of the country."

"It sounds all right so far," said Patty. "Tell us more about it."

"Well, you know you get everybody interested, and you have a committee
for all the different parts of it."

"What are the different parts of it?"

"Oh, they're the domestic department, where you exhibit pies and
bed-quilts and spatter-work done by the ladies in charge."

"Of course, these exhibits aren't real, you know, Patty," said her
father; "and you girls would probably be tempted to put up gay jokes on
each other. For instance, that rockery arrangement of Pansy's might be
exhibited as your idea of art work."

"I wouldn't mind the joke on myself, papa," said Patty, "but it might not
please Pansy. But we can get plenty of things to exhibit in the domestic
department. That will be easy enough. I'll borrow Miss Daggett's pumpkin
bed-quilt to exhibit as my latest achievement in the line of applied art,
and I'll make a pie and label it Laura Russell's, which will take the
first prize; but what other departments are there, Mr. Hepworth?"

"Well, the horticulture department can be made very humourous, as well as
lucrative. At this fair I went to, the ladies had a beautiful table full
of pin-cushions and other gimcracks, in the shape of fruits and
vegetables."

"Oh, yes," said Bumble, "I know how to make those. I can make bananas and
potatoes and Nan can make lovely strawberries."

"And I can make paper flowers," said Bob, "honest, I can! Great big
sunflowers and tiger lilies, and you can use them for lampshades if
you like."

"Yes, the horticulture booth will be easy enough," said Nan. "I'll help a
lot with that. Now, what else?"

"Then you can have an art gallery, if you like. Burlesque, of course,
with ridiculous pictures and statues. I know where I can borrow a lot for
you in New York."

"Gorgeous!" cried Patty, clapping her hands. "What a trump you are!
What else?"

"A loan exhibition is of real interest," said Mr. Hepworth. "If you've
never had one of those here, I think one or two of your members could
arrange a very effective little exhibit by borrowing objects of interest
from their friends about town."

"I'm sure of it," said Patty. "Miss Daggett has lovely things, and so has
Mrs. Greenleaf, and Aunt Alice, and lots of people. We'll let Florence
Douglass and Lillian Desmond look after that. It's just in their line."

"And then you must have side shows, you know; funny performances, like
'Punch and Judy,' and a