ominous slamming doors of the "clubs," and shuddering in a delightful
horror at the recumbent opium smokers, pointed out to them by the
industrious guide. And when they were taken into one of the gambling
houses and shown the double doors, and the many contrivances used to
prevent police interference with the innocent games of fan tan and then
were shown the secret underground passage leading from one of the
gambling houses to the stage of the great Chinese theatre, two blocks
away, they went home ready to believe anything told them about "the ways
that are dark and tricks that are vain," for they were sure "the heathen
Chinee was peculiar."

Chinese restaurant life never appealed to Bohemians, and when it became
necessary to entertain visitors with a trip to a Chinatown restaurant
the ordinary service was of tea and rice cakes, served from lacquered
trays, in gaudy rooms, and the admiring visitors could well imagine
themselves in "far off Cathay."

Then came the fire and Chinatown, with the rest of the down-town portion
of San Francisco, passed away. In the rebuilding the owners of the
properties concluded to give the quarter a more Chinese aspect and
pagoda like structures are now to be found in all parts of the section.
The curiosity of the tourist is an available asset to Chinatown, and
with queer houses and queerer articles on sale there is always plenty of
uninitiated to keep the guides busy, but from a city of more than
twenty-five thousand Orientals in the midst of an enlightened city--an
Asiatic city that had its own laws and executed its criminals with the
most utter disregard for American laws, it has changed into one of the
most law-abiding parts of the great city. With the passing of the queue
came the adoption of the American style of dressing, and much of the
picturesqueness of the old Chinatown has disappeared.