St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-11
CARELESS PEOPLE.
How They Lose Their Purses a.

How They Lose Their Purses and
Parcels In Dry Goods Stores.
Chicago News.
A pretty young woman wearing an
ash-colored gown, tiny toque, an enor-
nous boa and wOebegone expression,
the other day rushed in at the side en-
trance of large State street dry goods
establishment and in distracted tones
babe the elevator conductor take her
to the third floor, quick" Arrived in
that painfully high art department. de-
voted to bilious green, unripe black
berry puppies and Over-ripe raspberry
pinks, she nervously clutched some
pumpkinpie-colored drapery and re-
marked in an anxious, please don't say
leather pocket book here this morning."
"A red pOcketbook was found, madam,
and sent to the found desk on the first
floor" replied the blue-eyed young man
with a pencil behind his ear, and
straightway did such Joy and gratitude
beam from beneath that ash-cOlored
toque as made even the high art depart
ment cheerful for moment and caused
the wooden image that ran the elevator
to remember that it, too, once was hui
man.
We HdfC uullc d uluStuI1 Vi cuTlOSl-
ties at our found DESK" said the black
mustached superintendent later in the
day, as he led the way to the back of
shop. In busy times, and es-
pecially in the holiday seasons, when
people have lots of little parcels to look
after, we have sometimes as many as
twenty OF thirty articles brought here in
single day. Yes, many of them are
claimed, but an astonishing number are
never inquired after at all. Some of
these have been here since the beginning
OF the year-all sorts of things, you see,"
and he turned over an amazing cOllec-
ton Of knickknacks, most of which were
evidently feminine property. Hand
kerchiefs, gloves and wells predomi-
mated; there was large assortment
of miscellaneous jeWelry, some
purses. notebooks, and one check book,
two paraSOls and one umbrella, two ar
tificial bangs, one lOrgnette. one opera
glass, several books, two or three neck
scarfs, lot of little paper parcels, and
last, but not least, silver-headed cane,
which seemed to suggest that some I'M
lucky benedict had been entrapped into
doing his wife's shopping, and, sue
cumbing under the unwOnted brain
pressure, had incontinently fed. leaving
hts wits and his last years Christmas
present DenlnQ MN.
"What is done with the unclaimed ar
ticles?" was asked.
SAT the end of the year they are
turned over to the Old Women,s home,
the Home for the Friendless or some in
stltutiOn for women, where they can be
made use of, all except such things as
have been bought here and not taken
away, which are returned to the stock"
surely there are not many people
idiotic enough to make purchases and
not take possession of them?"
''Well, you'd be surprised at the num-
Der of unclaimed purchases we have to
deal with. 1t happens usually in this
way: A customer buys something at one
side of tbs shop and then crosses to the
opposite side in search of something
else; on the way she is attracted by,
we'll say some frilling, buys small guam
down so cents, and SAYS she'll
come back for the parcel and
the change in a few minutes; then
she departs to match some velvet, buy
silk stockings, or something equally alb
SOrbing, or perhaps meets friend and
goes upstairs to help choose curtains,
and in twenty minutes has forgotten all
about that parcel of frilling and her Is
cents change. Ten to one she never
thinks of either again, and in the course
of time both find their way to the
found DESK Possibly the next time
she comes to the shop in passing the
frilling counter the incident occurs to
her, she inquiries for her package and
change, and they are given to her. If
not, at the end of the year the frilling is
returned to the stock, and the change
goes with the other things to the Old
-WOmen'S home
"WOmen are very strange about losses.
A woman will drop lots of things and
never even miss them, but the time
when she hasn't lost anything at all is
just the time when she's perfectly GER
tain she has. Do you follow me? And
haven't you noticed it yourself? Two
or three times every day some customer
comes up, wild-eyed and anxious look
ing, and says: %, Mr.. So-and-so, Pm
so sorry to trouble you, but I've lost my
purse or my veil, or "a sample of hello
trOpe plush;' then take her down to the
found DESK and she looks at every
thing with hawks eye, but she can't
find her missing property; then when
we go back to the counter where she is
quite sure she had it last, and she turns
over everything in the neighbOrhoOd,
questions the clerks and looks sus-
piciously at the shoppers, she knows
she had it when she was looking at that
Lace or is nearly certain she put it
down beside this piece of caShmere;;'
and then after fifteen minutes fuss and
bother finds it-in her own pocket or
shopping bag.
80, we have some funny experiences
more about them some day."