Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-19
MATCHING A PATTERN.

One OF the fascinating young men in an
uptown dry goods store is in trouble. 1t
is The custom of the establishment from
which he has just been dismissed to dis.
charge man who fails to sell to one of
three successive customers. ''Swapping :"
is the expressive technical term by which
this failure is known to the dry-goods bust
ness. The rule is not universal, but it is
by no means exceptional in dry goods
stores. However unjust it may be, 1t has
wonderfully stimulating effect on the ele-
CANT young meu amenable to it, and
when they cannot sell goods it is
safe inference that the customer is
either superpaturally obdurate, impe-
cuuious, or misery. The young man re-
ferred to had I" first call "one Friday morn
ing; that is, the first customer who en-
tered the store was, by the rule of rotation,
his exclusive victim. Next morning this
privilege would fall to the lot of some
other clerk, and so on to the end of the
list. The first customer "swapped" him,
aud then went out without investing a cent.
The second was in an equally unpropitious
state of mind. and retired ithout making
a purchase. On the decision of the third
hung his fate. His ample cheek blanched
as she darkeued the doorway, for more
unlikely purchaser could with difficulty
have been found. An old striped shawl was
thrown carelessly over her shoulders, and
partially concealed roll of calico, which
the palpitory heart of the clerk instructive.
ly felt that she came to have matched.
Now, if there is anything in the dry goods
business more narrowing than another, it
is to match goods. The exact shade and
texture has to be found, and last but not
least, the price must correspond. A feel
ing of sickening despair permeated the
heaving breast of the unfortunate clerk as
he asked, "Well, ma'am ?" She laid down
five yards and half of calico of an eccen-
trio pattern, and intimated that the success
of great dressmaking enterprise hinged
on he fortune in finding another yard and
half of the same material. The eyes of
six expectant clerks were upon the
doomed man. He felt that the crisis
of his peril had come. With an appear
ance of calmness that belied the turmoil
of his feelings, he dived under the counter
and handed out endless rolls of calico,
varying from the radiant strawberry and
moss-rose-marked to the soberest gray. But
he came not within thirteen supplementary
colors of the required pattern. He bur
rowed in the cavernous depths of lower
shelves, and ransacked upper ones from
the top round of giddy step-ladder. but
he found it not. An hour and a half had
gone by, and his stock was nearly ex-
hausted. The proprietor of the store
and the bookkeeper and porter had
come . to witness his death-struggle.
Six times had the wearied lady started
for the door, and six times he called
her back and resumed his frenzied search
The last calico was unrolled, and he was
about to drop his hat and gracefully step
down and out, when a happy thought
struck him. Excuse me, madam" said
he, "there's one piece 1 overlooked Let
me see that goods y and he took her bum
die and, diving under the counter, hacked
off yard and half with the energy and
promptness of rekindled hope. "Here
It's, madam; exactly what you required, -
said he, confidently, spreading out the
purloined goods. She looked at it atten-
lively for five minutes. at does look
like the pattern, said she, "but still l
think it is not what want. It is good
deal coarser than mine. II | can't get
anything nearer to the pattern I'll come
back and take it. Good morning." She
did come back in an hour, but not to buy
the goods. He tried to dodge behind the
counter, but, with the keen-sightedness of
womanly revenge, she spotted him, and he
was ANONYMOUSLY hauled out and ar
raigned before his employer. The worst
of 1T was that the latter, in view of the
Improbable energy shown in his attempt
to effect sale, had concluded not to dis.
charge him. With the evidence of his
| guilt unmistakable, however, it would be
fatal to the discipline Of the house to keep
him, and he was promptly dismissed. Un-
til the old lady succeeds in getting war
rant for his arrest, his name is charitably
suppressed. London Truth.