Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-05

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 At last the night came. The invita- tions were for 10 o'clock. and people could not resist the temptation to como soon after the hour and begin. Mrs. Ess Kay stood in the early English drawing room Chats the style It's fur nished in, or she believes 1t is) receiv- ing without mask and dressed to rep resent Queen Margaret of Navarro. from whom she says that she is de- scended. She had another dress to put on afterward, so that none of the guests would recognize her and she could have fun with the rest, but no one knew about that except Sally and Potter and me,
 We others didn't appear at first, be- cause we had no costumes to change with, but by and by. when a lot of people had arrived, we mingled with them.
 As soon as any one came in Mrs. Ess Kay would say, How do you do, my Lord of Leicester, or my noble George Washington or whatever the person might be trying to be. "So glad to sec you. You must go and have look at the maze. Do you know how to find it? Just through that curtain. You can't miss the way"
 Then the gorgeous masker would cross the hall and disappear behind great curtain of tapestry that covered an open doorway leaaing to the garden. But he hadn't to go out of doors. A canvas covered. winding passage took him to the vast marquee, which was, of course, the maze. But why it was the maze and what happened to you in the maze after you had got in l didn't know any more than the outsiders. That was the fun of it for me, of course, and it really was fun.
 Sally had only taken enough pains about her dress to save annoying Mrs. Ess Kay. She was a White Carmelite, with a veil over her face instead of mask. But Potter had made a tremen- dous fuss about himself. He was Flame, which he said was appropriate ln the circumstances, as he had got so used to playing Fire to my Frost he felt quite at home in the character. And he was very magnincent He had designed the costume himself, for he fancies himself at that sort of thing, and my white sparkling robes and his scarlet satin and carbuncle embroid- cry and copper and gold fringes did look rather effective side by side.
 He made that an excuse for insist ing that l should go with him into the maze, although tall Hamlet and Henry V. of England both wanted to take me
 Potter whisked me away from them somehow, and we passed under the tapestry curtains while one of the two Hungarian bands Mrs. Ess Kay had hired played a waltz which made me long to dance.
 "This way to the maze; this way to the maze,' man dressed like a beef eater was continually saying. He stood just outside the door, in a kind of canvas vestibule lined with green cry, so that it looked like the entrance to bower
 The passage to the marquee had been made so beautiful that couldn't help crying out to Potter with admiration. Not an inch of the canvas showed, for we walked through sort of tunnel of roses all lit up with invisible electric lights. It was like the way to fairy land, and the floor was covered with mat of artificial grass, like they have for stage lawns, Potter said.
 I thought when we came to the end of the rose tunnel we should find our selves in big open space in the mar quee, but when the tunnel stopped we were in a narrow alley between tall green bushes. set so thickly and so close together that we couldn't see what was on the other side Above us, instead of the canvas roof of the marquee (which must have been over alb, a violet mist seemed to float, with a very faint. soft light Altering through it. like blue moonlight. I SUD- pose it must have been ever and ever so many thicknesses of blue gauge, with shaded lights hanging above, but the effect was mysterious and alluring.
 We had only gone. little way when we arrived at tiny house built ap- parently of red flowers, and there was a red light coming out of the one little window. "The Witch of the Woods Lives Here" said card on the door.
 We pushed, and inside was a room with a young woman in white, crystal gazing as hard as she could. She had also a velvet cushion on which you laid your hand, and she told your char acter and your fortune. Some people in historical dress were ready to come out just as we were going in, and one of them said: Its Mime. Cortelyn. Mrs. Stuyvesant-Knox must have giv- en her at least $500 or she wouldn't I have come step"
 We had our hands done. and the Witch of the Woods told me that had come from across the water" but that would marry man on this side, and then she saw some one in the crystal who looked so exactly like Potter Parker that I wished I had stopped outside her red house.
 After this we kept losing ourselves In different green walled paths asd suddenly coming on booths where va riety entertainments were going on or funny cardboard pagodas. where cele-