e large purchases; he seldom, however, returned from one of
these journeys without bringing either a beautiful flower, a piece of
money, or a cake, which the mistresses of such cooks gave him as a
present, because they were always pleased to see the handsome boy come
to the house.

One day the cobbler's wife was sitting as usual in the marketplace,
having before her some baskets with cabbages and other vegetables,
various herbs and seeds, besides some early pears, apples, and
apricots, in a small basket. Little James (this was the boy's name)
sat by her, crying the things for sale in a loud voice: "This way,
gentlemen, see what beautiful cabbages, what fragrant herbs; early
pears, ladies, early apples and apricots; who will buy? My mother
sells cheap."

While the boy was thus crying, an old woman was coming across the
market; her dress was rather tattered and in rags, she had a small,
sharp face, quite furrowed with age, red eyes, and a pointed, crooked
nose, which reached down to her chin; in her walk she supported herself
by a long stick, and yet it was difficult to say exactly how she
walked, for she hobbled and shuffled along, and waddled as if she were
on casters, and it was as if she must fall down every instant and break
her pointed nose on the pavement.

The cobbler's wife looked attentively at this old woman. For sixteen
years she had been sitting daily in the market, yet she had never
observed this strange figure, and therefore involuntarily shuddered
when she saw the old hag hobbling towards her and stopping before her
baskets.

"Are you Jane, the greengrocer?" she asked in a disagreeable, croaking
voice, shaking her head to and fro.

"Yes, I am," replied the cobbler's wife; "what is your pleasure?"

"We'll see, we'll see, we'll look at your herbs--look at your herbs, to
see whether you have what I want," answered the old woman; and stooping
down she thrust her dark brown, unsightly hands into the herb-basket,
and took up some that were beautifully spread out, with her long
spider-legged fingers, bringing them one by one up to her long nose,
and smelling them all over. The poor woman almost felt her heart break
when she saw the old hag handle her herbs in this manner, but she dared
not say any thing to her, the purchasers having a right to examine the
things as they pleased; besides which, she felt a singular awe in the
presence of this old woman. After having searched the whole basket,
she mutte