This led to a female help (as servants are there called), being
despatched to the room to fetch and compare the original with that newly
purchased. The girl speedily returned in the greatest consternation,
saying it had vanished. The truth now became apparent; the artful pedlar
had actually sold the landlady her own quilt!
This ludicrous circumstance led to the confusion I had noticed when I
arrived; the man had gone they knew not whither, and had it been
possible to overtake him, I question whether he would have been pursued,
the cleverness of the trick being highly applauded by the company, and
the landlord feeling, perhaps, ashamed of being outwitted a second time,
after himself giving the challenge. The ingenuity of American pedlars in
cozening their countrymen, has long been proverbial, and in general,
people are wary of them; they have, however, I suppose by long
practice, become such adepts at roguery, that however alive to their
propensities, folks are daily victimized by such men. It was nothing new
to hear a roguish action applauded, but on this occasion the company
were vociferous in his praise, and declared they would certainly
patronize him when he came that way again, for he deserved
encouragement.
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