Mrs. Reilly let out a squeal. “She's learnt English!” Mrs. Reilly called down the line. “And,” I announce, “I'll teach her 'da small-a, da thin-a.'” Thereafter I held up garments to which those adjectives might apply, and tried to “learn” Lucia additional English. Lucia giggled and giggled and waited every evening to walk down the six flights of stairs with me, and three blocks until our ways parted. Each time I patted her on the back when we started off and chortled: “Hey, Lucia, da big-a, da fat-a!” Lucia would giggle again, and that is all we would have to say. Except one night Lucia pointed to the moon and said, “Luna.” So I make the most of knowing that much Italian. Oh yes, Lucia and I had one other thing in common. One day at the laundry I found myself humming a Neapolitan love song, from a victrola record we have. Lucia's face brightened. The rest of the afternoon I hummed the tune and Lucia sang the words of that song, much to Mrs. Reilly's delight, who informed the floor that now, for sure, Lucia was in love again. There was much singing on our floor. Irma used often to croon negro religious songs, the kind parlor entertainers imitate. I loved to listen to her. It was not my clothes she was ironing. Hattie, down the line, mostly dwelt on “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam.” Hattie had straight, short hair that stood out all over her head, and a face like a negro kewpie. She was up to mischief seven hours of the nine, nor could Miss Cross often subdue her. Hattie had been on our floor four years. One lively day Irma was singing with gusto “Abide With Me.” For some reason I had broken into the rather unfactory-like ballad of “Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms,” and Lucia was caroling some Italian song lustily—all of us at one and the same time. Finally Miss Cross called over, “For land's sakes, two of you girls stop singing!” Since Irma and I were the only two of the three to understand her, we made Christian martyrs of ourselves and let Lucia have the floor. Miss Cross was concerned once as to how I happened to know so many hymns. Green earrings do not look particularly hymny. The fact was, I had not thought of most of the hymns our sixth floor sang since I was knee high. In those long ago days a religious grandmother took me once to a Methodist summer camp meeting, at which time I resolved before my Maker to join the Salvation Army and beat a tambourine. So when Miss Cross asked me how I knew so many hymns, and the negro-revivalist variety, I answered that I once near joined the Salvation Army. “You don't say!” said the amazed Miss Cross.