"Well, how do you think Penelope would enjoy a Delft party?"
Shaking her head slowly, Mrs. Thayer replied, "I never heard of one."
"Nor have I, and I am astonished that it has not been introduced long ago. As New York was settled by the Dutch, a Delft party could partake of the real Knickerbocker flavor—none of the sham kind;" and with this last word Cousin Blanche rose and walked nearer to the fire, adding, with a slight shiver, that she was cold.
Mrs. Thayer thereupon rang for the maid, who received orders to bring more wood, and as the fire crackled and blazed, Cousin Blanche talked steadily.
"Of course the word Delft suggests Holland, and we right away think of the large windmills everywhere visible. Some of these are built of stone, others of brick, and still others of wood. Many of them are thatched. Now my idea would be for the boys—Penelope's brothers, I mean—to form a tableau in which they would build windmills. The windmills could be cut out of card-board and pasted together. They could be painted to represent stone or brick. Ordinary straw could be used for thatching, and two or more of the boys might be putting the straw on. These windmills should be stood back of that large screen at the north end of the parlor before the children arrive."
"Then you wouldn't use a curtain?"
"No; we could arrange all the tableaux back of the screen, and so save a great deal of annoyance."
"How many tableaux do you think would be nice?"
"Three or four." And Cousin Blanche thoughtfully continued: "I would show only those that are thoroughly indicative of our Holland Dutch ancestors." And Blanche scrutinized Mrs. Thayer's face while she concluded, "Entertainment is always better when it is instructive."
"But I'm afraid"—and Mrs. Thayer acted fearful while she explained—"that the tableaux would be a terrible trouble."