"Two dollars a yard."
Her hopes and countenance fell together. "That's too high,"
she said, with a sigh.
"Then take this other blue; come — it's a great deal prettier
than that dark one, and not so dear; and I know your mother
will like it better."
Ellen's cheeks were tingling and her heart throbbing, but she
couldn't bear to give up.
"Would you be so good as to show me some gray?"
He slowly and ill-humouredly complied, and took down an
excellent piece of dark gray, which Ellen fell in love with at
once; but she was again disappointed; it was fourteen
shillings.
"Well, if you won't take that, take something else," said the
man; "you can't have everything at once; if you will have
cheap goods, of course you can't have the same quality that
you like; but now, here's this other blue, only twelve
shillings, and I'll let you have it for ten, if you'll take
it."
"No, it is too light and too coarse," said Ellen; "Mamma
wouldn't like it."
"Let me see," said he, seizing her pattern, and pretending to
compare it; "it's quite as fine as this, if that's all you
want."
"Could you," said Ellen, timidly, "give me a little bit of
this gray to show Mamma!"
"Oh, no!" said he, impatiently tossing over the cloths and
throwing Ellen's pattern on the floor; "we can't cut up our
goods; if people don't choose to buy of us, they may go
somewhere else; and if you cannot decide upon anything, I must
go and attend to those that can.
Pages:
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82