"Ask Mamma"; or, The Richest Commoner In EnglandSurtees, Robert Smith
General
"Ask Mamma"; or, The Richest Commoner In England
Surtees, Robert Smith
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Fox hunting -- Fiction
“Hilloa!” exclaimed the astonished Major. This won’t do! 86s. is
twice 43s.; and he wrote off to say they had made a mistake. This
brought the secretary of the concern, Mr. Badbill, on to the
scene. He replied beneath a copious shower of arms, orders,
flourish, and flannel, that the mistake was the Major’s—that
they, “never marked their goods in pairs,” to which the Major
rejoined, that they had in this instance, as the ticket which he
forwarded to Pannell for Badbill’s inspection showed, and that he
must decline the chairs at double the price they were ticketed
for.
Badbill, having duly inspected the ticket, retorted that he was
surprised at the Major’s stupidity, that two meant one, in fact,
all the world over.
The Major rejoined, that he didn’t know what the Reform Bill
might have done, but that two didn’t mean one when he was at
school; and added, that as he declined the chairs at 86s. they
were at Badhill’s service for sending for.
Badbill wrote in reply—
“_We really cannot understand how it is possible, for any one to
make out that a ticket on an article includes the other that may
stand next it. Certainly the ticket you allude to referred only
to the chair on which it was placed_.”
And in a subsequent letter he claimed to have the chairs repacked
at the Major’s expense, as it was very unfair saddling them with
the loss arising entirely from the Major’s mistake.
To which our gallant friend rejoined, “that as he would neither
admit that the mistake was his, nor submit to the imputation of
unfairness, he would stick to the chairs at the price they were
ticketed at.”
Badbill then wrote that this declaration surprised them much—that
they did not for a moment think he “intentionally misunderstood
the ticket as referring to a pair of chairs, whereas it only gave
the price of one chair,” and again begged to have them back; to
which the Major inwardly responded, he “wished they might get
them,” and sent them an order for the 43s.
This was returned with expressions of surprise, that after the
explanation given, the Major should persevere in the same “course
of error,” and hoped that he would, without further delay, favour
the Co. with the right amount, for which Badbill said they
“anxiously waited,” and for which the Major inwardly said, they
“might wait.”
In due time came a lithographed circular, more imposingly
flourished and flanneled than ever, stating the terms of the firm
were “cash on delivery;” and that unless the Major remitted
without further delay, he would be handed over to their
solicitor, &c.; with an intimation at the bottom, that that was
the “third application”—of which our gallant friend took no
notice.
Next came a written,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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