man really believes that. Which of us has the impiety not to feel that our souls are only too narrow for the joy of looking into the trusting eyes of our children, of reposing on the love of a husband or wife, -- nay, of listening to the divine voice of music, or watching the calm brightness of summer afternoons?" 68 I have only one copy of the article on Young in my possession, and this carries many needful corrections as well as some omissions. 69 Hence I can only help you by making that short extract.
We are very busy just now with the (to us) disturbing occupation of furnishing our country house, and we are this morning going down by railway to make decisions about chairs and tables and give orders to tradesmen. We neither of us like these cares for the shell of our life and are ready to wish that we had not burthened ourselves with two houses.
I have not yet thanked you for your former kind letter in which you sent me an interesting passage from a communication of Mde. Koeckert. 70 But I feel sure that you always allow for the scantiness of my power to carry on correspondence, and do not impute my silence to lack of regard.
Thanks for letting me know that my friends M. and Mde. d'Albert-Durade are as well as usual. If telephonic converse were possible for us, we could say many things to each other.
Mr. Lewes unites with me in high regard, and I am always
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
MS: Biblioth'e8que Publique et Universitaire, Geneva, Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
May 22. 78.
Dear M. Ritter
Is not this the passage to which you refer in your letter just received? -- (The quotation is of course from Young.)
" -- [Far beneath A soul immortal is a mortal joy.]
Happily for human nature, we are sure no man really believes that. Which of us has the impiety not to feel that our souls are only too narrow for the joy of looking into the trusting eyes of our children, of reposing on the love of a husband or wife, -- nay, of listening to the divine voice of music, or watching the calm brightness of summer afternoons?" 68 I have only one copy of the article on Young in my possession, and this carries many needful corrections as well as some omissions. 69 Hence I can only help you by making that short extract.
We are very busy just now with the (to us) disturbing occupation of furnishing our country house, and we are this morning going down by railway to make decisions about chairs and tables and give orders to tradesmen. We neither of us like these cares for the shell of our life and are ready to wish that we had not burthened ourselves with two houses.
I have not yet thanked you for your former kind letter in which you sent me an interesting passage from a communication of Mde. Koeckert. 70 But I feel sure that you always allow for the scantiness of my power to carry on correspondence, and do not impute my silence to lack of regard.
Thanks for letting me know that my friends M. and Mde. d'Albert-Durade are as well as usual. If telephonic converse were possible for us, we could say many things to each other.
Mr. Lewes unites with me in high regard, and I am always
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Charles Ritter, London, 22 May 1878, 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/92253