John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
5491 Charles Miner 1780-1865 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 5491 |
| AUTHOR: | Charles Miner (1780–1865) |
| QUOTATION: | When I see a merchant over-polite to his customers, begging them to taste a little brandy and throwing half his goods on the counter,—thinks I, that man has an axe to grind. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Who ’ll turn Grindstones. 1 |
| Note 1. From “Essays from the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe,” Doylestown, Pa., 1815. It first appeared in the “Wilkesbarre Gleaner,” 1811. [back] |