Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-02-12
Daily II eagle
SOME QUEER TRADES.

HOW MANY NEW WORKERS EARN
AN HONEST LIVING. ....,
Interesting Vacations Carried On In Va
rious Parts of the Metropolis-TheR Rag
picker-Exhibitors of 'the Elephant .
Hired Guesss--Peddlers and Hawkers.
Speaking of the queer trades Of New York,
of course the ragpicker is one of the first i'm
ages to spring before the mental vision. The
business is now almost wholly in the hands
of Italians, who district" this and neighbor-
ing cities in a fashion to suit themselves. II
is no uncommon thing to see a woman Of that
nationality swinging onward with Free elias
tic step, while on her coil of glistening black
hair is poised a sack of old paper and other
rubbish as large as two feather beds. Latterly
many of them have come to own or hire
hand carts, and the voice of the erstwhile
RANT junkman is less loud in the land Obvi-
ously there cannot be a very large profit for
most of those who scoop up fragments Of
paper or textile fabrics from the cutters and
ash barrels; still, some of them have grown
wealthy at it, and strange tales are told
among them of lucky ones who have stumbled
on bonanzas by finding rings or bank notes
or purses in the course of their perambula-
tions. The ragpicker who knows his bust
ness invariably keeps sharp eye on the
verge of the curbstone during his early
morning rounds.
If you are wealthy and go to Europe you
ba cofo
plished courier or guide who can converse to
you in almost as many languages as Mezzo-
fanti knew, and who has reserve resources of
profanity in several other tongues If I'M
able or indisposed to afford such a luxury
you can make one of a personally con-
Quoted" party. Here in New York we have
a somewhat similar system. At almost any
of the hotels you can hire the services Of a
gentleman who knows the town like a book,
and who will undertake for specified con-
sideration to show you the sights, phrase
which is generally interpreted to mean the
neither side of Gotham. The student of so
GEOLOGY is expected to foot all the bills: low
moderate or extravagant they will be de-
ponds on his own wish and taste, and be will
be assured of a safe return to his hotel under
the piiotase of his cool and vigilant cicerone.
In days gone by, tradition ayers, not a few
of the big New York houses kept clerks
whose chief function was that of initiating
rural patrons into the shady aspects of met
ropolitan existence, but that custom is no
longer in vogue
HIRED MALE GUESTS.
Have you struck it rich in pork or mines or
some other speculation and wish to solidIv
establish yourself on this crowded isle of
Manhattans If so, You can find here experts
who will instruct you how to furnish your
house, who Will go with you to select the
articles or will order them for a commission.
who will teach your wife and daughters how
to dress, will supervise the purchase of your
table ware and give you lessons in etiquette
More than this, you can engage the services
of a specialist to make everything go smoothly
at your first formal dinners, served by a
fashionable caterer; and if your acquaintance
is limited, you can secure well dressed and
vivacious gentlemen to sit at your hospitable
board. drive away ennui by their bright con-
versation and dance gracefully at your re-
ceptions. This system of providing ire
proachable guests to fill vacant spaces was
the felicitous thought of clever sexton re-
Gently deceased. The system survives and
fills a long felt want Moreover, II you
wish it, You can for suitable douceur mort
gage a professional humorist to entertain
your guests during the evening, or can tempt
an alert man about town to corral some lion
of the hour and exhibit him i'm your drawing
room. Aladdin's clumsy lamp has given way
in our time to the more convenient and
potent checkbook.
1t takes metropolis to support painter
of black eyes. In less populous or less bel
licose community his vocation would not
keep the pot boiling. Whether a man gets
his eye blackened in friendly bout with
gloves or by slipping on banana peel in the
street or in an alcoholic brawl, the resultant
discoloration is always unwelcome. 1t is also
slow to cure, but not to be disguised Next
morning he can slip away and have the
marks so skillfully hidden under a coat of
paint that even his wife or landlady cannot
perceive any evidence of the ordeal through
which he has passed.
WHEN IN YOUR COFFIN.
If we are not afflicted with the aristocratic
mania, we are all mortal and the survivors
are enterprising. Hence, if you die in New
York, the notice of the fact has scarcely APP
peared in cold type when your friends will
be visited by alert canvassers who are pre-
pared to give life like portrait or other
memento of you Close ON their heels follow
the energetic scouts of some florist, who are
disinally anxious to provide wreath, harp
or pillow of appropriate blossoms at the low
est market rates. Usually these purveyors
are escorted to the door with impressive
speed; nevertheless they contrive to drum up
trade and make living.
Peddlers and hawkers constitute a numerous
and variegated class Of the community They
handle almost everything that can be re-
tailed-coal, fish, vegetables wood, fruit, ice,
cooking utensils, candy, meat, &C. Going
home at night you hear the melodious chant
of the darkey who diSpenses hot corn or
sausage sandwiches. Should your tastes be
more epicurean you will find merchants on
the Bowery and elsewhere who open CLAIMS or
oysters to order at one cent apiece, with
crackers and condiments thrown in There
are peddlerS who make speciality of provid-
ing spices and herbs for the barrooms They
bring mint and anise, and cloves to disguise
the breath tainted with the lingering aroma
of that which stingeth like an adder Others
there are who carry around stock of
brooms, feather busters. shoelaces, matches,
or collar buttons, whom no man has even
seen make a sale, vet who must occasionally
transfer their stock, for their owners wax fat
and wear thick soled shoes.
Another big branch of business, which has
grown 10 formidable dimensions of late. is
that of supplying the free lunches served in
New Works liquor saloons The wayfarer
nowadays may absorb hearty meal with
his 1--WE cent glass of beer. The rations are