Good-by, very old clown, friend of our childhood, goodby, good-byforever! And you, our other friend, the street parade, must yougo, too? And you, the gorgeous show-bills, must you tread thepath toward the sundown? Good-by! Good-by! In that dreary landwhere you are going, the Kingdom of the Ausgespielt, it may comfortyou to recollect the youthful hearts you have made happy in the daysthat were, but never more can be again.

THE C0UNTY FAIR

Whether or not the name had an influence on the weather, I don'tknow. Perhaps it did rain some decades, but, as I remember, CountyFair time seems to have had a sky perfectly cloudless, with itsblack only a little dulled around the edges where it came close tothe ground and the dust settled on it. Things far off were sort ofhazy, but that might have been the result of the bonfires of leaveswe had been having evenings after supper. In Fair weather, when thesun had been up long enough to get a really good start, it was rightwarm, but in the shade it was cool, and evenings and mornings therewas a chill in the air that threatened much worse things to come.