the most was the smartest
clerk. A thrifty purchaser would beat down the price little by little,
the sharp clerk yielding with many protestations until a last offer was
made, when, with feigned hesitation, the clerk would wrap up the goods.
One thinks he has bought a cheap bargain, the other figures the profit
and laughs in his sleeve. It was not my particular duty to wait upon
customers except in a rush of trade, or early in the day before the
other clerks had arrived. I opened the store in the morning, swept the
floors and sidewalk, dusted the counters, filled the lamps, and in
winter built the fire. During the day I ran on errands, delivered goods
and was the fag of the proprietor and his two clerks. I soon chafed
under the confinement, and when sent out of the store I made no haste to
return; the farther away the bundle was to be delivered the better I
liked it, and I always took the longest way, loitering about, making
acquaintance with strange boys, dogs and any wayside apple or pear tree.
If possible I skirted the region of the wharves and the rivers, where I
always found something interesting going on, a vessel arriving or
leaving, sailors chaffing and fighting. Sometimes I received a small fee
for delivering the bundle at the door of a lady, but this happened
rarely; it was not the custom, and seldom was I even thanked. I had only
two memorable adventures on my travels; one was an attack on my breeches
by a savage dog, and the other--shall I confess it--almost as
disagreeable. A young and handsome woman, whom I had often seen in the
store, and knew me, I imagine, better than I knew her, called me into
the house with my package, set me on her knees, petted and kissed me,
and asked me a lot of questions about one of the clerks. I have reason
to believe her tender behavior was meant rather for her beloved clerk
than for me. I reported nothing on my return, only, on being reproved
for my long absence, I said, "Miss--had kept me," which made the clerk
look sheepish. I was not sent to her house again. The clerks, however,
did use me a good deal as an innocent pander in their various intrigues
with the pretty and fast girls of the town. I carried notes, concealed
in dry goods bundles, and brought back answers in my jacket pocket,
which I was instructed to deliver on the sly.

The proprietor of the store to whom I was bound, and in whose family I
lived, was a tall, thin, sallow-faced man. He had a nervous manner, but