Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-04-07
CORRESPONDENTS u THE FREE PRESS
wall street, New York.
NEw IoRN, March,

NtW L ORk, Mhrch, 1904.
Wall Street is cmphaticay busincs, street. and q
street of tho day time. Nobody lives in it and
stays there nights, except the night watchmcn the
women who take of the Offices and the editors
of the morning papers which are published
there But ii we'll makes Up for this silence and
loneliness in the night by its life and activity by
day do not now propose to give you disquisition
upon Wall Street in all its phases and FORMS but
only on the branches of business which are carried
on there out IF doors the sidewalk. And it is only
portion of these that refer to. All the articles Of
stocks fancy and otherwise; the brokerage, insur-
ance and moneyed transactions which carried on
of brokers &C.. who collect here and there upon the
sidewalks during business hours pass by. | take
less interest in them than in the humber bargain.
which are offered at almost every doorstep 1t is
astonishing to the number of stands with articles
for sale, which you may there just within the
limits of two blocks. l counted the other day
over twenty-five regular stands, which arc there
every day when the weather is not too bad, and
which offer you very great variety of artcle..-
Besides these regular stands there often dozens
of others, temporary or peripatetic, which do not
belong there, but sometimes seen in Wall Street
and sometimes elsewhere. 1t is a wonder to me how
they succeed in making anything they are so nu-
merous. One would think that three or four apple
women standing right beside each other would inter-
fere with each other, but they seem to. They
do little in the way of advertising except by dis
playing their merchandise, rarely if ever try to
allure purchasers by words and look on with equal
philosophy, whether the passer by hceds none Of
at huy snTt ,;r
you must understand the permanences -
The temporaries " make as much outcry often a.
the news boys.
They collect especially around the steps of the
Custom House, which from their height and breadth
afford them large field for their occupations
Here you may buy apples and nuts, aud candies of
of all Sorts and popped stuck together in balls
like snow balls, often colored pink and Favored and
hot roasted chestnuts and pies and cakes and beer
and soda wator, and pamphlet novels, and penny
songs, and canary birds and puppies, and chocolate,
and specifics for the toothache and ndia-rubbers and
pocket-books, and almost everything else at one
time another. OF late have noticed great deal
Of game offered, quals, and pigeons, and partrdges,
&c, SO that pile of bricks which is standing there
has often been covered brown with the dead game
hung up to tempt the passcrs by as if in a market
Now and then you may Chinaman sitting there
with little stock of cigars and cigarettes or for
eign sailor with some wonderful shell work. Every
thing finds its way into Wall Street, suppose, be-
cause everybody finds his way there. You often find
baskets of dogs offered there, and coops Of Shan
ghais and poneys, and once l little carriage
drawn by goats brought there for sale, and sold.-
Of the regular stands by far the offer caablcs
On many Of them see sweet flag root offered to the
Wall Street gentry for the same purpose presume,
that we boys used to take it to church with US to
keep them wide awake. They need it certainly
One man comes there quite often and makes dis
play of sponges and chamos leather Another has
large case of carving knives Of all shapes and sizes
l never recolect to have him sell any but
suppose he must sometimes One of the sellers j.
deaf and dumb man, with queer, quiLzical, sharp
face. He sells principally walnut meats but has
now and then some other little knickknacks. He
has his articles labelled and makes get along
pretty we'll by means Of signs, and the finger Lam
guage for those who understand it. lie is one of
the curiosites of the street. and rarely pass him
without seeing boys standing there trying to talk
with him, and laughing at the grimaccs with which
he accompanies his sesticulations,
1t would be curious inquiry, how much money
is spent in Wall Street at these stalls, but as yet
have data from which to form the slightest esti
mate. 1t must, however, be large, for the number
of passers in the is very great and those who
stand to talk are very apt to eat apples. The bus-
ness hours extend to them too. They begin to thin
of as soon as Change is over, and by six o'clock
the street is almost entirely vacant. the stands
deserted, and the apples and the applewomen gone.