158 MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 



assortment." To think that he is in com- 

 munication with Paris, and perhaps with Per- 

 sia ! Respect for such a being gives place to 

 awe. I go to another shop, holding fast to 

 my scarlet clue. There I am shown a heap 

 of stuff, with more colors and shades than 

 I had supposed existed in all the world. 

 What a blaze of distraction ! I have been 

 told to get as near the shade as I could ; and 

 so I compare and contrast, till the whole 

 thing seems to me about of one color. But 

 I can settle my mind on nothing. The af- 

 fair assumes a high degree of importance. 

 I am satisfied with nothing but perfection. 

 I don't know what may happen if the shade 

 is not matched. I go to another shop, and 

 another, and another. At last a pretty girl, 

 who could make any customer believe that 

 green is blue, matches the shade in a minute. 

 I buy five cents' worth. That was the order. 

 Women are the most economical persons 

 that ever were. I have spent two hours in 

 this five-cent business; but who shall say 

 they were wasted, when I take the stuff 



