Tishy was accompanist, and sang alto; her mother, who knew nothing of
notation, and sang by ear, sang treble; Barty had a supple and
pleasing tenor, and the Doctor possessed a solemn bass, deep and dark
as a thundercloud, yet mellow as the hum of a hive of honey-bees on a
summer morning; a rare voice and a beautiful one, that had its
counterpart in the contralto that already, at sixteen and a half, had
given Tishy power and distinction among her fellows.
At this time, Miss Letitia Mangan's views, and those of her parents,
as to her future, musical or otherwise, were entirely divergent. Hers
held as central figure a certain medical student, with an incipient
red moustache, and a command of boxes of chocolate that was
bewildering to those acquainted with his income. Quite other were Dr.
Mangan's intentions with regard to his daughter, but he was satisfied
to keep them out of sight; he was aware that, in all solid buildings,
the deeper and farther out of sight the foundation, the more assured
is the result.
It is possible that the idea of a farewell entertainment in Larry's
honour emanated from the Big Doctor; if so, he had erased his tracks
very thoroughly, and it was regarded by Mrs. Mangan's intimates as a
final brandishing of her trophy before she was forced to relinquish
it. Larry was indisputably a trophy, and Heaven was considered to have
exercised a very undue discrimination in Mrs.
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