BIB_ID
313221
Accession number
MA 7797.5
Creator
La Touche, Maria, 1824-1906.
Display Date
[1885] June 16.
Credit line
Bequest of Helen Gill Viljoen, 1974.
Description
1 item (5 p.) ; 18.0 cm
Notes
Maria La Touche's signature, "Lacy" refers to "Lacerta", Ruskin's nickname for her: 'the grace and wisdom of the serpent, without its poison'.
Part of a collection comprising 75 letters from Maria La Touche, consisting of six letters to John Ruskin, one letter to Ruskin's mother, Margaret Cock Ruskin and 68 letters to Joan Severn. Letters are largely undated, but were written from about 1861 to the 1890's. Letters in this collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see collection-level record for more information.
This collection was part of Helen Gill Viljoen's large bequest of John Ruskin-related material (formerly MA 3451).
Year of writing from a penciled notation by Helen Gill Viljoen inserted in this letter.
Part of a collection comprising 75 letters from Maria La Touche, consisting of six letters to John Ruskin, one letter to Ruskin's mother, Margaret Cock Ruskin and 68 letters to Joan Severn. Letters are largely undated, but were written from about 1861 to the 1890's. Letters in this collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see collection-level record for more information.
This collection was part of Helen Gill Viljoen's large bequest of John Ruskin-related material (formerly MA 3451).
Year of writing from a penciled notation by Helen Gill Viljoen inserted in this letter.
Provenance
Bequest of Helen Gill Viljoen in 1974.
Summary
Saying how much she enjoyed Praeterita; comparing the way she learned Bible verses with his description; relating her childhood desires to "become a Wild Woman of the Woods;" asking him "did you ever want to be a Wild Man & were you ever naughty & violent? I think not for you had the great natural gift of patience & your surroundings being harmonious tho' somewhat stern, were calming in their influence;" commenting that "you say you never were afraid of anything. That astonishes me, with your imagination & perceptions;" relating her childhood "terrors;" asking "were you not afraid of Ugliness, or did you never see any?"
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