Letter from George Eliot, Witley, to the Reverend William Griffiths, 1878 July 25 : autograph manuscript signed.

Thanking him for his letter and saying that she thinks often of him and Edith since their move; writing that she and Lewes now spend the summer and autumn at The Heights and are disinclined to travel, but "if we ever overcome our inertia enough & are carried in your direction, it will be a real pleasure to us to pay the visit you kindly propose"; mentioning that they had planned to go to Scotland that year, but called off the trip due to Lewes's illness; refusing a request for her autograph and explaining, "My practice may seem to you churlish, but you would understand it if you saw how many letters I receive, from America especially where the collection of autographs seems to be a trade, begging me to write my name -- which seems a small thing to do in a single instance, but would be an oppressive invasion of my time if I complied with the desire of all my correspondents. I begged my American publishers to advertise the fact that I never answered demands for autographs. So you perceive that I have tied my hands from writing my name except as a necessary signature"; adding that she can, however, send her husband's signature on the cheque enclosed (no longer with the letter) as a charitable donation; writing that she was grieved to hear of her brother's accident from Emily Clarke: "One shudders to think of what it might have been if the dog had not been muzzled"; sending her love and their united regards.