The black angels

"They were called the Black Angels from the time they first appeared in Minnesota, a crew of black-haired, bright-eyed youngsters, so unlike their flaxen haired father -- seven of them there were, and each one forever singing, except Joseph, who could not tell one note from another. Music was a passion with them from childhood. Small wonder, then, that they greeted with enthusiasm Benjy's plan for an Operatic and Concert Troupe; or that they set out with high hearts upon the venture, thinking their old covered wagon a golden caravan."-- from the original 1926 book cover.