human
You are a good fighter, he responded quietly.
gpt
What would be the concrete application of your theory to my practice?
human
That you should try to fulfil the ambition your old master has for you, she returned.
gpt
Why don't you try it? You can't gain any more glory in your present field; you stand at the head of concert and oratorio singers in America. You have nothing to lose; and, over there in Berlin, there is an old man who boasts that he made your voice, and says that he can never sing his _Nunc Dimittis_ until you have entered upon your right path.
human
Did he say that?
gpt
Yes, and he extorted a promise from me that I would tell you his very words. That is the reason I have made bold to speak about the matter.
human
What do you think about it, yourself, Mrs. Lorimer?
gpt
That he knows your possibilities much better than I,
human
But you have an opinion,
gpt
Yes, I have, she replied frankly.
human
From what he told me, and from what I have heard of your singing, I know that you can do broader work than any you have attempted. Your voice will do for either thing, opera or oratorio; but on a few times-- she hesitated; then she went on without flinching;
gpt
Suddenly she laughed at her own earnestness.
human
What am I, that I should advise the star of the season? Do excuse my frankness, Mr. Thayer.
gpt
I asked you.
human
That's no reason I should bore you with all my theories upon a subject of which I know practically nothing. And, meanwhile, I am forgetting to tell you that we went to see Frau Arlt.
gpt
I am glad you saw her. It was like Lorimer to hunt her up. Does Otto know about it?
human
He came to dinner, a day or two after we landed. Mr. Lorimer had written him a note to tell him we were at home, and you should have seen the boy's delight over the box of funny little odds and ends his mother had sent him. Sidney is always so thoughtful, and he suggested to the old lady that we had room in our trunks for a package. I really think that the boy was happier with his home-made gifts than I was with the things Mr. Lorimer gave me in Paris.
gpt
It was so that Thayer liked best to think of her
human
He has been a very brave, but a very homesick little German,