heir information
than for her own. So far as she was concerned she could remember what
she gave, and had only to take care not to exceed her income. This
seemed at first a simple matter, but before long the increased
expenditure in connection with "the Repository" began to be a source of
anxiety. The sale of goods entailed very serious loss. The workmen
received the full selling price of articles minus the cost of material,
and Bessie bore all charges and expenses, so that any considerable
development of the trade would have left the promoter of it penniless.

Moreover, it was inexpedient to pay workmen as wages what was in
reality a gift. If they had received trade prices they could not have
lived on what they earned. Their work was much slower than that of the
sighted, and they had less of it. These conditions made the scheme an
experiment; and in the meantime the difficulty of the workmen was
surmounted by giving them everything.

They executed an order for the trade or for an individual when it was
obtained, lived on the money, and waited for another order. This seemed
inevitable at the time; but the mistake was that for many years the men
considered the large sums paid as wages to be really their due. Now if
wages had from the first been fixed on the ordinary scale, and an
additional sum given as bonus, many subsequent difficulties might have
been avoided.

About five-sixths of the articles produced by the seven workmen were
sold in the trade at a discount of from 25 to 40 per cent, the latter
being the ordinary sum demanded and allowed. A further discount of 25
per cent was allowed to the blind salesman. Thus a deficiency of from 50
to 65 per cent had to be made up on all articles sold to the trade, to
which must be added the cost of rent, manager's salary, printing,
porters, etc.

To the blind lady and her assistant the only method that suggested
itself for the reduction of expenses was, that the articles manufactured
should be sold to the public and not to the trade. They must have, not
a repository but a shop, and a shop in a public thoroughfare. They must
make appeals for _custom_, and then income would suffice for the
expenses of management. It is doubtful whether Bessie ever wrote a
letter after 1855, save to members of the family, without an allusion to
the urgent need of customers.

The work of the institution grew steadily, the number of applicants for
work increased. In reply to appeals for custom,