on that subject too."

"What row do you mean?"

"He'll misbehave himself. He always does, more or less."

"The poor fellow can't open his mouth without your saying that he
misbehaves himself."

"That's quite true; he can't. He can't brush his hair, or tie his
cravat, or settle his pantaloons, without misbehaving himself. He
certainly can't look out of his eye without gross misbehaviour."

"What is he to do then?" said Mr. O'Mahony. "Nature has imbued him
with all these peculiarities, and you are fantastic to find fault
with him."

"Perhaps so--but then I am fantastic. When you've got a dirty coat
on, or Frank, I don't find fault with it; but when he's got a clean
coat, I writhe at him in my disgust. Yet, upon the whole, I like men
to have clean coats."

"But you haven't said how the row is to come."

"Because I don't know; but it will come. It won't be about his coat,
nor yet his hat, unless he puts it close down under my nose. My time,
as I understand, is to be at his disposal."

"There will be an agreement made as to all that."

"An agreement as to my performances. I quite understand that I must
be present at fixed times at the theatre, and that he must fix them.
That will not worry me; particularly if you will go to the theatre
with me."

"Of course I will do that when you want it."

"But he is to come to me with his beastly lessons. Am I to have no
relief from that?"

"The hours can be fixed."

"But they won't be fixed. There's no doubt that he understands his
trade. He can make me open my mouth and keep it open. And he can
tell me when I sing false or flat. Providence when she gave him that
horrid head of hair, did give him also the peculiarity of a fine ear.
I think it is the meanest thing out for a man to be proud of that. If
you can run a straight furrow with a plough it is quite as great a
gift."

"That is nonsense, my dear. Such an ear as Mr. Moss's is very rare."

"A man who can see exactly across an entire field is just as rare.
I don't see the difference. Nor when a woman sings do I respect her
especially because of her voice. When a man can write a poem like
Homer, or rule a country like Washington, there is something to
say for him. I shall tell him that I will devote one hour a day to
practising, and no more."

"That will settle the difficulty; if it be enough."

"But during that hour, there is to be no word spoken except what has
to do with the lessons. You'll bear me out in th