GE to Samuel Evans, Griff, 10 August 1840
Title
GE to Samuel Evans, Griff, 10 August 1840
Title
GE to Samuel Evans, Griff, 10 August 1840
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Samuel Evans
Date(s)
- 1840-08-10
Place
GRIFF
Letter Content
GE to Samuel Evans, Griff, 10 August 1840
MS: Yale. Address: Mr. Evans | Mill Houses | Wirksworth | Derbyshire. Postmark: Illegible. Mostly published: W. Mottram, The True Story of George Eliot in Relation to "Adam Bede," 1905, pp. 133-134.
Griff August 10th 1840.
My dear Uncle,
Remembering the Apostle's declaration that "to be absent from the body is (for redeemed souls) to be present with the Lord," 235 I cannot for her own sake regret that my dear Aunt is so near the very brink of Jordan; 236 I would only pray that her Heavenly Father may, out of His tender consideration for His creatures, who "are but dust," lighten her weight of bodily suffering as far as may consist with His designs of mercy to her soul. Give to my dear Aunt if she should be able to receive it an assurance from me of my warm affection for her, and tell her I humbly resolve in the strength of the Lord to "seek his face evermore," that we may sing together a new song before His throne. For you, my dear Uncle, both my Father and myself truly feel, and I have endeavoured to pray that you may be powerfully sustained under a trial that will indeed bereave you of one who has been as the apple of your eye; but is it not to this end? "That God may be all in all" with you, and that having no earthly prop, you may walk entirely by faith? My Father bids me give his love to you, and tell you that you are passing through what he has already experienced.
We are glad that my Uncle William 237 is able to be at hand to offer you comfort. I trust his health is at least as good as when we were with him. The books belonging to my Aunt which she kindly lent me, I will send the next time I write, as I wish this letter to reach you as soon as possible. It will be a satisfaction to me to hear of your state, and probably one of my cousins will be so good as to write me word concerning you, should you feel unequal to the task. I doubt not, my dear Uncle, that you will evidence the possession of what belongs only to the Christian, "joy in tribulation," and that you will thus glorify the Lord God of Israel even in the fires. Truly the commandments of God are not grievous, for the Apostle sums them up by a "Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice," and though this may seem a great difficulty when the heart is bowed down and rent in twain by the loss of our earthly gourds, in reality that is the very time when we can best relish the waters that make glad the city of God. "Trials make the promise sweet," such promises as these, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit on my throne," and "the Lamb that is before the throne shall feed them, and God himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
I am fearful of not being ready for the post so I must say good bye.
Your affectionate
Mary Ann.
MS: Yale. Address: Mr. Evans | Mill Houses | Wirksworth | Derbyshire. Postmark: Illegible. Mostly published: W. Mottram, The True Story of George Eliot in Relation to "Adam Bede," 1905, pp. 133-134.
Griff August 10th 1840.
My dear Uncle,
Remembering the Apostle's declaration that "to be absent from the body is (for redeemed souls) to be present with the Lord," 235 I cannot for her own sake regret that my dear Aunt is so near the very brink of Jordan; 236 I would only pray that her Heavenly Father may, out of His tender consideration for His creatures, who "are but dust," lighten her weight of bodily suffering as far as may consist with His designs of mercy to her soul. Give to my dear Aunt if she should be able to receive it an assurance from me of my warm affection for her, and tell her I humbly resolve in the strength of the Lord to "seek his face evermore," that we may sing together a new song before His throne. For you, my dear Uncle, both my Father and myself truly feel, and I have endeavoured to pray that you may be powerfully sustained under a trial that will indeed bereave you of one who has been as the apple of your eye; but is it not to this end? "That God may be all in all" with you, and that having no earthly prop, you may walk entirely by faith? My Father bids me give his love to you, and tell you that you are passing through what he has already experienced.
We are glad that my Uncle William 237 is able to be at hand to offer you comfort. I trust his health is at least as good as when we were with him. The books belonging to my Aunt which she kindly lent me, I will send the next time I write, as I wish this letter to reach you as soon as possible. It will be a satisfaction to me to hear of your state, and probably one of my cousins will be so good as to write me word concerning you, should you feel unequal to the task. I doubt not, my dear Uncle, that you will evidence the possession of what belongs only to the Christian, "joy in tribulation," and that you will thus glorify the Lord God of Israel even in the fires. Truly the commandments of God are not grievous, for the Apostle sums them up by a "Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice," and though this may seem a great difficulty when the heart is bowed down and rent in twain by the loss of our earthly gourds, in reality that is the very time when we can best relish the waters that make glad the city of God. "Trials make the promise sweet," such promises as these, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit on my throne," and "the Lamb that is before the throne shall feed them, and God himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
I am fearful of not being ready for the post so I must say good bye.
Your affectionate
Mary Ann.
Signature
Mary Ann.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Samuel Evans, Griff, 10 August 1840, 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/93789