212 BY ORDER OF THE CZAR.
Her father and mother had no special day, but were always at home to their friends every day ; and her father's cook was good enough even for Walter ; so no more need be said as to the Norwood hospitality.
As the narrator has already remarked, Philip, on this pleasant occasion, did all he could to make himself agree- able. He even sung those little lullaby German songs in which his studio friends always found a special charm. He also told the several little Russian stories which be- longed to a mythical age of tradition, of which the Tartars might hardly have been suspected ; and Dolly discovered that Philip had more accomplishments than she had sus- pected a declaration which his mother capped by regret- ting they had not a guitar at Westbury Lodge, an omission which Mrs. Milbanke promised to remedy the very next day.
" My dear," said Lady Forsyth, " these little German ditties should be sung either to the guitar or zither, and Philip is quite a master on both."
" Nonsense, mother ! And besides, I have not seen either guitar or zither for months."
" My dear Philip," said Walter, " we will have both on the Grand Canal ; we will be our own galugenti ; we can already sing ' Finiculi, Finicula,' can we not, Dolly ? "
Dolly smiled, and Walter sat down to the piano.
" Come, Jenny," he said. " When first we heard this song and chorus, floating as we were by moonlight along the canal towards the quay, we all fell rnadly in love with it ; tried to get the song in Venice, tried in Milan, tried in Paris. Get everything in London ; only one place in the world where you can get everything. You must join us, Philip." And Walter, in a light but effective tenor voice, led off with the solo, and the chorus followed ; and Lady Forsyth said she would certainly keep this performance in view for her next charitable concert in aid of the Irish
