By the limpets’ home

And the vaulted dome

Where the star-fish roam

They’d linger;

In the mackerel’s jaw,

Or the lobster’s claw,

They’d push and withdraw

A finger.”

He trembled to think what sort of strange hash those thick lips of hers would make of his lilting versification.

However, for the moment, and for Linnet’s sake, he said nothing against it. A little later in the afternoon, he had five minutes with the prima donna alone in one of the passages. “Look here, Linnet,” he said hurriedly with a beseeching glance, “must we have Philippina?”