ope of doing better.
"But it's too little."

"It's enough," said the lady, as she turned to call a servant. Five
boxes of fine large strawberries were received, and forty cents paid
for them. The lady re-entered the parlor, pleased at her good
bargain, while the poor woman turned from the door sad and
disheartened. She walked nearly the distance of a square before she
could trust her voice to utter her monotonous cry of

"Strawb'_rees!_ Strawb'_rees!_"

An hour afterward, a friend called upon Mrs. Mier, the lady who had
bought the strawberries. After talking about various matters and
things interesting to lady housekeepers, Mrs. Mier said:

"How much did you pay for strawberries this morning?"

"Ten cents."

"You paid too much. I bought them for eight."

"For eight! Were they good ones?"

"Step into the dining-room, and I will show them to you."

The ladies stepped into the dining-room, when Mrs. Mier displayed
her large, red berries, which were really much finer than she had at
first supposed them to be.

"You didn't get them for eight cents," remarked the visitor,
incredulously.

"Yes I did. I paid forty cents for five boxes."

"While I paid fifty for some not near so good."

"I suppose you paid just what you were asked?"

"Yes, I always do that. I buy from one woman during the season, who
agrees to furnish me at the regular market price."

"Which you will always find to be two or three cents above what you
can get them for in the market."

"You always buy in market."

"I bought these from a woman at the door."

"Did she only ask eight cents for them?"

"Oh, no! She asked ten cents, and pretended that she got twelve and
a half for the same quality of berries yesterday. But I never give
these people what they ask."

"While I never can find it in my heart to ask a poor, tired-looking
woman at my door, to take a cent less for her fruit than she asks
me. A cent or two, while it is of little account to me, must be of
great importance to her."

"You are a very poor economist, I see," said Mrs. Mier. "If that is
the way you deal with every one, your husband no doubt finds his
expense account a very serious item."

"I don't know about that. He never complains. He allows me a certain
sum every week to keep the house, and find my own and the children's
clothes; and so far from ever calling on him for more, I always have
fifty or a hundred dollars lying by me."

"You must have a precious large all