GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Shottermill, 18 July 1871
Title
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Shottermill, 18 July 1871
Title
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Shottermill, 18 July 1871
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon
Date(s)
- 1871-07-18
Place
Shottermill
Letter Content
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Shottermill, 18 July 1871
MS: Mr. Philip Leigh-Smith. Hitherto unpublished.
Brookbank | Shottermill | near Petersfield | July 18. 71.
My dear Barbara
You will have thought that I must be dead. The fact is, that before your letter came, I was waiting for certainty about our habitation, intending to write to you immediately on getting that certainty. But we are still in treaty about the house opposite this, having unluckily told Mrs. Gilchrist that we should give up her cottage at the end of July, and she having forthwith got her old tenant, Mr. George Smith, the water-colour painter, to come into it on our departure. I have been waiting for precise knowledge before answering the question on your card, (and perhaps it may still come before I am obliged to close this,) but I cannot bear to go on any longer in total silence towards you. If we get the said house we shall remain in it till the end of August, and then go home at least for a few days, and possibly for good, though George dreams of a journey to Harrogate for a fortnight's cure.
It will be very sweet to see you and have a great talk about everything. I scribble these few words provisionally, hoping by and by to add the needful information.
Ever your loving
Marian.
6 o'clock. The decision is not yet come. I will write you word tomorrow, or whenever I know. 326
MS: Mr. Philip Leigh-Smith. Hitherto unpublished.
Brookbank | Shottermill | near Petersfield | July 18. 71.
My dear Barbara
You will have thought that I must be dead. The fact is, that before your letter came, I was waiting for certainty about our habitation, intending to write to you immediately on getting that certainty. But we are still in treaty about the house opposite this, having unluckily told Mrs. Gilchrist that we should give up her cottage at the end of July, and she having forthwith got her old tenant, Mr. George Smith, the water-colour painter, to come into it on our departure. I have been waiting for precise knowledge before answering the question on your card, (and perhaps it may still come before I am obliged to close this,) but I cannot bear to go on any longer in total silence towards you. If we get the said house we shall remain in it till the end of August, and then go home at least for a few days, and possibly for good, though George dreams of a journey to Harrogate for a fortnight's cure.
It will be very sweet to see you and have a great talk about everything. I scribble these few words provisionally, hoping by and by to add the needful information.
Ever your loving
Marian.
6 o'clock. The decision is not yet come. I will write you word tomorrow, or whenever I know. 326
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Shottermill, 18 July 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/93080