erson come from? What is it to
you if we _are_ chatterboxes? Give orders to your own servants,
sir. Do you pretend to command ladies of Syracuse? If you must
know, we are Corinthians by descent, like Bellerophon himself, and
we speak Peloponnesian. Dorian women may lawfully speak Doric, I
presume?"

"Oh, _do_ let me be Gorgo!" begged Dulcie. "I love her; she's so smart
and sarcastic. Isn't it exactly like somebody talking during a concert,
and a person in the row in front objecting, and a friend butting in with
rude remarks? That's what generally happens."

"Did people's accent matter in Greek as much as it does in English?"
asked Prissie.

"Evidently. The Alexandrian gentleman--who sounds a decided fop--did not
approve of a Doric pronunciation. No doubt broad vowels were out of
fashion. I believe I shall give his part to Edith. It's a small one,
but it has scope for a good deal of acting."

"And who is to be Praxinoe, please?"

"I think I must choose Carmel. She ought to act in an idyll by
Theocritus, as he was a Sicilian like herself. Would he find Sicily much
altered, Carmel, if he came back? Or is it the same after two thousand
years?"

"There are still goatherds on the mountains, though we don't see wood
nymphs now!"

"No, the wood nymphs have all trotted over to England, and are going to
give a performance in aid of the 'Waifs and Strays!'" said Dulcie. "I
hope Apollo will remember them, and send them a fine day, if he's
anything to do with the weather over here. Perhaps his sun chariot only
runs on the Mediterranean route."

"Surely he's got an aeroplane by now!" laughed Edith. "We'll send him a
wireless message to remind him of his duty. 'Nymphs dancing Thursday
week at 2.30 P. M. Kindly cable special supply of sunshine.'"

"Now, girls, you're getting silly!" said Miss Adams, shutting her book
and rising. "If we want to make a success of our classic afternoon,
we've plenty of hard work before us. I'm going on with costumes at
present, and anybody who cares to volunteer can fetch her thimble and a
needle and cotton, and hem a chiton."

CHAPTER VIII

Wood Nymphs

It needed a tremendous amount of rehearsing and preparation before Miss
Adams judged her classic performance fit for public exhibition. The
Greek garments, simple as they were, nevertheless required sewing, and
there were certain pieces of scenery to be constructed. The other
mistresses helped nobly, thoug