Mark Twain's circus tents

Mark Twain passed most of his time in San Francisco on Montgomery St. Contrary to legend he did not mind the cold so much, but the wind certainly impressed him. Here's what he wrote: "To critically examine these hoops -- to get the best effect -- one should stand on the corner of Montgomery and look up a steep street like Clay or Washington. As the ladies loop their dresses up till they lie in folds and festoons on the spreading hoop, the effect presented by a furtive glance up a steep street is very charming. It reminds me of how I used to peep under circus tents when I was a boy and see a lot of mysterious legs tripping about with no visible bodies attached to them. And what handsome vari-colored, gold-clasped garters they wear now-a-days!"