From the Book :""It is but a step from Confucius to confusion," said I, in a briefdiscussion of the Chinese question. "Then let us take it by all means,"replied the artist, who had been an indulgent listener for at least tenminutes.We were strolling upon the verge of the Chinese Quarter in SanFrancisco, and, turning aside from one of the chief thoroughfares of thecity, we plunged into the busiest portion of Chinatown. From ourstandpoint - the corner of Kearny and Sacramento Streets - we got themost favorable view of our Mongolian neighbors. Here is a goodly numberof merchant gentlemen of wealth and station, comfortably, if notelegantly, housed on two sides of a street that climbs a low hill quitein the manner of a tea-box landscape.A few of these gentlemen lodge on the upper floors of their businesshouses, with Chinese wives, and quaint, old-fashioned children gaudilydressed, looking like little idols, chatting glibly with one another,and gracefully gesticulating with hands of exquisite slenderness.Confucius, in his infancy, may have been like one of the least of these.There are white draymen and porters in the employ of these shrewd andcivil merchants, and the outward appearance of traffic, as conducted inthe immediate vicinity, is rather American than otherwise." --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.