“And the popcorn!” said Philip. “I don’t like it much, but I saw it everywhere. Why, you could smell it in the air sometimes; and every now and then you would hear a crackle-crackle, snap-snap, and there would be a popper full of dancing corn over hot coals.”
“Yes, I saw them,” said Mr. Douglass. “I found it very interesting to talk to the people. Now and then, when I wished to rest awhile, I would sit down on a bench; and pretty soon a man would come up and drop into a seat beside me. Then, in a minute, one of us would say: ‘It’s a fine day,’ or something of the kind, and, without difficulty, a little talk would begin. One man I met told me he was from Massachusetts, and cultivated tobacco. We had a very pleasant conversation, and gave each other advice about what to see. I think this Fair will do a great deal to bring people together.”
“It has already,” said Harry, solemnly. “I have seen a number come together even to-day. Where did you go this afternoon, Mr. Douglass?”
“I went to the Art Gallery part of the time,” the tutor replied. “But I found it, like the other buildings, too overwhelming—whole rooms full of masterpieces of painting and sculpture; something demanding at least a glance wherever one looked. I found I could not stay long. Walking about and looking upward and downward, and from side to side, is more than any one can endure very long. Besides, the pictures are so good that they make one both think and feel keenly, and that is tiring, too. So after about two hours I surrendered, and came out. I walked along the lake shore during part of my way back, purposely avoiding any sights of especial interest.”
“What shall we do to-morrow?” asked Philip.
“Whatever you please,” answered the tutor. “Perhaps you might do some photographing, Philip.”
“I’d like to, but I hardly know where to begin.”
“Suppose,” said Harry, “that we all three go to the Midway Plaisance? It’s a splendid place to get pictures.”
“But I hear,” said Philip, “that you can’t do very much photographing there. You can get a permit for the Fair Grounds, but the Plaisance exhibits are outside of the Fair’s control, and you have to secure special permissions there.”
“We might try it,” said Mr. Douglass. “You have brought your big kodak, haven’t you?”