Morning journal and courier., 1891-06-08
NEW HAVEN, CONN., MONDAY MORNING, JUNE S. 1891.
A DAYS SHOPPING.
A Husband Who Thought ft Easy
 Gets a Little Experience.

A Husband Who Thought ft Easy
 Gets a Little Experience.
 From the New York nmes-l
 A certain New York woman has @ hus- band who made himself conspicuous re- gently by a remark. He was reading aloud in the newspaper the suggestion of some masculine happy thought that it 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 nose in their news papers without any conscience bricks from the sight of standing women about them And so reading, this husband re- marked emphatically:
 "That sensible notion. Women can just as well manage their shopping hours to be through and home by five o'clock. "
 His wife differing with equal emphasis, an argument followed which ended, as many arguments do, in the husbands as- shopper either. Whereupon his wife in- yited him to accompany her on one days ordinary round, and in rash moment he accepted the invitation. A day that week was selected, and the husband duly re- mained up town after breakfast.
 "we must start early" he said. ''That is one of the points I made"
 "As early as can ever start" replied his wife, and the head of the family watched an hour slip away while his wife got the children of to school, talked with the cook about the days meals, received an early visitor on an errand, saw the gro cer's and butchers men, wrote note or dering coal, put on her jacket and bonnet, and finally left the house with him at five minutes before ten.
 tained 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 relief committee. Their residence is in West One Hundred and Twenty 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 of eleven o'clock.
 'tNow take transfer card" said the husband, land get everything in one store. That's the way you women waste time and strength running about to com pare prices and save cent here and there"
 His wife said nothing. It was her habit to use transfer card.
 The large shop first entered was crowd ed. It was not easy to get to the counter desired, but, once there, clerk was ready. Some white pique was bought, and then some celored 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, 1.-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 Certain sizes were out. A rug for the h brary, (which am so glad you can help me to select" was her next errand. They took the elevator for the rug department and took seats for inspection of the stock Rug after rug was spread before them un til, as tde husband confessed, "the choice became maddening" He liked every on' better than the preceding and finally gave it up. Then his wife priced, examined conpidered the colorings of the room fol which it was intended, and at last made { | judicious selection, not, however, until { good half hour had been spent in tn, work.
 One or two more purchases were made | in the shop as expeditiously as possible and a number were tried for but were no obtainable; there was considerable wal at the transfer desk for parcels and billl not arrived there, and when they wer' once more in the street the husband wal astonished to find it lacked only a quarter to one o'clock. To get to lunchinl place, be served and discuss the meal con sumed another hour, and the work wa continued. An exchange was to be effect ed at one shop which needed considerabl circumlocution, and at another the wifi wanted to look up parcel bought the pre- vious week which had failed to reach her In this case the dry goods red tape became very trying, and the husband, like one o | Ouida's heroes, swore a little "under hi mustache." The colored pique proved difficult necessity to procure, the desired stocking sizes were not all found at on place, other purchases needed trips t more than one shop, and it was twent minutes past five before they left their las shopping place and boarded Third ave nue elevated train at Ninth street.
 Both were tired out, the husband espe cially so. 'And," said the wife, "this i an easy day of shopping; have bought n bonnet or gown; the choosing of eithe implies more time and effort. Yet 70 see how weary it is and how inexorabl the hours consumed. And I am an expel compared to many women I know, and tc day have not looked at single thin outside of my list, which one has to do shop judiciously. The truth is the wea fest person on car at night is the woma who has been shopping. It is physic and mental labor of the most fatiguin sort, yet it is as important a branch of tt family affairs as any other part. And men will only let us alone and let us chooi
 our own time it is all we ask and they ms
 keep their seats forever"
 The husband replied never a word.