men, and moreover manages to secure the good will of the officials so
that he is never kept waiting, but is given every facility for the
despatch of his business. The fee for "passing an entry" is five
dollars. Sometimes a broker will pass fifty different entries in a
single day, thus earning $250. Some brokers make handsome fortunes in
their business. When there is a dispute between the government and the
importer as to the value of the goods or the amount of the duty, the
broker's work is tedious and slow. The large importing houses have their
regular brokers at stated salaries.

LXXXVI. MISSING.

It is a common and almost meaningless remark, that one has to be careful
to avoid being lost in New York, but the words "Lost in New York" have a
deeper meaning than the thoughtless speakers imagine. If the curious
would know the full force of these words, let them go to the Police
Headquarters, in Mulberry street, and ask for the "Bureau for the
Recovery of Lost Persons." The records of this bureau abound in stories
of mystery, of sorrow, and of crime.

As many as seven hundred people have been reported as "lost," to this
bureau, in a single year, and it is believed that this does not include
all the disappearances. Many of those so reported are found, as in the
cases of old persons and children, but many disappear forever. Others
who are recovered by their friends are never reported as found to the
bureau, and consequently remain on its books as missing.

When a person is reported "Missing" to this bureau, a description of the
age, height, figure, whiskers, if any, color of eyes, dress, hair, the
place where last seen, the habits and disposition of the person, is given
to the official in charge, who enters it in the register. When the
returns of the Morgue, which are sent to the Police authorities every
twenty-four hours, are received, they are compared with the descriptions
in the register, and in this way bodies are often identified. Five or
six hundred cards with the description of the missing person are printed,
and sent to the various police precincts, with orders to the commanding
officers to make a vigilant search for the person so described.
Advertisements are also inserted in the newspapers describing the missing
ones. Many of the estrays are children, and these are usually recovered
within twenty-four hours. These little ones usually fall directly into
the hands of the police, and are tak