GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 26 December 1863
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 26 December 1863
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 26 December 1863
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray
Date(s)
- 1863-12-26
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 26 December 1863
MS: Yale. Extract published: Cross, II, 373.
December 26. 1863.
Dear Cara
Your letter and Sara's are among the many pleasures of this happy Christmas. One of the chief is the great improvement we see in Bertie who is come from his Scotch farming to have a home holiday. It is a delight to see his face bright with a new interest in things, and his body getting stalwart as well as graceful.
We are enjoying our new house too, though it may not quite deserve Mr. Dallas's epithet -- enjoying its quiet and freedom from perpetual stair-mounting -- enjoying also the prettiness of colouring and arrangement, all of which we owe to our dear good friend Mr. Owen Jones. He has determined every detail, so that we can have the pleasure of admiring what is our own without vanity. And another munificent friend has given me the most splendid reclining chair conceivable, so that I am [in] danger of being envied by the Gods, especially as my health is thoroughly good withal. I should like to be sure that you are just as comfortable externally and internally. I daresay you are, being less of a cormorant in your demands on life than I am; and it is that difference which chiefly distinguishes human lots, when once the absolute needs are satisfied.
I hope you are getting as much satisfaction about your book as it deserves. Charlie has taken it out of my hands for the present, to get his share of good from it. With Longmans' abundant machinery for distribution, I should think it is sure to make its way. Reviews or newspaper notices are of less significance even than usual, in the case of an educational work.
Mr. Lewes wants to send you "Romola" as a Christmas present, and has written to order a copy to be sent to you. He does not like that my rule of not giving away my books 219 should prevent him from doing what he insists will give you pleasure. So pray lend the copy in large print to Mr. John Sibree, and save him from the long lines and misprints of the magazine copy.
I grieve to think that Mr. Bray's cough is become an evil that you only expect to be abated and not removed by favorable weather. Best love and wishes to him and you
Ever yours,
Marian.
MS: Yale. Extract published: Cross, II, 373.
December 26. 1863.
Dear Cara
Your letter and Sara's are among the many pleasures of this happy Christmas. One of the chief is the great improvement we see in Bertie who is come from his Scotch farming to have a home holiday. It is a delight to see his face bright with a new interest in things, and his body getting stalwart as well as graceful.
We are enjoying our new house too, though it may not quite deserve Mr. Dallas's epithet -- enjoying its quiet and freedom from perpetual stair-mounting -- enjoying also the prettiness of colouring and arrangement, all of which we owe to our dear good friend Mr. Owen Jones. He has determined every detail, so that we can have the pleasure of admiring what is our own without vanity. And another munificent friend has given me the most splendid reclining chair conceivable, so that I am [in] danger of being envied by the Gods, especially as my health is thoroughly good withal. I should like to be sure that you are just as comfortable externally and internally. I daresay you are, being less of a cormorant in your demands on life than I am; and it is that difference which chiefly distinguishes human lots, when once the absolute needs are satisfied.
I hope you are getting as much satisfaction about your book as it deserves. Charlie has taken it out of my hands for the present, to get his share of good from it. With Longmans' abundant machinery for distribution, I should think it is sure to make its way. Reviews or newspaper notices are of less significance even than usual, in the case of an educational work.
Mr. Lewes wants to send you "Romola" as a Christmas present, and has written to order a copy to be sent to you. He does not like that my rule of not giving away my books 219 should prevent him from doing what he insists will give you pleasure. So pray lend the copy in large print to Mr. John Sibree, and save him from the long lines and misprints of the magazine copy.
I grieve to think that Mr. Bray's cough is become an evil that you only expect to be abated and not removed by favorable weather. Best love and wishes to him and you
Ever yours,
Marian.
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 26 December 1863, 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/93295