CH. I.] CONDITION OF THE PEASANTRY. 125 



especially on wild mustard, which gives a dark yellow colour 

 to the skin of the people. The quantity of it consumed 

 is enormous. 



At these times, say the witnesses, there is an end to 

 begging, for no one has anything to give. The carts carry 

 nothing to the markets, for the people hinder every kind 

 of circulation. 



A magistrate deposed that he had known many people, 

 who, regarding transportation as a means of putting an 

 end to their misery, have committed thefts for the express 

 purpose of bringing upon themselves that sentence. 



The Commissioners inquired into the condition 

 of the dwellings. 



The usual dimensions of the cabins occupied by the 

 peasantry are 20 feet in length by 13 in width, and the 

 walls are 6 to 8 feet high, built of dry stones, plastered 

 over on one side. The cabins very rarely consist of two 

 rooms 5 and, where this is the case, the second, situated 

 behind the chimney, serves as sleeping-room, on account 

 of the warmth afforded by the chimney. They have never 

 more than one story, nor any ceiling. Most of them 

 have no chimney, and the smoke finds its way out of a 

 hole which is left in the roof, or by the door : this occa- 

 sions eye-complaints among the peasants. There is fre- 

 quently no window. 



The Commissioners, in the visits they made, found 

 not a single cabin into which the rain did not penetrate. 

 In general they are thatched with oat- or wheat-straw, 

 but the poor people cannot renew the roof, and they re- 

 cover them with potatoe- stalks. The floor is neither 



