at
all. Please notice. Here, for instance, is Russian and here English
tricot, or here, cangan and cheviot. Compare, feel it, and you'll be
convinced that the Russian samples almost don't give in to the foreign.
Why, that speaks of progress, of the growth of culture. So it's
absolutely for nothing that Europe counts us Russians such barbarians.

"And so we'll pay our family visits, will look at the fair, pay a visit
to the CHATEAU DES FLEURS, enjoy ourselves a little, stroll a bit, and
then to the Volga down to Tzaritzin, to the Black Sea, and then again
home to our native Odessa."

"That's a fine journey," said the sub-lieutenant modestly.

"I should say it's fine," agreed Simon Yakovlevich; "but there are no
roses without thorns. The work of a travelling salesman is exceedingly
difficult and requires many kinds of knowledge, and not so much the
knowledge of business as the knowledge of--how shall I say it?--the
knowledge of the human soul. Another man may not even want to give an
order, but you must work like an elephant to convince him, and argue
until he feels the clearness and justice of your words. Because I take
only absolutely clean lines exclusively, of which there can be no
doubts. A fake or a bad line I will not take, although they should
offer me millions for it. Ask wherever you like, in any store which
deals in cloths or suspenders GLOIRE--I'm also a representative from
this firm--or buttons HELIOS--you just ask who Simon Yakovlevich
Horizon is, and everyone will answer you: 'Simon Yakovlevich is not a
man, but gold; this is a disinterested man, as honest as a diamond.'"
And Horizon was already unpacking long boxes with patented suspenders,
and was showing the glistening leaves of cardboard, covered with
regular rows of vari-coloured buttons.

"There happen great unpleasantnesses, when the place has been worked
out, when a lot of travelling salesmen have appeared before you. Here
you can't do anything; they absolutely won't listen to you, only wave
their arms. But that's only for others. I am Horizon! I can talk him
over, the same like a camel from a menagerie. But it happens still more
unpleasant, when two competitors in one and the same line come together
in the same town. And it happens even worse when it's some chimney
sweep and can't do business himself and spoils business for you too.
Here you go to all sorts of tricks: let him drink till he's drunk or
let him go off somewhere on a false track.