r I saw him holding a tired mother's baby up on his
shoulders, so it could see the drove of camels come up to the lot from
the train, soon after. It was great to see all the tents go up as if
raised by machinery, and after all were erected, and the rings were
graded, and the animals in the menagerie tent all fed and watered, and
the performers in the dressing-room ready for the afternoon performance,
pa was the proudest man ever was. He walked all around, inspecting
everything, and kicking occasionally at something that got balled up,
and when the crowd came to buy tickets, he stood around the grand
entrance, looking wise, and he was so good natured that he bet ten
dollars he could guess which walnut shell a bean was under, which a
three-card monte man was losing money at, and pa lost his ten with a
smile. He said he wanted to be kind to the patrons of the show.

This was my first appearance in the show business. I had to stand up
beside the giant, to show how little I was, and then I had to stand up
beside the midget to show how big I was compared with him. It went all
right with the giant, because he was so big I was afraid of him, but I
thought the midget was about my age, and needed protection, and when the
crowd surged around us I said: "Don't be afraid, little fellow, I will
see that no one harms you." The look he gave me was enough to freeze
water.

When the crowd had gone into the big show tent, what do you think, that
confounded midget began to ask me how I stood on the tariff question,
and he argued for free trade, whatever that is, for half an hour, and
made me think of Bryan during a campaign, and then he branched off on to
the Monroe doctrine, which I suppose is something connected with a rival
show, and I guess he would be talking yet, only a big husky fellow came
along, a fellow about 25 years old, and he stooped over and put his hand
on the midget's shoulder and said: "Hello, dad," and by gosh, the midget
introduced me to the big galoot as his youngest son. Wouldn't that skin
you.

The first day of the season was great, only all the performers had not
got limbered up. One of the girls on the flying trapeze fell off into
the net from the roof of the tent and broke her suspenders, so when they
got her down in the ring it seemed as though everything she had on was
going to shuck loose, and leave her with nothing but a string of beads,
and pa went up to wrap his coat around her, and she kicked his hat off