Page 698 Advertisements Column 2

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXV, Issue XV, 13 October 1900, Page 698

EXCITING SERIAL STORY - By a - POPULAR NOVELIST. We have pleasure in bringing bet or® our readers some particulars of a charming new work of fiction which we have arranged to publish from the pen of Mr JOHN K. LEYS. Author of “A Sore Temptation/' "The Thumb Print.” “The Broken Fetter/' “In the Toils.” “A Million of Money," etc.* etc-, etc. IT IS ENTITLED A Daughter of Midian AND THE OPENING CHAPTERS WILL APPEAR IN OUR COLUMNS NEXT WEEK. MR JOHN K LEYS. Mr John K. Leys has attained a well earned position as a writer of powerful works of fiction of a dramatic type, and of strong domestic interest, and his numerous admirers can always rely on both the quality and tone of his stories. He has a fertile imagination and a keen dramatic sense of the possibilities of a situation; he manipulates his plots with great skill, and he writes in a sincere and sympathetic style which at once secures the attention of his readers. His past work gives ample proof of his constructive and artistic abilities, and in all hfs writing there are qualities which make the perusal of his stories an unalloyed pleasure. “A DAUGHTER OF MIDIAN ” describes the adventures of a young lady in her endeavour to secure recognition or her rightful position by those who have wronged her. When the story opens Miss Grant is an accomplished woman who has made a reputation in Italian opera, but a severe illness has ruined her singing voice, and she knows not where to turn for a livelihood. Her childhood and youth have been full of mystery to her. She has never known her parents, and the cost of her education has betn paid through lawyers by a gentleman who has kept in the background. and whose name she does not know. She has no clue to his identity, and without this she cannot learn anything about her parentage or the place of her birth. She is an alien in the world, without relations or friends — “a daughter of Midian.” In these circumstances she consults a gentleman she has known before in Italy. who is ostensibly a palmist, but who has really come to England to try and find Miss Grant. His name is Signor Zucatti. and throughout her trying experiences he proves a true and wise friend. Between them they draft a letter intended to procure from the lawyer information hitherto denied. Their plan fails, but its non-success opens up a way for another plan, which succeeds, and Miss Grant discovers that the gentleman behind the scenes is one Andrew Mitchell, a Glasgow merchant and financier, with a castle in Perthshire. Zucatti goes off to Inveroran. there to learn as much as possible concerning the ia?rd of the district. As a result of bis inquiries. Sybil Grant takes up her abode at the inn there, determined >y some means to be come an inmate of the castle, and to ferret out the truth oncernffig herself. Sybil Grant soon finds she will have to walk very warily, for she has enemies on every side. She leania that she has a sister named Sidney, who has been invited to the castle, and as everybody supposes her to be Sidney, she feels compelled to fall in with their idea, and so she masquerades as her sister for months. In the event this proves fortunate for her, and by this means she is enabled to get at the startling truth in a way otherwise impossible. She comes across astounding facts, which, if demonstrably proved, will work a marvellous change in her position. She prbceeds with gr=at caution, but even thus she falls into some of the many traps laid for her. Fot .-unately, she has one or two staunch friends, who avert for her the calamities of whim she stands in peril. , The mystery and the conspiracy wmen she has to unravel are extremely complex in their nature, and it is impossible to describe the plot of the story in a bn it compass. We can assure our readers, however, that the story affords plenty of material for ingenious attempts at a solution, and that they will be wholly absorbed by the exciting and thrilling developments of the plot. The work abounds in incidents and dramatic situations, and the author is highly successful in his aim to weave a halo of romance about his heroine. There are sev“l? other attractive characters wnose fortunes will be followed with eager .n--terest and throughout the story the love element is prominent and fascinating. READ 4 DAUGHTER OF MIDIAN By JOHN K. LEYS-