Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-29
SHOPPING.
a Diversion Enjoyed by Men, Women
and Children the World Over.
From the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
Among the minor pleasures of civilized
life we should be inclined to let the pleas
ures of shopping rank high. All children
enjoy 1t; so do most women and many m an
AS the pleasure is pursued at the present
day 1t cannot well be called primitive. Yet
certain primitive instincts are satisfied by
shopping, such, for instance as the ac-
quisitive instinct the love of the chase
the love Of barter. the sense of beauty and
the feminine thirst for personal adornment
The element of chance. too. enlivens the
game. and remote possibilities of prizes daz-
zle the eyes of its devotees.
What pleasure 1t was as a child to set
out with a tip in ones pocket and a vague,
delightful purpose of buying in ones heart
To taste this delight to the full a child must
be very young, must be still a little uncer-
tain about the value of money, and, there
fore, not sure what he can get-or rather
what he cannot get-for his price. The
scope lent by this Ignorance to the magma
ton is immense. In anticipation the dearest
wishes Of his heart are gratifled, and-so
good are the gods to the young-he can
turn from his golden dream to dull reality
without pang and forget the loss of
Aladdin's lamp in the joy of possessing
some tin soldiers.
There are some grown-up people who re-
main very like children, and for whom
spare money Is still surrounded by halo of
romance The spell of the toy shop Is al
ways upon them-the spell of that world in
efagy where everything can be bought, from
teacup to horse and cart. from fairy
queen to an invincible army. Necessary
shopping they seldom like. That which
must be done they get through as quickly
as possible. and If they can afford not to
choose and fetch home their purchases, they
do 1t by proxy or by post OF course, as
they get older the horizon closes in some-
what upon their hopes Instinctively they
begin to circumscribe their desires that they
may attain to coNentment, and learn even
to dream within the limits OF the likely.
Yet still to them shopping Is of the nature
Of quest. If they belong to the educated
hood was fired by ignorance, is now fired
by special knowledge. There is no telling
what that knowledge may enable them to
acquire The purchasing power of the
pounds In their purses may be multiplied in
definitely by their artistic perspicaclty
They will journey any distance to pursue
their pleasure From London to Rome is
not too far to go in order to indulge their
favorite hobby. What they find Is not gen.
orally SO wonderful as what they were look
Ing for. But the pleasures of the shopping
spoils into the bargain. Oddly enough, II
Is not the rich alone who dream of such
beauty as may be bought. or course only
the rich can travel to foreign shops in
pretty things out of shops. however is not
confined to any one class, though their
ideas about what is pretty may differ very
widely. This is sufficiently proved by the
which are manufactured and bought wear
by year. The parior of the respectable work.
ingman is often full of ornamental things
Of mats and brackets and picture frames
and china ornaments. The taste for brio
a-brac-which, according to Murray, meant
originally things brought together'-is
practically universal. The workman's wife,
as we'll as her more educated sister, en-
joys making her collection.
IT, however. 1t Is not necessary to be rich
in order to enjoy this sort of pastime It is
necessary to have a little margin, and this
is what so many, even rich people, never
arrange for. 1t takes q certain effort of
will to live below ones income. All sorts
of unseen social forces push us toward the
limit. The majority keep nothing to play.
with. even though they may save something
to give away. If one looks round among
ones frienls, 1t is curious how few of them
are rich,. In the sense of not needing to
think at all about small sums. Yet how
very many might be. Within certain definite
limits. 1t matters little to any ones com.
fort upon what scale he lives But II mat
ters greatly to his happiness how much he
has got over. In many women the pleasure
of shopping is closely connected with the
love of home, and it is often a trait in tho
best and most charming characters
Home" Is always at the back of their
minds. To its good they have dedicated all
the solemnity and all the frivolity of their
natures, and have merged their personali-
ties In larger entity. In shops they seek
IDEAS as well as purchases to help them to
their sole end. How nice they would look