sked her to practice it, then had offered to loan her the
music, but Patricia declared that she needed neither practice, nor the
use of the music.

"Are you sure you know the words?" Nancy had asked.

"Of course!" Patricia had said sharply.

Nancy played the prelude, and Patricia sang. Sang with all her might,
one might say, but oh, the words as she sang them!

She had caught them as they sounded, giving never a thought as to
whether they made sense.

"I dre-eampt that I dwe-e-lt in mar-ar-ble halls
With _vessels_ and _safes_ at my side.
And of all who had stumbled within those walls
That I was the _joke_, and the _bride_,
I had _witches_ to _mate_ and count, could boast
Of a high and central name
But I also dreampt, and that jarred me most,
That Jew loved me just the same."

Was it strange that roars of laughter greeted the song? Even Mrs.
Marvin, a model of all that was well-bred, covered her eyes for a moment
with her handkerchief, but when she removed it, the eyes were twinkling
and it was evident that only her self-control kept her from laughing
aloud.

Dorothy's first thought was for Patricia. She knew it must be dreadful
to be laughed at, and she was hoping that Patricia might not be too
badly hurt. She would draw her into the games later in the evening, and
thus cheer her.

It happened that Patricia needed no cheering. She was disgusted, but not
hurt. She believed herself to be a very fine singer, and thought that
the only reason for laughter was that her audience was dull, so dull
indeed that her romantic selection had been mistaken for a comic song.

"The idea of thinking that song funny enough to laugh at! Why it is not
a comic song at all. There's nothing funny about it!" she declared. "It
really doesn't pay to sing for folks here. They can't understand what
you are doing! The next time I sing, I'll sing for my friends in
N'York."

Dorothy was puzzled for a second, then, as she saw that Patricia really
meant what she said, she was thankful that the laughter had not been
understood by the silly little singer.

Patricia had actually thought that they were foolishly amused by the
song.

It had been quite another thing that annoyed Patricia, and that was the
evident pleasure that Nancy's dancing had given, and on the day after
the social, she was vexed to have to hear the other girls talking about
it.

"I'd think you never saw any one dance before," she said, when Bett