“Oh, no,” she demurred. “I’ll play for all of us to sing.” She began to play softly a song they all knew. They could not resist the lilt of it so they sang in concert. Several others, equal favorites followed.
“I’ve struck,” Marjorie declared at the end of a fascinating waltz song from a recent musical success. “Not another note.”
“So have I.” There was an understanding glint in Leila’s eyes. She rolled them meaningly at Vera and Katherine, then toward Robin. Two more reinforced the strike. Robin gave in and soon her glorious high soprano was filling the room with melody. She sang several of Miss Hamilton’s favorite selections from grand opera. Then she balked, insisting that each of the others should contribute a solo.
Miss Susanna gave a sudden funny little cackle of laughter and agreed to do her part. The strikers could do no less. Each performer was to play her own accompaniment. “If you can’t play it, play at it,” stipulated Robin.
Leila came first with what she announced was an old Irish chant. The accompaniment had a great deal of heavy rumbling in the bass, the chant rose in a heart-rending wail which threatened with every succeeding note to burst bounds and become a wild howl. It was finally drowned in a gale of laughter as Jonas, not understanding the situation, suddenly appeared in the doorway, amazement written on his face.
Vera sang “Sweet and Low” so prettily she was encored and sang a baby song she had learned in the kindergarten. Her lisping baby accents set the party to laughing afresh. Katherine sang a charming little song she had learned in first year Greek. Marjorie sang “Won’t you walk a little faster?” from “Alice in Wonderland,” to a tune which her general had fitted to Carroll’s immortal words when she was a youngster. It so charmed her hearers that within twenty minutes they were caroling “Will you, won’t you?” in gleeful chorus.
Miss Susanna, however, contributed the star selection. She sat down before the piano with a good deal of chuckling, played a kind of rambling prelude and in a light, but tuneful voice proceeded to sing of the woes of one, Lord Lovell. According to the song, which was composed of many sing-sing verses, each ending with a ridiculous repetition of the last word of the last line, Lord Lovell was extremely unlucky in love. The longer she sang, the wilder grew the mirth of her audience. The final “spasm,” as Miss Susanna afterward named it, told of the untimely death of both Lord Lovell and his lady fair and of how they were buried in one grave with sweet briar bushes planted above them. According to the song:
“The sweet briars grew till they reached the church top;
And there they couldn’t grow any higher;
And so they formed a true lovers’ knot,