The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-22
SHOPPING JUST ONCE.
A BUSINESS MAN ACCOMPANIES HIS
WIFE FOR ONE DAY.

ing Things for the Family Ii Not the
lit Was an Ordinary One Too.
A certain New York woman has hus-
band who made himself conspicuous re-
Gently by remark He was reading aloud
in the newspaper the suggestion OF some
masculine happy thought that 1t would be
good thing if women would try to finish
| their shopping to occupy the cars an hour
earlier than the tired male workers needed
them, in which case the latter could bury
their noses in their newspapers without
any conscience pricks from the sight Of
standing women about them. And so
reading this husband remarked emphat-
ically:
That's sensible notion. Women can
just as we'll manage their shopping hours
to be through and home by O'Clock"
His wife differing with equal emphasis,
an argument followed which ended, as
many arguments do. in the husbands as
sertion that he could do it, and he was no
shopper either. Whereupon his wife in
vited him to accompany her on one days
ordinary round, and in a rash moment he
accepted the invitation. A day that week
was selected, and the husband duly re-
NAMED up town alter breakfast.
"We must start early" he said. THAT
Is one of the points made"
GAS early as can ever start" replied his
wife, and the head of the family watched a n
hour slip away while his wife got the chill
dren off to school, talked with the cook
about the days meals, received an early
visitor on an errand, saw the grocers and
butchers men, wrote note ordering coal,
put on her jacket and bonnet, and finally
left the house with him at five minutes be-
fore 10.
AN EARLY START
At the gate his wife was met and de-
tanned five minutes by poor woman who
belonged in her charity visiting district,
whose call necessitated return to the
house for an order as treasurer of a relief
committee. Their residence is in West One
Hundred and Twenty seventh street, and it
took ten minutes to reach the l. station,
five minutes more to catch train, which
| they left at Eighteenth street and Sixth
avenue at exactly seventeen minutes to IL
o'clock.
"Now take a transfer card" said the US
band, "and get everything in one store.
That's the way you women waste time and
strength running about to compare prices
and save cent here and there"
His wife said nothing. 1t was her habit
to use a transfer card.
The large shop first entered was crowd
ed. 1t was not easy to get to the counter
desired, but once there clerk was ready.
Some white pique was bought, and then
| some colored pique was asked for. Only
two pieces were in stock; neither would
| answer; this errand must be done else
| where The purchase was recorded on the
| transfer and the hosiery counter was
sought. stockings for Ned, Flossie and
| little Frank" said the wife; two grades
school and best" The hosiery counter is
always besieged, and considerable wait
| ensued before she could be served. Only
| one part of the order. could be filled. Ger
| tain sizes were out.
A rug for the library, (which am SO
glad you can help me to select" was her
next errand. They took the elevator fol
| the rug department and took seats for in
spection of the stock. Rug after rug was
spread before them until, as the husband
confessed, 1.-The choice became madden
ing" He liked every one better than thu
preceding, and finally gave it up.
THEY GET HOME LATE.
Then his wife priced, examined, consid
cred the colorings Of the room for which il
was intended, and at last made a judicious
selection, not, however, until good hall
| hour had been spent in the work.
! One or two more purchases were made in
the shop as expediciously as possible, and
| a number were tried for but were not OBJ
! tainable. There was considerable wait 81,
| ~ 70 nj hi M
arrived there, and when they were once
more in the street the husband was aston
ished to find that it lacked only quarter
to / o'clock. To get a luncheon place, be
served and discuss the meal consumed an
other hour and then the work was con
/ tinued.
An exchange was to be effected at ont
| shop which needed considerable circumlo
cution, and at another the wife wanted t.
look up parcel bought the previous week
which had failed to reach her. In this cast
the dry goods red tape became very trying
and the husband, like one of Ouida's he
roes, swore little "under his mustache.
The colored pioue proved difficult neces
! sity to procure, the desired stocking size:
were not all found at one place, other pur
chases needed trips to more than one shop
and il was $50 before they left their las
shopping place and boarded Third avenue
elevated train at Ninth street.
Both were tired out, the husband es
| pecially so. "And," said the wife, this i!
an easy day of shopping; have bought NJ
bonnet or gown; the choosing of either i'm
plies more time and effort Yet you se'
| how weary 1t Is and how inexorable thu
| hours consumed And I am An exper
compared to many women | know, and to
day have not looked at single thing
outside of my list, which one has to do Il
shop judiciously.
The truth is the weariest person on 1
car at nights the woman who has beer
doing a days shopping. 1t is physical anc
mental labor of the most fatiguing sort
yet it is as important branch Of the fam
lily affairs as any other part And If mer
will only let US alone and let Us choose oul
own time it is all we ask, and they maj
| keep their seats forever"
| The husband replied never a word.-He,
| Point of View in New York Times