"I don't see how so many shopkeepers can find people enough to buy
of them," he said. "We haven't got but two stores in our village,
and Broadway seems to be full of them."
"Yes," said Dick; "and its pretty much the same in the avenoos,
'specially the Third, Sixth, and Eighth avenoos. The Bowery, too,
is a great place for shoppin'. There everybody sells cheaper'n
anybody else, and nobody pretends to make no profit on their goods."
"Where's Barnum's Museum?" asked Frank.
"Oh, that's down nearly opposite the Astor House," said Dick.
"Didn't you see a great building with lots of flags?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's Barnum's.* That's where the Happy Family live, and the
lions, and bears, and curiosities generally. It's a tip-top place.
Haven't you ever been there? It's most as good as the Old Bowery,
only the plays isn't quite so excitin'."
* Since destroyed by fire, and rebuilt farther up Broadway,
and again burned down in February.
"I'll go if I get time," said Frank. "There is a boy at home who
came to New York a month ago, and went to Barnum's, and has been
talking about it ever since, so I suppose it must be worth seeing."
"They've got a great play at the Old Bowery now," pursued Dick.
"'Tis called the 'Demon of the Danube.' The Demon falls in love with
a young woman, and drags her by the hair up to the top of a steep
rock where his castle stands."
"That's a queer way of showing his love," said Frank, laughing.
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