The House of the Seven Gables Chapter 3 - The First Customer

In which Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon musters the courage to open a humble cent-shop within the old family mansion, facing the harsh realities of commerce and human nature with a mixture of dread and reluctant hope. Her first customers—a kindly young daguerreotypist and a persistent schoolboy—bring a faint glimmer of comfort amidst the intrusive judgments and stark challenges that accompany her new life in trade.