The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-23


Some New York Women of the
Bother of Shopping-Human Life
ms Depicted in Some of Her Letters.
From the New York Sun.
! Professional shoppers are among the
labor-saving institutions of the age, and
the delight with which women hail them
seems to give Knockout blow to that
idea to which men fondly cling-the theo-
ry that women love to go shopping.
woman goes downtown to match some
lace She trails around from place to place,
elbowing her way through crowed stores,
waiting YEARLY for a glance from the
saleswoman, finding at last that the lace
can't be matched, and the frock can't be
made according to plan. Her back is al
most broken, her head aches, her nerves
are on edge, and she wishes she were a
savage in a tropical cline with no clothes
problem. Then she starts back to Har-
lem; and the portly man who sits reading
his paper III the car, and has been in an
office chair most of the day, says to him
self or his friend: Blamed if I'm going
70 get up for these women, who have just
been running around shopping and aren't
half as tired as / am" So the woman
hangs TO a strap and wonders what would
| happen If she should faint at the portly
mans feet; and when she reaches home
| the chances are she cries
Oh, shopping Is great funI There's no
| doubt about that; but it takes an iron wo-
man to make it her profession, unless she
goes into il in spirit of sacrifice and Of
fers herself up for the benefit of her sis
| ters.
large share of the patronage of New
York shopping agents comes from out of
the city-from small towns or the country.
That was altogether the case when the
| agents charged each buyer a commission.
| Women who lived in the city, and, by
| sacrifice of comfort, could do their own
shopping, felt that it was extravagant to
pay some one else for doing it; but now
there are agents who conduct the bust
ness on different basis. The shopkeep-
ers pay the commission; and the woman
who hasn't time to attend to a trouble
! some errand herself sends for the shop
| ping agent, explains what she wants, and
! is relieved of all further bother without
paying a cent for the luxury. Then, too,
| the professional shopper comes to the aid
Of the poor victim, who, because she lives
in New York, is showered with letters
from country relatives and friends asking
If she would mind matching the inclosed
sample,
woman who has been very successful
! in the shopping business laughed when
| she was asked whether she liked the Work.
Like it? Well, I've notion that break
1 ing stone on the road would be less tire
| some though not so respectable. I'm do
ing 1t simply because I suddenly found my
! self obliged to earn my living. Up TO
! that time spending money had been my
| only accomplishment; and l couldn't at
! first see how to utilize that, but at las,
| it occurred to me that my taste was good,
and my luck in finding the very thing I
wanted had been proverbiai, so 1 decided
to make use of those resources. My
| friends gave me a start and wrote to their
friends about me- l sent cards to the
women's clubs in the little towns and adj
| vertised in The country newspapers, and
in short time l was simply deluged with
commissions. OF course, a great many OF
them didn't pay much but others did; and
one little order satisfactorily filed usually
led to better things.
| You would laugh if you could read a
list of the things I've bought, and you
would laugh more If you could read the
letters l have filed away Talk about
side talks with girlsr I've had side talks
| with men, women and children and I've
assisted at love affairs, marriages, births
| and funerals galore. There's one girl out
in Ohio. whose life I've followed for five
| years, and I'm all broken up about her
now She first wrote me about a party
dress and told me all about the party.
| After that she sent to me for all sorts
of things. BY and by l noticed that she
| ordered everything i'm blue, and I suggested
| a brown gown for change; but she said
he liked her best in blue. Finally she
wrote TO me about wedding clothes, and
was quite confidential We had a great
time over that rousseau, and her letters
were so bright and happy that l took a
tremendous interest in the affair. She
| wrote often after she was married, and |
bought layette for her a year ago; but
last week l had a letter from her mother.
She wanted mourning things for the
| daughter had died very suddenly"
Well said the friend to whom the
agent was talking II would never have
thought that there was romance in your
| business"
That's all you know about it," the
agent answered. wait a minute
She fished in her shopping bag and pull
ed out a letter.
Read that" she said
The letter, written in sprawling hand,
ran this way:
'Honored Miss: Noticing of your adver-
tisement in the paper l make so bold as
to ask you could you buy me a comb like
| girls put in their back hair. She wants
| IL
along I'll send you the money. Don't
! spare no expense. Make it something
thatll lay all over what the other girls
here has, and I'll stand lhe figger.''
Now, that's another story" said the
agent, with no intention of quoting Kip
ling. Il get lots of letters like that. I've
bought all sorts of presents for men to
give to their best girls-things all the way
from valentines 10 wedding rings. Then
l provide the brides gown and the BRIDE
groom's gloves and tie, and I furnish the
house afterward. Really, no family should
be without me. BY the way l do a great
deal of house furnishing; and l fatter N.Y.
self there are good many pretty little
| homes around New York state that Womb
have been atrocious if it hadn't been for
me- People write and send me the meas
urements for the rooms and tell me wbat
they are willing to spend, and then I make
out the best scheme can. One can ac-