The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-09-21
The year following the admira-

and mad an immense Shle WHdA pun uopWoon
covers. The story placed her among the first
novelists of the day, and rendered George
Eliot familiar name throughout the United
Kingdom, and introduced her. i Delleve, 70
your side Of the water. The work was In due
time translated into French and German, and
has since been done into Spanish, Italian,
Dutch, Russian and other modern tongues.
1t brought her the acquaintance Of Q NUMBER
of literary men (she had always Deen sny
and had studiously avoided society,", among
them Herbert Spencer, George Henry Lewes,
Dickens, Adophus Trollope, Thackeray. Mat
thew Arnold Wilke Collins, Leslie Stephen
and Charles Reade. Spencer ana LeWes
were particularly Interested In her, ana q
close intellectual friendship sprang up ~ pa,
tween them. Spencer informally instructor
her In his system of philosophy, and LeWes
added largely to her stock OF culture by his
own diversified attanments. Spencer, albeit
philosophic bachelor,
WISHED TO MARRY HER,
it In said; but she declined his proposal.
Lewes was strangely drawn TO her through
intellectual sympathy, far more 80 than ne
had ever been or believed he ever could be 70
any human being. He said that they needed
one another: that he felt he could help her as
much as she could help him; that thetr
minds were correlated and mutually resDon-
siye Lewes would have been only too happy
to make her his wife. But there was an OBJ
stacle in the way Of their nuptlals, then or at
any other definite time. There was g Mrs.
Lewes already, and, what was worse, although
sha and Lewes did not live together, she
could not legally be set aside. Why He had
married wears before woman who had very
little In common with him, and, as ne learned
too late. with whom he had still less. lie,
being of stole mold, bore the misfortune ut1-
able disharmony as much as ne could: lie
rebelled violently against her 1ndlscreet &C
oeptanee. Unable to be fond OF MIN, she was
so much repealed that she drove him by ner
mao g.
tracted; for he, like most men OF artistic tenn,
nerament. was extremely sensitive, and
capable of great spiritual suffering,
After two or three years OF dlscOrd, she met
another man who was very aItenllye ~ ~.
she was then handsome and had an attractive
figure, and she was so moved py MS atteh-
lions that
SHE RAN AWAY WITH HIM.
T,awes was greatly relieved. II he had been
orthodox he would have thanked the LOrd TOT
regarded his wfes elopment as happy colfl-
cidence Mrs. Lewess lover presently grew
tired of her and abandoned her. Then she
repented and sought her husband with pa
thetic contrition and plenteous tears He was
generous chivarous, tender hearted; he had
no love Tor her, but, fearing that she mightgoo
to moral perdltion, he nobly and In the lace OF
public prejudice and what he knew would pea
ieering world. took her back, replaced hef III
HE home He believed that ne had done ms
He had sacrificed himself for what seemed TO
he her rood. Before the year had passed Mrs.
Lewes, who had resumed her OLD attitude OF
opposition and defiance, repeated her otirhse.
time repented and begged q second time to
he restored to marital favors, do not Know.
RI ia not likely had she done so that her i1ege
would or could have pardoned her. he ielt
that he had had enough OF WedlocK, that
heuceforth ceIibaey would beforeyer allurlng.-
And it would have been deep, doubtless, under
ordinary circumstances. But meeting George
Eliot was not, to his mind, an ordinary cir
cumstance He had no passion Tor her, no
romantic attachment, no sentimental pTeJu-
dice He loved her Intellect;
HE woRsHIPED HER GENIUS;
he knelt at her mental shrine. But he could
not marry her, and without marriage society
and custom forbade them to bB close com
panions The law here, and with you, too, l
think. will not grant q divorce under any cir
cumstances where dlsloyallty nad once Deeh
condoned He had condoned his wifes elope-
ment: for her second elopement he had no
legal remedy What could, what did he do !!
He submitted the matter after due reflection
to their common friends, entirely conscious
that George Eliot would, by living with him.
place herself under ban; that she would ex-
nose herself to misunderstanding, to harsh
com ment, to cruel criticism; that she could
hope for only the recognition and esteem OF
the few Their friends were among the best
and most intellectual persons in the United
Kingdom They discussed the question from
every SIDE and finally gave their verdict In
favor OF
A SPIRITUAL UNION
which the law, through technicality, would
not sanction. George Eliot and George Hem
~ Lewes went to reside under the same roof,
and until his death, nearly year ago, they
were the best Of friends, the most sympathetic
of comrades, the most harmonious of literary
coworkers. They lived In q quiet quarter Of
the city near Regents Park, In modest but
comfortable and elegant home, full of books,
pictures, engravings, bronzes, bric-a-bric, and
other objects Of taste and art.
She never went out socially, but she received
Sunday evenings during the season with her
friend, and they who called were almost
was deemed a privilege to CO. and number
of cultured and liberal Americans have passed
delightful hours there. George Eliot lives
there still; but Sunday receptions have been
relinquished since his death, and are not
likely to be resumed. She now sees only
very small number Of her nearest and oldest
friends. Lewes' death was terrible bereave-
ment to her, one from which she will hardly
recover. He was great stay and support to
her. he encoura ged her to write: was her best
and most stimulating critic, and it is no doubt
on account of her loss, so severe and irrepara-
able that she has determined to
LAY ASIDE HER woNDRoUs PEN.
She Ia now tifty-nine aud childless, and,
though it may not be called So hers Is most
melancholy widowhood. She was always re-
ferred to while he lived as the wife Of Lewes
She never was his wife; she could not be, for
Mrs. Lewes proper still survives. Sin fire.
quentIy contributes to longevity.
George Eliot's writings have been very
profitable Their value in the market has
Life" She received but E3OO $1,000; for adam
Bede" she got, all told, G300O (S15,0O0); but
something less, / fear, for "Mill on the
Floss" "Romola," perhaps her most artistic
and one of the most interesting OF her novels,
to cultured people, has never been fully ap-
precated. It's earnings have to date, / am
told, not been much over $4,000. She has
cleared from "Middlemarch," issued by the
sum of $4,000, and for "Daniel Deronda"
about the same, "Silas Mariner" one Of her
strongest stories, was not very profitable,
while "Felix Holt, not at all equal to it, gave
her six times as much money. Her poetry
u has igeled siy yalumpa bag MT hfan