Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-25


Nt%3S$1&A irost upon sunny
| AM&Ik@%/E. hair and herrow
| MN%SSZ%IEM comely faces into
49,; i: ~ e.: 4. i; !:
| HAD\ANQ, wis, believes that in
! s.-- taking the wolf,
Care, away with him as he goes sailing
| out to the west, he leaves "wifie snd wee
ones" in peace and comfort. II the wife
be brave he never suspects that he left
the she-woIf, more savage than her mate,
! in possession Of the ingle. side.
It helps the husband support his
share of the load to imagine that
he carries by SO much the heavier
share that the "women at home have an
easy time of It." A wise helomeet is
loath to rob him of the stimulus that is
in itself reward, while she revolves
cesselessly ways and means, not for get
ting rid of the burden, but for distribu-
ting it more eqaslly. Sharing her solicit
| tude with "the girls" she inspires them
with her ambitions, quickened by the
restlessness that comes to young, gro wing
| creatures coopsd in narrow nest. They
covet pretty things worn and possessed
by other girls, srd admired as accessories
to their charms by young men. In
change of place and occupation they hope
to help their parents and to "better"
themselves.
These are, briefly, some Of the motives
that impel throngs Of "girls" Of various
sges and conditions to enter the many
avenues Of labor open and opening to our
sex in city and town. Action upon these
motives is draining young blood from
hamlet and farm, where work does not
command wages in hard cash. Betty's
slow hoardings of butter-snd-egg money
becomes contemplate when she hears
how much her cousin, who went to town
three years ago, is making In q
lace factory for fancy store. The
isght of the cousins cheap Anery which
regales Betty's eyes during the others
vacation Is fire to the kerosene stepped
cotton Of discomfort. Before another
spring trebles the tale Of farm(work Betty
mas "place" 10 town anG pals herself
"Lizzie."
A friend of mine, whose Office is In the
larger city, meets her and hundreds OF
her comrades every day on the Brook
| lyn bridge. He tells me, with 9
shade of unselfsh concern on his
Intelligent young face, thst he does
stnot quite know what to think of
them" They 6re decent girls, according
to him, but loud and forward, with .
smack Of defiance in their manner which
is his most serious puzzle. "Shopgirl" is
stamped all over them, however well they
may be dressed. They return the familiar
stare of rude men fearlessly, although not
always boldly, get up sham flirtations on
| slight provocation, and talk among them.
selves in utter disregard OF possible and
Ger lain listeners, giggling continuously,
and often giving way to slight shrieks.
Betty Lizzie and her kinswoman con-
front you in nearly every store resorted
to by women for the purchase Of articles
for their own and children's wear. In
the departments of infants wsrdrobes,
ready made gowns, and lingerie they
reign supreme. You are subject to the
infection of their peSvasive personality
at the glove counter, where they "ft"
the meek customer with reluctant strok-
| ings and with noses set well up; you are
certain to find them where laces, ruch-
ings, and collars are vended. The family
resemblance is too strong to be mistaken.
All have the trick Of regarding your timid
approach as II you were . lamp-post OF
somewhat peculiar design, not, however,
80 interesting and respectable es cat or
monkey, but rather curious to lock st
when they have nothing else to do.
You lose even this slight hold upon
their regard when they discover that your
errand is to inspect their employers
wares with the Interior motive Of buying
such as may suit you. The Sphinx,
"staring right on with calm, eternal eyes,"
might have been modelled from village
gossip on tiptoe for the latest scandal
when one sets her in Imagination along
side of our stolidly disdainful whilom
fsrm- maiden, now the supercilious sales
lady of the city store. Were the business
by which she earns her wages the duty Of
lettering rash customers from examining
or selecting the goods she guards, she
would be worth ten times the sum she
draws every Saturday evening. In her
most amiable mood 1t is always apparent
that she does you favor by suffering
you to buy what she gracefully
displays, and that the darkest sin on the
code Of her morals and manners is obse
quiousness. She knows more about the
contents Of shelves, drawers and boxes
than you ever can, and as to the caba-
listic price-mark, she is, to quote M
Wegg, "equal to colsripg ana throwing
It," Be you Rose Cleveland, Princess
Beatrice, or Maria Mitchell, she outranks
you.
Be.ty-L' zzie coolly overlooked my
shoulder while wrote check in her
employers (O establishment last Mon
day, and startled me BY observing, with
giggling sniff or shifting eiggle:
s'You Amt DOM that right! The num-
Der of your check had oughter be at the
left-hsnd tap, and how much your bill is
at the left-hAnd bottom"
Ieujoyed her naivete so immensely and
was SO far from being displeased by ner
assurance that WAS sorry to hear the
cashier tell her in furious undertone to
"hold her tongue and mind her own busi-
ness"
That is one thing she does not consider
herself paid to do. She gossips with her
associates while you turn over her goods
unaided, or while she leisurelY and ungra-
ciouslY drags down Others you insist upon
seeing, chahs the floor walker over your
head, and makes you wait for change
until she has finished whispered
conversation with the girl at the
next counter. When tired or Cross,
she is actually impairment, and the
difficulties Ct getting satisfactory view
of the sto.k in hand are quintupled. The
audscious Indifference Of her stare, the
passive insolence Of her inertia are
terror to the boldest shopper. You would