be in another incarnation, I think."

He glanced at his shrunken arm, and then, as though ashamed of this
allusion to his own personal infirmity, he added hastily:

"But when the first pang of such a pain is over, there remains the
comfort of being a listener. At first one does not think it is a
comfort; but as time goes on there is no resisting its magic influence.
And Lowell said rightly that 'one of God's great charities is music.'"

"I did not know you were musical, Mr. Keith," said an English lady. "You
have never before spoken of music."

"Perhaps not, madam," he answered. "One does not often speak of what one
cares for most of all. But when I am in London I rarely miss hearing our
best players."

At this point others joined in, and the various merits of eminent
pianists were warmly discussed.

"What a wonderful name that little English lady has made for herself!"
said the major, who was considered an authority on all subjects. "I would
go anywhere to hear Miss Thyra Flowerdew. We all ought to be very proud
of her. She has taken even the German musical world by storm, and they
say her recitals at Paris have been brilliantly successful. I myself
have heard her at New York, Leipsic, London, Berlin, and even Chicago."

The little girl stirred uneasily in her chair.

"I don't think Miss Flowerdew has ever been to Chicago," she said.