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Otago Daily Times, Issue 19009, 3 November 1923, Page 10

Tho forthcoming sale of George Eliot manuscripts lends interest to the diamond iubilee of “Romola,” comments the Morning Post. Tho book, for which,she had prepared by two long visits to Florence and an almost incredible amount of reading, was begun on January 1, 1862, and completed on Juno 9, 1863, after many fits of depression, wherein she despaired of its ever being finished or good for anything. It was this feeling that caused her to refuse an oliol of £IO,OOO for the copyright of the new novel, made by George Smith—at that time considered, as Lewes declared, a proposal of unheard-of magnificence,” but she consented later to sell the serial rights fo £7OOO, with the result that “Romola” first made its appearance in the page of the Cornhill. When the traffic was at its height at Lincoln, the policeman on point duty at Stonebow, the busiest part of tho town, was called away. A newspaper seller promptly stepped into tho breach. Tho makeshift constable directed the traffic with the coolness of an old hand. Passers-by who had crowded to watch him gave him a hearty cheer when ho was relieved by the return of the policoman. , Since the inauguration of the American air mail service, in May, 191$, American mail pilots have travelled over fiv e million miles. Crews of the gunboats Widgeon and Teal have arrived at Plymouth from China. They have been serving 2000 miles up tho Yangtso Kiang River, and have been constantly under rifle Arc. In celebration of their golden wedding, Sir Arthur and Lady Dorman entertained at. their residence, Grey Towers, Nunthorpe, North Yorkshire, 14,000 employees of the Dorman-Long iron and,, steel group.