GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, London, 4 February 1869
Title
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, London, 4 February 1869
Title
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, London, 4 February 1869
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Sara Sophia Hennell
Date(s)
- 1869-02-04
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, London, 4 February 1869
MS: Yale. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
February 4. 1869.
My dear Sara
Mr. Bray wrote to me on business about a week ago, but said no word about you, so that I was quite in ignorance of your movements.
I shall be most glad to kiss you after our long, long separation by time and space. Will it not be a better plan than the one which Miss Carter 16 kindly proposes, for you to come straight to us and occupy Charlie's old bed for a night? -- Come to us if possible in time for luncheon (i.e. at 'bd past 1) on Thursday the 11th, dine and sleep at our house, and then have an easy drive to the Euston Square Station the next morning. You see, dear Sara, I cannot ask you to stay more than one night, for, to have a visitor staying with us would be a perturbation of our lives which, under present conditions, we cannot endure. The fact is, we are brutally inhospitable, and I beseech you to understand that I treat you according to our rule and not as in any way an exception.
Pray write as soon as you can and fix the details, because, if my plan suits you, we will ask Mr. Spencer to dine with you. 17
I have been rather good-for-nothing lately, but Mr. Lewes has been buoyed up by some interesting inquiries which possess him wholly. We are going to Italy at the end of this month, unless Mr. Lewes's mother should be too ailing to part with him. Always
Your faithful
Marian.
If you do not like my plan, I will meet you wherever you choose.
MS: Yale. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
February 4. 1869.
My dear Sara
Mr. Bray wrote to me on business about a week ago, but said no word about you, so that I was quite in ignorance of your movements.
I shall be most glad to kiss you after our long, long separation by time and space. Will it not be a better plan than the one which Miss Carter 16 kindly proposes, for you to come straight to us and occupy Charlie's old bed for a night? -- Come to us if possible in time for luncheon (i.e. at 'bd past 1) on Thursday the 11th, dine and sleep at our house, and then have an easy drive to the Euston Square Station the next morning. You see, dear Sara, I cannot ask you to stay more than one night, for, to have a visitor staying with us would be a perturbation of our lives which, under present conditions, we cannot endure. The fact is, we are brutally inhospitable, and I beseech you to understand that I treat you according to our rule and not as in any way an exception.
Pray write as soon as you can and fix the details, because, if my plan suits you, we will ask Mr. Spencer to dine with you. 17
I have been rather good-for-nothing lately, but Mr. Lewes has been buoyed up by some interesting inquiries which possess him wholly. We are going to Italy at the end of this month, unless Mr. Lewes's mother should be too ailing to part with him. Always
Your faithful
Marian.
If you do not like my plan, I will meet you wherever you choose.
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, London, 4 February 1869, 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/94052