Next evening half Blackstable took the special train to Tercanbury,
which had been put on for the pantomime, and there was such a crowd at
the doors that the impresario half thought of extending his stay. The
Rev. Charles Gray and Mrs Gray were there, also James, their nephew. Mr
Gray had some scruples about going to a theatre, but his wife said a
pantomime was quite different; besides, curiosity may gently enter even
a clerical bosom. Miss Reed was there in black satin, with her friend
Mrs Howlett; Mrs Griffith sat in the middle of the stalls, flanked by
her dutiful son and her daughter-in-law; and George searched for female
beauty with his opera-glass, which is quite the proper thing to do on
such occasions....
The curtain went up, and the villagers of Dick Whittington's native
place sang a chorus.
'Now she's coming,' whispered George.
All those Blackstable hearts stood still. And Daisy, as Dick
Whittington, bounded on the stage--in flesh-coloured tights, with
particularly scanty trunks, and her bodice--rather low. The vicar's
nephew sniggered, and Mrs Gray gave him a reproachful glance; all the
other Blackstable people looked pained; Miss Reed blushed. But as Daisy
waved her hand and gave a kick, the audience broke out into prolonged
applause; Tercanbury people have no moral sense, although Tercanbury is
a cathedral city.