Ethel Morton at Chautauqua Part 6

"The Parthenon," murmured Helen.

"It does make you think of the Parthenon," said Miss Kimball. "In a small way this is beautiful, too, in its setting of green trees, though that was larger of course and its stone pillars gleamed against the vivid blue sky."

"You must have seen it," guessed Helen, struck by the enjoyment of Miss Kimball's tone.

"Ah, Athens is one of the joyous memories of my life!" she exclaimed.

Like the Amphitheatre the building had no sides. The dark beams of the roof were supported by pillars and the breeze blew softly through. Miss Kimball and the girls sat down to rest a while. A sort of wide pulpit faced them, and the chairs were arranged before it in a semi-circle.

"See those mosaic squares laid in the floor," cried Ethel Brown. "They are all different. Look, each one has a name on it and a date and a flower or something."

"They have been put in by the C.L.S.C. cla.s.ses," explained Miss Kimball, and Helen added, "I remember reading in Mother's Chautauqua magazine that her cla.s.s had their tablet put down last summer but it was not to be dedicated until this summer when a lot of people would be here to graduate. Let's see if we can find one marked d.i.c.kens."

"They're all put in in order," cried Ethel Brown. "The numbers run right along except where there's a square skipped once in a while. Yes, yes, here's Mother's; here's the d.i.c.kens square," and the little group gathered around the d.i.c.kens tablet, feeling an ownership that they had not felt before. They were yet to learn that everybody has a sense of ownership at Chautauqua because all the public buildings are built for everybody and are used by everybody all the time.

"Here are 'd.i.c.kens' and '1914' on Aunty's square," said Ethel Blue, "and a rose."

"The English rose is the cla.s.s flower," said Miss Kimball.

"Is the course very hard?" asked Ethel Blue shyly.

"We say it's 'Easy for Anybody; Worth While for Everybody,'" laughed Miss Kimball. "We don't mean to make it hard; just sensible and--well, 'worth while' describes it as well as anything."

"We'll be awfully proud of Helen when she belongs," said loyal Ethel Blue, slipping her arm around her tall cousin's waist.

"Be sure to tell your grandmother that she may pa.s.s through the Golden Gate on Recognition Day behind the graduating cla.s.s," said Miss Kimball, smiling and walking quickly away to her work.

The girls called after her a "Good-bye" and thanks for her guidance.

Leaving the Hall they turned in the direction of home, pa.s.sing through a street lined with cottages, one of which, they noticed, was marked "Unitarian Headquarters," another "Baptist House," and another "Disciples' House," while up a side street they saw a Lutheran sign.

"They seem to have houses instead of churches here," said Ethel Blue.

"I noticed a 'Methodist House' back of the Amphitheatre," said Helen.

"And a 'Congregational House' on one side and a 'Presbyterian House' on the other," cried Ethel Blue. "You can go to any kind you want to just the same as if you were at home. Look, the people are coming out of the Amphitheatre now," she added.

"There's Mother--there are Grandmother and Grandfather. Hullo, hullo,"

called Ethel Brown, and the two children tore along the matting laid down beside the auditorium to keep the noise of pa.s.sing feet from disturbing the audiences.

"What do you think we did? Whom do you think we saw?" they cried breathlessly, and recited all their adventures as fast as they could talk.

"You're very lucky children," said Grandfather, "and we must celebrate the event," so they went across the square and investigated the refreshment booth in the pergola. Then the elders strolled slowly back over the road the young people had just come, for there was to be a reading at five o'clock in the Hall of Philosophy and they thought they would see the Hall of Christ and the C.L.S.C. building before it began.

Helen and the Ethels went with them part of the way and then turned down a side street to catch a glimpse of the lake again.

"Perhaps we'll come across Roger somewhere," said Helen.

But it was not Roger but James Hanc.o.c.k whom they met as they walked along the lake front.

CHAPTER IV

PERSONALLY CONDUCTED

JAMES pulled off his cap as the girls bowed to him.

"Did you know this was the Bishop's house you're in front of?" he whispered, glancing up at the veranda to make sure that he was not overheard.

"Which is the house, the wooden part or the tent?" asked Ethel Brown.

"When he first came here forty years ago there were only one or two houses and for a summer or two everybody lived in tents."

"What fun!" cried Ethel Blue.

"The seasons weren't very long then, only two weeks, so n.o.body minded if things weren't very comfortable. The Bishop and Mr. Miller had these combination arrangements built because they had lots of guests and needed larger places."

"I wonder if there are any people here now who came that first summer?"

"Yes, indeed, my father was here then. He was a little kid in skirts."

"Naturally he doesn't remember anything about it."

"No, but my grandmother brought him and she often tells me about it. You just wait till Old First Night. There are often twenty people who stand up when they ask how many present were here at the first session. The Chancellor, that's Bishop Vincent, was here, of course, and his son, he's the president now, and the Executive Secretary of the C.L.S.C.--"

"That's Miss Kimball. We know her. We just met her," and they told their new friend all about it.

"You're sure in luck," was his comment.

"Old First Night is the anniversary of the very first meeting, I suppose."

"Just you wait and see," hinted James promisingly. "Grandmother thinks it's the most interesting thing that happens all summer."

"How long have we got to wait?" asked Ethel Blue who liked to have things happen right off.

"Till the first Tuesday in August."

"That won't be for a long time. Isn't anything interesting going to happen before then?"

"Oodles of things. Next week all the clubs begin and a little later there'll be a pageant, and the Spelling Match is great."

"Why?" questioned Ethel Blue in a doubtful tone that made the others smile.

"You can see what Ethel Blue thinks about spelling," laughed Helen. "Why is it such good fun?"