Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-08-21
From Me Yankee
SHOPKEEPING.
AN EXTRACT.

u
self within forty miles of nv native ,own y
an apprentice, or shop boy, to what is denom-
mated az y-Soods' dealer, or storekeeper
livery thing Is u store with US, you know
Merchahts abound every where--we have
no shops, no tradesmen, hardly shopkeeper.
MY master was great dealer, in a small
way GU never saw such heaps of huber
dashery--it was like a huge pawn-broker's
shoP, such you may have seen loiterinp
on wheels after IL body Of Irish labourers'
here learned TO lie, cheat, and give short
measure; to pass bad money-such as ~.
look IN the way OF trade mean, or found
ia The I'll, (nobody ever knew how it came
there( when we made up our cash for the
day; for my employer was much too honest
IL man ever to buy counterfeit money. even
10 pay III goods, though he had no scrupIe
about any thing else, ION that lay and if
penny were TO be turned by it. would have
retailed the skin Of his own grandmother 81
so much razor-strap.
led this life, till had become too exner,
tor my employer. Nobody WAS a match for
me behind the counter You know some
thIng OF my activity and strength when
poy. was more remarkable in my youth.
and at the time saw you on the Kennebec
fl'Gr' theie was not a man in New England
i say this because | believe liable TO
put me on my back at arms lanqth: bv q
fair trip mean; for hate vour nTilyibay,ur
work
You bar slipping hopcl
He laughed and Proceeded. know how,
TO mokc piece Of bandanna-handkerchic
rln, eight--they come for seven Won Lnov.
rose-biankets that were invoiced teu-oupr.
tiers, go for twelve or fourteen
An! how could YOU manage that?
Simply by measuring them the lonr-
est way, and letting tie customer sec
the measure and satisfy himself And So
with multitude of other hnick-knackerv.-
Number three pins, were three-and-a-half.
number four, tour-and-a-lralf at least, after
they had gone by my desk once; and if they
ever returned the same way, the probability
Is that they became fours and fives.-
knew how to make piece of prin-
Tea calico winch cGnc for twenty eight
yards, hold ont full twenty-nine at retail.
and somewhere about half yard less when
sold it by the piece. Broadclotbs too-H
they used To walk up full five per cent. by
simply having the leads pass through my,
hands; nor would whole piece fall far
short OF the mark, after | had distracted
cloth enough for pair Of trowscrs-for my
SELL was up to all the tricks of showirr
one end OF an article, and selling from the
! other-perhaps from q different one. whom
they were as unlike as the fci7li5,i of = niece
OF Russia diaper, India cotton, or super-cIoth.
( OF making people pay for what they never
nld tor, and carry off what they never saw:
OF whipping up mufTs and tippets. of damn.
cnlng cloths, by keeping them in the cellar.
I'll need was, could soap the hcad-cnd n
httlc; OF selling variety of goods for what
thcy came Tor, instead of what they measured
or Woighed' Ike battas, gurrahs, and all the
rest OF that unnameabie trumpcry that used
TO double the Cape Of Good Hone for the
use OF cotton-growing nation, who had no
thing to do for six months every wear
Our windows were either painted over. so
as to prevent the light from passing throuoh
or darkened by the goods put I'D for show.
We had not only two or three prices Cnr
every thing, but tw',or three Tor every CHS
toner that entered. Nothing astonisbcd
us moro than TO have Il purchaser snap at
our hrst price, before we had time to fall.
to provide against which. we did NOT n
ways wait to be asked; but began thus
why madam, the price is so much: but This
being all we have left, or Won bcing an
Otd cuStomer--or 1c5D one--for either
would do for a reason, we shall mt il mn
Tor so much. IL was a maxim with ne ncvcr
to let any body go away, if he would offer
cost and charges for any thing. They who
gave us the most trouble, by taking patterns.
running about and ovcrhauling the sbop
two or three times over before they purI
chased, were always well paid for their trou-
bic, by having the goods at their own price.
Our profits came out Of those who trusted TO
our good faith, never beat us down, and
were simple enough to send for n thing with
out asking the price. With children and ser.
wants too, we got along pretty well. particu-
larry 1t they were allowed to 90 on tick
with that most convenient Of all regulations
Tor small trader, famiy-book. There
were times, | acknowledge when if could
nave had my own way, ] should have adop-
ted another course, dealt fairly by those
who trusted me, and cheated those who
troubled me; but my employer would not
hear of such thing. Teach your grand
mother TO suck eggs, said hc---it was against
all Precedcnt--such new-fanglcd notions