The sun., 1908-09-17
1--we TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.


Il never look at the station signs any
more.' ssid o man who travels daily up
and down on the Ninth avenue ele-
waited road. Il always know just where
/ am by the smells. A smell Of lumber
means that the train has reached Chris
topher street Then ] get Q pleasant
aroma of spices and coffee-that means
Houston street. At Desbrosses street the
smell Is strongly OF coffee little else: Next
osfnes Franklin, street, pickles; Warren
street. hides: Barclay street. syrians.
and so on down to the Battery. The
smells never change much and are mighty
useful TO o busy man.
One OF the queer businesses that in
tersst visitors to Manhattan ID the worm
trust In West street. You can always
find a crowd around the little old
man who has been selling fishing worms
for q cent and half apiece at the same
stand for fifteen years at least White
Jersey or up In Westohester maybe. are
shipped to him ~ carefully as II they were
the most fragile Of jewellers trfnkets.
They are kept In big platters OF wet
grasses and taken out to be put IN small
pasteboard boxes for customers. Sat-
urday afternoon provides q crush at the
men being anxious to get bait for their
Sunday fun.
Andreas Dippeli has written to one Of
his friends here that his greatest difficulty
this summer has been to find substitute
aWhenever Grau or Conried wanted
O tenor for this italian role or that German
one" he wrote. they could say. Why.
there's Dippel. and they were out q the
ind another Dippel anywhere in Europe
A woman from Philadelphia brought
TO New York with her one Of those
little spy window mirrors popular down
there because housewives oan look out
from their sitting rooms and take In the
identity Of callers before sending down
word whether they are at home. This
bred In the bone philadelphian attached
the mirror to window sill In her Brook,
at home because Of Its presence. Within
a week the owner Of tho apartments
requested her to take the spy mirror
.The people in the next fat complain
that you are trying to look into their
rooms. the owner said.
Tho problem on hand was the buying
Of fall hat. The prospective purchaser
sWhy are you taking that heavy thing
along2' asked the friend. Isn't shop-'
ping hard enoug gh work without mgging
q suit case through the storesp'
Il am taking with me the waists to
three extra dresses the shopper ex-
planned. Il am 30 poor this fall that
| shall have only one hat 70 wear with with
to get something that win match each
one. Formerly I could have hats sent
home on approval and try them on there,
but the rule of no trimmed hate returned
Is now so rigidly enforSed In most mil
linery stores that find the plan OF shop
ping with different wais9 the best way
out of the difficulty
pigeon feeding In Madison Square
will soon become as famous as at st.
Marks in Venice II things keep up at
this rate,s observed a New Yorker who
was near Twenty street and
Madison avenue the other morning when
the pigeons that make their home in
the Garden tower were being fed by
a man from q neighboring stable. a
few years ago there weren't enough
pigeons here to be noticed. but now they
swarm around anybody who appears
u
package Of crllmbs. The other morning
saw a man practically covered with
pigeons which were eating grain from
his shouIders, the brim OF his hst and
out Of both hands. This pigeon feeding
is getting to be one OF the free sights
OF the city
The eyes Of thousands turn daily to
look for the time where they used to get
Il from the Fifth Avenue Hotel clock In
Madison Square, and many are the hespecu-
lations as- to whether when the new build
ing Ia finished on the old hotel site the
clock will be replaced.
After Tiffany moved up town from
Union Square the business firm that
moved into the building found II advan-
taQeous 10 put out q clock with the frm's
own sign on it to replace the one 80 long
familiar TO travellers when the jewellers
occupied the building. Many hundreds.
II not thousande, Of persons thus were
practically forced to read the name OF the
newer occupants Of the building.
Diabolo did not last long here and In
deed never took as It did in Paris and to
a certain extent In London. Last spring
and at the beginning OF the summer q
good many children were to be seen play
ing IL hereab0ut, but now one 10 scarcely
10 be found. Some Of the department
stores employed demonstrators TO teach
the game TO customers. but to little e6ect.
Its too simple . pleasure and too tame
a game fon Americans TO take greatly to
it said an observer. And further
more few have the patience 10 learn the
little balancing trick.