New-York tribune., 1885-01-18
A TALK WITH GEORGE ELIOT
ON AGE AND IMMORTALITY.

ia argIsh not unconmoiiO house enclosed In its
own grounds of about an acre aud halt Win tress
and shrubs all round, high front wall racing 'no
street, to which it communicates through ""'
sivs doorway. Ths neighborhood is quiet aooun',
ing in the cots of those soilel doves who nanht
what have bean christensd, for North Bank Is a
portion of ST. Johns Wooll the shady groves oil the
Evancelist. An actor Mr. Wilson Barrett, now
inha hits the Priory; ho has enlarged and aitereu
to snlt hi, mods and ml 10 it hotcally reSpienu
ent with dadDS pstcDcx-papor'. ani sti'hoi s.,'
windows. But in the old days when hauheeu H. !"
va, the unpretentioui abolo OF the my.
famous woman anil tho cleverest man in Enslahi'
q George Eliot" dw,lt there with her husoah'
Georte Horny Loves: shs. known Tar anu wiue IN
the bright genius whose fine creations IN ictiou
bet,n with Alan Bele' ha, Distinguished IN
many waysas ltt,ratcur, min OF science, anu
a dllettante. go
An afternoon mt the Priory. beginning with
m l.,t lunch IN the eastern ch amber. half study.
half draw NJ. room AMI Ming with u long chat
an tsa IN tho pretty drawins-room. was surety
thug to 10 remembered. As 1 look backward l
recall many such afternoons; but ono particularly
| remember when the full sunshine of success an"
happnas, dwslt in that little household. AMI when
to ears elgor to listen to in,. and hearts ili oi
sympathy first told the story of the life AMI death
of David Gray-the young Scottish poet VINO cams
London. and on the very threshold of his career
was smtten down to dio lingering death.
Conceive n little narr)w-sh,udersd man OF
between forty AMI fifty. with long straight hair. n
magnificent forehead. dark yet brilliant eyes, AMI
o mlnner full Of alertncss and intellectual grace.
This was GeorIs Lcw.s. whom Douglas Jerrold had
o,cs stignstiled rs the ugoSt man IN London.
averring at the same tims that II, had caused the
chmpan.ss in the Geological Gar,lens to die out
of iealonsy because there existed close ny
creature more hileDus than itsclf!' But Eeorse
Lews, though not AlOnis was certainly not
nry The grc,t defects of his face were tho coarse
almost sensual molth. with its protruilns t'eth
partly covsred by a bristly moustachs. and tho
small rstrsatinc chin: but wh,n the face lighted
nm and the eyes sp,rklol. an the mouth b.Itl It's
eloquent discourse. every impsrfectlon was ior-
y,tten Conceive. next. tbs tenth M1Se. or Syoii.
lounging in armchair AMI shailng her face INV
with q han l-Scrcsn: poyerinl-lookinp middle
ag,l woman with not, able nose and chin. a low
forehe ID fresh complexion. full an very mobile
mouth. Dress on this occasion. u plainly cut tiglt-
fitting dress of blue cislnsrh. fastened NJ the
throat with cameo br,och. This was" Mtwria
Evans" as Carlyle called her. tho Georg, Eliot of
the novels She re,lizsl in fice aud form the
description | aftcrwiri gave of hsr. in the
Sermon Of the Poets
George Eliot g,si tho company boldly
Will the limb, OF sypI AL IA, hsil of John Locke!
I hal be,n particularly struck b. her res,m-
bancc 10 Lpcks's wsl<nown portrait engraved
as a frontlsplocs TO the famous Essay At that
time her figure was griceful to elegance. Wien
last saw her shortly before her husbands death.
she stopped painfully she walksl. anl wore IA
oll-fashionci crlnoline.
"rcll that story TO the public. too cried Lewcs,
when hal inishel my tale. "Poor fellow! What
pity he ever came to Lonl lon
"Lord IIoughton says that yonr fricnl was very
like the bnsts of Shsey." said George Eliot. in her
deep contrato voice.
.Very like" 1 answered. he was curiously
feminine in FORM and IN tbs most wonderful eyo,
in the world Even Tito vonler WAS not m'ro
beautiful" | alloi. pointing to one Of the proof
onsravings of Ia Msurior's illustrations to
Romola," which hung framed over the mantel'
piece.
" | don't think, by the way observed Lcwes.
that David Gay can h, clas,d an,ig tis true
victim, of tn, Babyl,nian mpnster L,nl,n: at any
rate he yasn)t exactly literary strng!.cr. at the
mercy of what his countryniu Alexander Smith
called
The terrible city whose neglect I, death,
Whose smile 4. fame!
lie was struck down before h' bsgln tao struggle
at all; in Iced. / have no doubt whatever, from
vour description of him. that the strumous faint.
preltSpcsltiOn, was III hlu lTDiH aH' ''s''
under any circumstances, his fate would have been
the same
George Eliot Quem D diIignt, etc., After AL,
is not Ganymsdo to be envisii Better to be
snatched up suddenly into the heaven of heavens,
IN all IN. prirs of vouth AMI happiness than To i
grow old IN "a world which ~ full of sorrow, aud IN
which old ags ls tho least beautiful OF human phe-
Hoinena.
Lswss-You are quite right there. 1t is the ex
aggera non of sentiment which makes the poets
give old age sort of mora halo There IL nothing
SAIL asIl pnI r N
of tho human faculties
Mvself-Bnt is not that decay beautiful too
Lewes-Apart fr0m the pathetic fallaoy. as Rus
KIN calls it, not at all. Your fayorItc Catullus
described ii perfectly
Cana tcmpus anilitas
OInnia ouncs aInuit!
In other words and Scotch ones. " n nodding.
nid-nid- noddng condition. in short, OF ever
increasing Imbociliy vacuity.
George Eliot sniiingD-We arc wandering TO-
ward deep waters. But it is quito true. think,
that the gradual obliteIaton of the human facul-
ties and seAsos one by ono s the strongest argn,
ment against the popular conception OF u personal
Lewes-Certainly.
G.orgc EIiot-Not only do mon. under circum-
stances of physical decay become feeble and im-
beetle when "a moral sense remains, 1t frequently
becomes perverted. have soon AN old gentloDan
hitherto known as an Immaculate and honest mer-
chant, gradually acquire HABITS OF kleptoman'a,
and another. well knows for his benevolence. be-
| come spiteful, almost honlcidal. We are abso-
! lucly the creatures OF our secretOns So true 1.
this. that the 3lighost disturbance Of the cerebral
circulation. say "A temporary congestion. will per-
vert the entire stream OF moral sentiments.
Myself-All that is doubtless very correct. !
hold. nevertheless that tho soul, the Ego. IL nvu-
nerablo, despite all temporary observation-disclosures
| Obscuring the moons dIsc. so TO speak.
| George Eot-Say rather, dsihtegrations within
the very substance of the moon itself. Where tho
very substance Of the lumnary is decayIns, what
hope is there for tho permanenOe of yOur-moon-
| ghtf
| Myself-The analogy in imperfect: but 10 pursue
it, the lunar elements remain indeStructible. and
after transformations. may cOhers again into some
| splendid identity.
| George EliOt-Moonlight s sunlight reflected on
material mirror thought, consc Ousnoss life itself,