The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-05-16
Our Circus,


-Hd'y a. LdthbuTV, in Youths Companion.
Our Circus.
We wanted to go to the circus, sister
Dot and L, but mamma said the weather
was too hot, and there were better ways
OF spending our money; so we went
out on the piazza to think up something
else to do.
We had seen the street parade in the
morning, and couldn't think of anything
but the elephants, and ponies, and, best
of all, the great chariot, with the "God-
dess of Liberty" riding on top; so
said q am Dots brother Dick, you see,
and we are 8 years old, and twins),
Let's play circus" Dot clapped her
hands at that, and we ran in to ask
mamma. She was reading the paper,
but stopped to listen, and laughed, and
told IFS where to find an old bed-tick for
a tent, beside giving us 5 cents to buy
peanuts with-you know circus people
always eat peanuts.
While Dot went round the corner to
buy the peanuts, set up the tent in
the front yard, Under the poplar tree.
l printed circus" in big letters on a
piece of white paper and pinned it on
the side of the tent, next the street, and
put up flag over the end we went in at.
When Dot came she said it looked
splendid" and we called George and
Eva Barbour, who live across the street,
to come over and play with us. They
came, and we took our black dog "Dom
Pedro" for the elephant, Dots kitty for
tiger, and Evas for bear. We put
the cats in strawberry boxes for cages,
and tied dom Pedro" to one of the
tent poles. We had Dots doll, dressed
in pink dress and yellow sash, for the
Goddess of Liberty" and she rode in
my red cart, with little flag tied in her
hand.
George stood at the entrance" and
took pins for pay, and I was the
Keeper" of the animals, and Eva and
Dot were the visitors.
But the elephant broke away and
wouldn't come back, and the tiger and
bear upset their cages, and knocked the
poor Goddess" and her chariot" both
over.
So George said, as the animal part
was such failure, we must make the
circus part good, 80 we went outside
the tent to where my turning pole was,
and had some performances" there.
George hung by his feet, and turned
somersaults till he tore his trousers,
which were his best ones, SO he stopped.
Then / tried to walk across the turning
pole, with croquet mallet in my hand
for a balancing pole, but fell off and
broke the mallet, besides hitting my
head on the Ratchet, which 1 had left
there when 1 pounded down the tent
stakes.
thought should have to cry, but
George called out, "Circus fellows don't
mind bumps" so 1 didn't; but it hurt
for good while.
We tied Arabella st. James (the
name we saw on the bills, so we gave it
to the dolD by one arm to the turning
pole, and swung her till the arm came
out, and she fell down, and broke her
nose off, when Dot cried, and we con-
Guided it was time for the circus to
close. So we stood in row Gall but
Dot, who cried SO she couldn't) and sang
yankee DOODLE" afterward George
BACKED his face with some SCOT from an
old stove-pipe in the back yard, and
sang "Once 1 loved yaller gal, her
name was Nancy Lill." Then we bowed
and waved our hands; and George and
Eva were going home, when Dot re-
membered the peanuts she had left in
the tent; but when she went in for
them Dom Pedro had been in there and
eaten them almost all up. We found
by tasting them that they weren't
baked, so we told mamma, who just
then came out to pick some pansies, and
she gave us some ginger-snaps, fit for a
King to eat, and we liked them.
And that was the end of our circus
Nep York Tribune.
How the Private Recess Came to an End.
1t seemed to May and Mat the two
little tots who sat on the front seat to-
gether, that the teacher gave what they
called "dretie short recesses."
"Why! we don't get one Poison
played, when she rings the bell" sighed
Mat.
"And il we run down to the cold
spring tor water, we can hardly get
back" added May.
II tell you what let's do" confided
Mat to May as they walked to schooI
together one morning. "Let's ask hel
if we mayn't stay IN at recess, and &c
out afterwards; then we can stay az
long as we please"
do you dar's to ask her?" queriet
May gently, for Miss Jones was rather
stern, and the little ones stood in awe O.
her.
"Well, yes. 1 guess so, if you'll &c
with me. I'm afraid she won't let us"
But Miss Jones smiled on the little
ones when they asked her, and said
ooh, yesl" Perhaps she remembered hel
own early school days, and how hard i
was to be content with short recess.
SO that day, and for several days after
when Miss Jones said, "Recess!" the,