y one must look after himself, and it requires
such an effort to do this that there is no time left to watch a
neighbor's shortcomings.

In the same house is a fine-looking woman, not young, but not old. Her
"husband" has taken lodgings here for her, but he comes to see her only
at intervals, and he is not counted in the landlady's bill. Business
keeps him away, and he comes when he can. Bleecker street never asks
madame for her marriage certificate, nor does it seek to know why her
numerous friends are all gentlemen, or why they come only when the
"husband" is away.

Honest, hard-working men come here with their families. Their earnings
are regular, but small, and they prefer the life of this street to the
misery of the tenement house. Others there are who live in the street,
and occupy whole dwellings with their families, who stay here from force
of habit. They are "slow" people, dull of comprehension, and to them the
mysteries of their neighborhood are a sealed book. Yet all are regarded
as persons whose characters are "not proven," by the dwellers outside the
street.

Money is a power in Bleecker street. It will purchase anything. Much is
spent by those who do not dwell here, but come here to hide their
secrets. Women come here to meet other men besides their husbands, and
men bring women here who are not their wives. Bleecker street asks no
questions, but it has come to suspect the men and women who are seen in
it.

Indeed, so long as its tenants do not violate the written law of the land
to an extent sufficient to warrant the interference of the police, they
may do as they please. Thus it has come to pass that the various
personages who are a law unto themselves have gradually drifted into
Bleecker street, unless they can afford better quarters, and even then
the freedom of the locality has for them a fascination hard to be
resisted. No one loses caste here for any irregularity. You may dress
as you please, live as you please, do as you please in all things, and no
comments will be made. There is no "society" here to worry your life
with its claims and laws. You are a law unto yourself. Your acts are
exclusively your own business. No complaints will be made against you.
You are absolutely your own master or mistress here. Life here is based
on principles which differ from those which prevail in other parts of the
city.

Yet, as I have said, no one dare call the street "bad." Let us say it