The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-14
SIGHTS OF GOTHAM.
The Spring Sale" Is a Notable occa
 sion.

From the New York Evening Post. It has been said that there are three sights which no visitor to New York should fail to see-the Brooklyn bridge, the Museum of Art and the stock ex- change. To these must now be added the spring sale" at the fashionable mil liners or dressmaker's. This takes place on a certain day in May, beginning at the untimely hour of a quarter after o'clock. It used to be a small and ex elusive affair, conducted without much hustle or noise, but now, as an occasion of interest and excitement. it ranks with the Suburban, or the Yale-Harvard boat race. The stranger within our gates will see carriage after carriage" as the novels say, "depositing their freight of modish ladies'' at the door of the shop where hats and gowns are for a few hours offered at reduced prices.
 If curiosity lead him to enter, he will find the place filled with apparently de- mented women. Some are without hats, others are engaged In trying them on. There Is a constant struggle to get foothold before the mirror. Customers bounce hawk-lilke upon robes and bon nets. lest some rival get the first choice. So keen Is the competition that if a wo- man lays down her own hat for mo- ment 1t is quickly grasped by another in
  though prices have been lowered, the buyers try to beat them down still fur ther.
 The peaceable and intelligent throngs which frequent the bargain counters of the great department stores have little in common with the frantic mob which is taking thought wherewithal 1t shall be clothed when its members have been dispersed to Bellevue avenue, various beaches, mountain resorts, and mineral springs. Hats that would ordinarily be taken up tenderly, lifted with care, are tossed from hand to hand. In the con fusion much that is not needed Is bought The lady with a face like the full moon carries away a toque which conceals lit tie more than the part in her hair the wizen-faced spinster-if there be such person-fnds shelter beneath a broad brimmed picture hat with luxuriant p1umes. Fair ladies buy yellow gowns and dark ladies creations in light blue and pale pink. Each article bears 0 card showing its size and price. If this label should by any chance be misplaced, the consequences may be serious; for what is bought at Fifth avenue sale cannot afterward be exchanged If stout lady buys q dress made for one who Is on a "dlet," there Is no help for her.
 Few men are to be seen in this ex- cited throng. and each of them feels em- barrassed and desperate-an Actaeon, who has come upon Artemis and her companions in a Gargaphian valley. Men, who are accustomed to obsequlous tail ors and deferential hatters, see In the millineI only a cruel autocrat Some who have gone with their wives to the sale are unable to get out until the rush is over. They appear about noon at their o--.ces, having lost the value of many bonnets by being late
 To get to the sale at all requires both resolution and energy. New York wo- men who eat In bed every other morning of the year. surprise the men of their family by appearing at breakfast on the day of the sale, although excitement has taken away their appetites. To the bread winner 1t Is rather alarming to hear about the plan of the campaign. the purpose to get that cheap hat for $2o, which once cost $40, and to buy tea gowns at Parsan prices. The fascina- ton c, the sale is shown by the way 1t brings women from other towns when the day approaches. The wife of a we'll to-do Chicago man will take the fastest express train to New York, stop at the most expensive hotel, and lunch at the dearest restaurant, returning the follow ing day bearing the spells of victory-an automobile veil or taffeta skirt which she has travelled two thousand miles to buy. earned women from Boston, and wives of Pittsburg millonaires vie with one another in taking home wraps and blouses, while the latest fashions are carried from the Penobscot to the gulf As an amusement, the sale is more ex- citing, and perhaps less expensive. than the olo-fashioned auction; as an athletic event 1t bids fair to take it's place beside basket ball or hockey; only 1t Is a pity that there should be so little room for snecfafors