“The bad boy got hold of one of these and discovered a new use for it. He looked through the wrong end at a lamp post, and found that it turned the post upside down. Would you believe it, gentlemen, after that he stood on the street corner, gazing at the passers-by, and had every man, woman and child walking upside down.
“Of course, I don’t want any of you to do the same thing, because it would be unfair and wouldn’t be nice.
“Now, before I begin to hand them out, I wish to show you an article that is related to the Look-Back, and, in fact, goes with it. It is a microscope—not like the ordinary ones, but one that magnifies one hundred thousand times larger, according to its size and power, than anything that has ever been discovered. It is something every man should own, from the fact that he can make it pay for itself a thousand times over.
“In buying your groceries, for instance, you can discover any and all adulterations by its aid. The same with the water which you drink—any impurities in it can be easily seen.
“If you buy a suit of clothes, the microscope comes in handy again, for by its aid you can find out whether your clothes are all wool, or mixed with cotton. If you need a sunglass, or want to do anything which requires an acuteness of sight beyond the limit of the human eye, you can be assisted by the microscope.
“There are a thousand and one other uses for this little instrument, but you all know what it is and it is needless for me to go into any further statement of its merits.
“I wish to explain that I am here to introduce these microscopes, and that I have orders to place them with every drug and jewelry store in your city. The price will be from two to three dollars, and if you wish them after I am gone you can get them from your local dealers at those figures.
“I am going to sell them tonight, however, for the purpose of introduction, and for the small sum of twenty-five cents; and with every microscope that is sold I will give one of these valuable Look-Backs, free of charge. The first man who passes me up a quarter gets a pair of these valuable articles. Thank you, sir; you break the ice, and for the rest of your life you will be thanking me.”
The quarters began to roll in, and my local talent was kept busy in helping me keep track of the people in the crowd who wanted to be customers. They had already helped me out in “looking backward,” but the musician I had sent for a loaf of bread must have forgotten me, since he never returned. Of course, I never actually attempted to do the trick, but used the patter to interest the crowd, and if asked for it would make some comical excuse which would raise a laugh.
The “Look-Backs” cost me fifty cents per dozen and the microscopes fifty-eight.