4CKI [Assembly 



be believed the smell becomes intolerable, and its atmosphere pro- 

 ductive of the most offensive and malignant diseases. There is no 

 exaggeration in this description. I cannot too highly color the pic- 

 ture, if I would. What, then, will be thought of the condition of 

 thousands of our fellow-citizens in the winter season, when every 

 crevice is closed to keep out the cold air, and when I state, that 

 what I have described, I have repeatedly seen and fe.t in the sum^ 

 mer, when the windows and doors are opened to the fullest extent, 

 day and night, admitting all the ventilation possible, small as it is. 



I have had recent occasion to visit several of these pestiferous 

 places, and I pen these paragraphs in the month of August, with 

 their sight and smell fresh upon my senses. 



The almost entire absence of household conveniences, contributes 

 much to the prostration of comfort and self-respect of these wretch- 

 ed people. The deficiency of water, and the want of a convenient 

 place for washing, with no other place for drying clothes than the 

 common sitting and bed room, are very serious impediments in the 

 way of their improvement. Without any convenient or safe place 

 to deposit wood, or coal, or food in large quantities, all their pur- 

 chases are by " the small," from the neighboring grocer, (who is 

 perhaps the landlord,) at prices from 10 to 50 per cent, above the 

 rates at which they might be obtained, under better circumstances. 



But the most offensive of all places for residence are the cellars^ 

 It is almost impossible, when contemplating the circumstances and 

 condition of the poor beings who inhabit these holes, to maintain 

 the proper degree of calmness requisite for a thorough inspection, 

 and the exercise of a sound judgment, respecting them. You must 

 descend to them; you must feel the blast of foul air as it meets your 

 face on opening the door; you must grope in the dark, or hesitate 

 until your eye becomes accustomed to the gloomy place, to enable 

 you to find your way through the entry, over a broken floor, the 

 boards of which are protected from your tread by a half inch of hard 

 dirt; you must inhale the suffocating vapor of the sitting and sleep- 

 ing rooms; and in the dark, damp recess, endeavor to find the in- 

 mates by the sound of their voices, or chance to see their figures 

 moving between you and the flickering blaze of a shaving burning 

 on the hearth, or the misty light of a window coated with dirt and 

 festooned with cobwebs — or if in search of an invalid, take care 

 that you do not fall full length upon the bed with her, by stumbling 

 against the bundle of rags and straw, dignified by that name, lying 



