The evening world., 1890-06-25
the ODDITIES OF DIALECT.
A Canadian Woman's Efforts at
Shopping in an American City.
Cotton Is Muslin. Boots Are shoes
and Hairpins Notions.

~ will never forget" said Canadian
woman who lives in this city, my first
efforts ut shopping in this city. / went
a'one, because my husband wns busy at
his office, and / had ns vet made no ac-
quaintances. You know In that raw
country, which really is SC vast and yet
seems 80 small, we have many different
names for things from those the people
called Americans have, though why
everybody on the Western hemisphere is
not called an American is hard to under
stand, according 10 nj interview in the
Altoona Independent loyal American.
We'll. / soon found myself in a big
store-not any bigger, however, than n
or two of those in Montreal OF Toronto
that | was accustomed TO. / wanted ma
terinl TO make sheets of-not linen but
cotton sheets. Canadians call the mate
rial cotton. ] asked q foor-walker where
TO get IL, and he directed me TO q certain
counter.
Two or three people were being waited
on Mt the counter aud | awaited my turn,
expecting that when the clerk had served
those who came before me he would ask
Ule VIM L wanted. L 1OUDu. nOWt NeT,
that several people who came after me
called out to him what they wanted while
he was yet waiting on others. and when he
wns able he handed down the articles re-
CURED, so that the rudest and most push
ing shoppers were served first.
I'm Canada IL is the custom. Just as IL
Is here in barber shops and the like, for
the clerk to keep his eve on the order in
which his customer arrive n serve first
the first corners. Thus q modest
Is relieved of much embarrassment aud
rude women gain nothing by their rude
ness.
when I succeeded in getting the
clerks attention | asked to see Bome
cotton.
what number2' he asked.
mo number that / know off, / re-
piled. L want white cotton, reasonably
tine.'
Forty is medium fine,' he said. pull
ing out n drawer of spools and selecting
one for me.
~ don't want thread 1 said, L want
cotton, cotton Don't you now what
cotton is? Steam loom2' 1 queried in
despair. remembering another word we
had for it.
This is cotton he said rudely. L
guess you want muslin with q %patroniz-
ing, grim.
Now muslin with us is the fine ma
ttTlhl Culltu uTeSb Hublln OF lhVn mere,
and | certainly did not want that, and 1t
took the combined efforts of the floor
walker, two or three clerks (clarks, / pro-
nounced it, and sundry cash girls to on
vince me that muslin was the American
store name (shop l used to call it in my
proSincialism) for cotton and cotton for
thread.
when these patronizing people had
sufficiently Inundated me. ant had stared
at me and discussed me with winks. grins,
mods and giggles TO their hearts content,
and had evidently set me dow as some
very recent arrival from n lunatic asylum.
i asked to see "A pair OF boots.
For u boy?' asked the clerk.
For myself said |.
1--WE don't keep ladies' boots, ma'am,'
he answered. Have no call for them.
Ladies' generally order them where they
get their riding habits
Riding habits = l said. in astonish-
ment. oh. | don't mean long boots. 1
mean Just boots, like those l see there,
plenty of them
":Them's Shoes he answered. not
boots
"'Oh, you call them shoes, do your
And what then do you call these p and I
put my hand on a pair of what l had
always called shoes.
"'Them's low-cut Shoes he said, OK
ford ties
ihCh Il OolllDIShCIAltu tllht WBhN Il
called long boots Americans call boots,
what / called boots they called shoes and
what l called shoes they called low
necked-no, low-cut-shoes, or Oxford
ties.
"'I must have some hairpins now l
said with resignation; perhaps you
don't call them by that name. but / could
draw you a diagram of the article If you
think you could recognize it,
lie did not take my suggestion in the
spirit in which it was made, but snap
pishly informed me that Notions is over
there
Motions I said to myself, quite
pleased at my rapid accumulation OF
American store language, hairpins are to
be notions hereafter with YOU APP
preaching the girls at this counter, which
was heaped up with q miscellaneous as
sortment of small wares, | said, Give me
a paper Of notions, please, assorted sizes
of the wavy or crinkled variety
A look of surprise appeared IN the girls
eyes and then a smoker ran along their
tired faces, and l knew l had betrayed
my ignorance again. To my astonish-
ment and delight l discovered that hair
pins We're hairpins still. They seemed
like old friends in a strange land, and |
bought enough to last me a year. Notions
| discovered embraced everything on
that counter, though why no one could
explain.
FINALLY. when l came to give my adj
dress in order to have the goods sent
home. l spelled out my name to the
clerk, Hazard. When l came to the
third letter. which l had always been
taught to pronounce 'zed,' he stopped
and asked to have II repeated.
"'Zed,' | reiterated,
"'Zed?' he querled, in a puzzled way.
"~'Certainly, | said. a Titled nettled.
Don't you know your letters? led, the
the last letter OF them ALL .
"'Oh, zee, he laughed. That's what
you mean, is itI'
"'Have it zee if you like. > | answered
weakly, with a groan; Il will go home,
buy me an American A b @ book and
begin my education again at the begin
ming"