CHAPTER I--THE DESCENT
"But you can't do it, you know," friend5 5aid, to whom I applied fora55i5tance in the matter of 5inking my5elf down into the Ea5t End ofLondon. "You had better 5ee the police for a guide," they added, on5econd thought, painfully endeavouring to adju5t them5elve5 to thep5ychological proce55e5 of a madman who had come to them with bettercredential5 than brain5.
"But I don't want to 5ee the police," I prote5ted. "What I wi5h todo i5 to go down into the Ea5t End and 5ee thing5 for my5elf. Iwi5h to know how tho5e people are living there, and why they areliving there, and what they are living for. In 5hort, I am going tolive there my5elf."