We have been, frequently, much amused with the man[oe]uvring of some folks in trade. It's not your cute folks, who screw, twist and twirl over a smooth fourpence, or skin a flea for its hide and tallow, and spoil a knife that cost a shilling,--that come out first best in the long run. Some folks have a weakness for beating down shop-keepers, or anybody else they deal with, and so far have we seen this _infirmity_ carried, that we candidly believe we've known persons that would not stop short of cheapening the passage to kingdom come, if they thought a dollar and two cents might be saved in the fare! Now the _rationale_ of the matter is this:--as soon as persons establish a reputation for meanness--beating down folks, they fall victims to all sorts of shaves and short commons, and have the fine Saxony drawn over their eyes--from the nose to the occiput; they get the meanest "bargains," offals, &c., that others would hardly have, even at a heavy discount. Then some folks are so wonderful sharp, too, that we wonder their very shadow does not often cut somebody. A friend of ours went to buy his wife a pair of gaiters; he brought them home; she found all manner of fault with them; among other drawbacks, she declared that for the price her better half had given for the gaiters, _she_ could have got the best article in Waxend's entire shop! _He_ said _she_ had better take them back and try. So she did, and poor Mr. Waxend had an hour of his precious time used up by the lady's attempt to get a more expensive pair of gaiters at a less price than those purchased by her husband. Waxend saw how matters stood, so he consented to adopt the maxim of--when Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war!
"Now, marm," said he, "here is a pair of gaiters I have made for Mrs. Heavypurse; they are just your fit, most expensive material, the best article in the shop; Mrs. Heavypurse will not expect them for a few days, and rather than _you_ should be disappointed, I will let _you_ have them for the same price your husband paid for those common ones!"
Of course Mrs. ---- took them, went home in great glee, and told her better half she'd never trust him to go shopping for her again--for they always cheated him. When the husband came to scrutinize his wife's bargain, lo! he detected the self-same gaiters--merely with a different quality of lacings in them! He, like a philosopher, grinned and said nothing. That illustrates one phase in the character of some people who "go it blind" on "bargains" and now, for the pith of our story--the way some folks have of going round "Robin Hood's barn" to come at a thing.