The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-12-23
and found him with few moments

and found him with a few moments
spare time on his hands.
Yes The said, I'VE have lots of anus
Ing incidents happen here in the course
Of a day during the holiday season. and
we also occasionally have some which
are particularly pathetic. These are al
ways more distinctly noticeable from the.
fact that they stand alone amid the
large amount of mirth and happiness
which usually surrounds the Christmas
shopper.
''One day this week man came into
the store who not long ago was reckon
ed among the wealthy citizens of the
city, but who through unfortunate spec
ulations lost his entire fortune last
spring. To add to this already great mis-
fortune. his wife died during the past
summer, leaving him with several small
stated the object Of his visit here in a
faltering, heart-broken sort of way, dur
Ing which his eyes filled up and his voice
became so choked several times that he
could not speak. He said that heretofore
Chris tmags had always been an occasion
for great rejoicing in his household and
that the children had always been boun-
tifully remembered in the way of pres
entS. This year all was changed. His
wife was gone, and he found himself
without sufficient funds to provide the
children with presents, no matter how
humble.
''I cannot bear to see Christmas come"
he said, without giving my dear ones
some token of remembrance, but my only
hope is that you will take In exchange
for some presents for them the sealsllin
sacque which belonged to my dead wife
and which I purchased here as my gift
to her last Christmas.
She did not damage it any, he sand,
pleadingly, and it is now almost as good
as new
IT explained to him that the rules of
our establishment would not allow me to
ranged with him a plan by which his
children will not be forgotten Christmas
morning. and the father left the store
with a heart a great deal lighter than
In one of the large Broadway stores
young lady clerk said: IF we were not
so terribly rushed 1 should enjoy waiting
on some OF the country people who come
season. If you seem TO take the least in
terest i'm them at all, they will forget all
about the errand THAT called them into
the store, and tell you all. their troubles
and their family history as far back as
they can remember. The other day an
old lady came in and told me that she
wear and wooden socks for her husband.
She had the size all right, and while l
was showing her the different grades she
conffdentially Informed me that she in
band at Christmas. I took quite a little
pains with her in making the selection
and before She decided which ito take
she had told me where she lived, how
she had living and dead and what the
LATTER had died of; how much stock they
kept, what crops they raised, how the
outlook for next years crops compared
with that raised last year and dozens of
other things equally uninteresting to me,
when had a string of customers behind
her waiting for their turn l tried to
shut her off two or three times and get
her to make her purchases, but she
would not have it that way. She said
she only came to town once a year and
that when she did she was going to take
her time. And she did
Country people are not the worst class
of customers we have to deal with she
continued. Tt is these would-be city ar
istocrats. with nothing but their cheek
to back them up, who are the. bane of
our existence. They come in and get you
ITO pull down almost every article in the
stock to be paraded before their eyes.
or else they can't find exactly what they
want. You could not suit such people il
you had stock the variety OF which ex-
tended from a knitting-needle to a load
of hay. They want to appear very grand
and swell, but the only thing that is
swell about them is their heads.
Some men are very hard customers
when man would not come into a store
like this without buying, and buying
quick too. He thoroughly posted himself
when he entered the store he lost no
time in buying 1T and getting out. Time
works wonders though, and it has got so
now THAT the men are as bad, if not
worse, than the women. They seldom
know what they want when they come
in, and bother you almost to death ask
ing you to suggest something appropri-
ate. When you do this they never seem
satisfied with your selection, and after
you have shown them about everything
imaginable that you think any way suit
able they fuss around a while and then
go away saying they will bring some
lady friend with them tomorrow who
knows the taste OF his wife or daughter
or whoever he intended the present for
ITO help him in his selection. actually
think a fussy man is even worse than
fussy woman"