Festus. Oh, I beg your pardon! By no means! With your permission, I will read something a little more sombre,—Edgar Poe’s “Raven.”
Stella. That is certainly more sombre. Proceed.
Reading. “The Raven,” by Edgar A. Poe. Festus.
Stella. Excellent! Mr. Festus, you are certainly a good reader. But this seems to affect you.
Festus. It does, it does; for I, too, have lost one—
Stella. A raven?
Festus. Pshaw! Come, madam, I believe you are to read now, and I to listen.
Stella. Certainly. I will read, with your permission, Whittier’s “Maud Muller.”
Festus. I should be delighted to hear it.
Reading. “Maud Muller.” Stella.