A friend told the narrator that it is their destiny to buy in the best markets and sell at the cheapest price. They had an exception to this rule, finding a portfolio of water-colour drawings in a cathedral city. The dealer offered them ten shillings for the drawing, but the narrator didn’t guarantee it. He sold it for fifty pounds, resulting in a profit of forty-nine pounds ten.
The narrator then thought about giving the dealer half of the proceeds, as he had behaved well to him and should have participated in the transaction. He wrote a note stating that the drawing was authentic and enclosed half of the proceeds. However, he didn’t post the note and went to bed.
At around 3.30 a.m., the narrator reviewed his life’s errors and put the letter to the dealer under examination and cross-examination. He questioned why he gave the dealer half of the profits, as it would give him a wrong idea of his customers and make him feel embittered. He decided that five pounds would be enough, and a brief note would be enough to make him a present.
The next morning, the narrator thought about the dealer and decided that such bargains are part of the game. Buying and selling are straightforward matters between dealer and customer, with the dealer asking as much as they can extort, and the customer being under no obligation to the dealer.
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