place." In such a garden, the patron merely buys the hot water
from the proprietor, furnishing the ground coffee and cake himself.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, he may listen to the band and
watch the children play under the trees. French or Vienna drip pots are
used for brewing.

Every city in Germany has its cafes, spacious places where patrons sit
around small tables, drinking coffee, "with or without" turned or
unturned, steaming or iced, sweetened or unsweetened, depending on the
sugar supply; nibble, at the same time, a piece of cake or pastry,
selected from a glass pyramid; talk, flirt, malign, yawn, read, and
smoke. Cafes are, in fact, public reading rooms. Some places keep
hundreds of daily and weekly newspapers and magazines on file for the
use of patrons. If the customer buys only one cup of coffee, he may keep
his seat for hours, and read one newspaper after another.

Three of the four corners of Berlin's most important street crossing are
occupied by cafes. This is where Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse
meet. On the southwest corner there is Kranzler's staid old cafe, a very
respectable place, where the lower hall is even reserved for
non-smokers. On the southeast corner is Cafe Bauer, known the world
over. However, it has seen better days. It has been outdistanced by
competitors. On the northeast corner is the Victoria, a new-style place,
very bright, and less staid. There no room is reserved for non-smokers,
for most of the ladies, if they do not themselves smoke, will light the
cigars for their escorts.

Around the Potsdamer Platz there is a number of cafes. Josty's is
perhaps the most frequented in Berlin. It is the best liked on account
of the trees and terraces in front. Farther to the west, on
Kuerfuerstendamm, there are dozens of large cafes.

[Illustration: MORNING COFFEE IN FRONT OF A BOULEVARD CAFE, PARIS, WITH
A BRITISH BACKGROUND]

[Illustration: INTERIOR, CAFE BAUER, BERLIN]

Some of the cafes are meeting-places for certain professions and trades.
The Admiral's cafe, in Friedrichstrasse, for instance, is the
"artistes'" exchange. All the stage folk and stars of the tanbark meet
there every day. Chorus girls, tumblers, ladies of the flying trapeze,
contortionists, and bareback riders are to be found there, discussing
their grievances, denouncing their managers, swapping their diamonds,
and recounting former triumphs. Cinema-makers come also to pick out a
cast for a new fil