Summary

Portrait of George R. Sims George R. Sims,  The Mysteries of Modern London

“ It is because its mystery has fascinated me from the beginning, and because the spell has never been weakened, that I have wandered London in every direction night and day in a ceaseless endeavour to know it in every phase and form. In these years of wandering, often far off the beaten track, I have learnt much that is not common knowledge, and every day I am learning more. If I were to say that London has laid its heart bare to me it would be untrue, for that has happened to no man. Many of its inner workings are mysteries even to those whose task in life it is to solve them. ”
Source: Gutenberg

Portrait of George R. Sims George R. Sims,  The Mysteries of Modern London

“ If you were to ask in Little Italy to-morrow about the Mafia, they would even deny that its agents were to be found there at all.
But they are there, and on more than one occasion they have made their presence felt in the most approved manner of the vendetta as it finds expression in Italian opera.
In every quarter of London, in the most matter-of-fact environment, the romance of reality is to be found—a romance as thrilling as anything the sensational novelist could invent and give to the world with a certainty that his invention would be looked upon as wildly improbable.
”
Source: Gutenberg

Portrait of George R. Sims George R. Sims,  The Mysteries of Modern London

“ There is a red glow in the sky, the cry of "Fire!" rings out, and the engine rattles past with the thrilling shouts of the men, and instantly sleeping London wakes and pours a half-dressed crowd of men and women into the streets. A city of the dead becomes a city of wild, turbulent life in an instant.
There is no mystery of the City greater than that sudden gathering of vast crowds in the dead of night to see someone else's house on fire.
”
Source: Gutenberg

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