The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-30

something different each time. Thomas. try
and think OF something nice for me-"
In a short time she lost her air or de-
spondence and exclaimed: II AVE the very
thinglt will be perfectly splendid-salted
almonds, | ssaIl buy the he almonds 0as . immedi-
and sell them at : cents a spoonful. IL
win be better fun even than selling pins"
equal TO the occasion this time1"you Ger.
tainly should have been a stock broker;
your plan is admirable. / promise to buy
"oh. Thomas" with an ~ecstatic squeeze
OF my arm, you are so good. But are you
that you are not buying them just TO please
me?"
1 boldly declared that salted almonds
were my favorite article of diet.
After the almonds were salted and duly
purchased, the talent had still further
increased so mucn that Clarissa was very
ment of the money.
DO YOU think doylies would do?'
What are doylies?"
"It would take me fully two weeks to
embroider Them" she continued. without
paying any attention TO my remark.
1 thought they sounded eminently safe.
so l strongly encouraged the idea. 1t would
be impossible for young men TO consume
embroidered doylies.
Clarissa embroidered industriously and 1
read TO her or talked to her. Neither John
Popham nor sam Jackson thought there
was much fun in doylies, so they did not
make their appearance. / found the doy-
lies entirely satisfactory, and regretted
when they were finished.
And now L must tell of poor C1arissa's
first financial reverse. She had not sufh-
GENTLY studied the law of supply and de-
embroidered doylies the market was food
ed. and IL was impossible TO sell the doy-
lies at any advance. she was in despair.
bargain counter you know people al
ways buy at bargain counters whether
they want the things or not"
Have you already made known the
PRICES Of your doylies"
Then 1 am afraid it is too late. They
must have the appearance of being reduced
IN price or else people Will not buy them"
II have still four dozen TO finish"
Perhaps they will help you to balance
things; Finish them before you offer any
Clarissa was so dispirited that she lost
all heart, and when the remaining doylies
were completed they were much inferior to
the first ones. Even to my uninitiated
issa was reduced to the very lowest depths
OF mysery. / did my best to comfort her
and between us we concocted a schedule
of prices for her Bargain Counter"
IhoSe tlat you nave already offered for
$50 per dozen you must mark down to
'Oh. Thomas" said Clarissa, with tears
in her voice.
But l was firm.
You must make up on the new ones"
So we prepared a set of labels for the first
lOI as fOilCWS. 10 cents per dozen. real
value s1.5o," and the next lot we labeled at
so per dozen; real value g.
Thomas. my dear, that price is extor-
ton"
Unless you sell them for that you will
not come out square. Now. send out your
invitations fer Grand sale of Doylies
counsel. and you will come out without
much loss
wrong 10 do this. to overcharge people so
much"'
My dear, you will only be working on
strict business principles. Your profits will
not equal those of either the cigars or the
pins"
of course. YOU know what is right.
Owing to these vigorous methods the doy-
lies were easily disposed of, and Clarissa
came out Of the difficulty not only without
loss but with a slight surplus.
1T is better than nothing said Clarissa,
whose spirits had again risen. 1T would
on my talent: but do not know whether
1t was quite right to charge so much for
II notice that you have a very tender
conscience. Carissa: but how long is this
thing to keep up-forever?"
Oh, no; We have a committee meeting at
the end of the month, and each of US girls
will make a report of how much her talent
has gained. | must think of something
extraordinarily good this time to make up
for the doylies. II is getting difficult to
sell things. People say that they have al
hard. Some of the other girls are having a
dreadful time disposing of their things.
There is poor Eliza Brown, who spent days
and She has scarcely sold any of them.
They are exquisite, too, and the price Is so
gSs in 1tfsr but d People %ili nS Wb buy s5 then !
buy next? Do try and think of something
nice for me-"
Although the doylies had been so emf
nently safe. [ knew there would be no use
in my suggesting anything similar. for
Clarissa was determined to make her last
Il n UQGrmnnf N1ll6 a afpl nrO6f
Thomas, how do you think matches
would do? / could invest all my money
in boxes of matches and then sell each
Five dollars? Capitali'
Thomas, that would be extortion. For l
n @nehf you do not think that would be too
mot at all; in fact, it is so cheap that /
will buy them all from you. They will be
Thomas, you are so good to be inter
ested in the work. but are you sure that
you really need the matches?"
quite as much as 1 needed either pins
or sailed almonds."
They shall be kept until we go to house
keeping 1 said.
The only answer was a charming blush.
As / knew the final meeting of the Young
Ladies' Auxiliary Society was still some
days off | was very careful that the pur-
chase and transfer of the matches should
occupy all of the intervening time. Others
beside John Popham can buy pins one at
a time.
Inc sum realized by the sale or the
matches was very satisfactory to ClarisSa,
although il was perfectly appalling to me.
/ congratulated myself tnat there was no
time to make another investment prior to
the meeting. There was no knowing what
Clarissa might think of-bushels Of pop
corn. or bags of oats. or something else
Of that nature would be sure to present
themselves to her fertile brain. To keep
up with this arithmetical procession /
would need a gold mine.
As a matter OF course / was obliged to
attend the final meeting of the Young La
dies Auxiliary Society 1t proved to be of
a social as we'll as OF a business character,
ending with a dance and supper.
Clarissa was in the highest spirits. Her
talent" had increased far and away beyond
those of the other girls. although they had
apparently worked like galley slaves dur
ing the past month. Their great difficulty
had been in finding purchasers for their
goods. One young lady plaintively said
that all her friends bought the first set of
things that she offered for sale, and then
seemed surprised when she asked them a
second time, and they positively refused
the third.
/ did not pursue this line of conversation
any further, because 1 found Clarissa to
be most disturbing. She does not seem to
realize the importance of her engagement
TO marry me. She rgrets in her pretty way
that | do not dance, and before l have
time to utter a word she is whirling away
with John Porham. Really, the relation
ship Of cousin should be abolished by law.
l do not think / ever spent a more dis