On my
expressing my pleasure in this circumstance, he added, "It is one of
the pleasantest features of the case, to notice how soon they began to
ornament their little dwellings; some have cages with singing birds,
and some pots of flowering plants; some, pictures and engravings."
"And are these buildings successful in a pecuniary point of view?" I
said. "Do they pay their own way?"
"Yes," he replied, "they do. I consider that these buildings, if they
have done nothing more, have established two points: first, that the
poor do not prefer dirt and disorder, where it is possible for them to
secure neatness and order; and second, that buildings with every
proper accommodation can be afforded at a price which will support an
establishment."
Said I, "Are people imitating these lodging houses very rapidly?"
"To a great extent they are," he replied, "but not so much as I
desire. Buildings on these principles have been erected in the
principal towns of England and Scotland. The state of the miserable
dwellings, courts, alleys, &c., is the consequence of the neglect of
former days, when speculators and builders were allowed to do as they
liked, and run up hovels, where the working man, whose house must be
regulated, not by his choice, but by his work, was compelled then, as
he is now, to live, however narrow, unhealthy, or repulsive the place
might be.
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