118 THE HUNTING-FIELD. 



lucky purchases : do you mean to try to make 

 take back tlie two I got of him ? '' 



" I am glad you asked me that particular ques- 

 tion/^ said I, " as it will cause me to give you 

 some bits of my experience, that I feel sure will 

 be of use to you." 



There are certain facts and principles of the 

 truth of which it is very easy to convince people ; 

 yet in accordance with w hich, thongh convinced, 

 they cannot bring themselves to act. One of 

 these is your case, my friend, and nineteen men in 

 twenty, in lien of acting as yon propose doing, at 

 once getting rid of that w^liich does not snit them, 

 shrink from making that which appears a sacrifice, 

 and by so doing make a real one to tvvice the 

 amount, by acting on a mistaken idea of avoiding 

 any : it matters not wdiat the subject may be, 

 w^hether a horse or a chest of drawers; and to 

 make the thing clear to all sorts of persons, I 

 will instance the chest of drawers for my present 

 purpose. 



An old person has, we will say, such an article, 

 but wishes for a set of another form ; these said 

 drawers w^e will suppose to have been purchased 

 forty years ago : every one knows that furniture 

 of the same class is now to be got for about half 

 the price it was charged in 1810 ; the drawers 

 then cost (say) 20/., the same are made now for 

 10/. j for that price the person can get a pair of 



