istorical
point of view.

But Vava--who was 'rehearsing her play' to Stella more for her own
benefit than to entertain her sister--was not at all pleased at this
criticism, and replied irately, 'If you want to see your old Dante you'd
better not come, for we are not going by it at all.'

'So it appears,' observed Stella dryly.

'How could we--horrid, gruesome stuff? Pray, how would you expect us to
put on the stage a lake of boiling pitch, with a lot of people in it
heads downwards and their legs struggling in the air? And who would come
to see it if we did? I wouldn't take part in such a horrid piece! Why,
even the reading of it made me feel quite ill,' argued Vava.

'You need not pick out that particular scene; there are beautiful
passages in Dante; but I do not think it is suitable for staging, and I
can't understand why it has been chosen,' remarked her sister.

'It is called _Dante: an Idyll_; and, as I said before, you wait and see
whether it is not splendid. I must go and rehearse this with Doreen
now,' replied Vava.

'Is Doreen to be in the play too?' asked Stella.

'Yes, she's a Florentine painter named Giotto. It's very funny, but her
features are just like his in his picture; and there's a Jewish girl in
the school with a long face who makes up very well as Dante. Oh you will
be astonished when you see our play; we do things in style at our
school, I can tell you!'

'Don't boast, Vava; it's very vulgar,' said Stella.

Vava did not answer back as she used to do, but went off to Doreen, whom
she found studying her part diligently. 'I'm so glad you've come; it's
no use saying this play to one's self. I know the words all right, but
it's the coming in at the right place and the pronunciation. I wish, if
you didn't mind, you would just say these speeches over first, and let
me say them after you, and see if I can pronounce them like you. I would
like to speak well, but I can't twist my mouth into shape as you do!'
she exclaimed.

'But we don't twist our mouths; that is just what you do that you should
not. See, talk like this, Doreen,' explained Vava; and for more than an
hour she sat patiently repeating the words and correcting Doreen, who
had a quick ear and copied her way of speaking fairly well, until at
last Vava said, with a sigh of satisfaction, 'That's all right now,
Doreen; you pronounce those words quite nicely, and you say your
speeches ever so much better than the other girls; one would thi