Omaha daily bee., 1920-03-07
Milady Goes
To Shop
A Bit,
Twenty Dollars Is Easily
Spent But it Is More
Easily Spilled.
By GABBY DETAILS.

sarnam car hurtled thunderingly
Nrough the, SO to speak, blackness
as it unconscious of impending dis
aster.
Sliding to and fro on one of the
seats was a man. His face lay in
repose--at least in as much repose
as is humanity possible in the cleo
trio. He looked satisfied with life.
lie, too, was> unconscious of i'm
pending disaster. There was no one
present who was conscious of inn
pending disaster.
Then it came, like a bolt out of
the blue. The car lurched. The
gentleman whose face had lain in
repose also lurched and slid a. few
feet to the left.
There was a crasl,-the sort of
crash that ought to be written
CRASH! Il! The sound of break
ing glass rent the air as lthe car
Numbered relentlessly on through
the night.
Then as the men and women in
the car gazed at the scene before
them and realized the unutterable
horror of the tragedy, strong men
began to.~weep and buxom women
waxed hysterical. They glanced
pityingly at the man whose face had
lain in repose. Said face was no
longer so. On it were impressed
the lines OF some sudden, immeas-
urable gfief. Then, as he started to
speak, there was silence.
1t was my last $20," .he said,
his voice trembling. II haven't,
another cent in the world. But
got the chance to buy that pack
age and took it. And now look
at itp
He pointed { othe floor, on which
a cork bobbed about in a tiny food
Of, some brownish, pugent liquid.
Bits of broken brown glass were
spread about. Tears came to the
conductors eyes and he drew his
handkerchief-to mop up what he
could Of the escaping fluid.
TTAS milady on a shopping tour
n ever stopped moment to re-
alizc the many unpleasantries
which are the life OF the average
saleswoman? Gabby has been shop
ping, hoping to find spring gown
within the reaches of sane and
sensible income. Oh. yes, it can be
done, hut that is not what she,
wishes to tell. 1t was her fortune or
misfortune to be eora1led by mob
into ! sale, Did you ever attend a
sale and stand idly by listening to
various little tragedies and come
dies that the many buyers and nom
buyers enact? Gabby saw so many
opposite sights and heard SO many
interesting bits that she wishes< to
pass on to her readers couple OF
the findings concerning woman's
sale manners.
a stylishly dressed young woman
ID 4 blue ,duvetyn, with Russian
squirrel furs and Topping goloshes.
came hurrying in. ~
"Show me . party gown. quick"
she said. 81 just received an invita-
ton to an impromptu affair tonight
and. have thousand and one
things to do. | simply cannot wear a
thing have because I've worn them
<ail 90 recently and the dressmaker
can't finish one she is working on
before day after tomorrow.
'NNhat coior9" asked the clerk.
~Oh, almost anything that is
pretty answered the girl. Only
hurryi I wear g."
The clerk dived into a stall and
came out with a gorgeous water
blue and gold CONNECTION with : a
cloud of gold tulle about it and
asked the girl if she would try it on.
Il haven't time" she said. Il like
it and If it's So it will fit. and
she gave the name of ono of our
best known residents. She said to
charge the gown to her father and
send it up special delivery as soon
as possible. She wanted no mis-
take about its arriving on time.
The clerk looked dazed. "She
never even asked me how much it
is," the clerk finally gasped. Il
never sold a dress in such a hurry
in my life. | wonder if it's all right.
Well, it isn't up to me-" and she
!. turued to see what fate would pre-
sent next.
II was a modest looking, small
woman, not too we'll dressed ii one
counted the dernier cri in modes.
but enough so, if one had an eye
to rood, substantial material, well
made in self-respecting fashion. One
could see by the CLINT in her eye
that she never would make an
"unsight, unseen" trade, the kind
the boys used to talk about.
She began at the end of the dis
PLAYED sale" dresses and went
carefully through the lot, picking
as4 here and another there until she
AId about half dozen in the clerks
s<ms. Then she began loading up
kerself and when she had accumu-
lated as many more she asked to try
them on. They went into COM
partment with only curtains before
the door and Gabby seated herself
near. wondering how many OF that
lot the clerk would sell.
This is too broad on the shoul-
ders. It's nearer 40 than SO as
it's marked" came forth from IN
side, and the clerks voice answered.
saying she thought il was the right
width but its cut made it look
wider. Next the visitor said the
hooks weren't sewed on straight on
another gown. and the clerk sug-
gested It would be slight task to
straighteA them. Another gown
wasn't well sewed. Still another
lad spot on the lace collar. which.
the clerk explained, was why it was
marked down, and each, of the oth-
ers had something not 70 the wom-
ans taste. n