564 
TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY 
tliafc those present were invited to sign a sort of compact that they would try 
to carry out the idea of early closing. Mr. Bell said he would not sign anything, 
but he would act, and that night the shutters were put up at eight instead 
of ten o’clock, and such had been the practice ever since, until lately, when 
they had closed rather earlier. The door remained open an hour later, but 
the intimation was thus given to customers that they were desirous of closing 
the business of the day. When a young man had been confined to business 
from seven in the morning until nine at night, he was not much inclined to 
study pharmacy or chemistry, but would rather read some light book or take 
a little fresh air, if he had the opportunity. Again, as to Sunday trading; 
what they did was not a rule for other people, and he followed those who 
went before him, but their plan was this. Mr. John Bell, being a Friend, al¬ 
ways kept the door closed on Sunday, and he believed, at one time, also on 
Thursdays. There was no credit due to him, (Mr. Hills), therefore, for ad¬ 
opting the practice, but nevertheless, he ventured to recommend it strongly 
to the trade generally, for he did not think there was any diminution in re¬ 
ceipts occasioned by early closing. He would, however, strongly impress 
upon everybody that whatever was asked for should be served, for the cus¬ 
tomer was the best judge of what w as required, and a pennyworth of pills 
or castor oil might be the means of saving a person’s life. He recollected 
when he used to ^e on Sunday duty, having sometimes to make up an old 
prescription of twenty or sixty pills, which was left before church time 
to be called for on the way back, and of course that sort of thing they did 
not wish to cultivate, but at the same time it was their duty to be always at 
their post, and ready to serve anything that might be required. 
Mr. Deane said he had felt somewhat strongly on this subject for many 
years. As had been said by Mr. Hills, Mr. John Bell, although it was be¬ 
fore his time, was accustomed not to open his shop on Thursday mornings 
until after meeting time, as he thought it was no more right to do so when 
there was religious w orship going forward than on Sundays. There was one 
practice in connection with Sunday closing which he strongly deprecated, 
viz. that of opening in the evening ; if the shop was to be closed on any¬ 
thing like a religious principle, it should be closed in toto. He thought they 
should be always civil and obliging to every one that came on a Sunday for 
a little medicine, or even for what they might not consider a medicine; a 
person might be going to church or chapel or elsewhere, and might like to 
have a few acidulated drops, and they had no right to judge that person as to 
the use of those drops. They might be necessary to keep down a trouble¬ 
some cough during the service. Therefore, he always instructed his assist¬ 
ants to be civil and obliging, and serve any such things if they w’ere asked 
for, but if they were asked for a pennyworth of hair-oil or anything of that 
kind, he let them use their own discretion whether they would supply it or 
not, but saying at the same time that it could not be obtained again. There 
were certain things, however, which he conceived it to be their duty to pro¬ 
test against. Many years ago he had two or three opportunities of making 
a respectful protest to several of his carriage customers, mostly ladies, with 
reference to getting medicines made up during church time. When the 
family had been put down at church, the footman would bring the prescrip¬ 
tion, very frequently seven or eight years old, wdth a request that it might 
be got ready by the time they returned from church; of course this was 
done until the time arrived for him to make his protest, which -would be 
when the lady herself would come into the shop, saying she was sorry to 
trouble him with a prescription on a Sunday, but she knew he always had 
some one there, and that he did not mind it. To this he would reply, that 
he did mind it; that he or his assistant was always there, and ready to clis- 
