St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-12-18
NEW YORK NOTES.
Subjects of Interest from the MefrOp-
OIiS.-The Christmas Season.
[From our Regular Correspondent

GFrom our Regular Correspondent
NEW YORK, Dec. II, 1890.
One brief glimpse at New York
city at present would convince the
most sceptical person that Christ
mas is coming" From early morn
ing until late at night the stores all
over the city are filled with busy
purchasers, while the man or woman
who is seen on the street without
some kind of package or mysterious
bundle, seems to be out of place.
The Christmas display in the store
windows is more gorgeous this year
than ever before, while the stock of
new ideas in gifts seems to be limit
less.
Pickpockets are reaping a rich har-
vest from the Christmas shoppers
who throng the great retail stores
up town every day. Their work is
made very easy for them by the care
lessneSs of the ladies who persist in
leaving the little hand sachelS in
which they carry their pocketbooks
on one counter while they step over
to another counter Just for min
ute" In one Sixth avenue store not
far from Twenty-third street, last
Thursday, there were no less than
twenty-five complaints entered at
the office by ladies who had lost
their pocketbooks. Three of the
missing portemonnaies were found
by EMPLOYERS of the store and re-
stored to their owners. Half dozen
empty portemonnaies were found
the next morning on the floor in Sc
cluded hooks.
mo amount of warning and no
amount of experience seems to avail
in curing women of the habit of
leaving their pocketbooks on the
counters and stools" said one of the
prOprietors of this store. The other
day young lady came to the desk
and said excitedly that she had lost
her pocketbook with 500 in it.
asked her where she last saw it, and
she said, why, left it on the lace
counter while | stepped over to the
glove counter just for a second.
When | went back it was gone |
made inquiries and found that after
laying her pocketbOOk on the lace
counter she went away and was
gone fully ten minutes. One of the
clerks picked the pOCketbOok up, and,
not being able to find its owner, sent
it to the desk. | restored it to the
lady and warned her to be more
careful in the future About half an
hour later the same lady came back
to the desk and tearfully said that
she had again lost her pocketbook.
She had laid it down on another
counter, and probably some thief
picked it up. We could not find it.
and the lady went away, complain
ing bitterly of our lack of watchful-
ness. We employ three detectives
during the holiday season, and
every clerk in the store is on the
lookout for thieves, but it is seldom
| that we detect them
The city is full of "cranks" upon
all subjects. One class came to my
attention few days ago, while in
the post office, in the person of a
man who wanted to send a letter
around the world. A converse ton
with one OF the postal clerks brought
out the informa ton that frequently
wagers are made as to how long a
time it would take for a letter or a
postal card to circle the globe; and
not infrequently two letters are sent
out at once on a race, one being
marked to go westward and the
other to be forwarded to the east.
The fact is that the persons who in
dulge in these small but hazardous
bets are simply wasting time and
two cents, for their cards do not
make long journey. They simply
90 to the dead letter office in Wash
ington, after time to be destroyed.
There is law which prohibits the
sending of letters from New York
back to New York, with orders or
directions that they be forwarded
from city to city till they have made
the circuit of the world. However
cranks do not seem to learn this, and
almost every day such letters are
posted.
Ground has been broken for the
new hotel which the AstOrs are go
ing to put up at Thirty-third street
and Fifth avenue. The old mansion
of Tohn Jacob Astor has been entirely
demolished, and the workmen are
excavating the cellars for laying the
foundation of the new structure. 1t
makes big hole in the block and
strangers in town who take IN the
fashionable avenue among the sights
of the city, wonder what is going on.
1t is said that the new hotel will dis
tance all others in the city for mag
| nificence and comfort.