Free criticism was allowed afterwards, and any anachronisms, such
as tea in the times of Queen Elizabeth, or tobacco during the Wars of the
Roses, were carefully pointed out. Most of the girls liked this new
method immensely. It encouraged their dramatic instincts, and resembled
impromptu theatricals. It was a point of honour to throw themselves
thoroughly into the parts, and they would often prepare themselves at
home by reading up various points in histories or encyclopaedias. This
was exactly what Miss Mitchell aimed at.
"They're educating themselves!" she explained to Miss Fanny. "They'll
never forget these facts that they have taken the trouble to find out.
Once a girl has realised the outlook of Mary Queen of Scots or Elizabeth,
and has learnt to impersonate her without glaring mistakes, she has the
keynote to the history of the times. When she has spoken to 'Darnley,'
'Black Both-well,' 'Rizzio,' 'John Knox,' or to 'Bacon,' 'Raleigh,'
'Essex,' and 'Sidney,' she has turned mere names into real personages,
and will be no more likely to confuse them than to mix up her friends.
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