cases. I was looking over his show cases one day when he picked
up a small good pencil case suitable to put on a lady's chain. My friend
told me chat his trade price for this article was 3s. 6d., and he had
seen it marked--his own make--18s. in Regent Street shops. I have known
of others in the fancy trades tell a similar story.

For instance, a manufacturer once told me that he had made gold ware
for the Royal table, but not directly. His order came from a West-end
house and his name was to be altogether suppressed.

In some preceding remarks I referred to cheap sham jewellery. There is a
very considerable amount of it made in Birmingham, and "gilt jewellery"
is the name by which it is known. Respecting this trade and its
productions I can, perhaps, tell a few of my readers something that may
rather surprise them. Not many years ago I wished to see and purchase
some of this gilt jewellery in order to make gay and glorious a
Christmas tree--Heaven forbid, of course, that my friends or myself
should adorn ourselves with such baubles.

I went to a manufacturer of these wares to make my purchases, and hoped
to buy cheaply. And I did; at a price indeed that rather astonished me.
For instance, I was shown some brilliant looking brooches of good design
and finish, and sparkling with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies,
of rich lustre--or, I should say, imitations of these precious stones. I
looked at these handsome productions and thought a good price would be
asked for them. I was, as I have hinted however, rather more than
astonished to find that I could make a very good selection at from 15s.
to 18s. per dozen.

Just fancy, these brilliant brooches adorned with gems of purest ray
serene--that is, to the naked, unexpert eye--well-fashioned in the
matter of workmanship, and looking of, at least, eighteen carat gold,
and yet they could be purchased at the rate of from fifteen to eighteen
pence each. What, however, staggered me still more was to find that
there was a lower deep still in the matter of price. On my venturing to
remark to the warehouse-man who showed me the articles mentioned, that I
supposed they were the very cheapest things in the trade, he remarked,
"Oh dear no, we don't do anything in the cheap stuff line. If you want
that you must go to Messrs. So-and-So, in Blank Street."

I went to the cheap firm he named in Blank Street, and there sure
enough found cheap stuff and no mistake. Brooches and lockets