ridal gift to a young friend of hers, and would have felt deeply
mortified if the discovery had been made after the presentation. After a
few more trifling purchases, she turned away, and Guly restored the
rejected piece of work to its place, and put the box upon the shelf. As
he turned round, his eye fell upon the face of his employer, who stood
bolt upright on the opposite side of the counter.

Guly bowed politely, and wished him good morning; but the hard face
before him relaxed not a muscle, and stared straight and rigidly into
the boy's eyes. It needed no second glance to show that Mr. Delancey was
very much enraged.

"Did I see you, sir," he demanded, at last, in a tone far from being
inaudible, "point out to a customer a defect in her purchase, and so
lose a sale?"

"I certainly did so, sir; you would not have me sell an imperfect piece
of goods, knowing that it was so, for perfect, and take the full price
for the same, would you?"

"What was it to _you_, I'd like to know, after she had examined the
piece, and declared that it suited her, whether there was a blemish in
it or not, if she had not discovered it?"

"She might have discovered it afterwards, and would no doubt have
thought I meant to deceive her, and, in all probability, I should have
lost her custom altogether."

"Nonsense! young man; she would have sent it to her milliner to make up,
and in an hour the imperfection would have never been discovered. The
next time I see you do a thing of this kind, you lose your place."

"Then I must, sir," returned Guly, firmly; "I can never sacrifice
principle to profit, under any circumstances."

"You're a fool," said Delancey; pale with anger at the firm but mild
demeanor of his clerk. "How much would the sale have amounted to?"

"Thirty-five dollars."

"It shall be taken from your salary. Teach you better another time."

"Very well, sir. Wilkins, be kind enough to mark my salary thirty-five
dollars less, if you please."

Mr. Delancey had carried on his part of the conversation in so loud a
tone, that it was audible to a number, who were not too busy with their
own affairs to pay heed to it; but Guly felt deeply chagrined to
observe, as Mr. Delancey turned away, that his late customer had been
standing just behind the merchant, examining some goods at another
counter, and had probably heard all that had passed. As she left the
store she looked up at Guly, with a smile, bowed to him, and passed
out.