red and blue
lantern marks the entrance door. Near the main entrance there is a
private door for women. They are admitted free, as they constitute the
chief attraction to the men who visit the place. Entering through the
main door, the visitor finds himself in a low bar-room, very much like
the other establishments of the kind in the neighborhood. Passing
between the counters he reaches a door in the rear of them which opens
into the dance hall, which is above the level of the bar-room. Visitors
to this hall are charged an entrance fee of twenty-five cents, and are
expected to call for refreshments as soon as they enter.

Harry Hill is generally present during the evening, moving about among
his guests. He is a short, thick-set man, with a self-possessed,
resolute air, and a face indicative of his calling, and is about
fifty-four years old. He is sharp and decided in his manner, and exerts
himself to maintain order among his guests. He is enough of a politician
to be very sure that the authorities will not be severe with him in case
of trouble, but he has a horror of having his place entered by the police
in their official capacity. He enforces his orders with his fists if
necessary, and hustles refractory guests from his premises without
hesitating. The "fancy" generally submit to his commands, as they know
he is a formidable man when aroused. He keeps his eye on everything, and
though he has a business manager, conducts the whole establishment
himself. He has been in his wretched business fifteen years, and is said
to be wealthy. His profits have been estimated as high as fifty thousand
dollars per annum.

Harry Hill boasts that he keeps a "respectable house," but his
establishment is nothing more than one of the many gates to hell with
which the city abounds. There are no girls attached to the
establishment. All the guests of both sexes are merely outsiders who
come here to spend the evening. The rules of the house are printed in
rhyme, and are hung in the most conspicuous parts of the hall. They are
rigid, and prohibit any indecent or boisterous conduct or profane
swearing. The most disreputable characters are seen in the audience, but
no thieving or violence ever occurs within the hall. Whatever happens
after persons leave the place, the proprietor allows no violation of the
law within his doors.

The hall itself consists simply of a series of rooms which have been
"knocked into one" by the r