Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-13
SINNERS AND SAINTS.
The Dark Side Of Lie In New York Is sssa
by Kate Jordan.

New York, Jan. 12.-There were fouf
rs and a detective. We were not under ar
rest, and the presence of the law IN tne
shape OF big, bluff man in q shaggy over
coat, a slouched hat and lnittens had no
saddening effect upon Us, We were IN his
charge only for the eyening-he was taxing
Us stunning"
One of US was an artist seeking types. an
other was stranger in New York and SO
far only acquainted with the fashionable
nucleus of the town. The osher two-well,
they were women, and I'm afraid the curse
of Eve had descended upon them. They
were morbidly curious. They wanted to
see. They had delightful consciousness
of doing something they should not, and
premonition--alsodel icious-tha they were
going to be horribly shocked.
In a Historic Locality.
The dingy car went zigzagging through
portions of the town never seen at night be-
fore 1t was Blocker street, that neigh
borhood of ruins, once the rallying ground
of New York's gentility. Peering through
the cloUded pa.,os ct the vile sidewalks, the
old mansions transformed into cheap fish
markets, what was once a church ringing
with shouts of ribald laughter and the
banging of cheap piano, one wondered If
the spirits of dead knickerbockers ever
came back to wander sadly amid this desc
Grafton of sat.ed, familiar scenes.
But-farewell fancy. We were at the
Bowery, and by the same token" as the
Irishm says, here was 4 newsboy ut our
elbow singing the hacilneyed refrain that
sets forth the temptations of that gaudy
thoroughfare and assuring US he would
never 90 there any more"
And now-where." asked Miss Eve,
named after her mother
Don't ask any questions" said the de-
tective pompousiy, and we followed him
trustingly, feeling very much like sheep
after a shepherd.
A Trip to Chinatown.
Down the Bowery we went. We looked
into gin palaces and saw lines of hungry
tramps waiting with marvellous patience
fer a free meal, went through dark, mys-
terious side streets lined by most offensive
alleyways. We heard words that taught
us how cramped is the vocabulary of the
polite We saw faces more animal than
ulman. We were surrounded by vice. 1t
was not plcasurable, however, even as a
forbidden sight. We began to feel little
heartsick, ard we saw how quickly sin is
Vi NItu tISic - ~ sSiis
We turned a corner. Was this New York?
Or had we in some inexplicable way sent
our astral bodies on an airy journey to Hong
Kong? Yellow skinned Celestials, who
looked as if they hac suddenly materialiZed
from tea caddies. surrounded us. We
heard queer, tinpanny music from some CT
the dimly lit, red curtaned shops. We saw
strange names on windows and doors, and
1.,,, - N,t
its unusualness
Chinatown.
Are we going to an opium joint" queried
Miss Eve in a breathless tone. "Oh, that
would be positively divine"'
''Think so, young woman? Rather like
the other place, it seems to me. But Pm
not going to show you Il lot of miserable be-
ings hitting the pipe You'd never forget
it. Stay here, and III give you just an idea
of what it's like"
He left us at the entrance to a narrow
alleyway that might fifty have led to In
ferno, so dark was it, so full of eerie oaths
and wailing.
An Opium Layout.
For few moments we shivered there ere
the detective appeared carrying something
i'll his hands and followed bS girl of
about H.
This is a layout It's worth looking at.
Smell it."
We handled the little tray, the filler, and
shifted at the oddly shaped, dark pipe The
odor was flat and sickly. There was nothing
seductive about that, at any rate.
Take Il good ioof, at the girl our guide
whispered.
The light from the laundry next door
showed us u thin, round shouldered heavy
eyed creature, her skin yellow, her hair
short and fuzzy.
Got froo?' she asked. 'Huhr' as she
received some money. Tanks, sar,'' and
with a broad grin she caught up the lay
out and disappeared.
She might be labeled as a queer speci-
men and one peculiar to this strangely
mixed city of ours. / doubt if you could