Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-07-19


HsH0PllAN's1 SECRET SIGNALS.
Study % Intsrssting systsm q; Prso.
#= ticsd u London. @l.z
S. Did It ever strike u uut that On enter
ing certain shops that you were being
ignaled I as surely as any train en-
tering railway station? Most prob
ably not; etsuch q thing must often
have happeRed IN your case, especially
if youdosyour shopping IN Or about
London, and are il the habit Of going
regularly to certain shops for certain
things, so that some Of the assistants
come to know you by sight-as they
very quickly do, says the London Elk
press. . ~. SIS e Il ... 81
Of course, the same "code' prevails
in no two establishments, SO that even
though you were lucky enough to pick
up that at one shop, the knowledge
you thus acquired would avail you
nothing at the one next door. "a
In this article, however, epropose
to touch briefly on a few Of the better
known signs, giving the meanings
which, attach to them at certain
large shop in the metropolis, which,
for obvious reasons, need not be fur
ther specified here.
). Old hands can carry on sort Of
conversation in the presence Of third
party as expert as themselves but ig-
norant ofthespecial code in which the
two in question are working; hence
the instances we are about:to cite are
only specimens Of one Of the many
codes in use in the city.
If, in owing you to the counter
you seek, the shopwalker in the es-
Enlistment in question extends the
first two fingers Of the right hand and
grips the others, the assistants imme-
diately understand that you are ! a
kleptomaniac- to put too fine q
point upon it.
A twirl Of the right side Of the mus
tache upward with the right hand
signifies that you're sort Of fool who
knows nothing and whom, conse-
quently, it is safe to crush" for all
you're worth-and the assistants
charge accordingly.
If, on the other hand, some assist
ant who has had previous experience
Of you, and has come to the conclusion
that you are. a. particularly sharp
customer, who cannot be taken in on
account Of your knowing the price of
a given article to the. fraction of a
penny, he will let the assistant know
this fact by winding his left forefnger
in an absent-minded: sort Of way, the
exact significance of the sign being
"tartar; no good trying bluff
# little flattery will. work well
with you an assistant, knowing this,
will telegraph the fact from the oppo-
site counter by putting the finger
tips Of both hands together, the sig
%nifcance Of it being *sblarneyp
Even more explicit instructions can
Ebe expressed. For instance, if an as
tsistant espies another bringing down
q particular roll Of silk, which he
knows is dyed one Of your favorite
colors, he will pass his finger. over hiz
upper lip, which means: i"Raise the
|,price Of this particular article" in
contradistinction to putting some
thing on all round. ..:.*...
A similar movement across the
lower lip would mean that it is well
to lower the price if possible, as itcan
be made up in raising that Of thenext
thing you ask for, many customers be.
ing easy to serve once they have
bought something which they con.
slider to be q bargain. 81: -
ttBe cautious" is indicated by rub.
bing the left eye with the back Of the
forefnger. -. :. :: y -: T.:
Appear Indifferent and shell
bite is conveyed BY putting thumb
and forefnger, in each waistcoa1
pocket, while biting ths thumb mai
means, Take no pains; she is only al
old stager who has come to look q
something for a friend:'' 5as.
8 Postpone pressing the customer
IS signifed BY passing the hand owe,
the forehead from left to right.
These are only q few Of the nor,
frequently used signs in one estab
lishment in London, but there ar'
countless others. Indeed, q volum,
could be written on the subject with,