'come, let us go while we are in our prime,

and take the harmless folly of the time.'

easter was here at last, and down at the willows archie had come home like the breath of spring, miss forster declaring that he did her more good than all her medicine bottles, and that his lively ways would make her almost her usual self again, while at the abbey he had a royal welcome. it was funny to see how the young american citizen was merging into the british public schoolboy, for archie was losing his western accent, which only cropped out now and then when he was excited, and cricket and football were beginning to replace indians and grizzlies in his conversation; but he was totally unspoilt by his new life, and as jolly and hearty as ever.

the weather seemed to have conspired in his favour, for the biting march winds and cutting hail-storms gave way to genial sunshine and april showers. the hedgerows had burst into tender green, and the banks were spangled with stitchwort and celandine stars. there had been quite a spell of sickness in gorswen at the end of the winter, for many of the picturesque cottages were dark, unwholesome places inside, and lay low on the damp fields by the river; but the[232] invalids crept out now into the sunlight, and the mild breezes blew roses into wan cheeks and brightness into dull eyes, bringing back health, that most priceless of gifts, to the village—to all, indeed, but the rector, who had been sick-nurse, doctor's assistant, family friend and chaplain combined during the epidemic, and now that the strain was over broke down so utterly that the physician insisted upon a complete rest and change of air, ordering him off immediately to the high meadows of the alps. he went unwillingly.

'i would rather worry on, peggy,' he said, 'till i can take that last long holiday of all. it is better to wear out than rust out, any day. still, our bodies were not given us to abuse, so you see i am obeying orders, like a good soldier.'

the village seemed strangely empty without mr. howell. everyone had become so accustomed to claim his help and sympathy upon every occasion as a matter of course that it was only when he was gone they realized how much they valued him, for many of our blessings are hardly appreciated until we have lost them. the curate did his best, but as the old dames remarked: 'he be a nice gentleman, and means well, for sure; but what can a young lad like that have to say to we?'

so they dusted their best chairs for him, and agreed with all his remarks about the weather or the prayer book, but kept their doubts and difficulties for the tried old friend who had stood the test of years.

most of the people had made haste to get well for easter, for to the good folk of gorswen that festival meant but one event—the great fair of the borders, which had been held in the village every easter tuesday within the memory of even that wonderful[233] person, the oldest inhabitant. it was a kind of central pivot for the year to turn on, and 'five years come fair-day,' or 'the last fair-day but one agone,' was the general method of calculating time amongst the villagers. everybody put on something new for the fair, and to have appeared on that occasion in a last year's hat would have been an offence against public taste, or a confession of abject poverty scarcely removed above pauperism. cousins to the ninth and tenth degree turned up for the fair, distant relations from remote districts or former inhabitants who had left the neighbourhood and 'got on' in other places availed themselves of cheap excursions, and visited their early home, partly for the holiday, and partly for the sake of meeting everyone else.

the wave of excitement which spread over the village as easter drew near could scarcely fail to send its ripples up to the abbey. nancy's evenings for some time past had been absorbed in the construction of a bright heliotrope gown with gilt buttons, and she had walked into warford on her day out, and spent a month's wages upon a hat, which was such a marvellous erection of flowers and feathers combined with lace, chiffon, and ribbons, that it was calculated to leave her rivals, like the queen of sheba, with no more spirit in them.

'which fair-day only comes onst a year, so folks may as well do their best,' she observed, as she tried it on before the kitchen mirror. 'and i had heard as that sally pearson has got a hat all the way from shrewsbury. a squint-eyed baggage she be, too, who'd ne'er look aught, whatever she might clap on her head. tell me truly now, miss peggy dear, does it suit me or not?'

knowing that nancy was capable of starting immedi[234]ately for warford to change the article in question for one yet more costly, peggy hastened to answer in the affirmative, and bobby likewise assuring her that it would 'take the cake, and no mistake,' it was carefully folded up again in its sheets of white tissue-paper, and put by until the great day should arrive.

nor was nancy the only one who indulged in a little innocent vanity, for joe, too, had been so fastidious in his choice of a red-and-blue spotted necktie and a walking-stick with an ivory handle that the children began to suspect the blacksmith's rosy-cheeked daughter must be at the bottom of it; and even david had taken a long-tailed coat and a beaver hat out of the retirement of some mysterious bandboxes and had been quite snappy and particular with mrs. david on the subject of the proper starching and ironing of his sunday shirt.

as early as monday morning, caravans began to arrive from all parts of the country, and encamp on the piece of green common opposite the mill. tired-looking men in dirty shirt-sleeves were soon busy setting up swings and merry-go-rounds, theatres and shooting-galleries, while the arrival of a travelling menagerie was the occasion for the collecting of a whole crowd of small yokels, who studied the outside of the waggons with breathless delight.

'hey, billee! do 'ee hear the lion roar?'

'lion! that be a jackass brayin', thee fule!'

'jackass theeself! don't i know a moke from a wild beast? i tell 'ee 'tis within the tent!'

'here be the fat woman arrivin', and it do take four horses to drag her, for sure!'

'and the wild man from borneo. ay, if he be like his picture outside, i'll ne'er venture in reach of him!'

'thee's not got the penny, may be!'

[235]'hain't i? say that agin, and i'll let 'ee know!'

'way back there, ye young rascals! there's the giant and the dwarf a-comin'!'

and the youngsters scattered, to leave the green free, and to feast their imaginations upon the gaudy representations of the various attractions which adorned the sides of the yellow caravans that crept slowly up the dusty road from warford. this, however, was only to be the pleasure part of the fair. early on tuesday morning the real business of the day started, for then the shepherds began to bring down their flocks of sheep from the surrounding mountains, the cattle-drovers came with their sleek cows and long-horned young bullocks, and whole herds of rough little welsh ponies were driven with much noise and shouting from the high moorlands over the border.

quiet, sleepy gorswen seemed completely transformed. the village street from end to end was an impassable block of charging bullocks, kicking ponies, barking collies, and bawling drovers, which overflowed past the rectory and up to the willows on the one hand, and nearly as far as the abbey gates on the other. having tried in vain to edge a way through the press, peggy and bobby tacked round by the fields, and scrambling over a garden wall, found a temporary refuge in the churchyard, which stood some height above the level of the road, and where, from the vantage-ground of a convenient tombstone, they found they had an excellent view of the fair below. the noise was deafening. animals were lowing, bellowing, bleating, whinnying, or squeaking in every note of the octave; cocks crew, ducks quacked, dogs barked, and men talked and shouted in welsh and english till a chance comer might have imagined him[236]self in pandemonium. a cartful of little pigs drawn up beneath the wall rent the air with their cries, and not the least funny incident was to watch a stout farmer's wife, despairing of driving her bargain through the crowd, wrap her squealing purchase in her mantle, and carry him off in her arms, like 'alice' with the duchess's baby. most of the cows had been sold first thing, and were being driven away with much forcible language on the part of their drovers, and it was now the turn of the cart-horses, beautiful glossy creatures with tails tied up with straw and manes plaited with ribbons as if for may-day. by good luck their paces were tried just under the churchyard, so the children got all the fun of the bargaining.

'there's jimmy fowler selling his black bess,' cried peggy, nearly falling over the wall in her excitement. 'see that tall welshman feeling her knees and looking at her teeth. aren't they quarrelling over the price? oh, he's taken her, for they've both clapped their hands over it! what a lot of sovereigns he's counting into jimmy's hand! now he's leading her away. i hope she's got a good home; she's such a gentle old thing!'

'here come the ponies!' shouted bobby, as a wild stampede round the inn-corner proclaimed the advent of one of the principal features of the fair.

it was a good thing that the children were in a place of safety, for anyone down in the roadway below stood a very fair chance of being trampled to death by the frightened, plunging herd which surged up the street, scattering the spectators like leaves before a storm. utterly wild and unbroken, the little rough-coated things showed their disapproval of this their first taste of civilization by every means in their power, rearing, bucking, and kicking to the best of their[237] ability. bargaining in that throng was no easy matter, but their owners would dash in, seize a pony by the mane and tail, and by sheer force drag it away from its companions, the very small size of the animals rendering practicable what would have been impossible with a larger breed. dealers had come from all parts of england and wales, for gorswen fair was noted for its ponies, and a good deal of money changed hands that day. it made peggy quite sad to think that the little creatures were mostly bought for the mines, and that, once broken and trained, they would never see daylight again, but spend their lives drawing trucks up and down the low galleries underground, having said good-bye to their native moorlands for ever.

across the road, in the broad square by the inn, the sheep were huddled in pens, each flock watched by its own clever collie, who seemed to think it a cardinal virtue to get up a free fight with every other dog in the fair. barking, biting, and snarling, the combatants had continually to be seized by the tails, forcibly separated, and kicked yelping back to their duties, where they stood with bristling ears, growling at each other through the hurdles, and showing their teeth like a pack of wolves. but the buying and selling were over at last, and the live-stock having been conveyed away, gorswen turned its attention to the side of pleasure. small booths sprang up like magic under the church wall, and cheap-jacks and travelling hucksters began to proclaim their wares. the thrifty village housewives were doing a thriving business in tea and ginger-pop, for a cattle fair is thirsty work, and the inn was filled to overflowing. all the little gardens were set out with chairs and tables, and the rattle of cups and the flying of corks[238] made a brisk accompaniment to the buzz of conversation. the crowd which surged along the main street was a laughing, merry-making crowd, indulging in a flow of broad chaff and humour, and bandying jokes with friends and strangers alike.

the children had returned after dinner to their point of vantage on the churchyard wall, and found as much amusement in the sight below as in the livelier scenes of the morning.

'there's joe!' cried bobby with deep interest, as that worthy passed sheepishly by, a posy of wall-flowers in his buttonhole and the blacksmith's daughter hanging on his arm. 'he's got a tall collar and a pair of tan shoes on. isn't he a swell!'

nancy's hat was a conspicuous object among the smart throng, for lilian, after one peep at the fair, had charitably kept house herself, and allowed her hand-maiden to take a holiday, and the damsel seemed to have collected so many admirers that the luckless sally was entirely eclipsed. old david was there, quite smiling for once, with mrs. david in a new bonnet, and quite a swarm of small grandchildren around him.

'he's actually buying them humbugs!' said peggy. 'and he carried the little one in the blue dress all down the street. i never saw david look so pleasant in my life before. i think holidays agree with him!'

peggy was right there, for a little pleasure is good for most people, and there were many bright faces and hearty greetings and handshakings among the pushing crowd.

'hello! so this is where you're hiding!' cried a voice from the roadway below; and archie seized an overhanging branch of the big yew-tree, and swung himself up into the churchyard. 'i have been look[239]ing for you everywhere. couldn't find you this morning for the jam. i've seen some cute sights in my life, but this fair do beat 'em all! it's like barnum's and mexican joe flung together, with a cake-walk afterwards!'

'it's bigger than ever this year, and prices are well up,' remarked bobby, with the air of a budding farmer. 'we sold our brown cow for a pound more than we thought we should, and the ponies went off ever so high. did you watch them race round this corner? didn't the people run?'

'you should see us break in big horses wild out west. that would make you stare, if you like. this is mere child's play to it. where's lilian?'

'keeping house. mrs. davenport's there. she drove over to the fair with her gardener, and she's bought two cows and four little pigs. they've turned them all into the loose-box at the abbey, and they're waiting till the roads are quieter to take them home. she'll be there for some time yet. no, we thought we wouldn't go back to tea just at present; we're not hungry.'

divining the cause of this very unwonted lack of appetite on the part of his friends, archie proposed an adjournment to one of the numerous stalls below.

'come along with me,' he said, 'and have some cakes and ginger-pop. we'll do the shows afterwards, and have a real high old time. i'll stand treat.'

nothing loth to have a share in the afternoon's fun, the children dropped from the wall, and each accommodated with one of archie's arms, they went the round of the fair in true village fashion. they feasted upon ginger-nuts at one stall and lemonade at another, and filled their pockets with mint rock and caramels.[240] archie was determined to enter every one of the gaudy shows which were drawn up in a line along the green, and dealt out his pennies in princely fashion.

'here you are, sir, the fat woman! a most improvin' exhibition!'

'the wild man from borneo! safe in an iron cage, and can't hurt yer!'

'this way for the giant and dwarf! come in, and open yer minds!'

'circassian beauty! only a penny!'

'all right, keep your hair on, old chaps!' cried archie, nearly pulled to pieces among the rival showmen. 'we calculate to work right down the row in due course, and we'll take you all in turn. let us start fair and square with number one!'

number one proved to be the 'wild man from borneo,' a half-human looking creature with hairy arms ('just monkey-skin stitched on to him,' archie assured the children), who sat jabbering in a corner of his cage, making occasional ape-like grabs at the clothing of the passers-by. he was such a palpable fraud that they soon left him, to gaze on the genuine charms of the fat woman, who sat stolid and smiling on a sofa, displaying a stout ankle to the best advantage. peggy was rather fascinated, but archie made such very rude inquiries as to whether she were aspiring to attain an equal bulk that she indignantly dragged him away to view the living skeleton, a fearful, hollow-cheeked object, whose bones could almost be counted. after that came the giant and dwarf, the former a weedy specimen of unwholesome overgrowth, while the latter looked as if he had been reared upon gin to keep him small. then there was the circassian beauty, with the strong suggestion of whitechapel about her,[241] the bearded lady, the man with the expansive skin, the six-legged calf, and the two-headed duck, to say nothing of the man who ate fire and swallowed swords as if they constituted his usual diet.

archie insisted upon trying both the swing-boats and the merry-go-round, and supported the drooping peggy (who found the motion tend to sea-sickness) with a firm arm, otherwise i fear she would have slipped off her prancing steed altogether. they spent quite a long time in the shooting-gallery, and won a cocoa-nut, which bobby proudly carried round the fair, and they had their photographs taken in a group, but some air-bubbles having unfortunately got on to the plate, their countenances came out speckled as though they were suffering from a virulent attack of small-pox; but peggy kept it, all the same, as a memento of the occasion. archie peeped into the cinematograph, but judging it not very suitable for his little companions, marched them on to hear the gramophone instead, which was winding out a rather indistinguishable song.

'i can't hear a single one of the words,' said peggy, rather disappointed. 'something makes such a buzzing all the time.'

'yes, that's the machinery. i guess they've not got it set up quite square. i'd soon fix it for them, if they'd let me. i took ours all to pieces once at home'—and archie glanced quite wistfully at the instrument, almost ready to offer his services gratis, till a suggestive pull from peggy in the direction of the door caused him to remember that his friends might prefer the superior attractions of the menagerie.

neither peggy nor bobby had ever seen a wild-beast show before, for those visits to the zoo, which are the joy of little londoners, do not fall to the share[242] of country children, and archie had quite a lively time keeping them out of harm's way, for peggy declared the leopard looked so exactly like tabbyskins at home that she must positively try to stroke it, and was under the rope and up to the bars before archie could seize her by her skirts and drag her back, while bobby's curiosity on the subject of jackals and hyenas nearly led to the ejection of the whole party from the tent. the small rodents and the mongoose delighted peggy, and they would have stopped for ever watching the monkeys, and feeding them on nuts and biscuits, but archie had other plans.

'there's a circus down by the river, with japanese acrobats, and performing dogs, and a pig that stands on its head. i know you'd just admire to see them; and it can't be late yet, so come right along!'

such an inducement sent even the attractions of the baby 'possum to the winds, and feeling that archie was indeed a friend worth having, they trotted ecstatically under his wing to the great, flapping tent, where the flaming posters set forth the attractions of 'the brothers amalfi,' 'jingo, the performing pig,' and the 'marvellous flying girl.' being well provided with pocket-money, and liking to do things in style, archie took reserved seats, and they sat in great state on a front bench covered with faded scarlet cloth, and felt proudly that the man with the drum kept his eye upon them, and the clown turned in their direction when he let off his best jokes.

it was all a whirl of delight to peggy and bobby, from the accomplished dogs who danced skirt-dances to the little pig who dragged the clown in a mail-cart and turned somersaults with amazing dexterity. the flying lady fluttered across the tent so naturally that you quite forgot you could see the wire that supported[243] her airy form; the japanese acrobats climbed ropes, hung head downwards from poles, and suspended themselves in a combination of marvellous attitudes, finally tying their agile bodies together in a knot; a hindoo conjuror performed marvels in the way of canaries from under pocket-handkerchiefs, umbrellas out of top-hats, even producing yards and yards of coloured ribbons out of his own open mouth, much to bobby's mystification; while the horses pounded round the ring with quite commendable spirit, and a lady rider in gauze and spangles jumped through hoops on to their backs with reckless daring.

'oh, archie, take me home!' cried peggy at last, for a diet of ginger-nuts, mint-rock, and lemonade is not exactly sustaining, and the hobby-horses and swings, combined with the hot, stifling atmosphere of the tent, made her suddenly feel as if the world were turning round her.

'all right, old girl; you do look queer, certainly. cling on to me, and we'll fight our way out somehow. come along, bobby. now then, make room there, can't you? the lady's ill!' and pushing, edging, and struggling through the crowd, archie half carried her down the tent, and tugged her through the doorway into the fresh air outside.

they nearly fell into father's arms.

'why, you naughty children! wherever have you been?' he exclaimed. 'i have been hunting for you for hours. lilian is almost distracted, thinking you had been kidnapped in the fair; and miss forster has sent up twice from the willows. don't you know it is nearly nine o'clock?'

'they've been all right with me, sir,' said archie. 'i've been taking them round the shows, and time went so fast, i forgot to look at my watch. but if[244] aunt's in a stew, i'd better cut off home as fast as i can, and ease her mind. here, peggy, take the rest of the mint-rock, bobby has the gingerbread!'

but the remains of the revel, crammed generously into her arms, seemed the last straw to poor peggy, and father took home such a very limp and dejected young lady that he might well remark it was a good thing fair-day only came once a year, an opinion in which a great many people in gorswen might feel disposed to agree with him.