The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-06

of her story-how her father, being in financial straits through his persis tent gambling, had tried to force her into the company of wealthy and dis solute noble. At this she had fled, making her way to England, hoping to find her mother and her brother Ezra. Unsuccessful in this she had resolved on suicide. when Deronda had rescued her. So it was of Mirah that Daniel was thinking when he went on his way to England.
 As for Gwendolen, when she reached Orendene and found out how complete the wreck of the family fortunes was she set her face calmly toward one thing-marriage A brilliant match, brilliant from a worldly point of view, was hers if she but said the word, and she felt now that, in spite of pride, in spite of everything which i'm be said Her mother must be pro- vided for-and her sisters. What would become of them all if she per sisted in refusing Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt, Sir Hugo Mallinger's nephew and heir? Grandcourt was one of those men who had early exhaust ed, in quiet, persistent British man. ner, free from bad form and fuss, all the interest in life and all it's sen sations. Now he was cold, stolid. wore an imperturbable mask of indifference and boredom, but a mask, unlike that worn by some, behind which all fire had gone out. 1t was not ashes to which his life had turned, but cold, hard, fireless eiT1ers.
 When he had conio u .,lis place in the neighborhood and Gwendolen had met him and had seen that she had attracted his admiration and attention she was not a little fattered and far from dissatisfied at the prospect of becoming his wife. Se- cretly she rebelled a little, but the pros pect was so brilliant, As for her cousin Rex Gascoigne, the rector's son, who had proposed, why, of course, Rex was out of the question. Gwendolen must marry money. But suddenly she had been con fronted with phase of Grandcourts past which filled her with sudden anger. A certain Mrs. Glasher, who had left her husband, army officer. several years before to live with Grandcourt, came to see her with her children. 'He would marry me eventually if it were not for you," Mrs. Glasher had said. These are his children. I am now living upon his money and on one of his places Gads- mere. It is not right that my life should be ruined and that you should be happy that you should have what I have sacri- feed so much for. Promise me that you will not marry him. In her surprise her rage, her offended womanhood, Gwendo- len promised, and the next day hastily joined some friends who were going for a trip to German watering places. It was at one of these watering places that she met Daniel Deronda and received the news of the financial ruin of her family
 Grandcourt had not been at all dis turbed at the flight of Gwendolen. He found out the cause of her Hitting" and ascribed her flight to jealousy. It rather pleased his jaded fancy that the girl should be Jealous. So he followed her to the Spa; not in haste, but leisurely, stop ping by the way when the fancy seized him, and arrived al the watering place after Gwendolen had gone back to kng- land. Then leisurely he returned to Eng land himself and sought the cottage where the ruined family were installed. Again he proffered his suit-and this time was not rejected In due time Miss liar leth became Mrs. Grandcourt, and her husband literally provided for her family. Of course, now, as the wife of Sir Hugo s heir, she saw much of Daniel Deronda, Sir Hugos nephew" and gradully be- came to rely upon him for advice, to con suit him about her most intimate domes- tic affairs. and Grandcourt was not slow to perceive this understanding between the two. He watched them closely and now and then made sarcastic remarks about Mir. Deronda and Gwendolen's evi- dent reliance upon the young man as d mentor. But he discovered no improprie- ty--only a friendship of which he strong ly disapproved.
 When. however. he discovered that