All in all, it was gay sport, and even Mrs. Charity Givens took part,
though she protested she was no artist and couldn't even draw a straight
line.

The next performance was a contest between Adam Goodsport and Avery
Goodman.

Bets were made on the two contestants before the betters knew what the
scrap was to be.

"It's a character sketch," Warble explained. "Mr. Goodsport tries to
blacken Mr. Goodman's character, while the Rector tries to whiten Mr.
Goodsport's character."

Avery Goodman was then presented with a bag of flour and Adam Goodsport
was handed a bag of soot.

They went at it hand over fist, and in a few moments the blacking and
whiting process was so complete that both were pronounced perfect
transformations and all bets were off.

Faces, hands and clothes were alike befloured and besooted, until Goodman
was a veritable Blackamoor while Adam Goodsport looked like a Marcelline.

A few eyebrows indicated a suspicion that Big Bill Petticoat's bride was a
Little Mischief, but nobody said anything about it.

"If I can only reform them," Warble thought to herself, "if I can only
make them like and enjoy this innocent fun instead of wearing their poor
brains out over capitalled Art and Literature."