Sometime she spent in wandering up and down, thinking to encounter the buildings by chance, so readily is the mind, bent upon prosecuting a hard but needful errand, eased by that self-deception which the semblance of search without the reality gives.

At last she inquired of a police officer, and was directed to proceed "two blocks up," where she would find "The Fair." The nature of these vast retail combinations, should they ever permanently disappear, will form an interesting chapter in the commercial history of our nation.

Such a flowering out of a modest trade principle the world had never witnessed up to that time.

They were along the line of the most effective retail organization, with hundreds of stores coordinated into one and laid out upon the most imposing and economic basis.

They were handsome, bustling, successful affairs, with a host of clerks and a swarm of patrons.