pe around
each leg, which gave him a very striking appearance, to say the least.
But every rose must have a thorn, and Dickey soon found out what
particular thorn there was in wearing the costume of Macbeth. In the
first place, since he could not use his arms sufficiently to bring
them around in front of him, he was obliged to dispense with a shield,
for it would have been worse than useless; and again, when he tried to
sit down, after he had been admired by his companions, he found that
the tin covers were so long that they doomed him to stand until the
close of the performance. He would have liked a rest just then, for he
was very tired, but the exigencies of the case, and costume, prevented
him, and he leaned up in the corner, looking, save about the legs,
like a turtle in a restaurant window.
Johnny was the next one who was to be made happy, and perhaps
uncomfortable, by Mr. Dowd's idea of costume. But his was on an
entirely different scale, since he was to play the part of Othello. A
pair of blue uniform trousers were first put on, and then pinned up,
since they had originally been intended for a man; a broad leather
belt was buckled tightly around his waist, and in this was placed a
carving-knife, a pistol with no lock and but part of the barrel, and a
jack-knife; an old sack of Mrs. Green's, made of red flannel and
somewhat soiled, was put on as coat, and on the shoulders were pinned
epaulets made of gilt paper. In addition to the weapons contained in
his belt, Johnny had a genuine sword and scabbard fastened to his
side, and an army musket to carry in his hands, that looked as if it
might have been used in every battle during the late war.
It seemed singular that two should be condemned to stand, and through
no one's fault; but Johnny also found it almost impossible to sit
down, owing to the number of pins Mopsey had used, to make sure that
the trousers would remain at the proper length, and he leaned against
the wall by the side of Dickey.
Ben's costume required very little care, since it was simply a sheet
thrown over his head; but he insisted so strongly that a ghost had
just as much right as anybody else to have his legs laced up with red
tape, and to wear a sword, that Mopsey was obliged to give way, and do
as he desired. A profusion of tape was tied around his legs; and in
order to produce a pleasing effect in case his feet could be seen
below the sheet, he insisted on having quite a number of ends
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