Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1852-12-31
EVENING STAR.
From the Boston Bee ]
SHOPPING.

VIZ ooioosAou Va poItoTu CnOpplnE IS
my abomination, but there was notwith-
standing the honied compliments which
Mrs Flamley passed upon my taste in the
matter Of female fxin's, and as I had been
but recently married, was desirous Of see
ing her tact in this most indispensable Of
female accomplishments.
First the dark silks were thrown on the
counter in great profusion, each piece laid
open, the ends drawn out and most skilful-
ly displayed. They were of all conceivable
shades, and in my opinion were handsome
enough for the dresses of queen, but not
sufficiently SO my wife thought or herself.
Somehow she said, there wag not suf6-
cient character in the colors.' This diff
Guilty I proposed to meet by suggesting
brilliant red, or yellow, OF pea green, but
toss Of the head and a request to the sales
man to show silks of lighter colors was all
the response she deigned to give.
Now all the light silks were tumbled down
by dozens Of pieces. perfect avalanch Of
them, but they were all too light. Then
silks of medium shades were shown. prob
| ably fifty pieces, but not piece Of them all
took my wife's eye.
The patient gentleman behind the coun-
ter then proposed that madam should
look at tho silks with shaded stripes or the
delicate plaids. To this my wife readily
assented, and we moved along to clear
place on the counter which was rendered
necessary not only from the fact that the
striped and plaid silks were opposite the
clear place, but we had accumulated pile Of
some three or four feet high, and had more
been shown on top Of these We should have
been obliged to mount q step ladder in
order to examine them. The clerk was
| equally unsuccessful in his plaids and
stripes, aone of them were "the thing"
made rapid estimate that we had already
looked at silks to the value Of half million
Of dollars, and really felt 20 ashamed and
concerned at the great amount Of trouble
we were giving the unfortunate salesman,
that the cold perspiration stood out upon
me like drops of rain. Still the exhibition
proceeded, from small plaids and small
stripes, to large plaids and large stripes,
and figured silks, and watered silks, my
wife all the while tossing about these valu-
able goods with the most rentless indifer-
ence. After looking just an hour and
half we left, and when We were in the street
I demonstrated with Mrs. Flamley on her
extreme fastidieueness Of taste as to dress
pattern, but more especially reproved her
that on leaving the store, she expressed no
regrets to the obliging salesman, that she
was unable to suit herself. To this my
wife remarked that it was the business of
shopmen to be polite and attentive, as they
were hired for that purpose, and after we
had argued the matter little to no effect,
We entered another Broadway establish
ment, where the same process was gone
through again, abhortive as before. We
looked at silks, sufficient in quantity, and
brilliant enough in lustre, quality, and color,
to clothe the females of Court . Kingdoms
metropolis, but none were just what my
dear wife wanted.
The third silk concern was visited, then
the fourth, the fifth and the sixth, and the
result was still the same.
On consulting my watch, found that
had now consumed five hours in this profit
less and bootless tramp, and while I was
meditating French leave found myself
drawn unwittingly into the seventh large
establishment, inwardly grumbling at my
folly, and vowing that on leaving this store
my experience in shop gadding should ter
inmate for life. Advancing to the back of
the store, and noticing the peculiar fea-
lures and countenance Of the salesman,
began to hope. lam something Of ply
siognomist, and when l saw the clerks lit
tie sharp eyes under an overshawdowing
forehead, his well-formed nose, yet little
very little peaked, the round projecting chin,
Al II ii