Likely year of writing determined from contents of the letter and from reference to several other letters written during the same week in 1859 from Bolton Bridge discussed in The Works of John Ruskin, vol. 7, London: George Allen, 1905, edited by E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, p. xlvii-xlviii.
The "Angel in the House" is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore and was first published in 1854. It is an idealized account of Patmore's courtship of his first wife whom he believed to be the perfect woman.
Part of a collection of letters from John Ruskin to Mrs. Hewitt. Letters in this collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see collection-level record for more information.
Saying he is spending time in Yorkshire and finding it prettier in the winter than in the summer; offering advice on how to deal with her son; saying that "the only thing to trust to is firm, complete medical knowledge associated with steady principles and the heart, if possible, guarded by fine earthly affection; every boy ought to be devotedly in love at 14: if possible, with the person he ought to marry, but at any rate with somebody--perhaps being half in love with two or three somebodies will do;" suggesting she read 'Angel in the House' as "this last liberal view of mine is borrowed from it."