A Nest of Linnets

By Frank Frankfort Moore Author of “I Forbid the Banns,” “The Jessamy Bride,” “The Fatal Gift,” “According to Plato,” Etc., Etc.
WITH 16 ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. JELLICOE
London : HUTCHINSON & CO Paternoster Row 1901
PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON, AND VINEY, LD. LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
“Dick—Dick,” she gasped, “a dreadful thing has happened!”
Frontispiece ]
“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.
“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. Betsy, that smile is not in the music. If Maestro Handel had meant a smile to illuminate the part, take my word for it he would have signified it by a bar of demi-semi-quavers, followed by semi-quavers and quavers. Good heavens, madam! do you hope to improve upon Handel?”
“Ah, father, do not ask too much of me to-night; I am tired—anxious. Why, only last week a highwayman——”