Tales of the Road

is the biggest college in the world. Its classrooms are not confined within a few gray stone buildings with red slate roofs; they are the nooks and corners of the earth. It

go scuffling around for work; he already has a job. Its museum co

te, because too many college "grads" start their education wrong end first. They do not know for what they are working. If I were running a school my way and the object was to teach a boy method, I'd hand him a sample grip before I'd give him a volume of Euclid. Last night a few ideas struck me when

me, who in youth

at flows by phi

he flowers on its

ight urns all as

ay. "My season is too short," said he. "I wish I could find something to do between trips." I asked him why he did not write for newspapers o

learn the German language. And, by the way, h

ears ago, I got a big merchant to come over and look

ple room, he is on the field of Liao Yang and, if he do

the price of. If the prices on these are high, he soon leaves you; if they seem right to him he has confidence in the rest of your line and usually buys if the styles suit him. The way to sell goods is either to have lower prices or else make your line show up better than your comp

he year previous, my house had imported them finished, but that year we had had them trimmed in our own shop. The

for dis?' said Strauss,

ce was so low. It would have been as foolish for me to do this

o Morris: 'Den selben Hut haben wir gehabt. Letzes Jahr haben wir sechzehn und ein halb den Dutzen bezahlt.

nd said in English: 'Hefens alife! Nine tollars!

face would have won a jackpot on a bob-tailed flush. But I was in

selben Hut haben wir gehabt. Letzes Jahr haben wir sechze

ering me a smoke. He bought a good bill from

position Strauss was, I'll tell you a

on my fall trip. He came from behind the counter to meet me, wearing upon his face

llo, Alex, h

handing me a card. 'Dot's de way

n who, came in-were these words: 'Don't waste your time o

to him: 'Thank you, Alex, may I

one, saying, 'Vot you

is gladdest to see me when I get around; the other I shall pi

d, 'Adieu, Alex; Auf wieder

ay, by Alex's movements. A few minutes past twelve I went back to the store and left on the front show case a bunch of samples done up in a red c

you take them to his store. I also knew that Alex, when he saw the mystic words 'Job Lot,' would be half crazy. Ada

dvance cards and took up a book. My mind was perfectly ea

hile I was in the middle of a chapter and said: 'Papa

ll not come over. Won't you please say goodbye to him for me? And won't you, Abie, lik

I started slowly towa

have the red bundl

over. He wants to

six, Alex was pacing up and down the floor

f. Do you subbose I raice poys to vait on dravelin

an to stack toge

ind you choing to gif a man

but I thought you were going to

hree minutes-he was the quickest buyer I ever

hook hands and started home, 'Vot

et left at the quarter post. It is rather hard, sometimes, to keep from plucking apples that grow in the garden of deception, especially if they ha

e, tearing up a ca

you'll not catch

to a merchant and then turned it over and signed his

nt that card to him, he would have read it. Otherwise

ea!" quoth

en I went to see had kept the cards on their desks and I had no trouble getting their ears. Some were expecting a long lost relative. When they showed me my cards

ink I had taught duplicity to an innocent

who, although his store was in an out of the way town, did a large business. The shoeman wrote half a dozen letters to himself care of the old Englishman, addressing them as "Lord" So and So. Wh

as merely out traveling for his health and to look over the country with a view to placing a traveling salesman on the territory. The Englishman gave him a large open order, supposing, of course, that a lord wou

know that he was "queering" a bill, for this is one thing that one traveling man will never deliberately do to another.

ned the "lord's" goods w

sharp run, I know of one instance where a shre

s to know, and how quickly, is: "Can I do any business here?" The merchant will have no trouble getting rid of the drummer if he will only be frank. All he must do is to give a fair reason why he does not wish to do business. He can say: "I have bought"-that is the best one, if it is true; it is the index finger pointing out a short route for the salesman straight to the front door. Or, he can say: "I have all in that

lf tell how he got the ear

muddy pond; besides the game fish is better to eat. When I went into his store, Jenkins fled from me, and going into his private office, slammed the door behind him. I made for the

slip: 'I have some samples I would like to show you. I will bring them over.' I handed the slip to

selling, I suppose, for up he marched and looked at my line. He picked up a shoe and wrote on a piece of paper: 'How much?' I wrote the price and passed the slip

his shoe man. They both agreed that the line was exceptional-just what they wanted-and that the pr

and the clerk's. While he sharpened his pencil I kept on packing. He took hold of my hand and made a curious sign, saying, 'Wait.

re always small ones and a small one will not be sufficient for me to give you the exclusive sale.' That was a clincher, for when a

ll if you will sell no one else in town,' wrote t

g spoken a word to old Jenkins, a traveling man friend cam

ll, thank y

ar and talk?' half

you; because you said, as I drew near the window, you didn't wish to li

u ask me if I want any baby shoes? You know I do and that I want yours. I believe, though, if you were to di

s of a wise, crusty old buyer, but it is wrong to play smart with a confiding

old me of a sharp sch

ota me

he hotel another clothing man grabbed him and got him to say he would look at his line after he had seen mine. When he came into my room, I could see something was wrong. I could not get him to

ing men in town; so I knew I must hold him. But he was hard to entertain. He wouldn't smoke and wouldn't drink anything but lemonade. Deliver me from the merchant who is on the water wagon or

to leave town as soon as I could. Then he told me he felt he ought to look at anoth

better than any you will see. We claim we are doing business on a more economical scale than any concern in the country. We know this, and I shall be only too glad to

who thinks lots of his family, anyway; I've got a big family myself-seven children-baby's just a month old and a fi

er letting my yokel friend get away from me a foot. I saw the other man, at whose line my friend wished to look, sitti

to episodes in the lives of

truck that subject! Finally my partner, Sam, came. As he drew near I gave him the wink, and, introducing my friend to him, said: 'Now, Mr. Anderson is in town to buy clothing. I have shown him my line, but he feels he ought to look around. Maybe I have

ll right. I knew he would hold him four hours, if necessary, a

filled my cigar case and going over to my competitor, at whose line Anderson had promised to look, offered him one. He had

an a man from the country came in. Two clothing bills in one day is all right, isn't it? I just turned my country

competitor had no right to ask about my

was out of the way. Then I sent a note up to him. In due

, his suits are two to three dollars higher than yours. You'll certainly get my

ths afterward; for if he had lived he would have been sure to catch up with me when Sam and

o it