, 1884-09-18
NEW Y0RK'S SHOPPERS.
The cranks and Frauds Who vex
the Poor counter-Hoppsr.
The "Puner-," the "'H~xisiaysrs," the
"Mateher.'' and the soramblers"
-matehfng n veternn-An
Extraordinary Scene.


A~FL kaAAHA
The closing of tho store had not yet been
thoroughly effected, and at this moment an
other late shopper entered. She was expen-
si~velydressed, and wanted some yards of d
gingham sho had admired at the doons ZONE
hours before. and thought she ought now to
obtain IL at an exceptionable bargain by
reason OF the lateness OF the hour. IL re-
quired somo moments for tho salesman 10
convince her that all goods were sold at the
but one marked price at all hours Of the day,
after which sho went away highly vexed and
declaring that she would deal elsswhero In
the future.
Another gentle fraud, or crank, 1 don't
know which, said the salesman. with n sigh
~ relief as tho porter at last equivocaily
closed the doom, and there's likewise enough
OF her sort 10 make a small army. Then
tho 'pnllers,' tho 'mislayers,' tho 'mntchers,'
and the 'scramblers,' each sort forming a
class Of It's own, till there's side a%nnoyances
enough in all conscience. to wear the life out
OF Us, independent Of tho wear and tear oc-
casioned by honest and legitimate shoppar
who are the '~pullers. for ~instancef7
We salespeoplo designate by that nAme
the class Of sham shoppers who deliberately
cause Us to pull down and display nearly the
entire contents OF our shelves without the ~
hottest intention Of buying anything what
ever, and like enough half the time without
n cent in their pocketboohs. They are .
legion, and they've been described, ridiculed
and lashed in print lime and time again
without effect. What do they do It fort
Now you're asking ~conundrnms. Out Of
pure cussedness, or Of a mania they're unable
t. resist, 1 suppose. There's no law against
'em. They're mostly ladies, at least In ap-
lsurance, and all we can do Il to suffer and
b. disgusted.H
WHO are the smlslayersrp
The shoppers who arc everlnstin9ly mis-
lnying or losing their property, and making
work for the lost and found counter.
This class Is not quite so numer-
Gus as the pullsrs, but they're
plenty enough. Scarcely a day passes
at my counter without five or six misiayerr
making a disturbance. Now it's a pocket
book. now a pair OF gloves, now q lace hand.
k~erchief, and now u package Of goods pur-
chased elsewhere. The development is the
same, with certain variations, according to
temperament. TherO Is suddenly q frightened
gasp or a historical exclamation, as the case
may be. Then the mlslnyer makes known
her loss, questioning first me and then all the
ladies around her, often with insulting sns-
picion In her voice, look, and manner. Ths
f~oor-walkor puts la his oar, the cash girls
make a ring around her. and there's a per
spring hubbub generally until the missing
article is found or isn't, as tho case may be-.
As a general thing II is found with but littla
delay. or It finds is way, after the milayer
Ihs departed, TO the lost and found counter,
there 10 await her claim But In cases whers
the mis- Ing article may have been picked up
and made of with, OF course, thers Is no help
for the mislayer. She must stand the conss-
quences OF her own carelessness, which, IL Il
needless to say, she mostly does With the
worst grace in tho world
-What articles arc mislaid the mostfD
~Pocketboolo, OF course. Many ladies win
lay them down Just anywhere, while exarnin-
ing goods, even In a crush Of other shoppers,
all strangers, and among whom one or two
dishonest ones, II not n professional llftar,'
might naturally DO looked for. But
bless you, they'd mislay their own heads, II II
we're possible. The meanest part OF 1t Is that
we salesmen-notwithstanding that we alone
are too busy TO steal, even II ~willing-aro the
first whom the mislayer looks upon as 10
sponsible. Its always the counter-Jumperl
Why, an ineorrigible mislayer lost her pet
pug for awhile ut my counter the other day,
and positively seemed to think that / had
kidnapped the pup for lts brass ~collari7
What are the 'matchers'' eceentricitiesfr
The name we nave given them indicates
their mania. They are those who 20 about
with a sample Of goods to be matched. They
insist that the sample Is from a
piece bought originally OF your e-
tablishment, when all your assertions
10 the contrary, backed by the
most solemn asseverations that no such pat
tern was ever on sale there, nre Of no avail.
As a class I fancy the Watchers are about the
worst bores / have to deal with. However.
l got even with one OF them nicely not long
ago. She was a veteran hatcher Of the old
school who had given m unnecessary trouble
.A.a. A. p 80
time with n scrap Of figured lawn clipped
from a piece she said she had bought OF our
house u fortnight before, and wanted six
yards Of tho same TO match. We didn't have
the figure, and never had it; but. al she kept
on insisting to the contrary. a sudden idea
struck me. Perhaps I'm mistaken said /.
'Lst me mako another search SO / took
her sample, got out OF sight, cut the same
sized strip on "A piece OF lawn very closely re-
sombling 1t in figure, and then returned to her
with the piece Of goods and the fresh-cut snm-
pie, after throwing the original sample in the
whstc-l asket. How Is this for a n,atchr l
asked Why the match is perfect she ex.
claimed, not recognizing the difference IN
the sample while making the comparison. I
know | was right Cut me OF sd yarda I
did SO, and away she went. Neither did Il
do her any good when she came the next daV
TO say that her new purchase did not match
her original pattern. l coolly produced the
sample with which | had 30 thoughtfully pro-
vided her. Though considerably mysfiHed.
she had &, acknowledge the identity Of the
sample on which she had made the purchase;
and hor only way out OF the difficulty was Ia
buy enough more Of the same lawn to make
up "A dress PATTERN. II may have been a piece
OF trickerl os my part, but self-defense is my
excuse.
The 'sciamblcrs' ar yet 70 ue described"
said the reporter
-Oh. the''s- the Iufian- IN skirts, The
jacknis ui fhc trade. the swcopers upou
special bargains, said the salesman. Just
watch Il store taat Is ceiling of some certain
line Of roois at a dirt-cheap price, Is "a gem
oral advertisement You know, In order TO
draw a crowd. and you'll SOC the s-rambler
in her glory, The ultra democracy OF cheap
bargaining ns.ertg itself on such Occasions as
unmistal ably - In an auction room. Ele-
gantly dr-se 'pdies and old women with
market hrkft. luxury-lapped beauties. and
whatr''ey ' n+uy' work girls join in the
wres;le for fAe commodity. Exnsperated In
the struggle. ~ men act like prize-hchters,
baggage smatherT, boarding house runners,
AMI hall starved hens in n corn bin. ScrAm-
blers f. hur'ly a strong enough name for EN-
just al thai time
-Wh4'c may such an extraordinary scene
b witn~4 Of lowaiaysf7
A atr's Aiy big stors whsrs thess
special tufsu.as lie advertised, asa bait 10