"I guess likely I 'll stop in to-morrow," said the other man; "I like to
see a han'some hog. Chester White, you said? Consider them best, don't
ye?" But this question never was answered, for the greater part of the
circus company in gorgeous trappings came parading in.

The circus was like all other circuses, except that it was shabbier than
most, and the performers seemed to have less heart in it than usual.
They did their best, and went through with their parts conscientiously,
but they looked as if they never had had a good time in their lives. The
audience was hilarious, and cheered and laughed at the tired clown until
he looked as if he thought his speeches might possibly be funny, after
all. We were so glad we had pleased the poor thing; and when he sang a
song our satisfaction was still greater, and so he sang it all over
again. Perhaps he had been associating with people who were used to
circuses. The afternoon was hot, and the boys with Japanese fans and
trays of lemonade did a remarkable business for so late in the season;
the brass band on the other side of the tent shrieked its very best, and
all the young men of the region had brought their girls, and some of
these countless pairs of country lovers we watched a great deal, as they
"kept company" with more or less depth of satisfaction in each other. We
had a grand chance to see the fashions, and there were many old people
and a great number of little children, and some families had evidently
locked their house door behind them, since they had brought both the dog
and the baby.

"Doesn't it seem as if you were a child again?" Kate asked me. "I am
sure this is just the same as the first circus I ever saw. It grows more
and more familiar, and it puzzles me to think they should not have
altered in the least while I have changed so much, and have even had