From the PREFACE: NEW YORK is a great secret, not only to those who have never seen it, but to the majority of its own citizens. Few living in the great city have any idea of the terrible romance and the hard reality of the lives of two-thirds of the inhabitants. The writer has seen more of this, perhaps, than falls to the lot of persons whose duty or curiosity does not lead them under the shadow of the darker sides of city life; and he has thought it well to embody in book form the results of his own observation. At the same time, he has drawn freely upon the experience of those who have seen more than himself. This volume does not pretend to be a work of fiction. It is a simple narration of actual facts. It is designed to warn the thousands who visit the city against the dangers and pitfalls into which their curiosity or vice may lead them, and it is hoped that those who read the book will heed its warnings. The city is full of danger. The path of safety which is pointed out in these pages is the only one-a total avoidance of the vicinity of sin. No matter how clever a man may be in his own town or city, he is a child in the hands of the sharpers and villains of this community, and his only safety lies in avoiding them. His curiosity can be satisfied in these pages, and he can know the Great City from them, without incurring the danger attending an effort to see it. -The Author, New York City, 1868