Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-04
ON A SHOPPING TOUR.
She Wanted to Give the Clerks Some
thing to Do.

She was one of those small. active women
and unostenta tiously shopping. Her
husband followed carefully and mournfully
in her wake, through the aisles of the large
department store, arms full of bundles and
with that calm sad light shining through
the lenses of his pine neg that betrays the
man who has assumed the white mans
burden with all that in it is.
Miles of tramping among the gaudiy dec
Grated counters, heaped with bargains of
all sorts, did not seem to weary the active
little body incased in the trim fitting brown
gown. This WIS evidently field day with
her, and she was doing her utmost to make
of it a memory that would last long and
bear much recitation Up and down the
elevators and stairs. buzzing clerks at all
the counters, for your shopper only goes
to the counter from which she is compelled
to buy at rare and infrequent intervals,
but stops at all others religiously, lingering
the goods, asking prices and exciaiminS
over the cheapneSS with which the same
thing could be bought at another place
down the street. II was on the top floor
of one of the stores that the little lady
and her plodding spouse finally found Their
way, and It was here that she reached the
climax of her days work In that particular
store there is large stock of the finest
kind of tableware, fine china and glassware
of all descriptions and a nice little man to
take charge thereof. The lady in brown
Idu OpSeiNtu TINS Iittie iidH Oh sever di
other occasions and had noted his apparent
aimless wanderings about the store. She
saw him on this particular day, and
CLEAN of Intense purpose lighted up her
eyes.
MY dear" she called sweetly to her hus-
band, there is a set of china on one of
these tables l have long wanted you to
See
And she started searching the tables
carefully. The little man in charge of THE
china department saw her movements. He
noted symptoms q a purchaser She did
not pause long at any of the tables, but
looked carefully over each, murTnurng now
and again to the following husband that it
was Just here" she had seen the things be-
fore The little man came up.
Us there something can show your he
asked courteOuSly.
why. l was looking for dinner set
saw here a day or two ago." she replied,
still smiling sweetly, but in business-like
manner. The little man had noted that she
had passed ever the cheaper grades of
china without even noticing them, and had
confined her most careful attentions to the
finer articles He Strengthened up. The
set l speak of had narrow band of gold
about the edge 1t was a very narrow
band. No. not like that at all" The little
man had shown her a dish with a fine gold
band about it. NO. The gold looked as
though it was smudged in with the thumb
you know. A beautiful pattern"
The chase about the store began in earn
est The husband did his best to call his
wife off, but she was on a hot trail and
refused to leave From one end of the de-
partment to the other they went During
tn fifteen or twenty minutes the little man
in charge was hustling about he showed
ten or fifteen different parts with fine gold
bands, some looking as though they We're
''smudged in with the thumb and some
as though cold chisel had been used in
the smudging; others seemed to have had
the gold put with shovel, and in others
it simply a fine hair line. The small wo-
man in brown finally took regretful leave of
the perspirng little man in charge of the
chinaware department, expressing volubly
her regret a not finding what she wanted
+ Going down in the elevator the husband
looked his small spouse over carefully, over
his armfuI of bundles.
My dear" he asked calmly, after a
minutes scrutiny, was there ever any
such set of china you had that young
man chasing through the store to find?'
Not that l know Of" she answered de-
murely, without a smile.
Might l inquire the wherefore of your
coLduct?' he asked.
ooh, I've been watching that little man
for weeks, and he didn't ever seem to have
anything to do. / only wanted him to earn
a little of his salary
And then she walked into the art de-
partment to look at the paintings and oc-
cupy the time of the clerks in charge.