(flurucU Imuersttt] iCtbrary 3tl)aca. 5?eui lurk WORDSWORTH COLLECTION MADE BY CYNTHIA MORGAN ST. JOHN ITHACA. N. Y. THE GIFT OF VICTOR EMANUEL CLASS OF 1919 1925 ^M "'^' Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104096791 GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE VOL. III.— SUNSET "Our finest hope is finest memory' '- ' — ^^'-H^^i^^'-i'^Ti^i r"^:'^r-- rr"*- "i.-^^'^ '~e^ ■ — ^^-- HOUSE IN CHEYNE WALK— CHELSEA. PEORGF ^XIOTS LIFE ^ as related m her Letters and oGui fiats ss ■RATfOIsS NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLl pEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE VJ as related in her Letters and Journals ARRANGED AND EDITED BY HER HUSBAND J. W. CROSS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN THREE VOLUMES. -Volume III NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE GEORGE ELIOT'S WORKS. LIBRARY EDITION. ADAM BEDE. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, $1.25. DANIEL DERONDA. 2 vols., lamo, Cloth, $2.50. ESSAYS and LEAVES FROM A NOTE-BOOK. i2mo, Cloth, $1.25. FELIX HOLT, THE RADICAL. Illustrated. 1211:0, Cloth, $1.25. MIDDLEMARCH. 2 vols., i2mo, Cloth, $2.50. ROMOLA. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.25. SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE, and SILAS MARNER. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, ^1.25. THE IMPRESSIONS OF THEOPHRASTUS SUCH. i2mo, Cloth, $1.25. THE MILL ON THE FLOSS. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.25. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. tTP" Harper & Brothers will send any of the above volumes by mail, post- age prepaid, to any part of tJie United States or Canada, on receipt of the price. For other editions of George Eliofs ivorks published by Har- per <5r= Brothers see advert isevietit at efid of third volutne* CONTENTS OF VOL. III. CHAPTER XIV. JANUARY, 1867, TO DECEMBER, 1 867. Tour in Spain ...... Page i CHAPTER XV. JANUARY, 1868, TO DECEMBER, 1 868. " The Spanish Gypsy " . . . . , .24 CHAPTER XVI. JANUARY, 1869, TO DECEMBER, 1 872. Poems — "Middlemarch" . . . . , • 55 CHAPTER XVII. JANUARY, 1873, TO DECEMBER, 1875. "Brewing" "Deronda" ...... 138 CHAPTER XVIII. MARCH, 1876, TO NOVEMBER, 1 878. "Daniel Deronda" — Ilhiess and Death of Mr. Lewes . . 197 CHAPTER XIX. JANUARY, 1879, TO 22d DECEMBER, 1880. " Theophrastus Such" — Marriage with Mr. Cross — Death . 249 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. IIL No. 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea Frontispiece. The Heights, Witley. From a Sketch by Mrs. Allingham . . ^ To face p. 216 GEORGE ELIOTS LIFE. CHAPTER XIV. The new year of 1867 opens with the descrip- tion of the journey to Spain. We prolonged our stay in Paris in order to see Ma- Letter to Madame dame Mohl, who was very good to us ; invited the Bodichon, Jan. 1867, Scherers and other interesting people to meet us at from Bordeaux, dinner on the 29th, and tempted us to stay and break- fast with her on the 31st, by promising to invite Re- nan, which she did successfully, and so procured us a bit of experience that we were glad to have, over and above the pleasure of seeing a little more of herself and M. Mohl. I like them both, and wish there were a chance of knowing them better. We paid for our pleasure by being obliged to walk in the rain (from the impossibility of getting a carriage) all the way from the Rue de Rivoli — where a charitable German printer, who had taken us up in \\\s fiacre, was obliged to set us down — to the Hotel du Helder, through streets literally jammed with carriages and omnibus- es, carrying people who were doing the severe social duties of the last day in the year. The rain it raineth every day, with the exception of yesterday; we can't travel away from it, apparently. But we start in des- peration for Bayonne in half an hour. Mrs.^Con- Snow on the ground here, too — more, we are told, jS^^s;/ than has been seen here for fifteen years before. But BiaJritz. in.— I 2 Sublime Sea a7id Sky. [Biarritz, Letter to it has been obliging enough to fall in the night, and Mrs. Con- ,.,.,. . -i grave, i6th the skv IS glorious this morning, as it was yesteraay. Jan. 1867. _, , , • • , , 1 1 Sunday was the one exception since the 6th, wnen we arrived here to a state of weather which has allowed us to be out of doors the greater part of our daylight. We think it curious that, among the many persons who have talked to us about Biarritz, the Brownings alone have ever spoken of its natural beauties ; yet these are transcendent. We agree that the sea never seemed so magnificent to us before, though we have seen the Atlantic breaking on the rocks at Ilfracombe and on the great granite walls of the Scilly Isles. In the southern division of the bay we see the sun set over the Pyrenees ; and in the northern we have two splen- did stretches of sand, one with huge fragments of dark rock scattered about for the waves to leap over, the other an unbroken level, firm to the feet, where the hindmost line of wave sends up its spray on the hori- zon like a suddenly rising cloud. This part of the bay is worthily called the Chambre de TAmour; and we have its beauties all to ourselves, which, alas ! in this stage of the world, one can't help feeling to be an ad- vantage. The few families and bachelors who are here (chiefly English) scarcely ever come across our path. The days pass so rapidly, we can hardly believe in their number when we come to count them. After breakfast we both read the "Politique" — George one volume and I another — interrupting each other contin- ually with questions and remarks. That morning study keeps me in a state of enthusiasm throuo-h the day— a moral glow, which is a sort of milieit subjectif for the sublime sea and sky. Mr. Lewes is converted to the warmest admiration of the chapter on lancruao-e in the third volume, which about three years ago he 1S67.] Gratitude to Comte, 3 thought slightly of. I think the first chapter of the Letter to ^ ^ J ^ Mrs. Con- fourth volume is among the finest of all, and the most greve, i6th . . . , Jan. 1867. finely written. My gratitude increases continually for the illumination Comte has contributed to my life. But we both of us study with a sense of having still much to learn and to understand. About ten or half- past ten we go out for our morning walk; and then, while we plunge about in the sand or march along the cliff, George draws out a book and tries my paces in Spanish, demanding a quick-as-light translation of nouns and phrases. Presently I retort upon him, and prove that it is easier to ask than to answer. We find this system of viva-voce mutual instruction so success- ful that we are disgusted with ourselves for not having used it before through all our many years of compan- ionship ; and we are making projects for giving new interest to Regent's Park by pursuing all sorts of stud- ies in the same way there. We seldom come in-doors till one o'clock, and we turn out again at three, often remaining to see the sunset. One other thing I have been reading here which I must tell you of. It is a series of three papers by Saveney, in the Revue des Deux Mondes of last year, on "La Physique Moderne," an excellent summary, giving a glimpse of the great vista opened in that region. I think you would like to read them when you are strong enough for that sort of exertion. We stayed three days in Paris, and passed our time very agreeably. The first day we dined with Madame Mohl, who had kindly invited Professor Scherer and his wife, Jules Simon, Lomenie, Lavergne, " and oth- ers " to meet us. That was on the Saturday, and she tempted us to stay the following Monday by saying she would invite Renan to breakfast with us. Renan's 4 M. Renan. [Barcelona, Letter to appearance is somethino: between the Catholic priest Mrs. Con- ^ *^ ° greve, i6th and the dissenting minister. His manners are very Jan. 1867. '^ ,. . • 1 1 wi amiable, his talk pleasant, but not distinguished. We are entertaining great projects as to our further journey- ing. It will be best for you to address Poste Restante, Barcelona. Letter to Are you astonished to see our whereabouts? We BodichSi, left Biarritz for San Sebastian, where we stayed three 1S67. * days ; and both there and all our way to Barcelona our life has been a succession of delights. We have had perfect weather, blue skies, and a warm sun. We travelled from San Sebastian to Saragossa, where we passed two nights ; then to Lerida for one night, and yesterday to Barcelona. You know the scenery from San Sebastian to Alsasua, through the lower Pyrenees, because it lies on the way to Burgos and Madrid. At Alsasua we turned off through Navarre into Aragon, seeing famous Pampeluna, looking as beautiful as it did ages ago among the grand hills. At Saragossa the scene was thoroughly changed ; all through Ara- gon, as far as we could see, I should think the country resembles the highlands of Central Spain. There is the most striking effect of hills, flanking the plain of Saragossa, I ever saw. They are of palish clay, washed by the rains into undulating forms, and some slight herbage upon them makes the shadows of an exquisite blue. These hills accompanied us in the distance all the way through Aragon, the snowy mountains topping them in the far distance. The land is all pale brown, the numerous towns and villages just match the land, and so do the sheepfolds, built of mud or stone. The herbage is all of an ashy green. Perhaps if I had been in Africa I should say, as you do, that the coun- 1867.] Saragossa. — Lerida, 5 try reminded me of Africa; as it is, I think of all I Letter to Madame have read about the East. The men who look on Bodichon, 2d Feb. while others work at Saragossa also seem to belong to 1867. the East, with a great striped blanket wrapped grandly- round them, and a kerchief tied about their hair. But though Aragon was held by the Moors longer than any part of Northern Spain, the features and skins of the people seem to me to bear less traces of the mixture there must have been than one would fairly expect. Saragossa has a grand character still, in spite of the stucco with which the people have daubed the beauti- ful small brick of which the houses are built. Here and there one sees a house left undesecrated by stuc- co; and all of them have the fluted tiles and the broad eaves beautifully ornamented. Again, one side of the old cathedral still shows the exquisite inlaid work which, in ihe fa fade,hd.s been overlaid hideously. Gradually, as we left Aragon and entered Catalonia, the face af the country changed, and we had almost every sort of beau- ty in succession ; last of all, between Monserrat and Barcelona, a perfect garden, with the richest red soil — blossoms on the plum and cherry trees, aloes thick in the hedges. At present we are waiting for the Span- ish hardships to begin. Even at Lerida, a place scarce- ly at all affected by foreign travellers, we were perfectly comfortable — and such sights ! The people scattered on the brown slopes of rough earth round the fortress — the women knitting, etc., the men playing at cards, one wonderful, gaudily dressed group ; another of handsome gypsies. We are actually going by steam- boat to Alicante, and from Alicante to Malaga. Then we mean to see Granada, Cordova, and Seville. We shall only stay here a few days — if this weather con- tinues. 6 Spanish Travellmg, [Granada, Le«eMo Your kind letter, written on the 5th, reached me HarrL'on, here this morning. I had not heard of the criticism |86j,from in the Edinburgh. Mr. Lewes read the article, but did not tell me of the reviewer's legal wisdom, think- ing that it would only vex me to no purpose. How- ever, I had felt sure that something of that sort must have appeared in one review article or another. I am heartily glad and grateful that you have helped justice in general, as well as justice to me in particular, by setting the vindication written for the Pall Mall. It was the best possible measure to adopt. Since we left Barcelona, a fortnight ago, we have seen no Eng- lish papers, so that we have been in the dark as to English news. Were you not surprised to hear that we had come so far ? The journey from San Sebastian by Saragossa and Lerida turned out to be so easy and delightful that we ceased to tremble, and determined to carry out our project of going by steamer to Alicante and Malaga. You cannot do better than follow our example ; I mean, so far as coming to Spain is concerned. Believe none of the fictions that bookmakers get printed about the horrors of Spanish hotels and cookery, or the hard- ships of Spanish travel — still less about the rudeness of Spaniards. It is true that we have not yet endured the long railway journeys through Central Spain,' but wherever we have been hitherto we have found noth- ing formidable, even for our rickety bodies. AVe came hither from Malaga in the herlina {coupe) of the diligence, and have assured ourselves that Mr. Blackburne's description of a supposed hen-roost over- turned in the Alameda at Malaga, which proved to be the Granada diligence, is an invention. The vehicle is comfortable enough, and the road is perfect • and 1867.] The Alhamhra. y at the end of it we have found ourselves in one of the Letter to Frederic loveliest scenes on earth, Harrison, 1 8th Feb. We shall remain here till the 23d, and then go to ^867. Cordova first, to Seville next, and finally to Madrid, making our way homeward from thence by easy stages. We expect to be in the smoky haze of London again soon after the middle of March, if not before. I wish I could believe that you were all having any- thing like the clear skies and warm sun which have cheered our journeying for the last month. At Ali- cante we walked among the palm-trees with their golden fruit hanging in rich clusters, and felt a more delightful warmth than that of an English summer. Last niMit we walked out and saw the towers of the Alhambra, the wide Vega, and the snowy mountains, by the brilliant moonlight. You see, we are getting a great deal of pleasure, but we are not working, as you seem charitably to imagine. We tire ourselves, but only with seeing or going to see unforgetable things. You will say that we ought to work to better purpose when we get home. Amen. But just now we read nothing but Spanish novels — and not much of those. We said good-bye to philosophy and science wdien w^e packed up our trunks at Biarritz. Please keep some friendship warm for us, that we may not be too much chilled by the English w^eather when we get back. We are both heartily rejoiced that we came to Spain. Letter -r ^ • r ' r ^ t ^° John It was a great longing of mine, for, three years ago, I Biack- . . . ^ . . ^ . -,. wood, 2 1 St began to interest myself in Spanish history and litera- Feb. 1867. ture, and have had a work lying by me, partly written, the subject of which is connected with Spain. Whether I shall ever bring it to maturity so as to satisfy myself sufficiently to print it is a question not settled ; but it 8 View from the Alhambra. [Granada, is a work very near my heart. We have had perfect weather ever since the 27th of January— magnificent skies and a summer sun. At Alicante, walking among the palm-trees, with the bare brown rocks and brown houses in the background, we fancied ourselves in the tropics ; and a gentleman who travelled with us as- sured us that the aspect of the country closely resem- bled Aden, on the Red Sea. Here, at Granada, of course, it is much colder, but the sun shines uninter- ruptedly ; and in the middle of the day, to stand in the sunshine against a wall, reminds me of my sensations at Florence in the beginning of June. The aspect of Granada as we first approached it was a slight disap- pointment to me, but the beauty of its position can hardly be surpassed. To stand on one of the towers of the Alhambra and see the sun set behind the dark mountains of Loja, and send its after-glow on the white summits of the Sierra Nevada, while the lovely Vega spreads below, ready to yield all things pleasant to the eye and good for food, is worth a very long, long jour- ney. We shall start to-morrow evening for Cordova ; then we shall go to Seville, back to Cordova, and on to Madrid. During our short stay in Paris v/e went a little into society, and saw, among other people who interested us. Professor Scherer, of whom you know something. He charmed me greatly. He is a Genevese, you know, and does not talk in ready-made epigrams, like a clever Frenchman, but with well-chosen, moderate words, intended to express what he really thinks and feels. He is highly cultivated ; and his wife, who was Mrs.Von- with him, is an Englishwoman of refined, simple man- loih greve, lom Mch.1867, ners. from B?Sritz. At Biarritz again, you see, after our long, delightful 1867.] The Madrid Gallery, 9 journey, in which we have made a ojreat loop all Letter to Mrs. Con- round the east and through the centre of Spain. Mr. greve.icth ^ _ \ Mch.1867. Lewes says he thinks he never enjoyed a journey so much, and you will see him so changed — so much plumper and ruddier — that if pity has entered much into your regard for him he will be in danger of losing something by his bodily prosperity. We crowned our pleasures in Spain with the sight of the pictures in the Madrid gallery. The skies were as blue at Madrid as they had been through the previous part of our jour- neying, but the air was bitterly cold ; and naughty of- ficials receive money for warming the museum, but find other uses for the money. I caught a severe cold the last day of our visit, and, after an uncomfortable day and night's railway journey, arrived at Biarritz, only fit for bed and coddling. March 16. — This evening we got home after a jour- journal, ney to the south of Spain. I go to my poem and the ^ ^' construction of two prose works — if possible. We got home on Saturday evening, after as fine a Letter 11 .to John passage from Calais to Dover as we ever had, even in Biack- 11 1 • wood,i8th summer. Your letter was among the pleasant things Mch.1867. that smiled at me on my return, and helped to recon- cile me to the rather rude transition from summer to winter which we have made in our journey from Biar- ritz. This morning it is snowing hard and the wind is roaring — a sufiiciently sharp contrast to the hot sun, the dust, and the mosquitoes of Seville. We have had a glorious journey. The skies alone, both night and day, were worth travelling all the way to see. We went to Cordova and Seville, but we feared the cold of the central lands in the north, and resisted the temptation to see Toledo, or anything else than the Madrid pictures, which are transcendent. III.— I* lO Illustrations of Cheap Edition. [The Priory, Letter Amono: the letters awaiting me was one from an to John ° ° II" i^'^c>- „ ^ American travelling: in Europe, who gives me the nis- wood, i8th ° 1 V Mch.1867. tory of a copy of "Felix Holt," which, he says, has been read by no end of people, and is now on its way through Ireland, " where he found many friends anx- ious but unable to get it." It seems people nowadays economize in nothing but books. I found also the letter of a " Conveyancer" in the Fall Mall, justifying the law of " Felix Holt " in answer to the Ediiihirgh reviewer. I did not know, before I was told of this letter in reply, that the Edinburgh reviewer had found fault with my law. Journal, Ma?'ch 21. — Reccivcd from Blackwood a check for 1867. ;^2i66 I3J". 4^., being the second instalment of ;^i666 135-. Atd. towards the ;£"5ooo for "Felix Holt," together with £^00 as the first instalment of ;^iooo for ten years' copyright of the cheap edition of my novels. Letter Your letters, with the valuable enclosure of a check to John Black- for /"2166 \^s. Ad., liavc come to me this morning, and wood, 2ISt /O J T 5 toJ Mch. 1867. I am much obliged to you for your punctual attention. I long to see a specimen of the cheap edition of the novels. As to the illustrations, I have adjusted my hopes so as to save myself from any great shock. When I remember my own childish happiness in a frightfully illustrated copy of the " Vicar of Wakefield," I can believe that illustration may be a great good relatively, and that my own present liking has no weight in the question. I fancy that the placarding at railway stations is an effective measure, for Ruskin was never more mistaken than in asserting that people have no spare time to observe anything in such places. I am a very poor reader of advertisements, but even I am forced to o-et them unpleasantly by heart at the stations. 1867.] Cheap Editions, 1 1 It is rather a vexatious kind of tribute when people Letter •^ ^ to John write, as my American correspondent did, to tell me Black- wood, 21st of one paper-covered American copy of " Felix Holt " Mch. 1867 being brought to Europe and serving for so many readers that it was in danger of being worn away under their hands. He, good man, finds it easy "to urge greater circulation by means of cheap sale," having " found so many friends in Ireland anxious but unable to obtain the book." I suppose putting it in a yellow cover with figures on it, reminding one of the outside of a show, and charging a shilling for it, is what we are ex- pected to do for the good of mankind. Even then I fear it would hardly bear the rivalry of " The Pretty Milliner," or of "The Horrible Secret." The work connected with Spain is not a romance. It is — prepare your fortitude — it is — a poem. I con- ceived the plot, and wrote nearly the whole as a drama in 1864. Mr. Lewes advised me to put it by for a time and take it up again, with a view to recasting it. He thinks hopefully of it. I need not tell you that I am not hopeful, but I am quite sure the subject is fine. It is not historic, but has merely historic connections. The plot was wrought out entirely as an incorporation of my own ideas. Of course, if il^ is ever finished to my satisfaction, it is not a work for us to get money by, but Mr. Lewes urges and insists that it shall be done. I have also my private projects about an Eng- lish novel, but I am afraid of speaking as if I could depend on myself; at present I am rather dizzy, and not settled down to home habits of regular occupation. I understand that the conveyancer who wrote to the Pall Mall is an excellent lawyer in his department, and the lecturer on Real Property at the Law Institu- tion. 12 Coiigreves Lectures on Positivism. [The Priory, Letter \{ ^ revicwcr ever checked himself by considering to John •' . , , Bi^^>- that a writer whom he thinks worth praising would wood, 2 I St Mch. 1867. take some pains to know the truth about a matter which is the very hinge of said writer's story, review articles would cut a shrunken figure. Journal, Mav <. — We went to Bouverie Street to hear the 1S67. -^ J- ^ . . . ... , , first of a course of lectures on Positivism, delivered by Dr. Congreve. There were present seventy-five peo- ple, chiefly men. May II. — We had Mr. and Mrs. Call to dine with us, and an evening party afterwards. May 12. — We went to hear Dr. Congreve's second lecture. The morning was thoroughl}'' wet j the audi- ence smaller, but still good. Letter to Yesterday we went to the second of a course of lect- Miss Sara Henneii, ures whicli Dr. Consfreve is deliverino; on Positivism 13th May, '^ ° i«67. in Bouverie Street. At the first lecture on the 5th there was a considerable audience — about seventy-five, chiefly men — of various ranks, from lords and M.P.'s downwards, or upwards, for what is called social distinction seems to be in a shifting condition just now. Yesterday the wet weather doubtless helped to reduce the audience ; still it was good. Curiosity brings some, interest in the subject others, and the rest go with the wish to express adhesion more or less thorough. I am afraid you have ceased to care much about pictures, else I should wish that you could see the Exhibition of Historical Portraits at Kensinjrton. It is really worth a little fatigue to see the Eno-lish of past generations in their habit as they lived — especial- ly when Gainsborough and Sir Joshua are the painters. But even Sir Godfrey Kneller delights me occasionally with a finely conceived portrait carefully painted. There is an unforgetable portrait of Newton by him. 1867.] Higher Education of Women, 13 May 27. — Went with G. to the Academy Exhibition. Journal, •^ ' ^ 1S67. May 29. — Went to the Exhibition of French Pict- ures — very agreeable and interesting. I do sympathize with you most emphatically in the ^^"%*° desire to see women socially elevated — educated '^^t°^i ■' 30th May, equally with men, and secured as far as possible, '"^^7- along with every other breathing creature, from suffer- ing the exercise of any unrighteous power. That is a broader ground of sympathy than agreement as to the amount and kind of result that may be hoped for from a particular measure. But on this special point I am far from thinking myself an oracle, and on the whole I am inclined to hope for much good from the serious presentation of women's claims before Par- liament. I thought Mill's speech sober and judi- cious from his point of view — Karslake's an abomi- nation. A propos of what you say about Mr. Congreve, I think you have mistaken his, or rather Comte's, posi- tion. There is no denial of an unknown cause, but only a denial that such a conception is the proper ba- sis of a practical religion. It seems to me pre-emi- nently desirable that we should learn not to make our personal comfort a standard of truth. yuiie I (Saturday). — Wrote up to the moment when Journal, 1 867. Fedalma appears in the Pla9a. Jime 5. — Blackwood dined with us, and I read to him my poem down to page 56. He showed great deligh't. yiine 26. — We went to Niton for a fortnight, return- ing July ID. July 16. — Received £2\(>(y 13-$'. \d. from Black- wood, being the final instalment for " Felix Holt," and (;^5oo) copyright for ten years. 14 Start for North Germany, [The Priory, Letter to Again wc take flidit ! To North Germany this Mrs. Con- o t> greve 28th time, and chiefly to Dresden, where we shall be acces- July, 1867. ' J ^ 1 J r sible throuj^h the Paste Restante. I am ashamed ot saying anything about our health — we are both "ob- jects " for compassion or contempt, according to the disposition of the subject who may contemplate us. Mr. Beesley (I think it was he) sent us Dr. Con- greve's pamphlet last night, and I read it aloud to Georjre. We both felt a cordial satisfaction in it. We have been a good deal beset by little engagements with friends and acquaintances lately, and these, with the preparations for our journey, have been rather too much for me. Mr. Lewes is acting on the advice of Sir Henry Holland in giving up zoologizing for the present, because it obliges him to hang down his head. That is the reason we go inland, and not to the coast, as I think I hinted to you that we expected to do. You are sympathetic enough to be glad to hear that we have had thoroughly cheerful and satisfactory letters from both our boys in Natal. They are established in their purchased farm, and are very happy together in their work. Impossible for mortals to have less trouble than we. I should have written to you earlier this week— for we start to-morrow — but that I have been laid prostrate with crushing headache one half of my time, and always going out or seeing some one the other half. Farewell, dear. Don't write unless you have a real desire to gossip with me a little about yourself and our mutual friends. You know I always like to have news of you, but I shall not think it unkind— I shall only think you have other things to do — if you are silent. Journal, July 29.— Wc wcut to Dover this evening as the start on a journey into Germany (North). 1867.] Mr. Lewes at Wey bridge, 15 Oct. I. — We returned home after revisitino: the scenes Journals 1867. of cherished memories — Ihiienau, Dresden, and BerHn. Of new places we have seen Wetzlar, Cassel, Eisenach, and Hanover. At Ilmenau I wrote Fedalma's solilo- quy after her scene with Silva, and the following dia- logue between her and Juan. At Dresden I rewrote the whole scene between her and Zarca. Oct. 9. — Reading " Los Judios en Espana," Percy's " Reliques," " Isis," occasionally aloud. Oct. 10.— Reading the " Iliad," Book III. Finished " Los Judios en Espana," a wretchedly poor book. Oct. II. — Began again Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella." Oct. 19. — George returned last evening from a walk- ing expedition in Surrey with Mr. Spencer. This entry is an interesting one to me, as it fixes the date of the first acquaintance with my family. Mr. Herbert Spencer was an old friend of ours, and in the course of their walk he and Mr. Lewes happened to pass through Weybridge, where my mother at that time lived. They came to dinner. Mr. Lewes, with his wonderful social powers, charmed all, and they passed a delightful evening. I was myself in America at the time, where I was in business as a banker at New York. My eldest sister had just then published a little volume of po- ems,^ which was kindly received by the press. On the invitation of Mr. Lewes she went shortly after- wards to see George Eliot, then in the zenith of her fame ; nor did she ever forget the affectionate man- ner in which the great author greeted her. This was the beginning of a close friendship between the 1 "An Old Story and Other Poems," by Elizabeth D. Cross. i6 Lyrics for '^Spanish Gypsy T [The Priory, families, which lasted, and increased in intimacy, to the end. Mr. Spencer, in writing to tell me that it was he who first made Mr. Lewes acquainted with George Eliot, adds, "You will perhaps be struck by the curious coincidence that it was also by me that Lewes was introduced to your family at Weybridge and remoter issues entailed." Before I got your letter I was about to write to you and direct your attention to an article in the forth- coming (October) number of the Quarterly Review , on the Talmud. You really must go out of your way to read it. It is written by one of the greatest Oriental scholars, the man among living men who probably knows the most about the Talmud j and you will ap- preciate the pregnancy of the article. There are also beautiful, soul-cheering things selected for quotation. Oct. 31. — I have now inserted all that I think of for the first part of the " Spanish Gyps}^" On Monday I wrote three new Lyrics. I have also rewritten the first scenes in the gypsy camp, to the end of the dialogue between Juan and Fedalma. But I have determined to make the commencement of the second part con- tinue the picture of what goes forward in Bedmar. Nov. I. — Began this morning Part II. '' Silva was marching homeward," etc. About putting Fedalma in type. There would be advantages, but also disadvantages; and on these lat- ter I wish to consult you. I have more than three thousand lines ready in the order I wish them to stand in, and it would be good to have them in print to read them critically. Defects reveal themselves more fully in type, and emendations might be more conveniently made on proofs, since I have given up the idea of copy- ing the MS. as a whole. On the other hand could 1867.] Length of the ''Spanish Gypsy r 17 the thing be kept private when it had once been in the Letter to John printing-office ? And I particularly wish not to have it Biack- . wood, 9th set afloat, for various reasons. Among others, I want Nov. 1867. to keep myself free from all inducements to premature publication ; I mean, publication before I have given my work as much revision as I can hope to give it while my mind is still nursing it. Beyond this, delay would be useless. The theory of laying by poems for nine years may be a fine one, but it could not answer for me to apply it. I could no more live through one of my books a second time than I can live through last year again. But I like to keep checks on myself, and not to create external temptations to do what I should think foolish in another. If you thought it pos- sible to secure us against the oozing out of proofs and gossip, the other objections would be less important. One difficulty is, that in my MS. I have frequently two readings of the same passage, and, being uncertain which of them is preferable, I wish them both to stand for future decision. But perhaps this might be man- aged in proof The length of the poem is at present uncertain, but I feel so strongly what Mr. Lewes insists on, namely, the evil of making it too long, that I shall set it before me as a duty not to make it more than nine thousand lines, and shall be glad if it turns out a little shorter. Will you think over the whole question ? I am sure your mind will supply any prudential considerations that I may have omitted. I am vexed by the non-success of the serial edition of the works. It is not. Heaven knows, that I read my own books or am puffed up about them, but I have been of late quite astonished by the strengthening tes- timonies that have happened to come to me of people 1 8 hifluence on Young Men. [The Priory, Letter who carc about every one of my books, and continue Black-" to read them— especially young men, who are just the nJTv.'iVz. class I care most to influence. But what sort of data can one safely go upon with regard to the success of editions? "Felix Holt" is immensely tempted by your sug- gestion,' but George Eliot is severely admonished by his domestic critic not to scatter his energies. Mr. Lewes sends his best regards. He is in high spirits about the poem. Journal, Nov. 2 2.— Began an " Address to the Working Men, ^' by Felix Holt," at Blackwood's repeated request. Letter to Ycs, indeed — when I do not reciprocate "chaos is Miss Sara . ,, -^ . ^ ij Henneii, comc agam. I was quite sure your letter would 1867. come, and was grateful beforehand. There is a scheme on foot for a Woman's College, or, rather. University, to be built between London and Cambridge, and to be in connection with the Cam- bridge University, sharing its professors, examinations, and degrees ! Si miiove. Letter to J have Written to Miss Davies to ask her to come to Madame Bodichon, geg nie on Tuesday. I St Dec. (?) -^ J867. I am much occupied just now, but the better educa- tion of women is one of the objects about which I have no doubt, and shall rejoice if this idea of a college can be carried out. I see Miss Julia Smith's beautiful handwriting, and am glad to think of her as your guardian angel. The author of the glorious article on the Talmud is "that bright little man" Mr. Deutsch— a very dear, delightful creature. Journal, Dcc. 4. — Sent off the MS. of the " Address " to Edin- 1867. , , burgh. 1 "Address to the Working Men." 1867.] ^'Address to the Working Men'' 19 I agree with you about the phrase " Masters of the Letter ^ ^ ^ to John country." ^ I wrote that part twice, and originally I Biack- distinctly said that the epithet was false. Afterwards Dec 1867. I left that out, preferring to make a stronger argiimen- tu?n ad hominejn, in case any workman believed him- self a future master. I think it will be better for you to write a preliminary note, washing your hands of any over-trenchant state- ments on the part of the well-meaning Radical. I much prefer that you should do so. Whatever you agree with will have the advantage of not coming from one who can be suspected of be- ing a special pleader. AVhat you say about Fedalma is very cheering. But I am chiefly anxious about the road still untrav- elled — the road I have still zicrilck zu legen. Mr. Lewes has to request several proofs of Fedal- ma, to facilitate revision. But I will leave him to say how many. We shall keep them strictly to our- selves, you may be sure, so that three or four will be enough — one for him, one for me, and one for the res- olution of our differences. I am very grateful to you for your generous words Letter about my work. That you not only feel so much svm- Biack- " wood, 1 2th pathy, but are moved to express it so fully, is a realDec.1867. help to me. I am very glad to have had the revise of the " Ad- dress." I feel the danger of not being understood. Perhaps, by a good deal longer consideration and grad- ual shaping, I might have put the ideas into a more concrete, easy form. Mr. Lewes read the proof of the poem all through * In the "Address to the Working Men." 20 Christmas Day. [The Priory, Letter to liimself for the first time last night, and expressed to John ° ' woo'd'i.th ^^^^^ satisfaction in the impression it produced. Your Dec. '1867. suggestion of having it put into type is a benefit for which we have reason to be obliged to you. I cannot help saying again that it is a strong cordial to me to have such letters as yours, and to know that I have such 2i first reader as you. Journal, /^^^ 21. — Finished readino; " Averroes and Aver- 1867. ^ roisme" and " Les Medicins Juifs." Reading "First Principles." Letter to Qur Christmas will be very quiet. On the 27th Mr. Mrs. Con- •' ^ greve,22d Lcwcs mcans to start on a solitary journey to Bonn, Dec. 1867. J i : > and perhaps to Wiirzburg, for anatomical purposes. I don't mean that he is going to offer himself as an ana- tomical subject, but that he wants to get answers to some questions bearing on the functions of the nerves. It is a bad time for him to travel in, but he hopes to be at home again in ten days or a fortnight, and / hope the run will do him good rather than harm. Journal, Dec. 25. — George and I dined happily alone; he better for weeks than he has been all the summer be- fore ; I more ailing than usual, but with much mental consolation, part of it being the delight he expresses in my poem, of which the first part is now in print. Letter to Thanks for the pretty remembrance. You were not Miss Sara Henneii, uuthought of bcforc it camc. Now, however, I rouse 26th Dec. ' 1867. all my courage under the thick fog to tell you my in- ward wish — which is that the new year, as it travels on towards its old age, may bring you many satisfactions undisturbed by bodily ailment. Mr. Lewes is going to-morrow on an unprecedented expedition— a rapid run to Bonn, to make some ana- tomical researches with Professor Schutze there. If he needs more than he can get at Bonn, he may <^o to 1867.] Mme.Bodichon and Mr, Harrison. 21 Heidelberg and Wiirzburg. But in any case he will Letter to not take more than a fortnight. Henneii, ° 28th Dec. Public questions which, by a sad process of reduction, 1S67. become piteous private questions, hang cloudily over all prospects. The state of Europe, the threat of a general war, the starvation of multitudes — one can't help thinking of these things at one's breakfast. Nev- ertheless, there is much enjoyment going on, and abun- dance of rosy children's parties. It is very good and sweet of you to propose to come Letter to "^ ^ X J. Mrs. Con- round for me on Sunday, and I shall cherish particu- g^eve, 30th •^ . ^ Dec 1867. larly the remembrance of that kindness. But, on our reading your letter, Mr. Lewes objected, on grounds which I think just, to my going to any public manifes- tation without him, since his absence could not be di- vined by outsiders. I am companioned by dyspepsia, and feel life a struggle under the leaden sky. Mme. Bodichon writes that in Sussex the air is cold and clear, and the woods and lanes dressed in wintry loveliness of fresh, grassy patches, mingled with the soft grays and browns of the trees and hedges. Mr. Harrison shed the agreeable light of his kind eyes on me yesterday for a brief space; but I hope I was more endurable to my visitors than to myself, else I think they will not come again. I object strongly to myself, as a bundle of unpleasant sensations with a palpitating heart and awkward man- ners. Impossible to imagine the large charity I have for people who detest me. But don't you be one of them. I am much obliged to you for your handsome check, ^^^W and still more gratified that the " Address " has been a ^^^^>- ^ ° ■wood, 30th satisfaction to you. L>ec. 1867. I am very glad to hear of your projected visit to 22 ''Spanish Gypsy," [The Priory, Letter towii, and shall hope to have a good batch of MS. for Biact" you to carry back. Mr. Lewes is in an unprecedented Dec ;86? state of delight with the poem, now that he is reading it with close care. He says he is astonished that he can't find more faults. He is especially pleased with the sense of variety it gives ; and this testimony is worth the more because he urged me to put the poem by (in 1865) on the ground of monotony. He is really exultant about it now, and after what you have said to me I know this will please you. Hearty wishes that the coming year may bring you much good, and that the " Spanish Gypsy " may con- tribute a little to that end. SUMMARY. JANUARY, 1867, TO DECEMBER, 1S67. Letter to Madame Bodichon from Bordeaux — Madame Mohl — Scherer — Renan — Letter to Mrs. Congreve from Biarritz — De- light in Comte's "Politique" — Gratitude to him for ilkmiination — Learning Spanish — Papers in the Revue dcs Deux Mondes, by Saveney — Letter to Madame Bodichon from Barcelona — De- scription of scenery — Pampeluna — Saragossa — Lerida — Letter to F. Harrison from Granada — The vindication of the law in " Felix Holt" — Spanish travelling — Letter to John Blackwood from Gra- nada — Alicante — Granada — Letter to IMrs. Congreve from Biar- ritz — Delight of the journey — Madrid pictures — Return to the Priory — Letter to John Blackwood — "Felix Holt" — Cheap edi- tion of novels — "Spanish Gypsy" — Dr. Congreve's Lectures on Positivism — Letter to Miss Hennell — Historical Portraits at South Kensington — Letter to Airs. Peter Taylor — Women's claims — Comte's position — Fortnight's Visit to the Isle of Wight — Letter of adieu to Mrs. Congreve — Two months' visit to North Germany — Return to England — Reading on Spanish subjects— Mr. Lewes and Mr. Spencer at Weybridge — Acquaintance with Mrs. Cross and family — Letter to Miss Hennell — Dcutsch's article on the Talmud — Letter to Blackwood about putting "Spanish Gypsy" 1867.] Summary of Chapter XIV, 23 in type — "Address to Workingmen, by Felix Holt" — Letter to Miss Hennell — Girton College— Letter to Madame Bodichon— The higher education of women — Letter to John Blackwood on the "Address "—Christmas day at the Priory— Letter to Miss Hen- nell — Visit of Mr. Lewes to Bonn — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Depression — Letter to John Blackwood — Mr. Lewes on " Spanish Gypsy." CHAPTER XV. Letter to There is a good getiius presiding over your gifts — Mrs. Con- /. , . . -xt i • i • crave, 9th tlicy arc SO felicitous. You always give me something Jan. 1868. r ^ t iri of which I have felt the want beforehand, and can use continually. It is eminently so with my pretty mit- tens; there was no little appendage I wanted more; and they are just as warm at the wrist as I could have wished them to be — warming, too, as a mark of affec- tion at a time when all cheering things are doubly wel- come. Mr. Lewes came home last night, and you may im- agine that I am glad. Between the bad weather, bad health, and solitude, I have been so far unlike the wicked that I have not flourished like the green bay- tree. To make amends, he — Mr. Lewes, not the wicked — has had a brilliant time, gained great instruction, and seen some admirable men, who have received him warmly. I go out of doors very little, but I shall open the drawer and look at my mittens on the days when I don't put them on. Journal, yciH. — Engaged in writing Part IIL of "Spanish 1868. r- » Gypsy. Feb. 27. — Returned last evening from a very pleas- ant visit to Cambridge.' I am still only at p. 5 of Part IV., having had a wretched month oi malaise. March i. — Finished Guillemin on the "Heavens" » Visit to Mr.W. G.Clark. 1 868.] Vzsit to Torquay, 25 and the 4th Book of the " Iliad." I shall now read Journal, Grote. March 6. — Reading Lubbock's " Prehistoric Ages." March 8. — Saturday concert. Joachim and Piatti, with Schubert's Ottett. We go to-morrow morninoc to Torquay for a month, Letter to ^ . ^ ^ -^ ' Mrs. Con- and I cant bear to go without sayino: a word of fare- g^eve, 17th ,, ,. Mch.i868. well to you. How sadly little we have seen each other this winter ! It will not be so any more, I hope, will it? We are both much in need of the change, for Mr. Lewes has got rather out of sorts again lately. When we come back I shall ask you to come and look at us before the bloom is off. I should like to know how you all are; but you have been so little inspired for note-writing lately that I am afraid to ask you to send me a line to the post-office at Torquay. I really de- serve nothing of my friends at present. I don't know whether you have ever seen Torquay. Letter to It is pretty, but not comparable to Ilfracombe ; and, Henneii, like all other easily accessible sea-places, it is sadly 1868. spoiled by wealth and fashion, which leave no secluded walks, and tattoo all the hills with ugly patterns of roads and villa gardens. Our selfishness does not adapt itself well to these on-comings of the millen- nium. I am reading about savages and semi-savages, and think that our religious oracles would do well to study savage ideas by a method of comparison with their own. Also, I am studying that semi-savage poem, the " Iliad." How enviable it is to be a classic. When a verse in the " Iliad " bears six different meanings, and nobody knows which is the right, a commentator finds this equivocalness in itself admirable ! IIL— 2 26 Title of 'The Spanish Gypsy!' [Torquay, Letter^ Mr. Lcwcs quitc agrees with you, that it is desirable ^^^- to announce the poem. His suggestion is, that it should Md/i868 ^^ simply announced as " a poem " first, and then a " little later as " The Spanish Gypsy," in order to give a new detail for observation in the second announce- ment. I chose the title, " The Spanish Gypsy," a long time ago, because it is a little in the fashion of the elder dramatists, with whom I have perhaps more cousinship than with recent poets. Fedalma might be mistaken for an Italian name, which would create a definite expectation of a mistaken kind, and is, on other grounds, less to my taste than " The Spanish Gypsy." This place is becoming a little London, or London suburb. Everywhere houses and streets are being built, and Babbacombe will soon be joined to Tor- quay. I almost envy you the excitement of golf, which helps the fresh air to exhilarate, and gives variety of exer- cise. Walking can never be so good as a game — if one loves the game. But when a friend of Mr. Lewes's urges him angrily to play rackets for his health, the prospect seems dreary. We are afraid of being entangled in excursion trains, or crowds of Easter holiday-makers, in Easter week, and may possibly be driven back next Wednesday. But we are loath to have our stay so curtailed. Mr. Lewes sends his kind regards, and pities all of us who are less interested in ganglionic cells. He is in a state of beatitude about the poem. Letter to We find a few retired walks, and are the less dis- Mrs. Con- . grave, 4th contcntcd bccausc the weather is perfect. I hope vou April, iS68. T • 1 1 T 1 r are sharing the delights of sunshine and moonlio-ht. There are no waves here, as you know; but under such i868.] Education of Women, 27 skies as we are havins:, s-ameness is so beautiful that Letter to ^ , , Mrs. Con- we find no fault, and there is a particular hill at Bab- g^eye, 4th . , -^ April, 1868. bacombe of the richest Spanish red. On the whole, we are glad we came here, having avoided all trouble in journeying and settling. But we should not come again without special call, for in a few year«s all the hills will be parts of a London suburb. How glorious this weather is for the hard workers who are looking forward to their Easter holiday ! But for ourselves, we are rather afraid of the railway sta- tions in holiday time. Certainly, we are ill prepared for what Tennyson calls the "To-be," and it is good that we shall soon pass from this objective existence. I think Ruskin has not been encouraged about wom- Letter to en by his many and persistent attempts to teach them. Bodichon, He seems to have found them wanting in real scientific 1868. ^ interest — bent on sentimentalizing in everything. What I should like to be sure of, as a result of higher education for women — a result that will come to pass over my grave — is their recognition of the great amount of social unproductive labor which needs to be done by women, and which is now either not done at all or done wretchedly. No good can come to women, more than to any class of male mortals, while each aims at doing the highest kind of work, which ought rather to be held in sanctity as what only the few can do well. I believe, and I want it to be well shown, that a more thorough education will tend to do away with the odious vulgarity of our notions about functions and employment, and to propagate the true gospel, that the deepest disgrace is to insist on doing work for which we are unfit — to do work of any sort badly. There are many points of this kind that want being urged, but they do not come well from me. 28 England and Ireland, [The Priory, Letter to Your letter came just at the right time to greet us. Mrs. Con- ^ -mr 1 1 i. p;reve,i7th Thanks for that pretty remembrance. We are glad to April, 1 868. ^ ^ , ^ , , be at home a^aiii with our home comforts around us, though we became deeply in love with Torquay in the daily heightening of spring beauties, and the glory of perpetual blue skies. The eight hours' journey (one hour more than we paid for) was rather disturbing; and, I think, Mr. Lewes has got more zoological expe- rience than health from our month's delight — but a de- light it really has been to us to have perfect quiet with the red hills, the sunshine, and the sea. I shall be absorbed for the next fortnight, so that I cannot allow myself the sort of pleasure you kindly project for us j and when May begins, I want you to come and stay a night with us. I shall be ready by and by for such holiday-making, and you must be good to me. Will you give Dr. Congreve my thanks for his pamphlet, which I read at Torquay with great interest t All protests tell, however slowly and imperceptibly, and a protest against the doctrine that England is to keep Ireland under all conditions was what I had wished to be made. But in this matter he will have much more important concurrence than mine. I am bearing much in mind the great task of the translation. When it is completed we shall be able and glad to do what we were not able to do in the case of the " Discours Pre- liminaire," namely, to take our share, if we may, in the expenses of publication. Journal, ApHl 1 6. — Returned home, brins^ins: Book IV iin- i868. • , 1 ished. ^/;77 i8.— Went with Mr. Pigott to see Holman Letter Hunt's great picture, Isabella and the Pot of Basil. Black"-" I send you by to-day's post the MS. of Book ApS'sel. IV., that it may be at hand whenever there is oppor- iS68.] Shortening of '''Spanish Gypsy T 29 tunity for sfettinoj it into print, and lettino: me have it Letter J ^ ^ i ' ^ to John in that form for correction. It is desirable to get as^iack- ^ wood, 2ISt forward as we can, in case of the Americans asking for Aprii,i86& delay after their reception of the sheets — if they vent- ure to make any arrangement. I shall send the MS. of Book V. (the last) as soon as headache will permit, but that is an uncertain limit. We returned from Tor- quay on the i6th, leaving the glorious weather behind us. We were more in love with the place on a better acquaintance : the weather, and the spring buds, and the choirs of birds, made it seem more of a paradise to us every day. The poem will be less tragic than I threatened : Mr. Lewes has prevailed on me to return to my original conception, and give up the additional development, which I determined on subsequently. The poem is rather shorter in consequence. Don't you think that my artistic deference and pliability deserve that it should also be better in consequence ? I now end it as I determined to end it when I first conceived the story. April 2^. — Finished the last dialosjue between Silva Journal, ^ -* =* , 1868. and Fedalma. Mr. and Mrs. Burne Jones dined with us. April 2g. — Finished "The Spanish Gypsy." I send you by to-day's post the conclusion of the Letter to John poem m MS,, and the eighteen sheets of revise. The Black- wood, 29th last book is brief, but I may truly use the old epigram Aug. 1868. — that it would have taken less time to make it longer. It is a great bore that the name of my heroine is wrongly spelled in all the earlier sheets. It is a fresh proof of the fallibility of our impressions as to our own doings, that I would have confidently affirmed the name to be spelled Fedalma (as it ought to be) in my 30 ''The Spanish Gypsy'' Finished. [The Priory, Latter maniiscript. Yet I suppose I should have affirmed to John ^ ^ * i. +1 1^1=^^^- . falsely, for the i occurs in the slips constantly. wood, 29th "' ' - - . . , , Aug. 1868. As I shall not see these paged sheets again, will you charitably assure me that the alterations are safely made ? Among my wife's papers were four or five pages of MS. headed, " Notes on the Spanish Gypsy and Tragedy in General." There is no evidence as to the date at which this fragment was written, and it seems to have been left unfinished. But there was evidently some care to preserve it ; and as I think she would not have objected to its presentation, I give it here exactly as it stands. It completes the history of the poem. Notes on The subject of "The Spanish Gypsy" was originally *• The Spanish suggested to me by a picture which hangs in the Scuola ^^^^ di' San Rocco at Venice, over the door of the large Sala containing Tintoretto's frescoes. It is an Annun- ciation, said to be by Titian. Of course I had seen numerous pictures of this subject before j and the sub- ject had always attracted me. But in this my second visit to the Scuola di' San Rocco, this small picture of Titian's, pointed out to me for the first time, brought a new train of thought. It occurred to me that here was a great dramatic motive of the same class as those used by the Greek dramatists, yet specifically differing from them. A young maiden, believing herself to be on the eve of the chief event of her life — marriage — about to share in the ordinary lot of womanhood, full of young hope, has suddenly announced to her that she is chosen to fulfil a great destiny, entailing a terribly different experience from that of ordinary womanhood. She is chosen, not by any momentary arbitrariness, but as a result of foregoing hereditary conditions : she obeys. i868.] Hereditary Conditions. 31 " Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Here, I thought, Notes on ' ^ ' "The is a subject grander than that of Iphigenia, and it has Spanish ... . Gypsy." never been used. I came home with this in my mind, meaning to give the motive a clothing in some suitable set of historical and local conditions. My reflections brought me nothing that would serve me except that moment in Spanish history when the struggle with the Moors w^as attaining its climax, and when there was the gypsy race present under such conditions as would enable me to get my heroine and the hereditary claim on her among the gypsies. I required the opposition of race to give the need for renouncing the expectation of marriage. I could not use the Jews or the Moors, because the facts of their history were too conspicuously opposed to the working-out of my catastrophe. Mean- while the subject had become more and more pregnant to me. I saw it might be taken as a symbol of the part which is played in the general human lot by he- reditary conditions in the largest sense, and of the fact that what we call duty is entirely made up of such con- ditions ; for even in cases of just antagonism to the narrow view of hereditary claims, the whole background of the particular struggle is made up of our inherited nature. Suppose for a moment that our conduct at great epochs w^as determined entirely by reflection, without the immediate intervention of feeling, which supersedes reflection, our determination as to the right would consist in an adjustment of our individual needs to the dire necessities of our lot, partly as to our natu- ral constitution, partly as sharers of life with our fellow- beings. Tragedy consists in the terrible difficulty of this adjustment — " The dire strife of poor Humanity's afflicted will, Struggling in vain with ruthless destiny." 32 The Collision in Tragedy. [The Priory, Notes on Lookiii": at individual lots, I seemed to see in each the Spanish same story, wrought out with more or less of tragedy, and I determined the elements of my drama under the influence of these ideas. In order to judge properly of the dramatic structure it must not be considered first in the light of doctrinal symbolism, but in the light of a tragedy representing some grand collision in the human lot. And it must be judged accordingly. A good tragic subject must represent a possible, sufficiently probable, not a com- mon, action ; and to be really tragic, it must represent irreparable collision between the individual and the general (in differing degrees of generality). It is the individual with whom we sympathize, and the general of which we recognize the irresistible power. The truth of this test will be seen by applying it to the greatest tragedies. The collision of Greek tragedy is often that between hereditary, entailed Nemesis and the peculiar individual lot, awakening our sympathy, of the particular man or woman whom the Nemesis is shown to grasp with terrific force. Sometimes, as in the Oresteia, there is the clashing of two irreconcilable requirements, two duties, as we should say in these times. The murder of the father must be avenged by the murder of the mother, which must again be avenged. These two tragic relations of the individual and gen- eral, and of two irreconcilable "oughts," may be — will be — seen to be almost always combined. The Greeks were not taking an artificial, entirely erroneous stand- point in their art — a standpoint which disappeared al- together with their religion and their art. They had the same essential elements of life presented to them as we have, and their art symbolized these in grand schematic forms. The Prometheus represents the in- 1 868.] The Individual versus the General. 33 effectual strusfgle to redeem the small and miserable Notes on race of man, ao^ainst the stronger adverse ordinances Spanish . . Gypsy." that govern the frame of things with a triumphant power. Coming to modern tragedies, what is it that makes Othello a great tragic subject? A story simply of a jealous husband is elevated into a most pathetic tragedy by the hereditary conditions of Othello's lot, which give him a subjective ground for distrust. Faust, Rigoletto (Le Roi s' Amuse), Brutus. It might be a reasonable ground of objection against the whole struct- ure of "The Spanish Gypsy" if it were shown that the action is outrageously improbable — lying outside all that can be congruously conceived of human actions. It is 7iof a reasonable ground of objection that they would have done better to act otherwise, any more than it is a reasonable objection against the Iphigenia that Agamemnon would have done better not to sacri- fice his daughter. As renunciations coming under the same great class, take the renunciation of marriage, where marriage can- not take place without entailing misery on the chil- dren. A tragedy has not to expound why the individual must give way to the general ; it has to show that it is compelled to give way ; the tragedy consisting in the struggle involved, and often in the entirely calamitous issue in spite of a grand submission. Silva presents the tragedy of entire rebellion ; Fedalma of a grand submission, which is rendered vain by the effects of Silva's rebellion. Zarca, the struggle for a great end, rendered vain by the surrounding conditions of life. Now, what is the fact about our individual lots? A woman, say, finds herself on the earth with an inherited organization ; she may be lame, she may inherit a dis- III.— 2* 34 Acceptance of the Inevitable, [The Priory, Notes on easc, or what is tantamount to a disease ; she may be Spanish a ne2:ress, or have other marks of race repulsive in the Gypsy." ° ' community where she is born, etc. One may go on for a long while without reaching the limits of the commonest inherited misfortunes. It is almost a mockery to say to such human beings, " Seek your own happiness." The utmost approach to well-being that can be made in such a case is through large resig- nation and acceptance of the inevitable, with as much effort to overcome any disadvantage as good sense will show to be attended with a likelihood of success. Any one may say, that is the dictate of mere rational reflec- tion. But calm can, in hardly any human organism, be attained by rational reflection. Happily, we are not left to that. Love, pity, constituting sympathy, and generous joy with regard to the lot of our fellow- men comes in — has been growing since the beginning — enormously enhanced by wider vision of results, by an imagination actively interested in the lot of man- kind generally ; and these feelings become piety — i. e.^ loving, willing submission and heroic Promethean ef- fort towards high possibilities, which may result from our individual life. There is really no moral " sanction " but this in- ward impulse. The will of God is the same thing as the will of other men, compelling us to work and avoid what they have seen to be harmful to social existence. Disjoined from any perceived good, the divine will is simply so much as we have ascertained of the facts of existence which compel obedience at our peril. Any other notion comes from the supposi- tion of arbitrary revelation. That favorite view, expressed so often in Cloucctator, which 40 Reviews of ^'' The Spanish Gypsy,'' [The Priory, tVjohn ^^^ modest in tone. A very silly gentleman, Mr. Lewes woo'd'asth ^^^^' undertakes to admonish me in the Westminster; July, '1868. and he thinks the best literary notice of the poem that has come before him is in the Athenczum. After all, I think there would have been good reason to doubt that the poem had either novelty or any other considerable intrinsic reason to justify its being written, if the peri- odicals had cried out " Hosanna !" I am sure you ap- preciate all the conditions better than I can, after your long experience of the relations between authors and critics. I am serene, because I only expected the un- favorable. To-day the heat is so great that it is hardly possible even to read a book that requires any thought. London is a bad exchange for the mountains. Letter J euclosc a list of corrcctions for the reprint. I am to John ^ Black- indebted to my friendly correspondent from Belfast for wood, 30th •' •' ■^ _ July, 1868. pointing out several oversights, which I am ashamed of, after all the proof-reading. But, among the well- established truths of which I never doubt, the fallibil- ity of my own brain stands first. I suppose Mudie and the other librarians will not part with their copies of the poems quite as soon as they would part with their more abundant copies of a novel. And this supposition, if warranted, would be an en- couragement to reprint another moderate edition at the same price. Perhaps, before a cheaper edition is prepared, I may add to the corrections, but at present my mind resists strongly the effort to go back on its old work. I think I never mentioned to you that the occasional use of irregular verses, and especially verses of twelve syllables, has been a principle with me, and is found in all the finest writers of blank verse. I mention it now because, as you have a certain solidarity with my 1 868.] Vi'st^ to Yorkshire, 41 poetical doings, I would not have your soul vexed by Letter the detective wisdom of critics. Do you happen to re- ^i^^k- •' ^ ^ wood, 30th member that saying of Balzac's, " When I want the J^^y. ^868. world to praise my novels I write a drama ; when I want them to praise my drama I write a novel"? On the whole, however, I should think I have more to be grateful for than to grumble at. Mr. Lewes read me out last night some very generous passages from the St. PauVs Magazine. August. — Readinsf ist book of Lucretius, 6th bookJo"™^!, <=> ' 1868. of the " Iliad," " Samson Agonistes," Warton's " His- tory of English Poetry," Grote, 2d volume, " Marcus Aurelius," "Vita Nuova," vol, iv. chap. i. of the "Poli- tique Positive," Guest on "English Rhythms," Maur- ice's "Lectures on Casuistry." Sept. 19. — We returned from a visit to Yorkshire. On Monday we went to Leeds, and were received by Dr. Clifford Allbut, with whom we stayed till the middle of the day on Wednesday. Then we went by train to Ilkley, and from thence took a carriage to Bolton. The weather had been gray for two days, but on this evening the sun shone out, and we had a delightful stroll before dinner, getting our first view of the Priory. On Thursday we spent the whole day in rambling through the woods to Barden Tower and back. Our comfortable little inn was the Red Lion, and we were tempted to lengthen our stay. But on Friday morning the sky was threatening, so we start- ed for Newark, which we had visited in old days on our expedition to Gainsborough. At Newark we found our old inn, the Ram, opposite the ruins of the castle, and then we went for a stroll along the banks of the Trent, seeing some charming, quiet landscapes. M^rsfcon- This note comes to greet you on your return home, lepr'iSs- 42 Leeds. — Dr.Allbut. — Dr. Bridges. [The Priory, Letterto but it cannot greet vou so sweetly as your letter did Mrs. Con- o ^ J •> .... greve,2cthme on our arrival from Leeds last night. I think it bept. }868. gave me a deeper pleasure than any I have had for a long while. I am very grateful to you for it. We went to Leeds on Monday, and stayed two days with Dr. AUbut. Dr. Bridges dined with us one day, and we had a great deal of delightful chat. But I will tell you everything when we see you. Let that be soon — will you not ? We shall be glad of any arrangement that will give us the pleasure of seeing you, Dr. Con- greve, and Emily, either separately or all together. Please forgive me if I seem very fussy about your all coming. I want you to understand that we shall feel it the greatest kindness in you if you will all choose to come, and also choose how to come — either to lunch or dinner, and either apart or together. I hope to find that you are much the better for your journey — better both in body and soul. One has immense need of encouragement, but it seems to come more easily from the dead than from the living. Letter Your letter gave an additional gusto to my tea and to John . , Black- toast this morning. Ihe greater confidence of the Sept.'i868. trade in subscribing for the second edition is, on sev- eral grounds, a satisfactory indication ; but, as you ob- serve, we shall be still better pleased to know that the copies are not slumbering on the counters, but having an active life in the hands of readers. I am now going carefully through the poem for the sake of correction. I have read it through once, and have at present found some ten or twelve small altera- tions to be added to those already made. But I shall go through it again more than once, for I wish to be able to put " revised " to the third edition, and to leave noth- ing that my conscience is not ready to swear by. I i868.] Leeds to BoUon, 43 think it will be desirable for me to see proofs. It is Letter •11- • to John possible, in many closely consecutive readincrs, not to Biack- . . wood, 24th see errors which strike one immediately on taking up Sept. 1868. the pages after a good long interval. We are feeling much obliged for a copy of " King- lake," which I am reading aloud to Mr. Lewes as a part of our evening's entertainment and edification, beginning again from the beginning. This week we have had perfect autumnal days, though last week, when we were in Yorkshire, we also thought that the time of outside chills and inside fires was beginning. We do not often see a place which is a good foil for London, but certainly Leeds is in a lower circle of the great town — Inferno. I can imagine how delicious your country home has Madame been under the glorious skies we have been having — f.^h sept* glorious even in London. Yesterday we had Dr. and *^^^ Mrs. Congreve, and went with them to the Zoological Gardens, and on our return, about 5 o'clock, I could not help pausing and exclaiming at the exquisite beau- ty of the light on Regent's Park, exalting it into some- thing that the young Turner would have wanted to paint. We went to Leeds last week — saw your favorite, David Cox, and thought of you the while. Certainly there was nothing finer there in landscape than that Welsh funeral. Among the figure-painters. Watts and old Philip are supreme. We went on from Leeds to Bolton, and spent a day in wandering through the grand woods on the banks of the Wharfe. Altogether, our visit to Yorkshire w^as extremely agreeable. Our host. Dr. Allbut, is a good, clever, graceful man, enough to enable one to be cheer- ful under the horrible smoke of ugly Leeds ; and the 44 Criticisms of ^^ Spanish Gypsy!' [The Priory, Letter to fine hosoital, which, he says, is admirably fitted for its Madame ^ ^ j ^ j ^ Hodichon, purpose, is another mitio:ation. You would like to see 25th Sept. -t^ i ' ^ 1868. the tasteful, subdued ornamentation in the rooms which are to be sick wards. Each physician is accumulating ornamental objects for his own ward — chromo-litho- graphs, etc. — such as will soothe sick eyes. It was quite cold in that northerly region. Your picture keeps a memory of sunshine on my wall even on this dark morning. Letter \ havc gonc throu^^h the poem twice for the sake of to John _ '^ *^ *■ Black- revision, and have a crop of small corrections — only wood, 2ISt ^ ^ •' Oct. 1S68. in one case extending to the insertion of a new line. But I wish to see the proof-sheets, so that "Revised by the Author" may be put in the advertisement and on the title-page. Unhappily, my health has been unusually bad since we returned from abroad, so that the time has been a good deal wasted on the endurance oi malaise ; but I am brooding over many things, and hope that coming months will not be barren. As to the criticisms, I sup- pose that better poets than I have gone through worse receptions. In spite of my reason and of my low ex- pectations, I am too susceptible to all discouragement not to have been depressingly affected by some few things in the shape of criticism which I have been obliged to know. Yet I am ashamed of caring about anything that cannot be taken as strict evidence against the value of my book. So far as I have been able to understand, there is a striking disagreement among the reviewers as to what is best and what is worst; and the weight of agreement, even on the latter point, is considerably diminished by the reflection that three different reviews may be three different phases of the same gentleman, taking the opportunity of earning as i868.] Flights into Kent, 45 many guineas as he can by making easy remarks on Letter George Eliot. But, as dear Scott's characters say, Black- wood 2ist "Let that fly stick in tlie wa' — when the dirt's dry, Oct. iW it'll rub out." I shall look at "Doubles and Quits," as you recommend. I read the two first numbers of " Madame Amelia," and thought them promising. I sympathize with your melancholy at the prospect of quitting the country ; though, compared with Lon- don, beautiful Edinburgh is country. Perhaps some good, thick mists will come to reconcile you with the migration. We have been using the fine autumn days for flights into Kent between Sundays. The rich woods about Sevenoaks and Chislehurst are a delight to the eyes, and the stillness is a rest to every nerve. Oct. 22. — Received a letter from Blackwood, saying Jo"™ai, that "The Spanish Gypsy" must soon go into a third edition. I sent my corrections for it. At last I have spirit enough in me to thank you for Letter to , , . Mrs. Con- your valuable o^ift, which Emily kindly brousfht me in sreve.ayih ^ ^ ' J J ^ Oct. 1868. her hand. I am grateful for it — not only because the medallion ^ is a possession which I shall always hold precious, but also because you thought of me among those whom you would choose to be its owners. I hope you are able to enjoy some walking in these sunshiny mornings. We had a long drive round by Hendon and Finchley yesterday morning, and drank so much clear air and joy from the sight of trees and fields that I am quite a new-old creature. I think you will not be sorry to hear that the " Span- ish Gypsy " is so nearly out of print again that the publishers are preparing a new, cheaper edition. The iQfComte. 4^ Visit to Sheffield and Matlock. [The Priory, second edition was all bought up (subscribed for) by the booksellers the first day. Mrs'c!;^. Your pretty letter is irresistible. May we then be 00^1868.'' with you on Tuesday somewhere about twelve, and re- turn home on Wednesday by afternoon daylight? If the weather should be very cold or wet on Tuesday we must renounce or defer our pleasure, because we are both too rickety to run the risk of taking cold. So you see we are very much in need of such sweet friendliness as yours gives us faith in, to keep us cheer- ful under the burden of the flesh. Journal, Nov. 3. — Went to dine and sleep at the Congreves, 1S68. at Wandsworth. Nov.^. — We set off for Sheffield, where we went over a great iron and steel factory under the guidance of Mr. Benzon. On Saturday, the 7th, we went to Matlock and stayed till Tuesday. I recognized the objects which I had seen with my father nearly thirty years before — the turn of the road at Cromford, the Arkwrights' house, and the cottages with the stone floors chalked in patterns. The landscape was still rich with autumn leaves. Letter to We got homc last night after delicious days spent Mrs- Con- , . - , i-'reve, at Matlock. I was so renovated that my head was evening, clearcr, and I was more unconscious of my body than J 2th Nov. ' ... , ^ . , 1868. at the best of times for many months. But it seemed suddenly colder when we were in London, and old un- easy sensations are revisiting us both to-day. I wonder whether you will soon w'ant to come to town, and will send me word that you will come and take shelter with us for the night ? The bed is no softer and no broader; but will you not be tempted by a new carpet and a new bit of matting for your bath? — perhaps there will even be a new fender? If you want to shop, I will take you in the brougham. 1 868.] Memories of Derbyshire. 47 I think you will be just able to make out this note, written by a sudden impulse on my knee over the fire. No oracle would dare to predict what will be our Letter to ■■• Madame next migration. Don't be surprised if we go to the f^^h n°"' borders of the White Sea, to escape the fitful fast and '^^s- loose, hot and cold, of the London climate. We enjoyed our journey to the north. It was a great experience to me to see the stupendous iron- works at Sheffield; and then, for a variety, we went to the quiet and beauty of Matlock, and I recognized all the spots I had carried in my memory for more than five-and-twenty years. I drove through that region with my father when I was a young grig — not very full of hope about my woman's future. I am one of those perhaps exceptional people whose early, childish dreams were much less happy than the real outcome of life. I think your birthday comes after mine; but I am Letter to determined to write beforehand to prove to you that Henneii, *■ •' 20th Nov. I bear you in my thoughts without any external re- ^ses. minder. I suppose we are both getting too old to care about being wished 7nany happy returns of the day. We shall be content to wish each other as many more years as can carry with them some joy and calm satisfaction in the sense of living. But there is one definite pros- pect for you which I may fairly hope for, as I do most tenderly — the prospect that this time next year you will be looking back on your achieved work as a good seed-sowing. Some sadness there must always be in saying good-bye to a work which is done with love ; but there may — I trust there will— he. a compensating good in feeling that the thing you yearned to do is gone safely out of reach of casualties that might have cut it short. 48 ^^Azi/e'' a Part of Education. [The Priory, Letter to Miss Sara Hennell, 2oth Nov. 1868. Journal, 1868. Letter to Mrs. Bray, 30th Nov. 1868. We have been to Sheffield at the seducing invitation of a friend, who showed us the miraculous iron-works there; and afterwards we turned aside to beautiful Mat- lock, where I found again the spots, the turns of road, the rows of stone cottages, the rushing river Derwent, and the Arkwright mills — among which I drove with my father when I was in my teens. We had glorious weather, and I was quite regenerated by the bracing air. Our friend Mr. Spencer is growing younger with the years. He really looks brighter and more enjoy- ing than he ever did before, since he was in the really young, happy time of fresh discussion and inquiry. His is a friendship which wears well, because of his truthfulness. He always asks with sympathetic interest how you are going on. Nov. 22. — The return of this St. Cecilia's Day finds me in better health than has been usual with me in these last six months. But I am not yet engaged in any work that makes a higher life for me — a life that is young and grows, though in my other life I am get- ting old and decaying. It is a day for resolves and determinations. I am meditating the subject of Ti- moleon. I like to think of you painting the physiological charts, although they tire your eyes a little; for you must be sure that the good of such work is of a kind that goes deep into young lives. "Fearfully and wonder- fully made" are words quite unshaken by any theory as to the making; and I think a great awe in the con- templation of man's delicate structure, freighted with terrible destinies, is one of the most important parts of education. A much-writing acquaintance of ours one day expressed his alarm for " the masses " at the departure of a religion which had terror in it. Surely 1 868.] Positivism in ^^The Spanish Gypsy.'' 49 terror is provided for sufficiently in this life of ours — Letter to ^ . Mrs. Bray, if only the dread could be directed towards the really 30th Nov. ■^ -' 1868. dreadful. We have been havin^: a little company, and are re- Letter to ^ r -/ 7 Madame loicino: to think that our duties of this sort are done Bodichon, J ° i2th Dec. for the present. We like our studies and our dual ^868. solitude too well to feel company desirable more than one day a-week. I wish our affection may be with you as some little cheering influence through the dark months. We hardly estimate enough the difference of feelinoj that would come to us if we did not imar^ine friendly souls scattered here and there in places that make the chief part of the world so far as we have known it. Tell Dr. Con^reve that the "mass of positivism," in Letter to ^ . . . Mrs. Con- the shape of "The Spanish Gypsy," is so rapidly find- greve, 1 6th Dec. 1868. ing acceptance with the public that the second edition, being all sold, the third, just published, has already been demanded to above 700. Do not think that I am becoming an egotistical author. The news con- cerns the doctrine, not the writer. I am moved to congratulate you on writing against Letter to the ballot with such admirably good sense — having 19th Dec' just read your "slip "at the breakfast-table. It has been a source of amazement to me that men acquainted with practical life can believe in the suppression of bribery by the ballot, as if bribery in all its Protean forms could ever disappear by means of a single ex- ternal arrangement. They might as well say that our female vanity would disappear at an order that women should wear felt hats and cloth dresses. It seems to me that you have put the main unanswerable arguments against the ballot with vigorous brevity. M^rs.^Con- Thanks for letting me know about the meeting. I Demises. III.— ^. 50 Retrospect of 1 868. [The Priory, Letter to Mrs. Con- greve, 29th Dec. 1868. Journal, 1S6S. Letter to John Black- wood, 31st Dec. 1868. shall not be able to join it bodily, but I am glad al- ways to have the possibility of being with you in thought. I have a twofold sympathy on the occasion, for I cannot help entering specially into your own wifely anxieties, and I shall be glad to be assured that Dr. Congreve has borne the excitement without being afterwards conscious of an excessive strain. Dec. 30. — I make to-day the last record that I shall enter of the old year 1868. It has been as rich in blessings as any preceding year of our double life, and I enjoy a more and more even cheerfulness and con- tinually increasing power of dwelling on the good that is given to me and dismissing the thought of small evils. The chief event of the year to us has been the publication and friendly reception by the public of " The Spanish Gypsy." The greatest happiness (after our growing love) which has sprung and flowed on- ward during the latter part of the year is George's in- terest in his psychological inquiries. I have, perhaps, gained a little higher ground and firmer footing in some studies, notwithstanding the yearly loss of reten- tive power. We have made some new friendships that cheer us with the sense of new admiration of actual living beings whom we know in the flesh, and who are kindly disposed towards us. And we have had no real trouble. I wish we were not in a minority of our fel- low-men ! I desire no added blessing for the coming year but this — that I may do some good, lasting work, and make both my outward and inward habits less im- perfect — that is, more directly tending to the best uses of life. Many thanks for the check, which I received yes- terday afternoon. Mr. Lewes is eminently satisfied with the sales; and, indeed, it does appear from au- 1 868.] Literary Taste at Bookstalls. 51 thoritative testimony that the number sold is unusually Letter large even for what is called a successful poem. Black- wood ^ist The cheap edition of the novels is so exceptionally Dec. 1868. attractive in print, paper, and binding, for 35-. 6^., that I cannot help fretting a little at its not getting a more rapid sale. The fact rather puzzles me, too, in pres- ence of the various proofs that the books really are liked. I suppose there is some mystery of reduced prices accounting for the abundant presentation of certain works and series on the bookstalls at the rail- ways, and the absence of others, else surely those pretty volumes would have a good chance of being bought by the travellers whose taste shrinks from the diabolical red-and-yellow-pictured series. I am sure you must often be in a state of wonderment as to how the business of the world gets done so as not to ruin two thirds of the people concerned in it; for, judging from the silly propositions and requests sometimes made to me by bald-headed, experienced men, there must be a very thin allowance of wisdom to the major- ity of their transactions. Mr. Lewes is attracted by the biographical studies of George the Second's time ; but last night, after he had done reading about Berkeley, I heard him laugh- ing over " Doubles and Quits." It is agreeable to think that I have that bit of cheerful reading in store. Our first snow fell yesterday, and melted immedi- ately. This morning the sun is warm on me as I write. The doctors say that the season has been horribly un- healthy, and that they have been afraid to perform some operations from the low state of vitality in the patients, due to the atmospheric conditions. This looks like very wise writing, and worthy of Moli^re's " Mddecin." 5 2 Wrong A ccents in ^ * Spanish Gypsy. ' ' [The Priory, Letter Mr. Lewcs loins me in sincere good wishes to Mr. to John -' ° Black- William Blackwood, as well as yourself, for the corn- wood, 31st ' "^ ^ Dec. 1868. ing year — wishes for general happiness. The chief, particular wish would be that we should all in common look back next Christmas on something achieved in which we share each other's satisfaction. Hon^Rob- ^ ^"^ much obliged to you for mentioning, in your ertLytton letter to Mr. Lewes, the two cases of inaccuracv (I (now Lord ' •' ^ Lytton). fg^j. there may be more) which you remembered in the 1^*^1868^^ ** Spanish Gypsy." How I came to write Zincalo in- stead of Zincalo is an instance which may be added to many sadder examples of that mental infirmity which makes our senses of little use to us in the presence of a strong prepossession. As soon as I had conceived my story with its gypsy element, I tried to learn all I could about the names by which the gypsies called themselves, feeling that I should occasionally need a musical name, remote from the vulgar English associ- ations which cling to "gyps}^" I rejected Gitana, be- cause I found that the gypsies themselves held the name to be opprobrious ; and Zincalo — v/hich, with a fine capacity for being wrong, I at once got into my head as Zincalo — seemed to be, both in sound and meaning, just what I wanted. Among the books from which I made notes was "Pott, die Zigeuner," etc.; and in these notes I find that I have copied the sign of the tonic accent in Romano, while in the very same sentence I have not copied it in Zincalo, though a re- newed reference to Pott shows it in the one word as well as the other. But " my eyes were held " — by a demon prepossession — "so that I should not see it." Behold the fallibility of the human brain, and especially of George Eliot's. I have been questioned about my use of Andalus i868.] Proniinciatto7ts in ^^ Spanish Gypsy,'' 53 for Andalusia, but I had a sufficient authority for that Letter to ' , -^ Hon. Rob- in the "Mohammedan Dynasties," translated by Ga- en Lytton. ■' ' ^ No date. van 0:0s. Probably .... in x868. It may interest you, who are familiar with Spanish literature, to know that after the first sketch of my book was written I read Cervantes' novel "La Gita- nella," where the hero turns gypsy for love. The novel promises well in the earlier part, but falls into sad commonplace towards the end. I have written my explanation partly to show how much I value your kind help towards correcting my error, and partly to prove that I was not careless, but simply stupid. For in authorship I hold carelessness to be a mortal sin. SUMMARY. JANUARY, 1868, TO DECEMBER, 1 868. Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Mr. Lewes's return from Bonn — First visit to Cambridge — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Month's visit to Torquay — Letter to Miss Hennell — Reading the "Iliad" — Letter to John Blackwood — Title of "Spanish Gypsy " — Letter to Madame Bodichon — Women's work — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — England and Ireland — Translation of the " Politique" — Return to London from Torquay — Letter to John Blackwood — Ending of "Spanish Gypsy" — The poem finished — George Eliot's " Notes on the Spanish Gypsy and Tragedy in general " — Sug- gestion of the poem an Annunciation by Titian, at Venice — Mo- tive — Hereditary conditions — Gypsy race — Determination of con- duct — Nature of tragedy — Collision between the individual and the general — Greek tragedy — Hereditary misfortunes — Growth of human sympathy — Moral sanction is obedience to facts — Duty what tends to human good — Letter to Mrs. Bray on the writing of poetry instead of novels — Letter to F. Harrison pre- senting copy of " Spanish Gypsy " — Inscription on MS. of" Span- ish Gypsy " — Letter to F. Harrison on suggestion of a poem — Six weeks' journey to Baden, etc. — Letter to John Blackwood from St. Margen — Catholic worship — Return to London — Letters to 54 Summary of Chapter XV. [1868. John Blackwood — Pall Mall review of '* Spanish Gypsy" — Say- ing of Balzac — Letter to William Blackwood — Versification — Reading Lucretius, Homer, Milton, Warton, Marcus Aurelius, Dante, Comte, Guest, Maurice — Visit to Dr. Clifford Allbut at Leeds — Visit to Newark — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Letters to John Blackwood — Second edition of " Spanish Gypsy " — " King- lake" — Criticisms on ** Spanish Gypsy " — Visit to the Congreves — Visit to Sheffield with Mr. Benzon— Matlock— Letters to Ma- dame Bodichon and Miss Hennell on Sheffield journey — Herbert Spencer — Meditating subject of Timoleon — Letter to Mrs. Bray — Physiological charts — Letter to Madame Bodichon on influence of friends — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Positivism in "Spanish Gypsy" — Letter to Charles Bray on vote by ballot — Retrospect of 1868 — Letter to John Blackwood — The cheap edition of novels — Letter to the Hon. Robert Lytton — Pronunciation in "Spanish Gypsy" — Cervantes' " La Gitanella." CHAPTER XVI. jfan. I. — I have set myself many tasks for the year — joumai, i86g. I wonder how many will be accomplished? — a novel called " Middlemarch," a long poem on Timoleon, and several minor poems. Jan. 23. — Since I wrote last I have finished a little poem on old Agatha. But the last week or two I have been so disturbed in health that no work prospers. I have made a little way in constructing my new tale \ have been reading a little on philology; have finished the 24th Book of the "Iliad," the 1st Book of the "Faery Queene," Clough's poems, and a little about Etruscan things, in Mrs. Grey and Dennis. Aloud to G. I have been reading some Italian, Ben Jonson's " Alchemist " and " Volpone," and Bright's speeches, which I am still reading, besides the first four cantos of " Don Juan." But the last two or three days I have seemed to live under a leaden pressure — ^all move- ment, mental or bodily, is grievous to me. In the evening read aloud Bright's fourth speech on India, and a story in Italian. In the Spectator some interest- ing facts about loss of memory and "double life." In the Revue des Cours, a lecture by Sir W. Thomson, of Edinburgh, on the retardation of the earth's motion round its axis. yan. 27. — The last two days I have been writing a rhymed poem on Boccaccio's story of " Lisa." Aloud I have read Bright's speeches, and " I Promessi Sposi." To myself I have read Mommsen's "Rome." 56 Bright on Ireland. [The Priory, Journal, J7eh. 6. — We went to the third concert. Madame 1869. Schumann played finely in Mendelssohn's quintet, and a trio of Beethoven's. As a solo she played the sonata in D minor. In the evening I read aloud a short speech of Bright's on Ireland, delivered twenty years ago, in which he insists that nothing will be a remedy for the woes of that country unless the Church Estab- lishment be annulled : after the lapse of twenty years the measure is going to be adopted. Then I read aloud a bit of the " Promessi Sposi," and afterwards the Spectator^ in which there is a deservedly high ap- preciation of Lowell's poems. Feb. 14. — Finished the poem from Boccaccio. We had rather a numerous gathering of fi-iends to-day. and among the rest came Browning, who talked and quoted admirably a propos of versification. The Rector of Lincoln thinks the French have the most perfect sys- tem of versification in these modern times ! Feb. 15. — I prepared and sent off " How Lisa Loved the King" to Edinburgh. I have looked back to the verses in Browning's poem about Elisha, and I find no mystery in them. The foregoing context for three pages describes that function of genius which revivifies the past. Man, says Browning (I am writing from recollection of his general meaning), cannot create, but he can restore : the poet gives forth of his own spirit, and reanimates the forms that lie breathless. His use of Elisha's story is manifestly symbolical, as his mention of Faust is — the illustration which he abandons the moment before to take up that of the Hebrew seer. I pre- sume you did not read the context yourself, but only had the two concluding verses pointed out or quoted to you by your friends. It is one of the afflictions of 1869.] Fourth Visit to Italy. 57 authorship to know that the brains which should be Letter to Miss Sara used in understandinsj a book are wasted in discussing: Henneii, . . 15th Feb. the hastiest misconceptions about it ; and I am sure 1869. you will sympathize enough in this affliction to set any one right, when you can, about this quotation from Browning. Feb. 20. — A glorious concert : Halle, Joachim, and Journal, ° . 1869. Piatti winding up with Schubert's trio. Feb. 21. — Mr. Deutsch and Mrs. Pattison lunched with us — he in farewell before going to the East. A rather pleasant gathering of friends afterwards. Feb. 24. — I am reading about plants, and Helmholtz on music. A new idea of a poem came to me yester- day. March 3. — We started on our fourth visit to Italy, via France and the Cornice. I found your letter at Florence on our arrival there ^f^^V-^ ■J Mrs. Con- (on the 23d); but until now bodily ease and leisure |J|^^'^4th enough to write to you have never happened to me in^i^o™!*^"^ the same moments. Our long journey since we left home on the 3d March, seen from a point of view which, happily, no one shares with me, has been a history of ailments. In shunning the English March, we found one quite as disagreeable, without the miti- gation of home comforts; and though we went even as far as Naples in search of warmth, we never found it until we settled in Rome, at the beginning of April. Here we had many days of unbroken sunshine, and enjoyed what we were never able to enjoy during our month's stay in i860 — the many glorious views of the city and the mountains. The chief novelty to us in our long route has been the sight of Assisi and Ra- venna; the rest has been a revisiting of scenes already in our memories ; and to most of them we have prob- 111.-3^^ 5 8 Congreves A rticle in ' 'Fortn ightly. " [The Priory, MrsVon ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ good-byc. Enougli of us and our lir^'itG ^^^^^^s- '^^^ °"^y remarkable thing people can tell of their doings in these days is that they have stayed at home. The Fortnightly lay uncut at Mr. Trollope's, and Mr. Lewes had nothing more pressing to do than to cut it open at the reply to Professor Huxley.^ He presently came to me, and said it was excellent. It delighted him the more because he had just before, at Rome, alighted on the Pall Mall account of the article, which falsely represented it as entirely apologetic. At the first spare moment I plunged into an easy-chair, and read, with thorough satisfaction in the admirable temper and the force of the repl}^ We intend to start for Calais this evening ; and as the rain prevents us from doing anything agreeable out of doors, I have nothing to hinder me from sitting, with my knees up to my chin, and scribbling, now that I am become a little sounder in head and in body generally than beautiful Italy allowed me to be. As beautiful as ever — more beautiful — it has looked to me on this last visit; and it is the fault of my physique if it did not agree with me. Pray offer my warmest sympathy to Dr. Congreve in the anxieties of his difficult task. What hard work it seems to go on living sometimes! Blessed are the dead. Journal, May 5. — W^c rcachcd home after our nine weeks' I S69. absence. In that time we have been through France to Marseilles, along the Cornice to Spezia, then to Pisa, Florence, Naples, Rome, Assisi, Perugia, Flor- ence again, Ravenna, Bologna, Verona ; across the Brenner Pass to Munich ; then to Paris via Strasburg. 1 Dr. Congreve's article, " Mr. Huxley on M. Comte," in Fort' nightty Revieiu, KY>n\, i2>6g. 1869.] George Eliot in Rome. 59 In such a journey there was necessarily much interest J""'^^^ both in renewing old memories and recording new j but I never had such continuous bad health in travel- ling as I have had during these nine weeks. On our arrival at home I found a delightful letter from Mrs. H. B. Stowe, whom I have never seen, addressing me as her " dear friend." It was during this journey that I, for the first time, saw my future wife, at Rome. My eldest sis- ter had married Mr. W. H. Bullock (now Mr. W. ir. Hall), of Six-Mile-Bottom, Cambridgeshire, and they were on their wedding journey at Rome when they happened to meet Mr. and Mrs. Lewes by chance in the Pamfili Doria Gardens. They saw a good deal of one another, and when I arrived, with my mother and another sister, we went by in- vitation to call at the Hotel Minerva, where Mr. Lewes had found rooms on their first arrival in Rome. I have a very vivid recollection of George Eliot sitting on a sofa with my mother by her side, entirely engrossed with her. Mr. Lewes enter- tained my sister and me on the other side of the room. But I w^as very anxious to hear also the conversation on the sofa, as I was better acquaint- ed with George Eliot's books than with any other literature. And through the dimness of these fif- teen years, and all that has happened in them, I still seem to hear, as I first heard them, the low, earnest, deep, musical tones of her voice ; I still seem to see the fine brows, with the abundant au- burn-brown hair framing them, the long head, broadening at the back, the gray-blue eyes, con- stantly changing in expression, but always with a very loving, almost deprecating, look at my mother, 6o Mrs, Stowe becomes a Correspondent. [The Priory, the finely-formed, thin, transparent hands, and a whole Wcsen that seemed in complete harmony with everything one expected to find in the author of "Romola." The next day Mr. and Mrs. Lewes went on to Assisi and we to Naples, and we did not meet again till the following August at Wey- bridge. Letter to I value vcrv highly the warrant to call you friend Mrs. H. B. J to J' ^ J Stowe, 8th which your letter has given me. It lay awaiting me May, 1869. ^ ° . J- to on our return, the other night, from a nine weeks' ab- sence in Italy, and it made me almost wish that you could have a momentary vision of the discouragement — nay, paralyzing despondency — in which many days of my writing life have been passed, in order that you might fully understand the good I find in such sympa- thy as yours — in such an assurance as you give me that my work has been worth doing. But I will not dwell on any mental sickness of mine. The best joy your words give me is the sense of that sweet, gener- ous feeling in you which dictated them, and I shall always be the richer because you have in this way made me know you better. I must tell you that my first glimpse of you as a woman came through a letter of yours, and charmed me very much. The letter was addressed to Mrs. Follen ; and one morning when I called on her in London (how many years ago!^) she was kind enough to read it to me because it contained a little history of your life, and a sketch of your do- mestic circumstances. I remember thinking that it was very kind of you to write that long letter in reply to the inquiries of one who was personally unknown to you j and looking back with my present experience I ' Sec ante, vol, i. p. 220. 1869.] Early Memories of Mrs, St owe, 61 think it was still kinder than it then appeared. For Letter to . ^ ^ Mrs. H. B. at that time you must have been much oppressed with stowe, sth the immediate results of your fame. I remember, too, that you wrote of your husband as one who was richer in Hebrew and Greek than in pounds or shillings ; and as the ardent scholar has always been a character of peculiar interest to me, I have rarely had your im- age in my mind without the accompanying image (more or less erroneous) of such a scholar by your side. I shall welcome the fruit of his Goethe studies, whenever it comes. In the meantime let me assure you that whoever else gave you that description of my husband's "History of Philosophy " — namely, "that it was to solve and settle all things " — he himself never saw it in that light. The work has been greatly al- tered, as well as enlarged, in three successive edi- tions ; and his mind is so far from being a captive to his own written words that he is now engaged in physiological and psychological researches which are leading him to issues at variance in some important respects with the views expressed in some of his pub- lished works. He is one of the few human beings I have known who will often, in the heat of an argu- ment, see, and straightway confess, that he is in the wrong, instead of trying to shift his ground or use any other device of vanity. I have good hopes that your fears are groundless as to the obstacles j^our new book may find here from its thorough American character. Most readers who are likely to be really influenced by writing above the common order will find that special aspect an added reason for interest and study, and I dare say you have long seen, as I am beginning to see with new clear- ness, that if a book which has any sort of exquisite- 62 Tlie Popular yiidgment of Books. [The Priory, Letter Mrs r to ness happens also to be a popular, widely circulated stowe, 8th book, its power over the social mind for any good is, after all, due to its reception by a few appreciative nat- ures, and is the slow result of radiation from that nar- row circle. I mean, that you can affect a few souls, and that each of these in turn may affect a few more, but that no exquisite book tells properly and directly on a multitude, however largely it may be spread by type and paper. Witness the things the multitude will say about it, if one is so unhappy as to be obliged to hear their sayings. I do not write this cynically, but in pure sadness and pity. Both travelling abroad, and staying at home among our English sights and sports, one must continually feel how slowly the centuries w^ork towards the moral good of men. And that thought lies very close to what you say as to your wonder or conjecture concerning my religious point of view. I believe that religion, too, has to be modified — "developed," according to the dominant phrase — and that a religion more perfect than any yet prevalent must express less care for personal consolation, and a more deeply-awing sense of responsibility to man, springing from sympathy with that which of all things is most certainly known to us, the difficulty of the hu- man lot. I do not find my temple in Pantheism, which, whatever might be its value speculatively, could not yield a practical religion, since it is an attempt to look at the universe from the outside of our relations to it (that universe) as human beings. As healthy, sane human beings, we must love and hate — love what is good for mankind, hate what is evil for mankind. For years of my youth I dwelt in dreams of a pantheistic sort, falsely supposing that I was enlarging my sympathy. But I have travelled far 1869.] A Woman s Full Experience, 63 away from that time. Letters are necessarily narrow Letter to ^ Mrs. H.B. and frao^mentary, and, when one writes on wide sub- stowe.sih jects, are hable to create more misunderstandmg than IHumination. But I have little anxiety of that kind in writing to you, dear friend and fellow-laborer, for you have had longer experience than I as a writer, and fuller experience as a woman, since you have borne children and known the mother's history from the be- ginning. I trust your quick and long-taught mind as an interpreter little liable to mistake me. When you say, " We live in an orange grove and are planting many more," and when I think that you must have abundant family love to cheer you, it seems to me that you must have a paradise about you. But no list of circumstances will make a paradise. Nevertheless, I must believe that the joyous, tender humor of your books clings about your more immediate life, and makes some of that sunshine for yourself which you have given to us. I see the advertisement of " Old Town Folk," and shall eagerly expect it. That and every other new link between us will be reverentially valued. May 8 (Saturday).' — Poor Thornie arrived from Na-Jo""^ai, tal, sadly wasted by suffering. May 24. — Sold "Agatha" to Fields & Osgood, for the Ailaniic Monthly^ for ^300. That " disturbance " in my favorite work, with which better to •' Mrs. Con- you and Dr. Cono^reve are o:ood enou2:h to svmpathize, ?!:^ve, 26th \ _ ° & to .. 1 5 May, 1869. is unhappily greater now than it has been for years be- fore. Our poor Thornie came back to us about seven- teen days ago. We can never rejoice enough that we were already at home, seeing that we held it impossible for him to set out on his voyage until at least six weeks 64 Mr. Beesley. — Mine. Bodichon. [The Priory, Letter to later than he did. Since he arrived our lives have Mrs. Lon- g^vS' 26th been chiefly absorbed by cares for him ; and though we now have a nurse to attend on him constantly, we spend several hours of the day by his side. There is joy in the midst of our trouble, from the tenderness tow- ards the sufferer being altogether unchecked by any- thing unlovable in him. Thornie's disposition seems to have become sweeter than ever with the added six years j and there is nothing that we discern in his character or habits to cause us grief. Enough of our troubles. I gather from your welcome letter, received this morning, that there is a good deal of enjoyment for you in your temporary home, in spite of bad weather and faceache, which I hope will have passed away when you read this. Mr. Beesley^ wrote to me to tell me of his engage- ment, and on Sunday we had the pleasure of shak- ing him by the hand and seeing him look very happy. His is one of a group of prospective marriages which we have had announced to us since we came home. Besides Mr. Harrison's, there is Dr. Allbut's, our charming friend at Leeds. I told JMr. Beesley that I thought myself magnanimous in really rejoicing at the engagements of men friends, because, of course, they will be comparatively indifferent to their old intimates. Dear Madame Bodichon is a precious help to us. She comes twice a week to sit with Thornie, and she is wonderfully clever in talking to young people. One finds out those who have real practical sympathy in times of trouble. Letter to Your letter has fulfilled two wishes of mine. It Frederic . . Harrison, , ^ . ^, , , ,, ti 1 9th June, Professor Edmund Spenser beesley, a well-known member =■^569. q£ ^l^g Positivist body, who married Miss Crompton, daughter of Mr. Justice Crompton. 1869.] ^''Sonnets on Childhood^ 65 shows me that you keep me in your kind thoughts, and Letter to that you are very happy. I had been told by our Harrison, friends, the Nortons, of your engagement, but I knew 1S69. nothing more than that bare fact, and your letter gives me more of a picture. A very pretty picture — for I like to think of your love having grown imperceptibly along with sweet family affections. I do heartily share in your happiness, for however space and time may keep us asunder, you will never to my mind be lost in the distance, but will hold a place of marked and valued interest quite apart from those more public hopes about you which I shall not cease to cherish. Both Mr. Lewes and I shall be delighted to see you any evening. I imagine that when you are obliged to stay in town the evening will be the easiest time for you to get out to us. Any time after eight you will find us thoroughly glad to shake hands with you. Do come when you can. July 3. — Finished my reading in Lucretius. Read-Jo^™^^ ing Victor Hugo's " L'homme qui rit ;" also the Frau von Hillern's novel, " Ein Arzt der Seele." This week G. and I have been to Sevenoaks, but were driven home again by the cold v/inds and cloudy skies. "Sonnets on Childhood" — five — finished. jfuly 10. — I wrote to Mrs. Stowe, in answer to a second letter of hers, accompanied by one from her husband. I hoped before this to have seen our friend, Mrs. Letter to ^ ' Mrs. H. B. Fields, on her return from Scotland, and to have besfged stowe.nth ... July, 1869. her to send you word of a domestic affliction which has prevented me from writing to you since I received your and your husband's valued letters. Immediately on our return from Italy, Mr. Lewes's second son, a fine young man of five-and-twenty, returned to us from Natal, 66 Appreciation of ^^ Old Tow7i Folks'' [The Priory, M^rs%% ^^sted by suffering from a long-standing spinal in- jur%\''^j^^y* '^^■'^^ "^^^ °^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ May, and since then we have both been absorbed in our duties to this poor child, and have felt our own health and nervous energy insufficient for our needful activity of body and mind. He is at present no better, and we look forward to a long trial. Nothing but a trouble so great as this would have prevented me from writing again to you, not only to thank you and Professor Stowe for your letters, but also to tell you that I have received and read "Old Town Folks." I think few of your many readers can have felt more interest than I have felt in that picture of an elder generation ; for my interest in it has a double root — one, in my own love for our old-fashioned pro- vincial life, which had its affinities with a contemporary life, even all across the Atlantic, and of which I have gathered glimpses in different phases, from my father and mother, with their relations ; the other is, my ex- perimental acquaintance with some shades of Calvin- istic orthodoxy. I think your way of presenting the religious convictions which are not your own, except by indirect fellowship, is a triumph of insight and true tolerance. A thorough comprehension of the mixed moral influence shed on society by dogmatic systems is rare even among writers, and one misses it alto- gether in English drawing-room talk. I thank you sincerely for the gift (in every sense) of this book, which, I can see, has been a labor of love. Both Mr. Lewes and I are deeply interested in the indications which the Professor gives of his peculiar psychological experience, and we should feel it a great privilege to learn much more of it from his lips. It is a rare thing to have such an opportunity of studying exceptional experience in the testimony of a truthful 1869.] Pheno7iU7ia of Spiritualism. 67 and in every way distinguished mind. He will, I am Letter to sure, accept the briei thanks which I can give in this stowe, nth letter, for all that he has generously written to me. He says, "I have had no connection with any of the modern movements, except as father confessor;" and I can well believe that he must be peculiarly sensitive to the repulsive aspects which those movements pre- sent. Your view as to the cause of that " great wave of spiritualism " which is rushing over America — name- ly, that it is a sort of Rachel-cry of bereavement tow- ards the invisible existence of the loved ones, is deeply affecting. But so far as " spiritualism " (by which I mean, of course, spirit-communication, by rap- ping, guidance of the pencil, etc.) has come within reach of my judgment on our side of the water, it has appeared to me either as degrading folly, imbecile in the estimate of evidence, or else as impudent impost- ure. So far as my observation and experience have hitherto gone, it has even seemed to me an impiety to withdraw from the more assured methods of studying the open secret of the universe any large amount of attention to alleged manifestations which are so defiled by low adventurers and their palpable trickeries, so hopelessly involved in all the doubtfulness of individual testimonies as to phenomena witnessed, which testi- monies are no more true objectively because they are honest subjectively, than the Ptolemaic system is true because it seemed to Tycho Brahe' a better explanation of the heavenly movements than the Copernican. This is a brief statement of my position on the subject, which your letter shows me to have an aspect much more compulsory on serious attention in America than I can perceive it to have in England. I should not be as simply truthful as my deep respect for you de- 68 Inability to Write Letters. [The Prioby, m?Mh% ^''^^cls, if I did not tell you exactly what is my mental siovve.iith attitude in relation to the phenomena in question. But July, 1869. ■■• _ whatever you print on the subject and will send me I shall read with attention, and the idea you give me of the hold which spiritualism has gained on the public mind in the United States is already a fact of historic importance. Forgive me, dear friend, if I write in the scantiest manner, unworthily responding to letters which have touched me profoundly. You have known so much of life, both in its more external trials and in the peculiar struggles of a nature which is made twofold in its de- mands by the yearnings of the author as well as of the woman, that I can count on your indulgence and power of understanding my present inability to correspond by letter. May I add my kind remembrances to your daughter to the high regard which I offer to your husband .-* Journal, July 14. — Returned from Hatfield, after two days* stay. jfiily 15. — Began Nisard's " History of French Lit- erature " — Villehardouin, Joinville, Froissart, Christine de Pisan, Philippe de Comines, Villers. yuly 16. — Read the articles Phoenicia and Carthage in "Ancient Geography." Looked into Jewitt's " Uni- versal History " again for Carthaginian religion. Looked into Sismondi's "Litterature du Midi" for Roman de la Rose; and ran through the first chapter about the formation of the Romance languages. Read about Thallogcns and Acrogens in the " Vegetable World." Read Drayton's " Nymphidia " — a charming poem — a few pages of his "Polyolbion." Re-read Grote, v.-vii., on Sicilian affairs, down to rise of Diony- sius. 1869.] Introduction to ''Middleinarchy 69 July iS.^Miss Nannie Smith came, after a long Journal, absence from England; Professor Masson and Dr. Bastian, Madame Bodichon, and Dr. Payne. Some conversation about Saint-Simonism, a propos of the meeting on Woman's Suffrage the day before, M. Aries Dufour being uneasy because Mill did not in his speech recognize what women owed to Saint-Si- monism. July 19. — Writing an introduction to "Middle- march." I have just re-read the 15th Idyll of The- ocritus, and have written three more sonnets. My head uneasy. We went in the afternoon to the old water-colors, finding that the exhibition was to close at the end of the week. Burne-Jones's Circe and St. George affected me, by their colors, more than any of the other pictures — they are poems. In the evening read Nisard on Rabelais and Marot. yuly 22. — Read Reybaud's book on "Les Reforma- teurs Modernes." In the afternoon Mrs. P. Taylor came and saw Thornie, who has been more uneasy this week, and unwilling to move or come out on the lawn. Jidy 23. — Read Theocritus, Id. 16. Meditated characters for " Middlemarch." Mrs. F. Malleson came. Jidy 24. — Still not quite well and clear-headed, so • that little progress is made. I read aloud Fourier and Owen, and thought of writing something about Utopists. July 25. — Read Plato's "Republic" in various parts. After lunch Miss Nannie Smith, Miss Blythe, Mr. Burton, and Mr. Deutsch. In the evening I read Nisard, and Littre on Comte. Aug. I. — Since last Sunday I have had an uncom» 70 ^^ Brother and Sister'' Sonnets. [The Priory, Journal, fortable week from mental and bodily disturbance. 1869. -' I have finished eleven sonnets on " Brother and Sis- ter," read Littre, Nisard, part of 22d Idyll of Theoc- ritus, Sainte-Beuve, aloud to G. two evenings. Mon- day evening looked through Dickson's " Fallacies of the Faculty." On Tuesday afternoon we went to the British Museum to see a new bronze, and I was en- chanted with some fragments of glass in the Slade col- lection, with dyes of sunset in them. Yesterday, sit- ting in Thornie's room, I read through all Shake- speare's " Sonnets." Poor Thornie has had a miserably unsatisfactory week, making no progress. After lunch came Miss N. Smith and Miss Blythe, Mr. Burton, Mr. and Mrs. Burne-Jones, and Mr. Sanderson. Letter to My last words to you mio^ht appear to imply some- Mrs. Con- , \ y , . grave, ist thino: laughably opposed to my real meanms:. '*Thmk Aug. 1869. r ^ y ,, ^ , of me only as an example meant — an example to be avoided. It was an allusion in my mind to the ser- vant-girl who, being arrested for theft, said to her fel- low-servant, "Take example by rue, Sally." With the usual caprice of language, we say. " Make an example of her," in that sejise of holding up for a warning, which the poor girl and I intended. Journal, Aiig. 2. — Began " Middlemarch" (the Vincy and 1869. Featherstone parts). Aug. 5. — Thornie during the last two or three days gives much more hopeful signs : has been much more lively, with unore regular appetite and quieter nights. This morning I finished the first chapter of " Middle- march." I am reading Renouard's " History of Medi- cine." Aug. 31. — We went to Weybridge, walked on St„ George's Hill, and lunched with Mrs. Cross and her family. 1869.] Visit to Wey bridge. ^i This visit to Weybridge is a very memorable one to me, because there my own first intimacy with George Eliot began, and the bonds with my family were knitted very much closer. Mr. and Mrs. Bul- lock were staying with us; and my sister, who had some gift for music, had set one or two of the songs from the " Spanish Gypsy." She sang one of them — "On through the woods, the pillared pines " — and it affected George Eliot deeply. She moved quickly to the piano, and kissed Mrs. Bul- lock very warmly, in her tears. Mr. and Mrs. Lewes were in deep trouble owing to the illness of Thorn- ton Lewes j we were also in much anxiety as to the approaching confinement of my sister with her first child; and I was on the eve of departure for Amer- ica. Sympathetic feelings were strong enough to overleap the barrier (often hard to pass) which sep- arates acquaintanceship from friendship. A day did the work of years. Our visitors had come to the house as acquaintances, they left it as lifelong friends. And the sequel of that day greatly in- tensified the intimacy. For within a month my sister had died in childbirth, and her death called forth one of the most beautiful of George El- iot's letters. A month later Thornton Lewes died. Sept. I. — I meditated characters and conditions for Journal. . . . . . 1869. " Middlemarch," which stands still m the begmnmg of chapter iii. . Sept. 2. — We spent the morning in Hatfield Park, arriving at home again at half-past three. Sept. 10. — I have achieved little during the last week, except reading on medical subjects — Encyclo- paedia about the " Medical Colleges," " CuUen's Life," Byron. [The Priory, Russell's " Heroes of Medicine," etc. I have also read Aristophanes' " Ecclesiazusoe," and " Macbeth." Sept. II. — I do not feel very confident that I can make anything satisfactory of " Middlemarch." I have need to remember that other things which have been accomplished by me were begun under the same cloud. G. has been reading " Romola " again, and ex- presses profound admiration. This is encouraging. Sept. 15. — George and I went to Sevenoaks for a couple of nights, and had some delicious walks. Sept. 21. — Finished studying again Bekker's "Cha- rikles." I am reading Mandeville's Travels. As to my work, im- Siiche gei'athen. Mrs. Congreve and Miss Bury came ; and I asked Mrs. Congreve to get me some information about provincial hospitals, which is necessary Xo my imagining the conditions of my hero. As to the Byron subject, nothing can outweigh to my mind the heavy social injury of familiarizing young minds with the desecration of family ties. The dis- cussion of the subject in newspapers, periodicals, and pamphlets is simply odious to me, and I think it a pestilence likely to leave very ugly marks. One trem- bles to think how easily that moral wealth may be lost which it has been the work of ages to produce in the refinement and differencing of the affectionate rela- tions. As to the high-flown stuff which is being re- produced about Byron and his poetry, I am utterly out of sympathy with it. He seems to me the most viilgar-viindcd g^mViS that ever produced a great effect in literature. Sept. 22. — We went down to Watford for a change. Sept. 24. — Returned home this morning because of the unpromising weather. It is worth while to record my great depression of spirits, that I may remember 1869.] ''The Legend of Jiibair 73 one more resurrection from the pit of melancholy, joumai, And yet what love is given to me ! What abundance '^^^ of good I possess ! All my circumstances are blessed ; and the defect is only in my own organism. Courage and effort ! Oct. 5. — Ever since the 28th I have been good for little, ailing in body and disabled in mind. On Sun- day an interesting Russian pair came to see us — M. and Mme. Kovilevsky : she, a pretty creature, with charming modest voice and speech, who is studying mathematics (by allowance, through the aid of Kirch- hoff) at Heidelberg; he, amiable and intelligent, studying the concrete sciences apparently — especially geology j and about to go to Vienna for six months for this purpose, leaving his wife at Heidelberg ! I have begun a long-meditated poem, " The Legend of Jubal," but have not written more than twenty or thirty verses. Oct. 13.— Yesterday Mr. W. G. Clark of Cambridge came to see us, and told of his intention to give up his oratorship and renounce his connection with the Church. I have read rapidly through Max Miiller's " History of Sanskrit Literature," and am now reading Lecky's "History of Morals." I have also finished Herbert Spencer's last number of his " Psychology." My head has been sadly feeble, and my whole body ailing of late. I have written about one hundred verses of my poem. Poor Thornie seems to us in a state of grow- ing weakness. Oct. 19. — This evening at half- past six our dear Thornie died. He went quite peacefully. For three days he was not more than fitfully and imperfectl}'' conscious of the things around him. He went to Natal in.— 4 74 Death of Thornton Lewes. [The Priory, JsS"^^' on the 17th October, 1863, and came back to us ill on the 8th May, 1869. Through the six months of his ill- ness his frank, impulsive mind disclosed no trace of evil feeling. He was a sweet-natured boy — still a boy, though he had lived for twenty-five years and a half. On the 9th of August he had an attack of paraplegia, and although he partially recovered from it, it made a marked change in him. After that he lost a great deal of his vivacity, but he suffered less pain. This death seems to me the beginning of our own. M^ss^slra '^^^ ^^^ ^^''^^ °"^ ^^^^ boy's fuucral we went into J^Sd'^' ^^^ quietest and most beautiful part of Surrey, four 1869. miles and a half from any railway station. I was very much shaken in mind and body, and nothing but the deep calm of fields and woods would have had a be- neficent effect on me. We both of us felt, more than ever before, the blessedness of being in the country, and we are come back much restored. It will inter- est you, I think, X.o know that a friend of ours, Mr. W. G. Clark, the public orator at Cambridge, laid down his oratorship as a preparatory step to writing a letter to his bishop renouncing, or, rather, claiming to be free from, his clerical status, because he no longer believes what it presupposes him to believe. Two other men whom we know are about to renounce Cambridge fel- lowships on the same ground. Letter to We shall be delighted to have vou on Monday. I Mrs. Con- . . " preve, 3"st hopc VOU will fifct your business done early enough to Dec. 1869. ^ ^ . . J ^ be by a good fire in our drawing-room before lunch. Mr. Doyle is coming to dine with us, but you will not mind that. He is a dear man, a good Catholic, full of varied sympathies and picturesque knowledge. I am moved to write to you rather by the inclination to remind you of me than by the sense of having any- 1870.] Shrinking from ''Deliverances.'' 75 thing to say. On reading "The Positivist Problem"^ Letter to . . Frederic a second time, I gained a stronger impression of its Harrison, 15th Jan. general value, and I also felt less jarred by the more 1870. personal part at the close. Mr. Lewes would tell you that I have an unreasonable aversion to personal state- ments, and when I come to like them it is usually by a hard process of ^^//-version. But my second reading gave me a new and very strong sense that the last two or three pages have the air of an appendix, added at some distance of time from the original writing of the article. Some more thoroughly explanatory account of your non-adhesion seems requisite as a nexus — since the statement of your non-adhesion had to be men- tioned after an argument for the system against the outer Gentile world. However, it is more important for me to say that I felt the thorough justice of your words, when, in conversation with me, you said, "I don't see why there should be any mystification ; hav- ing come to a resolution after much inward debate, it is better to state the resolution." Something like that you said, and I give a hearty "Amen," praying that I may not be too apt myself to prefer the haze to the clearness. But the fact is, I shrink from decided " de- liverances" on momentous subjects from the dread of coming to swear by my own " deliverances," and sink- ing into an insistent echo of myself. That is a horri- ble destiny — and one cannot help seeing that many of the most powerful men fall into it. Cara has told me about your republication of the Letter to Miss Sara "Inquiry," and I have a lon2:ino: to write — not intru- Henneii, ^ •^' ^ ^ i6thMch. sively, I hope — just to say "thank you" for the good 1870. it does me to know of your being engaged in that act 1 An article by Mr. Frederic Harrison in the Fortnightly Review of November, 1869. 76 Charles Henneirs '^Inquiry-' [Berlin^ Mlss^sLr ^^ V^^^y to your brother's memory. I delight in the ^TT.^'v ^ct itself, and in the satisfaction which I know you loth Men. ^ ■' ^870. have in performing it. When I remember my own ob- ligation to the book, I must believe that among the many new readers a cheap edition will reach there must be minds to whom it will bring welcome light in studying the New Testament — sober, serious help towards a conception of the past, instead of stage -lights and make-ups. And this value is, I think, independent of the opinions that might be held as to the different de- grees of success in the construction of probabilities or in particular interpretations. Throughout there is the presence of grave sincerity. I would gladly have a word or two directly from yourself when you can scrib- ble a note without feeling me a bore for wanting it. People who write many letters without being forced to do so are fathomless wonders to me, but you have a special faculty for writing such letters as one cares to read, so it is a pity that the accomplishment should lie quite unused. I wonder if you have read Emerson's new essays. I like them very much. Letter to "We shall Icavc Berlin on Tuesdav, so that I must Mrs. Con- , '' greve, 3d ask vou to scud me the much-desired news of you to April, 1870. ■' ^ , . Vienna, addressed to the Hon. Robert Lytton, British Embassy. We do not yet know the name of the hotel where rooms have been taken for us. Our journey has not been unfortunate hitherto. The weather has been cold and cheerless, but we expected this, and on Ihe ist of April the sun began to shine. As for my Wenigkeit, it has never known a day of real bodily comfort since we got to Berlin : headache, sore throat, and Sdinupfcn have been alternately my companions, and have made my enjoyment very languid. But think of this as all past when you get my letter ; for this 1870.] Mr, Lewes at the CJiaritd. 77 mornino: I have a clearer head, the sun is shinins:, and Letter to '^ . ^ ^' Mrs. Con- the better time seems to be come for me. Mr. Lewes greye, 3d April, 187&. has had a good deal of satisfaction in his visits to lab- oratories and to the Charite^ where he is just now gone for the third time to see more varieties of mad people, and hear more about Psychiatrie from Dr. Westphal, a quiet, unpretending little man, who seems to have been delighted with George's sympathetic interest in this (to me) hideous branch of practice. I speak with all reverence : the world can't do without hideous studies. People have been very kind to us, and have over- whelmed us with attentions, but we have felt a little weary in the midst of our gratitude, and since my cold has become worse we have been obh'ged to cut off further invitations. We have seen many and various men and women, but except Mommsen, Bunsen, and Du Bois Reymond, hardly any whose names would be known to you. If I had been in good health I should probably have con- tinued to be more amused than tired of sitting on a sofa and having one person after another brought up to bow to me, and pay me the same compliment. Even as it was, 1 felt my heart go out to some good women who seemed really to have an affectionate feeling tow- ards me for the sake of my books. But the sick ani- mal longs for quiet and darkness. The other night, at Dr. AVestphal's, I saw a young English lady marvellously like Emily in face, figure, and voice. I made advances to her on the strength of that external resemblance, and found it carried out in the quickness of her remarks. But new gentlemen to be introduced soon divided us. Another elegant, pretty woman there was old Boeckh's daughter. One enters on all subjects by turns in these evening parties. 7o Increase in Luxury. [Berlin, Letterto whicli are somethin": like reading the Conversations- Mrs. Con- ^ ° . greve, 3d Lexlcoii in a nightmare. Among lighter entertain- Apnl.iSjo. ^ . ments we have been four times to the opera, being tempted at the very beginning of our stay by Gluck, Mozart, and an opportunity of hearing Tannhauser for the second time. Also we have enjoyed some fine or- chestral concerts, which are to be had for sixpence ! Berlin has been growing very fast since our former stay here, and luxury in all forms has increased so much that one only here and there gets a glimpse of the old-fashioned German housekeeping. But though later hours are becoming fashionable, the members of the Reichstag who have other business than politics complain of having to begin their sitting at eleven, end- hig, instead of beginning, at four, when the solid day is almost gone. We went to the Reichstag one morning, and were so fortunate as to hear Bismarck speak. But the question was one of currency, and his speech was merely a brief winding-up. Now I shall think that I have earned a letter telling me all about you. May there be nothing but good to tell of! Pray give my best love to Emil}^, and my earnest wishes to Dr. Congreve, that he may have sat- isfaction in new work. Letterto I gladly and gratefully keep the portrait.^ For my Miss Sara , i i , • i • , i . . ,, t-w Henneii, owu part, I should havc said, without hesitation, "Pre- i8th May, _ . i / t • » m /^ i 1870. fix it to the Inquiry. One must not be unreasona- ble about portraits. How can a thing which is always the same be an adequate representation of a living be- ing who is always varying — especially of a living being who is sensitive, bright, many-sided, as your brother was? But I think the impression which this portrait ^ Portrait of Charles Hennell. 1870.] The Critical Attitude. 79 gives excites interest. I am often sorry for people Letter to 1 ^ ^r ^ • -it i- Miss Sara who lose half their possible good in the world bv Henneii, ,. , - . . , ^ 18th May, being more alive to deficiencies than to positive 1870- merits. I like to know that you have felt in common with me while you read " Jubal." Curiously enough, Mr. Lewes, when I first read it to him, made just the re- mark you make about the scene of Jubal coming with the lyre. We laughed at Mr. Bray's sharp criticism. Tell him it is not the fashion for authors ever to be in the wrong. They have always justifying reasons. But also it is the fashion for critics to know everything, so that the authors don't think it needful to tell their rea- sons. May 20. — I am fond of my little old book in which Journal, •^ •' 1870. I have recorded so many changes, and shall take to writing in it again. It will perhaps last me all through the life that is left to me. Since I wrote in it last, the day after Thornie's death, the chief epochs have been our stay at Limpsfield, in Surrey, till near the beginning of December \ my writing of "Jubal," which I finished on the 13th of January ; the publication of the poem in the May number oi Macmillan' s Magazine; and our journey to Berlin and Vienna, from which we returned on the 6th of this month, after an absence of eight weeks. This is a fortnight ago, and little has been done by me in the interim. My health is in an un- comfortable state, and I seem to be all the weaker for the continual depression produced by cold and sore throat, which stretched itself all through our long journey. These small bodily grievances make life less desirable to me, though every one of my best blessings — my one perfect love, and the sympathy shown tow- ards me for the sake of my works, and the personal 8o First Visit to Oxford. [The Priory, Journal, rcofard of a few friends — have become much intensified 1870. 3 ° in these latter days. I am not hopeful about future work. I am languid, and my novel languishes too. But to-morrow may be better than to-day. May 25. — We started for Oxford, where we. were to stay with the Rector of Lincoln and his wife. After luncheon G. and I walked alone through the town, which, on this first view, was rather disappointing to me. Presently we turned through Christ Church into the meadows, and walked along by the river. This was beautiful to my heart's content. The buttercups and hawthorns were in their glory, the chestnuts still in sufficiently untarnished bloom, and the grand elms made a border towards the town. After tea v/e went with Mrs. Pattison and the rector to the croquet-ground near the Museum. On our way we saw Sir Benjamin Brodie, and on the ground Professor Rawlinson, the "narrow-headed man;" Mrs. Thursfield and her son, who is a Fellow (I think, of Corpus) ; Miss Arnold, daughter of Mr. Thomas Arnold, and Professor Phil- lips, the geologist. At supper we had Mr. By water and Miss Arnold, and in chat with them the evening was passed. May 26. — G. and I went to the Museum, and had an interesting morning with Dr. Rolleston, who dis- sected a brain for me. After lunch we went again to the Museum, and spent the afternoon with Sir Benja- min Brodie, seeing various objects in his laboratories ; among others, the method by which weighing has been superseded in delicate matters by measuring in a grad- uated glass tube. Afterwards Mrs. Pattison took me a drive in her little pony carriage round by their coun- try refuge, the Firs, Haddington, and by Littlemore, where I saw J. H. Newman's little conventual dwell- iSyo.] Rector of Lincoln and Mrs. Pattison. 8i ing. Returning, we bad a fine view of the Oxford tow- Journal, rn o- 1870. ers. 10 supper came Sir Benjamin and Lady Brodie. May 27. — In the morning we walked to see the two Martyrs' Memorial, and then to Sir Benjamin Brodie's pretty place near the river and bridge. Close by their grounds is the original ford whence the i^lace took its name. The Miss Gaskells were staying with them, and, after chatting some time, we two walked with Sir Benjamin to New College, where we saw the gardens surrounded by the old city wall ; the chapel where William of Wykeham's crosier is kept; and the clois- ters, which are fine, but gloomy, and less beautiful than those of Magdalen, which we saw in our walk on Thursday before going to the Museum. After lunch we went to the Bodleian, and then to the Sheldonian Theatre, where there was a meeting a propos of Pales- tine Exploration. Captain Warren, conductor of the Exploration at Jerusalem, read a paper, and then Mr. Deutsch gave an account of the interpretation, as hith- erto arrived at, of the Moabite Stone. I saw squeezes of this stone for the first time, with photographs taken from the squeezes. After tea Mrs. Thursfield kindly took us to see a boat-race. We saw it from the Oriel barge, under the escort of Mr. Crichton, Fellow of Merton, who, on our return, took us through the lovely gardens of his college. At supper were Mr. Jowett, Professor Henry Smith, and Miss Smith, his sister, Mr. Fowler, author of " Deductive Logic," etc. May 28. — After a walk to St. John's College we started by the train for London, and arrived at home about two o'clock. May 29. — Mr. Spencer, Mrs. Burne-Jones, and Mr. Crompton came. I read aloud No. 3 of " Edwin Drood." IIL— 4* 82 Death of Dickens, [The Priory, Journal, May 30. — We went to see the autotypes of Michael Angelo's frescoes, at 36 Rathbone Place. I began Grove on the "• Correlation of the Physical Forces"— needing to read it again — with new interest, after the lapse of years. Letterto Dr. Reynolds advises Mr. Lewes to leave London Miss Sara -' Henneii, aGfain, and 2:0 to the bracino: air of the Yorkshire coast. 13th June, to 5 t3 & 1870. I said that we should be here till the beginning of Au- gust, but the internal order proposes and the external order disposes — if we are to be so priggish as to alter all our old proverbs into agreement with new formu- las ! Dickens's death came as a great shock to us. He lunched with us just before we went abroad, and was telling us a story of President Lincoln having told the Council, on the day he was shot, that something remarkable would happen, because he had just dreamt, for the third time, a dream which twice before had pre- ceded events momentous to the nation. The dream was, that he was in a boat on a great river, all alone, and he ended with the words, "I drift — I drift — I drift." Dickens told this very finely. I thought him looking dreadfully shattered then. It is probable that he nev- er recovered from the effect of the terrible railway ac- cident. Letterto We havc bccu driven away from home a2:ain bv the Madame •' o j Bodichon, state of Mr. Lewes's health. Dr. Reynolds recom- 23d June, ■' 1.S70, from mended the Yorkshire coast ; but we wanted to know Cromer. Cromer, and so we came here first, for the sake of va- riety. To me the most desirable thing just now seems to be to have one home, and stay there till death comes to take me away. I get more and more disinclined to the perpetual makeshifts of a migratory life, and care more and more for the order and habitual objects of home. However, there are many in the world whose 1870.] Sympathy i?i Grief, 2>'^ whole existence is a makeshift, and perhaps the for- Letter to ' * -^ Madame mula which would fit the largest number of lives is "aEodichon, *-* ^ 23d June, doing without, more or less patiently." The air just^^jo. now is not very invigorating anywhere, I imagine, and one begins to be very anxious about the nation gener- ally, on account of the threatening drought. 1 did not like to write to you' until Mr. Lytton sent J^^J^g'J^ word that I might do so, because I had not the inti- ^J^'^lJu"?,! mate knowledge that would have enabled me to meas- LyuonC'^^ ure your trouble ; and one dreads, of all things, to f^J'fZm speak or write a wrong or unseasonable word when Harrogate, words are the only signs of interest and sympathy that one has to give. I know now, from what your dear husband has told us, that your loss is very keenly felt by you, that it has first made you acquainted with acute grief, and this makes me think of you very much. For learning to love any one is like an increase of property — it increases care, and brings many new fears lest pre- cious things should come to harm. I find myself often thinking of you with that sort of proprietor's anxiety, wanting you to have gentle weather all through your life, so that your face may never look worn and storm- beaten, and wanting your husband to be and do the very best, lest anything short of that should be disap- pointment to you. At present the thought of you is all the more with me because your trouble has been brought by death ; and for nearly a year death seems to me my most intimate daily companion. I mingle the thought of it with every other, not sadly, but as one mingles the thought of some one who is nearest in love and duty with all one's motives. I try to de- liofht in the sunshine that will be when I shall never ^ Written after the death of Lord Clarendon, who, Lady Lytton tells me, had been like a father to her. 84 Independence of Our Personality. [Harrogate, Letter to see it anv more. And I think it is possible for this the Hon. "' ^ . . Mrs. Rob- sort of impersonal life to attain ^reat intensity — possi- ert Lytton, ^ • i i / • 8th July, ble for us to sfain much more independence than is 1870. ° usually believed of the small bundle of facts that make our own personality. I don't know why I should say this to you, except that my pen is chatting as my tongue would if you were here. We women are always in danger of living too exclusively in the affections, and though our affections are, perhaps, the best gifts we have, we ought also to have our share of the more in- dependent life — some joy in things for their own sake. It is piteous to see the helplessness of some sweet women when their affections are disappointed ; because all their teaching has been that they can only delight in study of any kind for the sake of a personal love. They have never contemplated an independent delight in ideas as an experience which they could confess without being laughed at. Yet surely women need this sort of defence against passionate affliction even more than men. Just under the pressure of grief, I do not believe there is any consolation. The word seems to me to be drapery for falsities. Sorrow must be sorrow, ill must be ill, till duty and love towards all who remain recover their rightful predominance. Your life is so full of those claims that you will not have time for brooding over the unchangeable. Do not spend any of your valuable time now in writing to me, but be satisfied with sending me news of you through Mr. Lytton when he has occasion to write to Mr. Lewes. I have lately finished reading aloud Mendelssohn's " Letters," which we had often resolved and failed to read before. They have been quite cheering to us from the sense they give of communion with an emi- nently pure, refined nature, with the most rigorous con- 1870.] Visit to Whitby, — ''ArmgartT 85 science in art. In the evenins: we have always a con- Letter to ^ \ the Hon. cert to listen to — a concert of modest pretensions, but Mrs. Rob- ert Lytton^ well conducted enou2:h to be a2:reeable. sth juiy, ^ ^ 1870. I hope this letter of chit-chat will not reach you at a wrong moment. In any case, forgive all mistakes on the part of one who is always yours sincerely and affec- tionately. Aug. 4. — Two months have been spent since the last J^"™^^' record ! Their result is not rich, for we have been sent wandering again by G.'s want of health. On the 15th June we went to Cromer, on the 30th to Harro- gate, and on the i8th July to Whitby, where Mrs. Burne- Jones also arrived on the same day. On Monday, August I, we came home again for a week only, hav- ing arranged to go to Limpsfield next Monday. To- day, under much depression, I begin a little dramatic poem,' the subject of which engaged my interest at Harrogate. We, too, you see, have come back to a well-tried Jf.^^^^*° T ^ J ' Miss Sara refuo:e — the same place that soothed us in our troubles ^^7^°^^^' => ^ 1 2th Aug. last October — and we especially delight in this deep ^87°- country after the fuss which belongs even to quiet wa- tering-places, such as Cromer, Harrogate, and Whitby, which are, after all, " alleys where the gentle folks live." "We are excited, even among the still woods and fields, by the vicissitudes of the war, and chiefly concerned because we cannot succeed in getting the day's Times. We have entered into the period which will be marked in future historical charts as " The pe- riod of German ascendency." But how saddening to think of the iniquities that the great harvest-moon is looking down on ! I am less grieved for the blood- shed than for the hateful trust in lies which is continu- '"Armgart." 86 TJie Franco-Pncssian War. [Limpsfield, Letter to ally discloscd. Meanwhile Jowett's "Translation of Wenneii,^ Plato " is being prepared for publication, and he has 1870. "^ kindly sent us the sheets of one volume. So I pass from discussions of French lying and the Nemesis that awaits it to discussions about rhetorical lying at Athens in the fourth century before Christ. The translations and introductions to the "Dialogues" seem to be charmingly done. We shall return to town on Monday, various small Letter to rcasous concurrins^ to make us resolve on quittinsr this Madame . ^ . Bodichon, earthly paradise. I am very sorry for the sufferings 1870. ° of the French nation ; but I think these sufferings are better for the moral welfare of the people than victory would have been. The war has been drawn down on them by an iniquitous government ; but in a great pro- portion of the French people there has been nour- ished a wicked glorification of selfish pride, which, like all other conceit, is a sort of stupidity, excluding any true conception of what lies outside their own vain wishes. The Germans, it seems, were expected to stand like toy-soldiers for the French to knock them down. It is quite true that the war is in some respects the conflict of two differing forms of civilization. But whatever charm we may see in the southern Latin races, this ought not to blind us to the great contribu- tions which the German energies have made in all sorts of ways to the common treasure of mankind. And who that has any spirit of justice can help sym- pathizing with them in their grand repulse of the French project to invade and divide them ? If I were a French- woman, much as I might wail over French sufferings, I cannot help believing that I should detest the French talk about the " Prussians." They wanted to throttle the electric eel for their own purposes. 1870.] A Popular Preacher, Sy But I imao^ine that you and the doctor would not find Letter to ° . ^ , Madame US in much disao^reement with you in these matters. Bodichon, . . . 25th Aug. One thing that is pleasant to think of is the effort made ^870. everywhere to help the wounded. Oct.2n. — On Monday the 8th August we went to Journal, . . 1S70. our favorite Surrey retreat — Limpsfield — and enjoyed three weeks there reading and walking together. The weather was perfect, and the place seemed more lovely to us than before. Aloud I read the concluding part of Walter Scott's Life, which we had begun at Harro- gate; two volumes of Froude's "History of England," and Comte's " Correspondence with Valat." We re- turned on Monday the 29th. During our stay at Limpsfield I wrote the greater part of " Armgart," and finished it at intervals during September. Since then I have been continually suf- fering from headache and depression, with almost total despair of future work. I look into this little book now to assure myself that this is not unprecedented. Yesterday, for the first time, we went to hear A. (a Letter to Miss Sara popular preacher). I remembered what you had said Henneii, 1 1 • 1 r 1 , • 1 , . ■■ ^8th Nov. about his vulgar, talse emphasis \ but there remanied 1870. the fact of his celebrity. I was glad of the opportunity. But my impressions fell below the lowest judgment I ever heard passed upon him. He has the gift of a fine voice, very flexible and various; he is admirably fluent and clear in his language, and every now and then his enunciation is effective. But I never heard any pulpit reading and speaking which in its level tone was more utterly common and empty of guiding intelligence or emotion; it was as if the words had been learned by heart and uttered v»'ithout comprehension by a man who had no instinct of rhythm or music in his soul. And the doctrine ! It was a libel on Calvinism that 88 Libel on Calvmism. [The Priory, Letter to it sliould be presented in such a form. I never heard Miss bara Henneii, any attempt to exhibit the soul's experience that was ^870. more destitute of insight. The sermon was against fear, in the elect Christian, as being a distrust of God; but never once did he touch the true ground of fear — the doubt whether the signs of God's choice are present in the soul. AVe had plenty of anecdotes, but they were all poor and pointless — Tract Society anec- dotes of the feeblest kind. It was the most superficial grocer's-back-parlor view of Calvinistic Christianity; and I was shocked to find how low the mental pitch of our society must be, judged by the standard of this man's celebrity. Mr. Lewes was struck with some of his tones as sfood actor's tones, and was not so wroth as I was. But just now, with all Europe stirred by events that make every conscience tremble after some great principle as a con- solation and guide, it was too exasperating to sit and listen to doctrine that seemed to look no further than the retail Christian's tea and muffins. He said " Let us approach the throne of God " very much as he might have invited you to take a chair; and then followed this fine touch — " We feel no love to God because he hears the jDrayers of others; it is because he hears my prayer that I love him." You see I am relieving myself by pouring out my disgust to you. Oh, how short life — how near death — seems to me ! But tliis is not an uncheerful thousrht. The only great dread is the protraction of life into im- becility or the visitation of lingering pain. That seems to me the insurmountable calamity, though there is an ignorant affectation in many people of underrating what they call bodily suffering. I systematically ab- stain from correspondence, yet the number of acquaint- 1870.] The Permanent Infiuence of Ideas. 89 ances and consequent little appeals so constantly in- Letter to , T r r ^ ^ r ' Miss Sara creases that 1 often rind myself inwardly rebelline: Henneii, , ~ ... ^ 18th Nov. against the amount of note-writing that I cannot avoid. 1870. Have the great events of these months interfered with your freedom of spirit in writing? One has to dwell continually on the permanent, growing influence of ideas in spite of temporary reactions, however violent, in order to get courage and perseverance for any work which lies aloof from the immediate wants of society. You remember Goethe's contempt for the Revolution of '30 compared with the researches on the Vertebrate Structure of the Skull.? "My good friend, I was not thinking of those people." But the changes we are seeing cannot be doffed aside in that way. Lying awake early in the morning, according to a Letter to . . . . , . Madame bad practice of mine, I was visited with much compunc- Bodichon, , ^f. ,. . . Nov. 1870. tion and self-disgust that I had ever said a word to you about the faults of a friend whose good qualities are made the more sacred by the endurance his lot has in many ways demanded. I think you may fairly set down a full half of any alleged grievances to my own susceptibility, and other faults of mine which necessari- ly call forth less agreeable manifestations from others than as many virtues would do, if I had them. I trust to your good sense to have judged well in spite of my errors in the presentation of any matter. But I wish to protest against myself, that I may, as much as pos- sible, cut off the temptation to what I should like utterly to purify myself from for the few remaining years of my life — the disposition to dwell for a moment on the faults of a friend. Tell the flower and fern giver, whoever it may be, that some strength comes to me this morning from the pretty proof of sympathy. 90 Helping the Industrious Poor. [The Priory, Letter to \ have it on my conscience that I may not have Mrs. Con- ^ -^ _ "^ geve,2d given you a clear impression of my wishes about the poor pensioner who was in question between us to-day, so I write at once to secure us both against a possible misunderstanding. I would rather not apply any more money in that direction, because I know of other channels ^ — especially a plan which is being energetic- ally carried out for helping a considerable group of people without almsgiving, and solely by inducing them to work — into which I shall be glad to pour a little more aid. The repugnance to have relief from the parish was a feeling which it was good to encourage in the old days of contra-encouragement to sturdy pauperism; but I question whether one ought now to in- dulge it, and not rather point out the reasons why, in a case of real helplessness, there is no indignity in receiv- ing from a public fund. After you had left me, it rang in my ears that I had spoken of my greater cheerfulness as due to a reduced anxiety about myself and my doings, and had not seemed to recognize that the deficit or evil in other lives could be a cause of depression. I was not really so ludicrously selfish while dressing myself up in the costume of unselfishness. But my strong egoism has caused me so much melancholy, which is traceable simply to a fastidious yet hungry ambition, that I am relieved by the comparative quietude of personal crav- ing which age is bringing. That is the utmost I have to boast of, and, really, to be cheerful in these times could only be a virtue in the sense in which it was felt to be so by the old Romans when they thanked their general for not despairing of the republic. * Miss Octavia Hill. Walmer Street Industrial Experiment, tried by Canon Fremantle under Miss Hill's supervision. i87o.] ''Miss Brooker— Visit to Ryde. 91 I have been readinof aloud to Mr. Lewes this evening: Letter to ^ ^ Mrs. Con- Mr. Harrison's article on " Bismarckism," which madesreve, 2d Dec. iS/ob me cry — it is in some passages movingly eloquent. Dec. 2. — I am experimenting in a story ("Miss J°"J"^'' Brooke ") which I began without any very serious in- tention of carrying it out lengthily. It is a subject which has been recorded among my possible themes ever since I began to write fiction, but will probably take new shapes in the development. I am to-day at p. 44. I am reading Wolf's " Prolegomena to Homer." In the evening, aloud, " Wilhelm Meister" again ! Dec. 12. — George's mother died this morning quite peacefully as she sat in her chair. Deci"]. — Reading "Quintus Fixlein " aloud to G. in the evenins:. Grote on Sicilian historv. Dec. 31. — On Wednesday the 21st we went to Ryde to see Madame Bodichon at Swanmore Parsonage, a house which she had taken for two months. We had a pleasant and healthy visit, walking much in the frosty air. On Christmas Day I went with her to the Ritualist Church which is attached to the parsonage, and heard some excellent intoning by the delicate- faced, tenor-voiced clergyman. On Wednesday last, the 28th, Barbara came up to town with us. We found the cold here more severe than at Ryde ; and the pa- pers tell us of still harder weather about Paris, where our fellow-men are suffering and inflicting horrors. Here is the last day of 1870. I have written only one hundred pages — good printed pages — of a story which I began about the opening of November, and at present mean to call " Miss Brooke." Poetry halts just now. We spent our Christmas in the Isle of Wight, and Letter to on Christmas Day I went to a Ritualist church and HenneU^ heard some fine intoning of the service by a clear, iSji."^"* 92 The Frayico-German War. [The Priory, Letter to strong, tcnor voice, sweet singing from boys' throats, Henneii, and all sorts of Catholic ceremonial in a mmiature way. 2a Jan. . ^s?!. It is good to see what our neighbors are domg. fo live in seclusion with one's own thoughts is apt to give one very false notions as to the possibilities of the present time in the matter of conversion either to su- perstition or anti-superstition. In this cruel time, I no sooner hear of an affliction than I see it multiplied in some one of the endless forms of suffering created by this hellish war. In the beginning I could feel entirely with the Germans, and could say of that calamity called " victory," I am glad. But now I can be glad of nothing. No people can carry on a long, fierce war without being brutalized by it, more or less, and it pains me that the educated voices have not a higher moral tone about national and inter- national duties and prospects. But, like every one else, I feel that the war is too much with me, and am rather anxious to avoid unwise speech about it than to utter what may seem to me to be wisdom. The pain is that one can do so little. I have not read " Sir Harry Hotspur," but as to your general question, I reply that there certainly are some women who love in that w^ay, but " their sex as well as I may chide them for it." Men are very fond of glorifying that sort of dog-like attachment. It is one thing to love because you falsely imagine goodness — that belongs to the finest natures — and another to go on loving when you have found out your mistake. But married constancy is a different affair. I have seen a grandly heroic woman who, out of her viev/ as to the responsibilities of the married relation, condoned everything, took her drunken husband to her home again, and at last nursed and watched him into peni- tence and decency. But there may be two opinions 1 8; I.] Letter to Colonel Ham ley. 93 even about this sort of endurance — /. ^., about its ulti- Letter to mate tendency, not about the beauty of nature which HenneU, -'' -^ 2d Jan. prompts it. This is quite distinct from mere animal 1871. constancy. It is duty and human pity. I write to say God bless you for your letter to the Letter to •' "^ "^ ^ Colonel Times of this mornino:. It contains the best expression Hamky ° *■ (now Gen- of right principle — I was almost ready to say, the only ^^ sir o:ood, sensible words — that I have yet seen on the act- Hamieyi, ° ' -' 24th Jan. ual state of things between the Germans and the French. ^^7^- You will not pause, I trust, but go on doing what can be done only by one who is at once a soldier, a writer, and a clear-headed man of principle. March 19 (Sunday). — It is grievous to me how little, Journal, from one "Cause or other, chiefly languor and occasion- ally positive ailments, I manage to get done. I have written about two hundred and thirty-six pages (print) of my novel, which I want to get off my hands by next November. My present fear is that I have too much matter — too many momeiiii, I happened to-day to be talking to a very sweet- Letter to r 1 / 1 • /« -r^ -r^ . , , Mrs. Bray, laced woman (the sister of Dr. Bridges, whom I think 3d April, you know something of), and she mentioned, a propos of educating children in the love of animals, that she had felt the want of some good little book as a help in this matter. I told her of yours, and when I said that it was written by Mrs. Bray, the author of " Physiology for Schools," she said, "Oh, I know that book well." I have made her a present of my copy of " Duty to Animals," feeling that this was a good quarter in which to plant that offset. For she had been tellinjj me of her practical interest in the infant and other schools in Suffolk, where she lives. We have had a great pleasure to-day in learning that our friend Miss Bury is engaged to be married to Mr. Geddes, a Scotch gentleman. There is a streak of sadness for her fam- 94 Arrangements for Brookbank. [The Priory, Letter to Hy Jq t^g f^ct that she is to go to India with her hus- Mrs. Bray, ^ ° 3d April, band next November, but all else is bright in her pros- pect. It is very sweet to see, and think of, the happiness of the 3'oung. I am scribbling with an infirm head, at the end of the day, just for the sake of letting you know one proof, in addition doubtless to many others which you have already had, that your pretty little book is likely to supply a want. Letter to vVe are very much oblio:ed to you for your kind, me- Mrs. Gil- ■' o J J Christ, 19th thodical thoughtfulness as to all which is necessary for April, 1871. ^ ^ our accommodation at Brookbank, and also for your hints about the points of beauty to be sought for in our walks. That " sense of standing on a round world," which you speak of, is precisely what I most care for among out-of-door delights. The last time I had it fully was at St. Margen, near Freiburg, on green hilltops, whence we could see the Rhine and poor France. The garden has been, and is being, attended to, and I trust we shall not find the commissariat unendurable. Letter to It sccms like a resurrection of a buried-alive friend- Mrs. Peter Taylor, 6th ship oucc morc to have a letter from you. Welcome June, 1871. ^ . p, back from your absorption in the Franchise ! Some- body else ought to have your share of work now, and you ought to rest. Ever since the ist 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 lis, 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. So, 1871.] Enjoyment of Surrey. 95 you see, we are like two secluded owls, wise with un- Letter to "1 , . , , . , 1 , . , . - . Mrs. Peter fashionable wisdom, and knowing nothing of pictures Taylor, eth and French plays. I confess that I should have gone often to see Got 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. How about Madame Mohl and her husband? I Letter to Madame have been wondering through all the horrors whether Bodichon, ° ° 1 7th June, M. Mohl had returned to Paris, and whether their 1871. house, containing, too probably, the results of much studious work, lies buried among ruins. But I will not further recall the sorrows in that direction. I am glad to see the words "very satisfactory" in connection with the visit to Hitchin and Cambridge. Ely Cathedral I saw last year, but too cursorily. It has more of the massive grandeur that one adores in Le Mans and Chartres than most of our English ca- thedrals, though I am ready to recall the comparison as preposterous, I don't know how long we shall stay here ; perhaps, . more or less, till the end of August, for I have given up the idea of going to the Scott Festival at Edin- burgh, to which I had accepted an invitation. The fatigue of the long journey, with the crowd at the end, would be too much for me. Let us know beforehand when you are about coming. George is gloriously well, and studying, writing, walking, eating, and sleeping with equal vigor. He is enjoying the life here immensely. Our country could hardly be surpassed in its particular kind of beauty — perpetual undulation of heath and copse, and clear views of hurrying water, with here and there a grand 9^ LoivclVs "-My Study Wmdozus," [Shottermill, Letter to p{ne woocl, stccp, wood - clothcd promontories, and Bodichon, gleaminjT pools. 17th June, ° ° *■ 187J. If you want delightful reading get Lowell's "My Study Windows," and read the essays called "My Garden Acquaintances " knd " Winter." Get the volumes of a very cheap publication — the " Deutscher Novellenschatz." Some of the tales are remarkably fine. I am reading aloud the last three volumes, which are even better than the others. I have just been so deeply interested in one of the sto- ries — " Diethelm von Buchenberg " — that I want ev- erybody to have the same pleasure who can read Ger- man. Letter to We are greatly oblio^ed to you for the trouble vou Mrs. Gil- & 7 & ^ J Christ, 3d have so sympathetically taken on our behalf, and we July, 1871. . . shall prepare to quit our quiet shelter on Wednesday, the 2d of August. During the first weeks of our stay I did not imagine that I should ever be so fond of the place as I am now. The departure of the bitter winds, some improvement in my health, and the gradual rev- elation of fresh and fresh beauties in the scenery, espe- cially under a hopeful sky such as w-e have sometimes had — all these conditions have made me love our little world here and wish not to quit it until we can settle in our London home. I have the regret of thinking that it was my original indifference about it (I hardly ever like things until they are familiar) that hindered us from securing the cottage until the end of Septem- ber, for the chance of coming to it again after a tem- porary absence. But all regrets ought to be merged in thankfulness for the agreeable weeks we have had, and probably shall have till the end of July. And among the virtues of Brookbank we shall always reckon this, that our correspondence about it has been iSyi.] ^^^^^ Bury now Mrs. Geddcs. 97 with you rather than with any one else, so that, along LeueMo with the country, we have had a glimpse of your ready, f^f^^^^^^^^ quick-thoughted kindness. One word to you in response to Emily's note, which Yl"^^'^^^, comes to me this morning, and lets me know that byg2j;^.j3th this time she is probably in the last hour of her un- married life. My thoughts and love [and tender anx- iety are with her and with all of you. When you re- ceive this she will, I suppose, be far away, and it is of little consequence that I can make no new sign to her of my joy in her joy. For the next few weeks my anxiety will be concen- trated on you and yours at Yarmouth. Pray, when your mind and body are sufficiently free from absorb- ing occupation, remember my need of news about you, and write to me. The other day I seemed to get a glimpse of you through Mrs. Call, who told me that you looked like a new creature — so much stronger than you were wont; and she told me of Dr. Con- greve's address at the school, which raised my keenest sympathy, and made me feel myself a very helpless friend. Please give my love to the children, and tell Sophy especially that I think her happy in this — that there is a place made for all the effort of her young life to fill it with something like the goodness and brightness which she has known and has just now to part with. I expect her to be your guardian angel, perhaps in a new way — namely, in saving you from some fatigue about details. I still feel that I owe you my thanks for vour kind Letter -' -' ^ to John letter, although Mr. Lewes undertook to deliver them Riack- ° wood, 15 th in the first instance. You certainly made a seat at the Ji^iy* ^^71. Commemoration Table^ look more tempting to me ^ Scott Commemoration. III.-S 98 Thorough Workers. [Shottermill, Letter than it had done before: but I think that prudence to John ^ * Black- advises me to abstain from the fatigue and excitement wood, 15th July, 1871. of a long railway journey, with a great gathering at the end of it. If there is a chance that "Middlemarch** will be good for anything, I don't want to break down and die without finishing it. And whatever " the tow on my distaff" may be, my strength to unwind it has not been abundant lately. Apropos of bodily prosperity, I am sincerely rejoiced to know, by your postscript this morning, that Mr. Simpson is recovered. I hope he will not object to my considering him a good friend of mine, though it is so long since I saw him. The blank that is left when thorough workers like him are disabled is felt not only near at hand, but a great way off. I often say — after the fashion of people who are getting older — that the capacity for good work, of the kind that goes on without trumpets, is diminishing in the world. The continuous absence of sunshine is depressing in every way, and makes one fear for the harvest, and so grave a fear that one is ashamed of mentioning one's private dreariness. You cannot play golf in the rain, and I cannot feel hopeful without the sunlight ; but I dare say you work all the more, whereas when my spirits flag my work flags too. I should have liked to see Principal Tulloch again, and to have made the acquaintance of Captain Lock- hart, whose writing is so jaunty and cheery, yet so thoroughly refined in feeling. Perhaps I may still have this pleasure in town, when he comes up at the same time with you. Please give my kind regards Letter to Mr. William Blackwood. Black-" Thanks for the prompt return of the MS., which ar- wood, 24th . 1.1' July, 1871. rived this morning. 1871.] The Design of ^^Middleinarchr 99 I don't see how I can leave anythino^ out, because I Lettet J <=> ' to John hope there is nothing: that will be seen to be irrelevant Black- •1^ ° _ wood, 2 4tn to my design, which is to show the gradual action of July, 1871. ordinary causes rather than exceptional, and to show this in some directions which have not been from time immemorial the beaten path — the Cremorne walks and shows of fiction. But the best intentions are good for nothing until execution has justified them. And you know I am always compassed about widi fears. I am in danger in all my designs of parodying dear Gold- smith's satire on Burke, and think of refining when novel-readers only think of skipping. We are obliged to turn out of this queer cottage next week; but we have been fortunate enough to get the more comfortable house on the other side of the road, so that we can move without any trouble. Thus our address will continue to be the same until the end oj August. Tennyson, who is one of the " hill-folk " about here, has found us out. This mornino: your husband's letter came to us, but Letter to o J ' the Hon. if I did not know that it would be nearly a week be-^rs. Rob- •' ert Lytton^ fore any words of mine could reach you, I should ab- 1"°^ L^^y -' •' ' Lytton), Stain from writing just yet, feeling that in the first days 25th July, of sorrowing it is better to keep silence. For a long while after a great bereavement our only companion- ship is with the lost one. Yet I hope it will not be without good to you to have signs of love from your friends, and to be reminded that you have a home in their affections, which is made larger for you by your trouble. For weeks my thought has been continual- ly going out to you, and the absence of news has made ^ Written just before the death of Mrs. Lyttoii's eldest boy. 100 Thoughts on Death. [Shottermill, Letter to me SO fearful that I have mourned beforehand. I the Hon. Mrs^Rob- have been feehng that probably you were undergoing 25th July, the bitterest ":rief you had ever known. But under 1871. ° -' the heart- stroke, is there anything better than to grieve ? Strength will come back for the duty and the fellowship which gradually bring new contentments, but at first there is no joy to be desired that would dis- place sorrow. What is better than to love and live with the loved .^ But that must sometimes bring us to live with the dead ; and this too turns at last into a very tranquil and sweet tie, safe from change and injury. You see, I make myself a warrant out of my regard for you, to write as if we had long been near each other. And I cannot help wishing that we were physically nearer — that you were not on the other side of Europe. We shall trust in Mr. Lytton's kindness to let us hear of you by and by. But you must never write except to satisfy your own longing. May all true help sur- round you, dear Mrs. Lytton, and whenever you can think of me, believe in me as yours with sincere affec- tion. Letter to I read your touching story ^ aloud yesterday to Mr. Cross, vSi Lewes, and we both cried over it. Your brother wrote juy, 1 71- ^^ ^^ ^1^^^ y^^ j^^^ doubts about giving your name. My faith is, that signature is right in the absence of weighty special reasons against it. We think of you all very often, and feel ourselves much the richer for having a whole dear family to reckon among our friends. We are to stay here till the end of the month. When the trees are yellow, I hope you will be coming to see us in St. John's 1 "Marie of Villefranche." Macmillan'' s Magazine, August, 1871. iSyi.] Got*s Acting. loi Wood. How little like the woods we have around us ! Letter to Miss Mary I suppose Weybridge is more agreeable than other Cross, 31st places at present, if it has any of its extra warmth in this arctic season. Our best love, to your dear mother supremely, and then to all. I always say that those people are the happiest who ^^j^g^'^J,^^^^ have a peremptory reason for staying in one P^^ce Taylor, 2d rather than another. Else I should be sorry for you that you are kept in London — by Parliamentary busi- ness, of course. There is sunshine over our fields now, but the ther- mometer is only 64° in the house, and in the warmest part of the day I, having a talent for being cold, sit shivering, sometimes even with a warm-water bottle at my feet. I wonder if you went to the French pla3^s to see the supreme Got.? That is a refined pleas- ure which I enjoyed so much in Paris a few years ago that I was sorry to be out of reach of it this '&• About the Crystal Palace music I remember feeling just what you mention — the sublime effect of the Handel choruses, and the total futility of the solos. Thanks for your little picture of thinsfs. Eminently Letter to ^ ^ i= J j^jrs. Bray, acceptable in place of vague conjectures. I am a bit- 3d Aug. ter enemy to make-believe about the human lot, but I think there is a true alleviation of distress in thinking of the intense enjoyment which accompanies a sponta- neous, confident, intellectual activity. This may not be a counterpoise to the existing evils, but it is at least a share of mortal good, and good of an exquisite kind. Are you not happy in the long-wished-for sunshine ? I have a pretty lawn before me, with hills in the back- 102 Visit to Wey bridge, [Shottermill, Mrs%ra S^°^"<^- The trail! rushes by every now and then to 3d Aug. make one more glad of the usual silence. 1871. ° A good man writes to me from Scotland this morn- ing, asking me if he is not right in pronouncing Romola, in defiance of the world around him (not a large world, I hope) who will say Romola. Such is correspondence in these days ; so that quantity is magnificent en gros but shabby en detail — /. ^., in sin- gle letters like this. Letter to We shall Stay here only till the end of this month — Mrs. Con- •' •' aT^'iS^? at least, I have no hope that our proprietaires will be induced to protract their absence; and if the lingering smell of paint does not drive us away from the Priory again, we expect to stay there from the first of Sep- tember, without projects of travel for many, many months. We enjoy our roomy house and pretty lawn greatly. Imagine me seated near a window, opening under a veranda, with flower-beds and lawn and pretty hills in sight, my feet on a warm-water bottle, and my writ- ing on my knees. In that attitude my mornings are passed. We dine at two; and at four, when the tea comes in, I begin to read aloud. About six or half- past we walk on to the commons and see the great sky over our head. At eight we are usually in the house again, and fill our evening with physics, chemis- try, or other wisdom if our heads are at par; if not, we take to folly, in the shape of Alfred de Musset's poems, or something akin to them. Letter Yestcrday we returned from Weybridge, where, for Black- a few days, I have been petted by kind friends (de- wood, 29th ^ ^ y ^' ' ,. Oct. 1871. lightful Scotch people), and have had delicious drives in the pure autumn air. That must be my fiirewell to invalidism and holiday making. I am really better— 1871.] Anticipations for ''Middlemarch''' 103 not robust or fat, but perhaps as well as I am likelv to better , ■'to John be till death mends me. Black- wood, 29th Your account of Mr. Main^ sets my mind at ease Oct. 1871. about him ; for in this case I would rather have your judgment than any opportunity of forming my own. The one thing that gave me confidence was his power of putting his finger on the right passages, and giving emphasis to the right idea (in relation to the author's feeling and purpose). Apart from that, enthusiasm would have been of little value. One feels rather ashamed of authoresses this week after the correspondence in the Times. One hardly knows which letter is in the worst taste. However, if we are to begin with marvelling at the little wisdom with which the world is governed, we can hardly ex- pect that much wisdom will go to the making of novels. I should think it quite a compliment if the general got through " Miss Brooke." Mr. Lewes amused him- self with the immeasurable contempt that Mr. Casau- bon would be the object of in the general's mind. I hardly dare hope that the second part will take quite so well as the first, the effects being more subtile and dispersed ; but Mr. Lewes seems to like the third part better than anything that has gone before it. But can anything be more uncertain than the reception of a book by the public.'* I am glad to see that the "Coming Race" has got into a fourth edition. Let us hope that the Koom Posh may be at least miti- gated by the sale of a good book or two. As for me, I get more and more unable to be any- thing more than a feeble sceptic about all publishing ^ The collector of " The Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings of George Eliot." 104 ''Middlemarch^' Part L Published. [The Phiory, plans, and am thankful to have so many good heads at work for me. Allah illah allah I Misl^sl?a ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ getting old together have the tie of 22d"Nov. ^"^"^^^o^ infirmities. But I don't find that the young ^871. troubles seem lighter on looking back. I prefer my years now to any that have gone before. I wish you could tell me the same thing about yourself. And, surely, writing your book is, on the whole, a joy to you — it is a large share in the meagre lot of mankind. All hail for the morrow ! How many sweet laughs, how much serious pleasure in the great things others have done, you and I have had together in a past islet of time that remains very sunny in my remem- brance. Journal, j)ec. I.— This day the first part of "Middlemarch" was published. I ought by this time to have finished the fourth part, but an illness which began soon after our return from Haslemere has robbed me of two months. Letter to If you have not yet fallen in with Dickens's "Life" Henneii, bc on the lookout for it, because of the interest there 1871. ' is in his boyish experience, and also in his rapid de- velopment during his first travels in America, The book is ill organized, and stuffed with criticism and other matter which would be better in limbo ; but the information about the childhood, and the letters from America, make it worth reading. We have just got a photograph of Dickens, taken when he was writing, or had just vk^'ritten, "David Copperfield" — satisfactory refutation of that keepsakey, impossible face which Maclise gave him, and which has been engraved for the " Life " in all its odious beautification. This pho- tograph is the young Dickens, corresponding to the older Dickens whom I knew — the same face, without i872j Mr. Main s Collectio7i of '^Sayings J' 105 the unusually severe wear and tear of years which his latest looks exhibited. Dec. 20. — My health has become very troublesome Journal, ^ -' 1872. during the last three weeks, and I can get on but tar- dily. Even now I am only at page 227 of my fourth part. But I have been also retarded by construction, which, once done, serves as good wheels for progress. Your good wishes and pleasant bits of news made Letter^ the best part of my breakfast this morning. I am ^JfjJ'^g^ glad to think that, in desiring happiness for you dur- J^"- ^872. ing the new year, I am only desiring the continuance of good which you already possess. I suppose we two, also, are among the happiest of mortals, yet we have had a rather doleful Christmas, the one great lack, that of health, having made itself particularly conspicuous in the surrounding fog. Having no grandchildren to get up a Christmas-tree for, we had nothing to divert our attention from our headaches. Mr. Main's book broke the clouds a little, and now the heavens have altogether cleared, so that we are hoping to come back from a visit of three days to Weybridge with our strength renewed — if not like the eagle's, at least like a convalescent tomtit's. The "Sayings" are set off by delightful paper and print, and a binding which opens with inviting ease. I am really grateful to every one concerned in the vol- ume, and am anxious that it should not be in any way a disappointment. The selections seem to me to be made with an exquisite sensibility to the various lights and shades of life; and all Mr. Main's letters show the same quality. It is a great help to me to have such an indication that there exist careful readers for whom no subtilest intention is lost. HI.— 5* 10^ ''Middlemarchr [The Priory, t^7ohn ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^°^y *^^ ^^^^ " Megara " with woot'ist ^^^ deepest interest; indeed, with a quite exceptional Jan. 1872. enjoyment of its direct, unexaggerated painting. The prescription of two days' golfing per week will, I hope, keep up your condition to the excellent pitch at which it was on your return from Paris. Good news usually acts as a tonic when one's case is not too desperate ; and I shall be glad if you and we can get it in the form of more success for " Middlemarch." Dickens's " Life," you see, finds a large public ready to pay more. But the British mind has long enter- tained the purchase of expensive biographies. The proofs lately given that one's books don't necessarily go out like lucifer matches, never to be taken up again, make one content with moderate immediate results, which perhaps are as much as can reasonably be expected for any writing which does not address itself either to fashions or corporate interests of an ex- clusive kind. Letter It is like your kindness to write me your encouras:- tojohn ^ . . -^ ^ Black- inor impressions on reading the third book. I suppose wood, 18th ^ ^ ^ ^^ Jan. 1872. it is my poor health that just now makes me think my writing duller than usual. For certainly the reception of the first book by my old readers is quite beyond my most daring hopes. One of them, who is a great champion of "Adam Bede" and "Romola," told Mr. Lewes yesterday that he thought "Middlemarch" sur- passed them. All this is very wonderful to me. I am thoroughly comforted as to the half of the work which is already written ; but there remains the terror about the wimiiteu. Mr. Lewes is much satisfied with the fourth book, which opens with the continua- tion of the Featherstone drama. We went yesterday to the Tichborne trial, which was 1872.] The Tichborne Trial, 107 an experience of great interest to me. We had to Letter come away after the third hour of Coleridge's speak- Biack-^^^^^ ing; but it was a great enjoyment to me to hear what Jan. 1872. I did. Coleridge is a rare orator — not of the declam- atory, but of the argumentative order. Thanks, not formal, but sincerely felt, for the photo- graphs. This likeness will always carry me back to the first time I saw you, in our little Richmond lodg- ing, when I was thinking anxiously of " Adam Bede," as I now am of " Middlemarch." I felt something like a shudder when Sir Henry Maine asked me last Sunday whether this would not be a very long book; saying, when I told him it would be four good volumes, that that was what he had calculated. However, it will not be longer than Thackeray's books, if so long. And I don't see how the sort of thing I want to do could have been done briefly. I have to be grateful for the gift of " Brougham's Life," which will be a welcome addition to my means of knowing the time " when his ugliness had not passed its bloom." Your letter seems to pierce the rainy fosf with a lit- better to ^ J ^ Mrs. Con- tie sunlio;ht. Cold and clearness are the reverse of ?''eve, 22d ° Jan. 1872. what we are usually having here. Until the last few days my chief consciousness has been that of strug- gling against inward as well as outward fog; but I am now better, and have only been dragged back into headachiness by a little too much fatigue from visitors. I give you this account as a preface to my renuncic> tion of a journey to Dover, which would be very de- lightful, if I had not already lost too much time to be warranted in taking a holiday. Next Saturday we are going to have a party — six to I08 Musical Party. — New Dog, [The Priory, Mrs^Con- ^^"^' ^"^ ^ Small Tush of pcoplc after dinner, for the greve,22d sake of music. I think it is four years at least since Jan. 1872. •' we undertook anything of that kind. A great domestic event for us has been the arrival of a new dog, who has all Ben's virtues, with more in- telligence, and a begging attitude of irresistible charm. He is a dark-brown spaniel. You see what infantine innocence we live in ! Glad you are reading my demigod Milton ! We also are rather old-fashioned in our light reading just now; for I have rejected Heyse's German stories, brand new, in favor of dear old Johnson's "Lives of the Poets," which I read aloud in my old age with a delicious revival of girlish impressions, jounmi, yan. 29. — It is now the last day but one of January. I have finished the fourth part — /. e.^ the second vol- ume — of ''Middlemarch." The first part, published on December t, has been excellently well received ; and the second part will be published the day after to-morrow. About Christmas a volume of extracts from my works was published, under the title, " Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings, in Prose and Verse." It was proposed and executed by Alexander Main, a young man of thirty, who began a correspondence with me by asking me how to pronounce Romola, in the summer, when we were at Shottermill. Blackwood proposed that we should share the profits, but we re- fused. Letter to J do lead rather a crawling life under these rainy Henneii, fogs and low bchavior of the barometer. But I am a 1872. ^ ' little better, on the whole, though just now overdone with the fatigue of company. We have been to hear Coleridge addressing the jury on the Tichborne trial ■ — a very interesting occasion to me. He is a marvel- 1872.] The Value of Evidence. 109 lous speaker among Englishmen: has an exquisitely Letter to , Miss Sara melodious voice, perfect gesture, and a power of keep- Henneii, ing the thread of his syntax to the end of his sentence, 1872. which makes him delightful to follow. We are going some other day, if possible, to hear a cross-examina- tion of Ballantyne's. The digest of the evidence which Coleridge gives is one of the best illustrations of the value or valuelessness of testimony that could be given. I wonder if the world, which retails Guppy anecdotes, will be anything the wiser for it. To hear of a friend's illness after he has got well Letter ° to John through it is the least painful way of learnin<2f the bad Biack- ° r- ^ o wood, 2ist news. I hope that your attack has been a payment Feb. 1872. of insurance. You probably know what it grieved us deeply to learn the other day — that our excellent friend Mr. William Smith is dangerously ill. They have been so entirely happy and wrapped up in each other that we cannot bear to think of Mrs. Smith's grief. Thanks for the list of sales since February 12th. Things are encouraging, and the voices that reach us are enthusiastic. But you can understand how peo- ple's interest in the book heightens my anxiety that the remainder should be up to the mark. It has caused me some uneasiness that the third part is two sheets less than the first. But Mr. Lewes insisted that the death of old Featherstone was the right point to pause at ; and he cites your approbation of the part as a proof that effectiveness is secured in spite of di- minished quantity. Still it irks me to ask 5^*. for a smaller amount than that already given at the same price. Perhaps I must regard the' value as made up solely by effectiveness, and certainly the book will be long enough. 1 10 The Benefits of Country Quiet, [The Priory, tMohn ^ ^"^ ^^^^^ ^e^ow par in strength, and am too much ^iot'2rst ^^^^^ ^^^^^ visitors and kind attentions. I long for the Feb. 1872. quiet spaces of time and the absence of social solicita- tions that one enjoys in the country, out of everybody's reach. I am glad to hear of the pleasure " Middlemarch " gives in your household : that makes quite a little pre- liminary public for me. Mrs%%. ^ ^^" understand very easily that the two last years M3^.^i872. ^^''^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^°^ y^^ ^'^ other and more imperative work than the writing of letters not absolutely de- manded either by charity or business. The proof that you still think of me affectionately is very welcome now it is come, and all the more cheering because it enables me to think of you as enjoying your retreat in your orange orchard — your western Sorrento — the be- loved Rabbi still beside you. I am sure it must be a great blessing to you to bathe in that quietude — as it always is to us when we go out of reach of London in- fluences, and have the large space of country days to study, walk, and talk in. Last year we spent our sum- mer months in Surrey, and did not leave England. Unhappily, the country was not so favorable to my bodily health as to my spiritual, and on our return to town I had an illness which was the climax of the summer's malaise. That illness robbed me of two months, and I have never quite recovered a condition in which the strict duties of the day are not felt as a weight. But just now we are having some clear spring days, and I am in hope of prospering better, the sunshine being to me the greatest visible good of life — what I call the wealth of life, after love and trust. When I am more at liberty I will certainly read 1872.] Spirititalistic Evidence. 1 1 1 Mr. Owen's books, if he is good enough to send them Letter to -r -I • 11 1 . , Mrs. H. 13. to me. 1 desire on all subjects to keep an open mind, stowe.sth ,,.,,., - M ch. 1 872. but hitherto the various phenomena reported or at- tested in connection with ideas of spirit -intercourse, " psychion," and so on, have come before me here in the painful form of the lowest charlatanerie. Take Mr. H. as an example of what I mean. I could not choose to enter a room where he held a seance. He is an object of moral disgust to me ; and nothing of late reported by Mr. Crookes, Lord Lindsay, and the rest carries conviction to my mind that Mr. H. is not simply an impostor, whose professedly abnormal mani- festations have varied their fashion in order to create a new market, just as if they ^^xq papier mache wares or pomades for the idle rich. But apart from personal contact with people who get money by public exhibi- tions as mediums, or with semi-idiots, such as those who make a court for a Mrs. Guppy or other feminine personage of that kind, I would not willingly place any barriers between my mind and any possible channel of truth affecting the human lot. The spirit in which you have written in the paper you kindly sent me is likely to teach others — to rouse them, at least, to attention in a case where you have been deeply impressed. I write to you quite openly, dear friend, but very im- perfectly, for my letters are always written in shreds of time. Thanks for the budget of this morning. The sales, Letter 1-1 . . 1 t° John we think, are very cheering, and we mav vi^ell be con- Biack- .<. , . . , wood, r4th tent II they continue in the same ratio. But the Greek Mch. 1872 proverb about the beginning being the half of the whole wants as much defining and excepting from as most other proverbs. 112 ''MiddlemarcJi' — Ashers Series, [The Priory, johlr*° I have just had sent me a copy of the magazine wS'i th ^^^^ ^^^ Litcratur des Auslander, containing a review March. of '' Miss Brookc," which will be good for Asher's edition, and is otherwise satisfactory as an intelligent appreciation. It mentions at the end the appearance of Mr. Main's book, "The Sayings." A Frenchman, apparently accomplished, a M. Landolphe, who has made some important translations, is going to trans- late the whole of " Middlemarch ;" and one of the contributors to the Revue des Deux Mondes has writ- ten for leave to extract Dorothea's history. I fancy we have done a good turn to English authors generally by setting off Asher's series, for we have heard that Tauchnitz has raised his offers. There is another way in which benefit might come that would be still more desirable — namely, to make him more careful in his selections of books for reprint. But I fear that this effect is not so certain. You see Franz Duncker, who publishes the German translation of " Middlemarch," has also begun an English series. This is really worth while, for the Germans are ex- cellent readers of our books. I was astonished to find so many in Berlin who really knew one's books, and did not merely pay compliments after the fashion of the admirers who made Rousseau savage — running after him to pay him visits, and not knowing a word of his writing. You and other good readers have spoiled me, and made me rather shudder at being read only once j and you may imagine how little satisfaction I get from people who mean to please me by saying that they shall wait till " Middlemarch " is finished, and then sit up to read it " at one go-off." We are looking for a country retreat not too fal 1872.] Death of Mazzini. 113 from town, so that we may run up easily. There is Letter to nothing wanting to our happiness except that " Mid- Biack- dlemarch " should be well ended without growing Marcii, signs of its author's debility. Before I received your letter this mornino^, I was Letter to ^ °' Mrs. Peter going to write you a word of sympathy, knowing how Taylor, deeply you would be feeling the death of Mazzini. March, Such a man leaves behind him a wider good than the loss of his personal presence can take away. " The greatest gift the hero leaves his race Is to have been a hero." I must be excused for quoting my own words, because they are my credo. I enter thoroughly into your sense of wealth in having known him. Brighton does not suit Mr. Lewes. But he was near going there for a night a little while ago to see our friends, Mr. and Mrs. William Smith. He (the author of "Thorndale," etc.) is, I fear, wasting fatally with organic disease, and we grieve much at the too- probably near parting of a husband and wife who have been among the perfectly happy couples of the world. She is a charming woman, and I wish that you may happen to know her. Owing to my loss of two months in illness, and my Letter to infirm health ever since, I have not yet finished the Henneiir writing of "Middlemarch." This payment of wintry 1872. ' arrears makes one prefer the comforts of a London home ; but we are obliged to see more company than my health is equal to, and for this reason I dare say we shall soon migrate. To-day we have been to our last morning concert — or Saturday Pop. — held on a Friday because of the University boat-race to-morrow. These concerts are an easy pleasure which we are 114 ''^ Middleinarch'' in Germany. [ Letter to sorrv to part with. This is one of my bad weeks. Miss Sara . ^ . -^ * Henneii, owino^ probablv to the change in the weather, and I 22dMarch, ^ ^ , ^ ,. . ,^, . . ' 1872. am constantly strugghng with hemicrania and malaise. Even writing this scrap of a note is the feather too much, and I must leave off. You have known too much of nervous weakness not to understand this. Journal, May 8. — I havc been reposing for more than a week in the hope of getting stronger, my life having been lately a swamp of illness, with only here and there a bit of firm walking. In consequence of this incessant interruption (almost every week having been half nullified for me so far as my work has been con- cerned) I have only finished the fifth book, and have still three books to write — equal to a large volume and a half. The reception of the book hitherto has been quite beyond what I could have believed beforehand, peo- ple exalting it above everything else I have wTitten. Kohn is publishing an English edition in Germany; Duncker is to publish a translation ; and Harpers pay me ;£"i2oo for reprinting it in America. Letter to I am glad to know that you are having a time of BodichlTn, refreshing in fine scenery, with entire freedom to 1872 "^' paint. I am in a corresponding state of relief from the noises and small excitements that break up the day and scatter one's nei-\^ous energy in London. We have been in our hiding-place about twelve days now, and I am enjoying it more and more — ^getting more bodily ease and mental clearness than I have had for the last six months. Our house is not in the least beautiful, but it is well situated and comfortable, perfectly still in the middle of a garden surrounded by fields and meadows, and yet within reach of shops and civilization. 1872.] DeligJit in Descriptions of America. 115 We managed to get to the Academy one day before Letter to , . ^ T T 7 1 • T -.TT 11 1 . Madame leavmg town. I was delighted with Walker s picture Bodichon, — were you ? — and Mason's unfinished Reaper, and a 1872. few, very few, others. Also we went twice to the opera in order to save ourselves from any yearnings after it when we should have settled in the country. We tell no one our address, and have our letters sent on from the Priory. We too are in a country refuge, you see, and this Letter to bit of Surrey, as I dare say you know, is full of beauty stowe,4th of the too garden -like sort for which you pity us. How different from your lodge in the wilderness ! I have read your description three or four times — it enchants me so thoroughly — and Mr. Lewes is just as much enamoured of it. We shall never see it, I imagine, except in the mirror of your loving words ; but thanks, many and warm, dear friend, for saying that our presence would be welcome. I have always had delight in descriptions of American forests since the early days when I read " Atala," which I believe that you would criticise as half unveracious. I dwelt on the descriptions in " Dred " with much enjoyment. Pray give my special thanks to the Professor for his letter. His handwriting, which does really look like Arabic — a very graceful character, surely — hap- pens to be remarkably legible to me, and I did not hesitate over a single word. Some of the words, as expressions of fellowship, were very precious to me, and I hold it very good of him to write to me that best sort of encouragement. I was much impressed with the fact — which you had told me — that he was the original of the '' visionary boy " in *' Old Town Folk;" and it must be deeply interesting to talk with 1 1 6 Spiritualistic Phenomena. [ Mrs^H°B ^^™ ^^^ ^^^^ experience. Perhai^s I am inclined, unJer Stovve,4th the influence of the facts, physiological and psycho- logical, which have been gathered of late years, to give larger place to the interpretation of vision-seeing as subjective than the Professor would approve. It seems difficult to limit — at least to limit with any pre- cision — the possibility of confounding sense by im- pressions, derived from inward conditions, with those which are directly dependent on external stimulus. In fact, the division between within and without in this sense seems to become every year a more subtle and bewildering problem. Your experience with \hQ planchette is amazing; but that the words which you found it to have written were dictated by the spirit of Charlotte Bronte is to me (whether rightly or not) so enormously improbable, that I could only accept it if every condition were laid bare, and every other explanation demonstrated to be impossible. If it were another spirit aping Charlotte Bronte — if here and there at rare spots and among people of a certain temperament, or even at many spots and among people of all temperaments, tricksy spirits are liable to rise as a sort of earth-bubbles and set furniture in movement, and tell things which we either know already or should be as well without knowing — I must frankly confess that I have but a feeble interest in these doings, feeling my life very short for the supreme and awful revelations of a more orderly and intelligible kind which I shall die with an imperfect knowledge of. If there were miserable spirits whom we could help, then I think we should pause and have patience with their trivial-mindedness; but otherwise I don't feel bound to study them more than I am bound to study the special follies of a par- 1872.] 0?ie Aspect of SpiriHialism. 117 ticular phase of human society. Others who feel dif- Letter to ferently, and are attracted towards this study, are stowe, 4th making an experiment for us as to whether anything ""^'' ^^' better than bewilderment can come of it. At present it seems to me that to rest any fundamental part of religion on such a basis is a melancholy misguidance of men's minds from the true sources of high and pure emotion. I am comforted to think that you partly agree with me there. I have not time to write more than this very im- perfect fragmentary sketch of 07ily one aspect which the question of spirit-communications wears to me at present — being always rather brain -weary after my morning's work, and called for by my husband to walk with him and read aloud to him. I spend near- ly three hours every day in this exercise of reading aloud, which, happily, I can carry on without fatigue of lungs. Yet it takes strength as well as time. Mr. Lewes is gone into town to-day, so I have an additional hour at liberty, and have been glad to be able to send you a letter which is not worth anything, indeed, but which satisfies my need to thank you and the Professor for your sweet friendliness — very sweet to me, I assure you. Please accept my entire frank- ness as a proof of that high value I set on you. And do not call anything I may have written a prejudice — it is simply a statement of how certain things appear to my inward eyesight, which I am ready to have rec- tified by more light. About photographs — I have no photograph of my- self, having always avoided having one taken. That makes me seem very selfish in being particularly glad to get yours. Ii8 Wallace s ''Eastern Archipelago'' [ Letter to Mrs. Fields, with the beautiful face and charmiiip: Mrs. H. B. ° stovre, 4th manners, sent me a letter a little while a^o, invitins: June, 1872. . 43 > tj US in the most tempting way to go to Boston. She said that this pretty action was done at your prompt- ing, which is just like you as you have always shown yourself to me. Dear friend, ho^y, much you have lived through, both in the flesh and in the sjDirit ! My experience has been narrow compared with yours. I assure you I feel this, so do not misinterpret anything I say to you as being written in a flippant or critical spirit. One always feels the want of the voice and eyes to accompany a letter and give it the right tone. Letter to You wcrc vcry o^ood and dear to want to 2:ive me Mrs. Con- . greve, 4th the plcasurc of knowino: that the news was e^ood, in- July, 1872. . t' ' stead of leaving me to my small stock of hopefulness. Ask Emily to care a little even now, with baby on her mind, that her old friends are the better for hearing that she is well. Four or five months ago it happens that I was writing some playfulness about a baby and baby's hair, which is now in print, to appear next month. I am not afraid that Emily should be re- volted by my blasphemy ! Mr. Lewes had " a lovely time " from Saturday to Monday at Weybridge. He was feeling languid, and yet was tempted to sit at his desk. The little change has been very serviceable, and he is now bright. Our first book, read aloud by me after we came down, was Wallace's " Eastern Archipelago," which, I think, you had spoken well of to Mr. Lewes. It is delightful. The biography of the infant ourang^outang alone is worth getting the book for. We are now in the middle of Tylor's "Primitive Culture," which is worth studying, and useful for reference on special 1872.] The First Grandchild, 1 19 points, if you happen to want knowledge about the Letter to ideas of the savage tribes. grave, 4th Our days go by in delicious peace, unbroken except ^' ' '^^' by my little inward anxieties about all unfinished work. This morninsf came the joyful news that Gertrude Letter to ^ i J ^ Mrs. Con- has a fine healthy baby — a daughter. We have just g'eve, 19th been saying in our walk that by the end of this cen- tury our one-day-old granddaughter will probably be married and have children of her own, while we are pretty sure to be at rest. This obvious kind of wis- dom does very well for discourse in the delicious sun- shine, as we wander over a hilly, half fern-clad, half grassy wilderness called South Park, from which we can overlook two fertile bosky valleys. We like this bit of country better and better. As to health, I am not quite so prosperous as I was at first, but to make amends, Mr. Lewes is in a good average condition, and only now and then has a morning in which he is forced to wander about instead of going to his be- loved work. We have had much happiness here, much sympathy in letters from far-off friends un- known in the flesh, and peaceful enjoyment of our occupations. But we have longed for more continu- ous warmth and brightness, and to-day may perhaps be the beginning of that one wanting condition. The death of that honored, good creature, Mr. Will- Letter to iam Smith, touched us particularly, because of the per- Henneii, feet marriage-bond which had made the last eleven 1872 (?}.' years of his life unspeakably precious both to him and his wife. Mr. Lewes offered to go to Brighton to see him ; but he was so reduced, so very feeble in body, though he kept to the last much brightness of mind, that Mrs. Smith feared for him the excitement of seeing friends who came, specially, from a distance. 120 Spiritual and Physical Chills. [ joi"r*° I like to think that your journey was a success. wiotVh "^"^ ■'" ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^' ^^^^ unless bad health or bad Aug. X872. weather overtook you, both Mrs. Blackwood and you must have great happiness in taking that bright, love- ly daughter abroad and watching her fresh impres- sions. I imagine her laudable indignation at the crushing of the little lizard ! Those little creatures darting about the stones seem part of the happiness of Italian sunshine, as the small birds hopping after the rain seem part of the moist happiness at home. I shall send Part VII. in a few days. Since Mr. Lewes tells me that the Spectator considers me the most melancholy of authors, it will perhaps be a wel- come assurance to you that there is no unredeemed tragedy in the solution of the story. Mr. Lewes examines the newspapers before I see them, and cuts out any criticisms which refer to me, so as to save me from these spiritual chills — though, alas ! he cannot save me from the physical chills which retard my work more seriously. I had hoped to have the manuscript well out of my hands before we left this place at the end of the month, but the return of my dyspeptic troubles makes me unable to reckon on such a result. It will be a good plan, I think, to quicken the pub- lication towards the end ; but we feel convinced that the slow plan of publication has been of immense ad- vantage to the book in deepening the impression it produces. Still I shudder a little to think what a long book it will be — not so long as "Vanity Fair" or " Pendennis," however, according to my calculation. How sfood the articles on French manners and do- mestic life are in " Maga." The spirit in which they are written is excellent. 1872.] Visit to Six-Mile Bottom. 121 The manuscript of " Midcllemarch " bears the Letter to following inscription : Biack- ■1 y^ TT T ' ^ • wood, 4th " To my dear Husband, George Henry Lewes, in this Aug. 1872. nineteenth year of our blessed union." I am tired of behavino^ like an ungrateful wretch — Letter to ^ . ^ . Mrs. Cross, making no sign in answer to affectionate words which Sept. 1872. have come to me with cheering effect. And I want to tell you and Mr. Hall (alas ! for the dear old name^ which had such cherished associations) that I long too much to see you all at Six-Mile Bottom, to give up utterly the prospect of that good. We imagine that the place is near Ipswich, which is no more than an hour and fifty minutes from London. If so, the journey would be easily managed, and would be worth taking for the sake of one whole day and two half days with you — ^just as if you were the hour nearer, at Weybridge — before we set our faces towards Germany. I am not hopeless that we might do that in the second week of September, if you are not quite disgusted with the thought of me as a person who is always claiming pity for small ailments, and also if Mr. Hall can secure me against being shot from the other side of the hedge by the Prince of Wales,'* while we are discussing plantations. I dare not count much on fulfilling any project, my life for the last year having been a sort of nightmare, in which I have been scrambling on the slippery bank of a pool, just keeping my head above water. But I shall be the happier for having told you that I delight in the double invitation for the sake of the love it as- sures me of, and that I do want to see you all. ^ Mr. W. 11. Bullock — changed his name to Hall. ^ The Six-Mile Bottom shooting had been let to FLR.H. that year. III.— 6 122 Visit to Treves. [Homburg, Mrs Cro^ss ^*^^ ^^^ ^^^ gloriously well, I hope, and Alkie look- Sept.i872.'ing more and more cherubic, and Emily and Florence blooming. My best love to all. Particular regards to J., and regrets that we were not on his route from Brindisi. I read his paper on New York with much interest and satisfaction. You are often among my imaged companions both in dreaming and waking hours. Letter to It was a delightful surprise to see your handwritins: Mrs. Cross, <^ i- j t> Oct. 1S72, when we went to inquire at the Foste Restante. We irom Horn- ^ burg. had, on the whole, a fortunate journey, and are es- pecially grateful to Mr. Hall for suggesting the route by Treves, where we spent two nights and an exquisite day. I was continually reminded of Rome when we were wandering in the outskirts in search of the an- tiquities, and the river banks are a loveliness into the bargain which Rome has not. We had even an op- portunity of seeing some dissipation, for there hap- pened to be an excellent circus, where we spent our evening. The pretty country through which we passed had an additional interest for us about Libramont. The air, the waters, the plantations here are all per- fect — " only man is vile." I am not fond of denounc- ing my fellow -sinners, but gambling being a vice I have no mind to, it stirs my disgust even more than my pity. The sight of the dull faces bending round the gaming-tables, the raking up of the money, and the flinging of the coins towards the winners by the hard-faced croupiers, the hateful, hideous women star- ing at the board like stupid monomaniacs — all this seems to me the most abject presentation of mortals grasping after something called a good that can be seen on the face of this little earth. Burglary is he- roic compared with it. I get some satisfaction in look- 1 372.] The KursaaL 123 ing on, from the sense that the thing is going to be put Letter to IVIrs Cross down. Hell is the only right name for such places. Oct.'iS/a, ' ^ , , , . 1 1 • • from Horn- It was cruel to nnd the bitter cold just set in as we burg. arrived. For two days we were as cold as in clear winter days at Berlin. There are no amusements for the evening here, and the pleasure of listening to the excellent band in the afternoons is diminished by the chillness which makes one fear to sit down in the open air. But we like being idle, and the days pass easily. It is good to have in our memories the two happy days at Six-Mile Bottom ; and the love that surround- ed me and took care of me there is something very precious to believe in among hard-faced strangers. Much gratitude for the anticipated letter that will come to tell us more news of you by-and-by. At last I begin a letter which is intended not as a Letter to payment but as an acknowledgment of debt. It will Biack- T 11 , . . . . wood, 4th have at least the recommendation of requiring no Oct. 1872. answer. After some perfect autumnal days we are languishing with headache from two days' damp and mugginess, and feel it almost as much work as we are equal to to endure our malaise. But on the whole we are not sorry that we came to this place rather than any other. On dry days the air is perfect, and the waters are really an enticing drink. Then there is a wood close by where we can wander in delicious pri- vacy : which is really better than the company here, save and except a few friends whom we found at first, and who have now moved off to Baden. The Kursaal is to me a hell, not only for the gambling but for the light and heat of the gas, and we have seen enough of its monstrous hideousness. There is very little dramatic St off to be picked up by watching or listen- ing. The saddest thing to be witnessed is the play 124 German Reading. [Homburg, Letter to of a young lady, who is only twenty-six years old, and Black- is completely in the grasp of this mean, money-making Oct. 1872. demon. It made me cry to see her young, fresh face among the hags and brutally stupid men around her. Next year, when the gambling has vanished, the place will be delightful ; there is to be a subvention from Government to keep up the beautiful grounds ; and it is likely that there will be increase enough in the num- ber of decent visitors to keep the town tolerably pros- perous. One attraction it has above other German baths that I have seen is the abundance of pleasant apartments to be had, where one can be as peaceful as the human lot allows in a world of pianos. Asher's cheap editions are visible everywhere by the side of Tauchnitz, but the outside is not, I think, quite equally recommendable and recommending. We brought no books with us, but have furnished our table with German books which we bought at Frankfort, from learned writing about Menschlich Sprache and Vernunft down to Kotzebue's comedies, so that we have employment for the rainy hours when once our heads are clear of aches. The certainty that the weather is everywhere else bad will help our reso- lution to stay here till the 12 th at least. In the mean time we hope to have the proof of the finale to " Mid- dl em arch." I am rejoiced to learn from Mr. WiUiam's letter that Mr. Simpson has returned from his excursion in good condition. That must be a comfort to you, both for friendship and for work's sake. We mean to return by Paris, and hope that the weather will not drive us away from health and pleas- ure-seeking until the end of the month. I fear, from the accounts of your Scottish weather, that you will 1872.] Journey Home, • 125 have enjoyed Strathtyrum less than usual, and will be Letter to resigned to Edinburgh before your proper time. How Biack- one talks about the weather! It is excusable here Oct. 1872. where there is no grave occupation, and no amuse- ment for us, who don't gamble, except seeking health in walks and water drinking. I had meant to write to you asfain from Germany, Letter to , . •^' Mrs. Cross, but I was hmdered from doms^ so by the uncertainty 27th Oct. .,, , , 1872, from of our plans, which vacillated between further wander- Boulogne, ings in South Germany and the usual dreary railway journeying by Strasburg to Paris. As it was, w^e left Homburg on the 13th and had ten days of delicious autumnal weather and quietude at Stuttgart and Carls- ruhe — ten days which made the heart of our enjoy- ment. We still hesitated whether we should go to Augsburg, and even Munich, making our way home through Germany and Belgium, and turning our shoul- ders on Paris. Our evil genius persuaded us to go to Paris and to make the journey by night — whence came headache and horrible disgust with the shops of the Rue de la Paix and the Boulevard. After going to Versailles in the rain, seeing the sad ruins of the Hotel de Ville, missing the Theatre Frangais, and getting " Patrie " in exchange, w^e rushed away to this place, where we are trying to recover the sense of benefit from our change, which forsook us on quitting old Germany. We have an affinity for what the world calls " dull places," and always prosper best in them. We are sure to be at home next week, and I hope be- fore long to have some news of you there — some dear faces coming to bring it. We shall linger here a few days and take a favorable time for crossing, but our patience will hardly last beyond Friday. M^rs.^wm. We returned yesterday evening from six weeks' ab- Nov. 1872. 126 The Author of ''Thorndale!' [The Priory, Letter to sencc in Germany, and I found your dear, sad letter Mrs. Wm. -" "^ . Smith, ist amono; the many awaiting me. I prize very highly Nov. 1872. ° ■' ^ 11 the fact that you like to write to me and bear me in your mind as one who has a certain fellowship in your sorrow ; and I do trust that this letter may reach you in time to prevent you from thinking, even for a mo- ment, that I could be indifferent about responding to any word you send me. I shall address it to the care of Blackwood & Sons, because I imagine you to be by this time in Edinburgh with that delightful friend, Mrs. Stirling, whom I had much kindness from many years ago when I was on a visit to Mr. and Mrs. George Combe. She took me to hear Dr. Guthrie and Dr. Candlish, and through her I saw Craigcrook. I like to think of those hours and her pleasant talk. Mr. Lewes, I am thankful to say, has been getting more robust for the last two years, and is very bright and active. I think there is hardly any one left to whom he would so willingly have written or talked about the subjects which are filling his mind as that dear one who is gone from your side, but is perpetu- ally present in your consciousness. To-day I have been reading the memorial article in Blackwood^ and have been hoping that there is nothing in it which jars on your feeling. Everybody will think as I do — that the bits from your pen are worth all the rest. I have been especially moved, though, by the two stanzas quoted at the end. Mr. Lewes judges that the writer of the article did not personally know your husband, and wishes that more special touches had been given. I know, dear friend, that the sorrow is irremediable; but the pain — the anguish — will become less sharp and life will be less difficult. You will think of things to do such as he would approve of your doino- and 1872.] Sympathy with Mrs, Smith. 127 every day will be sacred with his memory — nay, his Letter to r^, . . .... Mrs.Wm. presence. Inere is no pretence or visionariness in Smith, ist ,,..,, ^ i- ^ Nov. 1872. saying that he is still part of you. Mr. Lewes sends his affectionate regards, which you will not reject. We mention your name to each other with a certain tenderness, as if your sorrow somehow belonged to our love for each other. But I hardly dare to think of what these words which I have written mean. Sometimes in the midst of happiness I cry suddenly at the thought that there must come a parting. Are not you and I very near to one another 1 I mean in feeling. I found a letter from dear Mrs. William Smith on Letter to Mrs. Peter my return, and I have had another since in answer to Taylor, •' iQth Nov. mine. It is inevitable that her sense of loss should 1872. deepen for some time to come. I am hoping that by- and-by active interests will arise to make her feel that her life is useful. The article in Blackwood was chiefly valuable for the extracts it contained from Mrs. Smith's own me- moir. One felt that the writer of the article had not known Mr. William Smith personally ; but her sketches did something to supply that defect. Mr. Lewes felt a peculiar attachment to him. He had always been thoroughly sympathetic, both morally and intellectu- ally, and it was a constant regret to us that he and Mrs. Smith w^ere so far away. There was no man with whom Mr. Lewes would have found it so pleasant to discuss questions of science and philosophy — his culture was so rare and his disposition so free from littleness : and his wife was worthy of him. Gertrude's little Blanche is a charming young lady — fat, cooing, and merry. It is a great comfort to see her with this hope fulfilled — I mean to see Ger- 128 Pictures at Bethnal Green. [The Priory, Letter to trude witli her hope fulfilled, and not Blanche, as the Mrs. Peter ^ ' ?'l)i' N g'^^i^i^^ar seemed to imply. That small person's hopes >«72. are at present easy of fulfilment. We have made but one expedition since our return, and that was to see the pictures at Bethnal Green- altogether a cheering and delightful sight. Of course you saw them long ago. The Troyon is my favorite. Letterto I will impute your total silence towards me for iMiss ocir^ Henneii, many, many months to your preoccupation with the 1872. work now announced, and will not believe that a greet- ing from me at this time of the year will be less wel come than of old. I remember that last year one of your prettily-expressed wishes was that I should write another book and — I think you added — send it to you to read. On the strength of this remembrance, you will be one of the three exceptional people to whom we order " Middlemarch " to be sent. But do not write to me about it, because until a book has quite gone away from me and become entirely of the non-ego — gone thoroughly from the wine-press into the casks — I would rather not hear or see anything that is said about it. Cara sent me word that you were looking, as usual, very pretty, and showing great energy on interesting occasions. But this was two months ago, and some detailed news from yourself would be a delightful gift. I am getting stronger, and showing some meagre benefit from being indulged in all possible ways. Mr. Lewes makes a martyr of himself in writing all my notes and business letters. Is not that being a sub- lime husband t For all the while there are studies of his own being put aside — studies which are a seventh heaven to him. Is there any one who does not need patience ? For 1872.] A Birthday Letter. 129 when one's outward lot is perfect, the sense of inward Letter to imperfection is the more pressmg. Henneii, You are never long without entering into myJ872. thoughts, though you may send nothing fresh to feed them. But I am ashamed of expressing regard for my friends, since I do no earthly thing for them. A kiss to you on your birthday ! with s^ratitude for Letter to •^ •' . Miss Sara your delightful letter, such as only you can write me. Henneii, How impossible it is to feel that we are as old as we 1872. are ! Sometimes it seems a little while since you and I were walking over the Radford fields, with the youth in our limbs, talking and laughing with that easy com- panionship which it is difficult to find in later life. I am busy now reading Mr. Lewes's manuscript, which has been accumulating fast during my '' Middlemarch " time. Did I tell you that in the last two years he has been mastering the principles of mathematics ? That is an interesting fact, impersonally, at his age. Old Professor Stowe — Mrs. H. B. Stowe's husband — sent me this story, which is almost better than Topsy. He heard a school-master asking a little black girl the usual questions about creation — who made the earth, the sea, etc. At last came, " And who made you ?" Some deliberation was necessary, after which she said, " Nobody ; / was so afore.''^ Expect to be immensely disappointed with the close of " Middle- march." But look back to the Prelude. I wish I could take the wings of the morning every now and then to cheer you with an hour's chat, such as you feel the need of, and then fly back on the wings of the wind. I have the most vivid thoughts of you, al- most like a bodily presence ; but these do you no good, since you can only believe that I have them — and you are tired of believing after your work is done. 6=^ 130 ''Maga'' on^'Middleniarchr [The Priory, Letter to Before your letter came, Mr. Lewes had been ex- Black- pressino: to me his satisfaction (and he is very hard wood, ist ° . Dec. 1872. to satisfy with articles on me) m the genumeness of judgment, wise moderation, and excellent selection of points in " Maga's " review of " Middlemarch." I have just now been reading the review myself — Mr. Lewes had meant at first to follow his rule of not allowing me to see what is written about myself — and I am pleased to find the right moral note struck every- where, both in remark and quotation. Especially I am pleased with the writer's sensibility to the pathos in Mr. Casaubon's character and position, and with the discernment he shows about Bulstrode. But it is a perilous matter to approve the praise which is given to our own doings. I think that such an article as that which you hint at on the tone of the Bar is very desirable. We are usually at one on points of feeling. Is it not time now to insist that ability and not lying is the force of a barrister — that he has not to make himself a bad actor in order to put a case well, but to get the clear- ness and breadth of vision which will enable him to handle the evidence effectively } Untruthfulness usual- ly ends by making men foolish. I have never read "Spiritual Wives," but judging from the extracts which have come before me, it must bo a nasty book. Still, if people will be censors, let them weigh their words. I mean that the words were unfair by the dis- proportionateness of the condemnation which every- body with some conscience must feel to be one of the great difficulties in denouncing a particular person. Every unpleasant dog is only one of many, but we kick him because he comes in our way, and there is always some want of distributive justice in the kicking. i872.] The '■^Comfortable'' World. 131 I shall be agreeably surprised if there is a respect- Letter to able subscription for the four volumes. Already the Bkdc- numbers taken have been satisfactorily large, consid-Dec. ^872. ering the indisposition of the public to buy books by comparison with other wares, and especially to buy novels at a high price. I fancy every private copy has done duty for a circle. Friends of mine in the country have implied that they lent their copies to all the readers in their neighborhood. A little fuss of advertisement, together with the reviews, will perhaps create a few more curious inquirers after the book, and impress its existence on the slower part of the reading world. But really the reading world is, after all, very narrow, as, according to the Spectator^ the *' comfortable " world also is — the world able to give away a sovereign without pinching itself. Those statistics just given about incomes are very interest- ing. A thousand thanks for your kind interest in our Letter to J. w. project, and for the trouble you have taken in our be- Cross, utb ^ ■' ^ Dec. 1872. half. I fear the land buying and building^ is likely to come to nothing, and our construction to remain entirely of the aerial sort. It is so much easier to imagine other people doing wise things than to do them one's self ! Practically, I excel in nothing but paying twice as much as I ought for everything. On the whole, it would be better if my life could be done for me, and I could look on. However, it appears that the question of the land at Shere may remain open until we can discuss it with you at Weybridge ; and there is no telling what we may not venture on with your eyes to see through. ^ A site offered near Shere, in Surrey. 132 Mrs. Congreve in India, [The Priory, But, oh dear, I don't like anything that is trouble- some under the name of pleasure. Letter to J h^ve had the news that you are safely landed at Mrs. Con- •' ^ •' greve,i2th Pooree, SO now I can write with some courasre. I Dec. 1872. ' _ _ ° have got some comfort — I trust it is not false com- fort — out of the probability that there will be much good mingled with the evil of this winter's exile for you. You must be the richer for it mentally, and your health may be the better — and then, you will be back again in the late spring. In this way I make myself contented under the incompleteness of our life with- out you, and I am determined not to grumble at my share of the loss which falls so sadly on Dr. Congreve and the children. Dr. Congreve kindly let me know when you had got through the trials of the Red Sea, rather better than might have been expected; and Sophie tells me that you speak of the brilliant color- ing in your new world as quite equal to any descrip- tion you had read. Beyond that all is a blank to me except the fact of your arrival at Pooree, and all my feeling is taken up with the joy there must have been in the meeting with Mr. Geddes. You find it very dif- ficult to write in the heat — so don't make the thought of me disagreeable by associating it with a claim on you for a letter. I will be grateful for scraps from your correspondence with home, and wait for my turn when you come back to us. For ourselves, we think our little granddaughter, Blanche, the perfection of a baby. She is, dispassionately speaking, very pretty, and has a cooing, chanting song of her own which it makes me happy to hear. Mr. Lewes goes on at his writing with as much interest as ever, and is bringing the first part of his work into its final shape. Since we came home I have been reading his manuscript. 1872.] Nciv Viezv of Bulstrode, 133 which has been piling itself up in preparation for my Letter to leisure, and I have been wearing my gravest philo- gi-eve, 12th sophic cap. Altogether we are dangerously happy. You remember Mrs. Blank of Coventry ? You know hers was another name for astonishing cleverness in that town. Now, of course, she is old, and her clev- erness seems to have a mouldy flavor. Apropos of the seventh book of "Middlemarch" — which you may not have read, but never mind — Mrs. Blank, having lain awake all night from compassion for Bulstrode, said, " Poor, dear creature, after he had done so much for that wretch, sitting up at night and attending on him ! and I donH believe it was the brandy that killed him — and what is to become of Bulstrode now, he has nobody left but Christ !" I think this is worth send- ing to India, you see ; it is a little bit of old Coventry life that may make you and Emily laugh with all the more lively memory in the midst of your strange scenery. But there is a hovering terror while I write to you from far off, lest my trivialities should find you when you are ill or have some cause for being sad. In any case, however, you will take my letter for a simple proof that I dwell on you and Emily as images constantly present in my mind, and very often moving to the foreground in my contemplation. Mr. Lewes is one with me in many affectionate thoughts about you, and your names are often on our lips. We are going to pass the Christmas week with our friends at Weybridge ; and I shall be glad to escape the London aspects of that season — aspects that are without any happy association for me. Mr. Lewes has just been in to speak to me, and begs me to say that he hopes baby is raised to the n^^ power. You see the lofty point of view from which he regards the 134 Melancholy Weather, [The Priory, Letter to world at present. But there is enough of the sap of Mrs. Con- ^ o j. greve,i2th affcction in him to withstand all the dryness of the Dec. 1872. "^ dryest mathematics, and he has very hearty regards for you all, including Mr. Geddes, not as a matter of course, but with special emphasis. Good-bye, dear, dear friend. May it give you some little satisfaction to think of me as yours always lovingly. Letter to Your letter was very welcome to me. I wanted to Mrs. Wm. •' Smith, 1 8th know liow you wcre I and I think that I discern in Dec. 1872. •' your words some growth of courage to face the hard task — it is a hard task — of living a separate life. I reckon it a great good to me that any writing of mine has been taken into companionship by you, and seemed to speak with you of your own experience. Thank you for telling me of that. This weather, which is so melancholy in the priva- tion it must cause to those who are worst off in the world, adds a little weight to everybody's griefs. But I trust that you find it a comfort, not an oppression, to be among friends who make a little claim on your attention. When you go to How, please tell me all about the place, and whom you have near you, be- cause I like to be able to imagine your circumstances. I have been, and am still, reading Mr. Lewes's man- uscript — and I often associate this with your dear husband^ to whom I imagine mine would have liked to send his proofs when the matter had reached the printing stage. We are both very well, and Mr. Lewes is enjoying his morning at his desk. He likes very much to be included in your love, and has always thought you one of the most charming women among our acquaint- ance. Please not to say that he has bad taste in women. We both cherish very tender thoughts of 1872.] Summary of Chapter XV I. 135 your sorrow, dear friend. Let me always be assured that you think of me as yours affectionately. We have to thank you for two things especially. Letter to First, for the good bargain you have made for '' Mid-son, isth" dlemarch " with Australia ; and secondly, for the trou- ble you have kindly taken with the MS., which has come to us safely in its fine Russian coat. The four volumes, vv^e imagine, must, have been sub- scribed long ago ; and we should be glad to know, if it were convenient — perhaps even if it were //zcon- venient — what are the figures representing the cour- age of " the trade " in the matter of a 425-. novel, which has already been well distributed. We both hope that your health is well confirmed, and that you are prepared for Christmas pleasures, among which you would probably, like Caleb Garth, reckon the extra "business" which the jolly season carries in its hinder wallet. SUMMARY. JANUARY, 1869, TO DECEMBER, 1872. Poem on Agatha — Reading on Philology, " Iliad," " Faery Queen," Clough's Poems, Bright's Speeches, " Volpone," Lect- ure by Sir Wm. Thomson — Writing "How Lisa Loved the King" — Browning and Rector of Lincoln on Versification — Letter to Miss Hennell — Browning's " Elisha" — Fourth visit to Italy — Two months away — Letter to Mrs, Congreve from Paris — Dr. Congreve's Reply to Professor Huxley in Fortnightly — Meeting in Rome with Mrs. Bullock and Mr. and Mrs. Cross — Letter to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe — Effect of books — Relig- ion of the future — Arrival of Thornton Lewes from Natal — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Marriage engagements of Mr. Beesley, Mr. Frederic Harrison, and Dr. Clifford Allbut — Finished five " Son- nets on Childhood"— Letter to Mrs. Stowe— "Old Town Folks" 13^ Stimmary of Chapter XVI. [1869- — Presentation of alien religious convictions — Spiritualism — Reading Drayton and Grote — Writing Introduction to "Middle- march" — Reading Theocritus — Burne- Jones's Pictures — Reading Littre on Comte — Sainte Beuve — Thornton Lewes's continued ill- ness — Visit to Mrs. Cross at Weybridge — Reading for " Middle- march" — Asks Mrs. Congreve to get information about prO' vincial hospitals — Letter to Miss Hennell — The pjyron scandal- Byron a vulgar-minded genius — The Kovilevskys — *' Legend of Jubal" begun— Mr. W. G. Clark— Reading Max Miiller— Lecky and rierbert Spencer — Death of Thornton Lewes — Letter to Miss Hennell describing month's visit to Limpsfield — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Mr. Doyle — Letter to F. Harrison on the Posi- tivist Problem — Aversion to personal statements — Shrinking from deliverances — Letter to Miss Hennell on Charles Hennell's "Li- quiry" — Letter to Mrs. Congreve from Berlin — Sees Mommsen, Bunsen, and Du Bois Reymond — Visit to Vienna — Return to London — Three days' visit to the Rector of Lincoln College, Ox- ford, and Mrs. Pattison — Meets Sir Benjamin Brodie — Professor Rawlinson and Professor Phillips — Dr. Rolleston and the Miss Gaskells, and Miss Arnold — Mr. Jowett, Professor Henry Smith, and Mr. Fowler — Re-reading Grove "On the Correlation of the Physical Forces " — Letter to Miss Hennell — Dickens's Death, and his story of President Lincoln — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — Visit to Cromer — Growing dislike of migratory life — Letter to Mrs. Lytton on the death of Lord Clarendon — Danger of women living too exclusively in the affections — Reading Mendelssohn's letters — From Cromer to Harrogate and Whitby — Meets Mrs. Burne-Jones there — "Armgart" begun — Three weeks' visit to Limpsfield — Letter to Miss Hennell on the beginning of the war between Germany and France — Jowett's "Plato" — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — The French nation — " Armgart" finished at Limpsfield — Return to the Priory — Letter to Miss Hennell — A popular preacher — Growing influence of ideas — Goethe's contempt for revolution of 1S30 — Letter to Mme. Bodichon on the faults of one's friends — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Industrial schemes — Greater cheerfulness — Frederic Harrison on Bismarckism — Writ- ing "Miss Brooke" — Reading Wolfs " Prolegomena to Homer" and " Wilhelm Meister " — Visit to Mme. Bodichon at Ryde— Letter to Miss Hennell — Ritualism at Ryde — Brutalizing effect of German war — Trollope's " Sir Harry Hotspur" — Limits of woman's constancy — Miss Bury's engagement to Mr. Geddes — 1872.] Summary of Chapter XVL 137 Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — Three and a half months' visit to Petersfield — Mode of life — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — Lowell's " My Study Windows " — '* Diethelm von Buchenberg " in DeiU- schen Novellenschatz — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Mrs. Geddes's marriage — Letter to John Blackwood — Relinquishment of Scott Commemoration — Captain Lockhart — Letter to John Blackwood on MS. of " Middlemarch " — Visit from Tennyson — Letter to Mrs. Lytton on death of her son — Letter to Miss Mary Cross on story in Macmillan^ s Magazine — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — Suffering from cold — Got's acting — Crystal Palace music — Letter to Mrs. Bray — Delight in intellectual activity — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Enjoyment of Cherrimans — Letter to John Blackwood — Visit to Weybridge — Mr. Main, the collector of the '' Sayings " — Reception of *' Middlemarch " — Letters to Miss Hennell — Foster's "Life of Dickens" — Low health — Tichborne trial — Letters to John Blackwood : pleased with the " Sayings " — Visit to Weybridge — Length of " Middlemarch " — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Reading Johnson's " Lives of the Poets " — Fin- ished second volume of " Middlemarch" — Letter to Mrs. Stowe — Spiritualistic phenomena — Letter to John Blackwood — German and French interest in " Middlemarch" — Asher's edition — Ger- man readers — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor on death of Mazzini — Letter to Miss Hennell — Low health — Letter to Mrs. Stowe — Spirit communications — Letter to Mrs. Congreve on Wallace's " Eastern Archipelago " — Tylor's " Primitive Culture " — Letter to John Blackwood — "Middlemarch" finished — Letter to Mrs. Cross on invitation to Six-Mile Bottom, Cambridge — Month's visit to Homburg — Letter to Mrs. Cross — Treves — On gambling at Homburg — Letter to John Blackwood — Play of a young lady at Homburg — German reading — Letter to Mrs. Cross from Bou- logne — Letter to Mrs. Wm. Smith of condolence on loss of her husband — Memorial article on Mr. Wm. Smith — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor on Mr. Wm. Smith — Letters to Miss Hennell — Pres- entation copies of "Middlemarch" — Mr. Lewes studying mathe- matics — Letter to John Blackwood — " Maga's " review of " Mid- dlemarch " — Tone of the Bar — Letter to J. W. Cross on building a house at Shere — Letter to Mrs. Congreve — Happiness — Story of Coventry lady and Bulstrode — Letter to Mr. Simpson — MS. of "Middlemarch." CHAPTER XVII. jmmui, y^^j^^ ^ — ^^ ^^ beginning of December the eighth and last book of " Middlemarch " was published, the three final numbers having been published monthly. No former book of mine has been received with more enthusiasm — not even "Adam Bede ;" and I have re- ceived many deeply affecting assurances of its influ- ence for good on individual minds. Hardly anything could have happened to me which I could regard as a greater blessing than the growth of my spiritual exist- ence when my bodily existence is decaying. The merely egoistic satisfactions of fame are easily nulli- fied by toothache, and that has made my chief con- sciousness for the last week. This morning, when I was in pain, and taking a melancholy breakfast in bed, some sweet-natured creature sent a beautiful bouquet to the door for me, bound round with the written wish that " Every year may be happier and happier, and that God's blessinsr mav ever abide with the immortal author of ' Silas Marner.' " Happily my dear husband is well, and able to enjoy these things for me. That he rejoices in them is my most distinct personal pleas- ure in such tributes. Letter Jt was vcry pleasant to have your greeting on the to John TIT 1 • • • 1 Black- New Year, though 1 was keeping its advent m melan- wood, 3d , -T ^' ^ r i • Jan. iS73- choly guisc. I am relieved now from the neuralgic part of my ailment, and am able to write something of the hearty response I i^^\ to your good wishes. We both hope that the coming year may continue 1873.] ^'Romanlische Werke^ 139 to you all the family joys which must make the core Letter , • ' ^ ^ • , r -K t° John of your happmess, without underrating golf and good Black- contributors to "Maga." Health has to be presupposed Jan. isjs. as the vehicle of all other good, and in this respect you may be possibly better off in '73 than in '72, for I think you have had several invalidings within the last twelve months. ]\Ir. Langford wrote yesterday that he knew of an article on " Middlemarch " being in preparation for the Times ^ which certainly was never before so slow in noticing a book of mine. Whether such an article will affect the sale favorably seems eminently uncer- tain, and can only complicate Mr. Simpson's problem. We have been glad to welcome our good friend, Mr. Anthony Trollope, after his long absence. He is won- derfully full of life and energy, and will soon bring out his two thick volumes on Australian colonies. My friendly Dutch publishers lately sent us a hand- some row of volumes — George Eliot's " Romantische Werke," with an introduction, in which comparisons are safely shrouded for me in the haze of Dutch, so that if they are disadvantageous, I am not pained. Please give my best wishes for the coming year to Mr. William Blackwood. At last I break my silence, and thank you for your Letter to kind care about me. I am able to enjoy my reading 4th jan. at the corner of my study fire, and am at that unpiti- ' ^^" able stage of illness which is counterbalanced by extra petting. I have been fearing that you too maybe un- dergoing some malaise of a kindred sort, and I should like to be assured that you have quite got through the troubles which threatened you. How good you have all been to me, and what a dis- appointing investment of affection I have turned out ! 140 Reprint of "-Spanish Gypsy T [The Priory, Mrs Cro°s "^'^^ thosc evening drives, which perhaps encouraged 4th Jan. the faccache, have left me a treasure of picture and 1873. ' ^ ^ poetry in my memory quite worth paying for, and in these days all prices are high. The new year began very prettily for me at half-past eight in the morning with a beautiful bouquet, left by an unknown at our door, and an inscription asking that " God's blessing might ever abide with the immortal author of ' Silas Marner.' " Letter I am much pleased with the color and the letterinpf to John .,.,,. ° Black- of the gumea edition, and the thinner paper makes it wood, 25th Feb. 1873. delightfully handy. Let us hope that some people still want to read it, since a friend of ours, in one short rail- way bit to and fro, saw two persons reading the paper- covered numbers. Now is the moment when a notice in the Times might possibly give a perceptible impulse. Kohn, of Berlin, has written to ask us to allow him to reprint the " Spanish Gypsy" for £^0^ and we have consented. Some Dresdener, who has translated poems of Tennyson's, asked leave to translate the " Spanish Gypsy " in 1870, but I have not heard of his transla- tion appearing. The rain this morning is welcome, in exchange for the snow, which in London has none of its country charms left to it. Among my books, which comfort me in the absence of sunshine, is a copy of the " Handy Royal Atlas " which Mr. Lewes has got for me. The glorious index is all the more appreciable by me, because I am tormented with German historical atlases which have no index, and are covered with names swarming like ants on every map. The catalogue coming in the other day renewed my longing for the cheap edition of Lockhart's novels, though I have some compunction in teasing your busy 1 873-1 ^-^^^ ^^^^ ^f ^^^^ ''Lifted Veiir 141 mind with my small begging. I should like to take Letter to John them into the country, where our days are always Black- wood, 2gth longer for readmg. Feb. 1873. I have a love for Lockhart because of Scott's Life, which seems to me a perfect biography. How differ- ent from another we know of! After your kind words I will confess that I should Lett^,^ •' to John very much like to have the " Manual of Geography " ^o^^j^'^sth by Mackay, and Bayne's " Port Royal Logic." ^^^- '^^73- A propos of the " Lifted Veil," I think it will not be judicious to reprint it at present. I care for the idea which it embodies and which justifies its painfulness. A motto which I wrote on it yesterday perhaps is a sufficient indication of that idea : " Give me no light, great heaven, but such as turns To energy of human fellowship ; No powers, save the growing heritage That makes completer manhood." But it will be well to put the story in harness with some other productions of mine, and not send it forth in its dismal loneliness. There are many things in it which I would willingly say over again, and I shall never put them in any other form. But we must wait a little. The question is not in the least one of money, but of care for the best effect of writing, which often depends on circumstances, much as pictures depend on light and juxtaposition. I am looking forward with interest to '' Kenelm Chillingly," and thinking what a blessed lot it is to die on just finishing a book, if it could be a good one. I mean, it is blessed only to quit activity when one quits life. If I had been quite sure of your address I should Mrs. wm. . 1 r • • 1 Smith, ist have written to you even beiore receiving your dear Mch. 1873. 142 The Ideal of Marriage. [The Priory, Mii^wm ^^^^^^ over which I have been crying this morning. MchV^^ The prompting to write to you came from my having ten clays ago read your Memoir — brief yet full — of the precious last months before the parting. Mrs. P. Tay- lor brought me her copy as a loan. But may I not beg to have a copy of my own ? It is to me an in- valuable bit of writing j the inspiration of a great sor- row, born of a great love, has made it perfect ; and ever since I read it I have felt a strengthening com- panionship from it. You will perhaps think it strange when I tell you that I have been more cheerful since I read the record of his sweet, mild heroism, which threw emphasis on every blessing left in his waning life, and was silent over its pangs. I have even vent- ured to lend this copy, which is not my own, to a young married woman of whom I am very fond, be- cause I think it is an unforgetable picture of that union which is the ideal of marriage, and which I desire young people to have in their minds as a goal. It is a comfort in thinking of you that you have two lovable young creatures with you. I have found quite a new interest in young people since I have been con- scious that I am getting older ; and if all personal joy were to go from me as it has gone from you, I could . perhaps find some energy from that interest, and try to teach the young. I wish, dear friend, it were pos- sible to convey to you the sense I have of a great good in being permitted to know of your happiness, and of having some communion with the sorrow which is its shadow. Your words have a consecration for me, and my husband shares my feeling. He sends his love along with mine. He sobbed with something which is a sort of grief better worth having than any trivial glad- 1873.] ^'^^^ Conservative Reaction. 143 ness, as he read the printed record of your love. He, too, is capable of that supreme, self-merging love. This is srood news about the guinea edition, but I Letter . ... to John emphatically asfree with you that it will be well to be Biack- ^ ^ ^ . / . wood, 14th cautious in further prmtmg. I wish you could see a Mch. 1873. letter I had from California the other day, apparently from a young fellow, and beginning, " Oh, you dear lady ! I who have been a Fred Vincy ever so long . . . have played vagabond and ninny ever since I knew the meaning of such terms," etc., etc. I am sorry to infer, from what you say about being recommended to go to a German bath, that you have been out of health lately. There really is a good deal of curative virtue in the air, waters, and exercise one gets at such places, and if the boredom were not strong enough to counteract the better influences, it would be worth while to endure. That phrase of Miss Stuart's — " fall flat on the world" — is worth remembering. I should think it is not likely to prove prophetic, if she is at all like her cousin, whose fair, piquant face remains very vividly before me. The older one gets, the more one delights in these young things, rejoicing in their joys. The ministerial crisis interests me, though it does not bring me any practical need for thinking of it, as it does to you. I wish there were some solid, philosoph- ical Conservative to take the reins — one who knows the true functions of stability in human affairs, and, as the psalm says, " Would also practice what he knows." I suppose my hesitation about writing to you to tell ^J*^''^" you of a debt I feel towards you is all vanity. If youBume- '' J ^ J Jones, 2otn did not know me, you might think a great deal more Mch. 1873- of my judgment than it is worth, and I should feel bold in that possibility. But when judgment is understood 144 Purpose in Art. [The Priory, Edward° ^^ niean simply one's own impression of delight, one Burne- ouglit not to shrink from making: one's small offerins: Jones, 2oth ° o b Mch. 1873. of burnt clay because others can give gold statues. It would be narrowness to suppose that an artist can only care for the impressions of those who know the methods of his art as well as feel its effects. Art works for all whom it can touch. And I want in grati- tude to tell you that your work makes life larger and more beautiful to me. I mean that historical life of all the world, in which our little personal share often seems a mere standing-room from which we can look all round, and chiefly backward. Perhaps the work has a strain of special sadness in it — perhaps a deeper sense of the tremendous outer forces which urge us, than of the inner impulse towards heroic struggle and achievement — but the sadness is so inwrought with jDure, elevating sensibility to all that is sweet and beautiful in the story of man and in the face of the earth that it can no more be found fault with than the sadness of mid-day, when Pan is touchy, like the rest of us. Don't you agree with me that much superfluous stuff is written on all sides about purpose in art? A nasty mind makes nasty art, whether for art or any other sake ; and a meagre mind will bring forth what is meagre. And some effect in determining other minds there must be, according to the degree of noble- ness or meanness in the selection made by the artist's soul. Your work impresses me with the happy sense of noble selection and of power determined by refined sympathy. That is why I wanted to thank you in writ- ing, since lip-homage has fallen into disrepute. I cannot help liking to tell you a sign that my de- light must have taken a little bit of the same curve as 1873.] "'Iphigeiiia in A it lis!' 145 yours. Looking, h propos of your picture, into the Letter to " Iphigenia in Aulis," to read the chorus you know of, Bume- I found my blue pencil-marks made seven years ago Mch. 1873. (and gone into that forgetfulness which makes my mind seem very large and empty) — blue pencil-marks made against the dance — loving Kithara and the footsteps of the muses and the nereids dancing on the shining sands. I was pleased to see that my mind had been touched in a dumb way by what has touched yours to fine utterance. Welcome back to Europe ! What a comfort to see Letter to ^ Mrs. Con- vour handwriting dated from San Remo — to think thats^'eve, 15th , . . , April, 1873- Dr. Congreve s anxieties about your voyage are at an end, and that you are once more in the post which is more specially and permanently yours ! Mr. Lewes finds fault with your letter for not telling enough ; but the mere fact of your safety seems to fill it quite full for me, and I can think of no drawbacks — not even of the cold, which I hope is by this time passing away for you, as it is for us. You must be so rich in mem- ories that we and our small ordinary news must ap- pear very flat to you, but we will submit to be a little despised by you if only we can have you with us again. I have never lost the impression of Dr. Con- greve's look when he paid us his farewell visit, and spoke of his anxiety about your voyage, fearing that you had started too late ; and that impression gives me all the keener sympathy with the repose I trust he is feeling. About ourselves I have only good news to tell. We are happier than ever, and have no troubles. We are searching for a country-house to go to at the end of May or earlier. I long for the perfect peace and freedom of the country again. The hours seem to stretch themselves there, and to hold twice as much in.— 7 14^ Higher Education of Women, [The Priory, Letter to thought as One can set into them in town, where ac- Mrs. Con- ° ° A^n'is^^'^ quaintances and small claims inevitably multiply. Imagine us nearly as we were when we last saw you • — only a little older — with unchanged affection for you and undimmed interest in whatever befalls you. Do not tax yourself to write unless you feel a pleasure in that imperfect sort of communication. I will try not to fear evil if you are silent, but you know that I am glad to have something more than hope to feed on. Letterto It was a cordlal to me this mornino: to learn that Mrs. Wm. ^ ° Smith,25th you havc the project of going with your young friend to Cambridge at the end of the autumn. I could not have thought of anything better to wish for on your behalf than that you should have the consciousness of hel]3ing a younger life. I know, dear friend, that so far as you directly are concerned with this life the remainder of it can only be patience and resignation. But we are not shut up within our individual life, and it is one of the gains of advancing age that the good of young creatures becomes a more definite, intense joy to us. With that renunciation for ourselves which age inevitably brings, we get more freedom of soul to enter into the life of others; what we can never learn they will know, and the gladness which is a departed sunlight to us is rising with the strength of morning to them. I am very much interested in the fact of young women studying at Cambridge, and I have lately seen a charming specimen of the pupils at Hitchin — a very modest, lovely girl, who distinguished herself in the last examination. One is anxious that, in the begin- ning of a higher education for women — the immediate value of which is chiefly the social recosfnition of its iS73-J Visit to Cambridge. 147 desirableness — the students should be favorable sub- Letter to Mrs. Wm. iects for experiment, girls or young women whose nat- Smith, 25th 1 J • 1 1 ♦. ^ U 1 • April,i873. ures are large and rich enough not to be used up in their efforts after knowledge. Mr. Lewes is very well and goes on working joy- ously. Proofs come in slowly, but he is far from be- ing ready with all the manuscript which will be needed for his preliminary volume — the material, which has long been gathered, requiring revision and suggesting additions. Do think it a privilege to have that fine physique of yours instead of a headachy, dyspeptic frame such as many women drag through life. Even in irremediable sorrow it is a sort of blasphemy against one's suffering fellow-beings to think lightly of any good which they would be thankful for in exchange for something they have to bear. May 19. — We paid a visit to Cambridge at the invi- Journal, tation of Mr. Frederick Myers, and I enjoyed greatly talking with him and some others of the "Trinity Men." In the evenings we went to see the boat-race, and then returned to supper and talk — the first even- ing with Mr. Henry Sidgwick, Mr. Jebb, Mr. Edmund Gurney; the second, with young Balfour, young Lyt- telton, Mr. Jackson, and Edmund Gurney again. Mrs. and Miss Huth were also our companions during the visit. On the Tuesday morning we breakfasted at Mr. Henry Sidgwick's with Mr. Jebb, Mr. W. G. Clark, Mr. Myers, and Mrs. and Miss Huth. May 22. — We went to the French play at the Prin- cess's and saw Plessy and Desclee in "Les Idees de Madame Aubray." I am just finishing again Aris- totle's "Poetics," which I first read in 1856. M^rs.Con- y~^ , - , 1 ,1 • •! -I', ^ greve, 25th Our plans have been upset by the impossibility ot May, 1873- 148 A Group of ''Trinity Men'' [The Priory, Letterto finding: a house in the country that is suitable to us. Mrs. Con- *-' ■' ^ > greve, 25th and wcarincss of beino; deluded into iourneys of inves- May, 1873, , ° , •' ^ •' tigation by fanciful advertisements has inclined Mr. Lewes for the present to say that we will go abroad. Still, I have nothing to tell that is absolutely settled, and I must ask you, when you return, to send a note to this house. If I am in England it will be forward- ed to me, and you will get a prompt answer. If I am silent you will conclude that I am gone abroad. I think it is at the end of June that you are to come home } Here we have been wearing furs and velvet, and having fires all through the past week, chiefly occu- pied by Mr. Lewes and me in a visit to Cambridge. We were invited ostensibly to see the boat-race, but the real pleasure of the visit consisted in talking with a hopeful group of Trinity young men. On Monday we had a clear, cold day, more like the fine weather of mid-winter than any tradition of May time. I hope that you have had no such revisiting of winter at San Remo. How much we should enjoy having you with us to narrate everything that has happened to you in the last eventful half year ! I shall feel the loss of this, as an immediate prospect, to be the greatest dis- advantage in our going abroad next month — if we go. Your last news of Emily and of "baby's teeth" is cheerful. " Baby's teeth " is a phrase that enters much into our life just now. Little Blanche had a sad struggle with her first little bit of ivory, but she has been blooming again since, and is altogether a ravishing child. To-day we have had a large collec- tion of visitors, and I have the usual Sunday evening condition of brain. But letters are so constantly com- ing and claiming my time to answer them, that I gel 1873] Visit to the Master of Balliol. 149 fidgety lest I should neglect to write to youj and I Letter to Mrs. Con- was determined not to let another day pass without greve, 25th May 1S73, letting you have a proof that I think of you. When I am silent please believe that the silence is due to fee- bleness of body, which narrows my available time. Mr. Lewes often talks of you, and will value any word from you about yourself as much as I shall. Thanks for sendinsf me word of poor Miss Rebecca Letter to ^ ^ Mrs. Bray, Franklin's death. It touches me deeply. She was 2d June, 1873. always particularly good and affectionate to me, and I had much happiness in her as my teacher. In September a house near Chislehurst will be open to us — a house which we think of ultimately making our sole home, turning our backs on London. But we shall be allowed to have it, furnished, for a year on trial. June. — In the beginning of June we paid a visit to Journal, Mr. Jowett at Oxford, meeting there Mr. and Mrs. Charles Roundell, then newly married. We stayed from Saturday to Monday, and I was introduced to many persons of interest. Professor T. Green, Max Miiller, Thomson, the Master of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, a Mr. Wordsworth, the grandson of the poet, who had spent some time in India, and a host of others. yime 23. — Started for the Continent. Fontaine- bleau, Plombieres, etc. I feel myself guilty that I have allowed the vicissi- ^^^^g^J^on- tudes of travelling to hinder me from writing to you, g^g^'^^^^ for the chance that a letter from me might be welcome to you in what I have been imagining as the first weeks of your return to England and the house in Mecklenburgh Square. I am sure that I should not have been guilty in this way if I had been at any time ISO Visit to Font ainebleau, [The Priory, Mrs^Cmi- ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ whei'e you should send me an answer greve,9th which I could Call for at a Paste Restante. But we Aug. 1873. have been invariably uncertain as to the length of our stay in any one place and as to our subsequent route- and I confess that I shrink from writing a letter full of my own doings, without the prospect of getting some news in return. I am usually in a state of fear rather than of hope about my absent friends ; and I dread lest a letter written in ignorance about them should be ill-timed. But at last all fears have become weaker than the uneasy sense that I have omitted to send you a sign of your loved presence in my thoughts, and that you may have lost a gleam of pleasure through my omission. We left home on the 23d of June, with a sketch of a journey in our minds, which included Grenoble, the Grande Chartreuse, Aix-les-Bains, Chambery, and Ge- neva. The last place I wished to get to, because my friend Mme. d'Albert is not likely to live much longer, and I thought that I should like to see her once more. But during a short stay at Fontainebleau I began to feel that lengthy railway journeys were too formida- ble for us old, weak creatures, and, moreover, that July and August were not the best months for those southern regions. We were both shattered, and need- ed quiet rather than the excitement of seeing friends and acquaintances — an excitement of which we had been having too much at home — so we turned aside by easy stages to the Vosges, and spent about three weeks at Plombieres and Luxeuil. We shall carry home many pleasant memories of our journey — of Fontainebleau, for example, which I had never seen before. Then of the Vosges, where we count on going asfain. Erckmann-Chatrian's books had been an intro- iS73-] Flonihieres. — The Vosges, 151 duction to the lovely region; and several of them were Letter to -n T • Mrs. Con- cur companions there. But what small experiences greve, 9th . Aug. 1873. these are compared with yours ; and how we long for the time when you will be seated with us at our coun- try-house (Blackbrook, near Bromley, is the name of the house), and tell us as much as you can think of about this long year in which we have been deprived of you. If you receive this letter in time to write me a line, which would reach me by the 15th, I shall be most grateful if you will give me that undeserved in- dulgence. On our return yesterday from our nine-weeks' ab- Letter ^ ^ to John sence I found a letter from Mr. Main, in which he Black- wood, 24th shows some anxiety that I should write you the ^^for- Aug. 1873. mal sanction " you justly require before admitting ex- tracts from " Middlemarch" in the new edition of the "Sayings." I have no objection, if you see none, to such an enlargement of the volume, and I satisfy our good Mr. Main's promptitude by writing the needed consent at once. We used our plan of travel as "a good thing to wander from," and went to no single place (except Fontainebleau) to which we had beforehand projected •to' Our most fortunate wandering was to the Vosges — to Plombieres and Luxeuil — which have made us in love with the mode of life at the Eaux of France, as greatly preferable to the ways of the German Bad. We happened to be at Nancy just as the Germans were beginning to quit it, and we saw good store of tricolores and paper lanterns ready in the shop win- dows for those who wished to buy the signs of national rejoicing. I can imagine that, as a Prussian lady told us, the Germans themselves were not at all rejoiced to 152 Cou7itry -house at Bickley. [Blackbrook, leave that pretty town for " les bords de la Spree," where, in French dialogue, all Germans are supposed to live. Journal, ^^^^^ 4.— Went to Blackbrook, near Bickley. Mrs Cross Thanks, dear friend, for the difficult exertion you 17th Sept. gave to the telling of what I so much wished to know — the details of the trouble ^ which you have all had to go through either directly or sympathetically. But I will not dwell now on what it cost 370U, I fear, too much pain to recall so as to give me the vivid impres- sions I felt in reading your letter. The great practical result of such trouble is to make us all more tender to each other; this is a world in which we must pay heavy prices for love, as you know by experience much deeper than mine. I will gossip a little about ourselves now. We gave up our intention of going far southward, fearing the fatigue of long railway journeys, and the heat (which hardly ever came) of July and August in the region we had thought of visiting. So, after staying a very en- joyable time at Fontainebleau, we went to the Vosges, and at Plombieres and Luxeuil we should have felt ourselves in paradise if it had not been for a sad deaf- ness of George's, which kept us uneasy and made us hurry to that undesirable place, Frankfort, in order to consult Spiess. At Frankfort the nearest bath was the also undesirable Homburg; so we spent or wasted a fortnight there, winning little but the joy of getting away again. The journey home, which we took very easily, was interesting — through Metz, Verdun, Rheims, and Amiens. As to our house, spite of beautiful lawn, tall trees, fine kitchen-garden, and good, invigorating air, we have ^ Death of Mrs. Cross's sister of cholera, at Salzburg. I873-] Revised Edition of ^^Middlemarchr 153 already made up our minds that it will not do for our Letter to ^^rs. Cross* home. Still, we have many things to enjoy, but we 17th" Sept shall not probably remain here longer than to the end of October. My motherly love to all such young ones as may be around you. I do not disturb George in order to ask for messages from him, being sure that his love goes with mine. I quite assent to your proposal that there should be Letter a new edition of " Middlemarch " in one volume, at Black- wood, 19th *is. 6d. — to be prepared at once, but not published too Sept. 1873. precipitately. I like your project of an illustration; and the finan- cial arrangements you mention are quite acceptable to me. For one reason especially I am delighted that the book is going to be reprinted — namely, ///^/ / walks and drives round us were delightfully varied — commons, wooded lanes, wide pastures — and we felt regretfully that we were hardly likely to find again a country-house so secluded in a well-inhabited region. We have seen few^ people at present. The George Howards are come from a delicious, lonely sejour in a tower of Bamborough Castle ! — and he has brought many sketches home. That lodging would suit you, wouldn't it ? A castle on a rock washed by the sea seems to me just a paradise for you. We have been reading John Mill's " Autobiogra- phy," like the rest of the world. The account of his early education and the presentation of his father are admirable ; but there are some pages in the latter half that one would have liked to be different, i-etterto Qur wish to scc you after all the long months since Mrs. Cross, rr • ... . , 6th Dec. June, added to your affectionate mvitation, triumphs over our disinclination to move. So, unless something should occur to make the arrangement inconvenient to you, we will join the dear party on your hearth in the afternoon of the 24th, and stay with you till the 26th. Notwithstanding my trust in your words, I feel a linoferins: uneasiness lest we should be excluding some one else from enjoying Christmas with you. J.'s friend. Dr. Andrew Clark, has been prescribing for Mr. Lewes — ordering him to renounce the coffee J 873 i873-] Christmas at Weybridgc. 159 which has been a chief charm of life to him, but be- Letter to .,,.,. ..... Mrs. Cross, ing Otherwise mud m his prohibitions. etWDec. I hear with much comfort that you are better, and have recovered your usual activity. Please keep well till Christmas, and then love and pet me a little, for that is always very sweet. In writing any careful presentation of human feel- Letter to ^ •' ^ Mrs. Bray, ings, you must count on that infinite stupidity of read- 22^ Dec. ers who are always substituting their crammed notions of what ought to be felt for any attempt to recall truly what they themselves have felt under like circumstan- ces. We are going to spend Christmas Eve and Christ- mas Day with our friends at Weybridge. We have been spendino: our Christmas in the coun- Letter to ... , , ^ , . , Mrs. Peter try, and it is only on my return that I got your kind Taylor, . . 11/' o 1 28th Dec. note, with its pretty symbols of remembrance, buch 1873. little signs are very sweet, coming from those whom one loves well in spite of long separation. I am very glad to have seen you in your new home, and to be able to imagine you among your household treas- ures — especially to imagine both you and your hus- band in enjoyable health. We have been invalidish lately, and have put ourselves under the discipline of Dr. Andrew Clark, who is not one of the '' three meat- meals and alcohol " physicians, but rather one of those who try to starve out dyspepsia. We both send our kind regards to Mr. Taylor, and hope that he may remain robust for his parliamentary campaign. Life, I trust, will deal gently with you in future, dear friend, and give you years of peace after your period of anxiety and of parting from old places and habits. Jan. I. — The happy old year, in which we have had Jj""^^'- constant enjoyment of life, notwithstanding much bod- l6o Retrospect of 1873. [The Priory, Journal, iiy malaise^ is gone from us forever. More than in any former year of my life love has been poured forth to me from distant hearts, and in our home we have had that finish to domestic comfort which only faithful, kind servants can give. Our children are prosperous and happy — Charles evidently growing in mental efficien- cy ; we have abundant wealth for more than our actual needs ; and our unspeakable joy in each other has no other alloy than the sense that it must one day end in parting. My dear husband has a store of present and prospective good in the long work which is likely to stretch through the remaining years of his intellectual activity ; and there have not been wanting signs that what he has already published is being appreciated rightly by capable persons. He is thinner than ever, but still he shows wonderful elasticity and nervous en- ergy. I have been for a month rendered almost help- less for intellectual work by constant headache, but am getting a little more freedom. Nothing is wanting to my blessings but the uninterrupted power of work. For as to all my unchangeable imperfections I have resigned myself. yan. 17. — I received this morning, from Blackwood, the account of "Middlemarch " and of The Spanish Gypsy " for 1873. Of the guinea edition of " Middle- march," published in the spring, 2434 copies have been sold. Of " The Spanish Gypsy " 292 copies have been sold during 1873, and the remaining copies are only 197. Thus, out of 4470 which have been printed, 4273 have been distributed. Letter to We have received the volume — your kind and valu- Mrs. Wm. . •' Smith.i2th able frift — and I have read it aloud with Mr. Lewes, Feb. 1874. ^ , • ■, , all except the later pages, which we both feel too much to bear reading them in common. You have given a I874-] ''Plain Living and High Thinki^ig!' i6i deeply interesting and, we think, instructive picture, Letter to Mrs Wm and Mr. Lewes has expressed his wish that it had not Smith,i2th , . , . . , . ^ Feb. 1874. been restricted to a private circulation. But I under- stand your shrinking from indiscriminate publicity, at least in the first instance. Perhaps, if many judges on whom you rely concur with Mr. Lewes, you will be in- duced to extend the possible benefit of the volume. I care so much for the demonstration of an intense joy in life on the basis of "plain living and high think- ing" in this time of more and more eager scrambling after wealth and show. And then there are exquisite bits which you have rescued from that darkness to which his self-depreciation condemned them. I think I never read a more exquisite little poem than the one called " Christian Resignation ;" and Mr. Lewes, when I read it aloud, at once exclaimed, " How very fine — read it again !" I am also much impressed with the wise mingling of moderation with sympathy in that passage, given in a note, from the article on Greg's "Political Essays." What must have been the effort which the writing: cost you I can — not fully, but almost — imagine. But believe, dear friend, that in our judgment you have not poured out these recollections in a cry of anguish all in vain. I feel roused and admonished by what you have told, and if I — then others. I imagined you absorbed by the political crisis, like Letter the rest of the world except the Lord Chief-justice, who Biack- , , , - , , . . - . - wood, 20th must naturally have felt his summing-up deserving of Feb. 1874. more attention. I, who am no believer in salvation by ballot, am rather tickled that the first experiment with it has turned against its adherents. I have been making what will almost certainly be my last corrections of the " Spanish Gypsy," and that i62 Corrected Edition of 'Span. Gypsy!' [The Priory, t^^john causes me to look forward with special satisfaction to wS'zoth ^^ probable exhaustion of the present edition. The Feb. 1874. corrections chiefly concern the quantity of the word Zincalo, which ought to be Zincalo j but there are some other emendations j and, altogether, they make a differ- ence to more than seventy pages. But it would still be worth while to retain the stereotypes, replacing sim- ply the amended pages, there being about 400 in the whole book. I am sadly vexed that I did not think of having these corrections ready for the German re- print. I have been compunctious lately about my having sprinkled cold water on the proposal suggested by Mr. Simpson, of bringing out my novels in a cheaper way — on thinner paper and without illustrations. The compunction was roused by my happening, in looking at old records, to alight on some letters, one especially, written by a working-man, a certain E. HalV more than ten years ago, begging me to bring out my books in a form cheap enough to let a poor man more easily " get a read of them." Hence, if you and Mr. Simpson see good to revive the design in question, I am per- fectly in accord. You did send me a copy of Lord Lytton's "Fables" — many thanks for doing so. Mr. Lewes had seen several of them in manuscript, and thought well of their merits. I am reading them gradually. They are full of graceful fancies and charming verse. So far as cleverness goes it seems to me he can do al- most anything; and the leanings of his mind are tow- ards the best things. The want I feel is of more defi- niteness and more weight. The two stanzas to his wife, placed before "Far and Near," are perfect. ^ See ante, p. ^6. 1874] Literary Biography. 163 I think I have never written to you since I wanted Letter to John to tell vou that I admired very much the lust spirit in Biack- -' , . -^ , J iT wood, 20th which the notice of Mill's " i\utobiography " was writ- Feb. 1874. ten in the Magazine. Poor Dickens's latter years wear a melancholy aspect, do they not ? But some of the extracts from his letters in the last volume have sur- prisingly more freshness and naturalness of humor than any of the letters earlier given. Still, something should be done by dispassionate criticism towards the reform of our national habits in the matter of literary biography. Is it not odious that as soon as a man is dead his desk is raked, and every insignificant memo- randum which he never meant for the public is printed for the gossiping amusement of people too idle to re- read his books '^. " He gave the people of his best. His worst he kept, his best he gave ;" but there is a certain set, not a small one, who are titillated by the worst and indifferent to the best. I think this fashion is a disgrace to us all. It is something like the un- covering of the dead Byron's club-foot. Mr. Lewes is in a more flourishing condition than usual, having been helped by Dr. Andrew Clark, who ministers to all the brain-workers. I have been ill lately : weeks of malaise having found their climax in lumbar-neuralgia, or something of that sort, which gave fits of pain severe enough to deserve even a finer name. My writing has not been stimulated as Scott's was under circumstances of a like sort, and I have nothing to tell you securely. Please give an expression of my well-founded sym- pathy to Mr. William Blackwood. My experience feelingly convinces me of the hardship there must be in his. I trust I shall hear of the lameness as a de- parted evil. 164 Motives for Conduct. [The PraoRv, t^^Toim "'■ ^^^^^ y*^^ ^y ^^^^^ P*-*-''^ ^ small collection of my po- wood''6th ^"^^' w^^^c^^ ^^- Lewes wishes me to get published in Mch.'i874. May. Such of them as have been already printed in a fugitive form have been received with many signs of sympathy, and every one of those I now send you rep- resents an idea which I care for strongly, and wish to propagate as far as I can. Else I should forbid my- self from adding to the mountainous heap of poetical collections. The form of volume I have in my eye is a delight- ful duodecimo edition of Keats's poems (without the *'Endymion") published during his life: just the vol- ume to slip in the pocket. Mine will be the least bit thicker. I should like a darkish green cover, with Roman let- tering. But you will consider the physique and price of the book, and kindly let me know your thoughts. Letter to I fear the fatal fact about your story ^ is the absence Mrs. Bray, '' •' 2sth Mch. of God and hell. " ]\Iv dear madam, you have not presented motives to the children !" It is really hid- eous to find that those who sit in the scribes' seats have got no further than the appeal to selfishness, which they call God. The old Talmudists were bet- ter teachers. They make Rachel remonstrate with God for his hardness, and remind him that she was kinder to her sister Leah than he to his people — thus correcting the traditional God by human sympathy. However, we must put up with our contemporaries, since we can neither live with our ancestors nor with posterity. It is cheering to see the programme of your new so- ciety. There certainly 4s an awakening of conscience ' i " Paul Bradley." i874-] Mr. Francis Newman. 165 about animals in general as our fellow-creatures — even Letter to , r T» 1 ) • • 1 -. yi.r%. Bray, the voo:ue or Balaam s ass is in that sense a e:ood si2"n 25th McH. 1874 A lady wrote to me the other day that when she went to church in the island of Sark the sermon turned on that remonstrant hero or heroine. I can imagine how great an encouragement you feel Letter to from the enthusiasm generously expressed in Mr. C.'s Henneii, letter. It is always an admirable impulse to express ^874- a deeply felt admiration, but it is also possible that you have some grateful readers who do not write to you. I have heard men whose greatest delight is lit- erature, say that they should never dream of writing to an author on the ground of his books alone. Poor Mr. Francis Newman must be aged now and rather weary of the world and explanations of the world. He can hardly be expected to take in much novelty. I have a sort of affectionate sadness in think- ing of the interest which, in far-off days, I felt in his ^'Soul" and "Phases of Faith," and of the awe I had of him as a lecturer on mathematics at the Ladies' College. How much work he has done in the world which has left no deep, conspicuous mark, but has probably entered beneficially into many lives ! How glorious this opening spring is ! At this mo- Letter to Miss Sara ment even London is so beautiful that I come home Henneii, /'HI* 1 ^3*^ April, filled With the Park landscapes, and see them as a 1874. background to all my thoughts. Your account of Mr. George Dawson is rather melancholy. I remember him only as a bright, vigorous, young man — such as perhaps his sons are now. I imagine it is his fortune, or, rather, misfortune, to have talked too much and too early about the greatest things. I could not dwell on your sweet gift ^ yesterday — I M^iss^Mary ■ " — ^ Cross, nth ^ A vase with paintings from ** Romola" on tiles. May, 1874. 1 66 Drawings from'' Romolar [The Priory, Miss^Mar ^^^^^^^ pcrhaps have begun to cry, which would not Cross, I ith have been cojivenable in a hostess. For I have been May, 1874. in a suffering, depressed condition lately, so your good, loving deed has come just at the right time — when I need the helpfulness that love brings me — and my heart turns to you with grateful blessing this Monday morn- ing. I have been looking at the little paintings with a treble delight, because they were done for me^ because you chose for them subjects of my "making," and be- cause they are done with a promising charm of execu- tion (which Mr. Lewes feels as well as I). It gives me special gladness that you have this sort of work before you. Some skill or other with the hands is needful for the completeness of the life, and makes a bridge over times of doubt and despondency. Perhaps it will please you to know that nineteen years ago, when Mr. Lewes and I were looking at a print of Goethe's statue by Ritzchl, which stands on a pedestal ornamented with bassi ?'elievi oi\i\s characters, I said (little believing that my wish would ever be ful- filled), " How I should like to be surrounded with creatures of my own making !" And yesterday, when I was looking at your gift, that little incident recurred to me. Your love seemed to have made me a minia- ture pedestal. I was comforted yesterday that you and J. had at least the pleasure of hearing Bice Trollope sing, to make some amends for the long, cold journey. Please do not any of you forget that we shall only be three weeks more in this corner of the world, and that we want to see you as often as you care to come. Best love to all, the mother being chief among the all. 1 874-] Silence of the Country, 167 May 19. — This month has been published a volume Jounial, of my poems — " Legend of Jubal, and other Poems." On the ist of June we go into the country to the cot- tage, Earlswood Common, for four months, and I hope there to get deep shafts sunk in my prose book. My health has been a wretched drag on me during this last half-year. I have lately written "a symposi- um." I have so much trust in your love for us that I feel ^,^^*^i;*° ■' Mrs. CrosSj sure you will like to know of our happiness in the se-^4thjune, cure peace of the country, and the good we already experience in soul and body from the sweet breezes over hill and common, the delicious silence, and the unbroken spaces of the day. Just now the chill east wind has brought a little check to our pleasure in our long afternoon drives ; and I could wish that Canon Kingsley and his fellow-worshippers of that harsh di- vinity could have it reserved entirely for themselves as a tribal god. We think the neighborhood so lovely that I must beg you to tell J. we are in danger of settling here un- less he makes haste to find us a house in your " coun- try-side " — a house with undeniable charms, on high ground, in a strictly rural neighborhood (water and gas laid on, nevertheless), to be vacant precisely this autumn ! My philosopher is writing away with double verve in a projecting window, where he can see a beautiful green slope crowned and studded with large trees. I, too, have an agreeable corner in another room. Our house has the essentials of comfort, and we have reason to be contented with it. I confess that my chief motive for writing about our- selves is to earn some news of you, which will not be 1 68 A Breezy Common. [Earlswood, Mrs Cross ^^"^^^^ ^^ ^Y otic 01* otlicr of the dear pairs of hands 14th June, always ready to do us a kindness. Our Sunday is really a Sabbath now — a day of thor- ough peace. But I shall get hungry for a sight of some of the Sunday visitors before the end of Sep- tember. I include all your family in a spiritual embracCj and am always yours lovingly. t^^Tohn ^^^ ^^^ revelling in the peace of the country, and Black- have no drawback to our delight except the cold winds. wood, 16th , o i ") June, 1874. which have forced us to put on winter clothing for the last four or five days. Our wide common is very breezy, and the wind makes mournful music round our walls. But I should think it is not possible to find a much healthier region than this round Reigate and Redhill ; and it is prettier than half the places one crosses the Channel to see. We have been hunting about for a permanent country home in the neighborhood, but no house is so difficult to get as one which has at once seclusion and conven- ience of position, which is neither of the suburban- villa style nor of the grand hall and castle dimensions. The restoration of the empire (in France), which is a threatening possibility, seems to me a degrading issue. In the restoration of the monarchy I should have found something to rejoice at, but the traditions of the empire, both first and second, seem to my sen- timent bad. Some form of military despotism must be, as you say, the only solution v/here no one political party knows how to behave itself. The American pat- tern is certainly being accepted as to senatorial man- ners. I dare say you have been to Knebworth and talked over French matters with Lord Lytton. We are grieved to hear from him but a poor account of i874-'J iV^zc/ Edition of '^Jubair 169 sweet Lady Lvtton's health and spirits. She is to me Letter -^ -' . ^ . to John one of the most charming types of womanliness, and I Biack- ° -^ ^ , ' wood, i6th long for her to have all a woman's best blessings. June, 1874. The good news about the small remainder of " Ju- bal " is very welcome, and I will write at once to Mr. Simpson to send him my two or three corrections, and my wishes about the new edition. The price of the book will well bear a thicker and a handsomely tinted paper, especially now it has proved movable ; and I felt so much the difference to the eye and touch of the copies on rich tinted paper, that I was much vexed with myself for having contributed to the shabby ap- pearance of the current edition by suggesting the thin Keats volume as a model. People have become used to more luxurious editions; and I confess to the weak- ness of being affected by paper and type in something of the same subtile way I am affected by the odor of a room. ]\Iany thanks for Lord Neaves's pleasant little book, which is a capital example of your happily planned publication. I came down here half poisoned by the French the- atre, but I am flourishing now, and am brewing my future big book with more or less (generally less) be- lief in the quality of the liquor which will be drawn off. The secured peacefulness and the pure air of the coun- try make our time of double worth; and we mean to give no invitations to London friends desirous of change. We are selfishly bent on dual solitude. I am so glad to know from your kind letter that you Letter to are interesting yourself, with Madame Belloc, in the Xayior, ist poor workhouse girls. You see my only social work "^'^ ^^' is to rejoice in the labors of others, while I live in lux- urious remoteness from all turmoil. Of course you IIL— 8 1 70 Enjoyment of Surrey. [Earlswood, MrsVJter^^^^^ sceii Mrs. Scnior's report. I read it, and thought l^jyior, is; it; very wise, very valuable in many ways, and since then she has sent me word how much she has been worried about it by (as I imagine) obstructive officials. We are revelling in our country peacefulness, in spite of the chills and rain, driving about every day that the weather will allow, and finding in each drive new beauties of this loveliest part of a lovely country. We are looking out for a house in this neighborhood as a permanent retreat ; not with the idea of giving up our London house, at least for some years, but sim- ply of having a place to which we may come for about six months of the year, and perhaps finally shrink into altogether. Letter to Only the day before your letter came to me I had Mrs. VVm. j j j bmith, ist been saving:, "I wonder how our dear Mrs. William July, 1874. -^ *' . . Smith is?" so that your impulse to write to me satis- fied a need of mine. I cannot help rejoicing that you are in the midst of lovely scenery again, for I had had a presentiment that Cambridge was antipathetic to you j and, indeed, I could not have imagined that you would be in the right place there but for the promised helpfulness of your presence to a young friend. You tell me much that is interesting. Your picture of Mr. and Mrs. Stirling, and what you say of the rea- sons why one may wish even for the anguish of being left for the sake of waiting on the beloved one to the end — all that goes \o my heart of hearts. It is what I think of almost daily. For death seems \o me now a close, real experience, like the approach of autumn cr winter, and I am glad io find that advancing life brings this power of imagining the nearness of death I never had till of late years. I remember all you told me of your niece's expected marriage, and your joy in 1 874-] More UHifor7nly Cheerful. 171 the husband who has chosen her. It is wealth vou Letter to ^ Mrs. Wm. have — that of several sweet nieces to whom beins: with Smith, ist July. 1874. you is a happiness. You can feel some sympathy in their cheerfulness, even though sorrow is always your only private good — can you not, dear friend? — and the time is short at the utmost. The blessed reunion, if it may come, must be patiently waited for ; and such good as you can do others, by loving looks and words, must seem to you like a closer companionship with the gentleness and benignity which you justly worshipped while it was visibly present, and still more, perhaps, now it is veiled, and is a memory stronger than vision of outward things. We are revelling in the sweet peace of the country, and shall remain here till the end of September. Mr. Lewes sends his affectionate remembrances with mine. I am scribbling while he holds my bed-candle, so pray forgive any incoherency. I have two questions to ask of your benevolence. Letter to ■^ _ •' Madame First, was there not some villao^e near Stonehenire Bodichon, ' . ° ° 17th July, where you stayed the night, nearer to Stonehenge than 1874. Amesbury? Secondly, do you know anything specific about Holmwood Cornuwfi as a place of residence ? It is ravishingly beautiful ] is it in its higher part thor- oughly unobjectionable as a site for a dwelling? It seems that they have been having the heat of Tophet in London, whereas we have never had more than agreeable sunniness, this common- being almost always breezy. And the country around us must, I think, be the loveliest of its undulating, woody kind in all England. I remember, when we were driving together last, something was said about my disposition to melancholy. I ought to have said then, but did not, that I am no 1 72 The Serious Life, [Earlswood, Madame ^^"g^'^ onc of tliosc whoiTi Dante found in hell border fz^thjX,' ^^cause they had been sad under the -blessed sun- »874- light/ I am uniformly cheerful now — feeling the pre- ciousness of these moments, in which I still possess love and thought. \om%. ^^ ^'^^ sweet of you to write me that nice long let- Jones,3d ^^^- I was athirst for somc ncws of you. Life, as you Aug. 1874. say, is a big thing. No wonder there comes a season when we cease to look round and say^ " How shall I enjoy?" but, as in a country which has been visited by the sword, pestilence, and famine, think only how we shall help the wounded, and how find seed for the next harvest— how till the earth and make a little time of gladness for those who are being born without their own asking. I am so glad of what you say about the Latin. Go on conquering and to conquer a little king- dom for yourself there. We are, as usual, getting more than our share of peace and other good, except in the matter of warmth and sunshine. Our common is a sort of ball-room for the winds, and on the warmest days we have had here we have found them at their music and dancing. They roar round the corners of our house in a wintry fash- ion, while the sun is shining on the brown grass. Letter Thauks for sendino: me the 2:ood news. The sale to John ^ =» Black- of " Middlemarch" is wonderful " out of all whooping," wood, 8th . . Aus- 1874. and, considered as manifesting the impression made by the book, is more valuable than any amount of im- mediate distribution. I suppose there will be a new edition of the " Spanish Gypsy" wanted by Christmas; and I have a carefully corrected copy by me, contain- ^ " Tristi fummo NelFaer dolce che dal sol s'allegra." Inferno, cant. vii. 121, 122. i874-] Justification i?t Writing. i;73 ing my final alterations, to which I desire to have the Letter 11 ,. , to John Stereotyped plates adiusted. Biack- ^ ■^ ^ . •' wood, 8th As to confidence in the work to be done I am some- Aug. 1874 what in the condition suggested to Armgart, " How will you bear the poise of eminence with dread of fall- ing?" And the other day, having a bad headache, I did what I have sometimes done before at intervals of five or six years — looked into three or four novels to see what the world was reading. The effect was para- lyzing, and certainly justifies me in that abstinence from novel-reading which, I fear, makes me seem su- percilious or churlish to the many persons who send me their books, or ask me about their friends' books. To be delivered from all doubts as to one's justifica- tion in writing at this stage of the world, one should have either a plentiful faith in one's own exceptional- ness, or a plentiful lack of money. Tennyson said to me, " Everybody writes so well now ;" and if the lace is only machine-made, it still pushes out the hand- made, which has differences only for a fine, fastidious appreciation. To write indifferently after having writ- ten well — that is, from a true, individual store which makes a special contribution — is like an eminent cler- gyman spoiling his reputation by lapses, and neutral- izing all the good he did before. However, this is superfluous stuff to write to you. It is only a sample of the way in which depression works upon me. I am not the less grateful for all the encouragement I get. I saw handsome Dean Liddell at Oxford. He is really a grand figure. They accuse him of being ob- structive to much-needed reforms. For my own part I am thankful to him for his share in " Liddell and Scott " and his capital little Roman History. Apropos .of books and St. Andrews, I have read aloud to Mr. 174 Holmwood Common, [The Priory, Lett^r^ Lewes Professor Flint's volume, and we have both been Sood%th ^"^^^ pleased with its conscientious presentation and Aug. 1874. thorough effort at fairness. We have enjoyed the country, as we always do; but we have been, for our constitutions, a little unfortunate in the choice of a spot which is the windiest of the windy. That heat which we have read and heard of has hardly been at all felt by us ; and we have both suffered a little from chills. You will perceive from my letter I am just now possessed by an evil spirit in the form of headache; but on the whole I am much the stronger for the peace and the delicious air, which I take in as a conscious addition to the good of living. We have been near buying a little country hermitage on Holmwood Common — a grand spot, with a view hard to match in our flat land. But we have been frightened away by its windiness. I rather envy Major Lockhart and the rest of the golfian enthusiasts ; to have a seductive idleness which is really a healthy activity is invaluable to people who have desk-work. Letter to I feel rather dis2:raced by the fact that I received Mrs. H. B. 1 , -n Stowe, nth your last kmd letter nearly two months asfo. But a Nov. 1874. i . ^ ^ . . . ,. , 1 • r brief note of mine, written immediately on hearing 01 you from Mrs. Fields, must have crossed yours and the Professor's kind letters to me ; and I hope it proved to you that I love you in my heart. We were in the country then, but soon afterwards we set out on a six-weeks' journey, and we are but just settled in our winter home. Those unspeakable troubles in which I necessarily felt more for jw/ than for any one else concerned, are, I trust, well at an end, and you are enjoying a time of peace. It was like your own sympathetic energy to be able, even while the storm was yet hanging in your I874-] ^'^^' CGinprchcnsivc CJmrcJu 171; sky, to write to rae about my husband's books. Will Letter to "^ -^ . Mrs. H. B. you not a? /"^r/, any such influ- ence on your ordinary course of action in the primary affairs of your existence as a human, social, domestic creature ? And if they don't hinder you from taking measures for a bath, without which you knov/ that you cannot secure the delicate cleanliness which is your III.— S^'^ 1 7^ Ground of Moral Action, [The Priory, Jiie^Hon"! second nature, why should they hinder you from a Hne ^libyl'imh ^^ ^"^^°^^^ ^" ^ higher strain of duty to your ideal, both Dec. 1874. for yourself and others? But the consideration of molecular physics is not the direct ground of human love and moral action any more than it is the direct means of composing a noble picture or of enjoying great music. One might as well hope to dissect one's own body and be merry in doing it, as take molecular physics (in which you must banish from your field of view what is specifically human) to be your dominant guide, your determiner of motives, in what is solely human. That every study has its bearing on every other is true ; but pain and relief, love and sorrow, have their peculiar history, which make an experience and knowledge over and above the swing of atoms. The teaching you quote as George Sand's would, I think, deserve to be called nonsensical if it did not de- serve to be called wicked. What sort of " culture of the • intellect " is that which, instead of widening the mind to a fuller and fuller response to all the elements of our ex- istence, isolates it in a moral stupidity? — which flatters egoism with the possibility that a complex and refined human society can continue, wherein relations have no sacredness beyond the inclination of changing moods ? — or figures to itself an aesthetic human life that one may compare to that of the fabled grasshoppers who were once men, but having heard the song of the Muses could do nothing but sing, and starved them- selves so till they died and had a fit resurrection as grasshoppers? "And this," says Socrates, "was the return the Muses made them." With regard to the pains and limitations of one's personal lot, I suppose there is not a single man or woman who has not more or less need of that stoical i874-] The Power of the Will, 179 resignation which is often a hidden heroism, or who, in Letter to • 1 . t . , , . . the Hon- considering nis or her past history, is not aware that it Mrs. Pon- has been cruelly affected by the ignorant or selfish ac- Dec. i87°4. tion of some fellow-being in a more or less close rela- tion of life. And to my mind there can be no stronger motive than this perception, to an energetic effort that the lives nearest to us shall not suffer in a like manner from us. The progress of the world — which you say can only come at the right time — can certainly never come at all save by the modified action of the individual beings who compose the world ; and that we can say to our- selves with effect, "There is an order of considerations which I will keep myself continually in mind of, so that they may continually be the prompters of certain feelings and actions," seems to me as undeniable as that we can resolve to study the Semitic languages and apply to an Oriental scholar to give us daily les- sons. What would your keen wit say to a young man who alleged the physical basis of nervous action as a reason why he could not possibly take that course ? As to duration and the way in which it affects your view of the human history, what is really the differ- ence to your imagination between infinitude and bill- ions when you have to consider the value of human experience ? Will you say that, since your life has a term of threescore years and ten, it was really a mat^ ter of indifference whether you were a cripple with a wretched skin disease, or an active creature with a mind at large for the enjoyment of knowledge, and with a nature which has attracted others to you .'' Difficulties of thought — acceptance of what is, with- out full comprehension — belong to every system of thinking. The question is to find the least incomplete. i8o Sales of Books. [The Priory, Letter to the Hon. Mrs. Pon- sonby, loth Dec. 1874. Journal, 1875. Letter to Francis Otter, 13th (?) Jan. i«7S- When I wrote the first page of this letter I thought I was going to say that I had not courage to enter on the momentous points you had touched on in the hasty, brief form of a letter. But I have been led on sentence after sentence — not, I fear, with any inspira- tion beyond that of my anxiety. You will at least par- don any ill-advised things I may have written on the prompting of the moment. ya?i. 13.— Here is a great gap since I last made a record. But the time has been filled full of happiness. A second edition of " Jubal " was published in Au- gust; and the fourth edition of the "Spanish Gypsy" is all sold. This morning I received a copy of the fifth edition. The amount of copies sold of " Middle- march " up to 31st December is between nineteen and twenty thousand. Yesterday I also received the good news that the en- g^agement between Emily Cross and Mr. Otter is settled. The last year has been crowded with proofs of af- fection for me and of value for what work I have been able to do. This makes the best motive or encourage- ment to do more ; but, as usual, I am suffering much from doubt as to the worth of what I am doing, and fear lest I may not be able to complete it so as to make it a contribution to literature and not a mere addition to the heap of books. I am now just begin- ning the part about " Deronda," at page 234. Your letter was a deeply felt pleasure to me last night; and I have one from Emily this morning, which makes my joy in the prospect of your union as thor- ouoh as it could well be. I could not wish either her words or yours to be in the least different. Lonof as'O, when I had no notion that the event was probable, my too hasty imagination had prefigured it and longed for an. 1875.] Possibilities in Marriage. i8i it. To say this is to say something of the high re- Letter to gard with which all I have known of you has impressed ower^'iVh me — for I hold our sweet Emily worthy of one who 1875^"' may be reckoned among the best. The possibility of a constantly growing blessedness in marriage is to me the very basis of good in our mortal life ; and the be- lieving hope that you and she will experience that blessedness seems to enrich me for the coming years. I shall count it among my strengthening thoughts that you both think of me with affection, and care for my sympathy. Mr. Lewes shares in all the feelings I ex- press, and we are rejoicing together. Please never wonder at my silence, or believe that I better to •' ' Mrs. Peter bear you in any the less lively remembrance because I Taylor, •^ ^ -^ -^ 15th Jar do not write to you. 1S75. Writing notes is the crux of my life. It often inter- feres with my morning hours (before i o'clock), which is the only time I have for quiet work. For certain letters are unavoidable demands, and though my kind husband writes them for me whenever he can, they are not all to be done by proxy. That glorious bit of work of yours about the Home for Girls ^ is delightful to hear of. Hardly anything is more wanted, I imagine, than homes for girls in vari- ous employments — or, rather, for unmarried women of all ages. I heard also the other day that your name was among those of the ladies interested in the beginning of a union among the bookbinding women, which one would like to succeed and spread. I hope, from your ability to work so well, that you are in perfect health yourself. Our friend Barbara, 1 Bessborough Gardens. 1 82 Lhnitations of Scientists. [The Priory, too, looks literally the pink of well-being, and cheers one's soul by her interest in all worthy things. fh?HVi°. -'■ s^^oul Feb. 1875. only what satisfies myself. I shall be deeply inter- ested in knowing exactly what you wrote at that par- ticular stage. Please remember that I don't consider myself a teacher, but a companion in the struggle of thought. What can consulting physicians do without pathological knowledge? and the more they have of it, the less absolute — the more tentative — are their procedures. You will see by the Fortnightly^ which you have not read, that Mr. Spencer is very anxious to vindicate himself from neglect of the logical necessity that the evolution of the abstraction " society " is dependent on the modified action of the units ; indeed, he is very sensitive on the point of being supposed to teach an enervating fatalism. Consider what the human mind e?i masse would have been if there had been no such combination of ele- ments in it as has produced poets. All the philoso- phers and savants would not have sufficed to supply that deficiency. And how can the life of nations be understood without the inward light of poetry — that is, of emotion blending with thought? But the beginning and object of my letter must be the end — please send me your papers. Letter to We cauuot bcHeve that there is reason to fear any Smkh,iot'h painful observations on the publication of the memoir ^^'' ^^' in one volume with " Gravenhurst " and the essays. The memoir is written with exquisite judgment and feeling; and without estimating too highly the taste and carefulness of journalists in their ordinary treat- ment of books, I think that we may count on their not being impressed otherwise than respectfully and sym- i875.] Memoir of the Author of ''ThorndaleJ' 185 pathetically with the character of your clear husband's Letter to I'll 1 1 r 1 • Mrs. Wm. work, and with the sketch of his pure, elevated life. I Smith, loth May, 1875. would also urge you to rely on the fiact that Mr. Black- wood thinks the publication desirable, as a guarantee that it will not prove injudicious in relation to the outer world — I mean, the world beyond the circle of your husband's especial friends and admirers. I am grieved to hear of your poor eyes having been con- demned to an inaction which, I fear, may have sadly increased the vividness of that inward seeing, already painfully strong in you. There has been, I trust, al- ways some sympathetic young companionship to help you — some sweet voice to read aloud to you, or to talk of those better things in human lots which enable us to look at the good of life a little apart from our own particular sorrow. The doctors have decided that there is nothing: verv Letter to i3 J Mrs. grave the matter with me : and I am now so much bet-?^''"^- , _ _ Jones, nth ter that we even think it possible I may go to see ^^y' ^^75- Salvini, in the Gladiator, to-morrow evening. This is to let you know that there is no reason against your coming, with or without Margaret, at the usual time on Friday. Your words of affection in the note you sent me are very dear to my remembrance. I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same mind. But the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear. You are right— there is no time, but only the sense Letter to of not having time; especially when, instead of filling Ta'^^ior,^ ^'' the days with useful exertion, as you do, one wastes ^875. ^^' them in being ill, as I have been doing of late. How- 1 86 Country -house in Herts. [Rickmansworth, Letter to ever, I am better now, and will not grumble. Thanks Mrs. Peter ' ^ Taylor, for all the dear words in vour letter. Be sure I treasure 14th Maj', •' ^^75- the memory of your faithful friendship, which goes back — you know how far. Letter to If you could, some day this week or the besfinninof I rederic J •> j o t> Harrison, of ncxt, allow mc half an hour's quiet tete-a-tete. I should I St June, ' ^ ' ^^75- be very much obliged by such a kindness. The trivial questions I want to put could hardly be shapen in a letter so as to govern an answer that would satisfy my need. And I trust that the inter- view will hardly -be more troublesome to you than writing. I hope, when you learn the pettiness of my difficul- ties, you will not be indignant, like a great doctor called in to the favorite cat. Letterto "We admire our bit of Hertfordshire oreally; but I Mrs. Peter ° ^ ' Taylor, 9th should bc 2:lad of morc breezy common land and far- Aug. 187s, ^ ^ Ci;?"} reachins: outlooks. For fertility, wealth of sjrand trees, Rickmans- ° ^ 7 & 7 worth. parks, mansions, and charming bits of stream and canal, our neighborhood can hardly be excelled. And our house is a good old red-brick Georgian place, with a nice bit of garden and meadow and river at the back. Perhaps we are too much in the valley, and have too large a share of mist, which often lies white on our meadows in the early evening. But who has not had too much moisture in this calamitously wet, cold sum- mer? Mr. Lewes is very busy, but not in zoologizing. We reserve that for October, when we mean to go to the coast for a few weeks. It is a long while since I walked on broad sands and v/atched the receding tide; and I look forward agreeably to a renewal of that old pleasure. I am not particularly flourishing in this pretty re- i875-] Depression. 187 gion, probably owing to the low barometer. The air Letter to Mrs. Peter has been continually muggy, and has lain on one's I'ayior, 9th head like a thick turban. What a comfort that you are at home again and^^"^/,^° •' o J.W.Cross, well!^ The sense of your nearness had been so lonsf'f'^^"^- •' t> 1S75. missing to us that we had begun to take up with life as inevitably a little less cheerful than we remembered it to have been formerly, without thinking of restoration. My box is quite dear to me, and shall be used for stamps, as you recommend, unless I find another use that will lead me to open it and think of you the oftener. It is very precious to me that you bore me in your mind, and took that trouble to give me pleasure — in which you have succeeded. Our house here is rather a find old brick Georgian place, with a lovely bit of landscape; but I think we have suffered the more from the rainy, close weather, be- cause we are in a valley, and can see the mists lie in a thick, white stratum on our meadows. Mr. Lewes has been, on the whole, flourishing and enjoying — writing away with vigor, and making a discovery or theory at the rate of one per diem. Of me you must expect no good. I have been in a piteous state of debility in body and depression in mind. My book seems to me so unlikely ever to be finished in a way that will make it worth giving to the world, that it is a kind of glass in which I behold my infirmities. That expedition on the Thames would be a great delight, if it were possible to us. But our arrange- ments forbid it. Our loving thanks to Mr. Druce, as well as to you, for reviving the thought. We are to * I had been abroad for six weeks. 1 88 Strain of Note-writing, [Rickmansworth, t^^Vw ^^i^aii"i I^ere till the 23d of September; then to fly 1^'th A through town, or at least only perch there for a night »^^5- or so, and then go down to the coast, while the ser- vants clean our house. We expect that Bournemouth will be our destination. Let us have news of you all again soon. Let us com- fort each other while it is day, for the night cometh. I hope this change of weather, in which we are glory- ing both for the country's sake and our own, will not make Weybridge too warm for Mrs. Cross. Letter to I dou't mind how many letters I receive from one the Hon. ^ •' Mrs. Pon- who intcrcsts me as much as you do. The receptive sonby, 19th "^ ^ ^ Aug. 1875. part of correspondence I can carry on with much alac- rity. It is writing answers that I groan over. Please take it as a proof of special feeling that I declined answering your kind inquiries by proxy. This corner of Hertfordshire is as pretty as it can be of the kind. There are really rural bits at every turn. But for my particular taste I prefer such a region as that round Haslemere — with wide, furzy commons and a grander horizon. Also I prefer a country vv'here I don't make bad blood by having to see one public house to every six dwellings — which is literally the. case in many spots around us. My gall rises at the rich brewers in Parliament and out of it, who plant these poison shops for the sake of their million-making trade, while probably their families are figuring some- where as refined philanthropists or devout Evangelicals and Ritualists. You perceive from this that I am dyspeptic and dis- posed to melancholy views. In fact, I have not been flourishing, but I am getting a little better; grateful thanks that you will care to know it. On the whole the sins of brewers, with their drugged ale and devil's 1875.] Visit to Wales. 189 traps, depress me less than iny own inefficiency. But Letter to - . . . the Hon. every iresh morning is an opportunity that one can Mrs. Pon- 1 -I r ^ r • i • ^ sonby, 19th look forward to for exerting one s will. I shall not be Aug. 1875. satisfied with your philosophy till you have conciliated necessitarianism — I hate the ugly word — with the practice of willing strongly, willing to will strongly, and so on, that being what you certainly can do and have done about a great many things in life, whence it is clear that there is nothing in truth to hinder you from it — except, you will say, the absence of a motive. But that absence I don't believe in in your case — only in the case of empty, barren souls. Are you not making a transient confusion of in- tuitions with innate ideas ? The most thorough ex- perientialists admit intuition — /. ^., direct impressions of sensibility underlying all proof, as necessary starting- points for thought. Oct. 10. — On the i=;th Tune, we went to a house we Journal, . 1875. had taken at Rickmansworth. Here, in the end of July, we received the news that our dear Bertie had died on June 29th. Our stay at Rickmansworth, though otherwise peaceful, was not marked by any great improvement in health from the change to coun- try instead of town — rather the contrary. We left on 23d September, and then set off on a journey into Wales, which was altogether unfortunate on account of the excessive rain. I behaved rather shabbily in not thanking you other- Letter '' to John wise than by proxy for the kind letter you sent me to Black- J i^ J -' wood, loth Rickmansworth, but I had a bad time down there, and Oct 1875. did less of everything than I desired. Last night we returned from our trip — a very lively word for a journey made in the worst weather; and since I am, on the whole, the better for a succession of small discom- 190 Printing of '^Deronda!' [The Priory, ufjohn ^^^^^ ^" hotels, and struggling walks taken under wood^'ioth ^^ "i^brella, I have no excuse for not writing a line to Oct. 1875. my neglected correspondents. You will laugh at our nervous caution in depositing our MSS. at the Union Bank before we set out. We could have borne to hear that our house had been burned down, provided no lives were lost, and our un- printed matter, our ceuvres i?iediies, were safe out of it. About 7ny unprinted iiatter, Mr. Lewes thinks it will not be well to publish the first part till February. The four first monthly parts are ready for travelling now. It will be well to begin the printing in good time, so that I may not be hurried with the proofs; and I must beg Mr. Simpson to judge for me in that matter with kind carefulness. I can't say that I am at all satisfied with the book, or that I have a comfortable sense of doing in it what I want to do; but Mr. Lewes is satisfied with it, and insists that since he is as anxious as possible for it to be fine, I ought to accept his impressions as trust- worthy. So I resign myself. I read aloud the " Abode of Snow " at Rickmans- worth, to our mutual delight; and we are both very much obliged to you for the handsome present. But what an amazing creature is this Andrew Wilson to have kept pluck for such travelling while his body was miserably ailing ! One would have said that he had more than the average spirit of hardy men to have per- severed even in good health after a little taste of the difficulties he describes. Letter to 'j^j-jg arrangements as to the publication of my next Mrs Peter ^ -^ '^'''^y^oTv book are already determined on. Ever since "Adam 20th Oct. -' »875- Bede" appeared I have been continually having pro- posals from the proprietors or editors of periodicals. 1875.] MetJiods of PublisJiing Books, 191 but I have always declined them, except in the case Letter to of " Romola," which appeared in the Cornhill^ and was Tayior, allowed to take up a varying and unusual number of 1875. pages. I have the strongest objection to cutting up my work into little bits ; and there is no motive to it on my part, since I have a large enough public already. But, even apart from that objection, it would not now be worth the while of any magazine or journal to give me a sum such as my books yield in separate publication. I had ;^7ooo for "Romola," but the mode in which " Middlemarch " was issued brings in a still larger sum. I ought to say, however, that the question is not entirely one of money with me: if I could gain more by splitting my writing into small parts, I would not do it, because the effect would be injurious as a mat- ter of art. So much detail I trouble you with to save misapprehension. Your enjoyment of the proofs cheers me greatly ; and Letter pray thank Mrs. Blackwood for her valuable hints on Black- ^ •; ^ wood, 1 8th equine matters. I have not only the satisfaction of Nov. 1875. using those hints, I allow myself the inference that where there is no criticism on like points I have made no mistake. I should be much obliged to Mr. Simpson — whom I am glad that Gwendolen has captivated — if he would rate the printers a little about their want of spacing. I am anxious that my poor heroes and heroines should have all the advantage that paper and print can give them. It will perhaps be a little comfort to you to know that poor Gwen is spiritually saved, but "so as by fire." Don't you see the process already beginning? I have no doubt you do, for you are a wide-awake reader. 192 Aliss Leiues at Leamington. [The Priory, t^^john ^^^ what a climate to expect good writing in ! Skat- wSiSth ^"^ ^^ ^^^^ morning and splashy roads in the afternoon Nov. 1875. is just typical of the alternation from frigid to flaccid in the author's bodily system, likely to give a corre- sponding variety to the style. Mbs^Sa? "'■ S*^^ "^y head from under the pressure of other Henneii, matters, like a frog from under the vi^ater, to send you 20tn JNOV. ' O 1 J *S7s- my November greeting. My silence through the rest of the months makes you esteem me the more, I hope, seeing that you yourself hate letter-writing — a remark- able exception to the rule that people like doing what they can do well, if one can call that a rule of which the reverse seems more frequent — namely, that they like doing what they do ill. We stayed till nearly the end of September at the house we had taken in Hertfordshire. After that we went into Wales for a fortnight, and were under um- brellas nearly the whole time. I wonder if you all remember an old governess of mine who used to visit me at Foleshill — a Miss Lewis? I have found her out. She is living at Leamington, very poor as well as old, but cheerful, and so delighted to be remembered with gratitude. How very old we are all getting ! But I hope you don't mind it any more than I do. One sees so many contemporaries that one is well in the fashion. The approach of parting is the bitterness of age. Letter Your letter is an agreeable tonic, very much needed, ■Biask- for that wretched hinderance of a cold last week has Dec. '1875. trailed after it a series of headaches worse than itself An additional impression, like Mr. Langford's, of the two volumes is really valuable, as a sign that I have not so far failed in relation to a variety of readers. But you know that in one sense I count nothing done 1875-1 Major Lockhart, 193 as long as anything remains to do ; and it always seems Letter to me that the worst difficulty is still to come. In the Black- -' ^ wood, 15th sanest, soberest judgment, however, I think the third Dec. 1875. volume (which I have not yet finished) would be re- garded as the difficult bridge. I will not send you any more MS. until I can send the whole of vol. iii. We think that Mr. Simpson has conducted our Aus- tralian business admirably. Remembering that but for his judgment and consequent activity we might have got no publication at all in that quarter, we may well be content with ;£"2oo. Mr. Lewes has not got the Life of Heine, and will be much pleased and obliged by your gift. Major Lockhart's lively letter gives one a longing for the fresh, breezy life and fine scenery it conjures up. You must let me know when there is a book of his, because when I have done my own I shall like to read something else by him. I got much pleasure out of the two books I did read. But when I am writing, or only thinking of writing, fiction of my own, I can- not risk the reading of other English fiction. I was obliged to tell Anthony Trollope so when he sent me the first part of his "Prime Minister," though this must seem sadly ungracious to those who don't share my susceptibilities. Apparently there are wild reports about the subject- matter of " Deronda " — among the rest, that it repre- sents French life ! But that is hardly more ridiculous than the supposition that after refusing to go to Amer- ica, I should undertake to describe society there ! It is wonderful how "Middlemarch" keeps afloat in peo- ple's minds. Somebody told me that Mr. Henry Sidg- wick said it was a bold thing to write another book after " Middlemarch ;" and we must prepare ourselves III.— 9 194 Depression with '•'Derondar [The Priory, to^john ^*^^ ^^ incalculableness of the public reception in the woo^d'isth ^^^^ instance. I think I have heard you say that the Dec. 1875. chief result of your ample experience has been to con- vince you of.that incalculableness. What a blow for Miss Thackeray — the death of that sister to whom she was so closely bound in affection. Journal, Dec. 25. — After our return from Wales in October I 1875. ^ ^ grew better and wrote with some success. For the last three weeks, however, I have been suffering from a cold and its effects so as to be unable to make any progress. Meanwhile the two first volumes of " Daniel Deronda " are in print, and the first book is to be pub- lished on February ist. I have thought very poorly of it myself throughout, but George and the Black- woods are full of satisfaction in it. Each part as I see it before me im werden seems less likely to be any- thing else than a failure; but I see on looking back this morning — Christmas Day — that I really was in worse health and suffered equal depression about " Romola /' and, so far as I have recorded, the same thing seems to be true of '' Middlemarch." I have finished the fifth book, but am not far on in the sixth, as I hoped to have been; the oppression un- der which I have been laboring having positively sus- pended my power of writing anything that I could feel satisfaction in. SUMMARY. JANUARY, 1 873, TO DECEMBER, 1 875. Reception of "Middlemarch" — Letter to John Blackwood — Mr. Anthony Trollope — Dutch translation of George Eliot's novels — Letter to Mrs. Cross — Evening drives at Weybridge — Letter to John Blackwood — German reprint of " Spanish Gypsy" —"The Lifted Veil" — "Kenelm Chillingly " — Letter to Mrs. William Smith on her Memoir of her husband — Pleasure in I873-75-] Siumnary of Chapter XVI I. 195 young life— Letter to John Blackwood— Want of a Conservative leader — Letter to Mr. Burne-Jones — The function of art — Pur- pose in art — " Iphigenia in Aulis" — Letter to Mrs. Congreve— Welcoming her home — Letter to Mrs. William Smith on women at Cambridge — Visit to Mr. Frederic Myers at Cam.bridge — Meets Mr. Henry Sidgwick, Mr. Jebb, Mr. Edmund Gurney, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Lyttelton, and Mrs. and Miss Huth— Letter to Mrs. Bray — Death of Miss Rebecca Franklin — Visit to the Master of Balliol — Meets Mr. and Mrs. Charles Roundell — Pro- fessor Green — Max Miiller — Thomson, the Master of Trinity Col- lege, Cambridge — Nine-weeks' trip to the Continent — Letter to Mrs. Congreve from Homburg — Fontaineblcau, Plombieres, and Luxeuil — Two months' stay at Bickley — Letter to Mrs. Cross on journey abroad and Blackbrook — Letter to John Blackwood — New edition of *' Middlemarch " — A real Lowick in a midland county — Cheap editions — Letter to Mrs. Cross on the pleasures of the country and on Mr. Henry Sidgwick — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — House in the country — Letter to J. W. Cross on con- formity — Letter to John Blackwood — Interruptions of town life — Simmering towards another book — Berlin reading ''Middle- march" — Ashantee war — Letter to Madame Bodichon — The George Howards — John Stuart Mill's Autobiography — Letter to Mrs. Cross on Christmas invitation — Dr. Andrew Clark — Letter to Mrs. Bray on stupidity of readers — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — Retrospect of 1873 — Sales of "Middlemarch" and "Spanish Gypsy " — Letter to Mrs. William Smith — " Plain living and high thinking" — Letter^o John Blackwood — Conservative reaction — Cheaper edition of novels — Lord Lytton's "Fables" — Dickens's Life and biography in general — Letter to John Blackwood — Vol- ume of poems — Letter to Mrs. Bray — Motives for children — Let- ter to Miss Hennell — Francis Newman — George Dawson — "The Legend of Jubal and other Poems" published — "Symposium" written — Letter to Miss Mary Cross thanking her for a vase — Letter to Mrs. Cross — Delight in country — Letter to John Black- wood — Threatened restoration of the empire in France — " Brew- ing" "Deronda" — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor on Mrs. Nassau Senior's report — Letter to Mrs. William Smith on consolations in loss — Letter to Madame Bodichon — No disposition to melan- choly — Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones — The serious view of life — Letter to John Blackwood — Justifications for writing — Dean Lid- 196 Summary of Chapter XV I L [1873-75. dell — Letter to Mrs. Stowe — Goethe's mysticism — Lettei 10 Miss Hennell — Visit to Six-Mile Bottom — Paris and the Ardennes — Bank of England and Woolwich Arsenal — Letter to Mrs. Pon- sonby — The idea of God an exaltation of human goodness — Vision of others' needs — Ground of moral action — Need of altruism — The power of the will — Difficulties of thought— Sales of books- Retrospect of 1874 — Letter to Francis Otter on his engagement —Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor— Note-writing— Home for girls- Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby — Value of early religious experience- Limitations of scientists — Letter to John Blackwood — Kinglake's *' Crimea "—Discipline of war— " Rasselas "—Miss Thackeray- Anthony Trollope — Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby — Desire to know the difficulties of others — Companion in the struggle of thought — Mr. Spencer's teaching — The value of poets — Emotion blend- ing with thought — Letter to Mrs. William Smith — Her memoir — Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones — The world of light and speech — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — Rickmansworth — Letter to F. Har- rison asking for consultation — Letter to J. W. Cross — "The Elms" — Depression — Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby— The Brewing interest — Conciliation of necessitarianism with will — Innate ideas — Death of Herbert Lewes — Trip to Wales — Letter to John Blackwood— Not satisfied with "Deronda"— Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor— Mode of publication of books— Letter to John Black- wood— Gwendolen— Letter to Miss Hennell— Miss Lewis— Letter to John Blackwood— Impressions of "Deronda"— Major Lock- hart— Depression about " Deronda." CHAPTER XVIII. We have just come in from Weybridge, but are go- Letter to ing to take refuge there again on Monday for a few Black- wood, 17th days more of fresh air and long, breezy afternoon March, walks. Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in send- ing me the cheering account of sales. Mr. Lewes has not heard any complaints of not un- derstanding Gwendolen, but a strong partisanship for and against her. My correspondence about the mis- quotation of Tennyson has quieted itself since the fifth letter. But one gentleman has written me a very pretty note, taxing me with having wanted insight into the technicalities of Newmarket, when I made Lush say, *' I will take odds." He judges that I should have written, " I will lay odds." On the other hand, another expert contends that the case is one in which Lush would be more likely to say, " I will take odds." What do you think ? I told my correspondent that I had a dread of being righteously pelted with mistakes that would make a cairn above me — a monument and a warning to people who write novels without being omniscient and infallible. Mr. Lewes is agitating himself over a fifth reading of revise. Book VI., and says he finds it more inter- esting than on any former reading. It is agreeable to have a home criticism of this kind ! But I am deep in the fourth volume, and cannot any longer care about what is past and done for — the passion of the moment is as much as I can live in. 19^ Sir Garnet Wolseley, [The Priory, Letter to We had beautiful skies with our cold, and only now Black- and then a snow shower. It is grievous to read of wood, 17th . March, the Suffering elsewhere from floods. 1876. ^ I am well pleased that " Deronda " touches you. I Madame waiited you to prefer the chapter about Mirah's find- Bodichon, ^ '' ^ ^ 30th ing, and I hope you will also like her history in Part 1876. ' III.^ which has just been published. We want very much to get av/ay, but I fear we shall hardly be able to start till the end of May. At pres- ent we think of the Maritime Alps as a destination for the warm summer — if we have such a season this year ; but we shall wander a little on our way thither, and not feel bound to accomplish anything in particu- lar. Meanwhile we are hearing some nice music oc- casionally, and we are going to see Tennyson's play, which is to be given on the 15th. The occasion will be very interesting, and I should be very sorry to miss it. We have been getting a little refreshment from two flights between Sundays to Weybridge. But we have had the good a little drained from us by going out to dinner two days in succession. At Sir James Paget's I was much interested to find that a gentle-looking, clear-eyed, neatly-made man was Sir Garnet Wolseley ; and I had some talk with him, which quite confirmed the impression of him as one of those men who have a pov/er of command by dint of their sweet temper, calm demeanor, and unswerving resolution. The next subject that has filled our chat lately has been the Blue Book on Vivisection, which you would like to look into. There is a great deal of matter for reflec- tion in the evidence on the subject, and some good points have been lately put in print, and conversation that I should like to tell you of if I had time. Pro- 1876.] Public Interest in '^Deronda.' T99 fessor Clifford told us the other Sunday that Huxley Letter to complained of his sufferings from " the profligate lying Bo^dichon, c • s ), March 30, of Virtuous women, 1876. April 12, — On February ist began the publication joumai, of " Deronda," and the interest of the public, strong ' ^^' from the first, appears to have increased with Book III. The day before yesterday I sent off Book VII. The success of the work at present is greater than that of " Middlemarch " up to the corresponding point of publication. What will be the feeling of the pub- lic as the story advances I am entirely doubtful. The Jewish element seems to me likely to satisfy nobody. I am in rather better health — having, perhaps, profited by some eight days' change at Weybridge. Your sympathetic letter is a welcome support to me Letter to in the rather depressed condition which has come upon Black- wood, 1 8th me from the effect, I imagine, of a chill taken in the April, 1876, sudden change from mildness to renewed winter. You can understand how trying it is to have a week of incompetence at the present stage of affairs. I am rather concerned to see that the part is nearly a sheet smaller than any of the other parts. But Books V. and VI. are proportionately thick. It seemed inad- missible to add anything after the scene with Gwen- dolen ; and to stick anything in not necessary to de- velopment between the foregoing chapters is a form of " matter in the wrong place " particularly repulsive to my authorship's sensibility. People tell us that the book is enormously discussed, and I must share with you rather a neat coincidence which pleased us last week. Perhaps you saw what Mr. Lewes told me of — namely, that [a critic] opined that the scenes between Lush and Grandcourt were not vraisemhlahle — were of the imperious feminine, not 200 Motto from Walt Whitman, [The Priory, Letter to the masculinc, character. Tust afterwards Mr. Lewes John _ ' -^ Black- was chatting: with a friend who, without havinof read wood, i8th . . * . ^ Aprii,i876. the [criticism] or having the subject in the least led up to by Mr. Lewes, said that he had been at Lady Waldegraves', where the subject of discussion had been " Deronda ;" and Bernal Osborne, delivering himself on the book, said that the very best parts were the scenes between Grandcourt and Lush. Don't you think that Bernal Osborne has seen more of the Grandcourt and Lush life than that critic has seen ? But several men of experience have put their fingers on those scenes as having surprising verisimilitude ; and I naturally was peculiarly anxious about such tes- timony, where my construction was founded on a less direct knowledge. We are rather vexed, now it is too late, that I did not carry out a sort of incipient intention to expunge a motto from Walt Whitman which I inserted in Book IV. Of course the whole is irrevocable by this time ; but I should have otherwise thought it worth while to have a new page, not because the motto itself is ob- jectionable to me — it was one of the finer things which had clung to me from among his writings — but be- cause, since I quote so few poets, my selection of a motto from Walt Whitman might be taken as a sign of a special admiration, which I am very far from feel- ing. How imperfectly one's mind acts in proof-read- ing ! Mr. Lewes had taken up Book IV. yesterday to re-read it for his pleasure merely; and though he had read it several times before, he never till yesterday made a remark against taking a motto from Walt Whitman. I, again, had continually had an appetency towards removing the motto, and had never carried it out — perhaps from that sort of flaccidity which comes 1876.] Difficulties of Eliding, 201 over me about what fias been done, when I am occu- Letter to pied with what is being done. Bkck- People in their eagerness about my characters are Apriili'sjV. quite angry, it appears, when their own expectations are not fulfilled — angry, for example, that Gwendolen accepts Grandcourt, etc., etc. One reader is sure that Mirah is going to die very soon, and, I suppose, will be disgusted at her remain- ing alive. Such are the reproaches to which I make myself liable. However, that you seem to share Mr. Lewes's strong feeling of Book VII. being no fall- ing off in intensity makes me brave. Only endings are inevitably the least satisfactory part of any work in which there is any merit of development. I forgot to say that the " tephillin " are the small leather bands or phylacteries, inscribed with supreme- ly sacred words, which the Jew binds on his arms and head during prayer. Any periphrasis which would be generally intelli- gible would be undramatic ; and I don't much like ex- planatory foot-notes in a poem or story. But I must consider what I can do to remedy the unintelligibility. The printers have sadly spoiled the beautiful Greek name Kalonymos, which was the name of a celebrated family of scholarly Jews, transplanted from Italy into Germany in mediaeval times. But my writing was in fault. Your letter was one of the best cordials I could Letter to Mrs. H. B have. Is there anvthino: that cheers and strengthens stowe, 6th •' ^ ° May, 1876. more than the sense of another's worth and tender- ness ? And it was that sense that your letter stirred in me, not only by the v/ords of fellowship and en- couragement you give directly to me, but by all you tell me of your own feeling under your late painful ^ 9* 202 Mrs. Stozve and '•^Deronda!' [The Priory, !br^"^L*°^ experience. I had felt it Ions: since I had heard of Mrs. H. B. "^ stowe, 6th your and the Professor's well-beinp; ; but I need not May, 1876. ° say one word to you of the reasons why I am not active towards my distant friends except in thought. I do think of them, and have a tenacious memory of every little sign they have given me. Please offer my reverential love to the Professor, and tell him I am ruthlessly proud that I kept him out of his bed. I hope that both you and he will continue to be inter- ested in my spiritual children. My cares for them are nearly at an end, and in a few weeks we expect to set out on a Continental journey, as the sort of relax- ation which carries one most thoroughly away from studies and social claims. You rightly divine that I am a little overdone, but my fatigue is due not to any excess of work so much as to the vicissitudes of our long winter, which have affected me severely as they have done all delicate people. It is true that some nervous wear, such as you know well, from the excite- ment of writing, may have made me more susceptible to knife-like winds and sudden chills. Though you tenderly forbade me to write in answer to your letter, I like to do it in these minutes when I happen to be free, lest hinderances should come in the indefinite future. I am the happier for thinking that you will have had this little bit of a letter to assure you that the sweet rain of your affection did not fall on a sandy place. I make a delightful picture of your life in your orange-grove — taken care of by dear daughters. Cli- mate enters into my life with an influence the reverse of what I like to think of in yours. Sunlight and sweet air make a new creature of me. But we can- not bear now to exile ourselves from our own coun- 1S76.] Mr. Lewes' s ''Problems^ 203 try, which holds the roots of our moral and social Letter to life. One fears to become selfish and emotionally stSve, 6th withered by living abroad, and giving up the numer- ^^''^^''* ous connections with fellow countrymen and women whom one can further a little towards both public and private good. I wonder whether you ever suffered much from false writing (about your biography and motives) in the newspapers. I dare say that pro-slavery prints did not spare you. But I should be glad to think that there was less impudent romancing about you as a citoyemie of the States than there appears to be about me as a stranger. But it is difficult for us English, who have not spent any time in the United States, to know the rank that is given to the various nev/spapers ; and we may make the mistake of giving emphasis to some American journalism which is with you as unknown to respectable minds as any low- class newspaper with us. When we come back from our journeying, I shall be interesting myself in the MS. and proofs of my husband's third volume of his Problems, which will then go to press, and shall plunge myself into the mysteries of our nervous tissue as the Professor has been doing into the mysteries of the Middle Ages. I have a cousinship with him in that taste — but how to find space in one's life for all the subjects that solicit one ? My studies have lately kept me away from the track of my husband's researches, and I feel behind- hand in my wifely sympathies. You know the pleas- ure of such interchange — husband and wife each keeping to their own work, but loving to have cogni- zance of the other's course. God bless you, dear friend. Beg the Professor to 204 '^Daniel Deronda' Finished. [The Priory, accept my affectionate respect, and believe me always yours with love. Jime 3. — Book V. published a week ago. Growing interest in the public, and growing sale, which has from the beginning exceeded that of '' Middlemarch;" the Jewish part apparently creating strong interest. The useful "companion," which your loving care has had marked with my initials, will go with me, and be a constant sign of the giver's precious affection, which you have expressed in words such as I most value. Even success needs its consolations. Wide effects are rarely other than superficial, and would breed a miserable scepticism about one's work if it were not now and then for an earnest assurance such as you give me that there are lives in which the work has done something " to strengthen the good and mitigate the evil." I am pursued to the last with some bodily trouble — this week it has been sore throat. But I am emerging, and you may think of me next week as raising my " Ebenezer." Love and blessings to you all. The manuscript of "Daniel Deronda" bears the following inscription : " To my dear Husband, George Henry Lev/es. " Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, * * i> * * * Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least ; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising Haply I think on thee — and then my state Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate ; For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state with kings." 1876.] Trip to the Continent, 205 June 10. — We set off on our journey, intending to Journal, go to San Martino Lantosc in the Maritime Alps. '^^^* But I was ill at Aix, where the heat had become op- pressive, and we turned northwards after making a pilgrimage to Les Charmettes— stayed a few days at Lausanne, then at Vevey, where again I was ill \ then by Berne and Zurich to Ragatz, where we were both set up sufficiently to enjoy our life. After Ragatz to Heidelberg, the Klonthal, Schaffhausen, St. Blasien in the Black Forest, and then home by Strasburg, Nancy, and Amiens, arriving September i. After much travelling we seem to have reached the Letter to right place for our health and comfort, and as we Biack- . wood, 6th hope to stay here for at least a fortnight, I have begun July, 1876, to entertam selfish thoughts about you and the possi- gatz. bility of having news from you. Our month's absence seems long to us — filled with various scenes and vari- ous ailments — but to you, I dare say, the request for a letter to tell us what has happened will seem to have come before there is anything particular to tell. On our arriving at Aix the effect of railway travel- ling and heat on me warned us to renounce our proj- ect of going to the Maritime Alps and to turn north- ward ; so after resting at Aix we went to Chambery, just to make a pilgrimage to Les Charmettes, and then set our faces northward, staying at beautiful Lausanne and Vevey for a week, and then coming on by easy stages to this nook in the mountains. In spite of illness we have had much enjoyment of the lovely scenery we have been dwelling in ever since we entered Savoy, where one gets what I most delight in — the combination of rich, well - cultivated land, friendly to man, and the grand outline and atmos« pheric effect of mountains near and distant. 206 '^TJie Cure''' at Ragatz, [The Priory, Letter to This place seems to be one of the quietest baths Black- possible. Such fashion as there is, is of a German, wood, 6th . . ' ' July, 1876, unimposino; kind ; and the Kin.^ of Saxony, who is at from Ra- . gatz. the twin hotel with this, is, I imagine, a much quieter kind of eminence than a London stock-broker. At present the company seems to be almost exclusively Swiss and German, but all the appliances for living and carrying on the " cure " are thoroughly generous and agreeable. We rose at five this morning, drank our glasses of warm water, and walked till a quarter to seven, then breakfasted ; and from half-past eight to eleven walked to Bad Pfeffers and back again, along a magnificent ravine where the Tamine boils down beneath a tremendous wall of rock, and where it is interesting to see the electric telegraph leaping from the summit, crossing the gulf, and then quietly running by the roadside till it leaps upward again to the opposite summit. You may consider us as generally ill-informed, and as ready to make much of a little news as any old provincial folk in the days when the stage-coach brought a single London paper to the village Crown or Red Lion. We have known that Servia has de- clared war against Turkey, and that Harriet Martineau is dead as well as George Sand. Our weather has been uniformly splendid since we left Paris, with the exception of some storms, which have conveniently laid the dust. . Letter to Wc rcachcd home only last night, and had scarcely Black- taken our much-needed dinner before a parcel was Sept.'i876. brought in which proved to be " Daniel Deronda " in the four bound volumes, and various letters with other *' missiles " — as an acquaintance of mine once quite naively called his own favors to his correspondents — ■ 1876.] Tribute from Dr. Hermann Adler, 207 which have at present only gone to swell a heap that Letter to I mean to make acquaintance with very slowly. Mr. Bkdc- Lewes, however, is more eager than I, and he has just Sept.'i876. brought up to me a letter which has certainly grati- fied me more than anything else of the sort I ever received. It is from Dr. Hermann Adler, the Chief Rabbi here, expressing his " warm appreciation of the fidelity with which some of the best traits of the Jew- ish character have been depicted by " etc., etc. I think this will gratify you. We are both the better for our journey, and I con- sider myself in as good case as I can ever reasonably expect. We can't be made young again, and must not be surprised that infirmities recur in spite of mineral waters and air 3000 feet above the sea-level. After Ragatz, we stayed at Stachelberg and Klonthal — two lovely places, where an English face is seldom seen. Another delicious spot, where the air is fit for the gods of Epicurus, is St. Blasien, in the Schwarz- wald, where also we saw no English or American visitors, except such as ilbernachten there and pass on. We have done exploits in walking, usually taking four or five hours of it daily. I hope that you and yours have kept well and have enjoyed the heat rather than suffered from it. I con- fess myself glad to think that this planet has not be- come hopelessly chilly. Draughts and chills are my enemies, and but for them I should hardly ever be ailing. The four volumes look very handsome on the out- side. Please thank Mr. William Blackwood for many kind notes he wrote me in the days of MS. and proofs — not one of which I ever answered or took notice of except for my own behoof. 208 Enjoyment of Home, [The Priory, Letter to We got hcmc again last Friday, much strengthened Bodichon, by our journey, notwithstanding vicissitudes. I sup- 1876. pose you will not be in town for ages to come, but I let you know that I am here in case you have any- thing to say to me by letter — about " objects." After leaving Ragatz v/e still kept in eastern Switzer- land, in high valleys unvisited by the English ; and in our homeward line of travel we paused in the Schwarzwald at St. Blasien, which is a Luft-kur, all green hills and pines, with their tops as still as if it were the abode of the gods. But imagine how we enjoy being at home again in our own chairs, with the familiar faces giving us smiles which are not expecting change in franc pieces ! We are both pretty well, but of course not cured of all infirmities. Death is the only physician, the shad- ow of his valley the only journeying that will cure us of age and the gathering fatigue of years. Still we are thoroughly lively and " spry." I hope that the hot summer has passed agreeably for you and not been unfavorable to your health or comfort. Of course a little news of you will be wel- come, even if you don't particularly want to say any- thing to me. My blessing on you for your sweet letter, which I count among the blessings given to me. Yes. Wom- en can do much for the other women (and men) to come. My impression of the good there is in all un- selfish efforts is continually strengthened. Doubtless many a ship is drowned on expeditions of discovery or rescue, and precious freights lie buried. But there was the good of manning and furnishing the ship with a great purpose before it set out. 1876.] Accumulations in Houses. 209 We are going into Cambridgeshire this week, and Letter to are watching the weather with private views/ BodkiTon, I have had some very interesting letters both from 1876. Jews and from Christians about '' Deronda." Part of the scene at the club is translated into Hebrew in a German-Jewish newspaper. On the other hand, a Christian (highly accomplished) thanks me for em- bodying the principles by which Christ wrought and will conquer. This is better than the laudation of readers who cut the book up into scraps, and talk of nothing in it but Gwendolen. I meant everything in the book to be related to everything else there. I quite enter into Miss Jekyll's view of negative beauty. Life tends to accumulate " messes " about one, and it is hard to rid one's self of them because of the associations attached. I get impatient some- times, and long, as Andrew Fairservice would say, to " kaim off the fleas," as one does in a cathedral spoiled by monuments out of keeping with the pillars and walls. I had felt it lono; before you let me have some news Letter to ^ ^ . Mrs.Wm. of you. How could you repeat deliberately that bad Smith, 14th dream of your having made yourself " objectionable ?" I will answer for it that you were never objectionable to any creature except perhaps to your own self — a too modest and shrinking self. I trusted in your un- derstanding last spring that I was glad to hear from ^ This was a visit to Six-Mile Bottom, where M. Turgueniefif, who was a very highly valued friend of Mr. and Mrs. Lewes, had come to compare his experiences of Russian and English sport. I remember George Eliot telling me that she had never met any literary man whose society she enjoyed so thoroughly and so un- restrainedly as she did that of M. Turguenieff. They had in- numerable bonds of sympathy. 210 Gain in Health from Ragatz. [The Priory, Letter to mv frietids without having: to make the effort of an- Mrs. Wm. '' . ° Smitii,i4thswering, when answering was not demanded for prac- tical purposes. My health was not good, and I was absorbed as to my working pov/er, though not as to my interest and sympathy. You have been in my mind of late, not only on your own account but in affectionate association with our dear Mrs. Ruck, whose acquaintance I owe to you. On my return from abroad I found among my heap of letters a delightful one from her, written, I think, at the end of June, as bright and cheering as the hills under the summer sky. And only a day or two after we saw that sad news in the TiiJies. I think of her beautiful, open face, with the marks of grief upon it. Why did you write me such a brief letter, telling me nothing about your own life .? I am a poor corre- spondent, and have to answer many letters from peo- ple less interesting to me than you are. Will you not indulge me by writing more to me than you expect me to write to you ? That would be generous. We both came back the better for our three months' jour- neying, though I was so ill after we had got to the south that we thought of returning, and went north- ward in that expectation. But Ragatz set me up, so far as I expect to be set up, and we greatly enjoyed our fresh glimpses of Swiss scenery. Mr. Lewes is now printing his third volume of *' Problems of Life and Mind," and is, as usual, very happy over his work. He shares my interest in everything that relates to you ; and be assured — will you not i* — that such interest will always be warm in us. I shall not, while I live, cease to be yours affec- tionately. 1876.] Circulation of Books, 211 Oct. 20. — Looking into accounts apropos of an offer journal, from Blackwood for another ten years of copyright, I '^^^' find that before last Christmas there had been dis- tributed 24,577 copies of ^' Middlemarch." " Evermore thanks " for your last letter, full of gen- Letter to erous sympathy that can afford to be frank. Thestote,i" lovely photograph of the grandson will be carefully ?876. ^ ' . preserved. It has the sort of beauty which seems to be peculiarly abundant in America, at once rounded and delicate in form. I do hope you will be able to cany out your wish to visit your son at Bonn, notwithstanding that heavy crown of years that your dear Rabbi has to carry. If the sea voyage could be borne without much disturb- ance, the land journey might be made easy by taking it in short stages — the plan we always pursue in trav- elling. You see I have an interested m.otive in wish- ing you to come to Europe again, since I can't go to America. But I enter thoroughly into the disinclina- tion to move when there are studies that make each day too short. If we were neighbors, I should be in danger of getting troublesome to the revered Orien- talist, with all kinds of questions. As to the Jewish element in " Deronda," I expected from first to last, in writing it, that it would create much stronger resistance, and even repulsion, than it has actually met with. But precisely because I felt that the usual attitude of Christians towards Jews is — I hardly know whether to say more impious or more stupid when viewed in the light of their pro- fessed principles, I therefore felt urged to treat Jews ^ This letter is in acknowledgment of a letter from Mrs. Beecher Stowe on " Daniel Deronda." 212 English Ignorance of the Jeivs. [The Priory, m"^h% ^'^^ such sympathy and understanding as my nature stowe, and knowled":e could attain to. Moreover, not only 29th Oct. ° •' 1S76. towards the Jews, but towards all Oriental peoples with whom we English come in contact, a spirit of arrogance and contemptuous dictatorialness is ob- servable which has become a national disgrace to us. There is nothing I should care more to do, if it were possible, than to rouse the imagination of men and women to a vision of human claims in those races of their fellow-men who most differ from them in cus- toms and beliefs. But towards the Hebrews we west- ern people, who have been reared in Christianity, have a peculiar debt, and, whether we acknowledge it or not, a peculiar thoroughness of fellowship in relig- ious and moral sentiment. Can anything be more disgusting than to hear people called ''educated'' making small jokes about eating ham, and showing themselves empty of any real knowledge as to the re- lation of their own social and religious life to the his- tory of the people they think themselves witty in in- sulting ? They hardly know that Christ was a Jew. And I find men, educated, supposing that Christ spoke Greek. To my feeling, this deadness to the history which has prepared half our world for us, this inability to find interest in any form of life that is not clad in the same coat-tails and flounces as our own, lies very close to the worst kind of irreligion. The best that can be said of it is, that it is a sign of the intellectual narrowness — in plain English, the stupidity — which is still the average mark of our culture. Yes, I expected more aversion than I have found. But I was happily independent in material things, and felt no temptation to accommodate my writing to 1876.] Discontent of the Young. 213 any standard except that of trying to do my best in Letter to what seemed to me most needful to be done, and I stowe, ' sum up with the writer of the Book of Maccabees — 1876. *'If I have done well and as befits the subject, it is what I desired ; and if I have done ill, it is what I could attain unto." You are in the middle of a more glorious autumn than ours, but we, too, are having now and then a lit- tle sunshine on the changing woods. I hope that I am right in putting the address from which you wrote to me on the 25th September, so that my note may not linger away from you, and leave you to imagine me indifferent or negligent. Please offer my reverent regard to Mr. Stowe. We spent three months in East Switzerland, and are the better for it. Any one who knows from experience what bodily Letter to IVXISS oHTcl infirmity is — how it spoils life even for those who Henneii, •' ^ , , 22d Nov. have no other trouble — gets a little impatient of 1876. healthy complainants, strong enough for extra work and ignorant of indigestion. I at least should be in- clined to scold the discontented young people who tell me in one breath that they never have anything the matter with them, and that life is not worth hav- ing, if I did not remember my own young discontent. It is remarkable to me that I have entirely lost my personal melancholy. I often, of course, have melan- choly thoughts about the destinies of my fellow creat- ures, but I am never in that mood of sadness which used to be my frequent visitant even in the midst of external happiness ; and this, notwithstanding a very vivid sense that life is declining and death close at hand. We are waiting with some expectation for Miss Martineau's Autobiography, which, I fancy, will 214 Public Interest in '^Deronda!' [The Priory, Mis^sara ^^ charming so far as her younger and less renowned ^enneii, life cxtends. All biography diminishes in interest 1876. when the subject has won celebrity — or some repu- tation that hardly comes up to celebrity. But auto- biography at least saves a man or woman that the world is curious about from the publication of a string of mistakes called " Memoirs." It would be nice if we could be a trio — I mean you, Cara, and I — chat- ting together for an hour as we used to do when I had walked over the hill to see you. But that pleas- ure belongs to ''the days that are no more." Will you believe that an accomplished man some years ago said to me that he saw no place for the exercise of resignatio7i when there was no personal divine will contemplated as ordaining sorrow or privation .'' He is not yet aware that he is getting old and needing that unembittered compliance of soul with the inevi- table which seems to me a full enough meaning for the word "resignation." Journal, Dec. I. — Siucc wc Came home at the be^innino^ of 1876. ^ ^ September I have been made aware of much repug- nance or else indifference towards the Jewish part of " Deronda," and of some hostile as well as adverse reviewing. On the other hand, there have been the strongest expressions of interest, some persons ad- hering to the opinion, started during the early num- bers, that the book is my best. Delightful letters have here and there been sent to me ; and the sale both in America and in England has been an unmis- takable guarantee that the public has been touched. Words of gratitude have come from Jews and Jew- esses, and these are certain signs that I may have contributed my mite to a good result. The sale hith- erto has exceeded that of '' Middlemarch," as to the 1876.] House bought at Wit ley, 215 £2 2S, four-volume form, but we do not expect an journal, equal success for the guinea edition which has lately ' ^ * been issued. Z^ee. II. — We have just bought a house in Surrey, and think of it as making a serious change in our life — namely, that we shall finally settle there and give up town. This was a charming house — The Heights, Wit- ley, near Godalming. It stands on a gentle hill overlooking a lovely bit of characteristic English scenery. In the foreground green fields, prettily timbered, undulate up to the high ground of Hasle- mere in front, with Blackdown (where Tennyson lives) on the left hand, and Hind Head on the right — " Heights that laugh with corn in August, or lift the plough-team against the sky in Septem- ber." Below, the white steam-pennon flies along in the hollow. The walks and drives in the neigh- borhood are enchanting. A land of pine-woods and copses, village greens and heather - covered hills, with the most delicious old red or gray brick, timbered cottages nestling among creeping roses ; the sober-colored tiles of their roofs, covered with lichen, offering a perpetual harmony to the eye. The only want in the landscape is the want of flowing water. About the house there are some eight or nine acres of pleasure ground and gar- dens. It quite fulfilled all expectations, as regards beauty and convenience of situation, though I am not quite sure that it was bracing enough for health. I?ee. 15. — At the beginning of this week I had deep Journal, satisfaction from reading in the Times the report of a lecture on " Daniel Deronda," delivered by Dr. Her- 2i6 Jewish Feeling about ^^Dcronday [The Priory, Journal, mann Acller to the Jewish workinsf-men — a lecture 1876. , , showing much insight and implying an expectation of serious benefit. Since then I have had a delightful letter from the Jewish Theological Seminary at Bres- lau, written by an American Jew named Isaacs, who excuses himself for expressing his feeling of gratitude on reading " Deronda," and assures me of his belief that it has even already had an elevating effect on the minds of some among his people — predicting that the effect will spread. I have also had a request from Signor Bartolommeo Aquarone, of Siena, for leave to translate " Romola," and declaring that as one who has given special study to the history of San Marco, and has written a life of Fra Jeronimo Savonarola, he cares that '' Romola " should be known to his countrymen, for their good. Magnificat anima mea I And last night I had a letter from Dr. Benisch, editor of the yewish Chronide, an- nouncing a copy of the paper containing an article written by himself on reading " Deronda " (there have long ago been two articles in the same journal review- ing the book), and using strong words as to the effect the book is producing. I record these signs, that I may look back on them if they come to be con- firmed. £>ec. 31. — We have spent the Christmas with our friends at Weybridge, but the greater part of the time I was not well enough to enjoy greatly the pleasures their affection prepared for us. Farewell 1876. Journal, ya?i. I. — The year opens with public anxieties. '^^^" First, about the threatening war in the East; and next, about the calamities consequent on the contin- ued rains. As to our private life, all is happiness, ¥f] i877.] The Word ''Melioristr 217 perfect love, and undiminished intellectual interest. G.'s third volume is about half-way in print. I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the Letter to word " meliorist " except myself. But I begin to think ly, 19th " 11- 1 • • T 11 Jan. 1877. that there is no good mvention or discovery that has not been made by more than one person. The only good reason for referring to the ^' source " would be that you found it useful for the doctrine of meliorism to cite one unfashionable confessor of it in the face of the fashionable extremes. What are we to do about "Romola.^" It ous^ht to Letter to Tnhn range with the cheap edition of my books — which, Black- wood, 30th exceptis excipiendis^ is a beautiful edition — as well as Jan. 1877. with any handsomer series which the world's affairs may encourage us to publish. The only difficulty lies in the illustrations required for uniformity. The il- lustrations in the other volumes are, as Mr. Lewes says, not queerer than those which amuse us in Scott and Miss Austin, with one exception — namely, that Vv'here Adam is making love to Dinah, which really enrages me with its unctuousness. I would gladly pay something to be rid of it. The next worst is that of Adam in the wood with Arthur Donnithorne. The rest are endurable to a mind v^^ell accustomed to res- ignation. And the vignettes on the title-pages are charming. But if an illustrator is wanted, I know one whose work is exquisite — Mrs. Allingham. This is not a moment for new ventures, but it will take some time to prepare ''Romola." I should like to see proofs, feeling bound to take care of my text ; and I have lately been glancing into a book on Italian things, where almost every citation I alighted on was incorrectly printed. I have just read through the cheap edition of " Romola," and though I have only III.— 10 2 1 8 George Eliot Re-reads ' ' Romola. ' ' [The Priory, Letter to made a few alterations of an unimportant kind — the Black- printino: being unusually correct — it would be well for wood, 30th ^ ^ ^ J Jan. 1877. me to send this copy to be printed from. I think it must be nearly ten years since I read the book before, but there is no book of mine about which I more thoroughly feel that I could swear by every sentence as having been written with my best blood, such as it is, and with the most ardent care for veracity of which my nature is capable. It has made me often sob with a sort of painful joy as I have read the sentences which had faded from my memory. This helps one to bear ' false representations witli patience ; for I really don't love any gentleman who undertakes to state my opin- ions well enough to desire that I should find myself all wrong in order to justify his statement. I wish, whenever it is expedient, to add '' The Lift- ed Veil" and "Brother Jacob," and so fatten the vol- ume containing " Silas Marner," which would thus be- come about 100 pages thicker. Letter to Mr. Lcwcs fccls himself innocent of dialect in gen- Aiiinsh'am, eral, and of Midland dialect in especial. Hence I 1877. ^^^ ' presume to take your reference on the subject as if it had been addressed to me. I was born and bred in Warwickshire, and heard tlie Leicestershire, North Staffordshire, and Derbyshire dialects during visits made in my childhood and youth. These last are represented (mildly) in "Adam Bede." The War- wickshire talk is broader, and has characteristics which it shares with other Mercian districts. Moreover, dia- lect, like other living things, tends to become mongrel, especially in a central, fertile, and manufacturing re- gion, attractive of migration ; and hence the Midland talk presents less interesting relics of elder grammar than the more northerly dialects. 1877.] Harriet Martineaits ''^Autobiography!' 219 Perhaps, unless a poet has a dialect ringing in his Letter to , , , . , 11 ,. William ears, so as to shape his metre and rhymes accordmg Aiiingham, to it at one jet, it is better to be content with a few 1877. ^ ' suggestive touches ; and, I fear, that the stupid public is not half grateful for studies in dialect beyond such suggestions. I have made a few notes, which may perhaps be not unacceptable to you in the absence of more accom- plished aid : 1. The vowel always a double sound, the j^ some- times present, sometimes not ; either adl or yadl. Hither not heard except in e^moother, addressed to horses. 2. Thoii never heard. In general, the 2d person singular not used in Warwickshire except occasion- ally to young members of a family, and then always in the form of thee — i.e., ^ee. For the e77tphatic nomina- tive, yo, like the Lancashire. For the accusative, yer, without any sound of the r. The demonstrative those never heard among the common people (unless when caught by infection from the parson, etc.). »S J i6thNov. am longing for the news of you which you have ac- 1877. customed me to trust in as sure to come at this time of the year. You will give me, will you not, some- thing more than an affectionate greeting ? You will tell me how and where you have been, and what is the actual state of your health and spirits — whether you can still interest yourself in writing on great sub- jects without too much fatigue, and what companion- ship is now the most precious to you ? We returned from our country home (with which we are much in love) at the beginning of this month, leaving it earlier than we wished because of the need to get workmen into it. Our bit of Surrey has the beauties of Scot- land wedded to those of Warwickshire. During the last two months of our stay there I was conscious of more health and strength than I have known for sev- eral years. Imagine me playing at lawn-tennis by the hour together ! The world I live in is chiefly one that has grown around me in these later years, since we have seen so little of each other. Doubtless we are both greatly changed in spiritual as well as bodily matters, but I think we are unchanged in the friend- ship founded on early memories. I, for my part, feel increasing gratitude for the cheering and stimulus 232 Christinas Plans. [The Priory, Letter to your companioiiship gave me, and only think with iVx ISS OuTd Henneii, pain that I might have profited more by it if mv mind i6th Nov. <~> 1. J J 1877. had been more open to good influences. Journal, JSfov. 26. — The Other day we saw in the Times that 1877. G.'s name had been proposed for the Rectorship of St. Andrews. Blackwood writes me that in less than a month they have sold off all but 400 of the 5250 printed ; and in October were sold 495 of the 3J". (yd. edition of " Adam Bede." Our friend Dr. Alibut came to see us last week, after we had missed each other for three or four years. Letter to I havc been made rather unhappy by my husband's Burne- impulsivc proposal about Christmas. We are dull Jones, 3d Dec. 1877. old persons, and your two sweet young ones ought to find each Christmas a new bright bead to string on their memory, whereas to spend the time with us would be to string on a dark, shrivelled berry. They ought to have a group of young creatures to be joyful with. Our own children always spend their Christmas with Gertrude's family, and we have usually taken our sober merry-making with friends out of town. Illness among these will break our custom this year; and thus mein Mann, feeling that our Christmas was free, considered how very much he liked being with you, omitting the other side of the question — namely, our total lack of means to make a suitably joyous meet- ing, a real festival, for Phil and Margaret. I was conscious of this lack in the very moment of the pro- posal, and the consciousness has been pressing on me more and more painfully ever since. Even my husband's affectionate hopefulness cannot withstand my melancholy demonstration. So pray consider the kill-joy proposition as entirely retracted, and give us something of yourselves, only i877-] . Conceptio7is of New Work. 233 on simple black-letter days when the Herald Angels Letter to Mrs have not been raising expectations early in the Bume- Jones, 3d morning. Dec. 1877. I am not afraid of your misunderstanding one word. You know that it is not a little love v^ith which I am yours ever. Your note yesterday gave me much comfort, and I Letter to thank you for sparing the time to write it. Cross, 13th The w^orld cannot seem quite the same to me as long as you are all in anxiety about her who is most precious to you^ — in immediate urgent anxiety that is. For love is never without its shadow of anxiety. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. Dec. 31. — To-day I say a final farewell to this little Joumai, book, which is the only record I have made of my per- sonal life for sixteen years and more. I have often been helped, in looking back in it, to compare former with actual states of despondency, from bad health or other apparent causes. In this way a past despond- ency has turned to present hopefulness. But of course, as the years advance, there is a new rational ground for the expectation that my life may become less fruitful. The difficulty is to decide how far res- olution should set in the direction of activity rather than in the acceptance of a more negative state. Many conceptions of work to be carried out present them- selves, but confidence in my own fitness to complete them worthily is all the more wanting because it is reasonable to argue that I must have already done my best. In fact, my mind is embarrassed by the number and wide variety of subjects that attract me, and the enlarging vista that each brings with it. ^ The beginning of iny mother's last ilhiess. ■ 234 Reading History. [The Priory, Journal, I shall rccord no more in this book, because I am 31st Dec. . ' 1877- gomg to keep a more business-like diary. Here ends 1877. Letter to Yes, it is a comfort to me, in the midst of so many Madame .... •' Bodichon, dispiriting European signs, that France has come so 17th Jan. , . . . wood, 30th Do not write when writmg seems a task. Otherwise July, 1878. you know how well I like to have a letter from you. We have certainly to pay for all our other happi-Leuerto , , William ness, which is a Benjamin's share, by many small bodily Black- ' . wood, 15th miseries. Mr. Lewes continues ailing, and I am keep- Aug. 1878. ing him company with headache. " Rejoice, O young man, in the days of thy youth," and kee-p a reserve of strength for the more evil days. Especially avoid breaking your neck in hunting. Mr. Lewes did once try horseback, some years ago, but found the exercise too violent for him. I think a Highland sheltie would be the suitable nag, only he is very fond of walking; and between that and lawn-tennis he tires himself suf- ficiently. I shall hope by and by to hear more good news about your uncle's health. Shall you mind the trouble of writing me a few Letter •^ *=* to Mrs. words of news about you and yours ? just to let me Bume- 1 , 1 • ' ^ 111. r Jones, 26th know how things are willi you, and deliver me from Aug. 1878. evil dreams. We have been so ailing in the midst of our country joys that I need to hear of my friends being well as a ground for cheerfulness — a bit of sugar in the cup of resignation. Perhaps this fine summer has been altogether delightful to you. Let me know this good, and satisfy the thirsty sponge of my affection. If you object to my phrase, please to observe that it is Dan- tesque — which will oblige you to find it admirable. You remember the case of the old woman of whom Letter to J.W. her murderers confessed that they had beaten her to Cross,26th death, " partly with crowbars and partly with their fists." Well, I have been beaten into silence since 240 Visit of tJie T,A. Trollopes. [Witley, t^^j.w. ^'°"^ \^Vii^ letter, partly by visitors and partly by con- AuTls^s^ tinual headache. I am a shade or two better this morning, and my soul has half awaked to run its daily stage of duty. Happ-ily I was temporarily relieved from headache during our friends' (the Tom Trollopes') visit. We took them to see Tennyson, and they were delighted with the reading which he very amiably gave us. Then the Du Mauriers came to dine with us on the Thursday, and so the time was not, I hope, too lan- guid for our visitors. Mr. Lewes continues to show improvement in health, so that the balance of good is not much altered by my deficit. We shall be pleased to have any news of you, whether by post or person. At this time I was in the habit of going over occasionally from Weybridge on Sundays. The shadow of trouble was on both our houses. My mother was in her last illness, and Mr. Lewes was constantly ailing, though none of us then thought that he would be taken first. But the sharing of a common anxiety contributed to make our friend- ship much more intimate. ■ In our drives in the neighborhood of Witley, Mr. Lewes used sometimes to be suddenly seized with severe cramping pains. I think he was himself aware that something was far wrong, but the moment the pain ceased the extraordinary buoyancy of his spirits returned. Nothing but death could quench that bright flame. Even on his worst days he had always a good story to tell ; and I remember on one occasion, between two bouts of pain, he sang through, with great hrio^ though without much voice, the greater portion of the tenor part in the "Barber of Seville " — George 1878.J Life at Wit ley, 241 Eliot playing his accompaniment, and both of them thoroughly enjoying the fun. They led a very secluded life at Witley — as al- ways in their country retreats — but enjoyed the so- ciety of some of their neighbors. Sir Henry and Lady Holland, who lived next door ; charming Mrs. Thellusson and her daughter, Mrs. Greville, who lived between Witley and Godalming, were es- pecial friends. The Tennysons, too, and the Du Mauriers and Allinghams, were all within easy visiting distance. George Eliot's dislike of Lon- don life continued to increase with the increasing number of her acquaintance, and consequent de- mands on time. The Sunday receptions, confined to a small number of intimate friends in 1867, had gradually extended themselves to a great variety of interesting people. These receptions have been so often and so well described that they have hitherto occupied rather a disproportionate place in the accounts of George Eliot's life. It will have been noticed that there is very little allusion to them in the letters ; but, owing to the seclusion of her life, it happened that the large majority of people who knew George Eliot as an author never met her elsewhere. Her saioJi was important as a meeting-place for many friends whom she cared greatly to see, but it was not otherwise important in her own life. For she was eminently not a typical mistress of a sato?i. It was difficult for her, mentally, to move from one person to another. Playing around many discon- nected subjects, in talk, neither interested her nor amused her much. She took things too seriously, and seldom found the effort of entertaining com- IIL— II 242 Receptions at the Priory. [Witley, pensated by the gain. Fortunately Mr. Lewes sup- plied any qualities lacking in the hostess. A brill- iant talker, a delightful raconteur, versatile, full of resource in the social difficulties of amalgamating diverse groups, and bridging over awkward pauses, he managed to secure for these gatherings most of the social success which they obtained. Many of the reunions were exceedingly agreeable and in- teresting, especially when they were not too crowded, when general conversation could be maintained. But the larger the company grew the more difficult it was to manage. The English character does not easily accommodate itself to the exigencies of a salon. There is a fatal tendency to break up into small groups. The entertainment was fre- quently varied by music when any good performer happened to be present. I think, however, that the majority of visitors delighted chiefly to come for the chance of a few words with George Eliot alone. When the drawling-room door of the Priory opened, a first glance revealed her always in the same low arm-chair on the left-hand side of the fire. On entering, a visitor^s eye was at once ar- rested by the massive head. The abundant hair, streaked with gray now, was draped with lace, ar- ranged mantilla-fashion, coming to a point at the top of the forehead. If she were engaged in con- versation her body was usually bent forward with eager, anxious desire to get as close as possible to the person with whom she talked. She had a great dislike to raising her voice, and often became so wholly absorbed in conversation that the announce- ment of an incoming visitor sometimes failed \o at- tract her attention; but the moment the eyes were 1878.J Receptions at the Priory. 243 lifted up, and recognized a friend, they smiled a rare welcome — sincere, cordial, grave — a welcome that was felt to come straight from the heart, not graduated according to any social distinction. Early in the afternoon, with only one or two guests, the talk was always general and delightful. Mr. Lewes was quite as good in a company of three as in a company of thirty. In fact, he was better, for his verve was not in the least dependent on the num- ber of his audience, and the flow was less inter- rupted. Conversation was no effort to him j nor was it to her so long as the numbers engaged were not too many, and the topics were interesting enough to sustain discussion. But her talk, I think, was always most enjoyable a deux. It was not pro- duced for effect, nor from the lip, but welled up from a heart and mind intent on the one person with whom she happened to be speaking. She was never weary of giving of her best so far as the wish to give was concerned. In addition to the Sundays "at home" the Priory doors were open to a small circle of very intimate friends on other days of the week. Of evening entertainments there were very few, I think, after 1870. I remember some charm- ing little dinners — never exceeding six persons — and one notable evening when the Poet Laureate read aloud " Maud," " The Northern Farmer," and parts of other poems. It was very interesting on this occasion to see the two most widely known representatives of contemporary English literature sitting side by side. George Eliot would have en- joyed much in her London life if she had been stronger in health, but, with her susceptible organi- zation, the aimosphere oppressed her both physi- 244 Bad Account of Health. [Witley, cally and mentally. She always rejoiced to escape to the country. The autumn days were beginning to close in now on the beautiful Surrey landscape, not without some dim, half-recognized presage to her anxious mind of impending trouble. Leyer \ ^m not inclined to let you rest any longer without Black- askins: you to send me some account of yourself, for it wood, 24th ^ -' ■' ^ Sept. 1878. is long since I got my last news from P^dinburgh. I should like to know that you have continued to gather strength, and that you have all been consequently more and more enjoying your life at Strathtyrum. It is an ugly theory that happiness wants the contrast of illness and anxiety, but I know that Mrs. Blackwood must have a new comfort in seeing you once more with your usual strength. We have had "a bad time" in point of health, and it is only quite lately that we have both been feeling a little better. The fault is all in our own frames, not in our air or other circumstances ; for we like our house and neighborhood better and better. The gen- eral testimony and all other arguments are in favor of this district being thoroughly healthy. But we both look very haggard in the midst of our blessings. Are you not disturbed by yesterday's Indian news? One's hopes for the world's getting a little rest from war are continually checked. Every day, after reading the Times, I feel as if all one's writing were miserably trivial stuff in the presence of this daily history. Do you think there are persons who admire Russia's "mis- sion " in Asia as they did the mission in Europe ? Please write me anything that comes easily to the end of your pen, and make your world seem nearer to me. Good Mr. Simpson, I hope, lets you know that he is prospering in his pursuit of pleasure without 1878.] Delight in Old Friends, 245 work — which seems a strange paradox in association with my idea of him. The days pass by without my finding time to tell Madlme you what I want to tell you— how delighted I was to f5°th ocT' have a good account of you. But every bright day, '^^^' and we have had many such, has made me think the more of you, and hope that you were drawing in strength from the clear, sweet air. I miss so much the hope that I used always to have of seeing you in London and talking over everything just as we used to do — in the way that will never exactly come with any one else. How unspeakably the lengthening of memories in common endears our old friends ! The new are comparatively foreigners, with whom one's talk is hemmed in by mutual ignorance. The one cannot express, the other cannot divine. We are intensely happy in our bit of country, as happy as the cloudy aspect of public affairs will allow any one who cares for them to be, with the daily read- ing of the Times. A neighbor of ours was reciting to me yesterday some delicious bits of dialogue with a quaint Surrey woman; e. g.^ "O ma'am, what I have gone through with my husband! He is so uneddicated — he never had a tail-coat in his life !" When Mr. Lewes sent you my MS.^ the other morn- Letter . - . J J to John ing he was m that state of exhilarated activity which Black- wood, 23d often comes with the sense of ease after an attack of Nov. 1878, from the illness which had been very painful. In the afternoon Prioiy. he imprudently drove out, and undertook, with his usual eagerness, to get through numerous details of business, over-fatigued himself, and took cold. The X u The Impressions of Theophrastus Such." 246 Mr. Lewes s Last Illness, [The Priory, Letter effcct has been a sad amount of sufferinor from fever- to John _ ° wood"" d ^^^^"^^^ ^"*-^ headache, and I have been in deep anx- Nov. 1878. iety, am still very unhappy, and only comforted by Sir James Paget's assurances that the actual trouble will be soon allayed. I have been telling the patient about your letter and suggestion that he should send a form of slip as adver- tisement for the Magazine. He says — and the answer seems to have been a matter of premeditation with him — that it will be better not to announce the book in this way at once — "the Americans and Germans will be down on us." I cannot question him further at present, but I have no doubt he has been thinking about the matter, and we must not cross his wish in any way. I have thought that a good form of advertisement, to save people from disappointment in a book of mine not being a story, would be to print the list of contents, which, with the title, would give all but the very stupid a notion to what form of writing the work belongs. But this is a later consideration. I am 2:lad t>' you were pleased with the opening. Letter to Yq^ the last week I have been in deep trouble. Mr. Miss Sara ^ Henneii, Lcwcs has bccn alarmins^lv ill. To-day Sir Tames Sunday ^ -^ , ^ "^ -^ evening, Pao^ct and Dr. Ouain pronounce him in all respects 24th Nov. & ^ i A 1878. better, and I am for the first time comforted. You will not wonder now at my silence. Thanks for your affectionate remembrances. Letter ^j-^ Lcwcs Continues sadly ill, and I am absorbed to John ^ ' i^'^ck- jii nursine: him. AVhen he wrote about Parliament wood, 25th ° Nov. 1878. meeting, he was thinking that it would be called to- gether at the usual time — perhaps February. The book can be deferred without mischief. I wish to add a good deal, but, of course, I can finish nothing now, 1878.] Mr, Lewes s Death. 247 until Mr. Lewes is better. The doctors pronounced Letter to John him in every respect better yesterday, and he had a Biack- quiet night, but since five o'clock this morning he has Nov.'iSjS. had a recurrence of trouble. You can feel for him and me, having so lately known what severe illness is. Mr. Lewes died on the 28th November, 1878. SUMMARY. MARCH, 1S76, TO NOVEMBER, 1S78. Letter to John Blackwood — Visit to Weybridge — " Daniel Deronda " — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — Meets Sir Garnet Wolse- ley — Vivisection — Letter to John Blackwood — Public discus- sion of "Deronda" — Motto from Walt Whitman — Inscription on the MS. of " Deronda " — Letter to Mrs. Stovve — Thanks for sympathy — Drawbacks to going too much abroad — Mr. Lewes's ** Problems" — Letter to J. W. Cross on the effect of her writing — Three-months' trip to Continent — Letter to John Blackwood — Visit to Chambery and Les Charmettes — Lausanne and Vevey — Ragatz — Return to London — Letter to John Blackwood — Dr. Hermann Adler — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — St. Blasien — Wom- en's work — Visit to Six-Mile Bottom — Meets Turguenieff — Jew- ish appreciation of "Deronda" — Letter to Mrs. William Smith — Mrs. Ruck — Letter to Mrs. Stowe — Jewish element in " De- ronda" — Letter to Miss Ilenncll — Miss Martineau's " Autobiogra- phy," and biography in general — Resignation — Gratitude of Jews for " Deronda " — Purchase of house at Witley, near Godalming — Dr. Hermann Adler's lectures on " Daniel Deronda" — Appli- cation to translate " Romola " into Italian — Christmas at Wey- bridge — Opening of year 1877 — Letter to James Sully — The word "meliorism" — Letter to John Blackwood — Illustrations of cheap editions — "Romola" — Letter to William Allingham — Warwickshire dialect — Letter to Mrs. Bray — Harriet Martineau's "Autobiography" — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — Holmes and Mrs. Vernon Lushington playing — Letter to Miss Hennell — Mrs. Chapman on Harriet Martineau — Mrs. Stowe and the Byron case "^Letter to Professor Kaufmann — Gratitude for his estimate of 'Deronda" — Letter to F. Harrison — Sympathy incentive to 248 Stimmary of Chapter XVIII . [1876-78. production— Letter to Mme. Bodichon— Miss Thackeray's mar- riage — Letter to W. Allingham on his poems — Letter to Pro- fessor Kaufmann — Translation of his article by Mr. Ferrier — Letter to Mrs. Ponsonby — Reference to Stradivarius — Pity and fairness — Letter to J.W.Cross — Appreciation of Tennyson's poems and dramas — Letter to Mrs. Peter Taylor — Improvement in health at Witley — Proposal to write on Shakespeare for "Men of Letters " series — Letter to Miss Hennell — Gain of health and strength at Witley — Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones — Christmas plans — Farewell to Journal and to year 1877 — Letter to Mme. Bodichon — State of France — London University opening degrees to women — Reading Green's "History of the English Peoi^le" and Lecky — The phonograph — Letter to John Blackwood — " Pascal " — " La Bruyere " — Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones on the "Two Grenadiers" — Letter to Mrs. Bray — Meeting with Crown Prince and Princess of Germany at ]\Ir. Goschen's — Visit to Ox- ford to the Master of Balliol — Letter to John Blackwood — Ind- ian story of Lord Lytton's — Letter to ]\Irs. Peter Taylor — Function the aesthetic not the doctrinal teacher — Letter to John Blackwood —Mr. Lewes's ill-health — Letter to William Blackwood — Letter to Mrs. Burne-Jones complaining of health — Letter to J. W, Cross — Mr. Lewes's continued illness — Life at Witley — Effect of receptions at the Priory — Description of receptions — Letter to John Blackwood — Complaining of health — Letter to Mme. Bodi- chon — Delight in old friends— Letters to John Blackwood — MS. of " Theophrastus Such" — Mr. Lewes's last illness — Postpone- ment of publication of " Theophrastus " — Mr. Lewes's death. CHAPTER XIX. For many weeks after Mr. Lewes's death, George Eliot saw no one except Mr. Charles Lewes, and the very few persons she was obliged to receive on necessary business. She read no letters, and wrote none, but at once began to occupy herself busily with Mr. Lewes's unfinished MSS., in which work Mr. Charles Lewes was able to assist her in the ar- rangement. The only entry in her diary on the ist January, 1879, is " Here I and sorrow sit." At the end of two months this desolation had told ter- ribly on her health and spirits ; and on the last day of January she was greatly comforted by a visit from Sir James Paget — a friend for whom she had al- ways had the highest and most cordial regard dur- ing the many years she had known him. Meantime she had begun to write a few short notes, and she mentions in her journal of 2d January, ''A kind letter from Professor Michael Foster, of Cambridge, offering to help me on any physiological point ;" and on the 19th January, " Ruminating on the founding of some educational instrumentality as a memorial to be called by his name." There are the following letters in January and February. I bless you for all your goodness to me, but I am a Letter to 1 . , 1 t • f r 1 1 Madame bruised creature, and shrink even irom the tenderest Bodichon. touch. As soon as I feel able to see anybody I will 1879. see you. Please give my love to Bessie^ and thank her 1 Madame Belloc. in.— II- 250 First Letters, [The Priory, Letter to for me — I mean, for her sweet letter. I was a lone: Madame ' ^ Bodichoii, while before I read any letters, but tell her I shall 7th Jan. , ^ ' 1879- read hers again and again. t^^To"n ^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^"S while before I read any letters, and as -l^S'i th y^^ "^ have written none, except such as business re- jan. 1879. quired of me. You will believe that this has not been for want of gratitude to all my friends for their good- ness to me. I can trust to your understanding of a sorrow which has broken my life. I write now because I ought not to allow any disproportionate expense to be incurred about my printed sheets. To me, now, the writing seems all trivial stuff, but since he wished it to be printed, and you seem to con- cur, I will correct the sheets (if you will send me the remainder) gradually as I am able, and they can be struck off and laid by for a future time. I submit this proposition to your judgment, not knowing what may be most expedient for your printing-office. Thank you for all youf kind words. Letter to Sometime, if I live, I shall be able to see you — per- J.W.Cross, ' ' . 22d Jan. haps sooner than any one else — but not yet. Life 1S79. ^ / , •' seems to get harder instead of easier. Letter to When I said "sometime" I meant still a distant J.W.Cross, .... , ^ - 30th Jan. time. I want to live a little time that I may do cer- 1879. tain things for his sake. So I try to keep up my strength, and I work as much as I can to save my mind from imbecility. But that is all at present. I can go through anything that is mere business. But what used to be joy is joy no longer, and what is pain is easier because he has not to bear it. I bless my friends for all their goodness to me. Please say so to all of them that you know, especially Mr. Hall. Tell him I have read his letter again and asain. 1879-] Occupied with Mr, Lewes' s MSS, 251 If you feel prompted to say anything, write it to me. Do not believe that your love is lost upon me, dear. Letter to ■^ ^ ' Mrs. I bless you for all your goodness to me, and keep Bume- , , Jones, 4th every sign of it in my memory. Feb. 1S79. I have been rather ill lately, but my head is clearer this morning. The world's winter is going, I hope, but my everlasting winter has set in. You know that and will be patient with me. Bless you for your lovins: thouo-ht. But for all rea- Letter to ■^ -^ t> to Madame sons, bodily and mental, I am unable to move. I am Bodichon, .... . <^'i^ Feb. entirely occupied with his manuscripts, and must be 1S79. on this spot among all the books. Then, I am in a very ailing condition of body — cannot count on my- self from day to day — and am not fit to undertake any sort of journey. I have never yet been outside the gate. Even if I were otherv/ise able, I could not bear to go out of sight of the things he used and looked on. Bless you once more. If I could go away with aJiy- body I could go away with you. I do need your affection. Every sign of care for me Letter to from the beings I respect and love is a help to me. 7th Feb. In a week or two I think I shall v/ant to see you. ^ ^' Sometimes, even now, I have a longing, but it is im- mediately counteracted by a fear. The perpetual mourner — the grief that can never be healed — is inno- cently enough felt to be wearisome by the rest of the world. And my sense of desolation increases. Each day seems a new beginning — a new acquaintance with grief If you happen to be at liberty to-morrow, or the fol- Letter to lowins; Friday, or to-morrow week, I hope I shall be Saturday, ^ J^ ' i ^ 22dFei!. well enough to see you. Let me know which day, 1879. On Sunday, the 23d February, I saw her for the first time, and there is the following letter next day. 252 Unable to Leave Home. [The Priory, Letter to A transient absence of mind yesterday made me speak J • VV • v_>i OSS| 24th Feb. as if it were possible for me to entertain your thought- ful, kind proposal that I should move to Weybridge for a short time. But I cannot leave this house for the next two months — if for no other reason, I should be chained here by the need of having all the books I want to refer to. t^^Vohn Pray do not announce "Theophrastus " in any way. ^^'^^i^' .u It would be intolerable to my feelings to have a book wood, 25th -' o Feb. 1879. Qf n-jy writing brought out for a long while to come. What I wish to do is, to correct the sheets thoroughly, and then have them struck off and laid by till the time of publication comes. One reason which prompted me to set about the proofs — in addition to my scruples about occupying the type — was that I was feeling so ill, I thought there was no time to be lost in getting done everything which no one else would do if I left it undone. But I am getting better, I think ; and my doctors say there is nothing the matter with me to urge more haste than the common uncertainty of life urges on us all. There is a great movement now among the Jews towards colonizing Palestine, and bringing out the re- sources of the soil. Probably Mr. Oliphant is interest- ed in the work, and will find his experience in the West not without applicability in the East. It is a satisfaction to you, I hope, that your son is about to be initiated in George Street. I trust he will one day carry on the good traditions of the namq '•'John Blackwood." Letter to Your letter, which tells me that you are benefitinof bv Madame ' o ^ Bodichon, ti;je clear, sunny air, is very welcome. Yes, here too 5th Men. . »879- the weather is more merciful, and I drive out mosl days. I am better bodily, but I never feel thoroughly 1 879-1 Correcting ' * Theophrastus ' ' Proofs. 253 comfortable in that material sense, and I am incredibly Letter to Madame thin. As to my mmd, I am full of occupation, but the Bodichon, . ,-,...:. 5th Mch. sorrow deepens down instead of diminishing. I mean ^879. to go to Witley in a few months, that I may look again on the spots that he enjoyed, and that we enjoyed to- gether, but I cannot tell beforehand whether I shall care to go again afterwards. Everybody is very kind to me, and by and by I shall begin to see a few intimate friends. I can do or go through anything that is business or duty, but time and strength seem lacking for everything else. You must excuse my weakness, remembering that for nearly twenty-five years I have been used to find my happi- ness in his. I can find it nowhere else. But we can live and be helpful without happiness, and I have had more than myriads who were and are better fitted for it. I am really very busy, and have been sadly delayed by want of health. One project I have entered on is to found a studentship, which will be called after his name. I am getting help from experienced men. I send the corrected sheets of " Theophrastus," and Letter shall be much obliged if you will order a complete re- Black- vise to be sent me before they are struck off. When- Mch.'iSjg. ever the book is published (I cannot contemplate its appearing before June, and if that is a bad time it must stand over till the autumn season) I beg you kindly to write for me a notice, to be printed on the fly-leaf, that the MS. was placed in your hands last November, or simply last year. I think you will enter into my feeling when I say that to create a notion on the part of the public of my hav- ing been occupied in writing " Theophrastus " would be repugnant to me. And I shrink from putting my- self forward in any way. 254 Scheme of Studentship. [The Priory, U)^johu ■'■ ^^°P^ y^^ ^^^ benefiting by the milder weather. I ^^^^f ^j^ drive out a little now, but you must be prepared to see Mch.'iS79. nie a much changed creature. I think I should hardly know myself. Journal, March 8. — Gertrude ' and the children came to tea. March 9. — Mr. Henry Sidgwick came to discuss the plan of the studentship. March 13. — Professor Michael Foster came to dis- cuss the studentship, and we arrived at a satisfactory clearness as to the conditions. He mentioned as men whom he thought of as suitable trustees, Huxley, Pye Smith, Thiselton Dyer, Francis Balfour, and Henry Sidgwick. Letter • to Mrs. Dear Friend, — When you have tmie to come to me jo"nes, 20th about six o'clock I shall love to see you. ci. I 79. j[f^j,.^/i 22. — Mrs. Congreve came a fc) From this time forward I saw George Eliot con- stantly. My mother had died in the beginning of the X879.J Reading the ^^Divina Commediay 259 previous December, a week after Mr. Lewes ; and, as my life had been very much bound up with hers, I was trying to find some fresh interest in taking up a new pursuit. Knowing very little Italian, I began Dante's " Inferno " with Carlyle's transla- tion. The first time I saw George Eliot afterwards, she asked me what I was doing, and, when I told her, exclaimed, " Oh, I must read that with you." And so it was. In the following twelve months we read through the "Inferno" and the "Purgatorio" together ; not in a dilettante way, but with minute and careful examination of the construction of every sentence. The prodigious stimulus of such a teach- er {cotanto maestro) made the reading a real labor of love. Her sympathetic delight in stimulating my newly awakened enthusiasm for Dante did some- thing to distract her mind from sorrowful memories. The divine poet took us into a new world. It was a renovation of life. At the end of May I induced her to play on the piano at Witley for the first ^ime ; and she played regularly after that whenever I was there, which was generally once or twice a week, as I was living at Weybridge, within easy distance. Besides Dante, we read at this time a great many of Sainte-Beuve's " Causeries," and much of Chau- cer, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth. But I am an- ticipating. We will return to the correspondence in its order. When I shall be able to get to Witley is altogether Letter uncertain. The cold winds make one less hungry for Black- wood 22(1 the country, but still it will be a relief to me, in some April', 1879. respects, to get away from town. I am much stronger than I was, and am again finding interest in this won- 26o Seeing Visitors. [WitleY; Letter derful life of ours. But I am obliged to keep my doors to John ^ wood^'a d ^^^sed against all but the few until I go away. You, ApriiliSjg. however, I shall hope to see. I am founding a stu- dentship of Physiology, to be called "The George Henry Lewes Studentship." It will be placed, in the first instance, at Cambridge, where there is the best physiological school in the kingdom. But the trustees (with my consent during my life) will have the power of moving it where they judge best. This idea, which I early conceived, has been a great stay to me. But I have plenty to think cA, plenty of creatures depend- ing on me, to make my time seem of some value. And there are so many in the world v/ho have to live with- out any great enjoyment. Journal, April 26. — Mr. and Mrs. Hall came. Letter If you Can come to me next week for a parting word, to Mrs . Burne-' Will you try to Icam beforehand whether and when Mayfiijg. your husband can give me half an hour at the end of his working-day? I should like to see him before I go, which I hope to do soon after the 13th. Journal, May 6. — Mr. and Mrs. Call, Eleanor and Florence (Cross) came. May 8. — Mr. Burne-Jones came. May 10. — Edith Simcox and Mr. Pigott came. May 13. — Dr. Andrew Clark came and gave me im- portant suggestions about the studentship. May 21. — Saw Mr. Anthony Trollope. 3 fay 22. — Came down to Witley — lovely mild day. Letter to Ml*. Lcwcs always wrote the dramatic criticisms in James Sully, 28th the Leader, and for a year or two he occasionally wrote May, 1879. -n r 77 r\ such criticisms in the Fall Mall. Of the latter, the chief were reprinted in the little book on "Actors and the Art of Acting." What was written in the I879-J Mr. Lewes s Articles. 261 Fortnightly (1865-66) is marked by signature. The Letter to most characteristic contributions to the Co?iihill (1864- SiiHy, 28th ^ ^ May, 1879. 65) were " The Mental Condition of Babies," " Dan- gers and Deb'ghts of Tobacco," " Was Nero a Mon- ster?" "Shakespeare in France," and "Miseries of a Dramatic Author." But after 1866 his contributions to any periodical were very scanty — confined to a few articles in the Pall Mall Gazette^ one on " The Reign of Law," in the Fortnightly^ and the series on Darwin, now incor- porated in "The Physical Basis of Mind." After these, his sole contributions were an article on Dickens (1872), two on "Spiritualism" and "Mesmerism'' (1876), and one on "The Dread and Dislike of Sci- ence "(1878). Charles, I think, mentioned to you my desire that you should do me the valuable service of looking over the proofs of the remaining volume of " Problems," and you were so generous as to express your willingness to undertake that labor. The printing will not begin till after the i6th — Dr. Michael Foster, who has also kindly offered to help me in the same wa}', not being sufficiently at leisure till after that date. I have been rather ill again lately, but am hoping to benefit by the country quietude. You, too, I am sorry to hear, are not over strong. This will make your loan of mind and eyesight all the more appreciated by me. Your letter, full of details — just the sort of letter I Letter ... . .to Mrs. like to have — has been among my comforts m these Bume- last damp, chill days. The first week I was not well, June, '1879. and had a troublesome attack of pain, but I am better, and try to make life interesting by always having some- thing to do. I am wishing Margaret many happy returns of this 262 Ml'. F. Harrison on Mr. Lewes. [VVitley, t^^ni. ^^y^ ^"^ ^"^ making a picture of you all keeping the joTsTsd ^^^^^^f^^^' A young birthday, when the young creature is June, 1879. promising, is really a happy time ; one can hope reason- ably j and the elder ones may be content that gladness has passed onward from them into newer vessels. I should like to see the blue-eyed maid with her bangles on her arms. Please give my love to all and sundry who make any sign of love for me; and any amount you like is ready for you to draw upon. fSSc ■'■ ^^^'^ greatly obliged to you for sending me the Jod7june P'^P^^ y^^ ^^^ ^^ i"^''^^ to-day; and I appreciate it the »879- more highly because your diligence is in contrast with the general sluggishness of readers about any but idle reading. It is melancholy enough that to most of our polite readers the social factor in psychology would be a dull subject; for it is certainly no conceit of ours which pronounces it to be the supremely interesting element in the thinking of our time. I confess the word factor has always been distaste- ful to me as the name for the grandest of forces. If it were only mathematical I should not mind, but it has many other associated flavors which spoil it for me. Once more — ever more — thanks. Letter to You wiU like to know that Mr. Frederic Harrison Charles L. , , . _ , . , . , Lewes, has scut me a briet paper, wnich is to be read to-day lOth June, i-R*- ^ ' ^ c-i ' ^ tt r^ ' ^ -r^ isjg. at the Metaphysical bociety, on the " Social Factor in Ps3^chology," opening with a quotation from the " Study of Psycholog}'," and marking throughout his high ap- preciation of your father's work. Also the Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, kindly sent (with his initials only) to Triibner four errata which he had found in reading the " Study of Psychology." Trubner did not know vv'ho was the kind corrector, and very properly i879-] Coquelins Acting. 263 sent the paper to me, offering: to have the corrections Letter to ^ ^ ' ° , . Charles L. made on the plates if I wished it. I said, "By all Lewes, ^ ■' lothjune, means," and have written to thank the Rector. What 1879- a blessing to find a man who really reads a book \ I have received the enclosed letter, with other papers (about country lodgings at Sevenoaks for poor chil- dren). Will you look out a single copy of as many of my books (poems included) as you can find, and send them in a parcel, saying that they come from me for the Free Library ? Please not to mind this trouble, as it is for the i77ipecunious readers. (You know I am nothing if not "sesquipedalian " and scientific; and a word of five syllables will do for both qualities.) I wish you could see Coquelin in Tabourin. He is a wonderful actor, when he gets the right part for him. He has a penetrating personality that one cannot be indifferent to, though possibly it may be unpleasant to some people. I was beginning, with my usual apprehensiveness, to Letter to fear that you had no good news to tell me, since I did Biad- not hear from you, and I should have gone on fearing June,' 1879. till to-morrow morning if I had not happened to drive to Godalming and ask for the second post. We only get one post a day at the benighted Witley, so that if you want me to get a letter quickly it must be posted early at Edinburgh. I am heartily glad to know that the invalid is going on well, and I trust that the softer air we are having now will help him forward. "Theophrastus" seems to be really welcomed by the public. Mr. Blackwood will be amused to hear that one gentleman told Charles, or implied, that " Theophrastus " was a higher order of book, and more difficult to write than a novel. Wait long enough, and 264 ''TheopJirastus'' Welcomed. [Witley, wiiHam° ^^'^^y ^^"""^^ of Opinion will turn up. However, poor wood''i2th "1'^^eophrastus" is certainly not composed of "chips" June, 1879. any more than my other books. Another amusing bit of news is, that the other day Mrs. Pattison sent me an extract from the livret of the Paris Salon^ describing a picture painted by a French artist from "The Lifted Veil," and representing the moment when the resuscitated woman, fixing her eyes on her mistress, accuses her of having poisoned her husband. I call this amusing — I ought rather to have said typical of the relation my books generally have with the French mind. Thank you for sending me the list of orders. It does interest me to see the various country demands. I hope the movement will continue to cheer us all, and you are sure to let me knov/ everything that is pleas- ant, so I do not need to ask for that kindness. The weather is decidedly warmer, and Tuesday was a perfectly glorious day. But rain and storm have never let us rest long together. I am not very bright, and am ready to interpret everything in the saddest sense, but I have no definite ailment. My best regards to the convalescent, who, I have no doubt, will write to me when he is able to do so. But I am only one of many who will be glad to hear from him. "I spent an hour with Marian (5th June). She was more delightful than I can say, and left me in good spirits for her — though she is wretchedly thin, and looks, in her long, loose, black dress, like the black shadow of herself. She said she had so much to do that she must keep well — *the world was so intensely i?tteresting.'' She said she would come next year to see me. We both agreed in the "Letter from Madame Bodichon to Miss I5on ham- Carter, 12th June, 1879. .1879-] Articles by Military Men. 265 great love we had for life. In fact, I think she will do more for us than ever." I have been having my turn of illness of rather a sharp Letter kind. Yesterday, when your letter came, I was in more Black-" , T t t • ^' r 1 r WOod, 20th acute pam than I have ever known m my life before, June, 1879. but before the morning was over I was sufficiently re- lieved to read your pleasant news. I am writing in bed, but am in that most keenly conscious ease which comes after unusual suffering. The way in which the public takes " Theophrastus " is really a comfort to me. I have had some letters, not of the compliment- ar}', but of the grateful kind, which are an encourage- ment to believe in the use of writing. But you would be screamingly amused with one, twenty-three pages long (from an Edinburgh man, by-the-bye), who has not read the book, but has read of it, and thinks that his own case is still more worthy of presentation than Merman's. I think a valuable series (or couple of volumes) might be made up from "Maga" of articles written hot by travellers and military men, and not otherwise republished — chronicles and descriptions by eye-wit- nesses — which might be material for historians. What a comfort that the Afghan war is concluded 1 But on the back of it comes the black dog of Indian finance, which means, alas! a great deal of hardship to poor Hindus. Let me hear more news of you be- fore long. Your description of the effects you feel from the Letter restless, tormenting winds would serve well to represent Bume- my experience too. It seems something incredible junel'isfg^ written in my memory that when I was a little girl I loved the wind — used to like to walk about when it was blowing great guns. And nov/ the wind is to me III.— 12 266 ''Debasing the Moral Currency T [Witley, Letter to Mrs Biin.e- vvhat it was to early peoples — a demon-god, cruelly de- jones%9th"^^"^^"S ^^^ sovts of human sacrifices. Thank you, June, 1879. dear, for caring whether I have any human angels to guard me. None are permanently here except my servants, but Sir James Paget has been down to see me, I have a very comfortable country practitioner to watch over me from day to day, and there is a devoted friend who is backward and forward continually to see that I lack nothing. It is a satisfaction to me that you felt the need for "Debasing the Moral Currency" to be written. I was determined to do it, though it might make me a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to all the comic tribe. Do not rate my illness too high in the scale of mor- tal misery. I am prone to make much of my ailments, and am among the worst at enduring pain. t^Tohn Thank you for sending me the pretty little book.* wood^'i th ^ ^"■' ^^^P^y touched by the account of its origin, and June, 1879. I remember well everything you said to me of Mr. Brown in old days when he was still with you. I had Oiily cut a very little way into the volume when a friend came and carried it off, but my eyes had already been arrested by some remarks on the character of Harold Transome, which seemed to me more penetrating and finely felt than almost anything I have read in the way of printed comment on my own writing. When my friend brings back the volume I shall read it rever- entially, and most probably with a sense of being use- fully admonished. For praise and sympathy arouse much more self-suspicion and sense of shortcoming than all the blame and depreciation of all the Pepins. 1 "The Ethics of George Eliot's Works," by J. C. Brown. Blackwood ; 1879. 1879.] ''The Ethics of George Eliofs Works,'' 267 I am better, and I hope on the way to complete re- Letter 1 -r .,1 ^^ r to John covery, but I am still at some distance from that goal. Biack- T> 1 • r f ' 1 11* wood, 29th rernaps if the winds would give one some rest from June, 1879. their tormenting importunity, both you and I should get on faster. I am looking forward to reading the "Recollections of Ekowe " in " Maga," which came to me yesterday, with its list of my own doings and misdoings on the cover. Does not this Zulu war seem to you a horribly bad business ? Sir Henry Maine has sent me the one letter that Letter to . . Charles L. has reioiced my heart about the "Study of Psychol- Lewes, „ 30th June, ogy. He says : " In this branch of Mr. Lewes's 1879. studies I am almost as one of the ignorant, but I think I have understood every sentence in the book, and I believe I have gained great knowledge from it. It has been the most satisfactory piece of work I have done for a long time." I have written to tell him that he has rescued me from my scepticism as to any one's reading a serious book except the author or editor. The si2:ht of your handwritinfr on the pamphlet sent Letter to ^ ^ & 1- 1 Madame me ursres me to do the sooner what I should have al- Bodichon, ^ 2d July, ready done but for a rather sharp illness, which has 1879- kept me chiefly in bed for nearly a fortnight, and from which I am not yet quite free. I enclose a copy of Michael Foster's draft of conditions for the studentship, which I put into the lav;yer's hands some ten or twelve days ago, and which is now come to me drawn up in legal form. You said it would interest you to see the draft, and I have been bearing this in mind, but have not been able to go to the desk where the copy lay. I hope to hear that you have been going on well 268 Five Weeks Illness, .[Witley, Ma^dL-ime ^^^P^^^ ^^^^ ci'uel, r&stlcss wlnds and sad intermittence fd juK"' °^ sunshine. On the 12th I am going to have two ^379. daughters-in-law, y^z/i? grandchildren, and servant for a v/eek — if I can get well enough, as I have good hope now that I shall. The strawberries will be ripe then, and as I don't eat any myself it would be dolorous not to be able to have the children, and see them en- joy the juicy blessing, t^^john ^ ^^''^^ beginning to want some news of you, and was wS;"i6th ^l"^ost ready to ask for it. It is the more welcome July, 1879. fQi- having had time to ripen into a decidedly good re- port of your condition. About myself I have a very poor story to tell, being now in the fifth week of a troublesome illness, in which, like you, I have been partly fed on " poisonous decoctions." To-day, how- ever, happens to show a considerable improvement in my symptoms, and I have been walking in the warmer air with more ease than hitherto. Driving I have not been able to manage for some time, the motion of the carriage shaking me too much. The best of care has been taken of me. I have an excellent country doctor (Mr. Parsons of Godalming) who watches me daily; and Sir James Paget and Dr. Andrew Clark have been down to add their supervision. I begin to think that if I can avoid any evil condition, such as a chill that would bring on a relapse, I may soon be pretty well again. The point to be achieved is to stop the wast- ing of my not too solid flesh. I am glad to hear that the third edition of " Theo- phrastus " has had so lively a movement. If the re- mainder should be sold off I think it would be well just to print a small number of copies to carry on, and avoid bringing out a cheaper edition too soon after people have been paying for the expensive one. i879-] Third Edition of ^^Theophrastusy 269 I have been always able to write mv letters and read Letter •' ^ . .to John my proofs, usually in bed before the fatigue of dressinsf, Biack- J ^ ^ J o o' wood, i6th but the rest of my time has been ver}^ unprofitable — July, 1879. spent chiefly in pain and languor. I am feeling easy now, and you will v;ell understand that after undergo- ing pain this ease is opening paradise. Invalids must be excused for being eloquent about themselves. I feel a perhaps too selfish need to tell you that Letter ^ ^ ^ ■'to Mrs. thinp^s have gone ill with me since I last wrote to you. Bume- ° ° ^ Jones. 22d Why do I want to let you know this not agreeable J"iy> 1S79. news about myself? Chiefly because I want you to be quite clear that if I do not write to say, " When can you come to me ?" it is not from indifference, but from misfortune of another sort. Meanwhile it will do me good to have little items of news from you, when you can find half an hour for the kind deed of writing me a letter. What helps me most is to be told things about others, and your letters are just of the sort I like to have. I am just now in one of my easier hours, and the demon wind has abated. He seems to enter into my pains with hideous rejoicing. Thank you for your kind note. There are to be Letter to James more than as many proofs as you have already had, Suiiy.jth for which I must crave the valuable aid of your read- ing. You will understand all the better how much com- fort it is to me to have your help as well as Professor Foster's, when I tell you that for the last eight weeks I have been seriously out of health, and have often been suffering much pain — a state which I imagine you know by experience to heighten all real anxieties, and usually to create unreal. • It cheers me to be told by you that you think the 270 Gaining Ground in Health. [Witley, jamer° volume interesting. In reading the MS. again and Au^i879. ^^^^'" ^ ^^^^ sot into a state of tremor about it whicli deprived me of judgment— just as if it were writing of my own, which I could not trust myself to pronounce upon. I hope that your own health, and Mrs. Sully's too, will have been benefited by your change from south to north. t^liTs. ^ ^^^^"^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^ ^^^^^y getting better, and shall jonesTiith^^^^^ ^° ^""^y among the minority in this world a little Aug. 1879. longer than I had expected. Will you send me word how long you shall be at liberty, and whether you would think it worth while to come down to me one morning and stay till the after- noon of the following day ? Your letter is delightful to me. Several spiritual kisses for it. Mrs^Pe? r '■'■'^^^"^^ 7^^ for your sweet affection. I have had if^h a' rather a trying illness, which lasted, without great re- ^879- lief, for nearly eight weeks. But I hope that I am now out of it — that is, so far established that I may go on without a relapse. The cold weather was against me, as it was and is against much more important matters. The days of warmth and sunlight which have now and then blessed us have been my best medicine, though I acknowledge the benefit of pepsin and steel, and many other drugs. The gray skies and recurring rain are peculiarly dispiriting to me, and one seems to feel their influence all the more for the wide, beautiful view of field and hill which they sadden and half conceal. In town one thinks less of the sky. If you are ever writing to our dear Mrs. William Smith do give my love to her, and tell her I am very grateful t® her for the letter she wrote me with the postmark Ventnor upon it. With her usual delicacy 1879-1 ^^^ Epoch in Farming, 271 of feeling she did not send her address, so that I could not write in return. I am much oblisfed to you for writino^ me your let- Jtf"?'' *^ (=> J o J William ter of pleasant news. ^^^ck- *■ •wood, 3 a It is wonderful how " Theophrastus " goes on sell- Sept. 187^ ing in these bad times, and I have only to hope in ad- dition that the buyers will be the better for it. Ap- parently we shall get through this last edition before Christmas, and then perhaps you will think of adding the volume to the Cabinet Edition. I am especially rejoiced to hear that your uncle is better again, and I trust that Strathtyrum is sharing our sunshine, which will be the best cure for him as for me. I am getting strong, and also am gaining flesh on my moderate scale. It really makes a difference to one's spirits to think that the harvest may now possibly be got in with- out utter ruin to the produce and unhappy producers. But this year will certainly prove a serious epoch, and initiate many changes in relation to farming. I fear, from what I have read, that the rich Lothians will have to be called compassionately the poor Lothians. By the way, if you happen to want any translation done from the French, and have not just the right person to do it, I think I can recommend a Miss Bradley Jen- kins, of 50 Cornwall Road, Wesbourne Park, as one who has an unusually competent knowledge of French. We sat side by side on the same form translating Miss Edgeworth into French when we were girls. I have not seen her for many years, but I know that she has been engaged in a high order of teaching, and I have lately heard from her that she is anxious to get work of the kind in question. She already spoke French well when we were pupils together, and she has since been an unintermitting student. 2/2 Invitation to Madame Bodichon. [Witley, wniilm ^ ^vonder, talking of translators, how the young Mr. woot'sd ^'^^^"ier is going on, who translated Kaufmann's pam- Sept;x879.-phlet on " Deronda." What Mr. Blackwood told me of him interested me about his future. Oblige us all by not falling into another accident when the next hunting season comes. Madame Bcforc I rcceived your letter the other day I was in- fd sepr' tending to write to you to ask whether, now that I am 1879. stronger and the fine weather shows some signs of per- manence, you feel any revival of the inclination to come and see me for a couple of days. I hardly like to propose your taking the journey, now that you are not being brought near me by other visits — for the rail- way from you to us is, I think, rather tiresome. But if your inclination really lies towards coming you will be affectionately welcomed. About the sea-side I am hopeless. The latter part of October is likely to be too cold for me to move about without risk of chills ; and I hope to be back in town before the end of the month. I am not very fond of the sea-side, and this year it is likely to be crowded with people who have been hindered by the bad weather from going earlier. I prefer the Surrey hills and the security from draughts in one's own home. The one attraction of a coast place to me is a great breadth of sand to pace on when it is in its fresh firmness after the fall of the tide. But the sea itself is melancholy to me, only a little less so under warm sunlight, with plenty of fishing-smacks changing their shadows. All this is to let you know why I do not yield to the attraction of being with you, where we could chat as much or as little as we liked. I feel very much your affectionateness in wishing to have me near you. 1879] Mi^' Stilly s Article on Mr. Lewes. 273 Write me word soon whether you feel able to come as far as this for my sake. I have read the article^ with very grateful feelino^s. Letter to -^ ° ^ James I think that he would himself have regarded it as a Suiiy, loth ° Sept. 1S79. generally just estimate. And I am much obliged to you for sending it to me in proof. Your selection of subjects for remark, and the re- marks themselves, are in accordance with my feeling to a comforting extent; and I shall always remain your debtor for writing the article. I trust you will not be forced to omit anything about his scientific and philosophical work, because that is the part of his life's labor which he most valued. Perhaps you a little underrate the (original) effect of his "Life of Goethe in Germany." It was received with enthusiasm, and an immense number of copies, in both the English and German form, have been sold in Germany since its appearance in 1854. I wish you were allowed to put your name to the article. I am getting strong now after a long spell of medi-^^rs.^Pe?er cal discipline. All these long months I have been oc- J^'Jjj^s'^ t cupied with my husband's manuscripts : also with the ^^^^' foundation of a Physiological Studentship, which is my monument to his memory, and which is now all settled, as you may perhaps have seen by advertisements.^ ^ Article on G. H. Lewes. — N'ew Qiiartej-ly Review, Oct. 1879. '^"George Henry Lewes Studentship." — This studentship has been founded in memory of Mr. George Henry Lewes, for the purpose of enabling the holder for the time being to devote him- self wholly to the prosecution of original research in physiology. The studentship, the value of which is slightly under ;^20o per annum, paid quarterly in advance, is tenable for three years, dur- ing which time the student is required to carry on, under the guidance of a director, physiological investigations, to the com- III.— 12* 274 Mr. Sully s Proof-reading. [Witley, Mrs." l?er "^"^ ^ ^^ ^°^ ^^^ througli the proof-reading of the final '^7^^ Sept. "^^^^^^^ of " Problems of Life and Mind," which will *S79- contain the last sheets he ever wrote. I hear very good accounts of Madame Bodichon, who is coming to me for a couple of days on the 29th. You are wonderful for life and energy, in spite of your delicate looks. May you have all the strength you need for your sympathetic tasks ! Letter to J j-jave uot yet thanked you — and I do so now verv James •' ■J J Oct^^is^'^ gratefully — for the help you have given me in my sad and anxious task. Your eyes have been a most pre- cious aid, not only as a matter of fact, but as a ground of confidence. For I am not at all a good proof-read- er, and have a thorough distrust of myself. Letter to I caunot wisli not to have been cheered by your Mrs. . . Bume- triple letter, even though I have caused you to rise Jones, i8th .... . ..... Oct. 1879. earlier in the morning, and to feel a disproportionate remorse. " Maggior difetto men vergogna lava," as says Virgil to the blushing Dante. And you have given me the fuller measure because I had to wait a little. Your legend of " Fair Women " interests me very much. I feel a citizen of the world again, knowing all plete exclusion of all other professional occupations. No person will be elected as a "George Henry Lewes Student" who does not satisfy the trustees and director, first, as to the promise of success in physiological inquiry; and, second, as to the need of pecuniary assistance. Otherwise all persons of both sexes are eli- gible. Applications, together with such information concerning ability and circumstances as the candidate may think proper, should be sent to the present director, Dr. Michael Foster, New Museums, Cambridge, not later than October 15, 1879. The ap- pointment will be made and duly advertised as soon as possible after that date. 1879] The Pretence of Pleasure. 275 the news. But the core of good news in your letter is Letter . . to Mrs. that your husband is well again, and again happy in Bume- his work. Your collapse is what I feared for youjOct 187V and you must call the getting change of air and scene — I was going to say "a dut}^," but are you one of those wonderful beings who find everything easier un- der that name? But at least one prefers doing a hard duty to grimacing with a pretence of pleasure in things that are no pleasure. I am greatly comforted this morning by the fact that the (apparently) right man is found for the George Henry Lewes Studentship — an ardent worker, who could not have carried on his pursuit without this help. I know you are not unmindful of what touches me deeply. Go on your visit, dear, and come back well — then show yourself without unnecessary delay to your lov- ing friend. I have had a deli2:htful bit of news from Dr. Foster Letter to ° . Charles L. this morning. He had mentioned to me before that Lewes, , Saturday, there was an Edinburgh student whom he had in his 20th Oct. 1879. mind as the right one to elect. This morning he writes: "The trustees meet to-morrow to receive my nomination. I have chosen Dr. Charles Roy, an Edinburgh man, and Scotchman — not one of my own pupils. He is, I think, the most promising — by far the most promising — of our young physiologists, put- ting aside those who do not need the pecuniary assist- ance of the studentship. And the help comes to him just when it is most needed — he is in full swing of work, and was casting about for some means of sup- porting himself which would least interfere with his work, when I called his attention to the studentship. I feel myself very gratified that I can, at the very out- 276 Death of Mr. John Blackivood. [Witley, ChlriesL ^^^' recommend just the man, as it appears to me, for Lewes, the IDOSt." baturday, ^ 20th Oct. This is a thing your father would have chosen as a result of his life. charks L ^ ^^^^'^ j^^^ ^''^^ somc news that grieves me. Mr. TuS I^l^ckwood is dangerously ill, and I fear, from Mr. 27tuoct.' William's letter, that there is little hope of recovery. He will be a heavy loss to me. He has been bound up with what I most cared for in my life for more than twenty years ; and his good qualities have made many things easy to me that, without him, would often have been difficult.^ I wrote to Mr. Triibner to tell him that the print- ing of the "Problems" being finished, I should be glad if he would arrange with you about the condi- tions of publication. Bear in mind your father's wish that the volumes should not be made dearer than nec- essary. I am going to Weybridge on Friday, and I intend to be at the Priory by Saturday before dusk. But it is just possible I may be detained till Monday morning. So if you have any good occupation for Sunday you had better call on your way home on Monday. Letter Your affectionate note would quite have determined Eleanor me to do what, when your brother kindly proposed Cross, 29th ... .... ^,,,^ Oct. 1879. it, raised a certaui longing in me. I thought that I should like to see you all in the remembered home again. But I have had a little check in health, and I am feeling so depressed that I shrink from making any engagement which involves others. A visitor to-day and my own languor threatens to throw me backward in my arrangements for leaving, ' Mr. John Blackwood died on 29th October, 1879. 1 879-] Visit to Wey bridge, 277 and I have a sense of impossibility about evervthins: Letter . -^ ^ to Miss that, under other conditions, would be a pleasure. I Eleanor Cross, 29th am afraid lest a fit of sadness should make me an op- Oct. 1879. pression to you all ; and my conclusion this morning is that I must give up the few hours' happiness of feel- ing your family love around me as I used to do, and simply go straight up to town with my servants. But if Friday morning brings me better hopes I will telegraph to you, since you allow me to wait till the eleventh hour. If you receive no telegram you will understand that I am still too downhearted to venture on a visit even to those who are among the best-loved of my friends. In that case you must all make me amends for my loss by coming to see me in the old place in town. Came to Weybridge on 31st October, and re- turned to the Priory on ist November. I came here just a week ago, and I had a superstition Letter that you would come to me yesterday. But I used no Rume- -' •' •' Jones, 8th enchantments — and so you didn't come. Nov. 1879. I am very grateful to you for your kind letter. Letter to ■^ ^ , , . , , Miss Sara News about you all had been much desired by me : Henneii, ^ . . ^ 22d Nov. but I have now so many business letters to write that 1879- from '' the Pri- I am apt to defer such as are not absolutely necessary, ory. The careful index is a sign of your effective industry, and I have no doubt that it will be a great help to yourself as well as to your readers. One very often needs an index to one's own writing. My chief ob- jects are quite completed now. The Dr. Roy ap- pointed to the studentship is held by competent per- sons to be the most hopeful of our young physiolo- gists: and there is a volume of 501 pages (the last) of "Problems of Life and Mind" ready to appear next month. I am quite recovered from the ailment 2?^ Recovery of Health. [The Priory, MilSa ^^^^^^^^ J^ade me good for little in the summer, and in- ^d Nov. ^^^^ ^^ stronger than I ever expected to be again. iS79- People are very good to me, and I am exceptionally blessed in many ways; but more blessed are the dead who rest from their labors, and have not to dread a barren, useless survival. Mrs.Veter ^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^^^^' ^^^^^ ^^"^ friend, all things consid- DecTsy^g? ^''^^- ^"^ canuot help getting occasional chills and Prior^^*^ headaches in this hard, wintry time. Oh, yes, I read the Times with great interest, and am much concerned to know what my contemiDoraries are doing. My time is very fully occupied, for I have now to write a great many letters, such as used to be writ- ten for me, and I would willingly spend the time thus taken up in another sort of reading and writing. Letter to Thank you a thousand times, my dear friend, for Mrs. Peter ^ ... Taylor, 5th your tender New Year's greetino; and inquiries. I have Jan. 1880. ^ & to M passed well from " under the saws and harrows " of the severe cold, and am better, both in apparent organic soundness and in strength for all occupation, than I once thought was possible for me. Our dear Barbara is painting in w^ater colors again from her window — just as of old. I know you will be glad to hear of this. And I am now seeing many other friends, who interest me and bring me reports of their several worlds. The great public calamities of the past year have helped to quiet one's murmuring spirit in relation to private sorrows, and the prospect for the future is not yet very bright. One thinks of mothers like Mrs. Ruck, whose best-loved sons are in Afghanistan. But we must live as much as we can for human joy, dwelling on sorrow and pain only so far as the con- sciousness of it may help us in striving to remedy them. i88o.] Engagemerit to Mr. Cross. 279 Life has seemed worse without my glimpses of vou. Letter -'to Mrs. And now I have not the amends of thinking that you Bume- - T_, . , , , . Jones, 19th are out of our Egyptian darkness and gettmg health in Jan. 1880. the country. I must drive over to ask about you as soon as I can. As the year v/ent on, George Eliot began to see all her old friends again. But her life was never- theless a life of heart-loneliness. Accustomed as she had been for so many years to solitude a deux, the want of close companionship continued to be very bitterly felt. She was in the habit of going with me very frequently to the National Gallery, and to other exhibitions of pictures, to the British Museum sculptures, and to South Kensington. This constant association engrossed me completely, and was a new interest to her. A bond of mutual dependence had been formed between us. On the 28th March she came dov/n to Weybridge and stayed till the 30th ; and on the 9th April it was finally decided that our marriage should take place as soon, and as privately, as might be found practi- cable. You can hardly think how sweet the name sister is to Letter me, that I have not been called by for so many, many Eleanor Cross, 13th years. April, isso. Without your tenderness I do not believe it would have been possible for me to accept this wonderful re- newal of my life. Nothing less than the prospect of being loved and welcomed by you all could have sus- tained me. But now I cherish the thought that the family life will be the richer and not the poorer through your brother's great gift of love to me. Yet I quail a little in facing what has to be gone through — the hurting of many whom I care for. You 28o springs of Affection Re-opened, [The Priory, J^^^Miss '^^^ ^°^"S everything you can to help me, and I am full cJoss,73th ^^S^^^^^'^d^ to you all for his sake as well as my own. Aprii,i88o. The springs of affection are reopened in me, and it will make me better to be among you — more loving and trustful. I valued Florence's little visit very much. You and she will come again — will you not ? — to your sister. Letter to I havc fouud the spot in " The Prelude " where the r redenc ^ Harrison passage I mentioned occurs. It is in book viii., " The 19th April, ' 1880. Retrospect," towards the end : j " The human nature unto which I felt That I belonged, and reverenced with love, j Was not a punctual presence, but a spirit Diflfused through time and space, with aid derived I Of evidence from monuments, erect, ', Prostrate, or leaning towards their common rest \ In earth, the widely scattered wreck sublime I Of vanished nations." \ The bit of brickwork in the rock is I " With aid derived from evidence." I f . I think you would find much to suit your purpose in I " The Prelude," such as — ' " There is One great society alone on earth : The noble Living and the noble Dead." Except for travelling, and for popular distribution, I prefer Moxon's one-volumed edition of Wordsworth to any selection. No selection gives you the perfect gems to be found in single lines, or in half a dozen lines which are to be found in the "dull" poems. I am sorry Matthew Arnold has not included the sonnet beginning — " I griev'd for Buonaparte with a vain . And an unthinking grief— " i88o.] Lord Lyt ton's India7i Experience, 281 and which has these precious lines, Letter to / Frederic " 'Tis not ill battles that from youth we train igth^April, The governor who must be wise and good, ^^^°' And temper with the sternness of the brain Thoughts motherly, and meek as womanhood. Wisdom doth live with children round her hnees.''* Has he the magnificent sonnet on Toussaint I'Ouver- ture? I don't know where there is anything finer than the last eight lines of it. Please don't acknowledge this note, else you will neutralize my pleasure in sending it by making me feel that I have given you trouble. The beautiful photograph has reached me safely, and Letter to I am very grateful to you for your kindness in send- Lady Lyt- . , T ...,,, , ton, 24th mg it to me. In comparing it with the photograph April, isso. which you gave me seven or eight years ago I see the effect of a saddening experience which the years must bring to us all, but, to my feeling, the face is the more endearing because of that effect. You have been very often in my thoughts, because I. have associated you with public affairs, and have im- agined sympathetically how they must have affected your private life. I am sure that this momentous ex- perience in India has been a hard discipline both for you and for Lord Lytton. I can imagine he has often been sick at heart with the near vision, which his post forces on him, of human meanness and rancor. You, too, must have gathered some melancholy knowledge of that sort, which has perhaps changed a little the curves of the mouth and the glance of the eyes since those Vienna days, when the delightful M. de Villers helped to make the hours pleasant to us. I saw the photographs of your daughters, which gave me an idea how fast the dramatic authoress has de- 282 Announcement of Marriage. [The Priory, fhe"Hon° veloped physically as well as mentally. When I first fon';^24ur' ^^w ^^^^ ^t Vienna she was the prettiest little rosebud. April, i8So. jyfj-g^ Strachey called the other day when I was out, and among other reasons for' my being sorry not to have seen her, was the having missed some authentic news about your probable movements. What happens to you will always have interest for me, since I have long been, with sincere regard, yours most truly. On the 24th April George Eliot came down to Weybridge, and stayed till the 26th. Tames *° ^ ^"^ deeply obliged to you for the care with which you Sully, 26th have treated the final volume of "The Problems " in April, 1880. the Academy, which you have kindly sent me. I think you could hardly have written more effectively towards exciting an interest in the work in the minds of the comparatively few who really care for the study of psychology. You have added one more to the ob- ligations which will make me always yours gratefully. Letter to \ havc somethinaf to tell you which will doubtless be Madame Bodichon, ^ areat Surprise to vou : but since I have found that Sth May, ^ ^ -' ^ i83o. other friends, less acquainted with me and my life than you are, have given me their sympath3',_I think that I can count on yours. I am going to do what not very long ago I should myself have pronounced impossible for me, and therefore I should not wonder at any one else' who found my action incomprehensible. By the time you receive this letter I shall (so far as the fut- ure can be matter of assertion) have been married to Mr. J. W. Cross, who, you know, is a friend of years, a friend much loved and trusted by Mr. Lewes, and who, now that I am alone, sees his happiness in the dedication of his life to me. This change in my posi- tion will make no change in my care for Mr. Lewes's family, and in the ultimate disposition of my property. i88o.] Marriage to Mr. Cross. 283 Mr. Cross has a sufficient fortune of his own. We are Letter to Madame going abroad for a few months, and I shall not return Bodichon, . SthMay, to live at this house. Mr. Cross has taken the lease ^sso. of a house, No. 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where we shall spend the winter and early spring, making Witley our summer home. I indulge the hope that you will some day look at the river from the windows of our Chelsea house, which is rather quaint and picturesque. Please tell Bessie ^ for me, with my love to her. I cannot write to more than two or three persons. A great, momentous change is going to take place \f^^'^^^ , a ;=> & i" jvji-s. Con- in my life. My indisposition last week and several ^^ve, sth other subsequent circumstances have hindered me from communicating it to you, and the time has been but short since the decision was come to. But with your permission Charles will call on you and tell you what he can on Saturday. Yours and Emily's ever, with unchanging love. May 6. — Married this day at 10.15 ^^ John Walter Journal, Cross, at St. George's, Hanover Square. Present, Charles, who gave me away, Mr. and Mrs. Druce, Mr. Hall, William, Mary, Eleanor, and Florence Cross. AVe went back to the Priory, where we signed our wills. Then we started for Dover and arrived there a little after five o'clock. Your letter was a sweet greeting to us on our arrival Letter ° ° to Miss here yesterday. Eleanor We had a millennial cabin on the deck of the Calais- May, isso. Douvres, and floated over the strait as easily as the saints float upward to heaven (in the pictures). At Amiens we were very comfortably housed, and paid ■" Madame Belloc. 284 Ma^ Days. [Paris, t^MTss ^^^° enraptured visits, evening and morning, to the Sosrih ^''^^^^edral. I was delighted with J.'s dehght in it. May,i8So. And we read our dear old cantos of the "Inferno" that we were reading a year ago, declining afterwards on "Eugenie Grandet." The nice woman who waited on us made herself very memorable to me by her sketch of her own life. She went to England when she was nineteen as a lady's maid— had been much efimiyee de sa mere, detested Us plaisirs, liked only her regular e very-day work and la paix. Here we have a very fiiir appartement, and plenty of sunlight, au premier. Before dinner we walked up to the Arc de I'Etoile and back again, enjoying the lovely greenth and blossoms of the horse-chestnuts, which are in their first glory, innocent of dust or of one with- ered petal. This morning at twelve o'clock we are going to the Russian church, where J. has never been, and where I hope we shall hear the wonderful intoning and singing as I heard it years ago. This is the chronicle of our happy married life, three days long — all its happiness conscious of a dear back- ground in those who are loving us at Weybridge, at Thornhill, and at Ranby. You are all inwoven into the pattern of my thoughts, which would have a sad lack without you. I like to go over again in imagination all the scene in the church and in the vestry, and to feel every loving look from the eyes of those who were rejoicing for us. Be- sides Professor Sellar's letter, which touched J. with grateful surprise, we have had one to him from Mr. Frederic Harrison, saying everything affectionate, and two very finely felt letters from Edith Simcox — one to him enclosing the one to me. Certainly, she has a rare generosity and elevation which find their easy i88o.] Expedition to the Grande Chartreuse, 285 channel in writing. My love to Henry and to the Letter .^T^^^^ •••11 ^^ ^\iS gentle Berthe, who was an invisible presence at our Eleanor , , . Cross, gth wedding. May, i88a I think I must thank Florence, too, for her letter to J. \ for we accept to the full the principle of " what is mine is thine " on each side. What most comforted him this morning was a letter from Albert Druce about the Chelsea house. His usual exclamation over any- thing from Albert is that his brother-in-law is the most satisfactory of men ! Write us word about everything, and consider 3^our- selves all very much loved and spiritually petted by your loving sister. This place is so magnificently situated, in a smiling Letter to valley, with the Isere flowing through it, and surround- Lewe? ed by grand and various lines of mountains, and wei88o,from were so enraptured by our expedition yesterday to the Grande Chartreuse that we congratulate ourselves greatly on our choice of route. I think it unlikely that we shall want to wander beyond the second week in July. We shall begin to long for home just when the rest of the London world are longing for travel. We are seeing nature in her happiest moment now — the foliage on all the tremendous heights, the soft slopes, and the richly clad valleys on the way to the Chartreuse is all fresh and tender, shone through by a sunlight which cherishes and does not burn us. I had but one regret in seeing the sublime beauty of the Grande Chartreuse. It was that the Pater had not seen it. I would still give up my own life willingly if he could have the happiness instead of me. But marriage has seemed to restore me to my old self I was getting » Mrs. Hall. 2^6 Enjoyment of Travel. [Milan, cSsL. ^^''^^^' ^"^ ^^^ ^^^^ decided differently, I think I should \isiUA iiave become very selfish. To feel daily the loveliness i8So. of a nature close to me, and to feel grateful for it, is the fountain of tenderness and strength to endure. Glorious weather always, and I am very well — quite amazingly able to go through fatigue. i^^mYss O*-^^ 1^^^ since we wrote to you has been a chapter CroSTsthOf delights — Grenoble — Grande Chartreuse— Cham- May, 1880. i^g/^y — paradisiacal walk to Les Charmettes — roses gathered in Jean Jacques' garden — Mont Cenis Tun- nel and emergence into Italian sunshine. Milan, com- fortable appartement, delicious privacy, and great minds condescending to relax themselves ! We got here yes- terday, and of course our first walk was to the post, where we found your delightful budget and other let- ters, which we took to a cafe in the grand galleria and read at our ease to the accompaniment of tea. Two of my letters yesterday touched me very grate- fully. One was from " Brother Jimmy " — the prettiest letter possible. The other letter that moved me was one from my own brother. Then J. had a graceful letter of congratulation from Mr. Henry James, who is still at Florence. I think you did not send that letter of Mr. Edmund Gurney's which you mention. I am fond of seeing the letters which put my friends in an amiable light for my imagination. And now that I have had that charming letter from my new brother in America, I feel that my family initiation is complete. No woman was ever more sweetly received by brothers and sisters than I have been ; and it is a happy, new longing in my life that I may return into their bosoms some of the gladness they have poured into mine. I have been uninterruptedly well, and feel quite strong with all sorts of strength except strong-minded- i88o.] Renewal of Correspondence. 287 ness. We are going to hear the music in the Duomo Letter at eleven, and after that we intend to pay our first visit Florence X .1 -n» 11 T • 1 Cross, 25th to the Brera gallery. It is our present plan to stay here May, 1880. for some days, and we enjoy the thought of a little sta- tionary life such as we have not had since we left Paris. We often talk of our sisters, oftener think of them. You are our children, you know. Your letter was forwarded to me here, and it was a Letter to Isaac P. great joy to me to have your kind words of sympathv, ^^^"S' ^ , ., J I :•> 26th May, for our long silence has never broken the affection for ^^so. you which began when we were little ones. My hus- band, too, v/as much pleased to read your letter. I have known his family for eleven years, and they have received me among them very lovingly. The only point to be regretted in our marriage is that I am much older than he ; but his affection has made him choose this lot of caring for me rather than any other of the various lots open to him. Emily Clarke has lately sent me rather a sad ac- count of Sarah's^ health. I trust that it is now better, for I think it is her lungs that chiefly trouble her, and summer may act beneficently on them. Please give my love to her, and tell her that I like the assurance of her share in the good wishes you send me. I have often heard of Frederick ^ through the ad- miration of those who have heard him preach; and it has been a happy thought to me that you and Sarah must feel it a great comfort to have him as well as Walter settled near you. Edith is the only one of your children whom I have seen since they have been grown up, and I thought her a noble-looking woman. ^ Mrs. Isaac Evans (since deceased). ^ Rev. Frederick Evans, Rector of Bedworth. i88o, 288 The ^^Luini'' Pictures. [Milan, haarp° We are going to remain abroad until some time in Sinia , J^^>^' ^"^ ^^"^^^ ^^^^ return to the Heights, Witley, Sur- 1880. rgy^ Qjjj. i-iome in London will be 4 Cheyne AValk, Chelsea, looking on a very picturesque bit of the river. I hope that your own health is quite good now, and that you are able to enjoy the active life which I know you are fond of. Always your affectionate sister. Charies L. Many thanks for your delightful letter, which came ^8^th May, ^*^ """^ ycstcrday, with a loving though brief letter from Mrs. Congreve to keep it company in making the day agreeable. We arrived here on Monday, and have been induced by a nice quiet apartment and pleasant attendance to carry out our plan of resting here and deliberately see- ing what is to be seen in this cheerful, prosperous city. I am glad to find that the Luini pictures come up to my remembrance, and that J. is much impressed by his introduction to them. I continue remarkably well, and am every day surprising myself by the amount of walking, standing, and looking that I can go through. To-morrow or the next day we intend to go on to Verona, then, after a sufficient pause to enjoy that glorious place, we shall move on to Padua and Venice, where it will be best for you to send anything you may have to send. I like to see the letters. They make one realize the fact of one's home and little world there amid the dreaminess of foreign travel. We take our meals in our own apartment and see nothing of our fellow-guests in the hotel — only hear their British and American voices when they air themselves in the cortile after their dinner. The weather has hitherto been delicious, not ex- cessively warm, always with a pleasant movement in i88o.] Friends Sympathy with Marriage. 289 the air; but this morning there is a decided advance Letter to Charles L. in heat, and we shall both have our theory of sfreat Lewes, ■^ ° 28th May, heat being the best thing for us well tested in the ^^so. next month. The. change I make in the date of -this letter is aLe"erto *-' Madame sign of the difficulty you well know that one finds in f ^^'jj^"' writing all the letters one wants to write while travel- ^"^ ^^t ^ June, 1880, ling. Ever since Charles forwarded to me your dear ^'■^'^ v^- ... rona. letter while I was in Paris I have been meaning to write to you. That letter was doubly sweet to me be- cause it was written before you received mine, intended to inform 3^ou of my marriage before it appeared in the newspapers. Charles says that my friends are chiefly hurt because I did not tell them of the approaching change in my life. But I really did not finally, ab- solutely, decide — I was in a state of doubt and struggle — until only a fortnight before the event took place, so that at last everything was done in the utmost haste. However, there were four or five friends, of whom you were one, to whom I was resolved to write, so that they should at least get my letter on the morning of the 6th. I had more than once said to Mr. Cross that you were that one of my friends who required the least ex- planation on the subject — who would spontaneously understand our marriage. But Charles sends me word that my friends in general are very sympathetic, and I should like to mention to 3^ou that Bessie ^ is one whose very kind words he has sent to me, for you may have an opportunity of giving. my love to her, and telling her that it is very sweet to me to feel that her affection is constant to me in this as it was in other crises of my ^ Madame Belloc. nL—13 290 To Venice by Padua. [Verona, Jf"^*"*^ life. I wish, since you can no longer come in and out Madame ' ■^ o f°h Ma"' ^^^"'^"S "s ^s y^^ "sed to do, that you already knew and ist my husband better. His family welcome me with the J Line, iSSo. •' •' uttermost tenderness. All this is wonderful blessing falling to me beyond my share, after I had thought that my life was ended, and that, so to speak, my coffin was ready for me in the next room. Deep down be- low there is a hidden river of sadness, but this must always be with those who have lived long — and I am able to enjoy my newly reopened life. I shall be a better, more loving creature than I could have been in solitude. To be constantly, lovingly grateful for the gift of a perfect love is the best illumination of one's mind to all the possible good there may be in store for man on this troublous little planet. We leave Verona to-day, and stay a little at Padua on our way to Venice. Hitherto we have had de- lightful weather, and just the temperature we rejoice in. We are both fond of warmth, and could bear more heat than we have the prospect of at present. Yesterday we had a drive on the skirting heights of Verona, and saw the vast fertile plain around, with the Euganean hills, blue in the distance, and the Apen- nines just dimly visible on the clear margin of the horizon. I am always made happier by seeing well- cultivated land. We came into Italy by way of Grenoble (seeing the Grande Chartreuse), Chambery, and the Mont Cenis Tunnel; since then we have been staying at Milan and enjoying the Luini frescoes and a few other great things there. The great things are alwa3^s by comparison few, and there is much everywhere one would like to help seeing, after it has once served to give one a no- tion of historical progression. i88o.] Stay in Venice. 291 We shall stay at Venice for ten days or a fortnight: Letter to Tim ^ ^ ' Madame so II you nave a scribe, or would write yourself, to tell Bodichon, 1 11 • • 11 • T ^9^^ ^^y me that all is Cfoing on well with you, the letter would ^^d ist , r. 1 ct • . June, i8Sd. not, as the Scotch say, "go amissing." We both enjoyed reading your letter on the morn- Letter to ing after our arrival at this enchantinsf city, where the Lewes, 9th ^ . . fc> JJ June, 1880, glorious light, wuth comparative stillness and totaU^o"^ a / 1 Venice. absence of dust, makes a paradise much more desira- ble than that painted by Tintoretto on the wall of the Consiglio Maggiore. Nothing but the advent of mos- quitoes would make it easy for us to tear ourselves away from this place, where every prospect pleases, but also where one is obliged to admit that man is some- what vile. I am sadly disappointed in the aspect of the Venetian populace. Even physically they look less endowed than I thought them when we were here under the Austrian dominion. We have hardly seen a sweet or noble w^oman's face since we arrived; but the men are not quite so ill-looking as the women. The singing here (by itinerant performers in gondolas) is disgraceful to Venice and to Italy. Coarse voices, much out of tune, make one shudder when they strike suddenly under the window. Our days here are passed quite deliciously. We see a few beautiful pictures or other objects of interest, and dwell on them sufficiently every morning, not hurrying ourselves to do much; and afterwards we have a giro in our gondola, enjoying the air and the sight of marvellous Venice from various points of view and under various aspects. Hitherto we have had no heat, only warmth, with a light breeze. To-day, for the first time, one thinks that violent exercise must be terribly trying for our red-skinned fellow-mortals at work on the gondolas and the barges. But for us it 292 Reading Ruskiii and Alfieri, [Venice, Charles L ^"^ ^"^^ plcasant to find the air warm enough for sit- Lewes,9th ting oLit in the eveninsr. We shall not soon run away June, 1880. ° ° -' from Venice unless some plague — e.g.^ mosquitoes — should arise to drive us. We edify ourselves with what Ruskin has written about Venice, in an agreeable pamphlet shape, using his knowledge gratefully, and shutting our ears to his wrathful innuendoes against the whole modern world. And we are now nearly at the end of Alfieri's autobiography, which is a deeply interesting study of character. Letter to It may well seem incredible to you, for it is hardly grave, loth credible to myself, that while I have been lon^ins: to June, 1880. , -^ _ to fc> write to you ever since I received 3^our dear letter, I .have not found the time to satisfy my longing. Per- haps you are more able than most people to conceive the difficulty of getting a clear half-hour between the business of travelling and the attention to little details of packing and toilet, over and above the companion- ship of talk and reading. Certainly I have thought of you all the more, but you have not known that, and I have lost my claim to hear about you — a use and wont which I would not willingly part with. I wonder whether you have imagined — I believe that you are quick to imagine for the benefit of others — all the reasons why it was left at last to Charles to tell you of the great, once undreamed-of change in my life. The momentous decision, in fact, was not made till scarcely more than a fortnight before my marriage j and even if opportunity had lent itself to my confiding everything to you, I think I could hardly have done it at a time when your presence filled me rather with a sense of your and Emily's trouble^ than with my own J Mr. Geddcs's death. i88o.] Recovery of Sympathy. 293 affairs. Perhaps Charles will have told you that the Letter to "^ Mrs. Con- marnasfe deprives no one of any good I felt bound to gi'eve, loth ° ^ •' ^ June, 1880. render before — it only gives me a more strenuous posi- tion, in which I cannot sink into the self-absorption and laziness I was in danger of before. The whole history is something like a miracle-legend. But in- stead of any former affection being displaced in my mind, I seem to have recovered the loving sympathy that I was in danger of losing. I mean, that I had been conscious of a certain drying-up of tenderness in me, and that now the spring seems to have risen again. Who could take your place within me or make me amends for the loss of you ? And yet I should not take it bitterly if you felt some alienation from me. Such alienation is very natural where a friend does not fulfil expectations of long standing. We have already been ten days at Venice, but we hope to remain as long again, not fearing the heat, which has hitherto been only a false alarm in the minds of English travellers. If you could find time to send me word how you all are — yourself. Dr. Congreve after his holiday, and Emily, with all her cares about removal — a letter sent to the Paste Restante here would reach me, even if we had left before the next ten days were over. We shall hardly be at Witley be- fore the middle of July : but the sense of neighborhood to you at Witley is sadly ended now. We thought too little of the heat, and rather laughed at English people's dread of the sun. But the mode of life at Venice has its peculiar dangers. It is one thing to enjoy heat when leading an active life, getting plenty of exercise in riding or rowing in the evenings ; it is another thing to spend all one's days in a gondola — a delicious, dreamy exist- 294 Mr. Cross's Illness. [Venice, ence — going from one church to another — from palaces to picture-galleries — sight-seeing of the most exhaustively interesting kind — traversing con- stantly the piccoli rei^ which are nothing more than drains, and with bedroom-windows always open on the great drain of the Grand Canal. The effect of this continual bad air, and the complete and sudden deprivation of all bodily exercise, made me thoroughly ill. As soon as I could be moved we left Venice, on the 23d of June, and went to Inn- spruck, where we stayed for a week, and in the change to the pure, sweet, mountain air I soon re- gained strength. Letter to I was made very glad by Gertrude's letter, which as- CharlesL. . Lewes, 7th sured me that Witley had been enjoyed by you and July, 1880, . '' . i J J J from stutt-the little ones. We stayed six days at Innspruck, find- ing it more and more beautiful under the sunshine which had been wanting to it during our first two days. Then we went on to Munich, and yesterday we arrived here, as a temporary resting-place on our way to Wild- bad, which, we hope, will put the finishing-touch to J.'s recovery of his usual health. I wish I had been able to let you know in time that you could have remained a little longer at Witley, as I think we shall hardly be at home before the 20th if we find Wildbad what we want. Your Mutter is marvel- lously well and strong. It seems more natural io her to have anxiety than to be free from it. Let us hope that she will not run down like a jelly-fish now that her anxiety is over. Letter to I reccivcd your welcome letter yesterday morning, Charles L. • .t . • t • Lewes, and felt inclined to answer it the next minute. J. is Isso, from quite well asfain, but is inclined to linger a little in the Wildbad. ^ . f , ' ^ 1 1 1 • 1 sweet air of the Schwarzwald, which comes to one on i88o.] Arrival in England. 295 gently stirred wings, laden with the scent of the pine Letter to - . ^ Charles L. lorests. We mean to drive from here to Baden, which Lewes, . , . ,. 13th July, IS within easy distance. 1880. Yesterday we sallied forth for a walk over the moun- tain, to a place where we could rest and lunch, return- ing in the afternoon. The sky was brilliant. But in half an hour the clouds gathered and threatened a storm. We were prudent enough to turn back, and by the time we were in the hotel again the thunder was rolling and the rain pouring down. This continued till about two o'clock, and then again the sky became clear. I never saw so incalculable a state of weather as we have in this valle}'. One quarter of an hour the blue sky is only flecked by lightest cirrus clouds, the next it is almost hidden by dark rain clouds. But we are going to start on our promised expedition this morning, the sunshine flattering us that it is quite con- firmed. I think you had better address your next letter Posie jRestanfe, Strasburg, as I am uncertain how long we shall rest at Baden. Left Wildbad on the 17th July, and had a de- lightful drive through the Black Forest by Herren- alb to Baden, and thence by Strasburg, Metz, Lux- emburg, and Brussels, arriving at Willey on Mon- day the 26th of July. We arrived here in all safety last Monda\^, and if I had Letter to Madame not had vour welcome little note this morning I think Bodichon, -' ^ 1st Aug. I should soon have written to you without any such ^sso. extra stimulus. Mr. Cross had a sharp but brief attack at Venice, due to the unsanitary influences of that wondrous city in the later weeks of June. We stayed a little too long there, with a continuous sirocco blowing, and bad 296 Letters of Welcome. [Witley, Madame ^^^^^^^ Under the windows of the hotel ; and these con- JI^'au'-"' ^^^^o"s found him a little below par from long pro- isso. tracted anxiety before our marriage. But ever since we left Venice (on the 23d of June) he has been get- ting strong again, and we have enjoyed a leisurely journey through Germany in constant warmth and sunshine, save for an occasional thunderstorm. The climate in this beloved country of ours is a sad ex- change, and makes one think of a second bad harvest, with all its consequences. Still, it is a delight to be at home and enjoy perfect stillness, after the noisiness of foreign bells and foreign voices indoors and out. It would be very pretty to pay you a visit next April, if \ve are all alive, and I think Mr. Cross would like it very much. He sends you, hoping you will accept them, his best remembrances, which have been kept up by our often talking about you. I have been amazingly well through all the exertion of our travels, and in the latter half of the time have done a great deal of walk- ing. Letter to How swcct of vou to writc me a little welcome as Mrs. Peter -^ Taylor, 2d soou as VOU kucw that I was at home a^am. Aug. 1880. J ° Yes, we are both well now, and glad to be at home again, though the change of climate is not of the ex- hilarating sort. One is so sorry for all the holiday- makers, whose best enjoyment of these three days would have been in the clear air and sunshine. Do not reproach me for not telling you of my mar- riage beforehand. It is difficult to speak of what sur- prises ourselves, and the decision was sudden, though not the friendship which led to the decision. My heart thoroughly responds to your remembrance of our long — our thirty-years' relation to each other. Let me tell you this once what I have said to others — i88o.] Mr. and Airs. C. Lczves at St. Blasien. 297 that I value you as one of the purest-minded, efentlest- Letter to Mrs Peter hearted women I have ever known, and where such aTayior.ad r 1 • • . r • 1 1 • 1 • . , . Aug. 1880. leehng exists, friendship can hve without much aid from sight. We shall probably not be in town again till the be- ginning of November. Our address then will be 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where we shall have an out- look on the river and meadows beyond. Just now we have the prospect of going on family visits to mar- ried sisters, which prevents us from feeling quite set- tled. I expected your letter, and expected, too, just the Letter to sort of letter I have received, tellino^ me everything de- Lewes, *^ ./ o j2th Aug. lightfully. I can follow you everywhere in your jour- isso. neying except to Ober Wesel. I hope you will have enjoyed St. Blasien and some of the walks there con- secrated by the beloved Pater's footsteps. We re- versed your drive and went to Freiburg, so that I can enter into your enjoyment of the Hollenthal. I am glad that j^our weather has been temperate. Here we have now had four sunny and really hot days, and this morning promises to be the fifth. That is consolatory as to the harvest, and is very agreeable as to our pri- vate life. The last two evenings we have walked in the garden after eight o'clock — the first time by star- light, the second under a vapory sky, with the red moon setting. The air was perfectly still and warm, and I felt no need of extra clothing. Our life has had no more important events than calls from neighbors and our calls in return. To-morrow we pay our visit to the Druces at Sevenoaks, where, you may remember, Mr. Druce has built a beautiful house. At the beginning of September we are to visit Mr. and Mrs. Otter at Ranby, and after that we shall TIT-T3* 298 Visi^ to Lincolnshire. [Witley, CharTesL ^^ ^^ Six-Mile Bottoiii for a day or two. Then our Lewes, wandcrino^s will be over. 12th Aug. ° 1880, I went to the Priory the other day, and found a treatise on Blood Pressure, by Dr. Roy, which he had sent me there, and which he has published as the " George Henry Lewes Student." I imagine that he has come to pursue his studies in England, as he in- tended to do. Delbeuf s article on the last volume of the " Problems " (in the Belgian Athe^jcenm) is very nicely done. He has read the book. I am pretty well, but find myself more languid than I was when abroad. I think the cause is perhaps the moisture of the climate. There is something languorous in this climate, or, rather, in its effects. J. gets a little better every day, and so each day is more enjoyable. Letter We have just come home after paying family vis- Bume- its in Lincolnshire and Cambrido:eshire, else I should Jones, 9th ^ Sept. i88o. have answered your letter earlier. The former one reached me in Venice, when I w^as in great trouble on account of Mr. Cross's illness. I had had reason to believe that my letters, ordered to be posted on the 5th of May, had not been delivered; so I asked Charles to inquire about the letter I wrote to you — not because it demanded an answer, but because I wished you to know that I had written. I am so glad to know that you have been enjoying our brief English summer. The good harvest makes the country everywhere cheerful, and we have been in great, even districts where the fields, full of sheaves or studded with ricks, stretch wide as a prairie. Now, we hope not to leave this place again till November, when we intend to go to Chelsea for the winter and earliest spring. I almost envy you the opportunity of seeing Womb- i88o.] Visit to Cambridgeshire. 299 well's Menagerie. I suppose I got more clelio;ht out Letter r .1 , •, • ... , to Mrs. 01 tnat Itinerant institution when I was nine or ten Bume- 11.1 T- 1 Jones, 9lh years old than I have ever got out of the Zoological Sept. istso. Gardens. The smells and the sawdust mingled them- selves with my rapture. Everything was good. It was very dear of you to write to me before you finished your holiday. My love attends you all. Your letter this morning is a welcome assurance Letter to about you. We have been away in Lincolnshire and Bodichon, Cambridgeshire, paying visits to the Otters and the isso. Halls. The weather, which is now broken, was glori- ous through all our wandering, which we made very interesting by pausing to see Ely, Peterborough, and Lincoln cathedrals. The Otters have a very pretty, happy household. He is a country gentleman now, acting as a magistrate, and glancing towards Parlia- ment. But he keeps up his reading, and is delightful to talk to. Emily looks very pretty in her matronly position, with three little children. The Halls, too, are very pleasant to behold in their home life. He has done wonders in building nice cottages and schools, and sinking wells where they were wanted, and founding a co-operative store — and, in general, doing whatever opportunity allows towards slowly im- proving this confused world. We saw (at Six -Mile Bottom) Mr. and Mrs. Sidgwick. Perhaps you know that they have had, and have, the admirable public spirit to let their house and arrange to live for a year in the new Newnham House, in order to facilitate mat- ters for the double institution. We are very well. Mr. Cross gets stronger and brif^hter every day. We often mention you, because you are associated with so many of my memories. Our only bugbear— it is a very little one—- is the hav- 300 Recurrence of Illness. [Witley, Madame ^"^ ^^ ^-^V^ preliminary arrangements towards settling Mth'se°pt. ^"^selves in the new house (4 Cheyne Walk). It is a 1880. quaint house ; and a Mr. Armitage of Manchester, of whom you may have heard, has been superintending the decoration and furnishing, but not to the exclusion of old things, which we must carry and stow, especially wallings of books. I am become so lazy that I shrink from all such practical work. Letter to \ have been and am sufferino: under an attack of a Charles L. *=> Lewes, 23d comparatively mild sort, but I expect to be well in two or three days, and am just going to drive to Godalming to meet my husband. Hence I write this hurriedly. We should like to see you and Gertrude from Saturday to Monday some week next month if it would be pleas- ant to you. This attack was a recurrence of the renal disor- der of the previous year. 0\\ the 29th September we went for ten days to Brighton as the most ac- cessible place for a bracing change. The first ef- fects of the sea breezes were encouraging, but the improvement was not maintained. Shortly after our return to Witley Dr. Andrew Clark,^ " the be- loved physician," came down to consult with Mr. Parsons of Godalming — on 2 2d October. From that time there was gradual but slow improvement, and, during November, a decided recovery of strength. But an English autumn was not favor- able to the invalid. Pier sensibility to climatic in- fluences was extreme. It will have been noticed in the preceding letters how constantly change of air and scene was required. I had never seen my wife out of England, previous to our marriage, ex- * Now Sir Andrew Clark. i88o.] Effect of Climate, 30 1 cept the first time at Rome, when she was suffering. My general impression, therefore, had been that her health was always very low, and that she was almost constantly ailing. Moreover, I had been with her very frequently during her long, severe illness at Witley in 1879. I was the more surprised, after our marriage, to find that from the day she set her foot on Continental soil till the day she returned to Witley she was never ill — never even unwell. She began at once to look many years younger. During the eleven years of our acquaintance I had never seen her so strong in health. The greater dryness and lightness of the atmosphere seemed to have a magical effect. At Paris we spent our morn- ings at the Louvre or the Luxembourg, looking at pictures or sculpture, or seeing other sights — al- ways fatiguing work. In the afternoons we took long walks in the Bois, and very often went to the theatre in the evening. Reading and writing filled in all the interstices of time : yet there was no con- sciousness of fatigue. And we had the same ex- perience at all the places we stayed at in Italy. On our way home she was able to take a great deal of walking exercise at Wildbad and Baden. Decrease of physical strength coincided exactly with the time of our return to the damper climate of England. The specific form of illness did not declare itself until two months later, but her health was never again the same as it had been on the Continent. Towards the middle of October she was obliged to keep her bed, but without restriction as to amount of reading and talking, which she was always able to enjoy, except in moments of acute pain. Durin^r l^er illness I read aloud, among other 302 Reading Comtes Works. [Witley, books, Comte's " Discours Preliminaire," translat- ed by Dr. Bridges. This volume was one of her especial favorites, and she delighted in making me acquainted with it. For all Comte's writing she had a feeling of high admiration, intense inter- est, and very deep sympathy. I do not think I ever heard her speak of any writer with a more grateful sense of obligation for enlightenment. Her great debt to him was always thankfully ac- knowledged. But the appreciation was thorough- ly selective, so far as I was able to judge. Parts of his teaching were accepted and other parts rejected. Her attitude towards him, as the founder of a new religion, may be gathered from the refer- ences and allusions in the foregoing correspond- ence, and from the fact that for many years, and up to the time of her death, she subscribed to the Comtist Fund, but never, so far as I am aware, more direcdy associated herself with the members of the Positivist Church. It was a limited adher- ence. We generally began our reading at Witley with some chapters of the Bible, which was a very pre- cious and sacred book to her, not only from ear- ly associations, but also from the profound con- viction of its importance in the development of the religious life of man. She particularly en- joyed reading aloud some of the finest chapters of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and St. Paul's Epistles. With a naturally rich, deep voice, rendered completely flexible by constant practice; with the keenest perception of the requirements of emphasis, and with the most subtile modulations of tone, her reading threw a glamour over indifferent writing, and gave i88o.] George Eliofs Reading Aloud, 303 to the greatest writing fresh meanings and beauty. The Bible and our elder English poets best suited the organ-like tones of her voice, which required, for their full effect, a certain solemnity and maj- esty of rhythm. Her reading of Milton was espe- cially fine ; and I shall never forget four great lines of the "Samson Agonistes " to which it did perfect justice — " But what more oft in nations grown corrupt, And by their vices brought to servitude, Than to love bondage more than liberty. Bondage with ease than strenuous liberty." The delighted conviction of justice in the thought — the sense of perfect accord between thought, lan- guage, and rhythm — stimulated the voice of the reader to find the exactly right tone. Such read- ing requires for its perfection a rare union of intel- lectual, moral, and physical qualities. It cannot be imitated. It is an art, like singing — a personal possession that dies with the possessor, and leaves nothing behind except a memory. Immediately before her illness we had read, together, the first part of " Faust." Reading the poem in the orig- inal with such an interpreter was the opening of a new world to me. Nothing in all literature moved her more than the pathetic situation and the whole character of Gretchen. It touched her more than anything in Shakespeare. During the time that we were reading the " Faust " we were also constantly reading, together, Shakespeare, Milton, and Words- worth : some of Scott's novels and Lamb's essays too, in which she greatly delighted. For graver study we read through Professor Sayce's " Intro- duction to the Science of Language." Philology 304 Persistency ifi Application. [Witley, was a subject in which she was most deeply inter- ested ; and this was my first experience of what seemed to me a limitless persistency in application. I had noticed the persistency before, while looking at pictures, or while hearing her play difficult mu- sic ; for it was characteristic of her nature that she took just as great pains to play her very best to a single unlearned listener as most performers would do to a room full of critical cogtioscenti. Professor Sayce's book was the first which we had read to- gether requiring very sustained attention ("The Divina Commedia " we had read in very short bits at a time), and it revealed to me more clearly the depth of George Eliot's mental concentration. Con- tinuous thought did not fatigue her. She could keep her mind on the stretch hour after hour : the body might give way, but the brain remained unwearied. Her memory held securely her great stores of reading. Even of light books her recollections were always crisp, definite, and vivid. On our way home from Venice, after my illness, we were reading French novels of Cherbuliez, Alphonse Daudet, Gustave Droz, George Sand. Most of these books she had read years before, and I was astonished to find what clear-cut, accurate impressions had been retained, not only of all the principal characters, but also of all the subsidiary personages — even their names were generally remembered. But, on the other hand, her verbal memory was not always to be depended on. She never could trust herself to wTite a quotation without verifying it. In foreign languages George Eliot had an expe- rience more unusual among women than among men. With a complete literary and scholarly i88o.] Languages, — Mathematics. 305 knowledge of French, German, Italian, and Span- ish, she spoke all four languages with difficulty, though accurately and grammatically; but the mimetic power of catching intonation and accent was wanting. Greek and Latin she could read with thorough delight to herself; and Hebrew was a favorite study to the end of her life. In her younger days, especially at Geneva, inspired by Professor de la Rive's lectures, she had been greatly interested in mathematical studies. At one time she applied herself heartily and with keen enjoyment to geometry, and she thought that she might have attained to some excellence in that branch if she had been able to pursue it. In later days the map of the heavens lay constantly on her table at Witley, and she longed for deeper astro- nomical knowledge. She had a passion for the stars; and one of the things to which we looked forward on returning to London was a possible visit to Greenwich Observatory, as she had never looked through a great telescope of the first class. Her knowledge of wild-flowers gave a fresh inter- est each day to our walks in the Surrey lanes, as every hedgerow is full of wonders — to " those who know ;" but she would, I think, have disclaimed for herself real botanical knowledge, except of an elementary sort. This wide and varied culture was accompanied with an unaffected distrust of her own knowledge, with the sense of how little she really knew, com- pared with what it was possible for her to have known, in the world. Her standard was always abnormally high — it was the standard of an ex- pert; and she believed in the aphorism that to 30^ The Effect of Writing. [Witley, know any subject well we must know the details of it. During our short married life our time was so much divided between travelling and illness that George Eliot wrote very little, so that I have but slight personal experience of how the creative ef- fort affected her. But she told me that, in all that she considered her best writing, there was a " not herself," which took possession of her, and that she felt her own personality to be merely the in- strument through which this spirit, as it were, was acting. Particularly she dwelt on this in regard to the scene in " Middlemarch " between Dorothea and Rosamond, saying that, although she always knew they had, sooner or later, to come together, she kept the idea resolutely out of her mind until Dorothea was in Rosamond's drawing-room. Then, abandoning herself to the inspiration of the mo- ment, she wrote the whole scene exactly as it stands, without alteration or erasure, in an intense state of excitement and agitation, feeling herself entirely possessed by the feelings of the two wom- en. Of all the characters she had attempted she found Rosamond's the most difficult to sustain. With this sense of "possession " it is easy to im- agine what the cost to the author must have been of writing books, each of which has its tragedy. We have seen the suffering alluded to in the letters on the "Mill on the Floss," "Felix Holt," and " Romola." For those who would know the length and the breadth of George Eliot's intellectual capacity she has written her books. Here I am only putting down some of my own personal impressions or i88o.] Catholicity of Judgment. 307 recollections, which must be taken for what they are worth. In doing this I should like to dwell on the catholicity of her judgment. Singularly free from the spirit of detraction, either in respect of her contemporaries or her predecessors, she was always anxious to see the best and the most noble qualities of human beings or of books, in cases where she felt some general sympathy notwith- standing particular disagreements. And it was this wide sympathy, this understanding of so many points of view, that gained for her the passionate devotion not only of personal friends, but also of literary admirers, from the most widely sundered sections of society. Probably few people have ever received so many intimate confidences from confidants of such diverse habits of thought. This many-sidedness, however, makes it exceed- ingly difficult to ascertain, either from her books or from the closest personal intimacy, what her exact relation was to any existing religious creed or to any political party. Yet George Eliot's was em- phatically a religious mind. My own impression is that her whole soul was so imbued with, and her imagination was so fired by, the scientific spirit of the age — by the constant rapid development of ideas in the Western world — that she could not conceive that there was, as yet, any religious for- mula sufficient nor any known political system likely to be final. She had great hope for the fut- ure, in the improvement of human nature by the gradual development of the affections and the sympathetic emotions, and " by the slow, stupen- dous teaching of the world's events," rather than by means of legislative enactments. Party meas- 3o8 Her Ideal of Womanhood. [Witley, ures and party men afforded her no great interest. Representative government, by numerical majori- ties, did not appeal to her as the last word of po- litical wisdom. Generally speaking, she had little patience with talk about practical politics, which seemed to her under our present system to be too often very unpractically handled by ignorant ama- teurs. The amateur was always a "stone of stum- bling, and a rock of offence." Her wrath used often to be roused, in late years, by the increased bitterness in the language of parties, and by the growing habit of attributing, for political effect, the most shameful motives to distinguished statesmen. She was keenly anxious to redress injustices to women, and to raise their general status in the community. This, she thought, could best be ef- fected by women improving their work — ceasing to be amateurs. But it was one of the most distinctly marked traits in her character that she particularly disliked everything generally associated with the idea of a " masculine woman." She was, and as a woman she wished to be, above all things, feminine — " so delicate with her needle, and an admirable musician." She was proud, too, of being an excel- lent housekeeper — an excellence attained from knowing how things ought to be done, from her early training, and from an inborn habit of ex- treme orderliness. Nothing offended her more than the idea that because a woman had excep- tional intellectual powers therefore it was right that she should absolve herself, or be absolved, from her ordinary household duties. It will have been seen from the letters that George Eliot was deeply interested in the higher i88o.] Women's Colleges. — Culture. 309 education of women, and that she was among the earliest contributors to Girton College. After meet- ing Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, in September, 1880, when they had gone to reside at the new hall of Newnham College for a time, she was anx- ious to be associated in that work also, but she did not live to carry out the plan herself. The danger she was alive to in the system of collegiate education was the possible weakening of the bonds of family affection and family duties. In her view, the family life holds the roots of all that is best in \)ur mortal lot ; and she always felt that it is far too ruthlessly sacrificed in the case of English 7ncn by their public school and university education, and that much more is such a result to be depre- cated in the case of women. But, the absolute good being unattainable in our mixed condition of things, those women especially who are obliged to earn their own living must do their best with the opportunities at their command, as "they cannot live with posterity," when a more perfect system may prevail. Therefore, George Eliot wished God- speed to the women's colleges. It was often in her mind and on her lips that the only worthy end of all learning, of all science, of all life, in flict, is, that human beings should love one another better. Culture merely for culture's sake can never be anything but a sapless root, capable of producing at best a shrivelled branch. In her general attitude towards life George Eliot was neither optimist nor pessimist. She held to the middle term, which she invented for herself, of " meliorist." She was cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the mass; for 310 Personal Bearing. [Witley, ill her view each individual must find the better part of happiness in helping another. She often thought it wisest not to raise too ambitious an ideal, especially for young people, but to impress on ordinary natures the immense possibilities of making a small home circle brighter and better. Few are born to do the great work of the world, but all are born to this. And to the natures capa- ble of the larger effort the field of usefulness will constantly widen. In her personal bearing George Eliot was sel- dom moved by the hurry which mars all dignity in action. Her commanding brows and deep, pene- trating eyes were seconded by the sweet, restrained, impressive speech, which claimed something like an awed attention from strangers. But to those very near to her there was another side oi her nat- ure, scarcely suspected by outside friends and ac- quaintances. No one could be more capable of enjoying and of communicating genuine, loving, hearty, uncontrollable laughter. It was a deep- seated wish, expressed in the poem of "Agatha" — " I would have young things merry." And I re- member, many years ago, at the time of our first acquaintance, how deeply it pained her when, in reply to a direct question, I was obliged to admit that, with all my admiration for her books, I found them, on the whole, profoundly sad. But sadness was certainly not the note of her intimate converse. For she had the distinctively feminine qualities which lend a rhythm to the movement of life. The quick sympathy that understands without words; the capacity for creating a complete atmosphere of loving interest; the detachment from outside in- iSSo.J Illness. 31 1 fluencesj the delight in everything worthy — even the smallest thing — for its own sake; the readiness to receive as well as to give impressions ; the dis- ciplined mental habit which can hold in check and conquer the natural egoism of a massive, powerful personality; the versatility of mind ; the varied ac- complishments — these are characteristics to be found more highly developed among gifted women than among gifted men. Add to these the crown- ing gift of genius, and, in such companionship, we may possess the world without belonging to it. The November days had come now — cold and clear. My wife was able again to enjoy the daily drives and walks on which she was very dependent for health. The letters continue. Since I wrote to you I have been much more ill, and Mrs^con- have only, during the last few days, begun to feel niy- fj^^^'^ll^ self recovering strength. But I have been cared for with something much better than angelic tenderness. The fine, clear air, if it lasts, will induce us to linger in the country; and, indeed, I am not yet quite fit to move ; for, though I appear to be quite cured of my main ailment, half my bodily self has vanished. We are having deliciously clear days here, and I get out for short drives and walks. I really have nothing to complain of now except a little lack of strength. I play on the piano again, and walk with perfect ease. There is a long chapter about myself! Three weeks ago I had a rather troublesome attack. Letter to ° Madame but I am gettins: well now, though still reduced and Bodichon, o ^ / cj ^ ^(.j^ Nov. comparatively weak. We shall probably hnger here isso. till near the end of the month, for the autumnal land- scape is very beautiful, and I am not yet quite fit for the exertion of moving. It is a comfort to think that 312 Beautiful Autumn. [Witley, Madame ^°^ ^^^ ^^ ^'^^T ^'^"S througli the vviiiter in your nice ftSv."' ^^^"^^- What a pity we are not within an easy driving 1880. distance from you ! Mr. Hall is here to-day. He gave a lecture on Le- claire, the house-painter in Paris who initiated an ex- cellent plan of co-operative sharing for his workmen. It has been printed, and when I have another copy I will send it you. Leclaire is mentioned by John S. Mill in the notes to his " Political Economy," but had not been otherwise taken much notice of. Still, you may know all about him. t^^Mrs Thanks for your loving remembrance of me. We Burne- havc bccu kept in the country by two sufficient causes : Jones, 1 8th ^ *J J N0V.18S0. I have been ill, and the house at Cheyne Walk has not been ready to receive us. I suppose we shall not be there till the end of the month instead of the begin- ning. One of the good things I look forward to is the sight of your dear face again. You will see little more than half of me, for nearly half has been consumed. But I have been nursed with supreme tenderness, and am daily gaining some strength. Much love to both. Letter to We are lingering here for three reasons: the beauty Lewes, 23d of the wcathcr, the unreadiness of the house, and my Nov. 1880. - 111 r • T unfitness to bear the hurry of moving. 1 am getting better, but have not yet been able to bear much exer- tion. Thanks for your pretty letter. I do not think I shall have many returns of Novembers, but there is every prospect that such as remain to me will be as happy as they can be made by the devoted tenderness which watches over me. Your years will probably be many, and it is cheering to me to think that you have many springs of happiness in your lot that are likely to grow fuller with advancing time. i8So.] Happiness in Recovery. 313 I have thought of you all the more because I have Letter to not even heard anything of you for several months. 28th* Not!' You will wonder less why I have not written, as a con- ^ sequence of those thoughts, when I tell you that I have been ill, and not allowed to do anything but indulge myself and receive indulgence. I am very well now, and am every day consciously gathering strength, so that, if I could like giving trouble, I should look back on my illness as a great opportunity of enjoying the tenderest watching and nursing. I kept my bed only about a week, and have always been equal, except at short intervals, to much reading and talking, so that there is no fair cause for any grumbling on my part. It has not been so bad an illness as that of last sum- mer. You see we are not yet at Cheyne Walk, but we are to be settled there by the end of next week. I have had no trouble, but have remained here on my cushions while Mr. Cross has gone early for several mornings running to superintend the removal. It is difficult to give you materials for imagining my "world." Think of me as surrounded and cherished by family love ; by brothers and sisters whose characters are ad- mirable to me, and who have for years been my friends. But there is no excessive visiting among us, and the life of my own hearth is chiefly that of dual compan- ionship. If it is any good for me that my life has been prolonged till now, I believe it is owing to this mirac- ulous affection which has chosen to watch over me. Dec. 3. — Came to 4 Cheyne Walk. isS"^"' Dec. 4. — Went to Popular Concert at St. James's Hall. Heard Madame Neruda, Piatti, and Miss Zim- merman n. ., . ^'1 , ' i ^^ ' Letter to Only on Friday evening did we get into this newMrs. Con- house, and I had deferred writing to you till I could D^.^i88o. III.— 14 3^4 Visit from the Congreves, [Cheyne Walk, M "^Con- ^^y " ^^^^^ ^"d see me." I can say so now, but on greve, 6th reflection I have come to the conclusion that you would Dec iS8o. '' like yourself to fix a time beforehand, the journey here being rather long. Perhaps you will like to choose a day on which you could go to Emily also, her house being less formidably distant — across the park and down Sloane Street would be an easy way to us. This week we shall be much engaged in household matters, such as the reduction to order of the chaos which still reigns in certain places least obvious to visitors, and the procuring of small objects, either necessary or de- sirable. But after this week I shall be most glad if you and Dr. Congreve will come to see us just as and when you would find the least inconvenience in doing so — either at lunch-time (half-past one) or at a later hour. I find myself in a new climate here — the London air and this particular house being so warm compared with Witley. I hope that you too find the air mild, for I know that suits you best. Dr. and Mrs. Congreve paid their promised visit the week after this letter was written ; and Madame Belloc lunched with us the following day. Order was beginning to reign in the new house. The books had all been arranged as nearly as possible in the same order that they had occupied at the Priory, Mr. Radermacher of the Pantechnicon hav- ing given his personal attention to this arrange- ment of some thousands of volumes, for which George Eliot was particularly grateful. Notwith standing all this care, however, there were many unforeseen details of furnishing still to be com- l^leted, which caused a considerable expenditure of time. We continued reading aloud Max Miiller's " Lectures on the Science of Language," and Duf- iSSo.] Final Illness. 315 field's translation of "Don Quixote;" we were also reading "Hermann and Dorothea," Tenny- son's last volume of poems, just published, and Mr. Frederic Myers's volume on Wordsworth. In the evenings we had always a little feast of music, and were becoming in every way reconciled to town life, notwithstanding the loss of country quiet, light, and beauty. On the afternoon of Friday, the 17th December, we went to see the "Agamemnon" per- formed in Greek by Oxford undergraduates. The representation was a great enjoyment — an exciting stimulus—and my wife proposed that during the winter we should read together some of the great Greek dramas. The following afternoon we went to the Saturday Popular Concert at St. James's Hall. It was a cold day. The air in the hall was overheated, and George Eliot allowed a fur cloak which she wore to slip from her shoulders. I was conscious of a draught, and was afraid of it for her, as she was very sensitive to cold. I begged her to resume the cloak, but, smiling, she whispered that the room was really too hot. In the evening she played through several of the pieces that we had heard at the concert, with all her accustomed enjoyment of the piano, and with a touch as true and as delicate as ever. On Sunday there was very slight trouble in the throat, but not sufficient to prevent her from coming down-stairs to break- fast as usual. In the afternoon she was well enough to receive visits from Mr. Herbert Spencer and one or two other friends. Afterwards she began the fol- lowino- letter to Mrs. Strachey. It was left unfin- Letter ^ . . 1 • • . 1 -^ ^. 1 to Mrs. ished in her wnting-case, and is prmted as it stands, strachey, I have been thinking so much of Lady Colvile, and isso. * 3l6 Death of George Eliot. [Cheyne Walk. Letter yet I shrank from troubling even your more indirect to Mrs. "* ty J TIkbI' sympathetic sorrow with a letter. I am wondering isso. how for her health is in a state to endure this loss — a loss which extends even to me, who only occasion- ally saw, but was always cheered by, the expression of a wise and sweet nature, which clearly shone in Sir James Colvile's manner and conversation. One great comfort I believe she has — that of a sister's affection. Here the letter is broken off. The pen which had delighted and comforted so many minds and hearts here made its last mark. The spring, which had broadened out into so wide a river of speech, ceased to flow. Little more remains to be told. On Monday the doctor treated the case as one of laryngeal sore throat; and when Dr. Andrew Clark came for con- sultation on Wednesday evening the pericardium was found to be seriously affected. While the doc- tors were at her bedside she had just time to whis- per to me, " Tell them I have great pain in the left side," before she became unconscious. Her long illness in the autumn had left her no power to rally. She passed away, about ten o'clock at night, on the 22d December, 1880. She died, as she would herself have chosen to die, without protracted pain, and with every faculty brightly vigorous. Her body rests in Highgate Cemetery, in the grave next to Mr. Lewes. In sleet and snow, on a bitter day — the 29th December — very many whom she knew, very many whom she did not know, pressed to her £rrave-side with tributes of tears and flowers. Her spirit joined that choir invisible " whose music is the gladness of the world." INDEX. "Abode of Snow," by Andrew Wilson, iii. 190. A breezy common, iii. 108. "Adam Bede," progress of, i. 338 ; second volume finished in Dres- den, ii. 42 ; ;(^8oo offered for copyright for four years, 47 ; its history, 48-52 ; author's love of, 51; subscription to, 59; cheap edition suggested by working man, 66 ; sale increasing, 67, 68; quoted in House of Commons, 69; French translation proposed, 73 ; additional ;^400 from pub- lishers, 80; fourth edition {5000) sold in a fortnight, 88 ; sixth edi- tion, 96 ; seventh edition (2000), 10 1 ; Blackwoods propose to pay ;[^8oo above agreed price, 10 1 ; 16,000 copies sold in one year, 105; copyright conceded, 11 1; thi rd volume written in six weeks, 113- "Adam Bede, Junior," a sequel, advertised, ii. 104. "Address to the Working Men," by Felix Holt, iii. 18. Adler, Dr. Hermann, appreciation of Jewish character in " Deron- da," iii. 207 ; lecture on " De- ronda" by, 215. ^Esthetic teaching the highest of all teaching, ii. 318. Esthetic, the, not a doctrinal teach- er, iii. 237. Afghanistan, effect of the sad news from, iii. 278. "Agatha" sold to Fields & Os- good for Atlantic Monthlv-, iii- 63. . ... , Aix to Vevey, journey to, ni. 205. Allbut, Dr. Clifford, Leeds, iii. 41^ 42. Allingham, William, letter to, ou Midland dialect, iii. 218; on his poems, 226. Altruism, the need of, iii. 178, 179. Amalfi, grand drive, ii. 153. America, interest in, i. 219 ; the war in, anxiety regarding, ii. 242 ; delight in descriptions of, iii. 115 ; invited to visit, 118. Amsterdam, Jewish synagogues in, ii. 317. "An Inquiry concerning the Ori- gin of Christianity," by Charles Hennell, influence of, on George Eliot, i. 68 ; read again with ad- miration, 119. Anders, Mr., apologizes for the Liggins business, ii. 78. Antwerp, pictures at, i. 239, 240. Apennines, across the, ii. 168. Application, persistence in, iii. 304. Appreciation of Dickens's letter, ii. 6. Ardennes, journey to the, iii. 176; "Aristotle," by G. FI. Lewes, ii. 271. "Armrart," a dramatic poem, iii. Art, the function of, m. 144 ; pur- pose in, 144. Articles written by Mr. Lewes, iii. 260, 261 ; by military men, 265. Ashantee War, the, iii. 157. Asher's cheap editions of" George EHot," iii. 124. Atkinson, Mr., i. 193. _ Australia, proposed visit to, i. 221. Authors and booksellers, meeting of, i. 201. Authorship acknowledged to the Brays and Miss Hennell, ii. 83. Autobiography, repugnance to, iii. 221. 318 Index, Autumn, love for, i. 67; ii. 263, 264. "A Word for the Germans," ii. 288. Aytoun, Professor, admiration of "Gilfil's Love-Story," i. 326; on "Adam Bede,"ii. 81. Bale, a morning in, ii. 87. Ballot, dislike of the, iii. 49; the first experiment of the, 161. Balzac, a saying of, iii, 41. Bancroft, American Minister, Ber- lin, on " Middlemarch," iii. 157. Bank of England visited, iii. 176. " Beata," by T. A. Trollope, ii. 239. Bedworth, country about, i. 5-7. Beesley, Professor Edmund Spen- cer, iii. 64. Bellagio and the Spliigen Pass, ii. 181. Benisch, Dr., editor of Jewish Chronicle, iii. 216. Berlin, popularity of *' Middle- march " in, iii. 157. Berlin, visit to the Cha7-ite, iii. ']'] ; society and music at, y/ ; in- crease in luxury in, 78. Berlin recollections : meets Varn- hagen, i. 251, 252 ; impressions of the city, 251 ; new acquaint- ances, 253 ; portrait of Kleist, 253; Fraulein Solmar's s/i/o;2, 253 ; General Pfuhl, 254 ; Baron Steenberg,254; "Lisezles Chro- niques, 254 ; Professor Gruppe, 255, 263 ; Waagen on Goethe, 256 ; Edward Magnus, 257 ; ce- lebrities, 258 ; Professor Stahr, 258,263; Schiller's portrait, 25S; Ranch the sculptor, 258; his atelier, 259, 260 ; Dessoir the actor,26o; "Nathan der Weise," 261 ; Johanna Wagner, 261 ; Gluck's "Orpheus,"'26i ; Rog- er and Arabella Goddard, 264; Vivier anecdotes, 264, 265 ; works of art, 265 ; evenings in, 266 ; fa/f/e Whole, reading be- tween the courses, 266; work at and books read, 26S ; trans- lating Spinoza's "Ethics," 268; remarks oii books read, 270 ; return to England, 271. Bethnal Green, pictures at, iii. 12S. Biarritz, its natural beauties, iii. 2 ; the Chambre de I'Amour, 2 ; journey to Barcelona from, 4. Bible and the Liturgy of the Eng- lish Church, ii. 226. Bible reading, iii. 302. Bickley, country-house at, iii. 152. Birthday greetings, iii. 47. Bishop Steignton, visit to, i. 185. Blackie, Professor, Edinburgh, let- ter of sympathy from, ii. 1 1 1, 1 13. BlachzvoocVs Ilfagazine on "Adam Bede,"ii. 70. Blackwood, John, his favorable opinion of " Amos Barton," i. 302; accepts itfor"Maga," 304; receives kind letter from au- thor, 307 ; cautions regarding " huddling up stories," 319 ; not enthusiastic about " Janet's Re- pentance," 326 ; calls on Lewes, and George Eliot reveals her- self, ii. 10; letter from George Eliot on artistic combination, 31; offers ;^Soo for copyright of "Adam Bede" for four years, 47 ; letter to, rej^arding Liggins, "j^ ; his liberal treatment of George Eliot, 102 ; proposals for " Mill on the Floss," 1 10 ; concedes copyright of "Adam Bede," iii; suggests title of " Mill on the Floss," 112; letter from author ou finishing " Mill on the Floss," 114; letter to, from George Eliot at Berne, 182, 1S3 ; do. from Florence, 218; offers ;^5000 for "Felix Holt," 308 ; letters to, about " Spanish Gypsy," iii. 16,26; about Scott Commemoration, 97 ; " Middle- march," 103 ; his favorable im- ])ressions of "Middlemarch," 106 ; letter to, from liomburg, 123 ; New Year's greetings from George Eliot, 138 ; letter on "Middlemarch," 153; on an- other book simmering in her head, 157 ; on corrected edition of "Spanish Gypsy," i6r, 162; letter to, with volume of poems, 164 ; on printing of " Deronda," 190, 191, 197; on re-reading "Romola," 217, 218; offers for Index, 319 second ten-years' copyright, 230; letter to, declining invitation to Strathtyrum, 237 ; on her con- tinued ill-health, 244 ; his death, 276. Blackwood, Major, his opinion of " Amos Barton," i. 306 ; hopeful about the "Scenes," 342 ; calls on Lewes, and suspects identity of George Eliot, 342; letter re- garding the Liggins affair, ii. 81 ; letter from author on "Mill on the Floss," 167. Blackwood, William, his favorable news of " Clerical Life," ii. 116 ; letter to, on Mr. Lewes's ill- ness, iii. 239 ; on " Theophras- tus Such," 254, 263, 271. Blanc, Louis, anecdote of, i. 195. Bodichon, Madame, discovers au- thor of "Adam Bede," ii. 77; letters to : on artistic combina- tions, 93 ; on Mrs. Gaskell's let- ter, 107 ; the rewards of the ar- tist, 107; on settling in London, 198 ; on religious forms and ceremonies, 205 ; on the neces- sity of sympathy, 268 ; on her Spanish tour, iii. 4 ; on cheer- fulness, 172; on " Deronda," 198 ; on woman's work, 208 ; on her illness, 225 ; on improve- ment in health, 252 ; letter re- garding " Lewes Studentship," 267; letter announcing her mar- riage, 283 ; on sympathy with marriage, 289. Bohn, Madame, visit from, ii. 293. Bologna, its pictures and church- es, ii. 169 ; the leaning towers, 170. Bonham -Carter, Miss, letter to, from Madame Bodichon, iii. 264. I>onheur,Rosa, her pictures, i. 333. Books belong to successive mental phases, ii. 211. Books read at Malvern, iS6r, ii. 228-230, 234-236. Books read, with remarks on, i. 268-271, 322, 341, 344 ; ii- 5S' 299; iii. 25, 41, 68, 71, 72. Booksellers and authors, mecUng of, i. 201. Book-stalls, literary taste at, in. 51. Brabant, Miss, i. 85. Bracebridge, Mr., and Liggins, ii. 99. Bray, Charles, his work, " The Philosophy of Necessity," i. 67; influence of his opinions, 68; words of affection in time of de- pression, 135 ; letter to, on ru- mors of authorship, ii. 13. Bray, Mrs,, letters to : on favorite books, i. 86 ; reading and music, 87 ; poetry of Christianity, 93 ; chameleon-like nature, 158; or- thodox friends, 162 ; anxiety for letters, 164; need of encourage- ment, 165 ; life in Geneva, 169, 170; Christmas wishes, 174; severe winter, 175 ; yearning for friends at home, 175 ; a singu- lar advertisement, 195 ; West- minster reviewers, 199; love for music, 202 ; feels well and "plucky," 207; in Edinburgh again, 211 ; pleasant travelling, 213; a Saturday's work, 214; work in the Strand, 215 ; do- mestic grievances, 229 ; view of union with Mr. Lewes, 235 ; on careless cooking, 316; on the charms of Richmond Park, 326; unbelief in others' love, 337 ; authorship acknowledged to, ii. Z'i, ', recollections of journey of 1849, 191 ; asking for music, 241; on her "Physiology for Schools," 267 ; on writing poet- ry instead of novels, iii. 31 ; on happiness in recovery, 313. Bremer, Frederica, i, 18S, 190. Brewing interest in Parliament, the, in. 188, 1S9. Brewster, Sir David, i. 190. Bridges, Dr., Leeds, iii. 42. Bright on Ireland, iii. 56. Brittany, trip to, ii. 296. Broadstairs, delight with, i. 205. Brodie, Sir Benjamin, iii. 80. Bronte, Charlotte, life of, i. 3I7._ Brooks, Shirley, delighted wdth "Adam BedeV' ii. 70. " Brother Jacob" written, ii. 199. " Brother and Sister," sonnets, iii. 70.' Brougham, Lord, a delicious non sequitur^ i. 214. 320 Index. Brown, Dr. John, sends " Rab and his Friends " toauthor of "Adam Bede," ii. 60 ; kindly letter in re- ply, 60. Brown, J. C, "Ethics of George Eliot's Works," iii. 266. Browne, Dr., chemist, Edinburgh, i. 195. Browning, first visit from, ii. 249 ; "Elisha,"iii. 56. Browning, Mrs., her "Casa Guidi" windows, ii. 243. Buchanan, Robert, his " David Grey," ii. 273. Buckle, personal dislike to, ii. 47. Buckle's "History of Civilization," i- 341, 345- Buckle's ideal not George Eliot's, ii. 220. Bulstrode, new view of, iii. 133. Bunyan, reading again with pleas- ure, ii. 105. Burne-Jones, Edward, letter to, on the function of art, iii. 144. Burne-Jones, Mrs., iii. 29; letter to, on the serious view of life, 172 ; on her illness, 185 ; on Christmas plans, 232 ; on her sense of depression, 239. Burton, Mr., wishes to take por- trait, ii. 273 ; his picture of a knight in armor, 277. Burton, Sir Frederick, Director of the National Gallery, ii. 240. Byron, a vulgar - minded genius, iii. 72. Call, Mr., author of " Reverbera- tions and other Poems," i. 335. Calvinism, a libel on, iii. 88. Camaldoli, expedition to, ii. 221. Cambridge, a visit to, iii. 147 ; a group of "Trinity" men, 147. Cambridgeshire, visit to, iii. 299. Caricature, a bastard kind of sa- tire, iii, 228. Carilas, the highest love, ii. 252. Carlyle, Mrs., pleasant letter from, ii. 7 ; her conception of George Eliot, 8. Carlyle, on the Glasgow artisan, i. 55 ; eulogiura on Emerson, 140 ; "Life of Sterling," 189; anec- dotes of, 190, 257 ; his denunci- ation of the opera, 192 ; letter to George Eliot on " Frederic," 343 ; G. A. anxious he should read her novels, ii. 63. " Carlyle's Memoirs," ii. 208. Catholicity of judgment, iii. 307. Cavour, Count, ii» 122, 143. Cerebellum, function of the, i. 210. Chapman, Mrs., on Harriet Mar- tineau, iii. 220. Charade party, failure of, ii. 287. Charity of the Apostle Paul, the, "•251^^ Chart of Ecclesiastical History, i. 45- Cheap books, opinion of, iii. 154. Cheap edition of "Adam Bede" suggested by working man, ii. 66. Cheap editions of novels, arrange- ments for, iii. 10. Cheap music in England, ii. 81. Cheerful, now uniformly, iii. 172. Chiem See, journey by, ii. 34. Childhood's real feelings, i. 91. Child's idea of God, a, i. 153, 154. Chills, spiritual and physical, iii. 120. Chioggia, journey to, ii. 177. "Christianity and Infidelity," Bail- lie Prize Essay, i. 311. Chronological order in v^riting, ii. 211. Church-going resumed, i. 82. Clark, Sir James, pleasant evening with, i. 222 ; meeting with, 226, 230. Clark, W. G., late public orator at Cambridge, ii. 240; visit to, at Cambridge, iii. 24 ; resigns his oratorship, 74. " Clerical Tutor," discouraged to proceed with, i. 23^- Club criticism of "Amos Barton," i. 308. Coaching days, i. 7. Cobbe, Miss, her introduction to Theodore Parker, ii. 253. Cobden, disappointed with, i. 196. Cologne, journey to, i. 267. Colossians, Epistle to the, i. 51. Combe, George, friendship with, i. 1 86; on the Westminster, 204; visit to, in Edinburgh, 211. Index. 321 Comprehensive Church, one, iii. 175- Comte and his critics, ii. 224 ; ad- miration of, 224; delight in his " Politique," iii. 2. Comte's " Discours Preliminaire," ii. 264. Comte's works, reading, iii. 302. Conceptions of new work, iii. 233. Confidence, desire for, i. 128. Conformity, letter to J. W. Cross on, iii. 155. Congreve, Mrs., letters to, ii. 82, 84, 141 ; visits George Eliot in London, 232 ; letter to, on Thornton Lewes's illness, iii. 63 ; leaves for India, 132 ; re- turns to Europe, 145 ; letter to, after marriage with Mr. Cross, 292 ; invited to Cheyne Walk, - 314- Congreve, Richard, ii. 62, 67, 73 ; friendship of Mr. and Mrs., 76, 80; Christmas Day with, iio; his lectures on Positivism, iii. 12; his article Huxley on Comte, 58. Conolly, Dr., 1. 233. (conscience in work, iii. 27. Conservative reaction, on the, iii. ^43- Contemporary fiction, iii. 183. Continent, start for, visiting Fon- tainebleau, Plombieres, iii. 149 ; three months' trip to the, 205. Continental tour, six weeks' jour- ney to Baden, etc., iii. 37; St. Margen, 37 ; peasant proprie- tors in the Black Forest, 38. Continental trip with the Brays, i. 150- . ... , Coquelin's acting, \\\. 263. Correggio's Madonnas, ii. 43. Correspondence, views on, i. 134. Country, delight in the, iii. 154. Country districts, remoteness of, i. Country-house, visions of a, n. 01. Country life, monotony of, i. 25 ; enjoyment of, ii. 275. Country quiet, the benefits of, iii. no. Critical attitude, the, iii. 79. Criticism, sensibility to, ii. 63. III. — 14* Critics, indifference to opinions of, iii. 224. Cross, J. W., first meeting at Rome with George Eliot, iii. 59 ; meet again at Weybridge, 71 ; letter to, on buying a house, 131 ; on conformity, 155; on depression, 187; on effect of her writing, 204 ; on Tennyson, 229 ; letters to, after Lewes's death, 250-252 ; his engagement, 279 ; his mar- riage, 282; illness in Venice, 294. Cross, Miss Eleanor, letter to, iii. 276; on her engagement to Mr. Cross, 279 ; on her marriage tour, 283. Cross, Miss Elizabeth D., "An Old Story and other Poems," iii. 15. Cross, Miss Florence, letter to from Milan on the enjoyment of trav- el, iii. 286. Cross, Miss Mary, her "Marie of Villefranche," iii. 100; letter to, on gift of a vase, 166. Cross, Mrs., letters to, accepting invitation to Six-Mile Bottom, iii. 121 ; letter to, from Hom- burg, 122; on return home, 125; on journey abroad, and country- house at Bickley, 152; on the pleasures of the country, 154; on Christmas invitation, 158; on " silence of the country, 167. Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, dinner with, iii. 236; their simple manner, 236; guests at table, 236. Cruikshank, George, i. 202. Gumming, article on, in the West- minster, i. 277. D' Albert, M. and Mme. See Du- rade. Dallas, Mr., an admirer of "Adam Bede,"ii. 64. Daniel, the prophecies of, i. I22._ ^ "Daniel Deronda," writing, iii. 180; fear for MS. being burned, 190; anticipations of, 193, 194; public interest in, 199,214; fin- ished, 204 ; Jewish element in, 211. Darwin's "Origin of Species," ii. 104, 105, 108. 322 Index. Dawson, Mr. George, lecturer, i. 1-9; ii-233; iii. 165. Dean Ramsay, letter from, with his " Reminiscences of Scottish Life, ii. 320. Death, imagining the nearness of, iii. 170. "Debasing the Moral Currency," iii. 266. Delight in the country, iii. 154; in old friends, 245. Depression from damp, iii. 187. Derbyshire, memories of, iii. 47. Deutsch, his article on the Talmud, iii. 18. ' " Deutscher Novellenschatz," iii. 96. "Development of Industries," ef- fect of, ii. 281. Development of religion, iii. 62. Dialect in "Adam Bede," ii. 72; iii. 219. Dickens, Charles, meeting with, i. 201 ; letter from, ii. 2 ; recog- nizes woman's hand in "Clerical Life," 3 ; dines at Wandsworth, 102; asks for a story for "All the Year Round," 104; his death, iii. 82; his "Life" by Forster, 104. Dinah Morris, the character of, ii. 49. Dinner at Greenwich, with Black- wood, Colonel Stewart, Colonel Ilamley, and Mr. Skene, ii. 222. Discontent of the young, iii. 213. Discouraged with her writings, ii. D' Israeli's "Tancred,"i. 118, 123 ; his theory of races, 124. ; funeral oration on the Duke of Welling- ton, 215. Distrust of her own knowledge, iii. 305. "Divina Commedia," reading the, wit'h Mr. Cross, iii. 259.^ Dorking, fourth visit to, ii. 254. Doyle, Mr., iii. 74. Drama, trying a, ii. 2S0. Drawbacks to living abroad, iii. 203. Drawings from " Romola," iii. 166. Dresden : end of vol. ii. of " Adam licde" written, ii. 42 ; Holbein's Madonna," 42 ; the " Sistine Madonna," 43 ; the Correggios, 43; Murillo's " St. Rodriguez," 43 ; Dutch and Plemish pict- ures, 44 ; Veronese, 44 ; the theatres and concerts, 45. Druce, Mr., visit to, at Sevenoaks, iii. 297. Dulwich Picture-gallery, ii. 79. Durade, M. d' Albert, i. 164; resi- dence with, 165 ; their house- hold, 166; affection to, 173; paints her portrait, 178; visits England, 181 ; wished to trans- late the " Scenes," ii. 109; two days with, 186; translates the "Scenes," 187. Diirer, Albert, his paintings, ii. 24. Dutch translation of George Lliot's novels, iii. 139. Dutch and Flemish pictures in Dresden, ii. 44. Dwelling on faulLS,abstention from, iii. 89. Dying in harness, on, iii. 141. Dyspeptic troubles and their cure, ii. 2S8. Early death, thoughts on, ii. 290. Edinburgh criticisms more favor- able than London, ii. 64. Edinburgh, enjoyment of, i. 21 1 ; visit to Craigcrook, 212. Editor's life, i. 215, 221. Education of Women, iii. 27 ; the higher, 146. Effect of talking of her own books, ii. 85. Effect of writing, the, iii. 306. Egotism, cure for, i. 12S. " Elijah," delight in hearing, i. 112, 118. Ellis, Mr. and Mrs., i. 191. Emerson, first meeting with, i. 139; Carlyle's eulogium on, 140 ; his "Man the Reformer," ii. 196. Empire in France, the, iii. 168. Englefield Green, delightful v/eek at, ii. 244. English, attitude of the, towards Orientals, iii. 212; their igno- rance of the Jews, 212. English domestic life versus Ger- man, i. 271. Index, 323 English and French working classes, difference between, i. 131- "Englishwoman's Journal" on the Infant Seamstresses, ii. 97. Enjoying the thought of work, ii. 219. Enriched with new ideas after journey to Italy, ii. 182. " Ethics of George Eliot's Works," by J. C. Brown, iii. 266. Evans, Christiana (sister), married to Mr. Edward Clark, surgeon, i. 22 J relations between the sis- ters, 22, 23 ; her husband's death, 216; plans for her family, 217; letter to her brother Isaac regarding, 318 ; visit to her sis- ter, ii. 96. Evans, Isaac (brother), recollec- tions of his sister, i. 1 1 ; her sus- ceptibility to terror, 12 ; their happy childhood, 12 ; his mar- riage, 61; renewed correspond- ence with his sister on her marriage with Mr. Cross, iii. 287 ; notice of his family, 287. Evans, J. C, offers ;!^iooo for a story for American periodical, ii. 94. Evans, Mrs. Samuel (aunt), the Dinah Morris of "Adam Bede," '•33- Evans, Robert (father), his career, i. 1,2; removed to Griff, 2 ; in- fluence of his ideas on his daugh- ter, 4; his position, 8 ; his wife, partly represented in Mrs. Poys- er, 10; her death, 22; removal to Foleshill Road, Coventry, 61 ; strong disapproval of his daughter's religious views, 75 ; she visits her brother at Griff, 79 ; regrets her impetuosity, and returns to Foleshill, 81 ; his ill- ness, 100; visits Dover with his daughter, 107 ; trip to Isle of Wight, 120 ; illness increases, and visits St. Leonards, 135 ; re- turns to Coventry, 139 ; his death, 148. Evidence, the value of, iii. 109. Evil - speaking, contrition ior, i. 141. '* Fables," by Lord Lytton, iii. 162. Fairness and pity, where necessa- ry, iii. 228. Fame in dreams, ii. 89. Family reunion, iii. 268 ; joys, iii. 286. Faraday, letter from, acknowledg- ing presentation copy of " Cleri- cal Life," ii. 9. Farming, an epoch in, iii. 271. Faucit, Helen, admiration of, i. 222. P'aults, abstention from dwelling on, iii. 89. "Faust," reading in the original, iii. 30]. _ Faux, David, Confectioner (Broth- er Jacob), written, ii. 199. Fawcett, Henry,articles on Strikes by, ii. 194. "Fawn of Sertorius," i. 108. Fechter in "Hamlet," ii. 225 ; his "Othello," 232. Feeling old for her years, ii. 193. " Felix Holt," writing commenced, 11,290; reading for, 292 ; Black- wood offers _;,^5000 for, 308 ; pains taken with, 309 ; finished in excitement, 311 ; final instal- ment received from Blackwood, iii, 13 ; payment for copyright, ^3: . Feminine characteristics, iii, 310, 311. Ferrier, Mr., translates Kautmann's article on " Deronda," iii. 216. Feuerbach, translation of, pub- lished ; first and only time her real name appeared in print, i. 233- Fiction, contemporary, iii. 183. Fiction-reading condemned, i. 36. Fiction -writing, first mention of, i. 296 ; how I came to write, 298-300. First authorship, i. 42. First novel, i. 298 ; title of, 299. Flemish and Dutch pictures in Dresden, ii. 44. Flor-ence: view from Fiesole and Bellasguardo, ii. 155 ; the Duo- mo and Campanile, 156; the palaces and libraries, 157 ; the Loggia di Lanza, 158; Santa' Ma"rla Novella, 158; Santa' 324 htdex. Croce and Ihe Carmine, 159 ; the frescoes, 159; S. Maria Npvella, 160; San Michele, the shrine, 160; the Uffizi Gallery, 161 ; and pictures, 162 ; Pitti pictures, 162; paintings at the Accademia, 163 ; Galileo's tower, 164; Mi- chael Angelo's house, 165, 166. Flower, Mr., i. 191. Fontainebleau, visit to, iii. 150. Forstcr, W. E., his article on Sla- very, i. 218 ; " Life of Dickens," iii. 104. Foster, Professor Michael, his draught of conditions for Lewes scholar studentship, iii. 267, 269. France, the Empire in, iii. 168. Franco-German war, iii. 86, 92. Franklin, Miss Rebecca, her school at Coventry, i. 17; her death, iii. 149. Freethinkers, little sympathy v/ith, as a class, ii. 249. French and English working class- es, difference between, i. 131. French revolution of 1848, i. 129. Froude's "Shadows of the Clouds," i. 146. Fuller, Margaret, her Journal, i. 198. Function of art, the, iii. 144. _ Furnishing, on troubles of, ii. 267. " Futile Lying," letter on, ii. 290. Gambler, a girl, iii. 124. Garibaldi at the Crystal Palace, ii. 276. Gaskell, Mrs., suspected to have written " Adam Bede," ii. 82 ; letter from, 102; expresses admi- ration of " Scenes " and "Adam Bede," 107. Gaskell's, Mrs., "Ruth," i. 219. Geneva, life at Campagne Plon- geon, i. 151 -157; Genevese preachers, 153, 154; Fete of Navigation, i^l', effect of change of life, 159; plans for lessons, 160; Baronne de Ludwigsdorff, i6i ; home remembrances, 170; beauty of scenery, 171 ; delight in town life, 171 ; the Juras, 178 ; last days in, 179. Genevese preachers, i. 153, 154. Genoa, the cathedral, ii. 124. George Eliot.— 1819-37: Birth at Arbury farm, i. i ; removal to Griff, 2 ; anecdotes of father, 9; character of mother, 10; at Dame's school, 10; at Miss La- thom's school at Attleboro, 1 1 ; happy childhood, 12; first books read, 13 ; first journey to Staf- fordshire, 15 ; Miss VVallington's school at Nuneaton, 15; writes out " Waverley," 16; favorite books, 17; charade -acting, 17; riot at Nuneaton, 20 ; first letter to Miss Lewis, 21 ; mother's ill- ness and death, 22 ; housekeep- er at Griff, 24 ; life and studies there, 24. 1838-41 : First visit to Lon- don, i. 28 ; religious asceticism, 29 ; nineteenth birthday, 32 ; re- ligious objections to music, 32 ; religious reflections, 34 ; beset- ting sin, ambition, 35; objec- tions to fiction-reading, 36 ; first poem, 42 ; books read and stud- ies pursued, 44; German lessons begun, 45 ; chart of ecclesiasti- cal histor)^ 46 ; Italian studies, 49 ; dislike to housekeeping work, 50 ; reads Isaac Taylor, 51 ; visits Birmingham to hear " Messiah," 53 ; translates Ger- man poem, 54 ; her reading, 57 ; removal to Foleshill Road, Co- ventry, 59. 1841-46 : Coventry life, i. 61; mental depression, 64 ; friend- ship with Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 67; reads Charles Plennell's "In- quiry," 67, 68; effect of this book, 74; gives up going to church, 75 ; family difficulties, 79 ; re- grets her impetuosity, 81 ; re- sumes going to church, 82 ; inti- macy with Miss Sara Ilennell and'^Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 83 ; at- titude towards immortality, 84; excursion to Stratford and Mal- vern, 85 ; meets Robert Owen, 86 ; studies German and music, 86, 87 ; opinion in regard to conformity, 89 ; translation of Strauss's " Lebcn Jesu," 90; despair about publication of Index. Strauss, 94; trip to the HiVh- jands, 97. 1846-49: Strauss translation published, i. 107; classical books wanted, 108 ; suspected of novel- writing, 108; reading Foster's life, 109; thoughts on Jesus at Emmaus, no ; a child's idea of God, III, 112; visits London and hears "Elijah," 112; re- reading Hennell's "Inquiry," 1 19 ; visit to Isle of Wight with father, 120; admiration of Rich- ardson, 121 ; delight in George Sand's "Lettres d'un Voyageur," 122; dislike to Jews, 125; su- premacy of Hebrew poetry, 125 ; admiration of Roberts and Cres- wick, 127 ; opinion of Mr. Daw- son the lecturer, 129 ; sympathy with revolution, 130; France and England contrasted, 131 ; sym- pathy with nonconformity, 133 ; visit to St. Leonards, 135 ; fa- ther's illness, 135 ; mental de- pression, 136 ; how to be over- come, 136 ; admiration of Louis Blanc, 137; recovery from de- pression, 138 ; opinion of "Jane Eyre," 138 ; meets Emerson, 138 ; again suffering from de- pression, 141 ; contrition for evil- speaking, 141 ; reading Macau- lay's " History," 142 ; bodily suffering, 143 ; on the influence of Sand's and Rousseau's writ- ings, 143, 144 ; writes review of the "Nemesis of Faith," 145; translates Spinoza's "Tractatus Theologico-Politicus," 147 ; fa- ther's death, 148. 1849-50: Goes abroad wnth Mr. and Mrs. Bray, 150; Gene- va, life at Campagne Plongeon, 151, 152 ; prophetic anticipation of position seven years later, 15S; effect of change of life, 159; plans for lessons, 160; finds apartments in Geneva, 164; en- joyment of society, 165 ; need of encouragement, 165 ; life in Geneva, 169, 170; yearning for friends at home, 170; remarks on translations of Spinoza, 172 ; des 1 :lesire for a woman's duty, 173 ; portrait by M. d'Albert, 178; re- marks on education of children, 179 ; leaving Geneva, iSo. 1850-54 : Return to England, 181 ; reviews Mackay's "Prog- ress of the Intellect " in West- viiiister, 184; assistant editor of VVesbnijister Revie%v, 186 ; in- troduced to Mr. Lewes, 189; intimacy begins, 192 ; help in despondency, 198; growing in- timacy with Mr. Herbert Spen- cer, 201 ; dislike of scrap-work, 203; visit to Edinburgh, 211 ; an editor's life, 214, 215 ; ill with rheumatism, 218; interest in America, 219 ; grov/iwg intimacy with Mr. Lewes, 221, 232 ; con- templates publishing "The Idea of a P^iture Life," 229 ; union v/ith Mr. Lewes, 234, 235 ; letter to Mrs. Bray, 235, 236. 1854-55 : Visits Antwerp with I^ilr. Lewes, i. 239 ; extracts from journal, 239 ct seq. ; Weimar, i. 240-251 ; Berlin recollections, 251-268; work at Weimar and Berlin, 268 ; remarks on books read, 268-271 ; return to Eng- land, 271. 1S55-57 : Articles written, i. 275 ; effect of article on Gum- ming, 278; reading on physiol- *^gy> 279 '■> miscellaneous writ- ing, 280 ; Spinoza's " Ethics," translation finished, 281 ; wishes not to be known as translator, 283 ; articles on Young and Riehl, 286; tendency to scien- tific accuracy, 287 ; naturalistic experiences, 288; first mention of fiction-writing, 296; "how I came to write fiction," 298 ; cor- respondence about "Amos Bar- ton," 300; "Mr. Gilfil's Love- story" begun, 305; Blackwood's high admiration of the story, 307; name of George Eliot as- sumed, 309; artistic bent, 310; Caterina and the dagger scene, 313 ; trip to the Scilly Isles, 313; social life at St. Mary's, 316 ; on conclusions of stories, 319; Jer- 326 Index. sey recollections, 319-322 ; Mr. Liggins, 323 ; opinions of " Mr. Gilfil's Love-story," 324, 325; happiness in her life, 328; LJfack- vvood's opinion of "Janet's Re- pentance," 329 ; haunted by new story, 334 ; " Adam Bede " be- g"'""* 337 ; receives ;i{^i20 for first edition of "Clerical Life," 337; unbelief in others' love, 337; sympathy with individuals, 339 ; objection to theism, 339 ; even- ing studies, 342 ; Major Black- wood suspects identity of George Eliot, 324; review of the year 1857. 1858: The TV'wr.f reviews of "Scenes of Clerical Life," ii. I ; letter from Charles Dickens, recognizing woman's hand, 3 ; from Froude, 3 ; from Mrs. Car- lyle, 7 ; reveals herself to John Blackwood, 10 ; visit to Ger- many, 14-46; progress with "Adam Bede," 32 ; latter half written, 42 ; descri])tion of life at Dresden, 45 ; history of "Adam Bede," 48-52; retrospect of year, 55- 1859-60: Reading up for "Mill on the Floss," li. 58; let- ter to John Blackwood on "Adam Bede," 58 ; wishes Car- lyle to read her novels, 63 ; awakening to fame, 68 ; Mr. Lig- gins said to be author of "Adam Bede," 71 ; finished the "Lifted Veil," 75 ; reveals herself to Brays as author of "Adam Bede," %Ty ; trip to Switzerland, Z'] ; fourth edition (5000) of "Adam Bede" sold in a fort- night, 88; receives ;i^8oo beyond bargain for success, 102 ; 16,000 sold in one year, 107; Sir Edward lUiKver Lytton, 115; "Mill on the Floss" finished, 116; start for Italy, 116. i860: First journey to Italy, ii. 120; Rome, first sight of, 126; description of Naples, 144, 145 ; visit to rom]-)eii, 148; Florence, 155 ; first mention of Italian novel, 168; Venice, 172; home by Berne and Geneva, 181 ; en- riched witli new ideas, 182. 1 860-6 1 : " Mill on the Floss" success, ii. 185 ; sitting to Law- rence for portrait, 194 ; indepen- dence secured, 203; the queen's admiration of "Mill on the Floss," 203; success of "Silas Marner," 214; second journey to Italy, 216 ; hopeful about fut- ure work, 220 ; began " Romo- la," 230 ; studying for, 235, 236. 1862-65: Begins "Romola" again, ii. 238; offered £\q,:^oo for "Romola" for the Corn- hill, but idea given up, 244; £1000 accepted under new terms, 245 ; the effect of writing "Romola," 255; continued ill- health, 256, 258; letter from Frederick Maurice, 259 ; third visit to Italy, 278 ; trying a dra- ma, 2S0; retrospect of year 1864, 282; "A Word for the Ger- mans" written, 28S; "Felix Holt" begun, 290; readings, 292 ; expedition to Brittany, 296 ; retrospect of 1S65, 299. 1866: Mr. Harrison's legal help in " Felix Holt," ii.303. 304, 310; offered ^^5000 for "Felix Holt " by Blackwood, 30S ; visit to Holland and Germanv, 312 ; " The Spanish Gypsy " taken up again, 317; reading for, 321; start for Spain, 324; 1867 : Journey to Spain, iii. i ; learning Spanish, 3 ; letters from Spain, 4-9; return to the Priory, 9 ; two months' visit to North Germany, 14; acquaintance with Mrs. Cross and family, 15 ; "Ad- dress to the Working Men," 19. 1S68: Month's visit to Tor- quay, iii. 25 ; " Spanish Gypsy " finished, 29; notes on the "Span- ish Gypsy," 30; on the writing of poetry instead of novels, 36 ; six weeks' journey to Baden, 37 ; meditating subject of Timoleon, 49 ; retrospect of the year, 50 ; cheap edition of novels, 51. 1869-72 : Poem on " Agatha," iii. 55 ; writing "How Lisa Loved Index. 327 the King," 56 ; fourth visit to It- aly, 57 ; religion of the future, 62; "Sonnets on Childhood" finished, 65 ; the phenomena of spiritualism, 67; the Byron scan- dal, 72 ; " Legend of Jubal " be- gun, 73 ; letter on the Positivist ])roblem, 75 ; visit to Germany, 76; three days' visit to Oxford, 80; growing dislike of migratory life, 82 ; " Armgart " begun, 85'; industrial schemes, 90 ; visit to Petersfield, 94; visit from Ten- nyson, 99 ; delight in intellectual activity, loi ; reception of " Mid- dlemarch," 103; Foster's " Life of Dickens," 104; "Middle- march "finished, 121 ; a month's visit to llomburg, 122; a girl gambler, 124; memorial article on author of " Thorndale," 126 ; " ]\Laga " on " Middlemarch," 130. 1S73-75 : Reception of" Mid- dlemarch," iii. 138 ; Dutch trans- lation of novels, 139; German reprints, 140; visit to Cambridge, 147; visit to the Master of Isal- liol, 149 ; nine weeks' trip to the Continent, 150; another book simmering in her thoughts, 157 ; retrospect of 1873, 160; cheaper edition of novels, 162 ; " Legend of Jubal " published, 167 ; jour- ney to the Ardennes, 176 ; sales of her books, 180 ; value of ear- ly religious experience, 182 ; not satisfied with "Deronda," 193; depression in finishing, 194. 1876-78: Public interest in "Deronda," iii. 199; Mrs. Stowe's admiration of " Deron- da," 202; letter to J. W. Cross, 204 ; trip to the Continent, 205 ; Jewish appreciation of " Deron- da," 209; Dr. Adler's lecture on, 216 ; Mrs. Stowe and the Byron case, 221 ; appreciation of Ten- nyson, 229 ; gaining strength at Witley, 231 ; meets Crown Prince and Princess of Germa- ny, 236; visit to Oxford, 236; Mr. Lewes's ill-health, 239; re- ception at the Priory, 241 ; Mr. Lewes's last illness and death, 245-247- 1S79-S0 : First weeks of lone- liness, iii, 249 ; announcement of "Theophrastus Such" de- layed, 252 ; project of Physio- logical Studentship, 254; dissat- isfied with "Theophrastus," 254; letter to J. W. Cross asking coun- sel, 258; reception of "Theo- phrastus" by the public, 263, 264 ; serious renal attack, 265 ; conditions for the studentship, 267 ; renewed interest in social news, 270 ; Dr. Roy appointed to studentship, 275 ; death of John Blackwood, 276 ; engage- ment to Mr. Cross, 279 ; mar- ried at St. George's, Hanover Square, 283 ; left for the Conti- nent, 283 ; letters from P'rance and Italy, 284-294 ; Mr. Cross's illness in Venice, 294 ; arrival in England, 295 ; recurrence of illness, 300; recovery of strength, 313; settled in Cheyne Walk, 313 ; first appearance of sore throat, 315 ; letter to Mrs. Strachey (unfinished), 316 ; sud- den death, 316. German editions of " Middle- march," iii. 114. German poem, translation of, i. 54. German reading, iii. 124. German Revolution of '48 caused by real oppression, i. 258. German translation of " Adam Bede," ii. 116; first volume re- ceived, 1 16. Germans, Vivier's anecdotes of, i. 264, 265 ; domestic life of, 271. Germany, North, journey to, iii. 14 ; places revisited and new scenes, 15. Germany, second visit to, 1854 ; Munich, ii. 14-34; Ischl, 37; Vienna, 38 ; Prague, 40 ; Dres- den, 45 ; Leipzig, 46. Germany, visit to, in 1854; ex- tracts from journal : Weimar, i. 240 ; Berlin, 251, 252. Gift of a vase from Miss Mary Cross, iii. 166. Girl gambler, a, iii. 124. 328 hidex. Girton College scheme, iii. i8. Goethe on Spinoza, ii. 298. Goschen, Mr., dinner with, iii. 236; meets Crown Prince and Prin- cess of Prussia, 236. Got's acting, iii. loi. Granada, the Alhambra, iii. 7 ; view from, 8. Grand Chartreuse, expedition to the, iii. 285. Grandcourt and Lush, iii. 200. Grandison, Sir Charles, i. 121. Green, Professor T., iii. 149. Ground of moral action, iii. 178. Gurney, Mr. Edmund, iii. 147. Gurney Rev. Archer, on " Scenes of Clerical Life," i. 324. Guthrie, Dr., address by, i. 230. Hamilton, Sir William, valuable contributions, i. 278. Hamley, Colonel (naw General Sir lidward Hamley), impressions of, ii. 315; thanks for letter to the Times, iii. 93. Handel Festival, the, ii. 82. Hannay, Mr., on " Romola," ii. 252. Happiness in recovery of health, iii- 313- Hare, Mrs. Juliu?., ii. 263; her death, 273. Harrison, Frederic, letter to, on in- dustrial co-operation, ii. 303; his legal advice in " Felix Holt," 303 ; more consultations with, 305, 306 ; letter to, on aesthetic teaching, etc., 318; receives a copy of "Spanish Gyps}'," iii. 36 ; consultation with, 1S6. Harrogate, its lovely walks, ii. 281. Haughton, Mrs., letters to : on contrition for evil - speaking, i. 141; on friends at home, 159; on the bondage of luxuries, 177; on her proof-reading, 231. Haunted by new stor}-, i. 334. Hawthorne, admiration of, i. 208. Heine, article on, in WestiiiinsUr^ i. 279. Helps, Arthur, dinner with, i. 230 ; incident in Spain, 242; on "Cler- ical Life," ii. 2. Hemans's "The Forest Sanctuary," i-57- Hennell, Charles, analysis of "An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity," i. 68-74; •his marriage, 85. Plennell, Miss Mary, author of "An Outline of the various So- cial Systems founded on the Principle of Co-operation," her death, i. 84. Hennell, Miss Sara, first meeting with, i. 82 ; letters to, on mental characteristics, 84 ; dangers of non-conformity, 89, 90 ; trans- lating Strauss, 92; Strauss dif- ficulties, 96 ; title of translation, 98: finishing translation, loi ; longing for idleness, 102; thank- fulness for help in translation, 103 ; visit to Mrs. Hennell, 107; desire for classics, 108; relief from v/ork, 109 ; adnn'ration of "Ileliados," iii ; philosophy and religion, 121; "Live and teach," 122; "sweet uses" of adversity, 135 ; depression by father's illness, 136; the "Ro- manticist," 139; a longing for sympathy, 141 ; bodily suffering, 143; return to England, 180, 181 ; Mr. Chapman's soirees, ico ; delight with change of life, 2c6 ; letter from Berlin, 262 ; on essay " Christianity' and Infideli- ty,'' 311; peacefully busy, 334; delight in Mr. Lewes's books, ii, II; on the death of a mother, 12 ; admiration of Liebig, 25 ; sympathy with, on her mother's death, 32 ; letter from Dresden, 45 ; about Mrs. Clarke, 66, 67 ; recollections of Mr. Liggins, 72; authorship acknowledged to, 83; " expecting disappointments," 201, 202 ; settled in new house, 204, 205 ; on the blessings of good health, 229 ; old remem- brances, 233 ; on her low health, 306; a birth-day letter, iii. 129. Hereditary misfortunes, iii. 34. Hereford, Dean of, i. 227. Herts, country-house in, iii. 186. Higher education of women, iii. 13, 146. History of "Adam Bedo," ii. 48-52. Index, 329 " History of Europe," Alison's, i. 282. History reading, iii, 234. Holbein's Madonna, ii. 42. Holland and Germany, journey to, ii. 312 ; the route taken, 315. Holland, Sir Henry, visit from, ii. 321. Holmwood Common, iii. 174. Homburg, the gaming-tables, iii. 122. Home, enjoyment of, iii. 20S. Home for Girls, iii. iSr. Home life, i. 13 ; iii. 107, loS. " Horsedealcr in Syria," ii. loi. Housekeeping work, dislike of, i. How I came to write fiction, i. 298-300. Hungarian, "Adam Bede" trans- lated into, ii. 115. Hunt, Leigh, his " The Religion of the Heart," i. 226. Huth, Mr. and Mrs., iii. 147. Hutton, R. H., letter to, on " Rom- ola," ii. 261. " Pluxley on M. Comte," Dr. Con- greve's article on, iii. 58. Huxley, Mr., an agreeable evening with, i. 220. Hyrtl, the German anatomist, ii. 39. "Idea of a Future Life," contem- plates publishing, i. 229. Ilfracorabe recollections : journey to, i. 285 ; naturalistic experi- ences, 288 ; zoological expedi- tions, 289 ; Devonshire lanes, 289 ; Rev. Mr. Tugwell, 290 ; the scientific spirit, 291 ; leave for Tenby, 292. Illness a partial death, iii. 155. Illustrations in cheap edition, not queerer than in other books, iii. Impetuosity regretted, 1. 81. " Impossibility of marrying," dan- gers of speaking of, ii. 212. Incentive to production, iii. 224. Independence of external good, i. Indian newspaper-writing, ni. 237. Individual versus the general, the, iii. 33- Industrious poor, helping the, iii. 90. Inkermann, battle of, a mere brave blundering, iii. 182. Inman, Dr., Liverpool, ii. 114. Innspriick and Wildbad, iii. 294, Intellectual activity, enjoyment of, iii. loi. Intellectual superciliousness, ii. 255. " Introduction to the Science of Language," iii. 303. " Iphigenia in Aulis," iii. 145- Irregular verses, the use of, iii. 40. Ischl, the Gmunden See, ii. 37; voyage down the Danube, 38. Isle of Wight, trip to the, ii. 72, 256. Italian novel, first mention of, ii. 168. Italian studies, i. 49. Italy, first journey to, i860 : Turin, ii. 122; Genoa, 123; Leghorn, 124; Pisa, 125; Rome, 126-144; Naples, 144; Salerno, 151 ; Pae- stum, 152 ; Amalfi, 153 ; Sorren- to, 153, 154; Florence, 155 ; Bo- logna, 168 ; Padua, 170 ; Venice, 172; Verona, 179; Milan, 179- 181. Second journey to, ii. 216; stay at Florence, 217; renewed delight in, 219 ; work during the visit, 221. Third visit to, ii. 277; Mr. Burton's companionship, 278 ; the Alps by the St.Gothard,278. Fourth visit to, iii. 57 ; places visited, 58. Fifth visit to : Milan, iii. 288 ; Verona, 289; Venice, 291. "Jane Eyre," opinion of, i. 138. Jansa, Herr, takes lessons from,ii. 271. Jersey recollections, 1857: scen- ery, i. 319; inland walks, 320, 321 ; coast beauties, 321 ; books read, 322. Jesus at Emmaus, thoughts on, i. no. Jewish appreciation of "Deronda," iii. 207, 216. 330 Index. Jews, dislike of, i. 125 ; English ignorance of the, iii. 212. Jones, Mr. Owen, decorates the new house, ii. 26s, 266. Journal, 1S55: Third book of " Ethics," preface written, i. 273 ; IVcstf/iinstcr Reviexv^ 274 ; wrote for the Leader, 275. 1856 : Working at Spinoza, i. 2S1 ; first mention of fiction- writing, 296 ; " Mr.Gilfil's Love- story " begun, 305. 1857 : Pleasant letters regard- ing " Gilfil," i. 323, 324 ; finished "Janet's Repentance," 336 ; be- gan " Adam Bede," 336 ; books read, 342 ; the year's work, 344. 1858 : News from the city re- garding "Clerical Life," ii. 12; visit to Germany, 14-46; "Adam Bede " finished, 48. 1S59 : A trip to Lucerne, ii. 87 ; return to England, 88 ; de- clined American offer for new story, 94; anxiety and doubt about new novel, 97. i860: Seeing friends, ii. 114; first journey to Italy, 1 20-1 82. 1861 : Second journey, ii, 216; struggling constantly with de- pression, 227; continued ill- health, 243-245 ; despondency, 279. 1868: Books, reading, iii. 25 ; retrospect of year, 50. 1869 : Work in prospect, iii. 55 ; beginning " Middlemarch," 69 ; " Legend of Jubal " begun, 1870 : In languid heaUh, 111. 79- 1871 : First part of " Middle- march " published, iii. 104. 1873: Success of "Middle- march," iii. 138 ; retrospect of year, 159. 1875 : Sales of books, m. 180. 1876: Depression in writing " Deronda," iii. 194. 1877 : Cabinet edition decided on, iii. 230 ; declined to renew copyright agreement, 230 ; close of her journal, 233. 1879 : Seeing visitors, iii. 260. 18S0 : Her marriage with Mr; Cross, iii. 283 ; came to 4 Cheyne Walk, 311. _ Jowett, Mr., Master of Balliol, visit to, iii. 149. Julian the Apostate, Strauss's pamphlet on, i. 139. Justification in writing, iii. 173. Kaufmann, Dr. David, letter to, on his estimate of " Daniel Deron- da," iii. 222 ; on the function of the teacher, 226 ; on Lewes's death, 257. Kenelm Chillingly, iii. 141. Knight, Charles, i. 202. La Bruyere's wisdom, iii. 235. Lamartine as a poet, i. 130. Languages, her knowledge of, iii. La Vernia, description of, ii. 223. Lawrence wishes to take her por- trait, ii. 115 ; sits for it, 194. Lecky's " History of Rationalism," ii. 291. Lecture on "Daniel Deronda," by Dr. Adler, iii. 216. Leeds, the horrible smoke of, iii. 43 ; its fine hospital, 44. " Legend of Jubal," some verses written, iii. 73 ; published as " Legend of Jubal, and other Poems," 167 ; new edition of, 169. Leghorn, the Jewish synagogue, ii. 125 ; to Civita Vecchia, 125 ; a pleasant companion, 126. Leipzig, two days at, ii. 45 ; its picture-gallery, 45. Leroux, Pierre, his theories, i. 194. Letters to her friends almost all destroyed, ii. 207. " Letter to Eerthelot," Renan's, ii. 269. Lewes, Charles, first letter to, ii. 91; on musical parties, 98; on liking for algebra, 106; returns from Hofwyl, 185; receives ap- pointment in Post-office, 194 ; letters from Florence to, 216, 219, 221 ; from Isle of Wight, 257; his engagement, 278; "let- ters to, on Harrison's paper, iii. Index. 331 262; on printing the "Prob- lems," 276; from Grenoble, 285; from Milan, 2S8; from Venice, 291 ; from Stuttgart and Wild- bad, 294, 295 ; on his visit to St. Blasien, 297 ; on recurrence of illness, 300. Lewes, George H., i. 188; first in- troduction to Miss Evans, 189; meet at the theatre, 192 ; article on "Julia von Kriidener," 192; his Comte papers, 209 ; growing intimacy, 221 ; his " History of Philosophy," 227; illness, 231 ; intimate relations with Miss Ev- ans, 232 ; their union, 235 ; com- pleted life of Goethe at Weimar, 267 ; estimation of George Eliot, 277 ; necessity for hard work, 277 ; proposes sending boys to Hofvvyl, 284 ; goes to Switzer- land with them, 297 ; highly pleased W'ith "Amos Barton," 300 ; letter to John Blackwood with MS. of " Scenes of Cleri- cal Life," 300 ; George Eliot re- vealed to John Blackwood, ii. 10; suggestions in"AdamBede," 49, 50 ; extract from Journal, 55 ; "Physiology of Common Life," 92; "Studies in Animal Life," 113; dispassionate judgment, 202 ; delicate health, 223 ; busy with Aristotle, 233 ; " History of Science " begun, 243 ; views of Bible-reading, 251 ; buoyant nature, 290 ; walking expedition with Mr. Spencer, iii. 15 ; ac- quaintance with Mrs. Cross, 15 ; visits Bonn, 20 ; death of his mother, 91 ; proposed for Rec- torship of St. Andrews, 232; continued illness, 240 ; his death, 247. Lewes, Herbert, his death, iii. 189. Lewes Studentship proposed, iii. 253 ; plans for, and trustees, 254. Lewes, Thornton, leaves for Na- tal, ii. 264; returns, iii. 63 ; his death, 73. Lewis, Miss, Leamington, iii. 192. Lewis, Miss, letters to : On first visit to London, i. 28 ; on livmg for eternitv, 30; emulation of Wilberforce, 31 ; oratorios, 32 ; bad effect of novels, 37; religious controversies, 39 ; first author- ship, 42; studies pursued, 44; Italian studies, 49 ; Mrs. Som- erville's " Connection of the Physical Sciences," 50; opin- ions of Isaac Taylor, 51 ; Ger- man translation, 54; a walled-in world, 55 ; sensitiveness, 57 ; war's purgations, 59 ; satisfac- tion with new life, 62 ; depres- sion of mind, 64; mind requiring rest, 65 ; desire for brain waves, 66 ; religious doubts and diffi- culties, 74, 75 ; on self-denial, 78. Lichfield, recollections of, ii. 96. Liddell, Dean, Oxford, iii. 173. Liebig, Professor, ii. 23 ; admira- tion of, 25, 29. "Life of Goethe," i. 275. " Lifted Veil," finished April, 1859, ii. 75 ; the idea of the story, iii. Liggins, Mr., first mention of, i. 323 ; calls himself George Eliot, ii. 71 ; some recollections of, 72; Mr. Anders's apology, 78; Mr. Bracebridge's letter regarding, 99- Limitations of scientists, iii. 182. Lincoln, President, anecdote of, iii. 82. Lincoln, the Rector of, iii. 81. Lincolnshire, visits to, iii. 288. "Lisa," writing rhymed poem on, iii- 55- Literary biography, iii. 163. Literary taste at book-stalls, iii. Littlehampton, trip to, 11. 247. Liturgy of the English Church and the Bible, ii. 226. Living abroad, drawbacks to, iii. 203. Lockhart, Captain, his writings, iii. 98, 193- , ^ , Lonely days : " here I and sorrow sit," iii. 249. Louis Blanc, admiration of, i. 138. Louis Philippe and his sons, i. 130. Lowell's "My Study Windows," iii. 96. 332 Index. Lucerne, a trip to, ii. 87; visit from Mrs. Congrcve, 87. Lush and Grandcourt, ill. 200. Lushington, Mrs. Vernon, iii. 220. Lyrics for "Spanish Gypsv," iii. 16. Lytton, Hon. Mrs. Robert (now Lady Lytton), letter of sympathy to, iii. 83 ; on thoughts of death, 99, 100 ; on Lord Lytton's In- dian experiences, 281. Lytton, Hon. Robert (now Lord Lytton), on pronunciation in "Spanish Gypsy," iii. 52; expla- nation of errors, 52. Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer, letter from, thanking author of "Adam 13ede," ii. 74, 75 ; visit from, 115; criticises "Adam Bede," 115; his criticisms of "Mag- gie,'' 190. Macaulay, interest in, i. 142. Mackay's " Progress of the Intel- lect" reviewed, i. 183; extracts from, 183-185, 190. "Macmillan," article on "The Mill on the Floss " in, ii. 212. Macmillan, Mr., his proposal for volume on Shakespeare, iii. 231. Madrid, the Gallery, iii. 9. Madonna di San Sisto, first im- pression of, ii. 43. Main, Mr., collector of "The Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings of George Eliot," iii. 103 ; opinions of, 105. Maine, Sir Henry, on Lewes's "Physiology," iii. 267. Malvern, trip to, ii. 228; improved health from, 230, 231. "Man's Nature and Development," i. 187. " Marie of Villefranche," by Miss Mary Cross, iii. 100. Marriage, possibilities in, iii. iSi. Marriage, the ideal, iii. 142. Martineau, Harriet, "The Crofton Boys," i. 93 ; meeting with, 94, 193; invitation from, 197; ar- ticle on "Niebuhr," 203; visit to, at Ambleside, 212; respect for her, ii. 103 ; her autobiogra- phy, iii. 214, 219. Martineau, James, i. 192 ; critique of Kingsley's *' Phaethon," 219 ; on Sir William Hamilton, 223; invitation from, 54 ; " Comte," 55- Martineau, Maria, her death, ii. 274. "Masculine woman," dislike of the, iii. 308. Masson, Mr., on Recent Philoso- phy, ii. 298. Mathematics, her love for, iii. 305. Matlock, recollections of, iii. 47. Maurice, Frederick, generous trib- ute from, ii. 259. Mazzini, asked to write on " Free- dom V. Despotism," i. 194; his speeches, 198. Mazzini Fund, the, ii. 294. Mazzini's death, iii. 113. " Meliorist," the word, iii. 217. Memorial article on author of "Thorndale,"iii. 126. Mendelssohn's " Letters," iii. 84. Mental characteristics described, i. 84. "Middlemarch," writing introduc- tion, iii. 69 ; reading for, 71, 72 ; the design of, 99 ; anticipations of, 103 ; first part published, 104 ; French and German in- terest in, 112 ; delayed by ill- health, 113; ;!^I200 from Har- pers for reprint, 114; finished, 121 ; reviewed in Blac/riv^'od^s Magazine, 130 ; new edition called for, 153 ; number sold in 1S73, 160; December, 1874, 20,000 sold, iSo. Milan, the Ambrosian Library, ii. 180 ; the " Brera," 180 ; Church of San Ambrogio, 181; the"Lui- ni " pictures, iii. 2S8. Military men, articles by, iii. 265. Mill, John Stuart, his "Autobiog- raphy," iii. 158. "Mill on the Floss," first volume finished as " Sister Maggie," ii. loi ; Blackwood's proposals for, no ; discussions as to title, III ; Blackwood's suggestion adopted, 112 ; Plarpefs, New Yoik, give ;^300 for American edition, 115; third volume fin- Index. 333 ished, Ii6; inscription on, ii6; sad at finishing, 117; first and second editions (6000) sold, 185. Miracle play at Antwerp, the, ii. 316. Miscellaneous writing, i. 280. Misconception of others, on, ii. 197. " Miss Brooke," experimenting on, iii. 91. Mixed marriages in Germany, ii.28. Modern German art, ii. 27. Mohl, Madame, dinner with, iii. i. Moleschott, of Zurich, ii. 182. Moliere's " Misanthrope," ii. 108. Mommsen's " History of Rome," ii. 264. Mont Cenis, passage of, ii. 120. Moral action, ground of, iii. 178. Moral sanction is obedience to facts, iii. 34. Morality with the "Bible shut," i. 230. More, Mrs. Hannah, her letters, i. 123. Miiller, Max, ii. 239 ; iii. 149. Munich, the opera, ii. 18 ; Sam- son and Delilah, 18; Schwan- thaler's " Bavaria," 19 ; appre- ciation of Ivubens, 20 ; Catholic and Protestant worship, 21 ; the Glyptothek and Pinnacothek, 21 ; Kaulbach, Bodenstedt, and Genelli, 22, 23 ; Professor Wag- ner, 23 ; Professor Martins, 23 ; Liebig, 23, 25 ; Heyse and Gei- bel, 23 ; music of the " Faust," 24 ; Professor Loher, 24 ; Al- bert Diirer's paintings, 24 ; Bluntschli and Melchior Meyr, •25; the Tafel-ntnd, 26; the Sie- bolds, 26, 33 ; Kaulbach's pict- ures, 27 ; mixed marriages, 28 ; porcelain-painting, 30 ; Madame Bodenstedt, 30 ; visit to Gross- hesselohe, 31 ; Lewes leaves for Switzerland, 33 ; leaves for Dres- den, 33. Murillo's St. Rodriguez, ii. 43- Music, cheap, inconveniences con- nected with, in England, ii. 81. Musical evenings with Mr. Pigott and Mr. Redford, ii. 227, 229, 230. Musical parties, ii. 99. Myers, Mr. Frederick, Cambridge, 111. 147. "My Vegetarian Friend," written, ii.285. Nancy, the Germans at, iii. 151, Naples : first impressions, ii. 144 ; visits to BaiiE, Avernus, and Misena, 145 ; to Pozzuoli and Capo di Monte, 146; the Ceme- tery, 147; Museo Borbonico, 147 ; Pompeii, 148 ; its remains, 149; beauty of, 150 ; the pict- ures at, 151, • Giotto's frescoes, 151 ; leave for Florence, 154. Nearness of death, imagining the, iii. 170. Negative attitude unsatisfactory, iii. 156. "Nemesis of Faith," reviews the, i. 145 ; note from Froude, 145. New house, enjoyment of, ii. 269, 270. Newnian, Francis, i. 140 ; iii. 165. Newman's "Apologia," ii. 2S0. Newsman's, J. H., "Lectures on the Position of Catholics," i. 192. New misery in writing, i. 227. New-Year's wishes, iii. 139, Nichol's " Architecture of the Heavens," i. 65. Nightingale, Miss Florence, note from, i. 206 ; ii. 61. Noel, Mr., i. 191. Non-conformity, effect of, i. 79 ; dangers of, 90. Normandy, trip to, ii. 296. North British, favorable review, ii. 199. Notes on the " Spanish Gypsy," iii. 30, 31. Novel-writing, suspected of, i. 108. Nuneaton, riot at, i. 20. Niirnbeig, description of, ii. 14; its rooYs and balconies, 15 ; the Frauen - Kirche, 16; effect of Catholic "Function," 17; Al- bert Diirer's house, 17. Old people's judgments, i. 118. "Old Town Folks," appreciation of, iii. 66. Oliphant, Lawrence, and the col- onizing of Palestine, iii. 252. 334 Index. Oliphant, Mrs., the novelist, ii. ii. 0/ice a Week, a story requested for, ii. 104, 106. Oratorios at Birmingham, i. 53. Oratorios condemned, i. 32. Orientals, English attitude tow- ards, iii. 211. Osborne, Bernal, on " Deronda," iii. 200. Otter, Francis, letter to, on his en- gagement, iii. iSo, iSi. Owen, Professor, i. 202 ; on the cerebellum, 210 ; sends his " Pa- laeontology," ii. 116. Owen, Robert, i. 86. Oxford, first visit to, iii. So; peo- ple met with, 80. Oxford Tracts and Christian Year, i. 48. Padua, Church of San Antonio, ii. 170; the Arena Chapel, 171 ; Giotto's painting, 171. Paestum, the Temple of Neptune, ii. 152. Paris, visit to Comte's apartment, ii. 286. Parkes, Miss (Madame Belloc), friendship with, i. 195 ; iii. 289. *' Pascal," by Principal Tulloch, iii._235. Passionate affliction, defence against, iii. 84. Patience, the need of, iii. 128. " Paul Bradley," by Mrs. Bray, iii. 164. Pays no visits in London, ii. 215. Peabody, George, his magnificent gift, ii. 245. Pears, Mrs., letters to : on relig- ious difficulties, i. 76; on desire for truth, TJ ; on her impetuosi- ty, 81 ; her friendship with Mr. Robert Evans, 147. Pcnmaenmawr, ii. 96. Permanent influence of ideas, the, iii. 89. Persistence in application, iii. 304. Personal bearing, her, iii. 310. Personal portraiture objected to, iii. 228. Personality, independence of our, iii. 84. Phenomena of spiritualism, the, iii. 67. Philosophical Club, first meeting of, ii. 248 ; dissolution of, 253. " Philosophy of Necessity," the, i. 339- Phrenological indications, i. jZ. Phrenology, the position of, i. 340. Physiological reading, i. 279. Physiological Studentship, the pur- pose of, iii. 256. " Physiology for Schools," Mrs. Bray's, ii. 267. Pigott, Mr. Edward Smith, i. 293. Pisa, description of, ii. 125 ; the cathedral, 125. Pity and fairness, where requisite, iii. 228. Plain living and high thinking, iii. i6r. ^ Plombieres and the Vosges, iii. 150. _ Poem in Christian Obsei'ver, i. 43. Poetry instead of novels, on writ- ing, iii. 36. Poetry of Christianitv, i. <^'^ ; ii. 251. Poets, the value of, iii. 184. Political and religious standpoint, iii. 308. Pompeii and its remains, ii. 149, 150, 154. Ponsonby, Hon. Mrs. (now Lady Ponsonby), letter to, on the idea of God an exaltation of human goodness, etc., iii. 176 ; on the desire to know the difficulties of others, 184 ; on excess of public-houses, 188 ; on pity and fairness, 228. Poor, helping industrious, iii. 90. " Popular author," characteristics of the, ii. 59. Popular Concerts, Monday, ii. 204, 248. Popular judgment of books, iii. Popular preacher, a, iii. 87. Positivism in " The Spanish Gyp- sy," iii. 49. Positivism regarded as one-sided, ii. 224. Possession, the sense of, iii. 306. Power of the will, the, iii. 179. Index. 335 royser, Mrs., her dialogue, ii. 54; quoted \\\ House of Commons, 69. Prague : the Jewish burial-ground, ii. 40 ; impressive view, 41. Preacher, a popular, criticised, iii. Presentation copies never sent, ii. 216. Press notices of " Adam Bede," ii. 60. *' Pretended comforts," ii. 296. Prince Albert, admiration of, i.202. Printed rancor, on, iii, 221. Priory, receptions at the, iii. 241. Private correspondence almost all destroyed, ii. 207. Private theatricals, i. 176, 178. "Problems of Life and Mind," by G. H. Lewes, iii. 203, 210. Prospective Review^ i. 219 ; on Goethe, 224. Psychical troubles, i. 232. Public-houses, excess of, iii. 188. Public interest in " Deronda," iii, 199, Public school and University edu- cation, iii, 309, Publishing books, on different methods of, iii. 190, 191. "Pug," letter to John Blackwood on, ii. 91. Quackery of infidelity, i. 89. Quarterly on "The Mill on the Floss," ii. 2or, Queen's admiration of *' The Mill on the Floss," ii, 203, Quiet joy in success, ii, 72. Quirk, Mr., finally renounces Lig- gins, ii. 96. Race characteristics, i. 125. Ragatz, "The Cure" at, iii, 206; gain in health from, 210. Rancor, on printed, iii. 221. Rawlinson, Professor, iii. 80. Reade, Charles, on " Adam Bede," ii. 70. Reading alond, the effect of her, iii. 302, 303. Reading world very narrow,in. 13 r. Reeves, Sims, singing " Adelaide," ii, 205. Religion and art, i. 126 ; the devel- opment of, iii. 62. Religious controversies, i, 39, 47 ; aspirations, e>T^ ; doubts and dif- ficulties, 74, 76 ; forms and cere- monies, ii. 205 ; assemblies, the need of, iii, 156; and political standpoint, 308. Renan, estimate of, ii. 269 ; his ap- pearance, iii. 3. Renan's " Vie de Jesus," ii. 260. Renunciation, on, iii. 35. Repugnance to autobiography, iii. 221, Responsibility of authorship, ii. 89. Retrospect of year 1819, i. 4, 5 ; of 1857, 346 ; of 1858, ii. 55 ; of 1864, 285 ; of 1865, 300; of 1868, iii. 50; of year 1873, I59- Reviews, effect of, ii. 192 ; abstains from reading, 193. Reviews of " Spanish Gypsy," iii. 40, 44. Revolution, sympathy with, i, 130. Revolutionary spirit, i. 138, " Revue des Deux Mondes," re- view of "Adam Bede," ii, 105; Lewes accepts editorship of pe- riodical on plan of, ii. 287. Rewards of the artist, the, ii. 107, Richmond Park, the charms of, i. 326 ; sunset effects, 341. Riehl's " Die Familie," i. 344. Ritualistic services at Ryde, iii. 91. Rive, M, le Professeur de la, his lectures, i, 175, 177. Romance in real life, a, ii. 258, 259. Rome : from Civita Vecchia to, ii, 126; first sight of, 126; disap- pointed with, 127 ; view from the Capitol, 128; the Sabine and Alban hills, 128 ; the temples and palaces, 129; the arches and columns, 129, 130; the Coliseum and baths, 130; the Lateran and Vatican sculptures, 131 ; St, Peter's, 132; mediaeval churches, 133 ; Sistine chapel, 133 ; pal- aces, 133, 134; illumination of St. Peter's, 134; the Quirinal, 134; San Pietro in Vincoli, 134; Michael Angeio's "Moses,'" 135; modern artists, 13'^: Ricdcl and 33^ Index Oveibcck, 136 ; Pamfili Doria gardens, 137; Villa Albani and Frascati, 137; Tivoli, 138 ; pict- ures at the Capitol,' 139 ; the Latcran Museum, 139; Shelley's and Keats's graves, 140; remov- al to apartments, 142; the French occupation, 143; beautiful moth- ers and children, 143; the Pope's blessing, 144. '' Romola," first conception of, ii. 197; began the fast chapter, 230 ; studying for, 234 ; begins it again, 238 ; Smith offers ;^ 10,000 for it to appear in the Com hill, 244 ; jCjgoo accept- ed, 245 ; slow progress in wnit- ting, 246, 250 ; (^pinions of, 252 ; strain of writing, 255 ; finished Part XIII., 255 ; completion of, 256; application to translate into Italian, iii. 216- Rosehill, visit to, i. 193. Roundel!, Mr, and Mrs. Charles, iii. 149. Roy, Dr. Charles, elected Lev/es Physiological student, iii. 275 ; his treatise on "Blood Press- ure," 298. Rubens, appreciation of, ii. 20, Rumors of authorship, ii. 13. Ruskin and Alfieri, reading, iii. 292. Ruskin's Works, opinion of, ii. 5. Ryde, visit to, iii. 91 ; ritualistic service at, 91, Salerno, visit to, ii. 151. Salzburg, description of scenery, ii. 36. Sand's, George, " Lettrcs d'un Voyageur," i. 122. Saragossa, the old cathedral, iii. 5. Saturday Popular Concerts, last visit to, iii. 315. Saturday Rcvieii^, the, i, 281. Saveney on " La Physique Mod- erne," iii. 3. Scarborough, visit to, ii. 2S1. *' Scenes of Clerical Life :" "Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton," i. 299 ; offered to Blackwood, 300 ; accepted, 304 ; sensitiveness of author, 304; " Mr. Gllfil s Love- story " begun, 305; "Amos Barton," published in January (1856) Magazine, 305 ; opinions regarding authorship, 308, 309 ; assumes the name of George Eliot, 310; Caterina and the dagger scene, 313; " Mr. Gil- fil" finished, 319 ; epilogue to, 319; opinions of, 324; "Ja- net's Repentance" begun, 326; Blackwood's opinion of, 328 ; increased circulation, 342 ; fa- vorable opinions of, ii. 10. Scherer, Professor, Geneva, iii. 8. School-fellows, excels her, i, 19. Schwalbach, description of, ii. 312. Scientists, limitations of, iii. 182. SclUy Islands, recollections of : St. Maiy's, i. 314; Beauties of the coast, 314; sunlight on the waves, 315; social life, 316. Scotch Reign of Terror, disbelief in a, i. 132. Scotland, trip to, i. 97 ; visit to, ii. 275- Scott Commemoration, afraid of journey to, iii. 97, 98. Scott, Life of Sir Walter, ii. 61. j Scrap-work, dislike of, i. 203. Sculpture and painting, i. 127. Sensibility to criticism, ii. 63. Sequel to "Adam Bede " pro- posed, ii. 100. Shakespeare's "Passionate Pil- ^grim,"i. 273. Shakespeare, the acting preferred to the reading, ii. 109. Shakespeare, volume on, requested by Macmillan, iii. 231. Sheltield, visit to, iii. 46; early rec- ollections of, J.6. Shelley's " Cloud," i. 53. Shottermill, life at, iii, 94, Sibree, John, letters to, i. 123; on " Tancred" and D'lsraeli, 123, 124 ; race characteristics, 125 ; religion and art, 126 ; painting and sculpture, 127 ; svmpathy with hnii, 128; necessity of utterance, 132; desire for a change, 133. Sibree, Miss Mary (Mi-,, JqI,,, Index. 337 Cash), her recollections of Miss Evans at Coventry, i. 113-116; letter to, 327. Sidgwick, Mr. Henry, iii. 147. Siebold the anatomist, ii. 26. Siena, expedition to, ii, 164 ; the Cathedral, 164, 165 ; its paint- ings, 165. "Silas Marner, the Weaver of Raveloe," a sudden inspiration, ii. 204 ; story begun, 207 ; its sombre character, 210; subscrip- tion to, 5500, 212. Silence of the country, iii. 107. "Silly Novels by Lady Novel- ists," article on, finished, i. 297. Simpson, Mr. George, Edinburgh, letter to, iii. 135 ; proposed a yet cheaper edition of novels, 162 ; author's regret at not adopting the plan, 162. "Small upper room" 1866 years ago, comparison v/ith, ii. 285. Smith, Albert, on "Amos Bar- ton," i. 308. Smith, Barbara (Madame Bodi- chon), i. 205, 295. See Madame Bodichon. Smith, Mr. George, offers ^10,000 for " Romola," to appear in the Cornhill, ii. 244 ; accepted for ;^70oo, 245. Smith, Mrs. William, letters to, on the Memoir of her husband, iii. 126, 142; on the higher educa- tion of women, 146 ; on her po- ems, 160. Smith, Sydney, anecdote of, ii. 299. Smith, William, author of ' ' Thorn- dale," ii. 5, 212; his illness, iii. 109; his death, 119; memoir of, 185. Social dangers, i. 56. Somerville's, Mrs., "Connection of the Physical Sciences," i. 50- "Sonnets on Childhood," iii. 65. Sorrento, visit to, ii. I53 ; its neighborhood, Vico, and the Syren Isles, i54- Spain, set off on journey to, 11. 324; return home, hi. 9. " Spanish Gypsy," reading for, u. 280 ; first act finished, 283 ; taken up again, 317; reading for, 321 ; recommenced in new form, 321 ; reading for, iii. 15 ; Mr. Lewes's opinion of, 22 ; shortening of, 29 ; finished, 29 ; notes on, 30 ; the viotif of the poem, 30; reviews of, 39, 40; second and third editions, 42, 45 ; reprinted in Germany, 140 ; number sold in 1873, 160; fifth edition published, 180. Spanish grammar, studying, ii. 282. Spanish, new system of learning, iii. 3 ; scenery, 4; travelling, 6. Speke, Captain, the African trav- eller, ii. 95, loi. Spencer, Herbert, first meeting with, i. 187 ; intimacy with, 201, 203 ; " Universal Postulate," 225; "Genesis of Science," 234; Essays, 371; his influence on Lewes, ii. 55, 56; enthusias- tic letter from, 89 ; his new work, 206 ; visit from, 276 ; in- troduces Lewes to Mrs. Cross, iii. 15 ; his teaching, 184; last visit from, 315. Spencer, Mr., senior, teacher, ii. 272. Spinoza's " Ethics," desires not to be knovv^n as translator, i. 283. Spinoza's " Tractatus Theologico- Politicus," i. 147, 172. Spiritualistic evidence, iii. iii ; phenomena, 116. " Spiritual Wives," a nasty book, iii. 130. Spiritualism, the phenomena of, iii. 67; one aspect of, 117. Spliigen Pass, journey across, ii. 181. Springs of affection reopened, iii. 280. Stachelberg and Klonthal, iii. 207. Staffordshire, first journey to, i. Stanley, Lord, his opinion of the " Scenes," i. 325. Statesman review of "Clerical Life," ii. 6. Stella Collas in " Juliet," ii. 259. -15 338 Index. Stephenson, George, one of her heroes, ii. 241. St. Blasien, in the Schwarz Walcl, iii. 207. St. Leonards, visit to, i. 223. St. Paul's, charity children sing- ing, i. 203. Stories, on conclusions of, i. 319. Stowe,Mrs., Miss Cobbe's rejoin- der to, ii. 253 ; letters to, iii, 60 ; on early memories of, 60; the popular judgment of books, 61 ; the development of religion, 62 ; a woman's experience, 63 ; on appreciation of " Old Tovrn Folks," 66; Professor Stovve's psychological experience, 67 ; phenomena of spiritualism, 67; on the benefits of country quiet, no; on spiritualistic phenome- na, 116; on Goethe, 175; on her admiration for " Deronda," 202 ; on the Jewish element in " Deronda," 211. Stowe, Mrs., letter to Mrs. Follen, i. 220. Stowe, Professor, his psychological experience, iii. 66 ; a story by, iii. 129. Strachey, Mrs., letter to (unfin- ished), iii. 315. " Stradivarius," referred to, iii. 22S. Strain of writing "Romola,"ii. 25 5. Strauss, translation of, i. 90, 94 ; delay in publication, 95 ; diffi- culties, 96 ; title, 98 ; finishing translation, loi ; Miss Hennell's help in translation, 103; review of, 109 ; interview with, 240 ; renewed acquaintance with, ii. 46. Strength while abroad, iii. 301. Stuart, Mrs., visit from, iii. 255, Study, enjoyment of, ii. 322. Studying for "Romola," ii. 234, 240, 246, 249, 250. Sturgis, Julian, high opinion of, iii. 257. Sully, James, letter to, on Mr. Levves's articles, iii. 260, 269, 273 ; thanking him for proof- reading, 274. "Sunshine through the Clouds," i. 233. Surrey, enjoyment, iii. 170. Surrey hills preferred to the sea- side, iii. 272. Swansea, cockle-women at, i. 292. Swayne, Rev. Mr., his delight with "Mr. Gilfil's Love -Story," i. 311. Switzerland, letters during resi- dence in 1S49, i. 1 51-179. S)aiipathy, with other women, iii. 100 ; the necessity of, ii. 269 ; recovery of, iii. 293. Tauchnitz offers for " Clerical Life," ii. 52; offers ;^ioo for German reprint of "Adam Bede," 115, Taylor, Isaac, influence of, i. 51. Taylor, Mrs. Peter, i. 196 ; sym- pathy with, 197 ; letters to, 2i3, 219; generous letter from, vvith reply, 293, 294; on her domes- tic position, ii. 213, 214; letter to, on Christmas at Weybridge, iii. 159; on difficulties of note writing, iSi ; on the Lewes Stu- dentship, 273. Taylor, Professor Tom, i. 201, Tenby, zoological delights, i. 293 ; St. Catherine's Rock, 295 ; work done here, 295 ; JNIr. Pigott's visit, 296 ; 'leave and return to Richmond, 297. Tennyson, appreciation of, iii. 229. " Terror" in religious education, , iii. 48. Thackeray, !Miss, "The Story of Elizabeth," ii. 299; her mar- riage, iii. 225. Thackeray's "Esmond," i. 214; opinion of " Gilfil's Love-Sto- ry," 323; favorable opinion of " Clerical Life," ii. 10. " The Impressions of Theophras- tus Such," MS. sent to publish- ers, iii. 245 ; publication post- poned, 252; third edition about sold out, 268. Theism, objection to, i. 339, 340. Thirlwall, Bishop, story of, iii. 22S Index, 339 Thompson, Master of Trinity Col- lege, Cambridge, iii. 149. Thorns in actual fame, ii. 90. Thorwaldsen's Christ scourged, i. 126. "Thoughts in Aid of Faith," by Miss Hennell, ii. 1S6, 188, 195 ; favorable view of, by Miss Nightingale and Miss JuHa Smith, 190. "Thoughts in Aid of Faith," ii. 73- Thoughts on death, iii. 100; on early death, ii. 290. Tichborne trial, the, iii. 106; Cole- ridge's address, 107. Times reviews "Adam Bede," ii. 73 ; letter to, denying Liggin's authorship, 74. Titian's paintings, ii. 43, 45. " Too good to be true," i. 140. Torquay, visit to, iii. 25. Toulon to Nice, drive from, ii. 216, 217. Town life, depression of, ii. 203. Tragedy, notes on, iii. 32. Translator's difficulties, a, i. 99. Traunstein, our fellow-travellers at, ii. 35._ Treves, a visit to, iii. 122. TroUope, Anthony, his " Orley Farm," delightful letter from, ii. 246. Truth, desire for, i. 77. Truth of feeling a bond of union, i. 88. Tryan, Rev. Mr., an ideal charac- ter, i. 332. Tulloch, Principal, his "Pascal," iii. 235. Turguenieff, M., iii. 20g. Turin: Count Cavour, ii. 122 ; Prince de Carignan, 122. Tylor's "Primitive Culture," iii. 118. Tyndall, Professor, " On the Con- stitution of the Universe," ii. 299. University and public school edu- cation, iii. 309. Use of irregular verses,_iii. 40. " Utopias,"' poem on, ii. 286. Venice: the Grand Canal by moon- light, ii. 172 ; San Marco and Doge's Palace, 173; pictures in the palace, 173 ; interior of St. Mark's, 174; " Death of Peter the Martyr," 175 ; the Scuola di San Rocco, 176 ; Tintoretto and Titian, 176 ; Giovanni Bellini and Palma Vecchio, 177; sun- set on the Lagoon, 177 ; Piazza of San Marco, 178 ; a remarka- ble picture, 178. Verona, the church of San Zenone, ii. 179; the tombs of the Scali- gers, 179. Veronese, his "Finding of Moses," etc., ii. 44. Via Mala, its grand scenery, ii. 182. Vienna : Belvedere pictures, ii. 39 ; the Liechtenstein collection, 39 ; Hyrtl, the anatomist, 39; jour- ney to Prague, 40. "Villette,"i. 220. Vision of others' needs, iii. 177. Vision-seeing subjective, iii. 116. "Visiting my Relations," a vol- ume of poetry from the author- ess of, ii. 97. Wales, visit to, iii. 189. Wallace's "Eastern Archipelago," iii. 118. Wallington, Miss, her school at Nuneaton, i. 15. Walt Whitman, motto from, iii. 200. Wandsworth, takes new house at, ii. 59. Warwickshire magistrate, corre- spondence with, ii. 97. " Waverley," writes out, i. 16. Weimar recollections : interview v/ith Strauss, i. 240 ; the Dich- ter Zimm-er, 240 ; Scholl, 240 ; excursion to Ettersburg, 241 ; Arthur Helps, 242 ; Goethe's beech, 242 ; expedition to 11- menau, 242 ; Wagner's operas, 243 ; " Der Freischiitz," 243 ; Schiller's house, 244 ; Goethe's house, 244 ; his study, 245 ; the GartenhaiLS, 246 ; the WcbicJit, 247 ; Marquis de Ferricre, 247 ; 340 Index, Liszt on Spontoni, 248 ; break- fast with, 249; his playing, 250; his trophies, 250 ; our expenses, 251 ; work at and books read, 268-271; wrote article on "Madame de Sable," 268 ; re- marks on books read, 269-271 ; return to England, 271. Westminster, the, on " Essays and Reviews," ii. 200. Westminster Review, assistant edi- tor of, i. 1S6 ; heavy work, 193 ; its difficulties, 227 ; wishes to give up editorship, 229. Westminster xty'\t\NQX's>, i. 199, 200, 205, 210. Weybridge, Christmas visit to, iii. 71, 140, 159. Wharton's ' ' Summaiy of the Laws relating to Women," i. 220. Whitby, visit to, iii. 85. Wicksteed's review of Strauss's translation in " Prospective," i, 109. Wilberforce, emulation of, i. 31. Wildbad to Brussels, iii. 295. Will, pov/er of the, iii. 179. Wilson, Andrew, the "Abode of Snow," iii. 190. Witley, house bought at, iii. 215 ; life at, 240; Sunday receptions, 241. Wolseley, Sir Garnet, iii. 198, Woman's duty, yearning for a, i, 173 ; earnings, 282 ; full expe- rience, iii. 63 ; constancy, on, 92, 93- Womanhood, her ideal of, iii. 308. Women's Colleges, iii. 309. Woolwich Arsenal, a visit to, iii. 176. Wordsworth's Poems, i. 45. Wordsworth's Thoughts on Hu- manity, iii. 280. Work at Weimar and Berlin, j, 268. World of light and speech, iii. 185. Writing under difficulties, ii. 307. Young, discontent of the, iii. 213. Young Englandism, no sympathy with, i. 124. Young men, desire to influence, iii. 18. Yorkshire, visit to, iii. 41. Zoological Gardens, pleasure in, ii. 209 ; friendship with the Shoe- bill, 209. THE END. 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