in front seats in the hall.

There was a general rush for the hall where the spectators found rows of
chairs arranged at one end.

Hardly had they seated themselves when the first notes of that quaint
old ballad, "The Mistletoe Bough," sounded from the piano in the drawing
room, Nora O'Malley appeared in the archway, and in her clear, sweet
voice sang the first verse of the song.

As she finished, the strains of a wedding march were heard, and from the
room at the opposite side of the hall came a wedding procession.

Anne, as the bride, was attired in an old-time, short-waisted gown of
white satin with a long lace veil, yellow with age, while David in a
square-cut costume with powdered wig, enacted the part of the
bridegroom. Arnold Evans was the clergyman, Grace and Tom the parents of
the bride, while Reddy, Jessica, Hippy and Eva were the wedding guests.

All were garbed in the fashion of "ye olden time," the boys in wigs and
square cuts, the girls in short-waisted, low-necked gowns, with hair
combed high and powdered.

Then the ceremony was performed in pantomime and the bride and groom
received the congratulations of their friends. The groom bowed low over
the bride's hand and led her to the center of the hall. The other
couples formed in line behind them and a stately minuet was danced.

While the minuet was in progress the bride suddenly stopped in the midst
of the figure and professing weariness of the dance, ran out of the
room, after signifying to her husband and guests that she would hide,
and after a brief interval they should seek for her.

Entering into her fun, the young husband and guests smilingly lingered a
moment after her departure, and then ran eagerly off to find her. This
closed the scene, and Nora again appeared and sang the next verse.

The cedar chest, brought from the attic by the boys, had been set on the
broad landing at the turn of the open staircase, and in the next scene
Anne appeared, alone, and discovering the chest climbed gleefully into
it and drew the lid down.

Then followed the vain search for her and the deep despair of the young
husband at the failure to find his bride, with the final departure of
the wedding guests, their joy changed to sorrow over the bride's
mysterious disappearance.

There was a brief wait until the next scene, during which another verse
of the ballad was sung. Then the husband, grown old, appeared and in
pantomime reviewed the story of the strange