The improvements Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Ca. have made in their building have added greatly to the attractiveness of the displays in their windows and the ease with which shoppers can get a broad view of the various goods offered. A few minutes spent in this arcade will be well repaid. Above all do not forget to take the children upstairs to see the complete working model of an English railway. There are stations, sidings, signals, freight sheds, overhead bridges, lever crossings, bumpers, tunnels, and even Bovril is advertised on the station platform! The whole railway runs by electricity, and while there is only one of these models and its expense will only permit of its being purchased by one of means, Whiteaway Laidlaw will be glad to show it, and want every kiddy in Shanghai to see it. On the same floor are displayed the Christmas toys—a wonderful fairyland for the children. Best of all, practically all the toys are workable miniatures of real mechanical things, and these are the toys children love. There are steam engines, clockwork steamers, magic lanterns, cinemas, soldiers with full war equipment—even to sandbags for the trenches—acroplanes, and armoured cars. For the girls there never were offered finer doll. houses—real houses with doors and glass windows. Some are villas, some are shops-all are lovely; and there is"plenty of furnitures for every houses A special feature for women is a new consignment of ladies' satin evening slippers from Switzerland in beautiful shades to match any gown.
The Breath of Indian Nights, A. 8. Watson & Ca. have come into. special prominence this season because of the publishing of ''The Pageant of Peking'', the most beautiful gift book of the year—a book of photographs by Mr. Mennie, the manager of Watson's. One look at the luxurious and artistic volume is convincing proof. But Watson's also have many other holiday articles more in their regular line.
They are well known as the house of good perfumery, and now have a specially fine assortment of exquisite perfumes by the leading French makers, such as Houbigant, Grenoville, DuBarry, Gravier, and Manna Vanna. The latest perfume is DuBarry's Garden of Kamo, a perfume of rare fragrance that makes one dream of the beautiful Indian love scenes which Laurence Hope so charmingly set in verse. Kodaks and cameras of all styles may be had; and for beautiful gifts we can confidently recommend the Ivory Pyralin toilet sets, puff boxes, brushes, perfume cases, etc. Some of the most delicious of American and Canadian chocolates are on sale at Watson's, such as Foss, Neilson, and Hotel McAlpin, all in artistic presentation boxes.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.