The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1884-06-25
A FAMOUS T%H0ROUGHFARE.
TYPES OF THE CLASSES SEEN ON
BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
PrOyylers and Men i'm Pursuit Of Excr-
cisc-Thc Club Mcn-Thc GamDicr
i'm His Walks.

clSC- III ShltD
in His Walks.
There arc thousands of men in New
York to whom Il walk on Broadway IN
the afternoon is as much q matter OF
habit as their three meals a day. IN
some instances they look as though their
daily walk was considerably more regular
and satisfactory than their meals. Very
many of them arc what are known as
providers. They walk simply to be
amused by the crowd and the shop
windows, and they are easily dlstll'-
ruishcd from the business men and those
who walk for exercise.
Upper Broadway, between the hours OF
> and 6 in the afternoon, is a promenade
which has Il distinctive throng OF Its
own. Even a casual glance at the crowd
is enough to convince the observer hat
the statement that there Is no leisure
class in America is erroneous. The
leisure class, as far as can be seen, rs 1t
parades up and down Broadway, consists
of club men, invalids, m%illionaircs, dudes.
bunco stecrcrs, Younger 0 college boys,
medical students. and numerous specimens
of the genius known as "masher.' Fash
ionably dressed gamblers add to the
crowd. These mcn all walk with Il
lcisurcly stride, look intcntly at every
face they pass, and o easily
in and out among the womcn lhcy
move at about the same rate of speed as
the ladies who wander about from store
to store shopping, and though they may
have walked up and down the long
stretch of Broadway for years and years
las many of them, indeed, havc-thcy
seldom meet an acquaintance. They
pass each other with indifferent starcs.
They walk from Fourteenth street up to
| the Fifth Avenue hotel on the west side
of the way, drift up Fifth avenue as far
as Thirty-fourth street, then rctracc their
steps. This they do four or five times.
Very often groups Of a hundred or more
cluster about the entrances OF the fllth
Avenue and Brunswick hotels, where
they stand in various f~ashion-platc poses
and stare at the girls. These men GO
not dress elegantly or extensively. lhc
| distinction of being described as fash
ionablc men is due entirely to extreme
ncatncss of attire and a certain well
brushed. clcan.shavcn, carefully barhcrcd
appearance, coupled with a careful car
riarc and more or less conventional
poses. No one would mistake one of the
habitual providers on Broadway for
business man. The trim, athletic clerks
who come striding uptown at > o'clock
differ very much from the providers. They
push their way through the crowds OF
laneuid men and women who are on
Broadway, chat brightly, oar loudly at
Door Jokes, and dive frequently into
doorwavs hat are mcagrcly pro
tccted by green baize doors. Many
bankers and merchants drive up
town in their cabs as far as Fourteenth
street, where they alight and walk
brisklv to their homes in search of an
appetizer. They usually get it.. These
men arc invariably prosperous looking
and robust. They, too, step on the
womcn's trains and jostle against the
prowlers as they stamp along. The bust
ness mcn and the clerks dolf their hats
quite often, and are usually acquainted
with very many more people than the
habitues of Broadway.
Undoubtedly the girls and women who
indulge in the mythical art of shopping
are the great attraction of Broadway.
Few people stop to look in at shop win
dows, and nothing claims the attention
of the crowd aftcr4 o'clock. The women
are magniicently dressed, and the mcr
appreciate their ~gorgcousness. After
school hours there are very many girls
who take a run up and down Fifth
venue, but they seldom venture on
Broadway. The school girls usually dis
appear before ) o'clock, and their places
are taken by the shop girls, who arc
usually more picturesque and pleasant tc
look upon.
4 familiar figure on Broadway is the
middle-aged club man. He is the for
tunatc bachelor who has m income which
Just enables him to keep uphis club dues,
own a horse and a bull pup, and live in
a fashionable bachelors apartment house,
leaving q small percentage ovcrfor cards.
He has a red, wcll-fcd, high colorcd, and
wine-tinted face, with a small mustache,
and a pair of sleepy eyes. He is dressed
with the fastidiousncss of a debutante Of
the first ball, wears several large rings
on his hands, has very small leather
boots, and walks with the air Of one who
owns at least a mile and q half Of tho
town. After having risen at II o'clock,
breakfastcd grumblingly at his club,
and smoked his way through the morn
ing papers, he surveys himself placidly
in the mirror, and sallies forth for a con,
stitutional on Broadway. lie walks up
and down until it is time to drive. when
he disappears again. As a rule the New
York club man OF middle age is the most
u%nobtrasive and ornamental of providers.
He shirks the labor of staring intcntly at
the women, and looks at everybody with
a stupid and ovcr-fcd Indifference. The
Younger club men who have nothing to
do except amuse themselves are a bit
more obstrcperous than the middle-agcd
ones. In nine cases out of ten they are
pronounced .Anclomaniacs. They vote
Broadway common and stick to the ave
nue., where they wander listlcssly from
/ the Brunswick cafe to the bar of the
Windsor hotel. Their faces are in some
instances familiar to thousands of New
Workers. who have no idea who they are.
Late in the afternoon they may be seen
in crush hats and ~eveningdress driving to
dinner in their cabs or hurrying along the
avenue. At such moments they view the
crowd with such impaticnce and disdain
as is natural to men who have the pros
pcct of a good Ginncr staring them in
| A., f,on