Letter from George Gissing to Nelly. He writes of education: It is unfortunately true that the real education of most people has to begin when they leave school.... I rather think that I owe very little of my culture - in the true sense of the word - to my formal teachers; though it is doubtless true that they turned up & fertilised the soil for further use. He discusses various other topics, including holidays, Fountains Abbey and home-made jam.
Dated at 17 Oakley Crescent, Chelsea, [London] S.W.