to the responsibilities of youth. There's Dan, now--'"


Corinth was in the midst of a street fair. The neighboring city held a
street fair that year, therefore Corinth. All that the city does Corinth
imitates, thereby with a beautiful rural simplicity thinking herself
metropolitan, just as those who take their styles from the metropolis
feel themselves well dressed. The very Corinthian clerks and grocery
boys, lounging behind their counters and in the doorways, the lawyer's
understudy with his feet on the window sill, the mechanic's apprentice,
the high school youths and the local sporting fraternity--all imitated
their city kind and talked smartly about the country "rubes" who came to
town; never once dreaming that they themselves, when they "go to town,"
are as much a mark for the like wit of their city brothers. So Corinth
was in the midst of a street fair.

On every vacant lot in the down town section were pens, and stalls, and
cages, wherein grunted, squealed, neighed, bellowed, bleated, cackled
and crowed, exhibits from the neighboring farms. In the town hall or
opera house (it was both) there were long tables covered with almost
everything that grows on a farm, or is canned, baked, preserved, pickled
or stitched by farmers' wives. The "Art Exhibit," product mainly of
Corinth, had its place on the stage. Upon either side of the main street
were booths containing the exhibits of the local merchants; farm
machinery, buggies, wagons, harness and the like being most conspicuous.
The chief distinction between the town and country exhibits were that
the farmer displayed his goods to be looked at, the merchant his to be
sold. It was the merchants who promoted the fair.

In a vacant store room the Memorial Church was holding its annual bazaar.