The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1899-04-14
AN UNPROFITABLE HURRY.
ny FRANK NJ. BICI1NELL.



ly large one, 1 iufer-which they are
hoping to secure shortly. They asked
for bedrock figures, and / gave them
our very lowest Now those castings
there, which / intended to quote at fif-
teen cents, they are going to want a
great many Of thousands, in fact-and
at fifteen cents we should make one
cent profit, while OF thirteen we should
sustain corresponding loss. So you
see if they have gone ahead and put
in their bid on a basis of thirteen
cents we naturally shall have to stand
back of our figures, and-well, ," he
concluded, significantly, lit will make
a difference to u.s."
"Yes, SIR, assented the girl, in faint
tones.
CHATS a wretchedly poor copy,
Miss Chadbourne, he remarked after
\ a few seconds of uncomfortable silence
uncomfortable to her, at least "You
must speak to George. He is getting
to be unpardonably careless. He's
thinking too much about his own con-
Germs, 1 fear"
"Y~ yes, sir" stammered Mildred,
reddening furiously. 81 wilt mean
Mr.. Vaughn, to tell the truth,
George didn't take that copy. He
happened not to be about, and so I
took it.
"Indeedr said her employer, with
an accent that caused her to flush still
more; but to her relief he made no fur
Their comments. ''Well," he COM
cluded, shutting up the letter book,
81 don't see what we can do about it
now. Thirteen is held to be an I'M
/ lucky number, and it would be partic-
ularly so here. Let us hope this non
descript blotch stands for five.
} Mildred went home that night al
, most wishing she had never been
born. Nearly month now she had
been with Theophilus Vaughn & Co..
1t was her first situation and she
t had begun to hatter herself, with rea-
f son, that she was giving satisfaction.
9 At the end of her first week Mr.. Vaughn
a had gone so far as to tell her So
!, 81 rather think you will suit us,
i he said. "You are quick, accurate, and
Q you can SPELL"
: "Thank you, sir; I hope know
something about spelling" was hel
Il wondering response.
o "The young lady who preceded yor
o knew something about spelling, " pro
a ceeded Mr.. Vaughn, with queer shrug
n ''and proved the truth OF the familiar
t. assertion that little knowledge ma.
n be dangerous thing. "See here!'
1t and opening the letter book he showet
d her the copy Of letter of about
dozen lines in which he had under
W scored with a pencil three misspelle
g.. words, and words not usually consid
70 cred 'hard" ones, either.
m 81 shouldn't want to employ ster
IS ographer who was obliged to consul
lg the dictionary continually" he wen
Of on, "but one who didn't know enoug
u to look in it when she ought Iwouldn'
n have at any price. A girl who can
spell, or who can't learn to spell
le misses her vocation when she start
eli out to become stenographer.
le ''You would perhaps be surprised {
lie the number of such cases there ar
in Miss Chadbourne," he proceeded
%. "Girls who have had only common
! a school education and have neglecte
ut their opportunities at that, who's
n knowledge of spelling and grammar
in wofully deficient, and who couldn
write q presentable letter to one
n ! I, -, f,.so 10 10
in and yet who expect to do the corr
w, spondence in a business cOuntir
lr room! A stenographer who has to
nd watched continually lest she send o.
something like this thing here-a le
id, ter that any reputable house won
as blush for such q stenographer
jell well, 1 have no use for her"
viii Now, as she took her homewa
! it way, Mildred reflected upon the
words of her employer, realizing wi
1t shame and conHition that she h
'ly. been guilty of sending out on one
am Theophilus Vaughn & Co.'s lett
heads ching for which any rel
the table house would blush" The
her were no misspelled words there,
grammar was faultless, the senten,
'wn properly constructed, and every figl
led. in it, with the possible exception
red the blurred one, had been set do
God correctly; yet to send off such let
lilly "a letter that looked as If it had b.
left lying out overnight in the rail-
led, was discourtesy toward the fri
fere correspondents that barely fell SD
s at of an insult.
unit That evening occurred the party