mad i have read of the authorities having imported a london policeman to teach paris police the art of traffic but if so the instruction has been wasted this night was a of and people a paris guide one of the tribe that the morbid stranger through scenes that are evil and that i know from observation to be utterly vain approached us in the des with the suggestion that he be allowed to conduct us through a realm of filthy sights some of which he i could give a list of them if i thought any human organization would ever print them or that any individual would ever care to read them � which i don t i have indicated before that is essentially clean minded he is really interested in the art of the and the spectacle which their a at forty and to a certain extent artistic lives present but no one in this world ever saw more clearly through the shallow make believe of this realm than he does he contents himself with admiring the art and the tragedy and the pathos of it this world of women interests him as a phase of the struggle for existence and for the artistic which it sometimes to him the vast majority of these women in paris were artistic � whatever one might say for their morals their honesty their and the other qualities which they possess or lack and whatever they were life made them so � conditions over which their and wills had little or no control he is an man � one of the most i have ever known and kindly in his manner and intention nevertheless he has an innate horror of the purely physical when it to there is much of that in paris and these guides it but it is especially arranged for the stranger i fancy the average knows nothing about it and if he does he has a profound contempt for it so has the well stranger but there is always an audience for this sort of thing so when this guide approached us with the proposition to show us a selected line of vice took him in hand stop a moment now he said with his high hat on the back of his head his fur coat open and his eye fixing the intruder with an inquiring gaze tell me one thing � have you a mother the small jew who was the industrious for this particular type of ware looked his astonishment they are used to all sorts of set backs � these particular guides � for they encounter all sorts of people if � three guides severely moral and the reverse and i fancy on occasion they would be soundly if it were not for the police who stand in with them and receive a for their protection they certainly learn to understand something of the type of man who will listen to their proposition for i have never seen them more than ignored and i have frequently seen them talked to in an off hand way though i was pleased to note that their customers were few this particular little jew had a up expression on his face and did not care to answer the question at first but resumed his announcement of his various delights and the price it would all cost wait wait wait insisted answer my question have you a mother what has that got to do with it asked the guide of course i have a mother where is she demanded she s at home replied the guide with an air of mingled astonishment irritation and a desire not to lose a customer does she know that you are out here on the streets of paris doing what you are doing to night he continued with a very noble air the man swore imder his breath answer me persisted still fixing him solemnly through his does she why no of course she doesn t replied the jew would you want her to know this in tones no i don t think so have you a sister yes a at forty would you want her to know i don t know replied the guide she might know anyhow tell me truly if she did not know would you want her to know the poor looked as if he had got into some silly inexplicable mess from which he would be glad to free himself but he did not to have sense enough to walk briskly away and leave us perhaps he did not care to admit defeat so easily no i suppose not replied the vainly there you have it exclaimed triumphantly you have a mother � you would not want her to know you have a sister � you would not want her to know and yet you me here on the street to see things which i do not want to see or know think of your poor gray headed mother he exclaimed and with a mock air of shame and sorrow once no doubt you prayed at her knee an boy yourself the man looked at him in dull suspicion no doubt if she saw you here to night selling your manhood for a small sum of money to the lowest and most vicious elements in life she would weep bitter tears and your sister � don t you think now you had better give up this evil life don t you think you had better accept any sort of position and earn an honest living rather than do what you are doing well i don t know said the man this living is as good as any other living i ve worked hard to get my knowledge good god do you call this knowledge inquired solemnly yes i do replied the man i ve worked hard to get it three guides my poor friend replied i pity you from 