The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-25
WOMEN AT AUCTION SALES
What They Buy and How Sorry They
Are After They Buy.

From the Ne,o York Graphic.
Glow much am offered for these linen
handkerchiefs9 How much will you give
me for one, with the privilege of dozen'
Start 'em for something. How much"
"Pll give you ten cents, sir"
Ten Pm offered, who'll say the fifteen"
II reckon I'll give you that much"
Fifteen, who'll say the twenty"
will you let me look at them, please,
sir I'll bid twenty cents"
Twenty, did hear the five Twenty,
twenty, twenty, twenty, twenty; once,
twice; are you all done The third and
last time and-gone to-to-to"
Mrs John Smith"
How many will you take Mrs. Smith O.
why, I'll take the dozen for 20 cents, of
course"
Madam, you were bidding for one with
the privilege of taking dozen. Twelve of
them will cost you 50 40"
Well you can just keep your old hand
kerchiefs.n
/ had back seat in a store on Whitehall
street, which was being sold out by the
sheriff, and the sale had been announced as
ladies auction
The above Introduction was what | heard
when first entered the store and it was
the auctioneer wrestling with some lady
bidders
The handkerchiefs were sold again and
bought by another lady for 40 cents apiece.
| watched the sale for about an hour, and
from what witnessed | am fully prepared
that women can clean up house and milk
a cow, but they are dead failure at an auc-
ton.
While the auctioneer was screaming him
self hoarse to get up some enthusiasm over
a tableclOth, "a half dozen or more ladies
CrOyyHaH tho onH aSlya1 tho
| clerks to show them various and Sundry
articles; and finally the auctioneer paused
and remarked that it was absolutely neces-
sary for him to have the attention of the
entire audience This made the ladies mad,
and they began to make so many uncom.
! plimentary remarks about the tablccloth
| that it was thrown down and something
else put up for sale.
They had to inspect critically everything
that was offered, and it required half the
auctioneer's time to keep in sight what he
| was selling. Wien a bolt of ribbon was
Cooked at" it was unwound and the end
passed around, while the holder of the bolt
run the ribbon out as the end got farther
and farther away When finally returned
to the auctioneer he had some ten or fifteen
yards to straighten out.
The auctioneer, standing upon counter,
would throw out goods into the audience for
ladies to inspect, and when he ACCIDENTALLY
knocked off an elderly ladys bonnet with a
pair of stockings there came near being
serious trouble.
Once a corset was thrown into young
lady's lap, and with cheeks like peoples she
drew her hat over her eyes, picked up the
article gingerly and dropped it into the lap
of an old married lady, who exclaimed:
"Them's good stays. I'll give you a quar-
ter for them"
She got them, and they were three sizes
too small.
Up went piece of fine lace worth 81 a
yard, and it was bought by gentleman for
20 cents, not lady making a bid. This
struck me as being very strange, and while
mentioning it afterward to the auctioneer,
he said:
you see, woman thinks thing sold at
auction must be always literally given
away. They want to pay 10 cents for
something orth $40. That's their idea of
the business, and the only time we catch
them is when we fool them on the goods or
put up something they don't know anything
about. l have seen them give dollar for
thing that wasn't worth 10 cents a
dozen"
Noticed one lady who had bid on nearly
everything which had been offered for sale
and had not bought thing. Finally, when
box of handkerchies had been knocked
down for 81 so, and her last bid had been 80
cents, she said in an audible voice:
THAT man is just as mean as he can be.
I He won't let me have a thing, but Just
keeps on until somebody bids over me-
A nicely dress ID lady had two dozen 10
cent stockings of rainbow hues knocked
down to her, and when the bundle was
handed to her she looked around IN a con
fused manner and said alphabetically:
81 bought these for my cook"
There was lady sitting quite near the
auctioneeT who had bought great many
things, and | had come to the conclusion
that she had dry goods store somewhere
in the suburbs. Presently she left the store
and ten minutes later | saw a gentleman
enter excitedly, closely followed by my
supposed sorekeeper. 1t was her husband
and he rushed up to a clerk and asked the
amount of Mrs. A. s bill. 1t was SIS and
something, and he came back to his wife,
who was standing at the door, and said:
Great goodness, Nellie, you have bought
nearly $40 WORTH
"Wha Why didn't have any idea
had spent over s."
There was gentleman standing near me,
who whispe ed in my ear:
1--WE caught on to a scheme. | came
| here to buy my wife some trimmings and
laces, and was afraid to bid, because |
knew nothing about such articles, but now,
whenever | see the la1ies hi iding lively,
then Pm going to buy"
The first article he bought on this plan
was tel yards of lace at 80 cents a yard,
and it was cotton, and could be bought
anywhere for 10 cents.
He left the store a few minutes later, and
| suppose he went home TO get his wife