n of her body as she passed along with a quick, lithe
step, and the other held just over her nose her parasol, which was
sometimes swung over the right shoulder. Even the Bowery boy was
overcome by her stunning appearance, and he forgot his own glory in his
genuine admiration of his girl.

Well! they have passed away. The street cars, the new police, and the
rapid advance of trade up the island, have made great changes here, but
there are still left those who could tell many a wondrous tale of the old
time glories of the Bowery.

The street runs parallel with Broadway, is about double the width of that
thoroughfare, and is about one mile in length. It is tolerably well
built, and is improving in this respect every year. In connection with
Chatham Square it is the great route from the lower end of the island to
Harlem Bridge. Nearly all the east side street car lines touch it at
some point, and the Third avenue line traverses its entire length. It
lies within a stone's throw of Broadway, but is entirely different from
it in every respect. Were Broadway a street in another city the
difference could not be greater.

[Picture: THE BOWERY]

The Bowery is devoted mainly to the cheap trade. The children of Israel
abound here. The display of goods in the shops flashy, and not often
attractive. Few persons who have the means to buy elsewhere care to
purchase an article in the Bowery, as those familiar with it know there
are but few reliable dealers in the street. If one were to believe the
assertions of the Bowery merchants as set forth in their posters and hand
bills, with which they cover the fronts of their shops, they are always
on the verge of ruin, and are constantly throwing their goods away for
the benefit of their customers. They always sell at a "ruinous
sacrifice;" yet snug fortunes are realized here, and many a Fifth avenue
family can look back to days passed in the dingy back room of a Bowery
shop, while papa "sacrificed" his wares in front. Sharp practice rules
in the Bowery, and if beating an unwilling customer into buying what he
does not want is the highest art of the merchant, then there are no such
salesmen in the great city as those of this street. Strangers from the
country, servant girls, and those who, for the want of means, are forced
to put up with an inferior article, trade here. As a general rule, the
goods sold here are of an inferior, and often worthless qu