The union Democrat., 1870-09-24
LETTER FROM SAN rRANCTsco
San Francisco, Sept. 18th, 1870.
A VISIT TO ruE raIIrx

VISIT TO rue FALLEN.
The ladies of the San Francisco Society for
the relief of fallen women are in earnest.
They have made a few trips through the per-
ilous part of town. They have for them ex-
plored- some strange territory. Two. Mrs.
Hall and Mrs. Scudder returned and in sub
stance thus related their adventures to the
rest of the Association. "We went. we saw,
We prayed. We saw a woman sitting at a
window and judging from her reculiar style
of dress that she was fair and frail, we enter
ed her house. The apartment was furnished
even TO gaudiness and the pictures on the
xall were highly colored views of French
scenery. The woman in scarlet readily con-
versed with US. She informed us she had a
protector, man. We prayed with her and
leftn
SEE IT ALL.
1t is good thing anyway, that these ladies
leave their accustomed domestic orbits and
stray into new and dangerous domains. II
is well that one sees as many new phases of
life as possible. The saying zone half the
world knows not how the other half live
is not only true. hut it isn't half trne enough.
It's not the half. but the hundreth that knows
not how the other hundreth liTes. It's more
even than that. 1t comes down to individu-
ais. for who Of us know the half Of the diff
culties, hopes and fears the vexations from
without aud within, the secret griefs, the
skeletons Of the closet, attendant on the life
Of ones most intimate friend?
HE'LL ON EARTH By DAY.
The ladies Of the above mentioned society
should make one trip through the dangerous
quarters by night Life is calm and Quiet
in this social He'll by daylight. Only a Slip
shoG nymph is here and there seen coming
from late breakfast and stopping to gossip
for a moment with some fallen contemporary.
The Chinese servant is busy cleaning mp and
putting things in order about the gaudy little
den. The spider dons rot her best until twi-
light. These are nocturnal birds of prev.
The street is now quiet deserted save by the
butcher, milk and grocer's wagons. dry good
peddIers on foot, and others engaged ia the
smaller trades and occupations peculiar to
the city.
Ten o'clock at night and pass through the
same street. The sidewalks are crowded.
There come the floating population of the city.
sailcr from ship, sailor from coasting vessel,
men from the mines. men from the lower
garrisons about the harbor, men Of all clmes
and rough men at that. Theirs is not the
busy decided gait of Montgomery or Kenrny
streets. Alone, in couples or in groups they
wander along, slowly. hesitatinglv, so as to
get good look at each fallen spider as she
sits in her open door. All along the street
are ranged the spiders, for door edioins door,
Some are low one story houses with but two
or three apartments. These are the single
dens. These are rented by spiders padding
their own canoes. There are four story fronts
with blinded and cu-tained windows. lit from
top tc bottom, with omen front doors and
bright lit halls. and within is heard music
and the coarse iarring laugh of the spider.
for when these girls have gone n CERTAIN length
in this career the soft ripple of the laugh is
turned into muddy gurgle. In these open
doors stands your nymph in CAV attire, in
gaudy red, blue or green silk. Their bosams
are not curtained. Neither are their ANGLES.
1t needs but glance to gain from them All
invitation to enter. It matters not who is
the tempted passer. drunken soldier, reeling
sailor or any brute innocent of bath for
years. Many of these girls are handsome.
very handsome. There are faces rs fair and
fresh as any which grace the purest family
circle. and they are as common and salpable
as the meat in yonder butchers stall. There
are faces. battered, banged, bruised and bloat-
ed and they seem saleable too and command
ing rs MANY takers as the others. | think
sometimes that indiscriminate and prcmiscn-
Gus vice may become ooarser and coarser and
grosser and grosser in its appetite so that a.
last it loses all taste fer whatever of form.
contour or feature we call beautiful.
THE CRATER.
Well. this. all this is but the crater of our
city. Here is but seen acted what elsewhere
is thought and imaginej-and perhaps acted.
This is not the source of the evil 1t is
only its outlet. The crater is fearful to look
in. But down. way down hundred miles
beneath are vast interiors and caverns thou-
sand fold hotter. There are vast black.
smoky, seething abysses large enough to swal-
low up hundred such volcanoes But we
do not see them. No more do we see or trace
to their source the impurities which generate
and gather right in our respectable midst
1t is the whited sernlchre over again. Fair
without. within full Of dead mems bones and
all unc!eanncss.
PRENTICE MULFoRD.
INCREASE OF PRODUCTIONS IN CALIFoRlA.-