FullReads

“It was about eleven o’clock before I breakfasted, opened up, and started across the street. My old customer had burned out there and I, too, had to go out and rustle some man. Just as I started over toward town, I met my German friend Henry coming back. His face looked like a full moon shining through a cloud. I could see that there was trouble on his mind.

“‘Well, Henry, how goes it?’ said I.

“‘Id don’t go so goot,’ said he. ‘But vat can a man expect on Danksgifing? I vent to see von man and he said, “I haf an olt house dat alvays dreats me right, so vat’s de use of chanching?” Vell, vat archument could I make against dot? I vent in to see anodder man and he said, “I haf an olt friend dot I buy from,” and vat archument could I make against dot? I vent in to see still anodder, and he said, “I haf just bought,” so, vat archument could I make against dot? The next man I vent to see said, “Mein Gott, man; don’d you suppose I am going to rest von day in de year? So I t’ought dere vas no use fooling mit him, so I t’ink I vill pack op and eat a goot dinner and take a goot nap and go vest again in de morning.’

“‘All right, Henry,’ said I; ‘but I guess I’ll go over and try my luck.’

“The first man that I went to see was the one who had said to my friend Henry that he thought he ought to have one day in the year to rest. He was the biggest merchant in the town in my line. When I reached his store he was putting the key in the door to lock up and go home for his Thanksgiving dinner.

“I couldn’t talk to him out there in the cold–we were strangers–so I said to him, ‘I should like to buy a couple of collars if you please.’ He sold me the collars and then, just for a bluff, I made out that mine was hurting me and took a few minutes to put on another one. I didn’t say anything about what my business was and the merchant, in order to have something to say, asked, ‘Are you a stranger in town?’

“‘Yes, sir,’ said I, ‘I am. But I hope that I shall not be very much longer. I am out looking for a location.’

“‘You are a physician, then?’ said the merchant.

“‘Yes, sir,–in a way,’ said I; ‘but I treat diseases in rather a peculiar way, I fancy. I believe in going down to the cause of diseases and treating the cause rather than the disease itself. My specialty is the eye. Now, you see, if the eye looks at bright, sparkling snow, it is strained; but if it looks at a green pasture, that color rests it. In fact, if the eye looks upon anything that is not pleasing to it, it does it an injury. Now, my way of getting down to the root of all this eye trouble is to place before it things that are pleasing to look upon, and in this way, make eye salves and things of that kind unnecessary. In just a word,’ said I (I had his attention completely), ‘I am selling the prettiest, nobbiest, most up-to-date line of furnishing goods there is on the road. They are so attractive that they are good for sore eyes. Now, the only way I can back up this statement is by showing you what I have. When will it suit you to look at them? The location that I am looking for is a location for my goods right here on your shelves.’

“Well, sir; do you know, that merchant really came down to my sample room on Thanksgiving Day–he hardly took time to eat his dinner–and I sold him.