Woman as a Smuggler, and Woman as a Detective

by Fanny Howell

As a love of bargains is supposed to be characteristic of woman, it is not to be wondered at that she, more than her traveling confrère, man, is fretted by the high tariff which is so serious a drawback to her foreign economies; or that, owing to the shrewdness of the sex, their natural aversion to being outwitted, and the convenience of their dress, smuggling among women has become one of the accomplishments of travel. 

To follow the fashions of a people so utterly unlike ourselves as the French seems weak indeed; nevertheless, such is the perfection of Parisian manufactures that the American woman who has money will have Parisian goods. 

Bridal trousseaux are now brought from Paris at a less cost, even when the duties are paid, than what they can possibly be provided for here; while the money saved in supplies for one family, in the gay season of the watering-place or city, amply covers all expenses, even if the purchases are fairly “returned” and valued. 

What a triumph, then, to a shrewd woman, when by preferment, influence, or stratagem a complete Parisian outfit finds its way from Paris to Fifth Avenue without a single tax or levy! 

As it is, nearly every modiste conducting business on the parlor floor of her hired house either goes or sends abroad every summer; and one can easily conjecture that, with private buyers, small dealers, fashionable modistes, and steerage travelers, “searching passengers” is a work of no little importance and delicacy. 

The generous deference always yielded to women gave them a sort of tacit protection long after the government knew that many valuables came into the country concealed in the drapery of feminine attire. 

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