Who keeps this hotel?
Are you the O'Reilly
They speak of so highly?
Good morning, O'Reilly,
You are looking well.
At quiet intervals all day this ditty reached Ben's ears from the ground floor, until it became the motif of her employment, and she caught herself at all kinds of odd moments murmuring it too. In fact, "Good morning, O'Reilly, you are looking well," was the password between Mr. Harford and herself. Mr. St. Quentin was less frivolous: his humour was of the sardonic variety; but he too had snatches of song, which also passed into Ben's repertory, chief of which was that sweet but mournful Scottish lullaby:—
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea,
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.