John Blackwood to William Blackwood, St. Andrews, [24 October 1871]
Title
John Blackwood to William Blackwood, St. Andrews, [24 October 1871]
Title
John Blackwood to William Blackwood, St. Andrews, [24 October 1871]
Sender
John Blackwood
Recipient
William Blackwood
Date(s)
- 1871-10-24
Place
St. Andrews
Letter Content
John Blackwood to William Blackwood, St. Andrews, [24 October 1871]
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
Strathtyrum | St. Andrews | N.B.
Tuesday 6 p.m.
My Dear Willie
The worshipper of Genius 386 appeared soon after eleven today and has just left. This has destroyed my day's work but I shall send in a parcel by the train leaving at one tomorrow.
He is quite young, about 26 387 I should say, a little fellow, had been 3 years at Glasgow college partially "with a view to the Ministry" but "for various reasons" he did not go on with that. He does a little in teaching or rather in reading with lads. He evidently has some means and has a Mother who rather ties him to Arbroath. He is very quaint and thoroughly trustworthy I should say.
He is quite an enthusiast and told me he did "not read much but he read deep." He worships George Eliot as having done for the Novel what Shakespeare did for the Drama. When he wound up some glowing period by saying she was "Concrete" I was nearly upset. With all this simple enthusiasm he has a regular head and thinks. He used his knife in a dangerous manner at lunch but the ladies were all taken with him. He had confided to some young friends who had been at St. Andrews College his great anxiety to get a letter from me and they consoled him by the exclamation "He'll be Golfing and sometimes no' look at his letters for days."
ever yours affectionately
John Blackwood.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
Strathtyrum | St. Andrews | N.B.
Tuesday 6 p.m.
My Dear Willie
The worshipper of Genius 386 appeared soon after eleven today and has just left. This has destroyed my day's work but I shall send in a parcel by the train leaving at one tomorrow.
He is quite young, about 26 387 I should say, a little fellow, had been 3 years at Glasgow college partially "with a view to the Ministry" but "for various reasons" he did not go on with that. He does a little in teaching or rather in reading with lads. He evidently has some means and has a Mother who rather ties him to Arbroath. He is very quaint and thoroughly trustworthy I should say.
He is quite an enthusiast and told me he did "not read much but he read deep." He worships George Eliot as having done for the Novel what Shakespeare did for the Drama. When he wound up some glowing period by saying she was "Concrete" I was nearly upset. With all this simple enthusiasm he has a regular head and thinks. He used his knife in a dangerous manner at lunch but the ladies were all taken with him. He had confided to some young friends who had been at St. Andrews College his great anxiety to get a letter from me and they consoled him by the exclamation "He'll be Golfing and sometimes no' look at his letters for days."
ever yours affectionately
John Blackwood.
Signature
John Blackwood.
Citation
John Blackwood, John Blackwood to William Blackwood, St. Andrews, [24 October 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/95475