Hislookwasonewithwhichheusedtowatchherlongago,andwhich,eveninthinkingabouther,hadbecomeahabitofhisface。Itwasfullofsolicitude,andakindofsecretgratitude,asiftothankherforsomeinexpressiblepleasureoftheheart。Theaturnedpresentlytowardthepianoandbegansoftlytowakenanoldair:——
\"Ca’theyowestotheknowes,Ca’themwheretheheathergrows,Ca’themwheretheburnierowes,Mybonniedear—ie。\"
Archiesatdownandshadedhiseyeswithhishand。Sheturnedherheadandspoketohimoverhershoulder。
\"Comeon,youknowthewordsbetterthanI。That’sright。\"
\"We’llgaedownbyClouden’sside,Throughthehazelsspreadingwide,O’erthewavesthatsweetlyglide,Tothemoonsaeclearly。
Ghaistnorbogleshaltthoufear,Thou’rttoloveandHeav’nsaedear,Nochtofillmaycometheenear,Mybonniedear—ie!\"
\"WecangetonwithoutLandry。Let’stryitagain,I
haveallthewordsnow。Thenwe’llhave`SweetAfton。’
Come:`CA’THEYOWESTOTHEKNOWES’——\"
X
OTTENBURGdismissedhistaxicabatthe91stStreetentranceoftheParkandflounderedacrossthedrivethroughawildspringsnowstorm。WhenhereachedthereservoirpathhesawTheaaheadofhim,walkingrapidlyagainstthewind。Exceptforthatonefigure,thepathwasdeserted。Aflockofgullswerehoveringoverthereservoir,seemingbewilderedbythedrivingcurrentsofsnowthatwhirledabovetheblackwaterandthendisappearedwith—
init。WhenhehadalmostovertakenThea,Fredcalledtoher,andsheturnedandwaitedforhimwithherbacktothewind。Herhairandfurswerepowderedwithsnow—
flakes,andshelookedlikesomerich—peltedanimal,withwarmblood,thathadruninoutofthewoods。Fredlaughedashetookherhand。
\"Nouseaskinghowyoudo。Yousurelyneedn’tfeelmuchanxietyaboutFriday,whenyoucanlooklikethis。\"
Shemovedclosetotheironfencetomakeroomforhimbesideher,andfacedthewindagain。\"Oh,I’mWELLenough,insofarasthatgoes。ButI’mnotluckyaboutstageappearances。I’measilyupset,andthemostperversethingshappen。\"
\"What’sthematter?Doyoustillgetnervous?\"
\"OfcourseIdo。Idon’tmindnervessomuchasgettingnumbed,\"Theamuttered,shelteringherfaceforamo—
mentwithhermuff。\"I’munderaspell,youknow,hoo—
dooed。It’sthethingIWANTtodothatIcanneverdo。
AnyothereffectsIcangeteasilyenough。\"
\"Yes,yougeteffects,andnotonlywithyourvoice。
That’swhereyouhaveitoveralltherestofthem;you’reasmuchathomeonthestageasyouweredownin
PantherCanyon——asifyou’djustbeenletoutofacage。
Didn’tyougetsomeofyourideasdownthere?\"
Theanodded。\"Oh,yes!Forheroicparts,atleast。Outoftherocks,outofthedeadpeople。Youmeantheideaofstandingupunderthings,don’tyou,meetingcatas—
trophe?Nofussiness。Seemstometheymusthavebeenareserved,somberpeople,withonlyamuscularlanguage,alltheirmovementsforapurpose;simple,strong,asiftheyweredealingwithfatebare—handed。\"SheputherglovedfingersonFred’sarm。\"Idon’tknowhowIcaneverthankyouenough。Idon’tknowifI’deverhavegotanywherewithoutPantherCanyon。Howdidyouknowthatwastheonethingtodoforme?It’sthesortofthingnobodyeverhelpsoneto,inthisworld。Onecanlearnhowtosing,butnosingingteachercangiveanybodywhatI
gotdownthere。Howdidyouknow?\"
\"Ididn’tknow。Anythingelsewouldhavedoneaswell。
Itwasyourcreativehour。Iknewyouweregettingalot,butIdidn’trealizehowmuch。\"
Theawalkedoninsilence。Sheseemedtobethinking。
\"Doyouknowwhattheyreallytaughtme?\"shecameoutsuddenly。\"Theytaughtmetheinevitablehardnessofhumanlife。Noartistgetsfarwhodoesn’tknowthat。Andyoucan’tknowitwithyourmind。Youhavetorealizeitinyourbody,somehow;deep。It’sananimalsortoffeeling。Isometimesthinkit’sthestrongestofall。DoyouknowwhatI’mdrivingat?\"
\"Ithinkso。Evenyouraudiencesfeelit,vaguely:thatyou’vesometimeorotherfacedthingsthatmakeyoudifferent。\"
Theaturnedherbacktothewind,wipingawaythesnowthatclungtoherbrowsandlashes。\"Ugh!\"sheexclaimed;
\"nomatterhowlongabreathyouhave,thestormhasalonger。Ihaven’tsignedfornextseason,yet,Fred。I’mholdingoutforabigcontract:fortyperformances。Neckerwon’tbeabletodomuchnextwinter。It’sgoingtobeone
ofthosebetweenseasons;theoldsingersaretooold,andthenewonesaretoonew。Theymightaswellriskmeasanybody。SoIwantgoodterms。Thenextfiveorsixyearsaregoingtobemybest。\"
\"You’llgetwhatyoudemand,ifyouareuncompro—
mising。I’msafeincongratulatingyounow。\"
Thealaughed。\"It’salittleearly。Imaynotgetitatall。Theydon’tseemtobebreakingtheirneckstomeetme。IcangobacktoDresden。\"
Astheyturnedthecurveandwalkedwestwardtheygotthewindfromtheside,andtalkingwaseasier。
Fredloweredhiscollarandshookthesnowfromhisshoulders。\"Oh,Idon’tmeanonthecontractparticularly。
Icongratulateyouonwhatyoucando,Thea,andonallthatliesbehindwhatyoudo。Onthelifethat’sleduptoit,andonbeingabletocaresomuch。That,afterall,istheunusualthing。\"
Shelookedathimsharply,withacertainapprehension。
\"Care?Whyshouldn’tIcare?IfIdidn’t,I’dbeinabadway。WhatelsehaveIgot?\"Shestoppedwithachallenginginterrogation,butOttenburgdidnotreply。
\"Youmean,\"shepersisted,\"thatyoudon’tcareasmuchasyouusedto?\"
\"Icareaboutyoursuccess,ofcourse。\"Fredfellintoaslowerpace。Theafeltatoncethathewastalkingseri—
ouslyandhaddroppedthetoneofhalf—ironicalexaggera—
tionhehadusedwithheroflateyears。\"AndI’mgratefultoyouforwhatyoudemandfromyourself,whenyoumightgetoffsoeasily。Youdemandmoreandmoreallthetime,andyou’lldomoreandmore。Oneisgratefultoanybodyforthat;itmakeslifeingeneralalittlelesssordid。Butasamatteroffact,I’mnotmuchinterestedinhowanybodysingsanything。\"
\"That’stoobadofyou,whenI’mjustbeginningtoseewhatisworthdoing,andhowIwanttodoit!\"Theaspokeinaninjuredtone。
\"That’swhatIcongratulateyouon。That’sthegreatdifferencebetweenyourkindandtherestofus。It’showlongyou’reabletokeepitupthattellsthestory。Whenyouneededenthusiasmfromtheoutside,Iwasabletogiveittoyou。Nowyoumustletmewithdraw。\"
\"I’mnottyingyou,amI?\"sheflashedout。\"Butwith—
drawtowhat?Whatdoyouwant?\"
Fredshrugged。\"Imightaskyou,WhathaveIgot?
Iwantthingsthatwouldn’tinterestyou;thatyouprob—
ablywouldn’tunderstand。Foronething,Iwantasontobringup。\"
\"Icanunderstandthat。Itseemstomereasonable。
Haveyoualsofoundsomebodyyouwanttomarry?\"
\"Notparticularly。\"Theyturnedanothercurve,whichbroughtthewindtotheirbacks,andtheywalkedonincomparativecalm,withthesnowblowingpastthem。\"It’snotyourfault,Thea,butI’vehadyoutoomuchinmymind。I’venotgivenmyselfafairchanceinotherdirec—
tions。IwasinRomewhenyouandNordquistwerethere。
Ifthathadkeptup,itmighthavecuredme。\"
\"Itmighthavecuredagoodmanythings,\"remarkedTheagrimly。
Frednoddedsympatheticallyandwenton。\"InmylibraryinSt。Louis,overthefireplace,IhaveapropertyspearIhadcopiedfromoneinVenice,——oh,yearsago,afteryoufirstwentabroad,whileyouwerestudying。
You’llprobablybesingingBRUNNHILDEprettysoonnow,andI’llsenditontoyou,ifImay。Youcantakeitanditshistoryforwhatthey’reworth。ButI’mnearlyfortyyearsold,andI’veservedmyturn。You’vedonewhatIhopedforyou,whatIwashonestlywillingtoloseyoufor——then。I’moldernow,andIthinkIwasanass。I
wouldn’tdoitagainifIhadthechance,notmuch!ButI’mnotsorry。Ittakesagreatmanypeopletomakeone——BRUNNHILDE。\"
Theastoppedbythefenceandlookedoverintothe
blackchoppinessonwhichthesnowflakesfellanddis—
appearedwithmagicalrapidity。Herfacewasbothangryandtroubled。\"SoyoureallyfeelI’vebeenungrateful。
Ithoughtyousentmeouttogetsomething。Ididn’tknowyouwantedmetobringinsomethingeasy。I
thoughtyouwantedsomething——\"Shetookadeepbreathandshruggedhershoulders。\"Butthere!nobodyonGod’searthwantsit,REALLY!Ifoneotherpersonwantedit,\"——shethrustherhandoutbeforehimandclenchedit,——\"myGod,whatIcoulddo!\"
Fredlaugheddismally。\"EveninmyashesIfeelmy—
selfpushingyou!Howcananybodyhelpit?Mydeargirl,can’tyouseethatanybodyelsewhowanteditasyoudowouldbeyourrival,yourdeadliestdanger?Can’tyouseethatit’syourgreatgoodfortunethatotherpeoplecan’tcareaboutitsomuch?\"
ButTheaseemednottotakeinhisprotestatall。Shewentonvindicatingherself。\"It’stakenmealongwhiletodoanything,ofcourse,andI’veonlybeguntoseeday—
light。Butanythinggoodis——expensive。Ithasn’tseemedlong。I’vealwaysfeltresponsibletoyou。\"
Fredlookedatherfaceintently,throughtheveilofsnowflakes,andshookhishead。\"Tome?Youareatruth—
fulwoman,andyoudon’tmeantolietome。Butaftertheoneresponsibilityyoudofeel,Idoubtifyou’veenoughlefttofeelresponsibletoGod!Still,ifyou’veeverinanidlehourfooledyourselfwiththinkingIhadanythingtodowithit,HeavenknowsI’mgrateful。\"
\"EvenifI’dmarriedNordquist,\"Theawenton,turn—
ingdownthepathagain,\"therewouldhavebeensome—
thingleftout。Therealwaysis。Inaway,I’vealwaysbeenmarriedtoyou。I’mnotveryflexible;neverwasandnevershallbe。Youcaughtmeyoung。Icouldneverhavethatoveragain。Onecan’t,afteronebeginstoknowanything。
ButIlookbackonit。Mylifehasn’tbeenagayone,anymorethanyours。IfIshutthingsoutfromyou,youshut
themoutfromme。We’vebeenahelpandahindrancetoeachother。Iguessit’salwaysthatway,thegoodandthebadallmixedup。There’sonlyonethingthat’sallbeau—
tiful——andalwaysbeautiful!That’swhymyinterestkeepsup。\"
\"Yes,Iknow。\"Fredlookedsidewiseattheoutlineofherheadagainstthethickeningatmosphere。\"Andyougiveonetheimpressionthatthatisenough。I’vegradu—
ally,graduallygivenyouup。\"
\"See,thelightsarecomingout。\"Theapointedtowheretheyflickered,flashesofvioletthroughthegraytree—tops。
Lowerdowntheglobesalongthedriveswerebecomingapalelemoncolor。\"Yes,Idon’tseewhyanybodywantstomarryanartist,anyhow。IrememberRayKennedyusedtosayhedidn’tseehowanywomancouldmarryagambler,forshewouldonlybemarryingwhatthegameleft。\"Sheshookhershouldersimpatiently。\"Whomarrieswhoisasmallmatter,afterall。ButIhopeIcanbringbackyourinterestinmywork。You’vecaredlongerandmorethananybodyelse,andI’dliketohavesomebodyhumantomakeareporttoonceinawhile。Youcansendmeyourspear。I’lldomybest。Ifyou’renotinterested,I’lldomybestanyhow。I’veonlyafewfriends,butI
canloseeveryoneofthem,ifithastobe。Ilearnedhowtolosewhenmymotherdied。——Wemusthurrynow。Mytaximustbewaiting。\"
Thebluelightaboutthemwasgrowingdeeperanddarker,andthefallingsnowandthefainttreeshadbe—
comeviolet。Tothesouth,overBroadway,therewasanorangereflectionintheclouds。Motorsandcarriagelightsflashedbyonthedrivebelowthereservoirpath,andtheairwasstridentwithhornsandshrieksfromthewhistlesofthemountedpolicemen。
FredgaveTheahisarmastheydescendedfromtheembankment。\"Iguessyou’llnevermanagetolosemeorArchie,Thea。Youdopickupqueerones。Butloving
youisaheroicdiscipline。Itwearsamanout。Tellmeonething:couldIhavekeptyou,once,ifI’dputoneveryscrew?\"
Theahurriedhimalong,talkingrapidly,asiftogetitover。\"Youmighthavekeptmeinmiseryforawhile,perhaps。Idon’tknow。Ihavetothinkwellofmyself,towork。Youcouldhavemadeithard。I’mnotungrateful。
Iwasadifficultpropositiontodealwith。Iunderstandnow,ofcourse。Sinceyoudidn’ttellmethetruthinthebe—
ginning,youcouldn’tverywellturnbackafterI’dsetmyhead。Atleast,ifyou’dbeenthesortwhocould,youwouldn’thavehadto,——forI’dnothavecaredabuttonforthatsort,eventhen。\"Shestoppedbesideacarthatwaitedatthecurbandgavehimherhand。\"There。Wepartfriends?\"
Fredlookedather。\"Youknow。Tenyears。\"
\"I’mnotungrateful,\"Thearepeatedasshegotintohercab。
\"Yes,\"shereflected,asthetaxicutintotheParkcarriageroad,\"wedon’tgetfairytalesinthisworld,andhehas,afterall,caredmoreandlongerthananybodyelse。\"Itwasdarkoutsidenow,andthelightfromthelampsalongthedriveflashedintothecab。Thesnowflakeshoveredlikeswarmsofwhitebeesabouttheglobes。
Theasatmotionlessinonecornerstaringoutofthewindowatthecablightsthatwoveinandoutamongthetrees,allseemingtobebentuponjoyouscourses。
TaxicabswerestillnewinNewYork,andthethemeofpopularminstrelsy。LandryhadsungheradittyheheardinsometheateronThirdAvenue,about\"Buttherepassedhimabright—eyedtaxiWiththegirlofhisheartinside。\"
AlmostinaudiblyTheabegantohumtheair,thoughshewasthinkingofsomethingserious,somethingthathadtouchedherdeeply。Atthebeginningoftheseason,when
shewasnotsingingoften,shehadgoneoneafternoontohearPaderewski’srecital。InfrontofhersatanoldGer—
mancouple,evidentlypoorpeoplewhohadmadesacri—
ficestopayfortheirexcellentseats。Theirintelligentenjoymentofthemusic,andtheirfriendlinesswitheachother,hadinterestedhermorethananythingonthepro—
gramme。WhenthepianistbeganalovelymelodyinthefirstmovementoftheBeethovenDminorsonata,theoldladyputoutherplumphandandtouchedherhus—
band’ssleeveandtheylookedateachotherinrecognition。
Theybothworeglasses,butsuchalook!Likeforget—me—
nots,andsofullofhappyrecollections。Theawantedtoputherarmsaroundthemandaskthemhowtheyhadbeenabletokeepafeelinglikethat,likeanosegayinaglassofwater。
XI
DR。ARCHIEsawnothingofTheaduringthefollow—
ingweek。Afterseveralfruitlessefforts,hesucceededingettingawordwithheroverthetelephone,butshesoundedsodistractedanddriventhathewasgladtosaygood—nightandhanguptheinstrument。Therewere,shetoldhim,rehearsalsnotonlyfor\"Walkure,\"butalsofor\"Gotterdammerung,\"inwhichshewastosingWALTRAUTE
twoweekslater。
OnThursdayafternoonTheagothomelate,afteranexhaustingrehearsal。Shewasinnohappyframeofmind。
MadameNecker,whohadbeenverygracioustoherthatnightwhenshewentontocompleteGloeckler’sperformanceofSIEGLINDE,had,sinceTheawascasttosingthepartinsteadofGloecklerintheproductionofthe\"Ring,\"beenchillyanddisapproving,distinctlyhostile。
TheahadalwaysfeltthatsheandNeckerstoodforthesamesortofendeavor,andthatNeckerrecognizeditandhadacordialfeelingforher。InGermanyshehadseveraltimessungBRANGAENAtoNecker’sISOLDE,andtheolderartisthadletherknowthatshethoughtshesangitbeau—
tifully。ItwasabitterdisappointmenttofindthattheapprovalofsohonestanartistasNeckercouldnotstandthetestofanysignificantrecognitionbythemanagement。
MadameNeckerwasforty,andhervoicewasfailingjustwhenherpowerswereattheirheight。Everyfreshyoungvoicewasanenemy,andthisonewasaccompaniedbygiftswhichshecouldnotfailtorecognize。
Theahadherdinnersentuptoherapartment,anditwasaverypoorone。Shetastedthesoupandthenindig—
nantlyputonherwrapstogooutandhuntadinner。Asshewasgoingtotheelevator,shehadtoadmitthatshe
wasbehavingfoolishly。Shetookoffherhatandcoatandorderedanotherdinner。Whenitarrived,itwasnobetterthanthefirst。Therewasevenaburntmatchunderthemilktoast。Shehadasorethroat,whichmadeswal—
lowingpainfulandbodedillforthemorrow。Althoughshehadbeenspeakinginwhispersalldaytosaveherthroat,shenowperverselysummonedthehousekeeperandde—
mandedanaccountofsomelaundrythathadbeenlost。
Thehousekeeperwasindifferentandimpertinent,andTheagotangryandscoldedviolently。Sheknewitwasverybadforhertogetintoaragejustbeforebedtime,andafterthehousekeeperleftsherealizedthatfortendollars’
worthofunderclothingshehadbeenunfittingherselfforaperformancewhichmighteventuallymeanmanythous—
ands。Thebestthingnowwastostopreproachingherselfforherlackofsense,butshewastootiredtocontrolherthoughts。
Whileshewasundressing——TheresewasbrushingoutherSIEGLINDEwiginthetrunk—room——shewentonchid—
ingherselfbitterly。\"AndhowamIevergoingtogettosleepinthisstate?\"shekeptaskingherself。\"IfIdon’tsleep,I’llbeperfectlyworthlessto—morrow。I’llgodownthereto—morrowandmakeafoolofmyself。IfI’dletthatlaundryalonewithwhateverniggerhasstolenit——WHY
didIundertaketoreformthemanagementofthishotelto—night?Afterto—morrowIcouldpackupandleavetheplace。There’sthePhillamon——Ilikedtheroomstherebetter,anyhow——andtheUmberto——\"Shebegangoingovertheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofdifferentapart—
menthotels。Suddenlyshecheckedherself。\"WhatAM
Idoingthisfor?Ican’tmoveintoanotherhotelto—night。
I’llkeepthisuptillmorning。Ishan’tsleepawink。\"
Shouldshetakeahotbath,orshouldn’tshe?Some—
timesitrelaxedher,andsometimesitrousedherandfairlyputherbesideherself。Betweentheconvictionthatshemustsleepandthefearthatshecouldn’t,shehungpara—
lyzed。Whenshelookedatherbed,sheshrankfromitineverynerve。Shewasmuchmoreafraidofitthanshehadeverbeenofthestageofanyoperahouse。Ityawnedbe—
foreherlikethesunkenroadatWaterloo。
Sherushedintoherbathroomandlockedthedoor。Shewouldriskthebath,anddefertheencounterwiththebedalittlelonger。Shelayinthebathhalfanhour。Thewarmthofthewaterpenetratedtoherbones,inducedpleasantreflectionsandafeelingofwell—being。ItwasverynicetohaveDr。ArchieinNewYork,afterall,andtoseehimgetsomuchsatisfactionoutofthelittlecompanionshipshewasabletogivehim。Shelikedpeoplewhogoton,andwhobecamemoreinterestingastheygrewolder。TherewasFred;hewasmuchmoreinterestingnowthanhehadbeenatthirty。Hewasintelligentaboutmusic,andhemustbeveryintelligentinhisbusiness,orhewouldnotbeattheheadoftheBrewers’Trust。Sherespectedthatkindofintelligenceandsuccess。Anysuccesswasgood。
Sheherselfhadmadeagoodstart,atanyrate,andnow,ifshecouldgettosleep——Yes,theywereallmoreinter—
estingthantheyusedtobe。LookatHarsanyi,whohadbeensolongretarded;whataplacehehadmadeforhim—
selfinVienna。Ifshecouldgettosleep,shewouldshowhimsomethingto—morrowthathewouldunderstand。
Shegotquicklyintobedandmovedaboutfreelybe—
tweenthesheets。Yes,shewaswarmallover。Acold,drybreezewascominginfromtheriver,thankgoodness!
ShetriedtothinkaboutherlittlerockhouseandtheAri—
zonasunandthebluesky。Butthatledtomemorieswhichwerestilltoodisturbing。Sheturnedonherside,closedhereyes,andtriedanolddevice。
Sheenteredherfather’sfrontdoor,hungherhatandcoatontherack,andstoppedintheparlortowarmherhandsatthestove。Thenshewentoutthroughthedining—
room,wheretheboysweregettingtheirlessonsatthelongtable;throughthesitting—room,whereThorwasasleepin
hiscotbed,hisdressandstockinghangingonachair。Inthekitchenshestoppedforherlanternandherhotbrick。
Shehurriedupthebackstairsandthroughthewindylofttoherownglacialroom。Theillusionwasmarredonlybytheconsciousnessthatsheoughttobrushherteethbeforeshewenttobed,andthatsheneverusedtodoit。Why——?
Thewaterwasfrozensolidinthepitcher,soshegotoverthat。Oncebetweentheredblanketstherewasashort,fiercebattlewiththecold;then,warmer——warmer。Shecouldhearherfathershakingdownthehard—coalburnerforthenight,andthewindrushingandbangingdownthevillagestreet。Theboughsofthecottonwood,hardasbone,rattledagainsthergable。Thebedgrewsofterandwarmer。Everybodywaswarmandwelldownstairs。Thesprawlingoldhousehadgatheredthemallin,likeahen,andhadsettleddownoveritsbrood。Theywereallwarminherfather’shouse。Softerandsofter。Shewasasleep。
Sheslepttenhourswithoutturningover。Fromsleeplikethat,oneawakesinshiningarmor。
OnFridayafternoontherewasaninspiringaudience;
therewasnotanemptychairinthehouse。OttenburgandDr。Archiehadseatsintheorchestracircle,gotfromaticketbroker。Landryhadnotbeenabletogetaseat,soheroamedaboutinthebackofthehouse,whereheusuallystoodwhenhedroppedinafterhisownturninvaudevillewasover。Hewastheresooftenandatsuchirregularhoursthattheushersthoughthewasasinger’shusband,orhadsomethingtodowiththeelectricalplant。
Harsanyiandhiswifewereinabox,nearthestage,inthesecondcircle。Mrs。Harsanyi’shairwasnoticeablygray,butherfacewasfullerandhandsomerthaninthoseearlyyearsofstruggle,andshewasbeautifullydressed。
Harsanyihimselfhadchangedverylittle。Hehadputonhisbestafternooncoatinhonorofhispupil,andworea
pearlinhisblackascot。Hishairwaslongerandmorebushythanheusedtowearit,andtherewasnowonegraylockontherightside。Hehadalwaysbeenanelegantfigure,evenwhenhewentaboutinshabbyclothesandwascrushedwithwork。Beforethecurtainrosehewasrestlessandnervous,andkeptlookingathiswatchandwishinghehadgotafewmorelettersoffbeforehelefthishotel。HehadnotbeeninNewYorksincetheadventofthetaxicab,andhadallowedhimselftoomuchtime。Hiswifeknewthathewasafraidofbeingdisappointedthisafternoon。Hedidnotoftengototheoperabecausethestupidthingsthatsingersdidvexedhimso,anditalwaysputhiminarageiftheconductorheldthetempoorinanywayaccommodatedthescoretothesinger。
WhenthelightswentoutandtheviolinsbegantoquavertheirlongDagainsttherudefigureofthebasses,Mrs。Harsanyisawherhusband’sfingersflutteringonhiskneeinarapidtattoo。AtthemomentwhenSIEGLINDE
enteredfromthesidedoor,sheleanedtowardhimandwhisperedinhisear,\"Oh,thelovelycreature!\"Buthemadenoresponse,eitherbyvoiceorgesture。Throughoutthefirstscenehesatsunkinhischair,hisheadforwardandhisoneyelloweyerollingrestlesslyandshininglikeatiger’sinthedark。HiseyefollowedSIEGLINDEaboutthestagelikeasatellite,andasshesatatthetablelisteningtoSIEGMUND’Slongnarrative,itneverlefther。WhenshepreparedthesleepingdraughtanddisappearedafterHUNDING,Harsanyibowedhisheadstilllowerandputhishandoverhiseyetorestit。Thetenor,——ayoungmanwhosangwithgreatvigor,wenton:——
\"WALSE!WALSE!