Bessie has been unwell through the winter and had been prevented by the weather from getting fresh air while in Hastings. She also feels restless and spiritually sad but has been reading a lot. She describes the development of her friendship with Marian Evans [George Eliot] and the tendency of the latter to speak her mind with ‘unflinching plainness’. [Letter incomplete.] Together with envelope inscribed with related comments by Lady Iddesleigh.