The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-22
A sTRUGGL TTH A BOOK AGENT.

The Impressj of Religious Editor Who
Was Bored by Canvasser in Skirts.
Richmond. (va.) Religious Herald.
We can stand book agent provided he Is OF
the masculine denomination. We are not afraid
of him. We know that he is coming and can
deal with him without buying his book. He may
be pompous and courtly, or he may be pimpled
and cadaverous; his lips may be believed with
honied batteries; he may be oily and crafty in
his approaches; he may modestly ask for just q
moment of our precious time;" he may say that
he only Graves the use of our name, or he may
charge in upon and seek to carry us by storm.
This does not matter with us. He is man, and
so are we in small way, and we have our rights.
We tell him what we will do and what we won't,
and thai ends it.
But when she comes-then is the winter OF
discomfort We bow to the Storm and have no
remarks to submit All the hidden resources of
our politeness are called into requuisition. She
is woman, and has the advantage of u.s. She
has seen better days, and has tear In her eve.
She belongs to old family, and swan in lux
ury in her youth. Little cares she for money
character is everything with her. She is working
in the interests Of literature and to lift up So
ciety Her book is for the home circle, and il
destined to ennoble the character of mothers,
and in that way to add glory to our republican
institutions.
She came the other day. How glib, and rat
thing she was! She had us before we knew it,
She had us sitting as erect as a sunbeam in July.
and meekiy nodding assent to her sage observar
tions. We neither moved hand nor foot, and, as
for talking. we had no chance She talked fast,
and she talked long, and she talked all the time.
After regaling us with the grandeur of her au-
cestry, the pleasures of her childhood and the
surprising excellences Of her books she touched
us up. She did it handsomely She expatated
on the potency of our influence, the value of our
personal signature and the well-known warmth
aud kindness OF our heart. Greatness she
limited, always had tear on its check
for the struggling and unfortunate. And there
we were-dumb and foolish a victim to her
spell. Time came and went, but she went on.
and on, and on We felt fatigued and lonesome,
and wondered how it would end Finally she
gradually descended from her circumocutory
flight and lit in the region of business The at
mosphere became commercial and it was
question OF dollars and cents. She had a book
for sale and desired to sell us copy 1t ceased
to be a question Of ancestry. and the poetry and
praise all faded away The spell was broken,
and all we had to do was to say whether or not
we would buy the book
We did it as we'll as we could've spoke In 3
bright and respectful tene-we even thanked
her for her yisit-we paid tribute to her
brilliant conversational gifts-we wished her
high fortune and golden future, and expressed
regret that it had to be so. How her whole
aspect changed! She patted her foot with petu-
lance, her face flushed, she breathed wildly, and
swept angrily away.
And yet, truly, we felt sorry for her. IL hurt
us TO think OF her hard lot and her desperate
devices to stem the tide of adverse fortune. We
would have bought her book, except that we
could not conscientiously pay an cxorbitant
price for useless article