Evening star., 1898-12-10
SHE HAD HER OWN WAY


old-fashioned girl that I'm going to tell yo1
about said young woman who Is EN-
ployed by one Of the big millinery house
| of Chicago, and who stopped over in Wash
ington a few days ago on her return tril
from New York to visit some relat.ve
here, surely had, for all her apparen
guilelessness, the most scientific method
of keeping her own business to herself 1ha
1 ever-but I've got to tell you about Eel
first. so you'll understand.
she got place last spring in the es
tablishment that has the distinction of util
izing my services. The head of the estab
lishment Is a bald-hcaded, but otherwise
very nice bachelor man about forty years
old. The business was left to him about ter
years ago upon the death of his mother
who started it and became rich. He il
rich-Worth, l suppose at a moderate esti-
mate. about S5OOUO, with one of the Gnow-
lest residences on the South Side, in which
he lives all by himself--except the servants
and pretty steam yacht, and all kinds OF
horses and traps; everything; and yet, eX-
Cept in that he is distressingy bald, he Is
very nice, and he works as hard at the
store as any of us. Mr-well. III call him
Mr.. Baid-always does his own employing.
lie wants to know who's working tor him.
He pays his employees better than millinery
people are paid in any millinery establish
ment in America, bar none, and treats them
MIN. as the boys say, for these reasons.
"Wcn, last May he put an ad. in the Chi
cag0 papers for an apprentice salesWoman.
About a thousand girls appeared in re-
sronse to the ad., and Mr.. Bald saw and
talked with most of them. Finally he pick
ed out shy, bashful little thlng-Annie
Gaylor'u do to call her-and employed her.
Now, new girls in a millinery establishment
don't have an especially happy time of II
at first. On the contrary-I admit it with
true
the others are generally rather tart and
mean to the new girl and impose uDon Fer
I'm very. very sorry to say this, but II
is true. And so this old-fashiOmed quaint
spoken little thing-she was from Jackson,
Mich, and shockingly new to the ways CT
city life-really had a hard row to hoe. at
first. Her work consisted in putting away
things after the SaleSwomen had exhibited
them, and she surely had TO work very
hard Now, if she had not been so eX-
tremely pretty-well, they might have been
nicer to her Really, she was 'bulldozed'
by most of the girls with whom she came
into contaCt-not by me. | am glad to say,
however. for l am buyer, and don't have
much to do with many of the girls. She
took ii all uncompialningly, never lost her
temper and did her work all right After
she had been with the establishment 1ot
three months she was made a regular sales
woman-quick promotion, which the other
Saleswomen didn't understand, and turned
up their noses over.
We'll what do you think? About a
month ago the Old maiden forewOman OF
the sales departm ent-little Annie with her
fresh, pretty face and neat figure, was her
pet aversion-came down to the store one
morning and, all out of breath. announced
to the aStounded group of girls that sur
rounded her that, on the night before, she
had seen little Annie at the theater with
Mr. Bald, the proprietor. You are here to
imagine the chorus of Obs and Abs and
Dreadful Creatures and CnbluShing Young
Persons, and So on, that ensued. 1t was a
terrific. if suppressed, clamor, surely IT
was. Little Annes life was made very mis-
cradle for her during that day by the old
maiden foreWoman of the sales department.
She was glared at and stared at, but she
ignored it all.
"On the day after the dreadful discovery
little Annie went back from the salesroom
to the trimming department with a lot Of
materials for a hat in her hand. She ap-
preached the fOrewoman of the trimming
department shyly, with evident trepidation.
She deposited the hat materials on the
fore wonan's table. however and began:
- This customer she said, in a most re-
Spectful tone of voice to the forewomaD-
who. by the way, despisad her-'this Gus
.omer wants d gray velvet travelling tur-
ran, and | have brought you the ma terials.
She wants to have IL made etc. and the
"etiring little thing started in to tell the
oreWuman just how the customer wanted
he travelling turban to be made. She was
snapped UP almost at once by the fore
woman.
You don't know what you are talking
about said the latter. You've forgotten
how she said she wanted it made. You
took the order wrong. Pm sure she doesn't
want the feathers in front-she wants them
at the side. I'm positive of II. VIII you
ever learn to get order right
Really said quaint. quiet little Annie,
she wants the feathers i'll front, and not
at the side. Really. she does
I don't believe any such thing sharply
retnrted the soured forewoman. And the
likes of you debating to me, anyhow. As
If YOU didn't need some one with sense to
do lot Of debating to you for your own
good
'Nevert heless,' replied little Annie. with
an expression in her eyes that none of the
girls had ever seen there before. this Gus
toner desires to have these ostrich feathers
attached to the front of her travelling tur-
ban, ana not to the side
IL am perfectly certain that you have
got tho order all mixed" snapped the fore
woman. Who is this crazy customer, any
how?
tenure little Annie walked close TO her
and looked her square In the eyes.
I am the customer she said I order
the turban. I am to wear 1t upon my we'd
ding Journey, which begins three weeks
from today. Moreover, / want to have 1t
made my own way. Furthermore L intend
to have 1t made the way I want to have II
made And. with all due respect to you |
think II will be the height of policy on your
part to make the rurban just precisely the
way l tell You [ want IT to be made and in
no other way.
And then. in the midst of the sensation
the bashful little thing walked out of the
work room and TO the front of the store.
where she remained for the rest of the day
But she didn't return to the store the next
morning. The morning papers announced
her approa ching marriage to Mr.. Bald our
DfODrietDr a MI ir
few days now. And ! am 60 glad that
was always nice to little Annie and that
she really likes mer'
Carrying the IOrgnette.
From tn. New York Herald.
Until now women who carry lorgnettes
those "magerful things" as Sentimental