Bismarck weekly tribune., 1885-11-13
GOING SHOPPING.
FOLLOWING A LADY THROUGH THE
DRY GOODS PALACES. II
The Chief Diversion Of Ladies Made
Fascinating by Modern Skill How
Customer Is Taken Care
of-Badgered
.FE:.i sY
New York Times I

of-Badgered.
New York Timesl
@What is it." asked the reporter Of q
young matron, who, dresses in silk attire
and siller has to spare" "what is the subtle
intoxication, the delicious exhilaration of
the ceremony of shopping which so enthralls
the feminine worlds
"Ah," laughed the high priestess of the
rite, "a' well try to describe the faint,
intangible perfume of sprig OF mignonette
or set to music the bubbling song OF a child's
laugh. 1t is some instinct born within
us, developed at very early age, and
lasting as long as we do It survives all
circumstance and condition, is universal in
all classes. To be a woman is to .love to
shop, and the mechanics wife spends her
Saturday nights surplus with the same
zest that the lady of the milionaire's home
empties her well filled purse-each over the
counters of her favorite shopping place"
eAnd doyou never, absolutely never, be-
come tired Of ita" he inquired II should
think it would grow so awfully monoto-
nous"
"Not at all," his companion replied
quickly. ITO begin with, fresh needs are
constantly arising. A woman's toilst ad-
mits of endless variety and positively de-
mands more things han are dreamed Of in
masculine philosophy. Any woman with
money to spend, little or much, can find q
felt want to supply on the Instant 1t does
not grow monotonous because the range of
garment and fabric is almost unlimited in
these fortunate days. 1t is ceaseless pleas
ure simply to see the beautiful things ths
merchants offer-while the act of purchas-
ing presents bewildering and indefinite
choosing"
IN A DRY GOODS PALACE.
"The stores are so enormous, most Of
them," suggested the reporter, ~ should
lose my way, besides never being nb!a to
procure the article wantsd."
ION, no, you wouldn't" laughed his fair
informer "you would be too we'll taken
care of for that From the moment you
enter one Of the modern dry goods palaces
for the name is more beftting them than
the railroad coaches which adopt it SO freely
you are subjected to courteous care and
watchfulness that is at once efficient and
satisfactory. Suppose I want q cambria
handkerchief. enter the outer door Of tho
store at which wish to buy, which is
opened for me by boy in livery, and if
the day be stormy am quickly relieved of
my wet umbrella, and burdened instead
with a small metal check distinctly uum-
bered. As this is handed me am me, by
the head floor walker, generally a man of
distinguished appearance and affable ad-
dress.
"Cambric handkerchiafsl This way,
madam and I follow him to second aisle,
perhaps. Here another floor walker meets
me, and learning from the first my require.
tr
elevator, touching the bell before be quits
my side %
"A moment and step from the car to the
second floor. The head OF this floor meets
me, brief, courteous question, and I am
passed along under one escort after another
till in the extreme corner of the airy and
spacious loft I find myself comfortably
seated, and upon the counter before me is
being displayed every grade, size. and price
OF any lady's cambria handkerchief that
was ever made. If I had said sealskin
cloaks to the first man who addressed me
would have been no better treated The
merchants Of New York make guests of
their customers, and add not little thereby
to the pleasure Of buying at their counters.
"At the rate you describe" persisted the
reporter, lit must be an endless task to get
through even an ordinary shopping lists"
ut is a long operation" was the quick as
SENT "but do not well see how it could be
helped. The matter has grown to such pro.
portions that it has got to be matter of
time. Think what an army of BUYERS the
shopping district of the city daily caters to.
All the suburban towns of New Jersey and
the Hudson, Long Island, Staten Island, the
great cities across either river, besides upper
New York itself. send continuously living
stream to this center. When you think
OF it the wonder is that so much
can be accomplished in the short
time that it is. OF course tho most
complete system exists the facilities for
making change are at the maximum, the
clerks behind the counters nearly equal the
purchasers before. every man has his
especial assignment Of wares at bis tongues
end,
WORRIED BY THE LADIES.
"There is really but one obstacle" she
continued, with sigh. ito prevent tha
rapid and easy accommodation Of every body
who could possibly reach the stores"
~And that is"
"Ourselvea l have got to admit that the
average woman is, as a shopper, clog to
any system of service which may be ar
ranged for her. She doesn't know what she
wants, even When she sees it, and
to get thing without looking about
is to break some unwritten law of her
being. Half the complaints against So
called Indifferent or impertinent clerks
should be directed toward the other side of
the COUNTER for the clerks are frequently
badgered and worried by the ladies ~ whom
they are honestly endeavoring to please to
the pitch Of torture-and it is this oft-re-
peated persecution which has prod uced, I
think, the curious condition of antagonism
which you will 80 often observe between the
two classes so mutually dependent upon each
other-the seller and she who comes to buy.
Bnt we are drifting into deep waters 1t is
rather absurd to talk metaphysics over buy
ing bonnet"
"Can not you give me some golden rules
for shopping7" asked the reporter after =
moments pause. "You seem to speak with
authority upon the subject"
mot more than any of my sex. We are
all gifted upon this topic, and we all have
our own individual views Experience is
our sole guide in the matter, and this being
different in every case. of course affords a
wide range of opinion. My advice to a man
about to shop would be, first, don't; tnen if