"Well, there, that green's dark; won't that do? See, that would make up very pretty for you."
"No," said Ellen, "Mamma don't like green."
"Why don't she come and choose her stuffs herself, then? What colour does she like?"
"Dark blue, or dark brown, or a nice gray would do," said Ellen, "if it is fine enough."
" 'Dark blue,' or 'dark brown,' or a 'nice gray,' eh? Well, she's pretty easy to suit. A dark blue I've showed you already what's the matter with that?"
"Well," said he, discontentedly, pulling down another piece, "how'll that do? That's dark enough."
It was a fine and beautiful piece, very different from those he had showed her first. Even Ellen could see that, and fumbling for her little pattern of merino, she compared it with the piece. They agreed perfectly as to fineness.
"What is the price of this?" she asked, with trembling hope that she was going to be rewarded by success for all the trouble of her enterprise.
Her hopes and countenance fell together. "That's too high," she said, with a sigh.
"Then take this other blue; come it's a great deal prettier than that dark one, and not so dear; and I know your mother will like it better."
Ellen's cheeks were tingling and her heart throbbing, but she couldn't bear to give up.
"Would you be so good as to show me some gray?"
He slowly and ill-humouredly complied, and took down an excellent piece of dark gray, which Ellen fell in love with at once; but she was again disappointed; it was fourteen shillings.
"Well, if you won't take that, take something else," said the man; "you can't have everything at once; if you will have cheap goods, of course you can't have the same quality that you like; but now, here's this other blue, only twelve shillings, and I'll let you have it for ten, if you'll take it."
"No, it is too light and too coarse," said Ellen; "Mamma wouldn't like it."
"Let me see," said he, seizing her pattern, and pretending to compare it; "it's quite as fine as this, if that's all you want."
"Could you," said Ellen, timidly, "give me a little bit of this gray to show Mamma!"
"Oh, no!" said he, impatiently tossing over the cloths and throwing Ellen's pattern on the floor; "we can't cut up our goods; if people don't choose to buy of us, they may go somewhere else; and if you cannot decide upon anything, I must go and attend to those that can. I can't wait here all day."
