The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-09-25

Not far to the rear is the barrel OF dis
| emboweled drab mackerel, which pass
| their monstrous days in the briny depths
of the rock-salt, and have naught to, hope
for save the possibility Of outdoing IN.
popularity, tho wholesome, domestic red
I herring across the way. a little to the
~front-usually on the porch OF the "em-
| porlum'-are the coops of captive
chickens, perpetually terrified by the
sniffings OF curious hound dogs. III their
peculiar way, the chicken coops, whether
freIghted with their fluttering prisoners
or emptied by tho voracious demands OF
"%protracted meetings. are quite as
Smelly as the sugar and the mackeral
cor the herring and the kerosene oil. But
why differentiate between the odors? On.
n rainy day the smells all become blend
ed In one grand, crescendO o!fnctory
harmony, which plays on the human nose
like the fitful zcphyrs on an Aelian harp.
Such9is n skeleton sketch Of the ecoun-
try merchants stock. or rather, the mere
vertebrn OF It,, for did he fail to carry
q million other things his store would
be as useless as patent leather shoes for
a Nocturnal coon-hunt or q Tuxedo coat
for n days work at blowing. Remember,
please, that the mundane saint must ca
ter to a thousand whilns of a thousand
natives, who regard him as a public SER
want, gifted with a sort Of second-sight
that enables him to know their every
wish and every thought. To the country
merchant come all lclasses-high, low, rich.
and poor. the old and the young. the
black and the white and the yellow.
Worse still, there must be a multiplicity
of goods to suit the inexplicable vagarl-.
Gus $of-thatt sex which in the CONNER
| cIal world is VIGOROUSLY uncertain. coy.
L..1E to.l n y = , u fHEl Jnuro.vn,. "a In to ~ T.
may be ones trading instincts one may
learn in a grounding case. to buy and
sell the phlegmatic mackerel, the slug
| gish sorghum, the. unpretentious horse
collar or tho malicious, blood-thirsty.
bnrbwire. But think OF the subtle cum
| Ming, tho all-penetrating wisdom and tho
abnormal knowledge of feminine nature
required for the judicious selection of
cheap millinery, attractive bolts OF CALI
co, lawn and flannel, or a seductive ar
ray Of ribbon spools. Goodness, good
crowns ought to he distributed among the
country store-keepers t%o-day-noW. right
now-this instant minute,
And when you talk about subtle cun-
ming and all-penetratlng wisdom and
knowledge Of feminine nature, you do not
specify one-half tho mental accomplish
ments required of country store-keepers.
TO tit the, clothes OF these mundane
saints one, In addition to everything else,
must be q Napoleon OF finance. a philan-
thropic, q politician. q quasi lawyer q
first-clnss mechanic. q pretty good doc
tor. a horse expert and n father con-
fessor. The rural merchant, too, must
be as broad-minded as tho author OF an
encyclopaedia yet he must conquer an In
finitude OF detail. When he ceases to
sell for dollars and cents-as he must do
every hour In the day--and begins to bar
ter his goods for the produce offered by
his patrons, HIS wits must DO as sharp
as tacks, 1t takes a mathematician to
deal out Fan eggs worth of needles" or
"a rabblt-skin's worth Of pepper without
cheating the customer on in1urlng me
financial standing OF. the house And ono
has to handle fractions with the same
facility, ore handlns dried beans, when he
calculates. how many sacks OF flonrIn
friend Is entitled W, IN exchange for eight
AtAL