GE to Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor, Shottermill, 6 June 1871
Title
GE to Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor, Shottermill, 6 June 1871
Title
GE to Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor, Shottermill, 6 June 1871
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor
Date(s)
- 1871-06-06
Place
Shottermill
Letter Content
GE to Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor, Shottermill, 6 June 1871
Text: Cross, III, 131-132.
It seems like a resurrection of a buried-alive friendship once more to have a letter from you. Welcome back from your absorption in the Franchise! 288 Somebody else ought to have your share of work now, and you ought to rest.
Ever since the 1st of May we have been living in this queer cottage, which belongs to Mrs Gilchrist, wife of the Gilchrist who wrote the life of William Blake the artist. We have a ravishing country round us, and pure air and water -- in short, all the conditions of health, if the east wind were away. We have old prints for our dumb companions -- charming children of Sir Joshua's, and large-hatted ladies of his and Romney's. I read aloud -- almost all the evening -- books of German science, and other gravities. 289 So you see we are like two secluded owls, wise with unfashionable wisdom, and knowing nothing of pictures and French plays. I confess that I should have gone often to see Got 290 act, if I had been in town; he is so really great as an actor. And yet one is ashamed of seeking amusement in connection with anything that belongs to poor unhappy France. I am saved from the shame by being safely shut out from the amusement.
Text: Cross, III, 131-132.
It seems like a resurrection of a buried-alive friendship once more to have a letter from you. Welcome back from your absorption in the Franchise! 288 Somebody else ought to have your share of work now, and you ought to rest.
Ever since the 1st of May we have been living in this queer cottage, which belongs to Mrs Gilchrist, wife of the Gilchrist who wrote the life of William Blake the artist. We have a ravishing country round us, and pure air and water -- in short, all the conditions of health, if the east wind were away. We have old prints for our dumb companions -- charming children of Sir Joshua's, and large-hatted ladies of his and Romney's. I read aloud -- almost all the evening -- books of German science, and other gravities. 289 So you see we are like two secluded owls, wise with unfashionable wisdom, and knowing nothing of pictures and French plays. I confess that I should have gone often to see Got 290 act, if I had been in town; he is so really great as an actor. And yet one is ashamed of seeking amusement in connection with anything that belongs to poor unhappy France. I am saved from the shame by being safely shut out from the amusement.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Mrs. Peter Alfred Taylor, Shottermill, 6 June 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/93599