The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-04-26
Then they would not have them.


Much too dear" said a third.
And not SO very curious, said
fourth; but they hoped he had come
by them honestly"
AT the fifth house they said, o.
pooh, when he exhibited them. No,
no, they were not quite so silly as to
believe there were fish in the world
with silver tails; if there had been,
they should often have heard of them
before"
At the sixth house they were such
very long time turning over his fish,
plucking their tails, bargaining and
discussing them, that he ventured to
demonstrate, and request that they
would make some haste. ThereupOn
they said. if he did not choose to wait
their pleasure, they would not pur-
chase at all. So they shut the door
upon him. and as this reused his
temper, he spoke rather roughly. at
the next two houses, and was dismiss
ed at once as a very rude, uncivil
person.
But after all, his fish were great
curiosities; and when he had exhib-
tied them all over town, set them out
in all rights, praised their projections,
and taken immense pains to conceal
his impotence and ill-temper, he at
length contrived to sell them all, and
got exactly fourteen shillings for them,
and no more.
Now, I'll tell you what, Tom Tur-
ner," he said, to himself, in my
opinion you'v been making great
/ fool of yourself, and | only hope Sally
| will not find it out. You were tired
of being a workingman, and that man
In green has cheated you into doing
the hardest week s work you ever did
in your life, by making you believe it
was more free-like and easier. Well,
| you said you didn't mind it, because
you had no master; but I've found
out this afternoon, Tom, and I don't
mind your knowing it, that every one
of those customers of yours was your,
master just the same Why you were
at the beck of every man, woman and
| child that came near you-obliged to
be in good temper, too, which was very
aggravating.
Look, Tom, said the man in
green, starting up in his path; /
knew you were man Of sense; look
you, you're all working men, and you
must all please your customers. Your
master was your customer; what he
bought of you, was your work. Well,
you must let the work be such as will
| please the customer"
$ All working men? how do you
make that outY' said Tom, chinking
the fourteen shillings In his hand.
Is my master a working man2 and
has he got master of his own?
Nonsense"
:. Mo- nonsense at all-he works
with his head; keeps his books, and
manages his great works. He has
many masters, else why was he nearly
ruined last year?
He was nearly ruined because he
made some new-fangled kind of pat
ts--.ss OF hia 1unnalza7 and people would
not buy them, said Tom. s'Well, in
a way of speaking, then, he works to
please his masters, poor fellowi He
is, as one may say, fellow-servant,
and plagued with very awkward mas
tiers. So should not mind his being
my master, and | think Tn go and
tell him SO"
L would, Tom,' said the man in
green. Tell him you have not been
able to better yourself-you have no
objection now to dig up the asparagus
bed"
So Tom trudged home to his wife,
gave her the money he had earned,
got his old master to take him back,
and kept a.profound secret his adven-
lures with the man in green, and the
fish with the silver tails.