The Penn's Grove record., 1885-12-19

situation Of Discarded Apparel Of
= the Rich.

- I| LiFXUiLf tKIIcilAdA HiNnA AFguttf
et rssing the sole clo'" stores will
1cntly wonder where u market Is
I'D for the tawdry finery, once the
de of some fair creature Of the
aker sex, now beraggIed, perhaps
,th-eaten, discarded by the original
,ud possessor and now exposed In
7t1 hope Of attracting the eye Of some
rs 50 bad off as TO desire even them.
Tile mems attire, which hangs side by
side with the princess robe, the Langtry
kirt or the Alexandra petticoat, has
,asscd through like vicissitudes, but the
savages Of time are not so ~perceptible
st first sight in the coarser fabric. To
1e daylight visitor a purchaser seems a
mity. though every passer-by is col
red by a dozen eager vendors. Hence
'cfe wonder that many Of these dealers
5 "the pride of other days'' amass
&c fortunes.
In search Of knowledge a reporter
'Aarted out recently, supplied with the
les DIS Of half a dozen merchants
.afnewlat Of a dilletante, he selected
the most mSthetic pasteboard. 1t had
a beautiful ivory-burnished surface,
was rounded at tile corners and gilt
edged. 1t called for any quantity of
old boots, for which the advertiser
offered from 5 cents to 50 q pair, The
address was in the ~neighborhood OF Fifth
and Lombard streets.
Outside the entrance to a dark cellar
on either side wa a pile of boots and
shoes, repaired and shining, awaiting
purchasers. So dark and narrow was
the entrance that the dilletante young
man hesitated and pulled out the paste
board to reassure himself Of his where
abouts. He had made no mistake. The
Ave broken wooden steps forming the
descent into the black hole led down to a
negro youth who was grinning gleeful-
~ and showing his worries at the bot
tom.
The venturesome stranger tripped
and almost kicked out the only whole
pane remaining in the alleged glass
door, which the darkey opened. The
visitor heedlessly entering, struck his
head against the rafters and temporari-
~ developed a bump which seemed to
regulate, or rather not to regulate, the
use Of strong language. The interior
of the cellar is strange sight even with
out contrast to the expectations raised
by the FURNISHED card. 1t was about
ten feet in breadth, and extended back
about eighty feet. The rafters sup
porting the floor of the dwelling above
came SO low that a moderately tall per-
son could notstand erect. Lighted only
by such struggling rays as effect entrance
through a window consisting of two
panes, one above and one below the
level of the road, and through the glass
door, the greater part of it is in almost
darkness. In the front are two
shoemakers' seats, sets Of tools, and a
heap OF mended boots. On the left,
extending all the way back, are piled
along the wall hundreds of pairs of
old boots and shoes, in all stages of de-
cay, all pretty far worn down, all mud
siy, and most of them mildewed. The
other side is taken up with old shoes in
condition, and hundreds of sets
Of old lasts.
How far gone may a pair OF shoes
be that you cannot repair I" asked the
reporter.
tsOh, If dere wasn't muffin lef' but
de ankleE,s said the darkey grinning,
VIC C1diu tdko TWO u tIct OutEt ytc
pairydat was no good an make one new
pair. Sometimes we make one good
pair outen five old pair dat don't cost
a nickel apiece"
Several Of these artistic Mosaics, pol
ished up, looked worth the price asked,
which ranges from so cents to 81. The
renovated footwear finds a ready sale,
rnd the artistic c6bbler can always find
! market in selling to other dealers.
Five minutes walk from this gloomy
ealar brought the inquirer into South
kreet where he was pcunced upon by a
J0zeu n1eI with dark compilations, black