Oxford Democrat., 1915-06-29
CHAPTER u.
The Costume.
AFTER lunch his mother and his

FTER lunch his m0tner ana nW
~ sister Margaret, pretty girl OF
~ nineteen, dressed him for the
sacrifice. They stood him near
his mothers bedroom window and did
what they would to him.
During the earlier anguishes OF the
process he was mute, exceeding the
pathos Of the stricken calf in the sham
bles, but student Of eyes might have
perceived in his soul the premonitory
symptoms Of sinister uprising. At
rehearsal Gn citizens clothes) attended
by mothers and grownup sisters, Mrs.
Lora Rewbush had announced that she
wished the costuming to be "as medic
val and artistic as possible" Otherwise,
and as to details, she said, she would
leave the costumes to the good taste OF
the children's parents. Mrs. Schofeld
and Margaret were no archaeologists,
but they knew that their taste was as
good as that Of other mothers and SIS
ters concerned, so with perfect conf
dence they had planned and executed
costume for Penrod, and the only mis-
giving they felt was connected with
the tractability Of the Child Sir Lance
lot himself.
Stripped to his underwear, he had
been made to wash himself vehement
ly; then they began by shrouding his
legs In a pair Of silk stockings, once
blue, but now mostly whitlsh. Upon
Penrod they visibly surpassed mere
ampleness, but they were long. and 1t
required only q rather loose imagina-
ton to assume that they were tights.
The upper part Of his body was next
concealed from view by garment so
peculiar that It's description becomes
difficult. In 1856 Mrs. Schofield, then
unmarried, had worn at her coming
out party" q dress Of vivid salmon silk
which had been remodeled after her
marriage to accord with various epOchs
Of fashion until final unskillful CAM
paign ut n dye house had left 1t In
condition certain to attract much at-
tention to the wearer. Mrs. Schotield
had considered giving 1t to Della, the
cook. but had decided not to do so, be-
cause you never could tell how Della
was going to take things, and cooks
were scarce.
1t may have been the word "medi-
evar' Tin Mrs. LOra Rewbush's rich
phrase) which had inspired the idea
for last and conspicuous usefulness.
At all events the bodice Of that once
salmon dress, somewhat modified and
moderated. now took position for
its farewell appearance In society upon
The back, breast and arms Of the Child
Sir Lancelot.
The area thus costumed ceased at
the waist, leaving Jaeger-like and un-
medieval gap thence to the tops Of
the stockings. The inventive genius Of
woman riumphantly brldged It, but In
a manner which imposes upon history
almost insuperable delicacies Of mar
ration. Penrod's father was an old
fashioned man. The twentieth CEN
tury had failed to shake his faith In
red flannel for cold weather, and 1t
was while Mrs. Schofleld was putting
away her husbands winter underwear
that she perceived how hopelessly one
Of the elder specimens had dwindled,
and simultaneously she received the
inspiration which resulted In pair OF
trunks for the Child Sir Lancelot and
added an earnest bit Of color, as well
as a genuine touch Of the middle ages,
to his costume. Reversed, fore to aft,
with the greater part Of the legs cut
of and strips of silver braid covering
the seams, this garment. she felt, was
not traceable to its original source.
When 1t had been placed upon Pen
rod the stockings were attached to 1t
by a system Of safety pins, not very
perceptible at a distance. Next. after
being severely warned against stoop-
ing, Penrod got his feet into the slip
pers he wore to dancing school-"pat-
ent leather pumps" now decorated
with large pink rosettes.
"If 1 can't stoop," he began smolder-
ingly, ard like to know how'm goin'
to kneel in the pag'-
you must manager This, uttered
through pins, was evidently thought
to be sufficient
They fastened some ruching about
his slender neck. pinned ribbons at
random all over him, and then Mar
garet thickly powdered his hair.
"Oh, ycs; that's all right" she SAID
replying to a question put by hei
mother. "They always powdered theil
hair In colonial times"
ut doesn't seem right to me-exact
ly," objected Mrs. Schofeld gently
"Sir Lancelot must have been ever 80
long before colonial times"
THAT doesn't matter" Margaret re
assured her. "Nobody'll know the
difference, Mrs. Lora Rewbush least OF
all. l don't think she knows a thing
about 1t, though, Of course, she does
write splendidly and the words Of the
pageant are just beautiful. Stand
still, Penrodt' The author Of "Har
old Ramorez" had moved convulsively.
Besides, powdered hairs always be
coming. Look Mt him. You'd hardly
know It was Penrod"
The pride and admiration with which
she pronounced this undeniable trutf
might have been thought tactless, but
Penrod, not analytical found his spir
| its somewhat elevated. No mirror
was In his range Of vision, and, though
he had submitted to cursory measure
ments Of his person a week earlier, ht
had no previous acquaintance with tht
costume. He began to form a not un
pleasing mental picture Of his appear
ance, something somewhere between
the portraits Of George Washington
and a vivid memory Of Miss Julit
Marlowe at a matinee Of "Twelftf
Night"
He was additionally cheered b.
sword which had been borrowed IRON
a neighbor who was Knight OF Pyth
las. Finally there was a mantle, a