Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1888-11-01
a,AsoUIrNn SHOPPING.
The Head OF the House Buys a Few
giittle Things,

The Head OF the ~ Duse Buys q Few
EittIe rhings.
Fred II. Cauu.h In New YORK Tribune.
had occasion yesterday to get few
"things" necessary in o well-regulated
household. went into large store on
the corner, where, as gathered from
thsir advertisements, they were more than
satisfied if they made anywhere near
living profit. Unscrupuious so called
competitions, they claimed, were trying to
undersell them, but, 80 far, these one
horse concerns had received only the we'll.
merited soorn of discriminating and
long headed public. felt greatly pleased
at getting on the track Of place the first
thing were they were content to lose o
fair percentage. l couldn't help feeling
! sorry for the small concerns that were
struggling along and trying to keep up APP
pearances, but then they should have
known better than to have started In.
There was wide stone sidewalk around
the store, and besides the other people
there were several coaohmen standing
along the outer edge, wearing long,
| gloomy expressions on their faces. Per-
sonally, arrived on tho elevated road,
which passes along but few blocks away
on somewhat ehorter stills, 1t seems tome,
\ than it does further up town. l went In
and began to look around. I wanted to
get number Of things, but all could
think of was two yards of felt, so went
over to q man who looked like Hamlet
when Polonius Is talking 10 him ind
asked him where they kept their felt.
He told me, but looked as II things
were getting worse and worse in the state
of Denmark.
went to the place to which Hamlet
directed me and found fishing tackle and
rubber dolls. Hamlet's advice TO the
purchaser is not satisfactory. However,
found the felt department at last and sat
down on one Of the cloth-oovered door
knobs which stood along in front of the
counter mounted on sticks. The young
lady who had the management Of the
feltB was very busy matching piece of
green felt to o blue sample for Gus
toner, so ] had time TO rest. didn't
see anything more OF Hamlet, but Oorio-
Janus went past once looking for Vol
scians. Down the kid glove alley I
noticed King Richard II. neditating on
the melancholy fate of sovereigns and
the probable relative demand that there
would be next week for four and six but
ton gloves respectively. Everything
seemed to be intended for rest. They ap-
!
stay and grow old with them. saw that
the idea so many folks labor under that
life is short is q delusion. sent word to
the managers desk by one Of the cash
boys that IL there wes any charge for cit
ting on that button after the first hour
that would make II all right.
/ The young lady got around to me OF
, last, however, and asked me what color
wanted. didn't know that bad lost the
! sample while l was paving around in the
, grass in the front yard before left horne
! looking for my street. car tickets. told
4 her ] ihodeht wanted sort of dark
1 green, though. She said she didn't
]. see what / could want Of dark
' green felt / acknowledged that didn't
4 know what wanted it for. but was
d pretty sure that that was the color. She
! said that IL had lost my sample Ahe
didn't see what could know about what
a wanted, and had to admit that it wsi
q some so. Then she showed me some rcd
|. felt, and yellow felt, and purple felt, and
. various other colorsd felts. My mind
4 kept wandering back foolishly to the DARK
A green, but Il tried to say anything about
q It she soon put me on the right trach
q again, and spread out some light rose
J. c0lored felt before me. She was Just ready
Z TO cut me of piece of this when the
crazy notion that waited dark green
d got the better Of me again and I told bel
a that must have 1t. Iapologizsd for my
/ freak, but I explained to her that would
/ never be happy till got il and sneaked
n home with it under my ovsrcoat and hid
n it so that nc one would ever know that
a had bought dark green felt Just because
o wanted It when could have got Light
o rose, coloxed. She scattered slabs of felt
]. right and left for minute or 80 and dua
!. a roll Of the poor, crack Drained dsrA
4 green out of the bottom Of the pile and
n cut off two yards. She said 1t came t.
n SO 81, reduced from S3.73I, and CAV,
a her a SIS bill. She gave the felt to gif
q in a pigeon.hole TO tie up and put tht
"a money and q CHEEKY little note to th'
cashier, saying that she had made sale ant
= hoped he was enjoying the same blessing
a in little round tin pepper-box with
y fur collar on each end of 1t, and dropped
= it down the end of small brass caves
d spout which came up by the side o
A the post Office box the girl was in. Sh'
II pulled sort OF thing around over tn
n top OF the brass tube and 1t began to hun
n kind OF sad. aubdued time and
II judged that all was over.
\ rested my elbows on the counter anI
i thought and watched the end Of tina
4 brass money digesting apparatus for
very long time. l saw my mistake nov
l. that 1t was too late. I had often beer
ia warned from youth up against putting
! my money in where l would never get i
a back, and this must be what they meant
! l had often wondered when my financially
4 sharp friends had told me that mus
"a never put my money into anything wheri
10 wes not certain Of speedy returns, wha
IN they were referring to; this was evidentl!
~ it. Time wore on and the brass pip,
Az hummed the same sad refrain down in II
4. throat and refused to give up my 60.
81 wouldn't have cared 50 much IL hsdn'
va been told 90 many times not TO put M,
y money into ANYTHING didn't know any
ii. thing about. Tine went on and hum
TO the one-legged stool, though ha'
III long ago given up hope / noticed tina
Il Cardinal Wolsey wsS preparing to q
n home, while Macbeth was having a BIO,
IA take down the sample lace in his depart
~ ment. Ali at once the organ. pipe clucke'
AZ ana begsn TO breathe hard. The gin
pulled something and took out the pep
per.box with the whiskers. When th
young lady opened 1t and gave me m
change, consisting of nine pennies an
ss some other coins, walked back from tn
DE- brink OF financial ruin as one in dream
then went down into the house-fui
a. nishing goods department to get I'll
40 steamer. A good-lo0king young lad
"a Spbn unFa eve. classas showed me on