GE to Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve, London, 19 February 1865
Title
GE to Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve, London, 19 February 1865
Title
GE to Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve, London, 19 February 1865
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve
Date(s)
- 1865-02-19
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve, London, 19 February 1865
Text: Cross, II, 397.
The party was a "mull." 314 The weather was bad. Some of the invited were ill and sent regrets, others were not ardent enough to brave the damp evening -- in fine, only twelve came. We had a charade, which, like our neighbours, was no better than it should have been, and some rather languid music, our best musicians half failing us -- so ill is merit rewarded in this world! If the severest sense of fulfilling a duty could make one's parties pleasant, who so deserving as I? I turn my inward shudders into outward smiles, and talk fast with a sense of lead on my tongue. However, Mr Pigott made a woman's part in the charade so irresistibly comic, that I tittered at it at intervals in my sleepless hours.
I am rather uncomfortable about you, because you seemed so much less well and strong the other day 315 than your average. Let me hear before long how you and Mr Congreve are.
Text: Cross, II, 397.
The party was a "mull." 314 The weather was bad. Some of the invited were ill and sent regrets, others were not ardent enough to brave the damp evening -- in fine, only twelve came. We had a charade, which, like our neighbours, was no better than it should have been, and some rather languid music, our best musicians half failing us -- so ill is merit rewarded in this world! If the severest sense of fulfilling a duty could make one's parties pleasant, who so deserving as I? I turn my inward shudders into outward smiles, and talk fast with a sense of lead on my tongue. However, Mr Pigott made a woman's part in the charade so irresistibly comic, that I tittered at it at intervals in my sleepless hours.
I am rather uncomfortable about you, because you seemed so much less well and strong the other day 315 than your average. Let me hear before long how you and Mr Congreve are.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Maria [Mrs. Richard] Congreve, London, 19 February 1865, 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/93629