The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-28
PAWNSHOP SCENES.
Bah Hides and Listens in the Place Of
the Golden Ball.

Heart Histories Revealed-All Sorts
of Customers Enter-Pr PROFESSIONS of
Typical Toughs Richly Dressed
Women, Concert Hall Singers and
Aged Chtldren-Pawning Baby's Be-
longings-A Fashionable Pawnbro-
ker's Parlor-A Pious Woman as
Consulting Partner.
New York, Jan. %. Sometimes it is a
! carriage drives up, and out of it steps
woman with thick veil hiding her face,
and carrying in her hand a jewel box
Much oftener it is a shabby-looking
woman, who glances first over one Shout
der and then over the other to see IL
anybody is noticing her, and who goes in
very quietly with a mysterious looking
bundle in her hand that may be almost
anything. Often it is a woman on whose
face are marks of dissipation, whose
! clothes are ragged, and who stentatiously
reels in, carrying a shawl, a cooking uten-
sill, or a bundle of clothes. Where are
they all going? Don't you know? Can't
you guess3 To the pawnshop. 1 don't
know whether to call it the refuge of the
poor, or their hell.
! After all, even pawnbrokers are not
! quite as black as they are painted, and
they, realizing that woman is starving,
will shove aside the pitiful rags offered
| and give the few pennies asked. | was
over on the other side, and was asked to
! go in and
SEE THE PEOPLE IN THE PAwNsHoP.
! Given a chair back of the counter, 1
| listened, and it seemed to me that in the
| short hour l was there l read more heart
| histories than | would have in a week in
| Mayfair The first applicant for money
was big, healthy-looking man, who
| threw down a brand-new overcoot and
| demanded 80 on 1t. 1t was positively re-
| fused, and the pawnbroker said; "You
| got that overcoat from a clothing fund
here in New York, intended for those
who were suffering; you made your wife
! go and ask for 1t, and you only wanted it
to raise some money on it that you might
| go on spree, and then beat the woman
who had lied for you. Not one cent will
/ you get here, and, what is more, I'll tele-
/ phone TO every broker on the Bowery to
/ look out for you and refuse you" l ex-
| pected to see the tough hit the little man,
or draw pistol on him; but was sur
prised to see how meek he had grown,
/ and how, with a sort of apologize leer,
! the nearest approach he had to a smile.
he skunk out of the shop.
RICHLY DRESSED CUSTOMER.
The next visitor was a woman, we'll
! dressed and having an air about her that
| told of full and plenty. Although I
could not see the face, seemed to recog-
nize the figure and when there was dis
! played marvellous string of diamonds, l
| knew who the woman was She didn't
want So; she wanted $4,000. Those dia-
| monds had cost $4,000 in London year
ITO Tho atx-r1b rolrar- T.
I great deal of money. The stones were
well worth it; the woman was eager, and
/ offered him an enormous percentage,
with the promise of paying within a
months time. She got her money and
| went away. And the little man, talking
1 to me, said: II suppose ma'am you would
call that usury; and vet there is some ex-
/ cuse for it. l have at least a hundred
thousand dollars worth of the woman's
| 1ewelry here, and she is giving
! the money to as great viii
/ lain as there is in New York
handsome chap, who made love to her
! for month, and having in his possession
her letters and his valet as witness is
regularly bleeding her. You see, ma'am,
| have got TO find out these things. else l
/ might get into trouble. l don't believe
/ she has done anything absolutely wrong;
/ she has only been foolish, and she isn't
( smart enough to see how quickly she
might stop all this business by going to
! the inspector, telling him the truth, and
he would pretty quickly end the black
! mailing. AS it is, she is waiting for her
| father to come home-he is one of the
richest and most respectable men in
! New Tork-and she expects him to help
! her."
PARTING WITH BABV's CLOTHES.
Just then there was another face looked
in the window; such a different face.
! There was no veil 10 hide its trouble; il