El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-01

! the stalls and the chattering. pushing
crowd about them Warren was right.
I PROFESSIONALLY this was part of the
store. for bare headed French floor
I walkers, with frOck coats and twisted
mustaches, walked up and down the
/ sidewalks.
Although Helen had often heard that
3 the Galleries LAFAYETTE was one of the
Z goods made her most skepticaL But
when she entered, she saw that it was
really a very beautiful store In the
center was great rOtunda under
crystal dome. An imposing marble
| staircase with double escalatOrs led to
the upper galleries
Everywhere was a lavish and SEEM
/ ingly haphazard display of goods. 1t
was all very different from a New
York shop There seemed no aisles,
only a vast labyrinth of tables piled
with goods in chaotic disorder-the
most tawdry heaped carelessly with
the most expensive The confusing
display of the great quantities of mer-
chandiSe, the riot of color, the crowd,
the uprOar and tumult were to Helen
most beWildering.
All Places Crowded.
Hoping that the upper galleries
would be less crowded and tumultuous,
Helen made her way to the long line of
elevators CHANGING over the directory
/ of the floors she located Lingerie"
and ''TrOusseauX-'
French lingerie is a luxury coveted
by every American woman, and as
Helen stepped from the elevator at the
third gallery into what seemed a great
I exhibition of white goods, her heart
beat with expectation
On every side was a network Of ia
I bles and counters heaped with white
garments-chemiSett juponS and
! robes de NUTS Over the tables were
cards with Occasion" or '1Grande Oc-
| casion," the French phrase for bar
gains
Almost everything was hand en-
brOidered and mostly unlaundered, the
blue penciled tracing of the patterns
I being still distinct.
Helen was surprised to find that
while even the cheapest garment, those
as low as six or seven francs, were
embroidered by hand, the garment it
self was made by machinery, the seams
carelessly stitched. and the buttons
half off. She thought of the poor wOnn-
en- in the converts where most of this
work is done. How poorly paid they
must be to embroider such inferior
goods!
UngaInIy Garments.
She looked first for some dainty,
low-necked night dresses with short
butterfly sleeves, but she saw only
ungainly garments with high necks
and long sleeves. Was this the much
lauded Paris lingerie?
At last in some glass cases, where
the most expensive models were dis
played. she found some exquisite low
neck, shOrt-sleeved gowns
How much? QUel prix?' Helen de-
manded Of a passing clerk, pointing to
a garment in the case.
The girl opened the case and looked
at the ticket. Helen could not under
stand her but, STOPPING over, she read
the ticket herself-9O francs. Eighteen
dollarsI
Helen tried to make her under
stand with a few words of French,
much English and many gestures that
she wanted to see some gowns of that
cut but much less expensive. The
girl touched a loud gong. which was
a signal for an English-speaking clerk,
and one promptly appeared.
All Expensive.
almost all Of our low-neck and
shOrt-sleeved gowns are in the expen-
sive models the clerk explained. But
of course we have some for less than
80 francs Now here is quite a pretty
gown for IS francs"
Seven dOllarsI Except for her trous-
seau, Helen had never paid seven dol
lars Tor night gown in her life. And
she mad no intention of paying it in
Farls. where she had expected to get
thlnsS rldlculOusly cheap
W ell II let the night gowns 20
LOT lne present, but I'd like to see some
computations and skirts"
ABOUT what price does madam wish
TO payE' asked the clerk, with lessen