Essays of Oliver Goldsmith Author:Oliver Goldsmith General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1889 Original Publisher: Macmillan Subjects: Science / Life Sciences / Biochemistry Science / Life Sciences / Biology / Molecular Biology Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you bu... more »y the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: XXVIII. English Shops And Shopkeepers. The shops of London are as well furnished as those of Pekin. Those of London have a picture hung at their door, informing the passengers what they have to sell, as those at Pekin have a board to assure the buyer that they have no intent to cheat him. I was this morning to buy silk for a nightcap. Immediately upon entering the mercer's shop, the master and his two men, with wigs plastered with powder, appeared to ask my commands. They were certainly the civillest people alive; if I but looked, they flew to the place where I cast my eye ; every motion of mine sent them running round the whole shop for my satisfaction. I informed them that I wanted what was good, and they showed me not less than forty pieces, and each was the better than the former, the prettiest pattern in nature, and the fittest in the world for nightcaps. " My very good friend," said I to the mercer, " you must not pretend to instruct me in silks ; I know these in particular to be no better than your mere flimsy bungees." -- " That may be," cried the mercer, who, I afterwards found, had never contradicted a man in his life: " I cannot pretend to say but they may; but I can assure you, my Lady Trail has had a sack from this piece this very morning." -- "But, friend," said I, "though my lady has chosen a sack from it, I see no necessity that I should wear it for a nightcap." -- "That may be," returned he again; "yet what becomes a pretty lady, will at any time look...« less