Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-06-11

III, as threatened, a divorce suit
had grown out of this strange state
Of things, it would have exhibited
an astonishing state of things on
the London stage, as well as a fresh
illustration of the devotion of Eo.
man and the perfdy of man.
-a-e-Sss
An EnterPrising BOOkkeepsr.
Camden Post.l
The man who usually attends to
the Daily Post business counter
went on a picnic Saturday, and
everybody else being engaged the
7. 7. Man was assigned to look
after the rush of advertisements.
The first customer was lady who
who lad lost a kitten. She want
ed to know what it would cost
to have it inserted: The P.
p. Man was stuck. He want
ed to know whether she meant
the kitten or the advertisement.
She said the advertisement, which
he told her was lucky, for the kit
ten would have been pied in going
through the press. He said it
would cost her fifty cents a line,
but this Mortified her. She claimed
that for feline he ought not to
charge such fee per line, so he
made her an oGer He told her he
would put il in every day for three
years for ten cents a line, and this
seemed more reasonable. She paid
the sum, $l09.50, being 80 cents a
day for 3G5 days, including Sun
days, in advance, promising to pay
for the other two years as soon as
she found the kitten. At the end
of the year the P. P. Man will
pass off an old cat on the lady and
claim the balance of the advertis-
ing bill She had hardly passed
out when another lady came in.
She had found a kitten. In the
kindness Of his heart the ?. P.
Man called after the other old lady
and said the kitten had already
been found. She came back in
great haste and was overioyed to
recognize it as hers. She was
about to pass out when the P. P.
Man called her back.
" You owe the establishment
two hundred and nineteen dollars"
he said blandly.
How so?" she inquired.
You were to pay for the other
two years as soon as you found the
kitten"
Yes, but you haven't put the
advertisement in yet"
"Quite true" he said, smiling,
"but nevertheless the fact remains
shat you were to pay when you
found the kitten. We have a great
paper here. 1t is not necessary to
insert the advertisement. You
have but to pay for its insertion
and the finder turns up at once.
Did you ever hear tell of Edison ?"
She said that she had not.
(" Well" continued the P. p
Man, she has invented a phono-
graph for printing offices. AS soon
as you paid for the advertisement
and mentioned the word kitten, the
sound struck the finder and she at
once turned up with the lost pet"
" But the kitten isn't worth so
large a sum-" she murmured.
"Ah, of course you are the best
Judge Of that, but that alters not
the case. A contract is a contract,
even in Camden. The regular man
who waits on this counter is away, |
and let me tell you, my dear
this is fortunate. Were
he here, | am confident that he
would have charged you $500 for
such an ad. AS it is, | am letting
you off cheap. Your case is one of |
many. You showed your disposi-
ton to pay several hundred dollars
for the linding Of the cat. Having |
found it through the agency of our |
widely. circulated journal, and now
hesitate, aye, madam, you murmur.
Such is woman. Woman is frail, |
but | did not think 'twould come
to this. Well, madam, dc you re-
fuse to pay for the other two years?
If so l must hold the kitten as Sc
Durity."
AT this the old lady began to
weep copiously, and in the humility
Of her heart, she apologized again
and again for her insincerity. She
paid the sum and departed, with
the kitten in her arms.
The other old lady claimed $25
reward for bringing back the kitten,
aud was readily paid by the "other
old lady" and both were gone.
These two customers of course