The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-04-28
MAGAZINE SECTION.


1t was the first Day of May. and the
little book agent, with the sandy gray
side whiskers took a seat in one of the
chairs before the door of the Best no.
tel and ran his hand over his face
thoughtfully.
This moving day kind of knocks me
out" he said to the landlord. Il don't
know whether to try to sell books to-
day or not. The first of May amt
right good day for a book agent. When
a front yard is full of straw and mixed
furniture and kitchenware and the lady
of the house has a red handkerchief
tied around her head, and her mouth
full of eight-ounee tacks, she amt
going to think about book buying
She's got other things to think Of
i1nstead of fastening Gown her mind
onto the table of contents OF a book
she lets 1t wander off and try to re-
member whether she packed the butter
in the washstand drawer or tied it up
the sheet with the medicine bottles
And 1T amt no use to talk books to
the man of the house. The less said
TO him the better If he hasn't just
got mad he is just going to, and he is
glad to have a book agent for an ex-
cuse. When a family has just had to
pack I'D a lot of old junk to move it
and is looking forward with a seasick-
ness to having to unpack ii all again
that family amt in no mood to buy
anything TO put on the parlor center ta-
bic. Tt is the home that holds the FAM
lily together, and when the home is
piled up on the porch, with the cold
roast beef under the whole pile. the
family ties are so strained they creak
and the first man that crowds in on the
family sorrow gets the first kick. When
] am selling a work like this Jarby's
Encyclopedia of Knowledge and Com
pendulum of Literature, Science and
Art, I don't mind going into house
on funeral day, and the chances are
that L can sell the mourners a copy
apiece and dispose of one to the under
taker, but the time when a family is
counting the number of things the
mover has broken is a poor time to sell
hooks"
Everybody don't move on May L.
suggested the landlord.
Them that don't is so busy looking
TO see what the new neighbors has got /
in the way of furniture that they
might as well be moving so far as
selling books goes said the book
agent Curiosity is the greatest merit
a woman has three hundred and sixty
itti 0dH HI llic year, Uut OH moving
Cay II turns into drawback If it !
wasn't for woman's curiosity I'd get
out of the book business I guess the
Lord had book agents in mind when
he made woman and put curiosity into
her, so that when book agent rangl
the front door bell and mentioned the
illuminated frontispiece the woman
couldn't rest until she had a look at
it. And whenever woman once looks
TT the Illuminated frontispiece her Gu
riOsity don't give her no rest until she
sees the other things in the book
That's why most book agents don't
carry but slim slice of the book as a
sample-the woman buys the book to
see what else there is In it besides
what the agent has showed her. 4
wonld DO the same. except that this
Jarby's Encyclopedia of knowledge
and Compendium of Science. Litera-
ture and Art is so good that I amt
afraid to show up the whole thing. I
When you think that the price is only
five dollars. one dollar down and"
II know all about it," said the land
lord quickly. you sold me one the first |
day you came"
Il did" said Eliph' Hewitt. and I
you've been q better man ever since.
can notice it. But if You done right
you would buy a copy for every room
in the house. 1t would raise the tone !
Of your hotel. and please your board :
ers There amt nothing a boarder at {