rror, who
imagined she didn't mean to), and, running fiercely at the pony, sprang
on his back again, while he galloped the harder. Lastly, she dropped a
handkerchief, which she easily recovered by the simple expedient of
hanging head downwards, suspended by one foot, and then galloped out of
the ring, amid the frantic applause of Cunjee.

"Could you do that, Norah?" laughed Mr. Linton.

"Me?" said Norah amazedly; "me? Oh, fancy me ever thinking I could ride
a bit!"

One of the lovely ladies, in a glistening suit of black, covered with
spangles, next entered. She also preferred to ride standing, but was by
no means idle. A gentleman in the ring obligingly handed her up many
necessaries--plates and saucers and knives--and she threw these about
the air, as she galloped with great apparent carelessness, yet never
failed to catch each just as it seemed certain to fall. Tiring of this
pursuit, she flung them all back at the gentleman with deadly aim, while
he, resenting nothing, caught them cleverly, and disposed of them to a
clown who stood by, open-mouthed. Then the gentleman hung bright ribbons
across the ring, apparently with the unpleasant intention of sweeping
the lady from her horse--an intention which she frustrated by lightly
leaping over each in turn, while her horse galloped beneath it. Finally,
the gentleman--whose ideas really seemed most unfriendly--suddenly
confronted her with a great paper-covered hoop, the very sight of which
would have made an ordinary horse shy wildly--but even at this obstacle
the lady did not lose courage. Instead, she leaped straight through the
hoop, paper and all, and was carried out by her faithful steed, amidst
yells of applause.

Norah gasped.

"Oh, isn't it perfectly lovely, Daddy!" she said.

Perhaps you boys and girls who live in cities, or near townships where
travelling companies pay yearly visits, can have no idea of what this
first circus meant to this little bush maid, who had lived all her
twelve years without seeing anything half so wonderful. Perhaps, too,
you are lucky to have so many chances of seeing things--but it is
something to possess nowadays, even at twelve, the unspoiled, fresh mind
that Norah brought to her first circus.

Everything was absolutely real to her. The clown was a being almost too
good for this world, seeing that his whole time was spent in making
people laugh uproariously, and that he was so wonderfully unselfish in
the way he allowed hims