long dwelt in Warwickshire; Shakespeare had them in mind when he wrote,
"There be men who do a wilful stillness entertain with purpose to be
dressed in an opinion of wisdom, gravity and profound conceit."

Lord Acton in an able article in the "Nineteenth Century" makes this
statement:

"George Eliot paid high for happiness with Lewes. She forfeited freedom
of speech, the first place among English women, and a tomb in Westminster
Abbey."

The original dedication in "Adam Bede" reads thus:

"To my dear husband, George Henry Lewes, I give the manuscript of a work
which would never have been written but for the happiness which his love
has conferred on my life."

Lord Acton of course assumes that this book would have been written,
dedication and all, just the same had Miss Evans never met Mr. Lewes.

Once there was a child called Romola. She said to her father one day, as
she sat on his knee: "Papa, who would take care of me--give me my bath
and put me to bed nights--if you had never happened to meet Mamma?"

* * * * *

The days I spent in Warwickshire were very pleasant.

The serene beauty of the country and the kindly courtesy of the people
impressed me greatly. Having beheld the scenes of George Eliot's