Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1896-01-29
DAFT BET.

Minch>tedue, famous for We nOVre
gardens: infamous for We fayrc." That
- how an old chrOnicler sums uD the
character of the village. The flower
gardens remain unto this day; so does
T;ie fair. But the fame of the one and
sae infamy OF the other have long been
merged in a decent obscurity. Minch-
stead has, indeed, shared the fate of 4
hundred other villages. 1t has sue
eumbed TO an age of railways. For
merry, LondGners used to visit AIinch-
stead for change of air. They then
ROOM as long reaching it by coach or By
post chaiSe as they now take oyer a
railway journey to st. LeonardS or
Pastbourne. Bath chairs and donkey
<haiSeS We're quite abundant on Mincl-
stead common then. Children and
nurses thronged it. 1t was a popular
saying in the place that "Scven airs
met there'-meaning thereby seven dis
finct characters of atmosphere. How
that number was arrived at is scarcely
obvious. But, at any rate. tho common
mas. and IS. particularly bracing. and Il
diy spent upon it cannot fail TO invig
crate the spcnder.
Now, however, Ichabod, No one is
so be met there save the %ubiuuitous
golfer. the loafer. who lives upon his
lost balls, and the dingieSt sheep AMI
most odoriferous goats that are to be
found within the twelve-mile radius.
The fair, as we have said. still re-
mains. 1t is held at Bartlemytide on
abe old village green. There is an Old
and there Is a new green at Minch-
stead. The latter deserves the name.
for 1t has a fine eXpanse of turf: with
the former 1t is otherwise. Every
Blade of grass has long Disappeared from
81. IL Is a bare. worn space of gravel
and sand, trodden to the consistency of
a road by playing children and loafing
nen and women. 1t is here tina the
:Aenizens, whose houses lie around the
green. are full of cursing and bitterness
dor three whole days in every August.
The strident music of the merry-gO-
POUNDS. the nauseous odors of their oil
fed engines, the oaths of drunken men.
ehe shrieks of drunken IN the gen
~rai rowdyism and disorders which are
rampant after dark may serve as some
excuse even for cursing and bitterness.
Many MinchsteaditeS have tried to get
She nuisance put down, but without
avail. The fair is held by royal char
ser. An act of Parliament alone can
abolish 1t. And Parliament has its
hands too full already to be passing acts
Cor the abatement of mere local NUS
AnceS.
The fair, therefore, continues. In the
daytime 1T Is quite respectable; it Is
even aristOcratic, as aristOcracy In
Minchstead goes. Ladies-nO mere
Iydies-have been seen in the swing
ing boats before dusk; gentlemen and
those not simply gents-stroll up theye
% while away an hour of the afternoon
IN c%Ocoanu skies and rifle shooting.
There Is a famous shooting range. KEPT
BY n Amos Dunkley. which has
Graced M~inchstead fair regularly since
the early 5Os. You do not simply shoot
down a tube at glass bottles. but You
nave a sort Of miniature jungle where
IN to practice your workmanship
Jungle full of moving rabbits and flying
3srds for the experts, Of stationary
targets and bottles for the snexpe-
Sicnced.
TO those MinchSteadites who used tC
D~atronize this gallery n few years ago
one figure must have beenSvery famil
Ear. Ii was that of a middle-aged WON
an, belonging evidently to tho poorer
classes, who used to stand just at tn,
:. entrance OF .Dunkley's gallery al
Through the three days Of the fair. She
ryent by the name of Daft Bet" Pass
ersby would nod to her i'm a pityin-
sort Of way, and give her coppers OF
small silver coins. She did not, how
eyer pay much heed to any Of them, OF
even seem to care whether they CAV,
her money or not. Her eyes were al
sfbe while fixed upon the entrance OF
1ise shooting gallery. with a set, eager
expression. as though she were anxious
~ watching for some one to come our