A GRAMOPHONE CONCERT 339 



could see how it did them good; it was as though they 

 were afraid of the sound of their own voices afterwards. 

 At last one of them could keep silence no longer. 



'My word, how beautifully she sings!" he exclaimed; 



' especially the ending. I was a little bit afraid that 

 she would give the last note too sharp, in spite of the 

 masterly way in which she controls her voice. And it 

 is outrageously high, too. But instead of that, the note 

 came so pure and soft and full that it alone was enough 

 to make a better man of one." And then this enthu- 

 siastic listener tells them how he once heard the same 

 song, but with a very different result. ' It went quite 

 well," he says, " until it came to the final note. Then 

 you could see the singer fill her mighty bosom for the 

 effort, and out came a note so shrill that well, you 

 remember the walls of Jericho." After this the gramo- 

 phone is put away. No one seems to want any more. 



Now it is already half-past eight, it must be nearly 

 bed-time. The feast has lasted long enough, with food, 

 drink, and music. Then they all get on their feet, and 

 there is a cry of " Bow and arrows." Now, I say to 

 myself, as I withdraw into the corner where the clothes 

 are hanging now the alcohol is beginning to take effect. 

 It is evident that something extraordinarily interesting 

 is going to take place, as they are all so active. One of 

 them goes behind the door and fetches out a little cork 

 target, and another brings out of his bunk a box of 

 darts. So it is dart-throwing the children must be 



