The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-29

$50 d
/ met them in the aisle Of a big DEPART
ment store-John and his mother-the day
after Christmas. says Dorothy Maddox
in the Philadelphia Record
John is a frank-faced fellow Of Is. with
a heart as tender as q woman's, but a
head SO level that the most ribald of coli
lege youths could never dub him a Nam
~nie-boy."
Johns m~other-well, I've about conclud-
ed Johns mother is the most sensible wo-
man know. and this is why:
Hello" I said to the pair; what are
you two up tor
John looked down sheepishly at the toes
of his well polished boots for a moment,
then raised his merry brown eyes to my
face.
Mother" hi explained, with a glance of
pride at the comedy little woman by his
side, mother is taking me on a shopping
bout. To put IT plainly. I'm in training
being taught to shop
"Bless my hearth I exclaimed. You a
bargain chaser; and pray, why?"
N bargain chasing about this" John
Insisted with q broad grin. This is
straight shopping. At least mother says
it is. She thinks it's a branch of higher
education for men, and she's ripping one
precious day out of my paltry ten-days
vacation to teach me how to buy with
discretion. valor and
Then Johns mother broke in and gave
me a true statement Of affairs.
You see" she said. .the last few weeks
before Christmas / had some startling
revelations of mems shopping liabilities.
saOh, Dorothy, the way the men of our
household blundered. The things they
bought blindly and recklessly!
The prices they paid It used to make
nv heart ache to witness, their mistakes.
Just one or two experiences with my boys,
as well as my husband and brother proved
to me what utterly helpless creatures men
were on a shopping expedition. They were
as huttered as debutantes at a contingent
when they found themselves before a
counter, and took anything that was Of
fered them, never asked the price, never
gave more than a timid. haIf-frightened
look at it. were, in fact, thoroughly rat
tied in every instance.
81 didn't nag or c~riticise about their
holiday buying, but I had my W little
plans for reformation, with my boys, at
least.
II made up my mind they should learn
to shop, and if they didn't bless me for It
later in life some sweetheart or wife
would, beyond a doubt. So this morning
I've taken john in tow, and, as he says,
I'm putting him through his PAGES. He
isn't buying geHgaws, but he's fitting him
self out with winter under wear, handker-
chiefs, linen and odds and ends of cloth
ing before he goes back to college.
He's doing his own selecting; I'm
merely a sort of overseer. When he
makes a mistake I point it out to him,
and I fancy IN the last three hours he's
learned more about shopping with 'discre-
ton and valor,' as ne calls it. than he
ever knew in his life before.
"His younger brothers nave got to serve
an apprenticeship at this same thing. too.
Going to begin early with them, and they
Shall know how to place their money to
the best advantage, whether they're buy
ing a necktie or a set a furniture. They
shall urGs-ad that there's nothing un-
digniied in a man getting his moneys
worth in this, as web as any business
move.''
KS we strolled along toward a certain
department Johns mother took another
little canter on her shopping hobby.
Don't you honestly believe I'm wiser"
she asked. Think Of the hundreds of
young men who have to leave home at
some time in their lives and shift for
themselves.
Poor, ignorant babies they are when
it comes TO purchasing even a pair of
stockings.
They've probably had a mother or a
sister or some watchful relative to spare
them from all such responsibilities, and
when they are thrown on their own re-
sources just buy heller SHELTER, with no
desire except to get the fearful ordeal
over
While Johns mother was speaking there
trooped before me in memory the hosts
of bewildered young men who had poured
their shopping woes into my ears about
Christmas time.
Ny Young Bachelor. for instance, sat
dejeetediy before my sitting room fire on
Christmas Eve and ~recounted a tale of
shopping agonies that made my flesh
creep.
AS nearly as I could make out he had
bought right and left the first things that
came to hand without any definite plans
for their use or distribution.
When he got home with his bundles and
sat down to sort them over and label
them for their different destinations he
found that there weren't even insists, for
nothing could do for anybody.
With a very happy pocketbook and a
consciousness OF various small nephews,
nieces and other relatives all eagerly ex-
pecting his Christmas remembrances
haunting the harassed young man his
~laundress arrived with a bundle of clean
clothes.
She's a regular cartoon of a woman
he told me. 'but she was woman, and
she seemed sent by Providence to save
me from despair.
"You see. l didn't like to ask you to
give me a lift, for I knew you had your
hands full as it was. Then my landlady
appeared to be standing on her head
every time I ran across her, and 1 GER
tainly wasn't going to bore outsiders with
my commissions so l just tackled right
on to that laundress. gave her a list of
stuff / wanted for Western aunts and
cousins
And" ! interrupted with a little catch
OF my breath, for l thought 1t a terrible
experimentation did she do2s
II don't know. / boxed the things Off
without looking at them, but I'm sure,
he added oftife seriofye1v arm r,,ra che