Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-12-11

leather goods and things of that. sort.
and many of those / saw were Simply
lovely. In several of the pocket
books there are little silver watches,
which show their faces through the
covers and keep excellent time. Ihese
clever little contrlvances impressed me az
being the most unique things III the wnoie
establishment. And then they nave sn,S
advantage, too--if you lose your pocket
book you not only lose your money out
also your watch. In the excellent assolt-
ment saw some very pretty card-cases,
made from the skins of rattlesnakes.
-
There is nothing more acceptable as
Gift to lady than well-selected ian, TOT
after all these articles are the acknowi1
edged aids TO coquetry. and are as essential
20 the tout ensemble OF feminine epparel rs
the very gloves ana jewelry the fair ones
wear. Some of those which caught my
eye were lovely, and those which. were
made of real lace and mother-of-pearl
were exquisite. Ny guides told me
that they had all grades in stock
aud that l could pay from one
cent 10 S22 for the desirable articles.
The prettiest and most artistic things
which / saw in the store were the damask
table-covers. which were made Oh inter-
woven silk and linen and colored in vel;
low and white. They have An Oriental
look about them that would give finish to
any parlor. no matter how elegant its fur;
nishings were. Scarcely less beautiful
were the japanese table-covers which met
nv gaze. As for the novelties IN cellu:
loid, there were dozens and dozens OF
them, and the usual number OF muoholr
cases, which seem to have an everlasting
hold upon the public.
The toys l saw in that store made mo
wish was the manager of an orphan asy.
lum, Just 30 | could have the pleasure OF
buying in the whole lot OF play.blngs and
distributing them among the little ones.
The first thing 1 called for was the doll
babies, for always have tender spot IN
my heart for these puppets. And Oh
they showed me thousands OF them.
There were little babies and big babies,
Chinee babies and Niger babies, babies
that Dried when touched in sensitive
portion OF their anatomy and babies
that rolled their eyes about Ike
maniacs. Some of them were far
larger than the real articles and they were
sitting about in swings and chairs and all
sorts Of postures like b0nd-fde kinder:
garten gathering. Really think II would
be Just as well to dispense with live chill
dren altogether, for nowadays they manu-
facture them so we'll that We can buy a
whole cargo of the juveniles for very
moderate sum, and then you don't have to
bother about feeding them, and 1t isn't
necessary TO buy sixteen pairs OF now shoes
every month. The little "Chinee" KIDS
were the cutest of the whole assortment,
aud L notice that in many households
they are used as parlor ornaments. The
doll display IS the largest and most va
red ever seen here
=
But if the doll babies impressed me,
what shall ssy Of the Liliiputlan turni-
ture | saw2 There we're several complete
sots-httle bureaus with looking glasses IN
them, tiny chairs, and everything neces-
cary TO satisfy the most eXacting house
keeper. All sorts of trunks were in
this department, and the equipment
was so complete. that any one oi
the babies could have entered upon
its domestic duties at moments notice.
| There were some nice little billiard and
pool-tables 10 amuse diSslpated young
sters, and several cute little desks to salts
| fy sanity children with literary propensl-
| ties. At this juncture l saw that the lady
! clerks were becoming ennuled, and WISH
/ ing TO do the proper thing and act ike the
ladies all do on such occasions, purchased
beautiful 2-cent fan and left tho estab-
| lishment.
And then in tho course of my wander.
I lIl09 i tulUB uCIOsS 'luCA nOhhNAA 49, W -
| petted the hobby-horses and affection,
| ately stroked the fur of the green-eyed
| kittens that met me on every side. Once
! / thought [ had q slight attack OF the
! "iirn-iams," :" but tremulous investigation
| pf we'd that the snakes | saw were made oil
/ ruhher. They were fearfully good imlta
! -. and would advise every drinking
ulan 10 keep away from them' o.
| serious consequences may result.
| saw one right inconsistent thing which
struck me particularly among the mass o
/ TOYS. There was an old negro preac cher
/ who. upon being wound up" delivered
! his discourse in most vigorous style and
/ emphasized his remarks (which, OF course
! had TO be taken for granted by whscklni
! his pulpit with walking-stlck. just op
posite the cOlOred parsOn there were SCI
! of colored ballet-dancers, with distress
! ingly short skirts, who kicked up then
! heels most vigorously, when the KEY wa
! applied to the box upon when they Gu
! their capers. The sermon evidently dldnl
have much effect upon them.
|
II you have got plenty of money snt
"no poor relations and want to bus
something for the "old folks" one Of the
best places TO select your present is a
some of the crockery stores. The Christ
mas stock they have on hand Is exquisite
It's quite the thing nowadays to give you
lady friends sOuUenir plates, and there
! are some lovely designs IN thu
line. If YOU fear that such gift
would make you appear parslmonlous
you can select some that retail at 80 apiece
but in such cases 1t is best TO get the sales
man to leave the price on the article, 50
that the giver can get due credit for th'
amount of cash invested. Piano, banquet
! and parlor lamps always 60" ana thel
are invariably acceptable, oven II som'
other fellows do sit under them after yo'
have put up the money.
|
The ROYAL Worcester. Crown Derby, anC
| Crown Milano wares are always highly ap
preciated, as are likewise the many kind
of articles IN cut-glass. a number o
6Oudoir ornaments, such as pln-cases
| iewelry-cases, and things OF that sort, ar
now made of porcelain, china, or glass
and these are exceedingly pretty and de
cidedly unique. This season the rage 10
candles has been revived and everything
that partakes of the nature OF a candle
stick is bought with aYidity. The crocke
ry-men are selling hundreds OF them.
The long-stem rose-iars or glass ar
lovely, but the most attractive things Z
lovers of the antique are the hoya
Flemish blue wares. These are made Il
imitation of the old Dutch tankards an
vases and are beautifully worked with pic
lures representing various familiar scenes
Many an old rooster will be palmed Oh o.
the unsuspecting public for the Christina
turkey, ana chandeliers Throughout IN
country are living IN fear and tremoling
but Notwithstanding these frauds thou
sands OF gobblers Will perish, and alread
the markets are becoming filed with IN
carcasses Of these toothsome fowls. Tha
well-known Virginia "yarmint" the pos
sum has even now made his appearance
and there are millions of "ole haars"
the meat-stores, and the greatest abund
ance of yenison.
VIRGINIA AFFAIRS.
The Question of Ballot Reform to BE Agi