第33章

类别:其他 作者:Willa Cather字数:9693更新时间:19/01/07 15:03:41
Theanodded。\"Yes;sometimesImakehimsinghismostfoolishthingsforme。It’srestful,ashedoesit。 That’swhenI’mhomesick,Dr。Archie。\" \"YouknewhiminGermany,Thea?\"Dr。Archiehadquietlyabandonedhiscigaretteasacomfortlessarticle。 \"Whenyoufirstwentover?\" \"Yes。Hewasagoodfriendtoagreengirl。HehelpedmewithmyGermanandmymusicandmygeneraldiscourage— ment。Seemedtocaremoreaboutmygettingonthanabouthimself。Hehadnomoney,either。Anoldaunthadloanedhimalittletostudyon。——Willyouanswerthat,Fred?\" FredcaughtupthetelephoneandstoppedthebuzzwhileTheawentontalkingtoDr。ArchieaboutLandry。 Tellingsomeonetoholdthewire,hepresentlyputdowntheinstrumentandapproachedTheawithastartledex— pressiononhisface。 \"It’sthemanagement,\"hesaidquietly。\"Gloecklerhasbrokendown:faintingfits。MadameRheineckerisinAt— lanticCityandSchrammissinginginPhiladelphiato— night。TheywanttoknowwhetheryoucancomedownandfinishSIEGLINDE。\" \"Whattimeisit?\" \"Eightfifty—five。Thefirstactisjustover。Theycanholdthecurtaintwenty—fiveminutes。\" Theadidnotmove。\"Twenty—fiveandthirty—fivemakessixty,\"shemuttered。\"TellthemI’llcomeiftheyholdthecurtaintillIaminthedressing—room。SayI’llhavetowearhercostumes,andthedressermusthaveeverythingready。 Thencallataxi,please。\" Theahadnotchangedherpositionsincehefirstinter— ruptedher,butshehadgrownpaleandwasopeningandshuttingherhandsrapidly。Shelooked,Fredthought,ter— rified。Hehalfturnedtowardthetelephone,buthungononefoot。 \"Haveyoueversungthepart?\"heasked。 \"No,butI’verehearsedit。That’sallright。Getthecab。\"Stillshemadenomove。Shemerelyturnedper— fectlyblankeyestoDr。Archieandsaidabsently,\"It’scurious,butjustatthisminuteIcan’trememberabarof’Walkure’afterthefirstact。AndIletmymaidgoout。\" ShesprangupandbeckonedArchiewithoutsomuch,hefeltsure,asknowingwhohewas。\"Comewithme。\"Shewentquicklyintohersleeping—chamberandthrewopenadoorintoatrunk—room。\"Seethatwhitetrunk?It’snotlocked。It’sfullofwigs,inboxes。Lookuntilyoufindonemarked`Ring2。’Bringitquick!\"Whileshedirectedhim,shethrewopenasquaretrunkandbegantossingoutshoesofeveryshapeandcolor。 Ottenburgappearedatthedoor。\"CanIhelpyou?\" Shethrewhimsomewhitesandalswithlonglacesandsilkstockingspinnedtothem。\"Putthoseinsomething,andthengotothepianoandgivemeafewmeasuresinthere——youknow。\"Shewasbehavingsomewhatlikeacyclonenow,andwhileshewrenchedopendrawersandclosetdoors,Ottenburggottothepianoasquicklyaspos— sibleandbegantoheraldthereappearanceoftheVolsungpair,trustingtomemory。 InafewmomentsTheacameoutenvelopedinherlongfurcoatwithascarfoverherheadandknittedwoolenglovesonherhands。HerglassyeyetookinthefactthatFredwasplayingfrommemory,andeveninherdistractedstate,afaintsmileflickeredoverhercolorlesslips。Shestretchedoutawoollyhand,\"Thescore,please。Behindyou,there。\" Dr。Archiefollowedwithacanvasboxandasatchel。Astheywentthroughthehall,themencaughtuptheirhatsandcoats。Theyleftthemusic—room,Frednoticed,justsevenminutesafterhegotthetelephonemessage。IntheelevatorTheasaidinthathuskywhisperwhichhadsoper— plexedDr。Archiewhenhefirstheardit,\"Tellthedriver hemustdoitintwentyminutes,lessifhecan。Hemustleavethelightoninthecab。Icandoagooddealintwentyminutes。Ifonlyyouhadn’tmademeeat——Damnthatduck!\"shebrokeoutbitterly;\"whydidyou?\" \"WishIhaditback!Butitwon’tbotheryou,to—night。 Youneedstrength,\"hepleadedconsolingly。 Butsheonlymutteredangrilyunderherbreath,\"Idiot,idiot!\" Ottenburgshotaheadandinstructedthedriver,whilethedoctorputTheaintothecabandshutthedoor。Shedidnotspeaktoeitherofthemagain。Asthedriverscram— bledintohisseatsheopenedthescoreandfixedhereyesuponit。Herface,inthewhitelight,lookedasbleakasastonequarry。 Ashercabslidaway,OttenburgshovedArchieintoasecondtaxithatwaitedbythecurb。\"We’dbettertrailher,\"heexplained。\"Theremightbeahold—upofsomekind。\"Asthecabwhizzedoffhebrokeintoaneruptionofprofanity。 \"What’sthematter,Fred?\"thedoctorasked。Hewasagooddealdazedbytherapidevolutionsofthelasttenminutes。 \"Matterenough!\"Fredgrowled,buttoninghisover— coatwithashiver。\"Whatawaytosingapartforthefirsttime!Thatduckreallyisonmyconscience。Itwillbeawonderifshecandoanythingbutquack!Scramblingoninthemiddleofaperformancelikethis,withnorehearsal! Thestuffshehastosinginthereisafright——rhythm,pitch,——andterriblydifficultintervals。\" \"Shelookedfrightened,\"Dr。Archiesaidthoughtfully,\"butIthoughtshelooked——determined。\" Fredsniffed。\"Oh,determined!That’sthekindofroughdealthatmakessavagesofsingers。Here’sapartshe’sworkedonandgotreadyforforyears,andnowtheygiveherachancetogoonandbutcherit。Goodnessknowswhenshe’slookedatthescorelast,orwhethershecanuse thebusinessshe’sstudiedwiththiscast。Necker’ssingingBRUNNHILDE;shemayhelpher,ifit’snotoneofhersorenights。\" \"IsshesoreatThea?\"Dr。Archieaskedwonderingly。 \"Mydearman,Necker’ssoreateverything。She’sbreakingup;tooearly;justwhensheoughttobeatherbest。There’sonestorythatsheisstrugglingundersomeseriousmalady,anotherthatshelearnedabadmethodatthePragueConservatoryandhasruinedherorgan。She’sthesorestthingintheworld。Ifsheweathersthiswinterthrough,it’llbeherlast。She’spayingforitwiththelastragsofhervoice。Andthen——\"Fredwhistledsoftly。 \"Well,whatthen?\" \"Thenourgirlmaycomeinforsomeofit。It’sdogeatdog,inthisgameasineveryother。\" ThecabstoppedandFredandDr。Archiehurriedtotheboxoffice。TheMonday—nighthousewassoldout。TheyboughtstandingroomandenteredtheauditoriumjustasthepressrepresentativeofthehousewasthankingtheaudiencefortheirpatienceandtellingthemthatalthoughMadameGloecklerwastooilltosing,MissKronborghadkindlyconsentedtofinishherpart。Thisannouncementwasmetwithvehementapplausefromtheuppercirclesofthehouse。 \"Shehasher——constituents,\"Dr。Archiemurmured。 \"Yes,upthere,wherethey’reyoungandhungry。Thesepeopledownherehavedinedtoowell。Theywon’tmind,however。TheylikefiresandaccidentsandDIVERTISSEMENTS。 TwoSIEGLINDESaremoreunusualthanone,sothey’llbesatisfied。\" AfterthefinaldisappearanceofthemotherofSiegfried,Ottenburgandthedoctorslippedoutthroughthecrowdandleftthehouse。NearthestageentranceFredfoundthedriverwhohadbroughtTheadown。Hedismissedhimandgotalargercar。HeandArchiewaitedonthesidewalk, andwhenKronborgcameoutalonetheygatheredherintothecabandspranginafterher。 Theasankbackintoacornerofthebackseatandyawned。\"Well,Igotthrough,eh?\"Hertonewasreas— suring。\"Onthewhole,IthinkI’vegivenyougentlemenaprettylivelyevening,foronewhohasnosocialaccomplish— ments。\" \"Rather!Therewassomethinglikeapopularuprisingattheendofthesecondact。ArchieandIcouldn’tkeepitupaslongastherestofthemdid。Ahowllikethatoughttoshowthemanagementwhichwaythewindisblowing。Youprobablyknowyouweremagnificent。\" \"Ithoughtitwentprettywell,\"shespokeimpartially。 \"Iwasrathersmarttocatchhistempothere,atthebegin— ningofthefirstrecitative,whenhecameintoosoon,don’tyouthink?It’strickyinthere,withoutarehearsal。Oh,Iwasallright!Hetookthatsyncopationtoofastinthebeginning。Somesingerstakeitfastthere——thinkitsoundsmoreimpassioned。That’soneway!\"Shesniffed,andFredshotamirthfulglanceatArchie。Herboastful— nesswouldhavebeenchildishinaschoolboy。Inthelightofwhatshehaddone,ofthestraintheyhadlivedthroughduringthelasttwohours,itmadeonelaugh,——almostcry。Shewenton,robustly:\"AndIdidn’tfeelmydin— ner,really,Fred。Iamhungryagain,I’mashamedtosay,——andIforgottoorderanythingatmyhotel。\" Fredputhishandonthedoor。\"Whereto?Youmusthavefood。\" \"Doyouknowanyquietplace,whereIwon’tbestaredat?I’vestillgotmake—upon。\" \"Ido。NiceEnglishchop—houseonForty—fourthStreet。 Nobodythereatnightbuttheaterpeopleaftertheshow,andafewbachelors。\"Heopenedthedoorandspoketothedriver。 Asthecarturned,TheareachedacrosstothefrontseatanddrewDr。Archie’shandkerchiefoutofhisbreastpocket。 \"Thiscomestomenaturally,\"shesaid,rubbinghercheeksandeyebrows。\"WhenIwaslittleIalwayslovedyourhandkerchiefsbecausetheyweresilkandsmelledofCol— ognewater。IthinktheymusthavebeentheonlyreallycleanhandkerchiefsinMoonstone。Youwerealwayswipingmyfacewiththem,whenyoumetmeoutinthedust,Iremember。DidIneverhaveany?\" \"Ithinkyou’dnearlyalwaysusedyoursuponyourbabybrother。\" Theasighed。\"Yes,Thorhadsuchawayofgettingmessy。Yousayhe’sagoodchauffeur?\"Sheclosedhereyesforamomentasiftheyweretired。Suddenlyshelookedup。\"Isn’titfunny,howwetravelincircles?Hereyouare,stillgettingmeclean,andFredisstillfeedingme。 Iwouldhavediedofstarvationatthatboarding—houseonIndianaAvenueifhehadn’ttakenmeouttotheBucking— hamandfilledmeuponceinawhile。WhatacavernIwastofill,too。Thewaitersusedtolookastonished。I’mstillsingingonthatfood。\" FredalightedandgaveTheahisarmastheycrossedtheicysidewalk。Theyweretakenupstairsinanantiquatedliftandfoundthecheerfulchop—roomhalffullofsupperparties。AnEnglishcompanyplayingattheEmpirehadjustcomein。Thewaiters,inredwaistcoats,werehurry— ingabout。Fredgotatableatthebackoftheroom,inacorner,andurgedhiswaitertogettheoystersonatonce。 \"Takesafewminutestoopenthem,sir,\"themanex— postulated。 \"Yes,butmakeitasfewaspossible,andbringthelady’sfirst。Thengrilledchopswithkidneys,andsalad。\" Theabeganeatingcelerystalksatonce,fromthebasetothefoliage。\"Neckersaidsomethingnicetometo— night。Youmighthavethoughtthemanagementwouldsaysomething,butnotthey。\"ShelookedatFredfromunderherblackenedlashes。\"ItWASastunt,tojumpin andsingthatsecondactwithoutrehearsal。Itdoesn’tsingitself。\" Ottenburgwaswatchingherbrillianteyesandherface。 Shewasmuchhandsomerthanshehadbeenearlyintheevening。Excitementofthissortenrichedher。Itwasonlyundersuchexcitement,hereflected,thatshewasentirelyilluminated,orwhollypresent。Atothertimestherewassomethingalittlecoldandempty,likeabigroomwithnopeopleinit。Eveninhermostgenialmoodstherewasashadowofrestlessness,asifshewerewaitingforsomethingandwereexercisingthevirtueofpatience。Duringdinnershehadbeenaskindassheknewhowtobe,tohimandtoArchie,andhadgiventhemasmuchofherselfasshecould。 But,clearly,sheknewonlyonewayofbeingreallykind,fromthecoreofherheartout;andtherewasbutonewayinwhichshecouldgiveherselftopeoplelargelyandgladly,spontaneously。Evenasagirlshehadbeenatherbestinvigorouseffort,heremembered;physicaleffort,whentherewasnootherkindathand。Shecouldbeexpansiveonlyinexplosions。OldNathanmeyerhadseenit。IntheveryfirstsongFredhadeverheardhersing,shehadunconsciouslydeclaredit。 TheaKronborgturnedsuddenlyfromhertalkwithArchieandpeeredsuspiciouslyintothecornerwhereOtten— burgsatwithfoldedarms,observingher。\"What’sthematterwithyou,Fred?I’mafraidofyouwhenyou’requiet,——fortunatelyyoualmostneverare。Whatareyouthinkingabout?\" \"Iwaswonderinghowyougotrightwiththeorchestrasoquickly,thereatfirst。Ihadaflashofterror,\"here— pliedeasily。 Sheboltedherlastoysterandduckedherhead。\"SohadI!Idon’tknowhowIdidcatchit。Desperation,I suppose;samewaytheIndianbabiesswimwhenthey’rethrownintotheriver。IHADto。Nowit’sover,I’mgladI hadto。Ilearnedawholelotto—night。\" Archie,whousuallyfeltthatitbehoovedhimtobesilentduringsuchdiscussions,wasencouragedbyhergenialitytoventure,\"Idon’tseehowyoucanlearnanythinginsuchaturmoil;orhowyoucankeepyourmindonit,forthatmatter。\" Theaglancedabouttheroomandsuddenlyputherhanduptoherhair。\"Mercy,I’venohaton!Whydidn’tyoutellme?AndIseemtobewearingarumpleddinnerdress,withallthispaintonmyface!ImustlooklikesomethingyoupickeduponSecondAvenue。IhopetherearenoColoradoreformersabout,Dr。Archie。Whatadreadfuloldpairthesepeoplemustbethinkingyou!Well,Ihadtoeat。\"Shesniffedthesavorofthegrillasthewaiteruncov— eredit。\"Yes,draughtbeer,please。No,thankyou,Fred,NOchampagne。——Togobacktoyourquestion,Dr。Archie,youcanbelieveIkeepmymindonit。That’sthewholetrick,insofarasstageexperiencegoes;keepingrightthereeverysecond。IfIthinkofanythingelseforaflash,I’mgone,donefor。Butatthesametime,onecantakethingsin——withanotherpartofyourbrain,maybe。It’sdifferentfromwhatyougetinstudy,morepracticalandconclusive。 Therearesomethingsyoulearnbestincalm,andsomeinstorm。Youlearnthedeliveryofapartonlybeforeanaudience。\" \"Heavenhelpus,\"gaspedOttenburg。\"Weren’tyouhungry,though!It’sbeautifultoseeyoueat。\" \"Gladyoulikeit。OfcourseI’mhungry。Areyoustay— ingoverfor`Rheingold’Fridayafternoon?\" \"MydearThea,\"——Fredlitacigarette,——\"I’maseri— ousbusinessmannow。Ihavetosellbeer。I’mdueinChicagoonWednesday。I’dcomebacktohearyou,butFRICKAisnotanalluringpart。\" \"Thenyou’veneverhearditwelldone。\"Shespokeuphotly。\"FatGermanwomanscoldingherhusband,eh? That’snotmyidea。WaittillyouhearmyFRICKA。It’sabeautifulpart。\"Thealeanedforwardonthetableand touchedArchie’sarm。\"Youremember,Dr。Archie,howmymotheralwaysworeherhair,partedinthemiddleanddonelowonherneckbehind,soyougottheshapeofherheadandsuchacalm,whiteforehead?IwearminelikethatforFRICKA。Alittlemorecoroneteffect,builtupalit— tlehigheratthesides,buttheidea’sthesame。Ithinkyou’llnoticeit。\"SheturnedtoOttenburgreproachfully: \"It’snoblemusic,Fred,fromthefirstmeasure。There’snothinglovelierthantheWONNIGERHAUSRATH。It’sallsuchcomprehensivesortofmusic——fateful。Ofcourse,FRICKA KNOWS,\"Theaendedquietly。 Fredsighed。\"There,you’vespoiledmyitinerary。 NowI’llhavetocomeback,ofcourse。Archie,you’dbet— tergetbusyaboutseatsto—morrow。\" \"Icangetyouboxseats,somewhere。Iknownobodyhere,andIneveraskforany。\"Theabeganhuntingamongherwraps。\"Oh,howfunny!I’veonlytheseshortwoolengloves,andnosleeves。Putonmycoatfirst。ThoseEng— lishpeoplecan’tmakeoutwhereyougotyourlady,she’ssomadeupofcontradictions。\"SheroselaughingandplungedherarmsintothecoatDr。Archieheldforher。Asshesettledherselfintoitandbuttoneditunderherchin,shegavehimanoldsignalwithhereyelid。\"I’dliketosinganotherpartto—night。ThisisthesortofeveningI fancy,whenthere’ssomethingtodo。Letmesee:Ihavetosingin`Trovatore’Wednesdaynight,andtherearere— hearsalsforthe`Ring’everydaythisweek。ConsidermedeaduntilSaturday,Dr。Archie。IinviteyoubothtodinewithmeonSaturdaynight,thedayafter`Rheingold。’ AndFredmustleaveearly,forIwanttotalktoyoualone。 You’vebeenherenearlyaweek,andIhaven’thadaseri— ouswordwithyou。TAKFORMAD,Fred,astheNorwegianssay。\" VIII THE\"RingoftheNiebelungs\"wastobegivenattheMetropolitanonfoursuccessiveFridayafternoons。 Afterthefirstoftheseperformances,FredOttenburgwenthomewithLandryfortea。Landrywasoneofthefewpub— licentertainerswhoownrealestateinNewYork。Helivedinalittlethree—storybrickhouseonJaneStreet,inGreen— wichVillage,whichhadbeenlefttohimbythesameauntwhopaidforhismusicaleducation。 Landrywasborn,andspentthefirstfifteenyearsofhislife,onarockyConnecticutfarmnotfarfromCosCob。 Hisfatherwasanignorant,violentman,abunglingfarmerandabrutalhusband。Thefarmhouse,dilapidatedanddamp,stoodinahollowbesideamarshypond。Oliverhadworkedhardwhilehelivedathome,althoughhewasnevercleanorwarminwinterandhadwretchedfoodalltheyearround。Hisspare,dryfigure,hisprominentlarynx,andthepeculiarredofhisfaceandhandsbelongedtothechore— boyhehadneveroutgrown。Itwasasifthefarm,knowinghewouldescapefromitasearlyashecould,hadgrounditsmarkonhimdeep。WhenhewasfifteenOliverranawayandwenttolivewithhisCatholicaunt,onJaneStreet,whomhismotherwasneverallowedtovisit。ThepriestofSt。Joseph’sParishdiscoveredthathehadavoice。 LandryhadanaffectionforthehouseonJaneStreet,wherehehadfirstlearnedwhatcleanlinessandorderandcourtesywere。Whenhisauntdiedhehadtheplacedoneover,gotanIrishhousekeeper,andlivedtherewithagreatmanybeautifulthingshehadcollected。Hislivingex— penseswereneverlarge,buthecouldnotrestrainhimselffrombuyinggracefulanduselessobjects。Hewasacollec— torformuchthesamereasonthathewasaCatholic,and hewasaCatholicchieflybecausehisfatherusedtositinthekitchenandreadaloudtohishiredmendisgusting\"exposures\"oftheRomanChurch,enjoyingequallythehideousstoriesandtheoutragetohiswife’sfeelings。 AtfirstLandryboughtbooks;thenrugs,drawings,china。HehadabeautifulcollectionofoldFrenchandSpanishfans。HekepttheminanescritoirehehadbroughtfromSpain,buttherewerealwaysafewofthemlyingaboutinhissitting—room。 WhileLandryandhisguestwerewaitingfortheteatobebrought,Ottenburgtookuponeofthesefansfromthelowmarblemantel—shelfandopeneditinthefirelight。Onesidewaspaintedwithapearlyskyandfloatingclouds。 Ontheotherwasaformalgardenwhereanelegantshep— herdesswithamaskandcrookwasfleeingonhighheelsfromasatin—coatedshepherd。 \"Yououghtnottokeepthesethingsabout,likethis,Oliver。Thedustfromyourgratemustgetatthem。\" \"Itdoes,butIgetthemtoenjoythem,nottohavethem。They’repleasanttoglanceatandtoplaywithatoddtimeslikethis,whenoneiswaitingforteaorsome— thing。\" Fredsmiled。TheideaofLandrystretchedoutbeforehisfireplayingwithhisfans,amusedhim。Mrs。McGinnisbroughttheteaandputitbeforethehearth:oldteacupsthatwerevelvetytothetouchandapot—belliedsilvercreampitcherofanEarlyGeorgianpattern,whichwasalwaysbrought,thoughLandrytookrum。 Freddrankhisteawalkingabout,examiningLandry’ssumptuouswriting—tableinthealcoveandtheBoucherdrawinginredchalkoverthemantel。\"Idon’tseehowyoucanstandthisplacewithoutaheroine。Itwouldgivemearagingthirstforgallantries。\" Landrywashelpinghimselftoasecondcupoftea。 \"Worksquitetheotherwaywithme。Itconsolesmeforthelackofher。It’sjustfeminineenoughtobepleasantto returnto。Notanymoretea?Thensitdownandplayforme。I’malwaysplayingforotherpeople,andIneverhaveachancetositherequietlyandlisten。\" Ottenburgopenedthepianoandbegansoftlytoboomforththeshadowyintroductiontotheoperatheyhadjustheard。\"Willthatdo?\"heaskedjokingly。\"Ican’tseemtogetitoutofmyhead。\" \"Oh,excellently!Theatoldmeitwasquitewonderful,thewayyoucandoWagnerscoresonthepiano。Sofewpeoplecangiveoneanyideaofthemusic。Goahead,aslongasyoulike。Icansmoke,too。\"Landryflattenedhim— selfoutonhiscushionsandabandonedhimselftoeasewiththecircumstanceofonewhohasnevergrownquiteaccus— tomedtoease。 Ottenburgplayedon,ashehappenedtoremember。HeunderstoodnowwhyTheawishedhimtohearherin\"Rheingold。\"IthadbeencleartohimassoonasFRICKA rosefromsleepandlookedoutovertheyoungworld,stretchingonewhitearmtowardthenewGotterburgshiningontheheights。\"WOTAN!GEMAHL!ERWACHE!\"ShewaspureScandinavian,thisFRICKA:\"Swedishsummer\"! herememberedoldMr。Nathanmeyer’sphrase。Shehadwishedhimtoseeherbecauseshehadadistinctkindoflovelinessforthispart,ashiningbeautylikethelightofsunsetondistantsails。Sheseemedtotakeonthelookofimmortalloveliness,theyouthofthegoldenapples,theshiningbodyandtheshiningmind。FRICKAhadbeenajealousspousetohimforsolongthathehadforgotshemeantwisdombeforeshemeantdomesticorder,andthat,inanyevent,shewasalwaysagoddess。TheFRICKAofthatafternoonwassoclearandsunny,sonoblyconceived,thatshemadeawholeatmosphereaboutherselfandquiteredeemedfromshabbinessthehelplessnessandunscrupu— lousnessofthegods。HerreproachestoWOTANwerethepleadingsofatemperedmind,aconsistentsenseofbeauty。 Inthelongsilencesofherpart,hershiningpresencewasa visiblecomplementtothediscussionoftheorchestra。Asthethemeswhichweretohelpinweavingthedramatoitsendfirstcamevaguelyupontheear,onesawtheirimportandtendencyinthefaceofthisclearest—visionedofthegods。 InthescenebetweenFRICKAandWOTAN,Ottenburgstopped。\"Ican’tseemtogetthevoices,inthere。\" Landrychuckled。\"Don’ttry。Iknowitwellenough。 IexpectI’vebeenoverthatwithherathousandtimes。I wasplayingforheralmosteverydaywhenshewasfirstworkingonit。Whenshebeginswithapartshe’shardtoworkwith:soslowyou’dthinkshewasstupidifyoudidn’tknowher。Ofcoursesheblamesitallonheraccompanist。 Itgoesonlikethatforweekssometimes。Thisdid。Shekeptshakingherheadandstaringandlookinggloomy。 Allatonce,shegotherline——itusuallycomessuddenly,afterstretchesofnotgettinganywhereatall——andafterthatitkeptchangingandclearing。Assheworkedhervoiceintoit,itgotmoreandmoreofthat`gold’qualitythatmakesherFRICKAsodifferent。\" FredbeganFRICKA’Sfirstariaagain。\"It’scertainlydifferent。Curioushowshedoesit。Suchabeautifulidea,outofapartthat’salwaysbeensoungrateful。She’salovelything,butshewasneversobeautifulasthat,really。