The country jew’ler[242] made an extra call,
And urged his trinkets for the coming ball;
Round to the back[243] he plied his hollow trash,
And smil’d in secret as he told the cash.
(The cunning fellow thought this was, of course,
A splendid chance, some of his wares to force;—
He guess’d aright—for housemaids, cooks, and scullion
Bought his mosaic, contentedly, for bullion.)
A genteel “Packman,”[244] who for years had made
His regular calls, now, following up his trade
With silks, and satins, cottons, every shade—
Avowing cheapness, with a wondrous knack—
Consid’rably reduced his holy pack:
All gather’d ’round him with an earnest zeal:
His India silks, if not, were looking real:
So one and all, including old John Swift,[245]
Bought something of the man before he left,—
Determin’d were they to be prim and gay
Upon their noble master’s wedding-day.
[242] A hawker of watches and jewellery.
[243] Among the servants.
[244] A wandering draper.
[245] John Swift, a very old servant (formerly coachman) of Arnold’s
father; who still was an inmate of the mansion, though almost incapable
of doing any kind of work.