GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 23 March 1877
Title
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 23 March 1877
Title
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 23 March 1877
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mrs. Elma Stuart
Date(s)
- 1877-03-23
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 23 March 1877
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 77-79.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
March 23. 77.
Dearest Elma
Your sweet filial letter came as dew on the withered herb last night. Before I tell you of sufferings, understand that they have nearly passed away. You see, I am able to write to you, instead of employing Elizabeth, whose pen would ill represent that power of [fine language] which is displayed in her speech.
The dear Husband has been trotting about with his usual lightness for the last three weeks, and it is I who have been playing the part of invalid for that length of time. The fact was that I had taken cold and had already felt a troublesome weakness of back before Mr. Lewes's attack came on, and the excitement of attending to him, while it hindered me from taking account of my own ailments, also made me run about, lift, and carry perhaps more than was necessary. So when he got better I found myself ill with what Dr. A. Clarke declares to be the old trouble of the renal sort. However, after being a dolorous object to look at and exceedingly unpleasant to myself for a long while, I am now able to walk, and to sit through long concerts, and, in general, to return nearly to my old use and wont.
I am ready to be angry with you for not writing us long letters about yourself. You keep us sadly starved of knowledge about you. Do you forget that we are greedy of letters from our loved ones, and only object to writing in return?
Make up for the past silence by sending us as much pretty gossip about your life as you can call to mind. Are you coming northward by and by? And how is your health? And are you contemplating any change for Roly in the way of further schooling?
Yesterday came the last proof of Mr. Lewes's new volume, which is thus off his mind, leaving him at leisure -- to feel how nipping the spring is! These frosts which we should have welcomed at Christmas come now as a threat. All things else are happy with us. Elizabeth, who was going to be married, has given up her unworthy suitor, and we are not any longer expecting domestic disturbance.
Please ask Mrs. Menzies to accept my affectionate remembrances and believe in me always -- with or without proofs -- as
Your loving
Mother.
MS: British Museum. Published: Stuart, pp. 77-79.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
March 23. 77.
Dearest Elma
Your sweet filial letter came as dew on the withered herb last night. Before I tell you of sufferings, understand that they have nearly passed away. You see, I am able to write to you, instead of employing Elizabeth, whose pen would ill represent that power of [fine language] which is displayed in her speech.
The dear Husband has been trotting about with his usual lightness for the last three weeks, and it is I who have been playing the part of invalid for that length of time. The fact was that I had taken cold and had already felt a troublesome weakness of back before Mr. Lewes's attack came on, and the excitement of attending to him, while it hindered me from taking account of my own ailments, also made me run about, lift, and carry perhaps more than was necessary. So when he got better I found myself ill with what Dr. A. Clarke declares to be the old trouble of the renal sort. However, after being a dolorous object to look at and exceedingly unpleasant to myself for a long while, I am now able to walk, and to sit through long concerts, and, in general, to return nearly to my old use and wont.
I am ready to be angry with you for not writing us long letters about yourself. You keep us sadly starved of knowledge about you. Do you forget that we are greedy of letters from our loved ones, and only object to writing in return?
Make up for the past silence by sending us as much pretty gossip about your life as you can call to mind. Are you coming northward by and by? And how is your health? And are you contemplating any change for Roly in the way of further schooling?
Yesterday came the last proof of Mr. Lewes's new volume, which is thus off his mind, leaving him at leisure -- to feel how nipping the spring is! These frosts which we should have welcomed at Christmas come now as a threat. All things else are happy with us. Elizabeth, who was going to be married, has given up her unworthy suitor, and we are not any longer expecting domestic disturbance.
Please ask Mrs. Menzies to accept my affectionate remembrances and believe in me always -- with or without proofs -- as
Your loving
Mother.
Signature
Mother.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mrs. Elma Stuart, London, 23 March 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/93400