American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1867-09-28
& cos GIFT ENTERPRISE
BY CLARA AUGUSTA.


winter. "If this don't beat tn
: Dutch Only hear it! There's aller
something worth reading in this pa
per. Only listen y minnit! 'Tel
thousand dollars for the small sun
of five d0llars!! Messrs. Jenkins s
Co., of New York; wish to call til,
attention of the public to their sys
TEN of doing business. They propos,
. to sell gifts to every person in thu
United States, who will patronlzt
them. Their plan is this-For tn,
sum of seventy-fve cents, they viii
send to any individual a sealed en-
velope containing certificate enti
tling the holder to the article therein
named, on the paym mt of five del
lars, and it is optional with the held
er whether he pay the money and
take the article or not. Every ar
ticle is warranted to be worth five
dollars, and in the majority of in.
stances double that amount. We
propose to sell in this way, five thou,
sand gold watches, an equal number
of gold chains, pins, bouquet-holders,
ear drops, bracelets, gold pencils and
pens, silver cake baskets, knives,
forks, napkin rings, castors, chafng
dishes, and hundreds Of articles not
mentioned in this advertisement.
And we are happy to state to the
public of Greensboro and vicinity,
that one of our firm will visit their
town on Thursday of this week, and
remain until Saturday night, to re-
ceive their orders. Agents wanted
in every town and village in the
United States.' here, Sally, what
do you think of that ?"
81 think it's a humbug, John Var
ney," replied Sally, going on with her
dish washing.
"That's all a woman knows, Sally.
Why, what can be fairer than that Z?
You don't pay for anything until you
know what tits. And only think
they offer agents a diamond ring,
worth fifty dollars, on every fifteen
certificates ordered. If you'd stop
rattling them dishes a minnit, ,Pd read
the rest of it TO ye."
81 don't want to hear it, thank YEP
" well, SILLY, Pm going to be an
agent"
"You'd better hoe your tater, John.
The weeds is five feet, the tallest."
" | can hoe taters when / can't be
making a diamond ring for nothing.
"You'd look well with a diamond
ring on, John a shovelling manure,
wouldn't ye!'
81 would sell it, or give it to you,
Sally. And it's no use to talk I'm
bound to go in. TIE man has come
with a load ofbNxesfas big as Smiths
team could haul from the depot. All
full of watches and things"
"John Narney, you are a simple
ton! l tell you lotteries of all kinds
is swindle! Folks don't travel
about the country giving away
gold watches and buzzum pinsunless
they make money by it. Depend on
that, John. paid quarter once IN
a lottery grab bag, and l drawed a
brown paper night cap, with blue
yarn strings That cured me"
"Nonsenser said Mr.. Varney,
" that was an entirely different thing
This is grand enterprise, and it
ought to prosper. Them Jenkins &
Co. is generous folks, and deserve
living. 1, for one, am a going in-"
So Mr.. Varney did go in. He Wis
tied Hale's block that evening, where
be found Mr.. Brown, the suave clerk
1fJenking & Co., comfortably estab-
ished, with the showcases fairly
iblaze with gold and silver ware,
lud precious stones. Mr.. Brown re-
,eived Mr.. Varney with empreSsement.
after Mr.. Varney explain
ID his desire to become an agent.
The next day the campaign began.
You all know how such things take
ma country town. Everybody from
lear and far rushed to the gift sale
# jenkins & Co. The place was
hronged certificates went off like
lot cakes; but somehow, nobody
eemed to draw watches, or anything
Use particularly valuable, and, con
did not decide to pay their |
i've dollars. The articles drawn
we're mostly pen knives, plated |
poons, gold pens, anu othert trinkets
or the possession of which the certi-
Ieate holders did not care to pay five
Iollars.
At length, two elderly ladies, from
'rinceville, arrived. Miss Patience
lam, and the widow Fisher. Both
we're noted as very strongminded
with wills and tempers
f their owR and both proceeded to
invest in certificates. 7
Patience put on her spectacIes and
pened her envelope.
"a diamond pin and ear drops,
alue seventy-fve dollars!" read she.
'LOr you are in luck cried the
-idow, shall you take 'emr
TO he sure she will = said MIR. ,
'rown, 'Of course no womln il her
enses would put her own eyes out
y throwing away such a glorious {
lance of making herself beautiful, !
,r five dOllarsr |
Patience paid over the greenback, q
nd received a box containing the a
rticles. They did blaze like stars q
; she held them up. Full fifty Ger /
ficates were sold on the strength of +