fumbling for her little pattern of merino, she compared it
with the piece. They agreed perfectly as to fineness.

"What is the price of this?" she asked, with trembling hope
that she was going to be rewarded by success for all the
trouble of her enterprise.

"Two dollars a yard."

Her hopes and countenance fell together. "That's too high,"
she said, with a sigh.

"Then take this other blue; come — it's a great deal prettier
than that dark one, and not so dear; and I know your mother
will like it better."

Ellen's cheeks were tingling and her heart throbbing, but she
couldn't bear to give up.

"Would you be so good as to show me some gray?"

He slowly and ill-humouredly complied, and took down an
excellent piece of dark gray, which Ellen fell in love with at
once; but she was again disappointed; it was fourteen
shillings.

"Well, if you won't take that, take something else," said the
man; "you can't have everything at once; if you will have
cheap goods, of course you can't have the same quality that
you like; but now, here's this other blue, only twelve