nd the like; all which circumstances are subject to
contingencies and disappointments, and are known to be so by the person
to whom the promise is made; and it is with all those contingencies and
possibilities of disappointment, that he takes or accepts the
tradesman's promise, and forbears him, in hopes that he will be able to
perform, knowing, that unless he receives money as above, he cannot.

I must, however, acknowledge, that it is a very mortifying thing to a
tradesman, whether we suppose him to be one that values his credit in
trade, or his principle as to honest dealing, to be obliged to break his
word; and therefore, where men are not too much under the hatches to the
creditor, and they can possibly avoid it, a tradesman should not make
his promises of payment so positive, but rather conditional, and thereby
avoid both the immorality and the discredit of breaking his word; nor
will any tradesman, I hope, harden himself in a careless forwardness to
promise, without endeavouring or intending to perform, from any thing
said in this chapter; for be the excuse for it as good as it will, as to
the point of strict honesty, he can have but small regard to his own
peace of mind, or to his own credit in trade, who will not avoid it as
much as possible.

FOOTNOTES:

[26] [The practice of haggling about prices is now very properly
abandoned by all respectable dealers in goods, greatly to the comfort of
both sellers and buyers.]

[27] [It was a fashion of trade in Defoe's time, and down to a somewhat
later period, to thrust the phrase 'God willing' into almost every
promise or announcement, the purport of which might possibly be thwarted
by death or any other accident. The phrase, in particular, appeared at
the beginning of all letters in which a merchant announced his design of
visiting retail dealers in the provinces; as, 'God willing, I shall have
the honour of waiting on you on the 15th proximo:' hence English
_riders_, or commercial travellers, came to be known in Scotland by the
nickname of God-willings.' This pious phraseology seems now to be
banished from all mercantile affairs, except the shipping of goods.]

[28] [Notwithstanding all this ingenious reasoning, we cannot help
thinking that it would be better if conditional promises were made in
conditional language. It is not necessarily to be understood in all
cases that a direct unreserved promise means something conditional, so
that there is a liability to b