a pretty singing Jewess who is to astonish these young people.
You and I, who heard Catalani in her prime, are not so easily astonished.«
    Sir Hugo listened with his good-humoured smile as he took a cup of tea from
his wife, and then said, »Well, you know, a Liberal is bound to think that there
have been singers since Catalani's time.«
    »Ah, you are younger than I am. I daresay you are one of the men who ran
after Alcharisi. But she married off and left you all in the lurch.«
    »Yes, yes; it's rather too bad when these great singers marry themselves
into silence before they have a crack in their voices. And the husband is a
public robber. I remember Leroux saying, A man might as well take down a fine
peal of church bells and carry them off to the steppes,« said Sir Hugo, setting
down his cup and turning away, while Deronda, who had moved from his place to
make room for others, and felt that he was not in request, sat down a little
apart. Presently he became aware that, in the general dispersion of the group,
Gwendolen had extricated herself from the attentions of Mr. Vandernoodt and had
walked to the piano, where she stood apparently examining the music which lay on
the desk. Will any one be surprised at Deronda's concluding that she wished him
to join her? Perhaps she wanted to make amends for the unpleasant tone of
resistance with which she had met his recommendation of Mirah, for he had
noticed that her first impulse often was to say what she afterwards wished to
retract. He went to her side and said -
    »Are you relenting about the music and looking for something to play or
sing?«
    »I am not looking for anything, but I am relenting,« said Gwendolen,
speaking in a submissive tone.
    »May I know the reason?«
    »I should like to hear Miss Lapidoth and have lessons from her, since you
admire her so much - that is, of course, when we go to town. I mean lessons in
rejoicing at her excellence and my own deficiency,« said Gwendolen, turning on
him a sweet open smile.
    »I shall be really glad for you to see and hear her,« said Deronda,
returning the smile in kind.
    »Is she as perfect in everything else as in her music?«
    »I can't vouch for that exactly. I have not seen enough of her. But I have
seen nothing in her
