CHAPTER XXXV.
NEW YORK.—PROSTITUTES AND HOUSES OF PROSTITUTION.
First Class, or “Parlor Houses.”—Luxury.—Semi-refinement.—Rate of Board.—Dress.—Money.—Lavish Extravagance.—Instance of Economy.—Means of Amusement.—House-keepers.—Rents.—Estimated Receipts.—Management of Houses.—Assumed Respectability.—Consequences of Exactions from Prostitutes.—Affection for Lovers.—Second Class Houses.—Street-walkers.—Drunkenness.—Syphilitic Infection.—Third Class Houses.—Germans.—Sailors.—Ball-rooms.—Intoxication.—Fourth Class Houses.—Repulsive Features.—Visitors.—Action of the Police.—First Class Houses of Assignation.—Secrecy and Exclusiveness.—Keepers.—Arrangements.—Visitors.—Origin of some Houses of Assignation.—Prevalence of Intrigue.—Foreign Manners.—Effects of Travel.—Dress.—Second Class Houses.—Visitors.—Prostitutes.—Arrangements.—Wine and Liquor.—Third Class Houses.—Kept Mistresses.—Sewing and Shop Girls.—Disease.—Fourth Class Houses.—“Panel Houses.”
It will not be out of place here to say somewhat concerning the manner of life among prostitutes; how they occupy the time, and what facilities they possess for mental or bodily recreation. The domestic life of a number of women whose every action is contrary to all the rules of virtue, who are living in the constant violation of the law, with a daily subsistence contributed by those whose folly or passions make them visitors to their abode, can not but possess considerable interest to all who have followed thus far in this painful task. In entering upon the subject, the endeavor will be to give such particulars as will enable the reader to form satisfactory conclusions, without recording what would merely minister to a prurient curiosity. The object is to give information as explicitly as possible without offending the most sensitive delicacy, wounding the most refined feelings, or unnecessarily parading these poor women before the public eye. The subject is invested with such an array of real and palpable horrors as to render unnecessary any endeavor to excite undue emotion by penetrating the mysteries of the saturnalia.
There is a wide diversity among the various grades of prostitutes in New York. The first class are those who reside in what are technically called “Parlor Houses.” These very seldom leave their abodes, unless for the purpose of making purchases of dress, jewelry, or articles of toilette, or taking an afternoon promenade on the fashionable side of Broadway, excepting when they accompany their lovers or visitors in a ride, or to some public place of amusement. These utterly repudiate the name of “street-walkers,” and very seldom perform any act in public which would expose them to reprobation, or attract the attention of the police. They assume to be, and are, in fact, the most respectable of their class, if any respectability can be associated with so vicious a course. Being almost invariably young and handsome, and always very well dressed, they pass through the streets without their real character being suspected by the uninitiated.
The houses in which this class of courtesans reside are furnished with a lavish display of luxury, scarcely in accordance with the dictates of good taste however, and mostly exhibiting a quantity of magnificent furniture crowded together without taste or judgment for the sake of ostentation. The most costly cabinet and upholstery work is freely employed in their decoration, particularly in the rooms used as reception parlors. Large mirrors adorn the walls, which are frequently handsomely frescoed and gilt. Paintings and engravings in rich frames, vases and statuettes, add their charms. Carpets of luxurious softness cover the floors, while sofas, ottomans, and easy chairs abound. Music has its representative in a beautiful pianoforte, upon which some professed player is paid a liberal salary to perform. Even the bed-chambers, passages, halls, and stairways are furnished in a similar style. In such an abode as this probably dwell from three to ten prostitutes, each paying weekly for her board from ten to sixteen dollars, exclusive of extras, which will be noticed hereafter. Their active life comprises about twelve or fourteen hours daily, ranging from noon to midnight or early morning. Their visitors are mostly of what may be called the aristocratic class; young, middle aged, and even old men of property, of all callings and professions; any one who can command a liberal supply of money is welcome, but without this indispensable requisite his company is not sought or appreciated.
None of the disgusting practices common in houses of a lower grade are met with here. There is no palpable obscenity, and but little that can outrage propriety. Of course there is a perfect freedom of manner between prostitutes and visitors, but so far as the public eye can penetrate, the requirements of common decency are not openly violated. Profanity, as may naturally be expected, exists to some extent; it is an almost invariable accompaniment of prostitution, but even that is divested of its grossness, and is not of frequent occurrence. There is no bar-room or public drinking place in the house, but it is a general custom for each visitor to invite his pro tempore inamorata and her companions to take champagne with him, which is supplied by the keeper of the place at the charge of three dollars a bottle. As remarked in the preceding chapter, excessive drunkenness is rare, both prostitutes and keepers trying to suppress it, because an intoxicated man would be likely to give them trouble, damage their furniture, and injure the reputation of the house. By means of a small aperture in the front door, covered by a wrought-iron lattice-work, the candidates for admission can be examined before entrance is given, and the door is kept closed against any person who is likely to prove an annoyance.
As a natural consequence of their position, the women exert all their powers of fascination, by adopting the latest and most superb fashions in dress, and by a very tasteful arrangement of their hair, for which purpose a hair dresser visits them every day, charging each woman two or three dollars a week for his assistance. Besides these they practice a thousand other artifices, unknown to mere lookers on, in order to secure the favor of their visitors.
About three fourths of the courtesans of this grade are natives of the United States, and mostly from New England or the Middle States. Some of them are very well educated; accomplished musicians and artists are sometimes found among them, while others aspire to literature. With the greater number much elegance and refinement of manner, or a close observance of what may be called the conventionalities of life, is seen. Their income is large, but so are their expenses. It is no exaggeration to state that their individual receipts very seldom fall short of fifty dollars per week. From this amount deduct the sum charged for their board, an additional fee which they pay the proprietress for every visitor they entertain, the expenses of hair-dressing, perfumery, etc., the cost of their washing, which is all done at their own charge, away from the house, and must be considerable, and the remainder will give their expenditure for dress. All are not equally extravagant. Some seem to consider prostitution a business, and act upon the idea of saving as much money as possible. In one case a woman asserted that she had seven thousand dollars in the bank, which she had accumulated by prostitution in a few years, and her statement was confirmed by the captain of police for the district. The economical ones are generally shrewd, calculating “down-Easters,” who argue that if they can save enough during the zenith of their charms to support them when their attractions fail, or to help them establish a house of this description on their own account, they are only doing their duty. Others have dependent relatives whom they support, or illegitimate children whom they maintain and educate, frequently appropriating considerable sums for these purposes. In nearly all of them, kindness toward the unfortunate of their own sex and grade is a striking trait. Much as they may quarrel among each other when all are alike in health, let one be visited with sickness, or overcome by misfortune, and, as a general rule, their envy or jealousy is forgotten, and they freely contribute to her support.