often
omit.

New York was my Mecca. I talked it all over with my fiance, told him
what a year there would do for me, making it clear that I expected to
sing professionally after our marriage. He agreed to everything and
promised that I should do as I wished. His possible objection disposed
of, only the financial difficulty remained, looming large before me.
Deeply and more deeply I was convinced in my own mind that I might marry
in old clothes, but not with my voice untrained. I finally summoned
courage to propose to my family that I should use the precious five
hundred for a year's study in New York instead of a trousseau.
Miraculous to relate they agreed, and I was boundlessly happy and saw my
path golden ahead of me.

We all spoke and thought of my future as that of a concert singer. My
intention of marrying seemed to make anything else out of the question.
Indeed, at that time, the Metropolitan in New York formed the only
oasis in the operatic desert of America. There were spasmodic attempts
at travelling companies in English, but no other sign of a permanent
institution throughout the length and breadth of the country. I must
confess, however, that the operatic bee buzzed considerably at times in
the less conspicuous portions of my bonnet. One or two musicians of
standing, who heard me sing, pronounced mine "an operatic voice," and
strange longings stirred inside me when I saw the Metropolitan singers
on the boards.

CHAPTER II

A STRUGGLE AND A SOLUTION

That winter in New York was a revealing experience to me in many ways.
Numbers of things assumed different values in my estimation. One of the
first new things I learned was the comparative insignificance of $500 as
a provision for a year's expenses. I lived at one of those boarding
houses which are called both "reasonable" and respectable, but are
vastly inferior in both comfort and society to the European pension
which costs a good deal less. I had lessons in singing, diction and
French, all of which counted up to a great many dollars a week. My five
hundred began to shrink at an alarming rate, and I don't know what I
should have done if a friend had not advised me to try for a "church
position," that invaluable means of adding to the resources of a
student, which is possible only in America. Besides offering a splendid
chance of financial assistance, the church position system is an
infallible test of the money value of one's voice. How many gir