the crush."

At another time he advertised: "A. T. Stewart is obliged to raise a
large amount of money to pay for silks and dress-goods that are now
being made for him in Europe. To secure this money he is obliged to hold
a Cost Sale of everything in his store. This sale will begin Friday at
noon, and end at midnight on Saturday, the day after."

Stewart also had "Fire Sales," although it speaks well for himself that
he never had a fire in his own store. If others had fires he was on
hand to buy the salvage, and whether he bought it or not he managed to
have a "Fire Sale." He loved the smoke of commercial rhetoric, and the
excitement of seeing the crowd. This applies more particularly to the
first twenty years of his career. During those first years he used to
have a way of opening cases on the sidewalk and selling from the case to
the first person who made an offer. This brought him good luck,
especially if the person had cross-eyes or was a hunchback. The messy
clutter in front of the store and the pushing crowds advertised the
business. Finally, a competitor next door complained to the police about
Stewart's blocking the sidewalk.

The police interfered and Stewart was given one day to clear off the
walk. At once he put up a big sign: "Our neighbors to the right, not
being able to compete with us, demand that we shall open no more goods
on the sidewalk. To make room we are obliged to have a Cost Sale. You
buy your goods, pay for them and carry them away--we can't even afford
to pay for wrapping-paper and string."

All this tended to keep the town awake, and the old Irish adage of
"Where McGinty sits is the head of the table," became true of A. T.
Stewart. His store was the center of trade. When he moved, the trade
moved with him.

To all charitable objects he gave liberally. He gave to all churches,
and was recognized as a sort of clergyman himself, and in his dress he
managed to look the part. The ten per cent off to clergymen and
schoolteachers was his innovation. This ten per cent was supposed to be
his profit, but forty per cent would have been nearer it. Of course the
same discount had to be given to any member of a clergyman's or a
teacher's family. And so we hear of one of Stewart's cashiers saying,
"Over half of the people in New York are clergymen or teachers." The
temptation to pass one's self off for a clergyman at Stewart's store was
a bait that had no lure when you visited Girard College.

All th