is ears. "It is well," said he; "the ball has
been set a-rolling, and the work that has been well begun is already
half completed. When once the steps of the unthinking crowd have
habituated themselves to move hither-ward, they will continue to come
with the constancy of the tide, which ever rolls itself on the same
strand." And then he tasked himself to think how that tide should
be made always to flow,--never to ebb. "They must be brought here,"
said he, "ever by new allurements. When once they come, it is only in
accordance with the laws of human nature that they should leave their
money behind them." Upon that, he prepared the words for another
card, in which he begged his friends, the public of the city, to
come to Magenta House, as friends should come. They were invited to
see, and not to buy. The firm did not care that purchases should be
made thus early in their career. Their great desire was that the
arrangements of the establishment should be witnessed before any
considerable portion of the immense stock had been moved for the
purpose of retail sale. And then the West End public were especially
requested to inspect the furs which were being collected for the
anticipated sale of the next winter. It was as he wrote these words
that he heard that demand for the African monkey muff, and heard also
Mr. Jones's discreet answer. "Yes," said he to himself; "before we
have done, ships shall come to us from all coasts; real ships. From
Tyre and Sidon, they shall come; from Ophir and Tarshish, from the
East and from the West, and from the balmy southern islands. How
sweet will it be to be named among the Merchant Princes of this great
commercial nation!" But he felt that Brown and Jones would never be
Merchant Princes, and he already looked forward to the day when he
would be able to emancipate himself from such thraldom.

It has been already said that a considerable amount of business was
done over the counter on the first day, but that the sum of money
taken was not as great as had been hoped. That this was caused by Mr.
Brown's injudicious mode of going to work, there could be no doubt.
He had filled the shelves of the shop with cheap articles for which
he had paid, and had hesitated in giving orders for heavy amounts
to the wholesale houses. Such orders had of course been given, and
in some cases had been given in vain; but quite enough of them had
been honoured to show what might have been done, had there been no
h