of its occupants. The Devitts were like their home
in being new, ostentatious folk; their prosperity did not extend
further back than the father of Montague, the present head of the
family.

Montague Devitt did little beyond attending board meetings of the
varied industries which his father's energy had called into being. He
was a bluff, well-set-up man, who had married twice; both of his wives
had brought him money. Each time Montague chose a mate, he had made
some effort to follow the leanings of his heart; but money not lying in
the same direction as love, an overmastering instinct of his blood had
prevailed against his sentimental inclinations; in each case it had
insisted on his marrying, in one instance an interest in iron works, in
another, a third share of a Portland cement business.

His first wife had borne him two sons and a daughter; his second was
childless.

Montague was a member of two or three Bohemian clubs in London, to
which, as time went on, he became increasingly attached. At these, he
passed as a good fellow, chiefly from a propensity to stand drinks to
any and everyone upon any pretence; he was also renowned amongst his
boon companions for his rendering of "The Village Blacksmith" in dumb
show, a performance greeted by his thirsty audience with thunders of
applause.

Harold, his first born, will be considered later.

Lowther, his second son, can be dismissed in a few words. He was a
good-looking specimen of the British bounder. His ideas of life were
obtained from the "Winning Post," and the morality (or want of it)
suggested by musical comedy productions at the Gaiety Theatre. He
thought coarsely of women. While spending money freely in the society
of ladies he met at the Empire promenade, or in the Cafe d' l'Europe,
he practised mean economics in private.

Victoria, Montague's daughter, was a bit of a puzzle to friends and
relations alike, all of whom commenced by liking her, a sentiment
which, sooner or later, gave place to a feeling of dissatisfaction. She
was a disappointment to her father, although he would never admit it to
himself; indeed, if he had tried to explain this displeasure, he would
have been hard put to it to give a straightforward cause for a
distressing effect. On first acquaintance, it would seem as if she were
as desirable a daughter as heart of father could want. She was tall,
good-looking, well educated; she had abundance of tact,
accomplishments, and refinement; s