Twenty Years of Hus'lingJohnston, J. P. (James Perry)
General
Twenty Years of Hus'ling
Johnston, J. P. (James Perry)
Business; Johnston, J. P. (James Perry), 1852-
This exasperated me more than the rebuff, and I could feel my hair
standing straight up almost piercing my straw hat. I started around
toward the front of the house, expecting to try the next neighbor. When
I neared the front steps, I was seized with a determination to either
get into that house or make the old lady some trouble for her impudence.
So I ran up and pulled the bell vigorously several times. Directly I
heard the doors opening and closing and a general rustling about through
the rooms, when suddenly the front door opened just far enough to admit
me and I landed in the hall-way with a single bound. The lady recognized
me and said:
"Here you are again."
"Yes'm here I am and I am here to convince you that I am no
house-burglar nor highway robber I am here with a valuable article which
you can not afford to be without nor can any other housekeeper and were
I to leave without showing it you would always pride yourself on getting
rid of one impostor I must insist on showing you the value of my
preparation which I can do on the hat-tree here in the hall."
I then began polishing, and kept up a ceaseless run of talk, much to the
disgust of her highness, who insisted that all peddlers and agents were
tramps, virtually speaking. I managed however, to do most of the talking
and at last convinced her from its rapid drying qualities that it was
almost indispensable. I then closed a sale with her, and as she had been
so very courteous and complimentary in her opinion of agents and
peddlers, I let her have two bottles for three dollars.
The third house I visited was that of a middle-aged gentleman who, after
purchasing a bottle of my renovator, expressed a desire to become an
agent for its sale. I informed him that I was sole proprietor and could
give him a very good chance. He asked what I would take for Washtenaw
County, Michigan. I saw at once that he was anxious to invest in
territory, and as my preparation was not patented, I decided to
accommodate him by letting him have the exclusive sale of it in that
county for a reasonable consideration. I proposed to let him have the
agency for that county for fifty dollars. The idea pleased him, but he
thought the price rather high. He had raised a very fine garden and had
a nice lot of vegetables in his cellar, which he showed me with a good
deal of pride. While looking them over I took a careful inventory of
every thing and became satisfied that he had enough stowed away for two
families, and as soon as we returned from the cellar I began negotiating
for a portion of each kind. His wife as well as himself was elated with
the prospect of trading some of the products of their garden for a good
paying business, and in less than an hour I closed a deal, immediately
ordered a team and after loading up with potatoes, beets, turnips,
apples, cabbage, etc., and receiving ten dollars in cash drove home with
vegetables enough to last us several weeks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account