“What’s the price?” I enquired.

“Got an old coat?” was my only answer.  “Don’t want money.”

My husband was the possessor of a coat that had seen pretty good service, and which he had not worn for some time.  In fact, it had been voted superannuated, and consigned to a dark corner of the clothes-press.  The thought of this garment came very naturally into my mind, and with the thought a pleasant exhilaration of feeling, for I already saw the vases on my mantles.

“Any old clothes?” repeated the vender of china ware.

Without a word I left the dining room, and hurried up to where our large clothes-press stood, in the passage above.  From this I soon abstracted the coat, and then descended with quick steps.

The dull face of the old man brightened, the moment his eyes fell upon the garment.  He seized it with a nervous movement, and seemed to take in its condition at a single glance.  Apparently, the examination was not very satisfactory, for he let the coat fall, in a careless manner, across a chair, giving his shoulders a shrug, while a slight expression of contempt flitted over his countenance.

“Not much good!” fell from his lips after a pause.

By this time I had turned to his basket, and was examining, more carefully, its contents.  Most prominent stood the china vases, upon which my heart was already set; and instinctively I took them in my hands.

“What will you give for the coat?” said I.

The old man gave his head a significant shake, as he replied—­

“No very good.”

“It’s worth something,” I returned.  “Many a poor person would be glad to buy it for a small sum of money.  It’s only a little defaced.  I’m sure its richly worth four or five dollars.”

“Pho!  Pho!  Five dollar!  Pho!” The old man seemed angry at my most unreasonable assumption.

“Well, well,” said I, beginning to feel a little impatient, “just tell me what you will give for it.”

“What you want?” he enquired, his manner visibly changing.

“I want these vases, at any rate,” I answered, holding up the articles I had mentioned.

“Worth four, five dollar!” ejaculated the dealer, in well feigned surprise.

I shook my head.  He shrugged his shoulders, and commenced searching his basket, from which, after a while, he took a china cup and saucer, on which I read, in gilt letters, “For my Husband.”

“Give you this,” said he.

It was now my time to show surprise; I answered—­

“Indeed you won’t, then.  But I’ll tell you what I will do; I’ll let you have the coat for the vases and this cup and saucer.”

To this proposition the man gave an instant and decided negative, and seemed half offended by my offer.  He threw the coat, which was in his hands again, upon a chair, and stooping down took his basket on his arm.  I was deceived by his manner, and began to think that I had proposed rather a hard bargain; so I said—­