it of great
bargains, and so forth and so forth, yet his store was nearly deserted.
Thaddeus Smith was a perfectly upright man. It is true, he charged a
large profit on his goods--this was because it had always been his
habit, and that of his father before him. But he was accommodating in
his credit and lenient to debtors in default. His word could be relied
on implicitly, and his dealings were marked by scrupulous honesty.

On this trying occasion he called his son, who was supposed to be his
partner, into consultation, and asked him what he thought of the state
of things.

'I think this, father,' was the reply, 'that we can not expect to go on
longer in the old style. We must reduce our profits one half, and to do
this, we must be more particular in our credits, and buy with more care
and of different people. In this way I will engage--by pursuing a
straightforward, energetic course, we shall hold our own against the
cash-man over the way.'

It was some time before Mr. Smith, Senior, could be persuaded. It was
not just the thing, taking advice from a 'boy,' although the boy was
past thirty, and had a family of his own. He yielded, however, and
Thaddeus, Junior, was permitted to carry out his plan. He made a trip to
New-York and purchased goods, instead of sending an order for them as
had been their habit, where he could find the best bargains at least ten
per cent cheaper than his father was in the habit of buying, came home,
got out handbills in his turn, requesting the people to call at the 'old
stand,' look at the fresh stock, selected personally with great care,
and bought cheap _for_ cash, but which would be sold as usual on
approved credit. This gave the tide a turn in the old direction, and Mr.
Jessup had to set to work anew. He was not a bad man in his way, but
neither was he a good one. He was not over-scrupulous nor severely
honest. His prices varied, so the folks discovered, and he, or rather
his clerks, sometimes made mistakes in the quality of articles sold.
After a while the cash system sensibly relaxed, and at last both
establishments settled down into a severe and uncompromising opposition.
There was a pretty large back country which received its supplies from
Hampton, and so both stores managed to do a thriving trade. The Smiths
retaining as customers the large portion of the staid and respectable
population, while Mr. Jessup's business depended more on his dealings
with the people from the surroun