Smyrna times., 1888-09-12
WHITELEY'S PLACE.
A VISIT TO THE UNIVERSAL PRO-
WIDER" OF LONDON.

One of the Wonders of the World of
Trade-The Famous Bon 1Iarche of
Paris OutdOns~-A Whole COngeries of
Stores.
Whiteley's establishment is one of the
wonders of the world Of trade. Compare
lively few Americans visit it, as 1t is far
away from what is known as the Ameri-
can beat. e., from the Langham
hotel to the MetrOpole. Compared
to the trade kingdom over which
a single proprietor, William Whiteley,
rules, such mere overgrown dry goods
stores as the Louvre and the Bon Marche
in Paris are but simple affairs. White
ley's is not q store, but a whole congeries
of stores, each as accessible to but as dis
tinct from the other as the dining room is
from the parlor on a floor with folding
doors. What in the usual run of dry
goods stores occupies a counter or at
most but q rOOm-such as the silk depart
ment, the linen department, the costume
department, etc.-has at Whiteley's q
large and imposing store to itself The
jewelry store is a superb establishment,
the furniture house is magnificent; china,
glass, irOnmOngery, dressmal1ing, sewing
machines, coi1fures, toys, Japanese and
Indian curios, each and all have stores
devoted exclusively to themselves, large
openings giving communication through
the entire series of establishments.
ADDITIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
This would be wonderful enough, but
there are surprises at Whiteley's; pro-
vision store of extensive dimensions ad-
joins an excellent restaurant, the restau-
Ier sv,Ao
and live stock establishments. There Is
a well supplied wood and coal office. Pi-
amos are upstairs in a store of their own;
near them is large hall, decorated with
flags, statuary, tables and chairs in pro-
fusion. Here dinner Of several hundred
covers may be given, or ordered for any
place, town or country, with every acces-
sorry, from the banquet itself to the
waiter who serves it; all provided by
Whiteley. had nearly forgotten to name
charming picture gallery, where many
original works of great beauty are dis
played, and where orders are taken for
copies of any masterpiece on the walls of
any of the great galleries of Europe.
Whiteley is also banker. You may buy
or sell money on his premises You may
take your passage by any steamer for any
port. You may hire O servant; bury @ de-
ceased friend; put your belongings up at
auction; purchase, sell, build or take down
house. In short, there is not single
transaction in life relating to trade which
| Whiteley is not willing to make for you.
| No wonder he calls himself ''the univer-
sal provider." Such a business as White
ley's must speedily make man a bank
rupt or a millionaire; and as disaster has
not overtaken him, 1t is presumed that
Whiteley has good account at his own
and other banks. His establishment has
suffered frequently from fires, whose
strangely persistent recurrence irresist-
IDLY suggests incendiarism.
In the matter of cheapness l find very
! little difference between Whiteley's and
| other establishments which are not es-
| pecially devoted to wealthy customers, as
are Gillow's in the furniture line, and
Lewis & Allenby in the dry goods. An
honest price prevails, and if an American
visitor sees anything he or she likes at
Whiteley's, would advise him or her to
| purchase it without further ado, as it
would be a waste Of time to run all over
London to try to find the same article at
a lower price.
AT THE BON MARCHE.
For one American who has heard of
Whiteleys in London, ninety and nine
have heard of the Bon Marche in Paris.
Persons who know no other single word
| in French are aware that bon marche
means cheap" This famous store is in
deed a marvellous place. Outside of @
few little knicl1knacls known as articles
de Paris, the vast establishment is en-.
tirely devoted to the sale of dry goods.
No wonder the American woman, with hel
national love for shopping, revels il
hours spent in fitting from one counter
to another. Gloves are to the right oil
her, flowers to the left of her, silks are IL
front of her, lace is beyond. Are these
beautiful things really, or only in ap
pearance, cheap? Why, the truth is they
are sold at the market price. Examine
well anything that is offered below thu
current rates, and you will discover
reason.
I will call the attention of American
ladies to a custom which prevails at tn
larger shops in Paris, by which our coun
trywomen are misled, though no deceit i
willfully put upon them; it arisesIsimpl,
from a difference Of custom between tn
French and American merchant. When
price is seen upon a remnant in America
the purchaser knows that the market
figure is the price Of the whole remnant
while in France the marked figure mean
per yard or rather meter, according to tn
French measurement. Thus, if an Ameri
can lady sees some attractive pieces 0
lace or silk, marked variously from 50 t
$40, and decides to take some or many 0
these remnants, it comes, as a very dis
agreeable surprise, to find out that til
articles were at so much per yard, an
that the shopkeeper will now measure tn
yards. Often the price is but a few sou
reduction per yard on the original figur
asked, and the purchaser finds hersel
with awkward lengths of goods she wa
tempted to buy only in the Mrs. Toodle
spirit. To be sure, at the Bon March
} the privilege is given of exchangin
articles which a purchaser may be di:
, satisfied with-if no harm has come I
! them. Even money is, under certain eli
cumstances, returned.-LOndon Cor. Bo!
ton Transcript.