As she rocked her little ones, the mother hummed in a discordant voice a romance then celebrated:⁠—

“It must be, said a warrior.”

“It must be, said a warrior.”

Her song, and the contemplation of her daughters, prevented her hearing and seeing what was going on in the street.

In the meantime, someone had approached her, as she was beginning the first couplet of the romance, and suddenly she heard a voice saying very near her ear:⁠—

“You have two beautiful children there, Madame.”

“To the fair and tender Imogene⁠—”

“To the fair and tender Imogene⁠—”