"What will you give for the coat?" said I. The old man gave his head a significant shake, as he replied-- "No very good." "It's worth something," I returned. "Many a poor person would be glad to buy it for a small sum of money. It's only a little defaced. I'm sure its richly worth four or five dollars." "Pho! Pho! Five dollar! Pho!" The old man seemed angry at my most unreasonable assumption. "Well, well," said I, beginning to feel a little impatient, "just tell me what you will give for it." "What you want?" he enquired, his manner visibly changing. "I want these vases, at any rate," I answered, holding up the articles I had mentioned. "Worth four, five dollar!" ejaculated the dealer, in well feigned surprise. I shook my head. He shrugged his shoulders, and commenced searching his basket, from which, after a while, he took a china cup and saucer, on which I read, in gilt letters, "For my Husband." "Give you this," said he. It was now my time to show surprise; I answered-- "Indeed you won't, then. But I'll tell you what I will do; I'll let you have the coat for the vases and this cup and saucer." To this proposition the man gave an instant and decided negative, and seemed half offended by my offer. He threw the coat, which was in his hands again, upon a chair, and stooping down took his basket on his arm. I was deceived by his manner, and began to think that I had proposed rather a hard bargain; so I said-- "You can have the coat for the vases, if you care to make the exchange; if not, why no harm is done." For the space of nearly half a minute, the old man stood in apparent irresolution, then he replied, as he set down his basket and took out the pair of vases-- "I don't care; you shall have them." I took the vases and he took the coat. A moment or two more, and I heard the street door close behind the dealer in china ware, with a very decided jar. "Ain't they beautiful, aunty?" said I to my old aunt Rachel, who had been a silent witness of the scene I have just described; and I held the pair of vases before her eyes. "Why yes, they are rather pretty, Jane," replied aunt Rachel, a little coldly, as I thought. "Rather pretty! They are beautiful," said I warmly. "See there!" And I placed them on the dining room mantle. "How much they will improve our parlors." "Not half so much as that old coat you as good as gave away would have improved the feelings as well as the looks of poor Mr. Bryan, who lives across the street," was the unexpected and rebuking answer of aunt Rachel.