The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-08-10
Samplers.
detroit Free PresS.l

The speaker entered the st0re-doOr, and
walking a few steps towards the prOprie-
tor ventured the remark: "Nice day, but
a trihe hot"
eyes, it is hot" assented the proprietor,
as he took a position in front OF row OF
tobacco-palS.
.Well, it's what we need" continued the
first speaker, and he lounged against
showcase on the opposite side OF the store.
just then reporter for the free PTeSS
called for half dozen "twO fors," and
the proprietor, stepping to the front OF
the store, waited on his customer. Mean
while the man who had commented on the
weather stepped to the tobacco-pails, and
from one of them took good "fve cents
WORTH" and slowing it away in his mouth,
again remarked: "Mornin'," and walked
out.
Il tried to, but failed" said the store
keeper.
"Failed to do what ~
"Keep that sampler away from my to-
bacco. He comes in every day, sometimes
twice day. and Steals-athough / don't
suppose he calls it stealing-from two to
five cents worth OF tobacco every time"
"Why don't you speak to him about it,"
ooh, he's good-natured sort OF chap.
and / know he has not any money, so hate
TO speak to him."
GLOW many such customers have your"
81 have three regular daily samplers
and an average of half dozen transients."
GLOW much per annum do you lose in
this way!"
1.-TWO hundred dollars year is low
estimate, believe"
Revolving the word "sampler" and It's
new-found meaning in his mind, the re-
porter left the tobaccOniSt and sought a
dealer, whom he found in front OF his
tempting array OF fruits, and asked him ii
he knew what " sampler" was.
"Do /! Just step in here and let me
show YOU"
"Do not the placards, Don't touch
Please don't pick and the like have any
effect 7"
.'Not the least. I've seen men take two
or three bits of candy from tray, after
which they would take the placard, 'These
are not samples and, turning TO me, say
You don't think such Il notice as this Is
going to do any good, do you ?"
"What would your answer be 20
: 81 couldn't say anything. 1t makes me
too full for utterance, but | do 4 terrible
: lot OF thinking"
The reporter visited the Central Market,
: and upon inquiry there learned that every
one OF the dealers in fruits and green We
getables are constant losers by the cheeky
{. raids OF the sampler" and that even the
butchers lose raw ham, sausage, and even
: raw beefsteak by Il class who have the ef-
! irontery and palate for such articles.
"Shall tell you how l cured a family
OF stealing my stuff" asked an old mar
ket woman.
''If you please" said the reporter, as
1. Son,,laI - ha f...x- Of nj
before him.
There was a family kept boarding.
(, house over on Larned street, and every
day the mother and father and daughters
: would visit my stall. They always came
singly, and never passed me without
: taking away handful of berries,
= peach, an apple, or perhaps four or five
: !, pods OF green peas. i stood it as long as
= | could eos they bought OF me nearly every
!. day. At last l resolved to put a stop to
l. their pickings, so / provided myself with
: q long-handled iron spoon and quart-pot
9 full OF thinned tar. Every time any of
(, them came to my stall after that | busted
. myself stirring the tar, and the first move
they made to sample | would, apparently
without thought, reach out to them, say
ing. Those are eight cents quart or
, whatever the price happened to be, and
while doing this the tar would drop on
, their hands,"
{, Ibid you cure them?"
, Yes; they 'tumbed' after each one
, had been tarred, but lost their custom.v
Nv lat do you know about samplers'!"
asked the reporter OF grocery-man who
was standing in front Of his store.
81 know ZEN all. The sugar-sampler,
the tea-sampIer, the cranberry-sampler,
and fifteen or twenty other kinds OF sam
PIERS"
SIS there such great variety OF the pro-
fession?"
"You bet But the funniest case ever
saw was that Of butter-sampler.n
Never mind, III take your word for it,"
mo, honest! Pm giving 1t to you
straight. There was man year or two
ago who used to come to our store about
twice week always 10 look at butter. He
kept tirst-class clearinghouse, and we
didn't think strange OF his visits. lie
would ask to look at two different kinds OF
butter, and explaining that he could not
tell anything about butter unless he ate It
with bread, would take samples away
with him. As he was regular and
pretty good cash customer we often let
hun get his own samples. One time |
nad my suspicious aroused by discover
Ing that the samples he took were the en-
tire contents OF single bore into the Jars
"a roll OF butter from ten TO twenty inches |
long and about half an inch In diameter),
and upon inquiry by myself and OBSERVE |
fi0ns by numerous other dealers In butter |
we found that the man made trips every