The Washington times., 1901-08-18


found inside the stores would do a good
| business
| When II comes to the novelty II Is al
| most invariably small kitchen utensil of
some kind. A rather refined, gentiemany
| looking young fellow displayed the merits
| of very handy little can opener the
! other day. AS he could not afford a new
| tin can for each demonstration, ne had
| little round frame in which he placed
| a fresh round piece of tin for each one
| In this he inserted the point of his instru-
ment. and witt, deft whirl charming to
| the sight CT the housewife, peeled out the
/ centre of the circle. Then he took I'D
jagged edged knife and sharpened it on
another portion of the can opener. so
sharp that it sliced off strips of news
paper from one which he held up.
| Advertised price only 10 cents. ladies'"
| he said, patiently. 1t was n handy little
invention, but the boy had neither the
| lungs nor the brass to make a good
| barker.
A man sits down on a stone fence base
in front OF st. Paurs Chapel day after day
and whistles on a bird whistle which he
| keeps in his mouth. He must make a
| living. for he continues to vend this mod
| est ware. Men frequently pause and hand
| out a penny for n whistle; and every man
that does 1t has a youngster at home
whose small face appeared to him when
| he heard the whistle in the midst of the
| crowded street A boy near by sells rub
Der rings to slip over the ends of your
| umbrella ribs when II is closed. A white
bearded old man a little farther down
sells paper-bound pocket directories of
| New York. He does good business. for
| his little book contains all sorts of useful
information. and strangers and new
corners frequently patronize him. He
jocuIarly terms himself THE Hayseed's
| Friend and often falls into pleasant
conversation with the man from Oscaloo-
sa or the woman from Jefferson County.
| Statuary. cheap but not inartistic for
| the price, Is common, and inexpensive
editions of the Apollo Belvedere." the
Venus di Milo" or the Winged Vic
| tory are arranged each morning on
many flight of steps, the favorite place
| for the display of this stock. The Italians
| and Greeks, true to their artistic natures
| are the vendors of this humble form of
| plastic art, as they are of the music and
| most of the flowers. Sometimes dark
| eyed son of Naples has a little basket of
| busts, one of them brightly gilded, with
| the bottles of the gliding material for
! sale. The flower trade, of course, flour
| ishes the year round. and varies all the
| way from the great stands of carnations
| and roses, arrayed in fragrant ranks. to
| the one bunch of sweet pease grasped in
a hot little hand, and with two dark. ap-
| peaiing eyes looking over 1t into yours
| as coaxing voice says, Sweet peace
lady; only fl GEN. Mornings in June
boys boarded the cars with fresh, dewy
| lunches of the beautiful garden Jacks"
for cents bunch. Then came the sweet
pease, the vivid blue of bachelors buttons,
and the waxy buds OF the magnolia at
| penny apiece.
| man on doorstep down on Barclay
Street the other day had a fascinated
crowd of small boys about him, mingled
with a few men, Before him two BAN
| tams, life size, fought furiously. The
| sight was too realistic to be pleasant,
| and the boys rapturously cheered the
| winner. 1t was not one of the mechanical
| toys that run over the sidewalk at inter
walls all the way up Broadway. The ban
tams were realistically constructed of
| feathers. They were light as puffballs
| and when attached to the salesman's
| wrist with thread and placed in proper
| position. every gust of breeze drove them
| more frantically upon each other. The
| imitation of the real thing was good
| enough to be repulsive, and 1t is difficult
! to see why 1t would not serve every pur-
| pose of an actual chicken fight
Rubber stamps. curio coins, yellow silk
| garters. penknives, and rulers among
the summer street stocks of lower Broad
| way. At the entrance to the piers fog
horn-voiced boy bellows: 4" Ere you are,
sir; hat guard. hat guard; don't have to
| punch hole in your hat: keep your hat
from blowing off; only 10 cents, sir; save
| t'ree-dollar hat; hat guard. hat guard.
His voice follows you as you walk down
the pier On the Coney Island boats he
| comes aboard and mingles his stentorian
notes with the announcements of the
walters who make their way among the
passengers. or the curt summons of the
| leader of the orchestra, who places his
hat under your nose, with the peremptory
invitation to help pay for the music.
Whenever mission is in progress at
Catholic Church there are always several
| stands about the door. full of small
| Catholic goods, tended generally by an
! old woman but sometimes by an old man
| or a boy There are rosaries, any num-
Der of little images. blessed candles of all
| sizes. and small. paper-bound books con-
| tanning pious counselS and admonitfons.
| The articles rarely run over quarter in
| price, but as almost every attendant on
| the mission buys at some time during its
progress and. often more than once, the
| sale is not Improbable.
| Over on Avenue A and down on Hester
| and Allen Streets the women make their
| own household purchases from street
vendors 1t is the land of the pushcart,
| and the writer and the artist can get
| plenty of local color over there about
8 O'Clock in the morning, when the women
are out doing their days marketing.
| They buy not only their fruit, fish, and
vegetables from the street statesmen, but
many OF them find their dry goods store
on the pushcart. The carts are heaped
not only with notions" pins. buttons.
needles, and thread, and a thousand small
household necessities, but also with dress
materials. and the rich red of raspherries
and purple OF plums next to the gay
blue and pink of cheap cOttons and mus
Inns make erratic studies in color.
How would you like, my good madam,
to go out for a days marketing with
less than 80 cents in your pocket, and buy
q dress with the change? Go over to
Avenue B and see them do 1t some morn
ing. and when you come back, you Will
know more about New York and more
about your own lot in life than you ever
did before.
Licenses to peddlers in New York are
issued by an official appointed by the
Mayor, and called the Mayors marshal.
Those with horses and wagons are