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“Not to-day, I believe,” replied Mrs. Waring, as she took out her purse. “How much does it come to?”

“Twelve yards at one dollar and thirty cents–just fifteen dollars and sixty cents,” said Allen.

Mrs. Waring counted out the money, and, as she handed it to the young man, fixed her eyes again searchingly upon him.

“Shall I send it home for you?” he asked.

“No–I will take it myself,” said Mrs. Waring, coldly.

“What have you been buying, aunt?” inquired Fanny, when Mrs. Waring had returned home with her purchase.

“A silk dress. And I want to know what you think of my bargain?”

The silk was opened, and Fanny and her mother examined and admired it.

“What did you pay for it, sister?” asked Mrs, Lovering, the mother of Fanny.

“A dollar and thirty cents,” was answered.

“Not a dollar thirty?” Marked surprise was indicated.

“Yes. Don’t you think it cheap?”

“Cheap!” said Fanny. “It isn’t worth over a dollar at the outside. Mr. Allen has been selling the same goods at ninety and ninety-five.”

“You must certainly be in error,” replied Mrs. Waring.

“Not at all,” was the positive assertion. “Where did you get the silk?”

A somewhat indefinite answer was given; to which Fanny returned–

“I only wish we had known your intention. Mother would have gone with you to Edward’s store. It is too bad that you should have been so cheated. The person who sold you the silk is no better than downright swindler.”

“If it is as you say,” replied Mrs. Waring, calmly, “he is not an honest man. He saw that I was a stranger, ignorant of current prices, and he took advantage of the fact to do me a wrong. I am more grieved for his sake than my own. To me, he loss is only a few dollars; to him–alas! by what rule can we make the estimate?”

Much more was said, not needful here to repeat. In the evening, Edward Allen called to see Fanny, who spoke of the purchase made by Mrs. Waring. Her aunt was present. The silk was produced in evidence of the fact that she had been most shamefully wronged by some storekeeper.

“For what can you sell goods of a similar quality?” was the direct question of Fanny.

The moment Allen saw the piece of silk, he recognised it as the same he had sold in the morning. Turning quickly, and with a flushing countenance, to that part of the room where Mrs. Waring sat, partly in the shadow, he became at once conscious of the fact that she was the purchaser. The eyes of Fanny followed those of the lover, and then came back to his face. She saw the o’ermantling blush; the sudden loss of self-possession, the quailing of his glance beneath the fixed look of Mrs. Waring. At once the whole truth flashed upon her mind, and starting up, she said, in a blended voice of grief and indignation–

“Surely, surely, Edward, you are not the man!”

Before Allen could reply, Mrs. Waring said firmly: “Yes, it is too true. He is the man!”

At this, Fanny grew deadly pale, staggered toward her mother, and sunk, sobbing wildly, upon her bosom.

Too much excited and confused for coherent explanation, and too clearly conscious of his mean dishonesty toward a stranger, Allen attempted no vindication nor excuse, lest matters should assume even a worse aspect. A moment or two he stood irresolute, and then retired from the house. As he did so, Mr. Lovering entered the room where this little scene had just transpired, and was quite startled at the aspect of affairs.

“What’s this? What has happened? Fanny, child, what in the name of wonder is the matter? Where’s Edward?”

Mr. Lovering spoke hurriedly. As soon as practicable, the whole affair was related.

“And is that all?” exclaimed Mr. Lovering, in surprise. “Pooh! pooh! I’m really astonished! I thought that some dreadful thing had happened.”

“Don’t you regard this as a very serious matter?” inquired Mrs. Waring.

“Serious? No! It’s a thing of every day occurrence. If you are not a judge of the goods you attempt to purchase, you must expect to pay for your ignorance. Shopkeepers have to make up their ratio of profits in the aggregate sales of the day. Sometimes they have to sell a sharp customer at cost, rather than lose the sale; and this must be made up on some one like you.”