Marian sang a religious song, which was received with the respect usually accorded to a dull sermon.

The clergyman read a comic essay of his own composition, and Mrs.Fairfax recited an ode to Mazzini.

The concertinists played an arrangement of a quartet by Onslow.
The working men and women of Wandsworth gaped, and those who sat near the door began to slip out.

Even Miss McQuinch pitied them.
"The idea of expecting them to be grateful for an infliction like that!" she said.

"What do people of their class care about Onslow's quartets ?" "Do you think that people of any class, high or low, would be gratified by such an entertainment ?" said Conolly, with some warmth.