- description
- # CHAPTER XLII.
## Overview
"CHAPTER XLII." is a chapter from Herman Melville's novel, [THE CONFIDENCE-MAN: HIS MASQUERADE.](arke:01KG8AJ86G6HP7TCHND218MWGA). It was extracted from the digital text file [the_confidence_man.txt](arke:01KG89J1JMR8XVKPA0G8ADAPC4) between lines 9732 and 9982. This chapter is part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.
## Context
This chapter is the forty-second in the sequence of [THE CONFIDENCE-MAN: HIS MASQUERADE.](arke:01KG8AJ86G6HP7TCHND218MWGA), following [CHAPTER XLI.](arke:01KG8AJNPW2ZJ603XV8VPNVD5T) and preceding [CHAPTER XLIII](arke:01KG8AJNPW0KV0WYEFCSC1NV1T). The novel, published in 1857, is known for its allegorical and satirical exploration of trust, deception, and human nature, set aboard a Mississippi River steamboat.
## Contents
This chapter details an encounter between the Cosmopolitan and a barber. The Cosmopolitan enters the barber's shop and engages him in a philosophical discussion about trust and suspicion, prompted by a "No Trust" sign. The conversation explores the barber's reluctance to trust strangers and the Cosmopolitan's attempts to persuade him otherwise, even offering to insure against loss. The chapter concludes with the barber's dry refusal, stating, "Sir, you must excuse me. I have a family." The text of the chapter is divided into four chunks, beginning with the Cosmopolitan's entrance and benediction, and ending with the barber's final refusal to trust.
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- CHAPTER XLII.
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- CHAPTER XLII.