Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-05-02
THE BERLIN SHOP GIRL.
Half Her Heart Is for the Gay Student and
Half for Plain Fritz.

The Berlin shop girl is not so attract
I've in appearance as the New York
shop girl. She has round face. short
| neck, square shoulders, thick waist. and
big feet. Her voice is rather harsh, her
forehead low. and her hair not over
abundant. She knows nothing about
tailor-made suits, patent leather shoes,
Easter bonnets, silk stockings, or en-
broidered under-clothes. She is rarely
stylish and never chic.
On the other hand, she has many
agreeable qualities which are not gen
orally attributed TO the New York shop
girl. She is unobtrusive. unselfish, and
contented. She is phen0menally af-
fectionate and faithful. She has good
health, good nature, and a head
crammed full Of ideals. She writes and
speaks her own language pretty cor
rectly, knows a good bit Of German
lied French, and can say Yes, :"
please" and Time is money" in
English. Moreover, she has great big
heart.
As in thecasc of most German women
the key to the whole life of the Berlin
shop girl is to be found in the heart and
not in the head Her heart is divided
in two quite unsympathetic halves
One half belongs entirely to her gay
student. The other half belongs en-
tirely to her plain Fritz. Her gay
student is usually a well-to-do young
scapegrace who is trying to learn all
there is to know about the naenSur and
life in big city, while making his
parents away of in the provinces be-
lieve that he has an eye single to the
dignity of becoming Herr Doctor.
He may be plain Schulze or Schmidt.
Often enough he is baron or count.
Now and then he is even petty prince
ling or a rich American. Whatever
his rank or nationality may be, the shop
girl loves him with astounding ardor
after the first ten days of her acquaint-
ance with him. For her the mutations
of his tickle finances are entirely in-
significant. He is her student and she
loves him just the same whether he
dimes her in the students quarter or
Under the Linden, whether he takes
her TO the American Theatre or TO the
big Imperial Opera House, near the
palace. She begins to quote Schiller'S
poetry to him two or three evenings
after she first spoke to him across the
shop counter. A week later she is
writing it to him. In month she is
passing all her spare time while away
from him in composing original Ger
man love doggerel. This she sends TO
him in regular daily installments,
despite the expense for postage, which
she can ill spare out of her So a week
salary. When out with him she never
lets 90 of him. In the concert halls, in
the Philharmonic, at the theatre, or in
the cafe, all alone with him or in the
presence of hundreds, she must pat him,
or pinch him, or squeeze his hand, or
pick threads from his coat. This
superabundance of love and poetry and
demonstrativeness of course. soon CLOVIS
the palate even of romantic German
student. After few months of it, the
frequency of the concert hall and
theatre parties, the late wine suppers
and the like begins TO abate. Despite
rcdoubled doses of love doggerel and
abiect worship the student falls off
more and more, and eventually ter
inmates the shop girls little romance
by going away to another university.
w HllO llC biioAbNluNlI nan VI ntl
heart has been whirlipg the shop girl
through all these sentimental and poe
tic high jinks with the gay student, the
humber half has been leading her
through much more commonplace
love affair. The hero of the prosaic
half of her dual life is plain Fritz. He
is generally shoe-maker's or a bakers
apprentice earning dollar or so
week, and altogether a pretty poor
apology for hero. Nevertheless, the
shop girl loves him with the whole half
of her heart. She drinks his two-cent
glass of beer as contentedly as she
drinks the students five-cent glass of
wine. just as grateful for the ten-cent
seat he buys her in the theatre gallery
IS for the students orchestra chair and
loves him almost as hard on the way
home in q horse car after the perform
ance as she is won't to love the student
In n first-class cab. She is faithful to
him as he is faithful to her, and despite
her student and ideals and Schiller and
doggerel eventually settles down as
solid Frau Fritz to rearing his bow
legged little Fritzes after the approved
German fashion.
In the routine of everyday life the
Berlin shop girl is unique and quite
exemplary young woman. She doesn't
fir, in the street. won't take mans
seat in a crowded horse car, never ord
ers fancy dishes in a restaurant. and is
always very grateful for small favors.
She can walk miles, and does it almost
every evening to save five cents car
fare. She can board a street car in
motion us we'll as man, and carries
the change for the conductor in her
glove. She can eat sauerkraut with
two-tined fork, and salad with steel
knife without gashing her lips. She
can cook and clean house and make her
own gowns. In short she is just cal
culated to make Fritz IN Industrious.
economical, submissive wife, and no
one In Berlin would think of or expect