GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Witley, 2 [August] 1877
Title
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Witley, 2 [August] 1877
Title
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Witley, 2 [August] 1877
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon
Date(s)
- 1877-08-02
Place
Witley
Letter Content
GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Witley, 2 [August] 1877
MS: Mr. Philip Leigh-Smith. Envelope: Madame Bodichon | Poor House | Zennor | St. Ives | Cornwall. Postmark: GODALMING | D | AU 2 | 77. Mostly published: Cross, III, 312-313.
The Heights | Witley | Godalming | July 734 2. 77
Dearest Barbara
It was a draught of real comfort and pleasure to have a letter written by your own hand, and one so altogether cheerful. I trust that the warmer weather is salutary to you and that you will by and by be able to write me word of continued progress. Hardly any bit of the Kingdom, I fancy, would suit your taste better than your neighbourhood of the Land's End. You are not fond of bushy midland-fashioned scenery.
We are enjoying the mixture of wildness and culture extremely, and so far as landscape and air go, we would not choose a different home from this. But we have not yet made up our minds whether we shall keep our house or sell it.
Some London friends are also occasional dwellers in these parts. The day before yesterday we had Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Harrison, whose parents have a fine old Tudor house -- Sutton Place -- about 3 miles beyond Guildford. Mrs. Harrison asked with much interest about you, and was glad to hear of Madame Mario also, of whom Dr. Bridges had spoken very prettily to her. And do you remember Edmund Gurney? He and his graceful bride lunched with us the other day. She was very poor before her marriage and had worked in an exemplary way both to help her mother and educate herself -- her father having lost his property and left his family destitute.
And Miss Thackeray's married today to young Ritchie. 735 I saw him at Cambridge and felt that the nearly 20 years' difference between them was bridged hopefully by his solidarity and gravity. This is one of several instances that I have known of lately, showing that young men with even brilliant advantages will often choose as their life's companion a woman whose attractions are wholly of the spiritual order.
Do you care about this gossip? I am wondering how long Madame Mario will be able to remain with you. Please ask her to send me a line in case of her leaving you. But August is an inauspicious month for returning to Italy.
We are poor creatures -- headachy and feeble but not the less affectionate in our memories of our too far-off friend. I often see you enjoying your sunsets and the wayside flowers.
Always your loving
Marian.
MS: Mr. Philip Leigh-Smith. Envelope: Madame Bodichon | Poor House | Zennor | St. Ives | Cornwall. Postmark: GODALMING | D | AU 2 | 77. Mostly published: Cross, III, 312-313.
The Heights | Witley | Godalming | July 734 2. 77
Dearest Barbara
It was a draught of real comfort and pleasure to have a letter written by your own hand, and one so altogether cheerful. I trust that the warmer weather is salutary to you and that you will by and by be able to write me word of continued progress. Hardly any bit of the Kingdom, I fancy, would suit your taste better than your neighbourhood of the Land's End. You are not fond of bushy midland-fashioned scenery.
We are enjoying the mixture of wildness and culture extremely, and so far as landscape and air go, we would not choose a different home from this. But we have not yet made up our minds whether we shall keep our house or sell it.
Some London friends are also occasional dwellers in these parts. The day before yesterday we had Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Harrison, whose parents have a fine old Tudor house -- Sutton Place -- about 3 miles beyond Guildford. Mrs. Harrison asked with much interest about you, and was glad to hear of Madame Mario also, of whom Dr. Bridges had spoken very prettily to her. And do you remember Edmund Gurney? He and his graceful bride lunched with us the other day. She was very poor before her marriage and had worked in an exemplary way both to help her mother and educate herself -- her father having lost his property and left his family destitute.
And Miss Thackeray's married today to young Ritchie. 735 I saw him at Cambridge and felt that the nearly 20 years' difference between them was bridged hopefully by his solidarity and gravity. This is one of several instances that I have known of lately, showing that young men with even brilliant advantages will often choose as their life's companion a woman whose attractions are wholly of the spiritual order.
Do you care about this gossip? I am wondering how long Madame Mario will be able to remain with you. Please ask her to send me a line in case of her leaving you. But August is an inauspicious month for returning to Italy.
We are poor creatures -- headachy and feeble but not the less affectionate in our memories of our too far-off friend. I often see you enjoying your sunsets and the wayside flowers.
Always your loving
Marian.
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Barbara [Mme Eugene] Bodichon, Witley, 2 [August] 1877, 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/93106