“It doesn’t matter, dear, does it? As long as we can’t get Miss Tappan,” suggested Miss Deland. “The first thing is to decide on the colors for each of you and then to fly off to the shops to find materials suitable for our purpose.” “Please, Miss Deland, I think the very first thing of all is to decide what we are to be,” said Beth decidedly. “Oh, that’s settled now,” said Miss Deland. “You are to be young people of Queen Elizabeth’s time, probably children of some of her courtiers. It won’t be necessary to decide which ones; you will be smuggled away in a corner of the gallery.” “Oh, indeed it is necessary!” implored Beth. “I want to know just exactly who I am, so I can be part of it. You see, you can’t half see a thing right if you are part of it and don’t know what part it is. Mayn’t we decide that first, Miss Deland?” “I’m sure I don’t care what I am; we’re only going to look on,” said Alys, puzzled by Beth’s absorbing interest in imaginative things, as she always was. “Well, I want to look on right,” persisted Beth. “I know! You shall be Judith Shakespeare, Beth!” cried Miss Deland, with an inspiration. “And Dirk shall be Hamnet, ‘Will Shakespeare’s little lad!’ Natalie shall be Susanna, Shakespeare’s oldest child, while Alys--well, we will make Alys the Lady Alys Dudley, a relative of the Earl of Leicester, the favorite of the queen, and pretend she is entertaining Shakespeare’s young folk during their visit to London. Will that please you, Beth dear?” “I’ll love it,” declared Beth briefly, her face illumined. Miss Deland saw that in an instant she had assumed her rôle and was become the dutiful, proud daughter of the greatest of poets. The mere detail of color and design for her costume Beth passed over lightly, without much interest in it. Not so Natalie and Alys; even though they were to be concealed from sight they cared a great deal to have their costumes suit them. Yellow for Alys, with her blonde hair; blue for Beth and crimson for Natalie and wine-colored velvet for Dirk were settled upon. Miss Deland bore the girls off in the Cortlandt car to do the shopping this entailed. For four days scissors, needles and sewing-machine gleamed and buzzed. Miss Deland designed and cut out, Anna Mary and Frieda sewed and Frieda’s mother was fetched in to help, a competent German woman whose needle worked fast and skilfully. Not for nothing had Aunt Rebecca insisted upon Beth’s daily “stint” of sewing, in the old-fashioned way, bringing up a girl early to use her needle well. Beth now came out strong in her hated accomplishment and helped effectually in the hurried work under way. Neither Natalie nor Alys could sew well enough to count in real work.