"One dollar!"
"At last I am offered one dollar! Think of it! One dollar for a beautiful vase such as might well adorn the home of a Gould, or a Vanderbilt! But such is life. One dollar—one dollar"
"One and a quarter!"
"One and a half!"
"One and a half is offered! Oh, what a shame, ladies and gentlemen; a paltry dollar and a half for an article worth, at the very lowest estimate, twenty-five dollars. Who makes it two dollars?"
"Two!"
"Two and a half!"
"Three!"
"Three and a quarter!"
"Three and a quar— Ah, four dollars? Four dollars! Who says five? Going at four—at four—at four. Four and a half—four and a quarter—this is your last chance, remember. Did you say five, sir? No? Well, four it is, then. Going—going—the last chance, ladies and gentlemen! Going—going—gone, to the lady in the brown dress, Andrew, for four dollars!"
The scene was a small store on Nassau street near Fulton street, in New York City. Outside of the open doorway hung a red flag, indicative of an auction sale. The single window of the place was
