GE to Frederic Harrison, Shottermill, 7 May 1871
Title
GE to Frederic Harrison, Shottermill, 7 May 1871
Title
GE to Frederic Harrison, Shottermill, 7 May 1871
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Frederic Harrison
Date(s)
- 1871-05-07
Place
Shottermill
Letter Content
GE to Frederic Harrison, Shottermill, 7 May 1871
MS: Tinker Collection, Yale. Envelope: Frederic Harrison Esq | 7 New Square | Lincolns Inn | London. Postmarks: PETERSFIELD 8 | MY 7 | 71; LONDON-W.C | 7A | MY 8 | 71. Hitherto unpublished.
Shotter Mill | near Petersfield | May 7. 71.
Dear Mr. Harrison
"Too late" is a sad word, very apt to haunt me. I am sorry it has come again to me just now in relation to you and Mrs. Harrison, for I have felt it a loss to have seen so little of you both in these days of your fresh happiness.
We left town last Tuesday and our house is by this time topsy turvy in expectations of builder, bath fitter, and painter. Our retreat is an old-fashioned cottage among lanes heaths and woods, and we expect our banishment to last four months. We take it grandly, like Coriolanus, and say, [We banish town.] 281
I hope that you would learn this morning, by chance, from Mrs. Congreve or some one else, of our absence from home, for your letter only came to me at breakfast an hour ago. At least, I will cherish the belief that you trust enough in my regard to conclude without immediate evidence that I could not have received your note since you had received no answer.
Pray offer my best regards to Mrs. Harrison, and believe me always
Yours very sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
MS: Tinker Collection, Yale. Envelope: Frederic Harrison Esq | 7 New Square | Lincolns Inn | London. Postmarks: PETERSFIELD 8 | MY 7 | 71; LONDON-W.C | 7A | MY 8 | 71. Hitherto unpublished.
Shotter Mill | near Petersfield | May 7. 71.
Dear Mr. Harrison
"Too late" is a sad word, very apt to haunt me. I am sorry it has come again to me just now in relation to you and Mrs. Harrison, for I have felt it a loss to have seen so little of you both in these days of your fresh happiness.
We left town last Tuesday and our house is by this time topsy turvy in expectations of builder, bath fitter, and painter. Our retreat is an old-fashioned cottage among lanes heaths and woods, and we expect our banishment to last four months. We take it grandly, like Coriolanus, and say, [We banish town.] 281
I hope that you would learn this morning, by chance, from Mrs. Congreve or some one else, of our absence from home, for your letter only came to me at breakfast an hour ago. At least, I will cherish the belief that you trust enough in my regard to conclude without immediate evidence that I could not have received your note since you had received no answer.
Pray offer my best regards to Mrs. Harrison, and believe me always
Yours very sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Frederic Harrison, Shottermill, 7 May 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/92423