The gentlemen, in baritones and
profundos, told the amorous adventures of Ben Bolt; or desired to know
what Home would be Without a Mother. Purdy spiced the hour with a comic
song, and in the character of an outraged wife tickled the risibility of
the ladies.
WELL, WELL, SIR, SO YOU'VE COME AT LAST!
I THOUGHT YOU'D COME NO MORE.
I'VE WAITED, WITH MY BONNET ON,
FROM ONE TILL HALF-PAST FOUR!
Zara and Mrs. Long both produced HOME THEY BROUGHT HER WARRIOR DEAD!
from their portfolios; so Zara good-naturedly gave way and struck up
ROBERT, TOI QUE J'AIME! which she had added to her repertory while in
England. No one could understand a word of what she sang; but the mere
fitting of the foreign syllables to the appropriate notes was considered
a feat in itself, and corroborative of the high gifts Zara possessed.
Strenuous efforts were needed to get Miss Amelia to her feet. She was
dying, as Mary knew, to perform her duet with Purdy; but when the moment
came she put forward so many reasons for not complying that most people
retired in despair. It took Mary to persevere. And finally the little
woman was persuaded to the piano, where, red with gratification, she sat
down, spread her skirts and unclasped her bracelets.
"Poor little Amelia!" said Mary to herself, as she listened to a
romantic ballad in which Purdy, in the character of a high-minded
nobleman, sought the hand of a virtuous gipsy-maid. "And he doesn't give
her a second thought.
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