LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING "You think I am the man to stand tamely by and see you "Angels, ever bright and fair” Frontispiece 23 A well-dressed lady walked slowly across the meadow NEW YORK. A NEST OF LINNETS 66 CHAPTER I THIS will never do, Betsy," said Mr. Linley, shaking his head. "Sir Joshua calls you Saint Cecilia, but 'twere a misnomer if you do not sing the phrase better than you have just sung it. 'She drew an angel down '-let that be in your mind, my dear. There is no celestial being that would move a pinion to help a maiden who implored its aid in so half-hearted a way. Let us try again. One, two, three" "Angels, ever bright and fair,'' sang Miss Linley. Her father sprang from the harpsichord. 6 "Gracious powers, madam, the angels are not in the next room-they are not even in Pierrepont Street, take my word for it; they are in heaven, and heaven, let me tell you, is a very long way from Bath," he cried. "Give forth the Angels' as if you meant to storm the ears of heaven with your cry. Think of it, girl-think that you are lost, eternally lost, unless you can obtain help that is not of earth. Stun their ears, madam, with the suddenness of your imploration, and let the voice come from your heart. |