During the scarcity of labor, a new clerk, who knew nothing of the business, was taken on by a furniture house. His mistakes were so bad that the proprietor was compelled to watch him closely, and to fire him after the following episode.
A lady customer asked to see some chiffoniers. The clerk led her to the display of bassinettes, which was an unfortunate error since the lady was an old maid. She accepted his apology, however, and then remarked:
"Where are your sideboards?"
The clerk blushed furiously, as he replied:
"Why—er—I shaved them off last week."
* * *
The lady who had some culture, but not too much, was describing the adventure of her husband, who had been in Messina at the time of the earthquake.
"It was awful," she declared, in tense tones. "When Jim went to bed, everything was perfectly quiet. And then, when he woke up, all of a sudden, there beside him was a yawning abbess!"
* * *