The sweet power that moves the world, and the only earth delight that we know will greet us in the land of the Immortals.

Truly the hour we spent there wuz long, long to be remembered.

And after we reluctantly left the Hall of Melody, the music still swelled out and come to our ears in hauntin’ echoes.

Josiah had wandered away to a little distance to see sunthin’ or ruther that had attracted his attention, and I stood still, lost in thought, and almost by the side of myself, a-listenin’ to the low, sobbin’ music of the band.

[Illustration:  A-listenin’ to the low, sobbin’ music.]

I wuz almost by the side of myself with my rapt emotions when I hearn a voice that recalled me to myself—­

“Drusilla, I’m clean beat out.”

“Are you, Deacon Sypher?  Wall, it is because you are so smart, and see so much.”

Truly, thinkses I, it don’t take much smartness to see much in this place.

But instinctively with that idee come the thought—­nobody but Drusilla Sypher could or would make that admirin’ remark.

And I turned and advanced onto ’em with a calm mean.

But I see in that first look that they looked haggard and wan, as wan agin as I ever see ’em look, and fur, fur haggarder.  They looked all broke up, and their clothes looked all rumpled up and seedy, some as if they had slept in ’em for some weeks.  But I hain’t one to desert old friends under any circumstances, so I advanced onto ’em, and sez, with a mean that looked welcomin’ and glad—­

“Why, Drusilla and Deacon Sypher,” sez I, “how glad I am to see you!  When did you come?  Have you been here long?”

And they said “they had been in Chicago some five weeks.”

“Is that so?” sez I.  “And how have you enjoyed the Fair?  I spoze you have seen a good deal, if you have been here so long.”

Sez Drusilly, “This is the first time we have been on to the Fair ground.”

“Why’ee!” sez I, “what wuz the matter?”

She turned round, and see that Deacon Sypher had stopped some distance away to speak to my pardner and to look at sunthin’ or ruther, and she told me all about it.

She said that the Deacon had thought that it would be cheaper to live in a tent, and cook over a alcohol lamp; so they had hired a cheap tent, and went to livin’ in it.

But a hard wind and rain-storm come up the very first night, and blew the hull tent away; so they had to live under a umbrell the first night in a hard rain.

Wall, she took a awful cold, and by the time they got the tent fastened down agin she wuz down with a sore throat and wuz feverish, and couldn’t be left alone a minit, so the doctor said.

[Illustration:  She took a awful cold.]

So the Deacon had to stay with her night and day, and change poultices, and give medicine, etc., and he had to hire porridges made for her, and things.