The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1888-12-21
QUIET AFFAIRS.
Pawnshops Which DO Not Hang Out tho
Three Significant Balls.

Pawnshops Which DO Not Hang Out tho
Three signincant Balls.
In my rambles around this great
metropolis ! have been surprised at the
many methods of making q living,
writes New York CORRESPONDENT 81
The Detroit Tribune. Certainly If one
half the world do not know how the
other half live, they Just as little know
how the other half make their living.
! There Is on Fourteenth street q place
which gets its patronage from the very
swellest and most exclusive circles Of
society. The place. has no sign, moth
ing 10 gave 1T away as a pawnbroker's
shop; but such it is, notwithstanding
Its handsome entrance and iveried
door tender, who ushers the visitors or
drawing room, decorated with rare
bric-a-brac and choice paintings. The
woman who keeps it, for the proprie-
tor Is q woman, is dressed in the latest
style, and receives her customer as If
q guest. 1t is not until otter the usual
exchange of morning salutations that
she asks: - -..j
"What can / do for madame this
morning2" -
Tho madame displays a set of Jew
elry, diamonds, perhaps, or brfc-a-
brac, on which she wishes loan.
Sometimes note is given at the rate
OF Is or 20 per cent These notes,
however, seldom go to protest, for the
givers do not care to have these trans
actions known to their husbands; but,
apart from that, they care but little,
as it is generally understood that q
woman frequently exceeds her allow
ance and makes it up on the next,
while the obliging broker makes q
good profit from the necessities of
fashionable women. .-.
The duplicate gift" woman who
callsTa at the handsome "brown front"
house just after fashionable we'd
ding is known to the neighbors, who
see her descend from carriage or ba-
rouche only as a caller, but she makes
quite living in buying up the dupli-
cate gifts. Every one knows that the
wedding gifts of season run in
grooves, and that most brides, on
looking over their possessions, find
large proportion of their gifts dupli-
Gated. The bride who wept herself ill
on finding that she had seven butter
dishes, every one alike, with q cow on
the cover, had not the advantage of
the bride of today, who calls to her
aid the buyer of such duplicates.
Ono Of the popular brides of last sea-
son found among her 700 wedding
presents Is silver plated candlesticks,
3 bronze busts of Shakespeare, A etch-
iings of Millet's "Angelus, 10 silver
hand mirrors, 8 engravings Of one pic
.ture, 8 ash knives, 90 pickle and olive
forks, 16 fans, Ii jewel boxes, bon
bon boxes and table crunb knives.
What did she do with them7 The ex-
change women came to her aid and
took most of the duplicates off her
hands. OF course they were disposed
ofuat a sacrifice, and the young bride
worried for weeks for fear the trans
action would leak out, but what could
she do2 She could not litter UP her
rooms with duplicates. I think it
would DO a good idea, when one is
sending out invitations for fashion
able wedding, to add to each what one
is desired to present, or else to do away
with gifts by saying, "Gifts not de-
Rred." l am sure either method would
efS<sIzapount of annoyance to both