The Portland daily press., 1881-08-10
Detroit Post.l
Woman's Way.
Particularly That Of Carrying Her Pocket
Book or Money.

"Do you know" said an obsetvant shopkeep'
er the other day, "that women keep their
money in more queer places than any miser
ever was known to? Why, one woman comes
here from the country, and when she gets
through buying goods she reaches down her
back and takes out a roll of bills to pay for
them. Another one has pocket just under
the edge of long owe rskirt, and you can hear
the change jingle every step she takes. ex-
pect she thinks it is safe from thieves there
bnt the clumsiest amateur could steal pocket
and contents both and she would never know"
"Do you often find pocket books lying on the
counters?"
"Yes; and it takes one clerk good parS Of
his time hunting their owners up. A woman
will want to look at some dress goods and lay
her purse down. After she has looked at
good many pieces she will start off to another
counter and buy something, and when she
wants to pay for it her purse is missing. She
flies round in state of distraction. So does
the clerk who last waited ON her, and there is
soon general commoton; but presently the
purse is found, innocently lying under heap
of dress goods just where the owner had laid
it."
"Are women frequently robbed?"
eyes; they carry their pocket books in their
hands and lay them down in all kinds of places
and turn away to talk or look at something,
and in that moment the pocketbook is gone.
1t is robbery, but not from the person, as they
usually claim. Why lady in this city was
going out shopping and as she left her house
she thought of something she had forgotten,
an umbrella; believe. She laid her gloves
and reticule on the gate-post while she stepped
inside, but she was gone moment longer than
she expected to be, and when she came out the
reticule with $40 in it was gone, and no clue to
it was ever found. A dozen people had passed
on the thoroughfare while the owner left it,"
"Do you think women are more likely to
lose money than men are?"
"From carelessness, yes; but they are really
more careful of it, and woman with a large
sum of money in her possession will worry over
it and lose it from sheer nervousness. Women
do not get confidenced out of money as men
do, or lose it at foolish games of chance. A
man will carry a thousand dollars in his vest
pocket and look as if he didn't have a cent in
the world. A woman would betray 1t by fdget-
ing and nervous startings every time any one
came near her. There is uniformity, too, of
business habits in men; their wallets are SINH
lar; but no two women have pocket books alike
One will carry a she'll portemonnaie with
gold chain, another a reticule halt as large as q
trunk, and third jingle of steel beads with
a monogram center. Some women carry money
in every imaginable place, sewed up in their
clothing, hairpinned into their heads, and con-
cealed in their hose or the toes of their shoes.
These retire discreetly to the cloak room when
they have made their purchases and return
with bills that have been compressed into
minute space for safe keeping. A customer
told us lately that the toe of one of her boots
had troubled her for some time. On investiga-
tion she found S5 bill reduced to frag-
ments."
"What do you think of the jockey coats with
pockets in the back which are coming into
fashion again?' t
"They offer premium on stealing. have
frequently stepped up to ladies knew, abb
stracted dainty red morocco pocket book that
was sticking up as if to demand notice. and
without the least suspicion on their part that
any one had touched them. And they were
astonished when showed them how easy it
was to be relieved of it, or to lose it. Clerks
in dry goods stores are in a chronic fear of any
customer losing pocket book, since as likely
as not they will be blamed. We have fire.
a9ently as many as half dozen at the desk,
some Win large sums OF money in them, some
nearly empty, left on the counter, in lace
boxes or on the seat of the elevator"
Some one should invent a safety pocket
book for the ladies which could not be lost or
stolen; sort of patent self-adjuster of some
kind.''
"Some genius did have pocket book made
with strap which slipped on the hand and
staid there, the pocket book being in the palm
of the hand. Every woman went round look
ing as if she had a burnt hand done up; there
was too much system in it and the women
wouldn't have it. OF course there are some
women who can carry any amount of money
safely just as there are some who can keep
state secrets. One woman who trades with us
his enough with her every time she comes
here to take her to Europe and back half
dozen times. She will pin ten thousand dol
lars in the bosom of her Dress and carry ten
cents in her mou tn to pay her car fare"