Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-01-13
HARMLESS LIARS.
What the Customers Say in a Fashionabl,
Jewelry store.

What the Customers Say in a Fashionable
Jewelry Store.
81 want it for a friend" he said,
blushing like a young girl and looking
very uncomfortable. Itwas in Smith
field street jewelers. store, and the un-
happy youth with the red cheeks was
asking for wedding ring. He had
little bit of silk between his finger and
thumb, and he repeated nervously to
the polite gentleman behind the counter:
81 want it for friend-this is the
measurement" Luckily it does not
require long to choose a wedding ring.
.''An old fable, fiction that almost
every man who buys wedding ring
employs" said the jeweler, as the Gus
toner disappeared. ''Of course he is
the man who will put that ring upon the
finger of the bride, but he says he
wants it for friend There are plenty
of other white lies told in front of this
counter. Some behind it, you say? |
dare say, but tradesman's lies about
his wares are explainable, if not ex-
cusable, on business grounds, while
some of the little lies of our customers
are fantastic fbs that one can not
account for on any theory at all.
81 have customers who tell lies de-
Hberately, and, so far as [ can see, un-
necessarily For example, there is a
resident of this city, wealthy and wise,
and, if persistent fabrication makes
him so, wicked. He is fond of jewelry,
and has good taste. Solitaire rings are
his favorites. One day in almost every
month he rushes into the store, knocks
over a stool or two, perhaps scares
some lady customers nearly to death,
and makes me instinctively reach for
my revolver. Then he gasps out: Z
want to see some diamond rings-awful
hurry-catch train-start for Washing
ton-half hour
''This spasm generally lasts two
minutes. Afterward he settles quietly
down and perhaps spends an hour look
ing at diamonds, He never varies his
formula, is always just on the point Of
going to Washington, and [ happen to
know he never goes. A remarkable
romancer comes from a good family.
She is a widow, and has money, and I
often wonder she does not find mate
again, she is SO pretty. At intervals
she comes here and Weaves a pretty
little story for my special benefit.
There is variety about her fbs which
makes them charming. They are as
ingenious as they are unaccountable.
"a month ago she came in with her
little girl. She had Some magnificent
diamond earrings, the handsomest
stones and the best cut of any have
seen in Pittsburgh. They were in her
ears when she entered the store. Mr..
-, want you to take these ear
rings, she said, putting them down be-
fore me, 'and make the settin gs lighter.
They are too heavy, and my doctor says
such strain upon the lobe of the ear
is very injurious The setting could
not well have been made lighter-a
mere cobweb filigree. | knew my GUS
toner too well to tell her so. l took
the earrings and did have some of the
gold taken away, and sent them back
to her.
Yesterday she came agaiu and told
me that somebody had advised her
to have the diamonds more securely set
in her earrings She wanted them al
most wrapped in gold network. They
are being SO treated now You will
hardly believe me when I tell you that
in the last two years have set and reg
set those diamonds twenty times, and
every time my lady has had new
reason for making the change.
"Why she should object to acknowl.
edge that she is proud and fond of her
diamonds is more than can see.
81 could multiply instances of habit7
ual mendacity by ten, without encroach,
ing upon the ranks of the cranks pure
and simple, with whom every trades
man is more or less acquainted. ~
Pittsburgh Chronicle.