logically he was certain he’d never seen him before. He scrutinized the moist eyes, the hemp-like beard, the skin dark as a starless night. With the peddler’s each movement, a tobacco smell emanated from his clothes. Though the peddler averted his eyes, Samuel still somehow felt that the man was staring at him. And in this searching silence, as they assessed one another, each waiting for the other to speak, a feeling of fellowship rose between them. Samuel purchased two candles and a dove, and on the logic of that successful sale, the man came again.
Only some tragic past could produce such a man, Samuel decided. The peddler had the air of a learned man fallen on hard luck, and no one had more sympathy for that predicament than Samuel. On the next visit, he bought three new candles and a cheap watch to take apart and fix at will. Though it embarrassed him to think of giving this junk to his family, he felt he had to support the peddler in some way. He began to count on the visits to break the monotony of his day, and he thought the man, too, came to depend on his acquaintance. Not that they said much beyond trite sales pitches, a word or two about the weather. But they shared a common downfall: they were educated men cut astray by a world of circumstance, who were trying to find their footing. Or so Samuel liked to think of it. Every day after the stranger left, he spoke in confirmation to himself: “Yes, we are two doves in the same cage;” “You can lead us to the river, but you cannot make us drink;” and often, “The world sees us as problems, and all we want are the world’s problems solved.” In fact, Samuel, uneasy in a hermitry that wasn’t self-imposed, had begun to talk to himself in lofty proverbs.
Cleaning the shop every afternoon, he tucked his newly purchased junk in a box under the counter, saying to himself all the while, “Baby steps, baby steps. It is with the aid of the tree that the tree-climber makes contact with the sky. Rome was not built in a day. It takes time for business to grow, to enhance itself. Samuel, do not despair. Success is inevitable. Slowness means that the base of the business has a chance to grow solid. It is hard to fell a tree that is leaning against a rock. One cannot fell a tree with one’s hands tied behind one’s back. And even if I am not an immediate success, what is wrong? One must struggle to enjoy his rewards. If man were to achieve everything at once, he would lose his mind.”
With these sayings he was able for a time to believe that early defeat was the very best thing. For how indeed could a man feel any pride in an achievement merely handed to him? It was an initiation, a test of his staying power. He even began to take pride in his minor failures. It wasn’t until he checked his accounts at the end of the two-week period and discovered his earnings well into the negatives that he got angry, throwing that anger at the likeliest source of his ruin—the mongrel peddler.
“A man can only take so much upon himself before his back collapses in foolishness,” said Samuel to himself. “Does he think I am made of money, that he can keep coming in here and robbing a poor man blind? One hand washes the other, it is said. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. And what has he done for me, eh? Has he brought me radios to fix? Record players? Has he even brought me his toaster? Sth . A time waster. Nothing but a big man after a poor man’s bread.” And it was as though this unkind reasoning was the eulogy of their friendship, for the peddler didn’t return to the shop the next day.
“Good riddance,” said Samuel. “Go and find some other millionaire to harass.”
But when a second and then a third day passed in the peddler’s absence, Samuel began to get antsy. He fell into such low spirits that he forgot his usual hasty speech to potential customers, and actually found himself with four contracts by the end of the week. And that is how,
Only some tragic past could produce such a man, Samuel decided. The peddler had the air of a learned man fallen on hard luck, and no one had more sympathy for that predicament than Samuel. On the next visit, he bought three new candles and a cheap watch to take apart and fix at will. Though it embarrassed him to think of giving this junk to his family, he felt he had to support the peddler in some way. He began to count on the visits to break the monotony of his day, and he thought the man, too, came to depend on his acquaintance. Not that they said much beyond trite sales pitches, a word or two about the weather. But they shared a common downfall: they were educated men cut astray by a world of circumstance, who were trying to find their footing. Or so Samuel liked to think of it. Every day after the stranger left, he spoke in confirmation to himself: “Yes, we are two doves in the same cage;” “You can lead us to the river, but you cannot make us drink;” and often, “The world sees us as problems, and all we want are the world’s problems solved.” In fact, Samuel, uneasy in a hermitry that wasn’t self-imposed, had begun to talk to himself in lofty proverbs.
Cleaning the shop every afternoon, he tucked his newly purchased junk in a box under the counter, saying to himself all the while, “Baby steps, baby steps. It is with the aid of the tree that the tree-climber makes contact with the sky. Rome was not built in a day. It takes time for business to grow, to enhance itself. Samuel, do not despair. Success is inevitable. Slowness means that the base of the business has a chance to grow solid. It is hard to fell a tree that is leaning against a rock. One cannot fell a tree with one’s hands tied behind one’s back. And even if I am not an immediate success, what is wrong? One must struggle to enjoy his rewards. If man were to achieve everything at once, he would lose his mind.”
With these sayings he was able for a time to believe that early defeat was the very best thing. For how indeed could a man feel any pride in an achievement merely handed to him? It was an initiation, a test of his staying power. He even began to take pride in his minor failures. It wasn’t until he checked his accounts at the end of the two-week period and discovered his earnings well into the negatives that he got angry, throwing that anger at the likeliest source of his ruin—the mongrel peddler.
“A man can only take so much upon himself before his back collapses in foolishness,” said Samuel to himself. “Does he think I am made of money, that he can keep coming in here and robbing a poor man blind? One hand washes the other, it is said. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. And what has he done for me, eh? Has he brought me radios to fix? Record players? Has he even brought me his toaster? Sth . A time waster. Nothing but a big man after a poor man’s bread.” And it was as though this unkind reasoning was the eulogy of their friendship, for the peddler didn’t return to the shop the next day.
“Good riddance,” said Samuel. “Go and find some other millionaire to harass.”
But when a second and then a third day passed in the peddler’s absence, Samuel began to get antsy. He fell into such low spirits that he forgot his usual hasty speech to potential customers, and actually found himself with four contracts by the end of the week. And that is how,
Similar Books
