The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-07-07

that commercial crookeone<3 IS out clumsy substitute for business skill He plays to win but also for the love of the game, and ahsdes by iss rules. He may b. .nscruprlous enough in the means he employs to get people to play with him ito keep up the metaphorl but across the table all is fair and square. He never loses head for moment
 The field in which this remarkable man Is made to display his genius was already hinted at Tn po,-Bouille." where. by 6nally marrying the placid and business like widow Hedouin, he became proprie- tor of tie then modest retail dry-goods shop Au BonheuT des Danes.
 This establishment grows under oc- taye's management, un;il IL becomes one of those huge wholesale and retail palaces which are among the peculiar develop ments of the present century. and of which the Au Bon Marche, the .Au Peti, Saint Thomas and the Grand Magailns 1 du Louvre h Paris are notable examples. l The gradual growth. the whole internal and external machinery. the commercial and social influence of th.s huge temple i of trade. are described by Zola with low i ing elabora,eness. and with eyiden, and i convincing fidelity. Zola never pgeae hes. hat he brings very sound moral results l up to the surface of his stories. where the reader is lei. to combine them as bes, suits has convictions and his own views on human life and society.
 The following excerpts from :" Au Bon- heur des Danes itself are suggestive:
 Then i's decided" said Bourdonele. ,he superintendent. tha; we mark il a, tive francs six,y. You know that is n, more than the cos; price
 "Yes, yes. five francs siN.y. said Mouret. sharply ~ and fl had my way should give |; a, loss.
 The superintendent laughed
 "Oh as for me. nothing would please me better. l, will treble tke sale. and as n1v only in,eres, is To swell the receipts 1 Bli vel. f we gve II a, five francs sixty we shall glsc |. at a loss. IS we must de ] ducI our expenses. wAieh are consider l5le. The ar,i-le m aald be sold j, seven tfanrs aaYM here.
 Mourc,s temper rose a, once. He stfs. x the six wiih a.s open palm. and eiled aui nervously--
 'i know all that and thai is .last why ! want to give l, away 10 OUT customers Bat really. my dear fellow. you will nevei ] get to understand women. Don't you ste they are going actually 10 sqaabole for i this silk
 ! No doubt, interrupted the supern- tendent. who was growing obstinate. but the more they squabble for il, the more we shall lose.
 ] Il on the article. But what of it: Where is the harm. if we draw every woman IT Paris here. and hold the whole crowd oi them a, our mercy. fascinated. intoNicated before our pile of goods, emptying their purses withou, counting: My dear fel- low, the whole point IS to stir them up and for that we need an article tha takes. something tha, shall make sen. sation. Then you can sell your otheI goods as high as they do anywhere else people will think they are buying then cheaper of you.
 And again this passage
 On Saturday evening. IS Mouret was casting his eye for the last time over the preparations for the grea, sale on Mon | day, on which they had been al work fol r A classification ot departments he had ad- opted was downright stupid Ne, Il was thoroughly logical classification the pieces goods on one side the ready made articles on the nther an intelligent ar rangemen:. which would allow customers to mad the.r WAY for them selves Df a sudden he cried out that all ih2. mu ;, Dc broken up There WAS only forty eigh, hours lci. Cone hurry up :. cried Mougei. with the qalei assurance O, hls genus. Here are some more drcsse, 1 to be carried upstairs. And the apa nese ware-is iha. all SC; up at the head i of the central staircase: One last pull boys; you will sec wha, sale we wili have oy-and-by..
 Bu; Bourdoncie ven;ured 0 ask softly
 Was il really necessary to turn every. thing toPsy-iursy Tn this way. Jas; on the eve of our opening
 A, first Mouret shrugged his shoulders without answering. Then. as the other allowed himself to push his point, he burst out with
 50 that all the customers shall be in heap Tn one corner, l suppose. 4 pretty idea of symmetry l had there should never have forgIven myself You rust understand that meant to make the crowd feel al home. \ woman would have come in. have gone s,raigh, where she wanted to, have passed from the skirts 10 the dresses. and from the dresses e the cioaks. and then hone again. with oai even having los. her way a bt No, one of them would h4y= even seen oar stores.
 Bu, Bourdoncie pointed out. o~ ,ha, you have upsc. the ~aole shop and thrown every; ng to the four corners oi the place. al. our pcpple asl wear th-i- legs out sho@ing customers 1T III one ,.e- pItmeni t0 another
 Mogret ua ie superb gesi ire
 "I don, care d--n for that. They are young. and Ii will make them grow. And all the better f they walk about There will seem io De more of them they will swell ,he crowd. Jus, have a good crush. and all will go we'll"