GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, [14 April 1879]
Title
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, [14 April 1879]
Title
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, [14 April 1879]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mrs. Elma Stuart
Date(s)
- 1879-04-14
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, [14 April 1879]
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, p. 123.
The Priory | Monday Evening.
Dearest Elma
My feelings would make me willingly see you again, but this week my spare time is all pledged. Bless you for all your tenderness, and be sure that you have done much for me in giving me your affection and in letting me know it.
I wish I could be satisfied that you will not fret about Roland's decision. I have been thinking of it, with this result: that the parting which is inevitable in some form between Mother and Son may perhaps have come to you in its mildest form now -- before you had arranged your life with fresh expectations. And it is the unshunnable destiny of the elder to renounce. Do not think me hard. I feel all the difficulty of such renunciation.
It was my advantage to have seen Mrs. Menzies' sweet face. She never looked so beautiful to me before.
I shall think more cheerfully of your health now I have seen you, and please fulfil your promise of letting me know about it before very long.
Your affectionate
Mother.
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, p. 123.
The Priory | Monday Evening.
Dearest Elma
My feelings would make me willingly see you again, but this week my spare time is all pledged. Bless you for all your tenderness, and be sure that you have done much for me in giving me your affection and in letting me know it.
I wish I could be satisfied that you will not fret about Roland's decision. I have been thinking of it, with this result: that the parting which is inevitable in some form between Mother and Son may perhaps have come to you in its mildest form now -- before you had arranged your life with fresh expectations. And it is the unshunnable destiny of the elder to renounce. Do not think me hard. I feel all the difficulty of such renunciation.
It was my advantage to have seen Mrs. Menzies' sweet face. She never looked so beautiful to me before.
I shall think more cheerfully of your health now I have seen you, and please fulfil your promise of letting me know about it before very long.
Your affectionate
Mother.
Signature
Mother.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, [14 April 1879], 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/93386