The Washington critic., 1888-07-28
DE CITY LIFE.
'rinting once Girls
n.ow,lt. n...

'rinting once Girls
Boarding House.
ere draws up in front
Printing Office a
avn by decidedly
ole turnout looking
opped out of Dickens
/ after an 1s.year-old
unmistakable stamp
up from between two
the front seat, four
looking female eIns,
BenedieL.s-6ig shop
ne pricts and scurry
yer Sins who became
" worl in the Print
DeliiE tired Of Wash
uSe u Xfe, found quiet
llyback of AnaCostia
nofne. None Of them
hailing from New
a noisy New Eng
toyin, ,oorn-- the third, 'sets' type,
,,u the trade on country
weekly in a small town way back in the
interior, and the fourth is Virginia girl.
These four girl brcad-winners are vir.
tually alone, with no near relatives, and
they are mothers and sisters TO each
other. They live out on the breezy
hills across the Branch, and revel in
country fare. The old carryall brings
them to work every morning and calls
for them at o'clock each afternoon.
The ride freshens them after the days
work in the stufly Office, and often these
hot days they take sister employe home
with them for breath of air, and she
always comes back the next morning
envying her four friends.
No amusements2 Lots of them. They
sit on the wide veranda in the quiet
evenings and old black Aunt Liza tells
them the weirdest sort of ghost stories.
Now and then some of the printers
will drive over with natty livery turn
out that is revelation to the old horse
that drags the carryall, and take one of
the quartet for spin over the red clay
roads. And one or two evenings week
they get dinner here and so to theatre
or party, spending the night with
friend in town. And the farmer lad has
already fallen in love with each of the
with the one he loved irst-making the
second round, the girls say. And is not
this amusement enough
They save money by this arrangement,
too, beside living better than they could
here in town; and the monthly postal
note that the sister back in the noisy cot.
ton mill gets is bigger now than it used
went to live in the country.
The printer girl used to write poetry
while she was going to school and has
never stopped; but editors never took
kindly to II until after she went to live
| in the country. Now, though she often
gets a small-sized check, for poetry is
cheap, in return for halfdozen four.
| line stanzas that jingled into her head
| out under the old apple trees. They are
iOllU pirlg and doSerVe luck.
An Experiment That Has Proved a
Gratifying Success.
Every man knows what difficulty he
has in picking out neck-tie that he is
not likely to tire of the third time he
wears it, that is If he IS busy man and
does not devote his entire attention to
dress. And in all the hundred and one
| little things one buys in furnishing
store he experiences the same difficulty
| in making q selection. One naturally
| resents the suggestions of the sales gentle
man as to what is suitable, and always
| buys Just what he does not recommend.
The result is dissatisfaction with the
| purchase directly it is taken out of its
| paper. This state of affairs has resulted
| in clever innovation in the mems fur.
| nishings shops. Shopkeepers found out
| long ago that male clerks would be less
Il
women than men, and also that female
clerks were more pleasant.mannered to
men than to women. So wide-awake
uptown haberdasher found bright, SEN
sible girl-not a professional beauty, but
withal sweet to look upon-and he put
her behind the counter of his shop. II
was an experiment, but nj proved to be {
success, and now two or three more oi
the mems furnishings shops have em
| ployed female clerks.
The result is that instead of a stupid
eyed young salesg gentleman, who regards
customer with an air of Indifferent
scorn, a purchaser finds on the opposite
side of the counter a clever girl, who doe
not advise him what to buy until he in
vites advice, and then with woman
Unborn taste in such matters, she pick
him out just the right thing and what h
is more pleased with every time he wear
it. And she does all this with an air o
kindness and good nature and considera
ton for the buyers own opinion that
soothing to ones self-respect, and bring
him back again when he wants an
other tie.
The employment of girls in shops FIRE
quented only by men may perhaps be in
questionable taste, but the result is bet
ter wages for the girl than she could sc
in dry goods shop, more and better
pleased customers for the shopkeepel
and it goes without saying that the buy
ers like the innovation.