THE FILTH OF PARIS. 413 



lo any specific application for which they may be suited. These 

 persons appear like a most degraded class ; they inhabit par 

 ticular quarters of the city, and the interior of their habita 

 tions is such as might be expected from their occupation. The 

 profession descends in families from father to son, and from 

 mother to daughter. They are a most industrious race of peo 

 ple ; and many of them may be seen, even at midnight, with 

 their lanterns, taking advantage of the first pickings, and antici 

 pating the labors of the coming morning ; and with the earliest 

 dawn they are sure to be found at their tasks. No article of 

 food escapes them j and they call the street their mother, 

 because she often thus literally gives them bread. Though 

 their occupation is necessarily dirty, yet they are almost always 

 comfortably clad, and are never ragged. They never beg, and 

 disdain to be considered objects of charity. They are licensed 

 by the city authorities, for which some trifling sum is paid, and 

 for which they must be recommended for their sobriety and 

 good conduct. They have their particular districts assigned 

 them, and are very careful to prevent all foreign intrusion. 



The chiffonniers having done their work, next come the 

 sweepers and collectors of dirt. Every inhabitant of Paris is 

 required, under a penalty, to have the sidewalk in front of his 

 place of business or residence carefully swept every morning. 

 The sweepers of the streets in Paris are almost universally wo 

 men, who, with long twig or birch-brooms, sweep the streets 

 thoroughly, and all the accumulations are taken in carts to be 

 transported to the great places of deposit. The women assist as 

 much in loading the carts as the men. These women appear to 

 work extremely hard, carrying always a long broom in their 

 hands, and a shovel fastened to their backs, to be used as occa 

 sion may require. The gutters in Paris are washed out every 

 morning by fountains, which are placed in every street ; and what 

 these sweepers are not able to collect for the carts, they are care 

 ful to sweep into the drains leading into the common sewers. I 

 have looked at these people and at the chiffonniers often with 

 great interest ; and, filthy and disgusting as their occupation 

 necessarily is, I have always felt in my heart a sincere respect 

 for persons who, poor as they are, would be ashamed to beg ; 

 and who, by the severest and most useful labor, are proud to 

 obtain for themselves and their families, though a very humble, 

 35* 



