As the fair happened on the following day, I had intentions of going myself; but my wife persuaded me that I had got a cold, and nothing could prevail upon her to permit me from home. "No, my dear, " said she, "our son Moses is a discreet boy, and can buy and sell to very good advantage; you know all our great bargains are of his purchasing. He always stands out and higgles, and actually tires them till he gets a bargain. "As I had some opinion of my son"s prudence, I was willing enough to trust him with this commission, and the next morning I perceived his sisters mighty busy in fitting out Moses for the fair, trimming his hair, brushing his buckles, and cocking his hat with pins. The business of the toilet being over, we had at last the satisfaction of seeing him mounted upon the colt, with a deal box before him to bring home groceries in. He had on a coat made of that cloth called thunder-and- lightning, which, though grown too short, was much too good to be thrown away. His waistcoat was of gosling-green, and his sisters had tied his hair with a broad black ribbon. We had followed him several paces from the door, bawling after him, "Good luck! good luck! " till we could see him no longer.
Later in the day, as Moses had not returned as soon as was expected, I began to wonder what could keep o u r s o n s o l o n g a t t h e f a i r . " N e v e r m i n d o u r s o n , "Moses sets off for the Fair
cried my wife; "depend upon it he knows what he is about; I"ll warrant we"ll never see him sell his hen on a rainy day. I have seen him buy such bargains as would amaze one. I"ll tell you a good story about that, that will make you split your sides with laughing. But, as I live, yonder comes Moses, without a horse, and the box at his back. "As she spoke, Moses came slowly on foot, and sweating under the deal box, which he had strapped round his shoulders like a pedlar. "Welcome ! welcome, Moses ! Well, my boy, what have you brought us from the fair? ""I have brought you myself, " cried Moses, with a sly look, and resting the box on the dresser.
"Ay, Moses, " cried my wife, " that we know, but where is the horse? ""I have sold him, " cried Moses, " for three pounds five shillings and two pence,.""Well done, my good boy, " returned she; "I knew that you would touch them off. Between ourselves, three pounds five shillings and two pence is no bad day"s work. Come, let us have it then. ""I have brought back no money, " cried Moses again, "I have laid it all out in a bargain, and here it is, " pulling out a bundle from his breast; "here they are: a gross of green spectacles, with silver rims and shagreen cases. ""A gross of green spectacles! " repeated my wife in a faint voice. "And you have parted with the colt, and brought us back nothing but a gross of green paltry spectacles ! ""Dear mother, " cried the boy, "why won"t you listen to reason? I had them a dead bargain, or I should not have bought them. The silver rims alone will sell for double the money. ""A fig for the silver rims ! " cried my wife in a passion : "I dare swear they won"t sell for above half the money at the rate of broken silver, five shillings an ounce. ""You need be under no uneasiness, " cried I, "about selling the rims, for they are not worth sixpence, for I perceive that they are only copper varnished over. " "No, " I went on, "no more silver than your saucepan. ""And so, " returned she, " we have parted with the colt, and have got only a gross of green spectacles, with copper rims and shagreen cases ! A murrain take such trumpery! The blockhead has been imposed upon, and should have knownhis company better ! "
"There, my dear, " cried I, "you are wrong; he should not have known them at all. ""Marry, hang the idiot! " returned she, "to bring me such stuff; if I had them I would throw them in the fire. ""There again you are wrong, my dear; " cried I, " for, though they be copper, we shall keep them by us, as copper spectacles, you know, are better than nothing."By this time the unfortunate Moses was undeceived. He now saw that he had indeed been imposed upon by a prowling sharper, who, observing his figure, had marked him for an easy prey. I therefore asked him the circumstances of his deception. He sold the horse, it seems, and walked the fair in search of another. A reverend-looking man brought him to a tent, under pretence of having one to sell. " Here, " continued Moses, " we met another man, very well dressed, who desired to borrow twenty pounds upon these, saying that he wanted money, and would dispose of them for a third of their value. The first gentleman, who pretended to be my friend, whispered me to buy them, and cautioned me not to let so good an offer pass. I sent for Mr. Flamborough, and they talked him up as finely as they did me; and so at last we were persuaded to buy the two gross between us. "From The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver GoldsmithAuthor.-Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), son of an Irish clergyman, was born at Pallas, County Longford, Ireland. He was educated at TrinityCollege, Dublin, and afterwards studied medicine at Edinburgh and Leyden( Holland) universities. Having wandered on foot over Europe, he settled down as a writer in London, where he was the friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, Reynolds the artist, Garrick the actor, and others. He wrote one great novel, The Vicar of Wakefield; much simple and sincere poetry-The Traveller, The Deserted Village, etc.; the dramas She Stoops to Conquer and The Good-natured Man; and some charming essays, among them The Citizen of the World. He was one of the most lovable of men, as he shows in all his writings; and he was not worldly wise. "Let not his frailties be remembered, " wrote Johnson; " he was a very great man. "General.-Who is telling the story? What is a vicar? What is a fair?
What was there in Moses"s dress that indicates olden times? How is the character of the vicar"s wife revealed in the story?