dwelt within it, some ten miles away, a worthy knight and
his dame. The better half of the knight was a shrew, and led him a
wretched life. He had a son, on whom he bestowed all the affection
which his wife might have shared. At length death relieved him of his
tormentor. The dame died and was buried. He had a wonderfully heavy
stone put on the top of her grave, lest she should come to life again;
and then he gave all his thoughts to the education of his son. He
resolved, moreover, that he should not make the mistake of which he had
been guilty by marrying too early. He therefore kept the boy closely
confined within the precincts of his own domain, within which not a
female of any age, old or young, was allowed to enter. They were all
alike, he declared. The oldest might inveigle his boy as well as the
youngest. At length the lad having approached the age of twenty-one,
and being perfectly contented with his lot, his father thought that he
might with safety take him to Nottingham Fair where he had business.
Scarcely had they dismounted from their steeds than a damsel with black
eyes and rosy cheeks came tripping by. The lad regarded her with eyes
of astonishment and admiration.

"`Oh, father, father, what is that curious animal?' he asked, seeming
about to run after her.

"`Why, my boy, that is but a goose--a silly, weak, worthless goose,'
answered the knight, greatly alarmed at the effect the sight of the
damsel had had on his son. Nevertheless they entered the fair, where
not one but hundreds of damsels presented themselves to the astonished
gaze of the young man.

"`Ah, this must be Goose Fair!' he kept saying to himself; but being
well brought up, he kept steadily by his father's side. This so well
pleased the knight, that he promised to give him any fairing he might
ask for.

"`Oh, thank you, dear father!' he exclaimed instantly. `Oh, buy me a
goose--by all means buy me a goose!'

"From that day to this our fair has been called Goose Fair; and really,
Master Pearson, I think you'll allow that there are some very pretty
geese to be seen there."

Master Pearson laughed at Jack's account, and at his notion of its
importance.

"Well, there are some fairs abroad which I have visited almost on as
grand a scale. There is Leipsic in Saxony, Neuremberg, and Augsburg,
all great in their way, but not to be compared to Stourbridge as to the
value and amount of property sold."

"What! have you ever be