to have everything that a human being could
desire. His end was a tragic one, and it has never been ascertained for
certain whether he died by his own hand, or by the hand of one of his
alleged friends or avowed foes. The house which was once his great pride
is now occupied by the Chinese Consul.

It is still, by far, the finest house in the Chinese quarter. The moment
it is passed the sight-seeker or slummer finds himself in the midst of a
horrible collection of Oriental filth and squalor. There are a number of
stores which excite his contempt the moment his eyes light upon them.
They are chiefly devoted to the retailing of such food as the occupants
of Chinatown delight in, and over many of them the Chinese national
emblem can be seen flying. Fish are on sale in large numbers, and as
they are kept until sold, regardless of their condition, the effluvia of
some of the fish markets can be very easily imagined. Vegetables also
form a very large proportion of the daily bills of fare, and these add
materially to the malodorous condition of the neighborhood. The streets
are all of them very narrow, and there are also a number of
exceptionally narrow and complicated passages and alleys, which have
been the scenes of crimes innumerable in days gone by.

Some of these alleys are but three or four feet wide, and, owing to
their almost countless turns and angles, they afford an easy means for
the escape of a fugitive who is being hunted by the police, or by one of
those blood-thirsty Chinese societies of which the Highbinders is a
type. One writer who has investigated the matter very thoroughly, tells
us that most of the houses have secret doors leading from one to the
other in such a manner that if a fugitive should determine to make his
escape, he can always do so by means of these secret doors, and the
underground passages to which they lead.

The stores, workshops and other apartments are generally exceedingly
small, and the proverbial economy of the Chinaman is proved by the fact
that every square foot of floor space and ground is put to some
practical use, and one finds cobblers, barbers, fortune-tellers and a
multitude of small tradesmen carrying on a business in a jog, or niche
in the wall, not as large as an ordinary bootblack's stand. Along the
narrow sidewalks are seen many of these curbstone merchants. Some have
their goods displayed in glass show-cases, ranged along the wall, where
are exhibited queer-looking fanc