The Labor enquirer., 1882-12-23
Souvenirs.

/ hung over her eyes, She trlpped up 10 sne
counter az gracefully as a song sparrew, and
purchased several yards Of Hamburg edglng
! whatever that is-snd, when about to
depart, the angelic clerk behind the counter
dropped her pencil and scissors from her teeth
and inquired: 7. ...# 4 -.
Have you ever travelled through Europe?n'
"Never,"a replied the beauteous damsel =
81 have lived in Pennsylv ania all my life;
but We are going to board in New York this
winter" /. "
"Then yoh must do the Europe act."
''What is that?" inquired the dear customer.
Don't know the Europe act ? said the fair
clerk, with smile: "well, I'll tell you what
it is. II is to entertain callers with desorip-
tions of travel in foreign lsuds-to tell them
how you sailed over Lake Maggiore, aud
through the moonlit lagoons of Venice, while
the voice of the gendolier died out among
the columns Of the white palaces, etc. You
know it always takes, especially with young
men, aud is much better way of. passing
the time with them than talking about the
weather and showing the family photograph
album, and explaining the cuts"
81 don't exactly understand you," said the
customer, in tones of astonishmant
Il will explain" said the clerk: "Yon get
your travelling experience out OF books,
which you will find in another department.
These books of travel are written especially
for the benefit of people who have never been
abroad, and wish to tell strangers what they
know of the eastern hemisphere. We are
selling these books off at forty sight cents
apiece, We have few Italys and Swizer.
lands left By reading one or two of these
books you may acquire suffi cient knowledge
OF the countries they treat OF to fool anyone
They have all the minor details, which no
one but travelled person would ever be
supposed to be familiar with. will show
you one"
An attendant produced volume, which
the young lady purchased as q curiosity, and
was going when the clerk called her back.
"You now want some souvenirs"
What do you mean
"Why, some little triDkets-tokens of
remem0 0rance, you know-a paper cutter
made of Lebanon cedar necklac purchased
from peasant in Brittany a paper weight
brought from the ruins OF POM peii, or pair
of ear rings made of little shells gathered on
the poetic shores of the purple Adriatic.
They are nice to show caller, while you
tell stories from d book to agree with them.
For instance, You learn the stOries and tell
them while showing the trinkets. When
you display little ibex rs cents) carved
dsintily out of some smooth wood, on must
tell how you climbed the Matterk orr, and
work in little romance about the kind man-
ner in which your chaperOn kept you On
your feet and watched after your safety and
happinGss."
"Hhat is nice idea" replied the customer,
as she reached around to see ii her hair was
all night: But suppose | should lell young
man the same story that soma other young
lady told him the night before ?"
You are not obliged to tell the stories as
they are printed you must simply read them
for she facts, and bui d your reminisc ences
on them. Al the end, OF each story you are
told what souvenir TO show with it. When
you tell story of Naple4, tor instance. you
must remark that you went to Mt. Vesuyius,
and theu display your lava }Iteast pin. On
the orr er nand, when you display clumsy
coin, you must speak OF the Colosseum,
These souvenirs cOwe very cheap. We
naye large factory, where we make them,
up in Connecticut. We make Roman coins,
medJaVal dsggers found in old Venetian
castles, paper weights made Of tfe bed that
Francois de BonnivarG slept upon, and all
s0rta of things. AS that book you have
purchased is on Switzerland, you want
alpine trinkets. | will show you some goat
head ear rings, and breast ins made to repre-.
sent an aDtelope's loot"
q think it would be nice to talk of sailing
over Lake Como at moonlight with an Italian
noblemaD, and then produce some souvenir
that he presented nae before patting," sugges.
ted the cute shopper.
"It would said bhe clerk: "hut anything
would answer for that-a turquoise ring
would be the thing, and the book on Italy
will tell you all about Lake Como, and then
you might play Cnoyin's Twelfth Nocturne
and say he was ia the habit of hpmming it
to You at moonlight, as you foated together
o'er the trauqulI bosom of the lake"
The young lady was highly delighted, pur-
chased book on Italy, and some souvenirs
to correspond. That very evening she WAS
telling young gentleman wnat nice time
she had in Europe, sailing over Lake Como
with scion Of Italian nobility; and, after