Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-22

| AN EXPERIENCE IN A CROWDED CHnIsTMAs sHoI
-woMAS's COMPENSATION FOR MANS sREA1
GAME OF FooTBALL-A CYNICAL scREEp on
CHRISTMAS TINE.
Correspondence Of THE EVENING STAR
/ New YoRx, Dec. q.
| tried to make short cut to-day from 22d
street to 23d street by going through big
store that has an entrance on each street.
thought it would be quicker than going all the
way around by 5th avenue.
had forgotten the near approach Of Christ
mas, but it was brought to my mind when i,
was too late to retreat. The store is one OF
those establishments which, during fifty weeks
In the year, is respectable, conservative,
orderly dry goods shop. For the other two
weeks of the ffty-two it is q roaring, crazy
pandemonium. 1t was during the "other two
weeks" when struck it to-day. 1 had scarcely
crept within its back door on Odd street when I
| was merged into a swaying mass of women who
| looked considerable the worse for wear. In
deed, the wear had told on them so completely
| that 1t might more truthfully be said that they
were considerably the worse for tear. On the
hoor my feet slid along on smooth
beads wrenched from cloaks and capes as if
were on roller-skates. To my right doomed a
bonnet whose feather. fractured in the middle,
| swung like pendulum from over a pretty
girls left ear. Pushed over my shoulder was
hand in a brown kid glove, gesticulating with
elderly lady i'll front of me whose gray hair
had escaped from its hairpins and was hanging,
| unkempt and frou zled, around her neck.
| "h-r-r-i-p! a sudden expanse OF white was dis
played at the waist Of stout lady on my left
| as the skirt Of her gown gave way
under force neither she or / were able to
| locate. A cash girl crept almost on all-fOurs
by the knees of the walters at the linen bargain
| counter, ducked under my arm, lodged a
young girl carrying a big box, and plunged
spinster. With the crash two silver quarters
and dime leaped out Of the little girls basket
and went rolling under the skirts of fifty
women, who couldn't have stopped to pick the
| pieces up if they'd been double eagles. The
| cash girl sObbed. and crawled about under the
| feet Of the crowd after her money. broad
shouldered lady just in front Of me began to
back and fill like a steamboat, and put both
heels down hard upon my eorns.
I've found all but the dime" squeaked the
little cash girl
A lanky. sharp-elbowed female prodded me
in the ribs with arms akimbo and then gared
| at me with a sheer and scowl, and asked me
If wanted to occupy the whole building.
l grabbed the little cash girl desperately as
she CROPPED about by my feet. Say" said l.,
''show me how to get out of here and I'll make
up your lost dime for you"
Gimme the dime" she squeaked, and fol-
lowed her.
Twice lost her and each time she managed
to find me and start me afresh. Again lost
sight OF her, and for two or three minutes fol-
lowed another cash girl, two sizes larger. but
| dressed in the same style of red apron. When
I'd run up against the counter where they tied
parcels heard the faint squeak of my guide
behind me, and once more tried to keep on the
trail: Desperate now. plunged through whole
families of women sampling ribbons, swept
| thin women aside when could and pushed
hard against stout women till they gave way.
l sided crab-fashioD toward door my little
cash girl held open, shot into hallway and
fled with glad sense of freedom to and beyond
the street door. l took brief account Of but
tons gone and rents obtained on my overcoat.
Knocked a dent out of my hats crown, looked
around and discovered was still on 22d street,
| fifteen steps from where 1 went in.
The exciting pleasures Of football are denied
to the ''gentler SEX" but an opportunity to
maui one another and tear one anothers
clothes is presented for few weeks in each
year just before holiday time, so it really isn't
80 bad to be a woman after all. The sex has
its compensations.
Perhaps that is why the same women 90 day
after day this week regularly to the biggest
stores. and come home at night looking like a
sophomore after cane rush. At any rate q
friend of mine who presides at fancy goods
counter declares that 65 per cent of em don't
buy. and that he has seen plenty of them fight
bravely to get place close to the counter and
hold II with triumphant expressions of victory
on their countenances for I-don't-dare -to-say-
how many minutes while they paw over-my
friends expression. mind you-all the fal-lals
and dinydin3les that fancy counters contain
near Christmas time.
=.
One is half inclined to. say with the cynic,
Thrist T..
gives yearly view Of what wretched hypoc-
| risy there is in the world. There's my office
boy. for instance-the unconscionable young
villain. For two weeks past he has been so
attentive, so polite and so prompt withal that
anybody who didn't know the calculating
venality of that youngsters apparent reforms.
ton would be deceived into giving him a flyer
Christmas morning. And the colored elevator
man at my apartments opens the front door for
me mornings and nights with a salaam as if l
we're the rajah of Bahliapootraph From
December rs, 1883, until December 16. 1889.
he'll let me open the door for myself and treat
me as an insUfferable nuisance. to whose pres
ence he is forced to be resigned.
80
All these evidences of hypocrisy at Christmas
| time are enough to put any man in a cynical
mood. 1 can recall no end Of petty deceits
| that are being practiced upon mankind. l
don't refer to the every-d common decep-
| tons that are getting to be thoroughly under
stood. OF course everybody knows now-a-
days that Bordeaux wine is made in California,
Italian marble is quarried in Kentucky. Russian
leather is made in Connecticut. French laces in
New York, English cassimeres in New Hamp-
shire. and Havana cigars in every township
in the states. These are common and
stupid receptions. At a certain theater in this
town a beautiful and winsome child-actress ia
attracting large audiences by her clever acting
in a thoroughly meritOriOus play. Every night
she is called before the curtain and presented
with flowers by bona-fde admirers and bows
her appreciation with the grace and self-pos-
session of an old stager. One night an usher
carried down the aisle big basket of choice
blossoms and ferns, to the handle of which
swung q little cage Of chirruping canary birds.
When the little girl received this Offering the
actress was apparently forgotten and the sim
pie delighted child appeared She grasped the
basket eagerly, forgot to make her bow of
thanks, and marched off the stage absorbed in
answering the twittering Of the birds and for
getful Of all else save her unique new TOW,
Cheer after cheer echoed through the theater.
Tears came to the eyes Of many o mother in
front.
Zone tonch Of naturev' said the audience,
One touch Of rot!
The whole thing was no more nor less than a
bit OF ''stage business cleverly contrived by
the manager and cleverly executed by the
child. 1t had been rehearsed az carefully as
any portion of the plav and WAS r1ch n great