The curtains of the odd booth were thrown back and found to be painted into some likeness of a cavern, suggested, at least. Even the opening thunder was given by the roll of a drum back in the “cavern.” There was the cauldron and something to imitate the appearance of fire under it. The girls enjoyed the pretense of being witches with their uncanny parts and the
“Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”
All the girls spoke their lines distinctly, though Miss Gibson had deleted some, to shorten the scene and to leave out those that were too unpleasant for such an occasion. Olive as Macbeth made quite an impression. She withdrew with the witches, but witches, apparitions and Macbeth were obliged to come out again in front of the cavern to receive further applause.
“The rest will be anti-climax,” mourned Pansy, the kitty-cat, who had joined Madge and Shirley.
“The freshman fun will be the relaxation of the evening,” said Shirley, “and how can you speak thus to the author of your beautiful verses!”
Pansy laughed. “That is so. I had forgotten our beautiful poetry.”
“To tell the truth, in comparison with this, our lines may fall a little flat; but just looking at you kittens, you black cats, I should say, will be enough. I thought that I saw two costumes like your witch’s, Pansy, a while ago.”
“I did, too,—I wonder whose the other is.”
The sophomore entertainment was even more gruesome than the witches of Macbeth. When a curtain was drawn aside at the end of the room, there, against the white background of another curtain, which represented a wall, hung the white faces of Bluebeard’s wives. A ghostly sophomore read the story, briefly told, in its most exciting parts, while the wife who entered the forbidden chamber, Bluebeard, and Sister Ann played their parts in pantomime, with the addition of ghostly groans from the wives who had, supposedly, been disposed of long since. This was a little too realistic and made more than one of the audience jump a little at first. But it was soon over.