The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1913-12-06
Married Life
the Second Year
BY MABEL HERBERT URNER.
Second floor-suits- -waists-shoe

-mlllinery-E SerWear!' shouted the
elevator man az '2c flung open the iron
door.
Helen, who was m the back of the
crowded car, tried vainly to wedge
herself out.
"Oh Wait--Wait-I want to get off
here!"
But the door changed to, and the
elevator shot up to the next floor
Here she managed to struggle out, her
hat showed on one side, and with that
generally disarranged feeling that
comes from pushing through crowd.
Hereafter, she told herself, she would
Walk-it was less wearing than getting
in and out of crowded elevators. And
now she made her way down the stairs
to the shoe department. 4 pair of quilt
ed satin FIR topped bedroom slippers
for Edith. Warren's younger sister,
was what she wanted. She had seen
them advertised for 1925.
Warren had said emphatically that
they could not spend as much on pres
ents this year as last. And Helen was
now confronted with the very difficult
problem Of getting great many pres
ents with very little money.
A QUICK PURCHASE.
All the clerks were busy, but when
at last she was waited on, she made
her purchase with a swift precision
which mildly astonished the salesman,
who expected women not to know what
they wanted and to look over the en-
tire stock before they decided.
Il want that slipper" pointing to a
sample pair in the case marked "As
advertised 1925" lin black, size ga"
The next on her list was a bureau
scarf for Aunt Mary. On the first floor
was a sale of bureau scarfs-two large
tables in the aisle. '1.49 reduced from
5000 read the placard over the first.
"$19S reduced from 1925" was over
the second
A crowd of eager bargain hunters,
as many as could get around the Ia
bles, were paving over and pulling
out the piled up scarfs.
Everyone seemed trying to get at
those on the bottom. Why is it that
the woman shopper always thinks the
best article is underneath? Invariably,
If an odd lot of goods are thrown
on the bargain counter, every woman
will ignore those on top and instinc-
lively pick out those beneath
And now for a moment Helen stood
watching these women pushing, shOv-
ing rudely, elbowing each other to get
at the tables and then pulling out the
scarfs from the very bottom of the
pile.
AS there was only one clerk at each
table, it was hopeless to expect to be
waited on soon so Helen passed on to
get her bureau scarf at some other
store where they were not having
sale. She might have to pay few
cents more, but the saving of time and
temper and wear on clothes would be
worth it.
A SUBTLE COMPLAINT.
little further on was another large
table with a sign desirable gifts
choice-98c" Around this too, was an
eager crowd, for thereis always a Gu
rious attraction to women in any as
sortment of articles marked choice"
for so much. 1t is a subtle complaint
to their judgment, their knowledge of
quality and value which every woman
believes she has, to an exceptional de-
gree. She is always convinced that if
there is one article in the lot of more
value than the others she will at once
discern it. Still another table marked
"aDDrOprate gifts choice-59c" was in
the next aisle.
There were innumera BILE ask trays
(did you ever know a man that didn't
get at least two every christmas0 hat
pin holders, vases, pin trays, stamp
boxes, paper weights and an endless
variety of bric-a-bra articles.
And now Helen hurried by this ta-
BILE with its alluring sign of "choice
SOC" firmly resolved that whatever she
gave this year would be something
really useful-though it was nothing
more than a dozen good lead pencils.
1t was after five before she at last
left the shop, carrying with her a
number of packages for she had con-
scientiously needed the placarded re-
quests to please take small pack
ages with you"
Outside it was already quite dark
There was a faint misting snow which
yelled the brilliancy of the electric
signs and street lights. surging
crowd of homeward bound shoppers
with their many packages filed the
sidewalks and overflowed into the
streets.
The surface cars were packed to the
platforms. Helen hurried over to the
subway, but here, too, the cars were
crowded to suffocation. The force of
the crowd carried her in and wedged
her up against a cross seat. 1t was not
until they had whirled past a couple
Of stations that she realized she was
On the down town side! How could she
have made such a mistake!
HELEN is TIRED
BY the time she had gotten off and
crossed over to the other side it was
twenty minutes ito six. Warren would
be home before she could get there
and he hated to find her out. But her
arms ached with the bundle she was
carrying and her hair and veil were
iisarranged, and she had no free hand
% fix them.
When she came out at the station
here were still three long blocks to