clown's
dress, and generally kept his hands in his pockets as if he were a
school-boy.

A girl in a green velvet riding-habit had just finished a wonderful
performance on horseback, and after she had kissed her hands to the
people a good many times, she jumped off the horse, which began to trot
round the ring alone. The clown was evidently trying to repeat her
performance on his own account, but each time he tried to mount the
horse it trotted faster, and the clown always fell on his back in the
sawdust. Nothing could be more comical than the way he got up, as if he
were hurt very much indeed, and rubbed himself; unless, indeed, it was
his alarm when the two elephants were brought into the ring and he
jumped over the barrier close to Jimmy in the front seats. Jimmy felt a
little disappointed not to see the clown put his head into the lion's
mouth, but then there were plenty of things to make up for this; and
besides, Jimmy was beginning to feel really very sleepy again, when the
band played 'Rule Britannia' out of tune, and all the people rose to
leave the tent.

As it became empty, Jimmy began to feel very wretched again. He wondered
where he should sleep, and he could hear that it was raining faster than
ever outside.

Why shouldn't he wait until everybody else had gone and then lie down on
one of the seats and sleep where he was? Of course he had never slept in
such a place before, and he did not much like the idea of sleeping there
now, but then he had nowhere else to go, and at any rate it would be
better than going outside in the rain.

So Jimmy made up his mind to stay where he was, and he would have been
lying down and perhaps asleep in another moment, for he was very tired,
when he saw the clown enter the tent.

He had taken off his pointed hat, and had put on a long loose overcoat
over his clown's dress. As he had been laughing or making fun all the
time he was in the ring, Jimmy thought that he never did anything else;
but the clown looked quite solemn now, and the paint on his face had
become smudged after getting wet outside in the rain.

'Hullo!' he exclaimed on seeing Jimmy. 'What are you doing here?'

'Nothing,' answered the boy.

'Suppose you do it outside!'

'But I shall get so wet outside,' said Jimmy.

'Lor! Where's your nurse?' asked the clown.

'I haven't got one,' cried Jimmy, a little indignantly. 'I go to
school.'

'Be quick then and go,' said the clown.

'But I've nowhere to