people. The finest of these houses
command from ten to twelve thousand dollars rent. The neighbors do not
suspect the true character of the place, unless some of them happen to be
among its visitors. The police soon discover the truth, however. The
establishment is palatial in its character, and is conducted with the
most rigid outward propriety.

The proprietress is generally a middle-aged woman, of fine personal
appearance. She has a man living with her, who passes as her husband, in
order that she may be able to show a legal protector in case of trouble
with the authorities. This couple usually assume some foreign name, and
pass themselves off upon the unsuspecting as persons of the highest
respectability.

The inmates are usually young women, or women in the prime of life. They
are carefully chosen for their beauty and charms, and are frequently
persons of education and refinement. They are required to observe the
utmost decorum in the parlors of the house, and their toilettes are
exquisite and modest. They never make acquaintances on the street, and,
indeed, have no need to do so. The women who fill these houses are
generally of respectable origin. They are the daughters, often the wives
or widows, of persons of the best social position. Some have been drawn
astray by villains; some have been drugged and ruined, and have fled to
these places to hide their shame from their friends; some have adopted
the life in order to avoid poverty, their means having been suddenly
swept away; some have entered upon it from motives of extravagance and
vanity; some are married women, who have been unfaithful to their
husbands, and who have been deserted in consequence; some have been
ruined by the cruelty and neglect of their husbands; some, horrible as it
may seem, have been forced into such a life by their parents; and others
have adopted the life from motives of pure licentiousness. The
proprietress takes care to keep her house full, and has agents whose
business it is to provide her with fresh women as fast as they are
needed. Whatever may be the cause of their fall, these houses are always
full of women competent to grace the best circles of social life.

The visitors to these establishments are men of means. No one can afford
to visit them who has not money to spend on them. Besides the money paid
to the inmates, the visitors expend large sums for wines. The liquors
furnished are of an inferior quality, and