The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-22
PAINFUL
| HESITATION.
Shopping Ladies' Who Do Not
Know Their Own Minds.
The Indscision Is the Result of Training Girls
in Early Life to B Dependent on Mother
to Make a Choice.

GIHOPPING is popularity supposed to
~ be feminine delight" said bright
&yS young lady to gentleman whom
she met as she was leaving a dry-goodS
store, but for my part it always gives me
the shivers the very thought of going into q
store to purchase anything. You see L
belong to the great army of those who do
not know their own minds, and the process
of having it made up for me is always
very painful one, both for myself and for
the one who attempts the operation"
Surely, you must be joking!" exclaimed
her companion, as he saw her eyes were
twinkling with merriment.
Not at ALL was her laughing reioinder,
Il am Immensely in earnest. To account
for what must seem a strange state OF al
fairs it may be necessary to 60 back little.
have at last become convinced that the
reason for all this indecisiOn on my part is
the outgrowth Of the way in which 1 was
brought up. As a child never was allowed
10 have a way of my own. not even an opin-
ion. Everything was decided beforehand
for me, had no voice in any arrangement
that might concern me. My food was pre-
pared for me. and l was told that l might
eat or leave 1t. And let me tell you just
here that in this way | learned to have
taste that was simply the reverse Of cap
tious, for, after trying once or twice to 90
without what thought did not fancy,
speedily came to the conclusion that it was
much more comfortable to swallow my dig
nifty and my dinner at the same time.
INTERESTED.
CAS- grew older and might have become
interested in dress l was told that little
girls should not think too much about their
clothes, but should wear whatever was nat
on them without thought of how they
looked. This doctrine. by the way, has
ALWAYS struck me as being a great mistake.
Then. as | was fond of play. was seldom
called from it to 90 to a mllliner's to try on
hats. My mother went for me, bought the
hat and had it sent home. All that / was
expected to do was to wear the hat. In
ever so many other ways | was taught to
depend upon the judgment of others. can
remember with what awe and admiration L
regarded SehOo-mate OF mine who, at the
age of fifteen, selected her own dresses; in
fact, had decided opinions as to what she
would ana what she would not wear.
II should not like to tell you for how
long this state of passivity continued on
my part, but | know that all at once be-
came painfully conscious that was an OBJ
ject of amusement in the different stores
where we dealt. l suppose it did seem
foolish TO the saleswomen to see a full
grown young lady without opinions of her
own, who turned in so helpless a way to
her mother for decision upon even the
most trifling details. Nothing affects me
more than rdicule, expressed or covert.
Indeed the very suspicion that l am being
laughed at is enough to throw me into a
cold perspiratiOn. So l plueked up suffi-
Gent spirit TO have mind OF my own, and
in these days when eccentricity is taken as
proof of genius or mark of style really
get along very well. But oh, how l dread
it'll l always put off my shopping until the
very last minute, because deep down in nv
heart | know that | do not really know
what | want, and am so afraid that the
clerks may detect this failing and take ad-
vantage of it.
CONFESSION.
81 suppose that | may as well make a
confession, and thanks TO the fashion Of
dabbling in hypnotism and kindred sub
iects, perhaps 1t will not seem so absurd as
it might have done a few years ago. l am
peculiarly sensitive to the personality Of
people, and | am again and again infiu-
enced to buy what | do not want, do not
like, simply by the perseverance and the
will power of the clerk who is bent upon
making a good sale. Why. there are GER
tain stores which actually do not dare to
enter, just because know that shall take
what is offered me. Doesn't it seem silly,
but so often. after ! have bought thing
and taken it home. have carried it back
and exchanged it for just what l had re-
courage to take, the day before?"
well, 1t does look rather as II you didn't
know your own mind. But can't you over
come this trepidati0n?" was asked
Il don't believe it; I've tried often
enough. l hardly ever buy pair of shoes
but that | have TO exchange them. gen.
orally make a mistake in the size, aud you
needn't laugh, Pm just as apt to get too
large size as too small one. The last time
| bought foot-gear | was so stupid rs to try
tban, an ha right font (lf fbpv dill
not fit, and so when | took them back |
family apOlogized, explaining about the
feet That is always the case, said the
clerk most politely. Right-handed people
have the right hand and the left foot the
larger, left-handed people have just the re-
verse
Now, have n mucl-envied friend who
always knows her own mind, but oh, does
not she wear out the patience of the clerks
1t takes her forever to decide which she
likes best. but when she has viewed the
entire stock in all the varied lights sepa-
rately and by contrast, she is at last suited,
and nothing could equal her satisfaction
and her continued delight in her purchase.
She wouldn't change for worlds
THE SOUL OF sToRE-KEEPERs.
with all due respect to you, | suppose
that customers as yourself must try the
souls of stOre-keepers, remarked the gen.
teman who had accompanied her on her
way to the cars.
Il guess so, although don't imagine that
/ ever try to have them take back cut
goods, or that / would even change a spool
of silk in store where | did not buy il,
and | know lots of real nice girls who think
it's all right 10 do that Some stores. you
know, offer at the time that they sell you
worsted for shawl or any other fancy ar
ticle to take back what you may have left
This they do in order to induce purchasers
to buy large amount of WOOL so that they
may be certain to have enough to finish the
article and thus not blame the store later
on for not having the same color in stock.
PERHAPS, as you are a man, you do not
know that it is impossible to match color
in worsted that belongs TO another lot in
dyeing. The same tint is never obtained in
the different dyeingS, even of the same
color"
THAT'S STRANGER
ooh, no, it isn't. But want to tell youa
good joke ON one of our local shoe-Stores. |
bought pair of shoes, to come back to the
subject of fOotgear. l put them on, and
wore them about the house for nearly an
hour to break them In, when. as they panied
me so, | took them off and on examining
them, found that Ihad bought the wrong
make l have to wear shoe without u
vamp, with simply the straight seam up the
foot. What should do, thought for the
shoes were an expensive pair; lcould never
wear them, and the sOleS were rubbed
enough to have the clerk call them Soiled.
But within they were unchanged. Sud
denly bright idea struck me. | took a
piece of broken glass and scraDed them of;
but they were so smooth and veiyety, not
shiny like new shoe. What was l TO do
next. / experimental. | wet the entire
sole, rubbing it dry with the palm of my
hand. Victory, the gloss was there. So |
took back the shoes and asked for an eX-
change. But alaS mad taken off all the
price marks and also the number of tn
clerk who had sold me the pair. And sucis
time as they had in the store, comparing
notes, calling up this man and that. They
recognized their shoes, but could not ae-
count for the lack of memoranda. Finally
| heard one fellow, say: They've been
buffed off, Then they all hurried back.
took sharp look at me, gave me the other
shoes in exchange, and | left. | suppose
they never ceased wondering how it was
done" ID AZII-E-
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