whole class sing out
of tune and never turn a hair. She did not like me because I had once
pointed this out to her, and I knew that if I asked for her opinion of my
voice she would only run it down. Then a daring idea came to me. Can you
guess what it was?"

"No, I cannot," said Margaret quickly, warned by her last experiment, "I
have never been taught to guess. Please continue."

"Very well," said Eleanor, smiling a well-pleased smile, for Margaret's
impatience was a tribute to the interest she was imparting to her tale.
"Have you ever heard of Signor Vanucci? No," as Margaret shook her head.
"He was one of the greatest singing masters in London, and a professor of
I don't know how many academies and schools of music in London. My great
idea was to go straight to him and to ask him if he would hear my voice,
and tell me if it was worth training. And on the very last day of the
holidays, when I had only about enough money left to pay my fare into
town and back, I went to his house. The servant didn't want to admit me
when she heard I had no appointment, but I told her what I wanted, and
begged so hard that she hadn't the heart to refuse, although she told me
that she would be pretty sure to get into trouble afterwards with her
master. But I don't believe he was cross with her, for he was a dear old
man, and didn't look as though he could be angry with any one. Of course,
I began by apologising for having ventured to come, and said I was afraid
he must be very much astonished at my having dared to do such a thing as
to force my way into his house. He looked at me quite gravely, and said,
did I think, then, that I was the first young lady who had conceived the
idea of coming to him to be told whether her voice was most like Patti's
or Melba's. I said I had thought so; and then he said that I was the
nine-hundredth-and-thirty-seventh that week. 'And Martha lets them all
in, every one,' he said, with such a comical look of despair that I could
not help laughing outright. 'And she thinks that I have only to hear them
sing, and they straightway become famous on the spot. Well, well,' he
went on, 'you did not come here to hear me talk, but to listen to
yourself singing, is it not so? There is the piano. Take your seat.
Where are your songs?'"

"And then he yawned, and walked away to the window, and stood there
humming a little tune. I could see that he was already getting tired of
me, and sorry that he had let me in, and th