WORKING UP THE <^ 

 ^ WEDDING WINDOW 



As Memorial day passes, the florist prepares for the June bride. Lay- 

 ingHn a stock of accessories does not complete his task; it only marks the 

 start. Going after business and then more business is his next play, and 

 the wedding window is a good card to lead. 



HEN the head of the con- 

 cern called him August, 

 the decorator at the Fla- 

 mingo Flower Shop knew 

 the Old Man had some- 

 thing on his mind. So he 

 stopped his work of put- 

 ting the finishing touches 

 on a bride's bouquet long 

 enough to straighten up 

 and answer, "Yessir," and then re- 

 sumed operations. When the Old Man 

 had such a mental burden, it was better, 

 Gus knew, to pursue a policy of watch- 

 ful waiting until he should unload it. 

 Finally, after taking a few more puflfs 

 and meditatively peering through the 

 tobacco smoke with one eye, he did. 



"I saw," he started, "a nifty piece 

 of work over at Hig- 

 gins' store as I passed 

 by." Gus wondered 

 why the Old Man was 

 interested in a dry 

 goods store, but watch- 

 fully waited. "Did you 

 see their window t" 



"No sir," answered 

 Gus, with one eye on 

 the bouquet streamers 

 and one on the Old Man. 

 "Well, in the window 

 they've got a wax lady 

 in a bride's rig-out that 

 looks natural as life." 

 Then came a few puflfs. 

 "Isthatsosir t" re- 

 marked Gus, suspecting 

 that something might 

 perhaps be required of 

 him in a conversational 

 way. 



With an accompani- 

 ment of puflfs and medi- 

 tative blinking, the Old 

 Man finally relieved him- 

 self of a considerable 

 piece of his burden, 

 which was, that a wed- 

 ding window was about 

 due, as June was close 

 at hand. 



Gus had charge of the 

 window, and put in a 

 new display once a week 

 or so, that was occasion- 

 ally timely, often eflfec- 

 t i V e , and sometimes 

 striking. He, too, had 

 thought of a June wed- 

 ding window. In fact, 

 he had, that morning, 

 been studying his book 

 of clippings from The 

 Review, going over sev- 



eral illustrations of wedding windows 

 with particular care. These he pres- 

 ently showed to the Old Man. 



The latter perused them thought- 

 fully. "There's one with a bride in 

 it," remarked he. 



' ' I was thinkin ', ' ' said Gus, and then 

 stopped, as if this declaration was suf- 

 ficiently startling to warrant a few mo- 

 ments ' pause for its consideration. 



"I was wond'rin'," he resumed later, 

 "if we couldn't get a bride." 



The Old Man gazed at him thought- 

 fully for a few minutes, as if debat- 

 ing whether Gus had been considering 

 something that would make them liable 

 under the Mann act, or was only inefll- 

 cient in expression. 



At length he straightened his shoul- 



A Bride that Made a Hit on the "Great White Way. 



ders as if convinced of August's inno- 

 cence, and commenced to talk. The 

 Old Man did a great deal of hard think- 

 ing and working, but not much talk- 

 ing, and so, when he was once started, 

 he was soon done. 



When he had finished — Gus had 

 meanwhile played the role of heavy 

 listener — Gus put on his hat and coat, 

 and went down to Higgins' dry goods 

 store. 



The next morning Higgins' automo- 

 bile — one of those the ancestors of 

 which are popularly supposed to be tin 

 cans — drove up to the door ot the 

 Flamingo Flower Shop. It was the 

 cynosure of all eyes, for in it stood 

 Gus with his arm around the waist of 

 a female figure whose only apparel 

 was quite obviously a 

 wrapping of burlap. 

 Flaxen hair of a perox- 

 ide hue and a drug-store 

 cheek above the burlap 

 betrayed the sex. Gus 

 lifted her bodily by the 

 waist and carried her 

 into the rear of the 

 shop. 



The window was al- 

 ready cleared of the dis- 

 play that had advertised 

 Memorial day, and in it 

 a short while later ap- 

 peared the wax lady 

 clad more decorously in 

 a wonderful wedding 

 gown, which, with its 

 train, draped nearly the 

 whole window. A card 

 in a corner announced, 

 ' ' Gown from Higgins ' 

 Dry Goods Emporium. ' ' 

 The Old Man came out 

 a little later, as Gus was 

 arranging a background 

 of palms. He surveyed 

 the scene with one eye. 

 Then, shifting the cigar 

 to the other corner of 

 his mouth, he examined 

 it critically with the 

 other eye. 



Gus had been busy 

 that morning, and now 

 brought forth the result 

 of his labors. A bride's 

 bouquet of valley was 

 placed in position on the 

 bride's left arm, and 

 here and there in the 

 window were placed the 

 bouquets of the brides- 

 maids, the boutonnieres 

 of the male members of 



