GE to Francois D'Albert-Durade, London, 13 September 1871
Title
GE to Francois D'Albert-Durade, London, 13 September 1871
Title
GE to Francois D'Albert-Durade, London, 13 September 1871
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Francois D'Albert-Durade
Date(s)
- 1871-09-13
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Francois D'Albert-Durade, London, 13 September 1871
Text: Cross, New Edition, pp. 476-477.
Your letters are always delightful to me, because I imagine you speaking while I read them: you have that power of easy description and narration in your letters and your talk which is exceedingly rare among us English. We are for the most part hesitating, clumsy talkers, and our letters are either curt or laboured.
You must know that I am very busy now, preparing a long, long book; but when I have finished it, one of my first plans will be to visit Geneva. My husband is equally inclined to make that our next journey -- in the first place, because he is always inclined to do what I wish; and in the next, because he will enjoy seeing not only you and Madame D'Albert, but certain scientific men of whom you can boast, as the fine writers say, though I fancy you have never used that privilege of boasting. I suppose I shall not be at liberty to get so far away from home until next year -- probably in July, if I live so long.
Your mention of Madame Chancel quite startled me, for I had believed that she was dead. It was very prettily done of the German Empress to visit her old governess incognita. 361 I have heard from those who know the Empress that she is a thoughtful and sympathetic woman, much subdued by experience. But you, of course, have heard abundant details about her from Madame Chancel. How one pities these royal people, who are necessarily human monstrosities, having little experience in common with the multitude of their fellow-men -- except in their diseases. I suppose a royal toothache is much like a bourgeois toothache. But the royal point of view about everything else, even the stars, changes the very quality of knowledge. The German princes, in some instances, have a better chance of being tolerably common human beings than any other royalties.
Pray pardon me for writing a hasty letter. I have been ill since we came back, and my strength will not permit me to write anything but my necessary, or rather my voluntary, author's work in the mornings. Even that I can only do irregularly, so I scribble my letters at night before going to bed.
Text: Cross, New Edition, pp. 476-477.
Your letters are always delightful to me, because I imagine you speaking while I read them: you have that power of easy description and narration in your letters and your talk which is exceedingly rare among us English. We are for the most part hesitating, clumsy talkers, and our letters are either curt or laboured.
You must know that I am very busy now, preparing a long, long book; but when I have finished it, one of my first plans will be to visit Geneva. My husband is equally inclined to make that our next journey -- in the first place, because he is always inclined to do what I wish; and in the next, because he will enjoy seeing not only you and Madame D'Albert, but certain scientific men of whom you can boast, as the fine writers say, though I fancy you have never used that privilege of boasting. I suppose I shall not be at liberty to get so far away from home until next year -- probably in July, if I live so long.
Your mention of Madame Chancel quite startled me, for I had believed that she was dead. It was very prettily done of the German Empress to visit her old governess incognita. 361 I have heard from those who know the Empress that she is a thoughtful and sympathetic woman, much subdued by experience. But you, of course, have heard abundant details about her from Madame Chancel. How one pities these royal people, who are necessarily human monstrosities, having little experience in common with the multitude of their fellow-men -- except in their diseases. I suppose a royal toothache is much like a bourgeois toothache. But the royal point of view about everything else, even the stars, changes the very quality of knowledge. The German princes, in some instances, have a better chance of being tolerably common human beings than any other royalties.
Pray pardon me for writing a hasty letter. I have been ill since we came back, and my strength will not permit me to write anything but my necessary, or rather my voluntary, author's work in the mornings. Even that I can only do irregularly, so I scribble my letters at night before going to bed.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Francois D'Albert-Durade, London, 13 September 1871, 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/92344