Page:Our Little Girl (1923).pdf/57

 “I’m sure Miss Dorothy and I will get along together perfectly,” said Madame Schneider. “Don’t you think so, dear?”

Dorothy vouchsafed that she thought so. the beginning of a “career!”

“Meanwhile,” added Madame Schneider, “there are certain things you must do. You must get plenty of rest. No late hours—but you are a sensible girl and you don’t care about staying out late. No smoking—but you do not smoke, I am sure.”

“Certainly not!”

Mrs. Loamford lost no time in confirming this flattering hypothesis.

“Avoid rich foods,” Madame Schneider went on, “and keep regular habits. You will understand what that means, I am sure, or, if not, your mother will tell you. Above all, get plenty of fresh air and breathe deeply every morning on rising and every night on retiring. A good physique and good health are necessary to every successful singer and many a person whose voice has been nothing unusual has risen to the top by taking the best possible care of himself.

“At the end of six months, Mrs. Loamford, I want you to come here again with Miss Dorothy, and hear the difference in her singing. Before that time, I must ask her to sing only the exercises that I prescribe for her and under no circumstances to sing for friends or visitors. And I am sure that we shall get on swimmingly.”

A dull summer for Dorothy followed. Arnold suddenly decided to make a motor trip through Canada. He invited Dorothy to accompany him, but he might as well have invited Helen of Troy. Mrs. Loamford might