"Poor child!" she said, in a motherly tone, "I do think it is a shame for Mopsey to rig you up in such a way that you can't eat, an' you do have such a good appetite."
"He wanted to play Macbeth," said Mopsey, anxious to clear himself from any blame, "an' if he plays it he's got to go that way."
"Yes, I wanted to play it," said Dickey, in a pathetic tone that told he would never want to do such an uncomfortable thing again. "I wanted to, but I didn't know I was goin' to be fixed so's I couldn't even wiggle."
Mrs. Green went without her own supper for the sake of giving Dickey his, and she fed him patiently, while he stood with outstretched hands leaning against the wall, but able to eat all that was put in his mouth.
By the time the boys were through supper Nelly came into the room, dressed for her portion of the work in the evening's performance; and even Mopsey, who the day before had suggested that she should wear a sword, thought she looked charming in her white dress with blue ribbons.
It was very near the time set for opening the doors, and already they could hear a crowd of boys on the sidewalk, as they jostled and pushed in their efforts to enter before the managers were ready to receive them. Mopsey, excited at this clamor of the public, drove his company up-stairs, and hurried Mrs. Green to such an extent that she concluded to let her house-work go until after the performance, and went down to open the door.
The noble company of actors stood in breathless expectancy behind the scenes of their theatre, waiting for the sound of tramping feet that should tell of the rush of the public to witness their genius, as shown in this particular line of business. The interest was so great that even Dickey forgot the discomfort of his Macbeth costume, and stood as near a crevice in the boards as possible, to see their patrons as they filed into the hall.
The auditorium was as near a scene of enchantment as tallow-candles could make it. The twelve bottle foot-lights flared and flickered as if they were conscious of the wonderful display of talent they were there to illumine, while the barrel-hoop chandeliers cast even a more brilliant light than one would have supposed. The flower decorations on the wall, forming the word that meant quite as much as if it had been spelled correctly, stood forth in all their beauty, even more prominently than if the light had been stronger.