Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-11-30
BY ARTHUR 3. REEVE

wv HIRLs Of fine. feathery fakes
w filled the crisp night, which
foretold the coming of a white
Christmas on the morrow. The wheels
Of the delivery wagons crunched
along with that ringing sound that
tells the tale Of the temperature bet
ter than the thermometer itself.
Under the flaming arc lights of the
street the snow glistened in the air
and on the coats and hats of the gay.
pushing throngs. laden with bundles.
Everywhere seemed to be joy, pros
perity, good wilton the surface.
Struggling into the h'g store, a
human tide c%ontended with another
human tide struggling to escape.
Within the store, aisles were crowded,
a vista of faces and furs at a as the
eye could reach. The counters over
flowed with goods waiting to be
bought and sent on their mission of
love. And yet there was no peace and
good will here. 1t was struggle and
chaos and ill-humor an dstif1ng air,
an inferno Of exhaustion, from which
the human tide that surged out of the
doors was glad 70 escape.
One huge counter was laden with
paper Christmas bells, garlands and
wreaths. There were bells in the
brightest of red, in the brightest OF
green, bells in red and green together,
bells of enormous size that could be
folded up and showed into an over
coat pocket, little bells that could be
strung along dancing merrily on a
cord. bells that ~betokened the mes
sage of peace OF earth-and tonight
a riot at the counter to get something
that had been put off until the last
minute.
Behind the long counter half a
dozen girls, "frst-floor sales girls"
were busy, selling, answering ques-
tons, handing back change, crying
out now and then shrilly check"
trying hard to be courteous, now and
then spurred on by the watchful
Aoorwalker, who, with piercing eye,
seemed to see even half a moments
pause in the rush to sell. The time
schedule of these girls had not been
heightened by night work but in this
store by a reduction Of the lunch and
supper periods. 1t was the glad sea-
son. when even the law does not pro-
tect--the 18th to the oath of December
Tessie's fingers were numb. In the
mad rush she had cut them here and
there on the sharp edges or the
paper, painful cuts that smarted with
a pain only deadened by her eX-
hsustion. Her feet were swollen with
long hours Of standing. She knew
nothing about the toxin of fatigue,
about which the doctors and social
workers study and write. But she
could have told them muchN from
her own experience OF the subtle
poison that fatigue was injecting into
the glad Christmas season for her.
There was no pause for the little
| girl with the dreamy face, sensitive
mouth and delicate b~lue-Yeined
hands.
Yves, ma'am, five cents for that
size. These are two for FIVE. No,
we're all out of the largest size. The
ten-cent size? How many, please?
Five? Fifty cents. Your change?
Just q moment. No, the holly boxes,
| cord and ribbon are at the next coun-
ter. Postal cards across the aisle
| Half dozen bells? Thirty cents,
please"
All the worldliness of rich New
York, all the sordldness % the me-
tropolis was passing in a kaleldo-
scopic crowd before the eyes of Tes-
sic, but she was too tired to care
much about anything, too tired even
to watch the clock on the gallery at
tho end of the aisle.
Hello, Tess
It was Maize, who had worked with
Tessie last year at the handkerchief
counter, but had been laid off In the
slack season during the summer.
Tessie had moi seen her since then.
She remembered Maize as a plump
faced girl. who had lost a good deal
Of her freshness : the store bit none
faif her ~wiifiHaas7, Was his nc Same
5ta-ie2 True. there ~as color 0 il