The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-05

This is now the interesting and exciting season when the girl with the Christmas presents she doesn't like goes about seek ing what she may exchange.
 T went into jewelry shop the other day" said a friend of mine, ito exchange some duplicate Christmas presents, and the talxative clerk informed me, point ing to a miscellaneous lot of silverware, consisting mostly of candlesticks. bureau, manicure and desk ornaments, that they were all Christmas presents that had been left in exchange"
 "Oh, I am so disappointed" said the lady in question. 'T was hoping that I had struck an after Christmas sale of silver. and that I could supply myself with all the things I didn't get"
 Aren't you a little afraid to exchange your gifts" I asked curiously. Suppose some one who gave you a real pretty present were to ask you some day why you didn't use or wear it. Then what would you do?'
 "Oh, there are ways and ways of evad- ing" said she. And what is one to do when one gets dozens of pairs of silk stockings, handkerchiefs. gloves-all the same kind of things-when you need a whole lot of other things, and which you can easily exchange them for?"
 '"Of course, you can do such things" I replied, but is it quite right or appre- ciative?"
 "Oh. don't be tiresome," said she, tits done in the best circles all the time. Only one thing worries me, and that Is when I receive piece of silver that is marked there is nothing to do in the exchange line. I asked a clerk In g. certain shop I went in about it and he very suavely remarked:
 "'We never exchange marked silver People are getting more sensible about that sort of thing. and do not ask us to do such things Many givers at Christ mas tide are sensible enough to provide for an exchange of presents, and do not mark their gifts, so we are perfectly willing to do anything for our customers that is reasonable. Sometimes that saves many & tear on the subject he concluded, smiling"
 That's true,' remarked the customer. '1 have shed many & bitter tear over a salt and pepper shaker that had been given me, and the countless spoons and knives and forks that have gotten with my initials on them. They made me per fectly i'll to think that couldn't exchange them to match my silver"
 Christmas giving within the next few years. dare say, will reach the very practical point of taking ones friends down to the shops before Christmas and allowing them to select their own pres ents." said I as reflected upon the many dissatisfied recipients I had encountered in the shops since Christmas.
 Well, I was terribly harrassed," said my friend, lover a gift that I had. It was marked in @ large and influential monogram. and didn't want it. and my sister and worried our brains positively sick over what to do with.
 Couldn't we exchange ft?" said she, path etically
 No" I said. "it's marked"
 Then a happy idea struck us. Our cousin Kate was going to be married next week and her initials were ex- act1y the same as mine. So what should we do but box up the gift and send it to her as a wedding gift"
 well, I never heard of such thing said I. "You must have had something against her to send her the ugliest spoons you ever saw"
 Well, I think that was what was done to me-" said she. "The per son who gave them to me did it out of sheer meanness, because she knew