"
"Not a bit of it--not a bit of it! Had I asked her three dollars a
yard, she would have wanted it for two. So I said six, to begin with,
expecting to fall extensively; and, to put a good face on the matter,
told her that it cost within a fraction of what I asked to make the
importation--remarking, at the same time, that the goods were too
rich in quality to bear a profit, and were only kept as a matter of
accommodation to certain customers."
"And she bought at five?"
"Yes; thinking she had obtained the velvet at seventy-five cents a
yard less than its cost. Generous customer, truly!"
"While you, in reality, made two dollars and a half on every yard she
bought."
"Precisely that sum."
"She had six yards."
"Yes; out of which we made a clear profit of fifteen dollars. That
will do, I'm thinking. Operations like this count up fast."
"Very fast. But, Mr. Jasper"--
"But what, Edward?"
"Is it altogether prudent to multiply operations of this character?
Won't it make for you a bad reputation, and thus diminish, instead of
increasing, your custom?"
"I fear nothing of the kind. One-half the people are not satisfied
unless you cheat them. I've handled the yardstick, off and on, for the
last fifteen or twenty years, and I think my observation during that
time is worth something.
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