_ printed the following letter in its issue
of April 15, 1859: "Sir,--The author of _Scenes of Clerical Life_ and _Adam
Bede_ is Mr. Joseph Liggins, of Nuncaton, Warwickshire. You may easily
satisfy yourself of my correctness by inquiring of any one in that
neighborhood. Mr. Liggins himself and the characters whom he paints are
as familiar there as the twin spires of Coventry.--Yours obediently,
H. ANDERS, Rector of Kirkby."

The next day the following was printed by the same paper:--

Sir,--The Rev. H. Anders has with questionable delicacy and
unquestionable inaccuracy assured the world through your columns that
the author of _Scenes of Clerical Life_ and _Adam Bede_ is Mr. Joseph
Liggins, of Nuncaton. I beg distinctly to deny that statement. I
declare on my honor that that gentleman never saw a line of those works
until they were printed, nor had he any knowledge of them whatever.
Allow me to ask whether the act of publishing a book deprives a man of
all claim to the courtesies usual among gentlemen? If not, the attempt
to pry into what is obviously meant to be withheld--my name--and to
publish the rumors which such prying may give rise to, seems to me
quite indefensible, still more so to state these rumors as ascertained
facts. I am, sir. Yours, &c., GEORGE ELIOT.

Liggins found his ardent supporters, and he explained the letter
repudiating the authorship of the _Scenes of Clerical Life_ as being
written to further his own interests. He obtained money on the plea that he
was being deprived of his rights, by showing portions of a manuscript which
he had copied from the printed book. Neighboring clergymen zealously
espoused his cause, and a warm controversy raged for a little time
concerning his claim. Very curiously, it became a question of high and low
church, his own fellow-believers defending Liggins with zeal, while the
other party easily detected his imposition. Finally, Blackwood published a
letter in _The Times_ denying his claims, accompanied by one from George
Eliot expressing entire satisfaction with her publisher. A consequence of
this discussion was, that the real name of the author was soon known to the
public.

The curiosity excited about the authorship of _Adam Bede_, the Liggins
controversy, and the fresh, original character of the book itself, soon
drew attention to its merits. It was referred to in a Parliamentary debate,
and it became the general to