With a fountain at one end, like a French
town, and a chime of bells at the other, like a German city, the
intermediate space is as representative a rendezvous as can be found in
the world.
The first thing that strikes an experienced eye in New York's great
thoroughfare is the paucity of loiterers: he sees, at a glance, that the
_flaneur_ is an exotic here. There is that in the gait and look of every
one that shows a settled and an eager purpose,--a goal sought under
pressure. A counting-room, office, court, mart, or mansion is to be
reached punctually, and therefore the eye and step are straightforward,
intent, preoccupied. But this peculiarity is chiefly obvious early and
late in the day, when business and professional men are on their way to
and from the place of their daily vocations. Later, and especially about
two hours after noon, it is the dress and number of the other sex that
win attention; and to one fresh from London, the street attire of
_ladies_--or those who aspire, with more or less justice, to that
title--is a startling incongruity; for the showy colors and fine
textures reserved across the sea for the opera, the _salon_, and the
fashionable drive, are here displayed on shopping expeditions, for which
an English lady dresses in neutral tints and substantial
fabrics,--avoiding rather than courting observation.
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