These alley-ways are
excavated to the depth of the cellars, arched over, and covered with
flag stones, in which, at intervals, are open gratings to give light
below; the whole length of which space is occupied by water closets,
without doors, and under which are open drains communicating with the
street sewers. The building is five stories high, and has a flat roof.
The only ventilation is by a window, which opens against a dead wall
eight feet distant, and to which rises the vapor from the vault below.
There is water on each floor, and gas pipes are laid through the
building, so that those who desire it can use gas. The building
contains one hundred and twenty-six families, or about seven hundred
inhabitants. Each family has a narrow sitting-room, which is used also
for working and eating, and a closet called a bed room. But few of the
rooms are properly ventilated. The sun never shines in at the windows,
and if the sky is overcast the rooms are so dark as to need artificial
light. The whole house is dirty, and is filled with the mingled odors
from the cooking-stoves and the sinks. In the winter the rooms are kept
too close by the stoves, and in the summer the natural heat is made
tenfold greater by the fires for cooking and washing. Pass these houses
on a hot night, and you will see the streets in front of them filled
with the occupants, and every window choked up with human heads, all
panting and praying for relief and fresh air.
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