Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-15
MONEYS SECONDHAND SHOES
Advantages of the Traffic to Poor Women
and Young Girls-The Interesting ks4s-
tory of = Pair of Black slippers
From th6 Vel0 York san.

From the Ves0 York sun.
sit is astonishing how much money
poor folks can save by buying things
secondhand" said Harlem housekeeper
10 a sun reporter the other day. MY
chambermaid was badly of for clothes
when l hired her, not long ago. 1ester-
day she came to me and begged an adj
vance OF roc. in order to buy pair OF
shoes. you can get nothing worth haV-
ing for that price,, said l. Better take
couple of dollars, which you are
welcome to- But no; 15c. was all
the advance she would take, and
gave it TO her. In the even
ing she exhibited pair Of appar-
emily new and really stylish ana service
able shoes, for which she SAID she had
paid only 60 cents. They're secondhand,
ma'am, she explained, in reply 10 the
surprise | expressed; aud then, upon eX-
animation. found that they were so, but
so skilmlly repaired and renewed as to
he almost rs good as new, while originally
they must have been lady's line stree
shoe worth 81 or s.. Mary then went on
% inform me that she was In the habit OF
buying many articles Of her wardrobe
secondhand, and that, If poor girl only
knew how TO buy with judgment IN tnat
way, she could keep herself respectable
looking on a surprisingly small outlay. l
am ready to believe her now, though l
would never have thought II before"
The reporter obtained the address OF the
secondhand shoe dealer with whom the
lady's servant had dealt, and on the fol-
lowing day visited him at his shop IN
West Forty-eighth street. The dealer
was a shrewd, good-h umorcd little man,
and he was also communicative. His
all
women's and girls shoes, nicely repaired
and reftted, ranging ia price from 25c. 10
kl 30; and by his wOrA bench at the rear
OF the shop was a great pile OF dllapi-
dated shoes recently selected from the
wagons Of the collectors and awaiting
renovation.
81 have been in the business about
twenty-five years. SAID the dealer In al
swer to numerous leading questions,
land, of couree, 1 make it pay or
I'd be in something else. Collectors get
these traps from all sorts Of places. S9me
OF these uncOmmonly mean ones were
like enough picked out of aeh-bArrels and
refuse heaps. Thea they so from house
TO house and from tenement to tenement,
buying up what they can. Tie very
best OF cast-ofi shoes won't fetch more
than few cents, while there's many fair
to middling ones can be had for the ask
ing. and the owners only too glad 10 get
them out OF sight. Then for a small ad-
vance on what the collectors paid, get
the pick Of their loads, and | neither know
nor care what's done with my leavings.
But, then, don't leave many out OF a
fair to decent wagOn-lOad; and let me tell
you that it's an ALFRED mean, busted
out pair of ladies' shoes that / can't make
something attractive-look out OF, es-
peciallN to Q thin purse with a set OF toes
upon the ground. Examine these"
The dealer took down IA pair Of neatly
mended. well-pOlished No. rs Of substau-
tial but graceful build. They're labeled
fifty cents, as you see, and that sort Of
shoe l always have a steady demand for,
chiefly from poor servant-girls and young
wOrk-women. Well, that pair cost the
collector four cents, and | gave him six
for 'em. A fair profit for me9 Well, |
should say SO, or what am l here fOrY
Now, take look at those black satin
slippers. This is the second time they've
come back to me worn, and repaired, as
you see, and ! may sell them over and
over again, at sixty cents a pop, and |
never bought 'em back for more than ten,
either. | have particular regard for
that pair OF black satin slippers. There's
regular jolly romance about 'em."
The reporter begged for enlightenment,
and The dealer accordingly proceeded:
They're not a child's size, as you might
imagine, though they are ladies' shoes,
about the smallest chats mace outside Of
. Spanish countries. The grown woman
whom they hrst Titted without hurting
must have had feet small and pretty
enough TO dance among the daisies IN a
Chinese paradise. Well. soon after I set
out that dOctOTed pair Of Cinderelas for
sale along came sometime customer Of
mine. she was "A tiue-lOORIng young
woman, the daughter OF a fashionable
boarding-house keeper not far from here.
j had known her from her childhood.
Thorough going style, too, only
she was iatterly mighty carefu! 10 wear
very long dresses, fashion or nc fashion,
on account OF the size Of her feet which
were bigger than all outdoors-regular
Bartholdps, you know. such as even q
Chicago belle could afford to laugh at.
Well, as soon as this young lady saw
those slippers she lit on 'em Ike hawk
on bug. just what I'm looking for,
Mr.. M says she, deyouring the
beauties with her eyes, and diving for her
purse without asking the price. They'll
suit me to a charm
"'But, whatever is up| says 1. You
surely can't be wanting those fairy slip
pers for yourself, Miss j FfI
''She colored up as / looked at the bot,
tom OF her skirt, with the suggestiveness
oil an old friend, but burst out laughing in
llAuAbc. i've II pan IN my NINA That
I'll tell you about says she, "if you
promise never 10 tell"
Il promised solemnly, and then she
went on 20 tell me OF a new boarder at
her mothers, AN old ourmudgeon Of n
bachelor, richer than a pawn-broker and
crankier than setting hen, whom she
had made up her mind TO win for hus-
band through the fundamentally Of
those very slippers. One Of the prime
ecceutricties OF this old fellow was an
admiration for large women with small
: Aeet. And he had frequently been heard
70 declare that until he could meet his
ideal girl, VINO must be n blonde Of ample
frame aud yet Of infnitesimal feet. he
would never succumb TO feminine charmR.
no matter how captivating in all other
respects. Now, YOU partly understand
the case, Mr.. N said Miss j.. In
conclusion. for m both blonde and am.
pie. amt lY
"'les, ana comely to boot said l.
Jewell continued she, dangling the
Cinderellas IN the air, and these will an.
Ewer TO Ill out the bill, so FAR as the fairy
like fOotsY-toOtses are concerned, and
don't you FORGET IT,
"Then she laughed again, paid for the
slippers. and llt out with 'em. We'll, sir,
Just as cure BIS You are born she played
that little game Tor all that II WAS worth
and won her man. IL happened in th.
way. On the very next day. as The old
bachelor WAS nOsing ailuiessly through