The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1914-05-02
Married Life
the Fourth Year
BY MABEL HERBERT URNER.
The Bon Marche!

From a child Helen had heard of it
as the great shop of Paris. 1t was at
the Bon Marche that the heroines of
all the French novels she had ever
read had bought their gowns.
1t was from the Bon Marche that
Uncle Mart brought Aunt Ellen that
long gray cloak, Helen was a very lit
tie girl then, but she remembered ev-
cry bit Of braid and every button on
that wonderful wrap.
When Aunt Ellen useu 10 come to
spend the day Helen would steal up
to the spare room to look with awe
at the paris wrap" spread out on
the bed. The gray silk cord and tas-
sci, the big pearl buttons, and most
wonderful Of all the gilt lettered label,
the BON Marche."
For The five or six years that Aunt
Ellen wore that coat it gave her a
certain social prestige. Even after it
was made over it was still the coat
that Uncle Mart brought from Paris"
And Helen never saw it that she
did not picture that far-away Partisan
street.-the Bon Marche. Somehow she
always thought Of it as a great build
ing with marble steps and stone lions,
with open victorias and prancing
Ut'ISeS D6IOT6 lue duu
ladies' with trailing gowns and men
with high silk hats (after the man
ner Of old prints) walking by.
Now that Helen herself stood be-
fcre the Bon Marche-her feelings
we're complex There were no marble
steps, no stone lions, no open victorias
but instead building that looked
much like a huge market place with
its stalls Of cheap goods along the
side walk outside.
Her first impulse was to go straight
to the cloak department to see first
of all Just where Aunt Ellen's wrap
had been bought so many years ago.
Without stopping to view the confus-
ing quality and variety of goods dis
played on the first floor, she took a
moving stairway to the third gallery.
A large hanging sign, "Mantles" was
just ahead.
SO this was the very department.!
Helen looked around almost expecting
to see q duplicate of Aunt Ellen's gray
cloak on one of the many wax figures.
But these clinging models of satin
and lace were very different from the
generous full folds of that quaint old
cloak
On a black and green satin opera
wrap thrown carelessly over a chain
Helen caught glimpse OF a gold let
tered label. With a thrill of familiar
ity she saw it was the same label, the
same lettering. even the same scroll
line from the e. back under the
name.
DETERMINED TO BUY.
Helen was determined to buy some
thing here. to take something home
with Bon Marche" label, if only as
a fuIfillment of her girlish dreams
She looked longingly at an evening
wrap Of white crepe de chine with
long knotted fringe and price tag
Of 275 franCs-$55. But Helen's need
of an evening gown was much more
imperative than of wrap, and she
felt she could not afford to get both.
Warren had already made some
business acquaintances here, with
whom they were invited to dine next
Thursday. And as Helen, in antici-
patton of her Paris shopping, had
brought almost no clothes with her,
In the next department were the
Robes" Here on roped in platforms
stood groups of smiling wax figures.
But the price tags of from $50 to
1000 francs on these beaming ladies
were most disconcerning. Helen was
more than ever convinced that she
could buy gowns just as attractive
and just as cheap in New York
Besides the wax figures, there was
case after case Of evening gowns,
which could be seen behind glass
doors. Helen made a general sur
vey of them all. and then sat down
10 await an English speaking clerk.
On the chair beside her were thrown
half a dozen gowns, left there after
they had been shown to some custo-
mer. Helen glanced over them casu-
ally and then with sudden interest,
drew from beneath the others a white
chiffon with pale blue girdle.
Compared to the bizarre effects of
many Of the others this was charm
ingly simple and girlish, with its fine
accordion pleated skirt and soft wide
girdle. Helen glanced at the price
and was delighted to find that on the
ticket Occasion" was written in red
ink, and the original 290 francs was
warked down to 210.
There are many English speaking
clerks in the Bon Marche, and in a
few moments a saleswoman was