And sitting down to the piano, he played the bridal march from
'Lohengrin,' then wandered off into an improvised air, and finally
treated them to some recollections of the 'Mikado.'

Lena-Houghton watched him thoughtfully as she put on her gloves; he
was playing with great spirit, and the words of the opera rang in
her ears:-


For he's going to marry Yum-yum, Yum-yum,
And so you had better be dumb, dumb, dumb!


I knew well enough that she would not follow this moral advice, and
I laughed to myself because the whole scene was such a hollow
mockery. The placid benevolent-looking old lady leaning back in her
arm-chair; the girl in her blue gingham and straw hat preparing to
go to the afternoon service; the happy lover entering heart and soul
into Sullivan's charming music; the pretty room with its Chippendale
furniture, its aesthetic hangings, its bowls of roses; and the sound
of church bells wafted through the open window on the soft summer
breeze.

Yet all the time I lingered there unseen, carrying with me all sorts
of dread possibilities. I had been introduced into the world, and
even if Mrs. O'Reilly had been willing to admit to herself that she
had broken the ninth commandment, and had earnestly desired to
recall me, all her sighs and tears and regrets would have availed
nothing; so true is the saying, "Of thy word unspoken thou art