The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-10-20 00:00:00

happy is all the wish I have in this world." She then
bade him and them an affectionate farewell, and was about
to take her departure, when Sarah, who bad been musing
for a moment, went to Darken, and having knelt on one
knee, was about to speak, and to speak, as was evident
from her manner, with great earnestness, when she sud-
denly restrained herself, clasped her hands with a vehe-
ment action, looking distractedly from him to Mave, and
U_en suddenly rising, took Mave's hand and said—" Come
away—it's dangerous to stop where fever is—you ought to
be careful of yourself—you have friends that loves you,
and that would feel for you if you were gone. You have
a kind, good father—a lovin' mother—a lovin' mother,
that you could turn to, an' may turn to, if ever you should
have a sore heart—a mother—oh, that blessed word—
what wouldn't I give to say that I have a mother? Many
an outrage—many a wild fit of passion—many a harsh
word too—oh what mightn't I be now if I had a mother!
All the world thinks I have a bad heart—that I'm wicked
—that I'm without feelin" but, indeed, Mave Sullivan, I
am not without feelin', an' I don't think I have a bad
heart." "I ou have not a bad heart," replied Mave,
taking her hand ; " No one, dear Sarah, could look into
your face and say so ; no, but I think so far from that,
your heart is both kind and generous." " I hope so," she
replied, " I hope I have—now come you and lave this
dangerous house ; besides I have something to say to you."
Mave and she proceeded along the old causeway that led
to the cabin, and having got out on the open road Sarah
stood. " Now, Mave Sullivan," said she, " listen—you
do me only justice to say that I love truth, an' hate a lie
or consalement of any kind. I ax you now this—you
discovered awhile ago that I love Condy Dalton ? Isn't
that thrue ?" " I wase't altogether certain," replied
Mave—" but I thought I did—an' I now think you do
love him." "I do love him—oh, I do—an' why, as you
said, should I be ashamed of it ?—ay, an' it was my inten-
tion to tell you so the first time I'd see you, an' to give
you fair notice that 1 did, an' that I'd lave nothing undone
to win him from you." " Well." replied the other, " this
is open and honest at all events." " That was my inten-
tion," pursued Sarah ; " an' I bad for a short time other
thoughts—ay, an' worse thoughts ; my father was per.
suadin' me—but I can't spake on that—for he has my
promise not to do so. Oh, I'm nothing, dear Mave—
nothing at all to you. I can't forget your words awhile
ago—bekaise I knew what you meant at the time, when
you said to Con, ' any earthly thing that I can do to give
aise an' comfort to your mind lam ready to do it. If it
would relieve you forget that you ever saw me or ever
knew me.' Now, Mave, I've confessed to you that I love
Con Dalton—but I tell you not to trouble your heart by
any thoughts of me, my mind's made up as to what I'll
do—don't fear me. I'll never cross you here. I'm a
lonely creature," she proceeded, bursting into bitter tears
—" I'm without friends or relations or any one that cares
at all about me." " Don't say so," replied Mave, "I
care about you, an' it's only now that the people is begin-
nin' to know you—but that's not all, Sarah, if it's any
consolation to you to know it—know it—Condy Dalton
loves you—ay loves you, Sarah M'Gowan—you may take
my word for that—l am certain this day that what I say is
true." " Loves me !" she exclaimed. " Loves you," re-
peated Mave, "is the word, and I have said it." " I
didn't suspect that when I spoke," she replied. Each
looked upon the other, and both as they stood were pale
as death itself. At length Mave spoke. " I have one
only thought Sarah, an' that is, how to make Mm happy!
Good-bye, dear Sarah." She put her hand into Sarah's,
and felt that it trembled excessively—but Sarah was ut-
terly passive, she did not even return the pressure which
she had received, and when Mave departed, she was
standing in a reverie incapable of thought, deadly pale,
and perfectly motionless.—The Black Prophet by Carle-
ton, in the Dublin University Magazine.

POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY-IMPROVEMENT

OF TENEMENTS.

The usual monthly meeting of this society was held on
the 12th instant, D. Waidle, Esq., presided. Mr.
Joseph Boult read a paper on " The improvement of Te-
nements in towns," illustrated by several plans of build-
ings already erected, both on the old and on improved de-
signs. We are enabled to present our readers with the
following abstract of this paper :
The labours of the Sanatory Commissioners have clearly
established the fact, that much of the bitter distress usu•

ally deemed a necessary attendant upon great poverty, is
occasioned by a negl,ct of the duties of cleanliness, per-
sonal and local, in the latter of which all participate, the
measure of their culpability being the extent of their infor-
mation and the influence of their station. _ _

The most important measure that can be adopted to-
wards any improvement in the sanatory condition of
towns, one that ought to be preliminary to others, and
therefore entered upon without delay.—is an improved
system of sewerage and water supply. I have con-
joined what may appear at first sight two distinct mea-
ures, but I think they will be found to constitute but
two branches of one, if we reflect that however perfect the
system of sewerage may be, it will be ineffectual without
an abundant supply of water, and that however excellent
and ample the supply of water, the sanatory evils would
be aggravated by incomplete drainage, as the stagnation
of the refuse water would be prolific with crops of nume-
rous diseases. It behoves the authorities therefore to
lose no time in providing this important remedy ; any
effort that may be made for improving the dwellings of
the poor will be very ineffectual until this is done ; and
they can only be successful in rendering these habitations
more roomy, the external atmosphere remaining un-
wholesome, whilst if the atmosphere were good, so that
the air of the apartment might be purified and changed,
the physical evils of over-crowding would be much re-
duced.

Another important measure to be attended to, is the
arrangement of streets and courts, a matter, permit me-
to say, quite as deserving of attention as their width, for
which the local mat bee mode provision. They should be
laid down not merely with a view of making the land
most productive, but with the intention of promoting, as-
much as possible, the ventilation of the streets and of the
houses in them. As far as is practicable, the houses
should be so arranged that the sun shall shine upon every
side some part of the day ; they will thus be warmer and
dryer, and the inhabitants will have the advantage of good
light, which, our medical friends can tell us, is highly im-
portant. It is also desirable that the streets should be
laid out so as to render the draft of vehicles as light as
possible ; that, for example, instead of being laid down to
run directly,up the face of a steep bill, they should be
carried round the bill, or laid down diagonally on its face.
To enforce the importance of this subject, Mr. Butler
Williams estimated the loss sustained by declivities and
Crooked directions of streets on the main thoroughfares of
Ludgate-hill and Holborn, and found about .£lOO,OOO
per annum. It appears extremely desirable that the au-
thorities should have the power of supervising any plan
for laying out property, and of causing such arrangements
to be made as will meet the conditions of sanatory law,
and public convenience. If they bad also power to com-
pensate for property rendered less available for profit by
considerations of public advantage, no landowner could
object to their control.
But before any complete system of water supply and
sewerage can be carried out, or streets properly arranged,
a map of the locality should be prepared upon which con-
tour lines of level are laid down, so that a correct idea
may be gained by all parties interested as to the best plan
to be adopted. lam induced to dwell upon this impor-
tant measure, because I think that in the multiplicity of
matters requiring the attention of the authorities, it has
been unfortunately overlooked, and much valuable time
lost ; for when measures of drainage—such as I have be-
fore mentioned—are adopted, it will be found that they
must be delayed until the contour map is prepared.
To lay before you evidence of the present unventilated
and overcrowded abodes of the poor would be to occupy
time with that which all ought to have learned from the
labours of Mr. Duncan and Mr. Holme. But the inter-
val that has elapsed since their evidence was first pub-
lished, and the small improvement yet made, indicates
that but little practical advantage has been derived, not-
withstanding the efforts that hate been made to engage
the public attention.
I shall, however confine myself to producing the plans
of a court in Stuart-street, (which runs down from Great
Howard-street to Waterloo-road). This street consists
almost entirely of courts of houses. This plan is of a
court on the south side, of which I counted fourteen, and
I believe that there are about the same number on the
north aide. The entrance to each court is by a covered
passage between the front houses, which is about three
feet wide, and the clear dimensions of the court between
the houses is 19 feet 9 inches by 7 feet 6 inches ; at the
end of the court furthest from the entrance are two pri-
vies and an ashpit—the seat of the one privy being off,
and both in a filthy state. Behind the privies the court
is closed up by the wall of a cotton shed, so that the
court and houses have no air but that which is admitted
by the covered passage, 3 feet wide, and that which
descends from over the tops of the houses. Each back
house consists of a living room and two bedrooms over.
There is a dark cellar under the house part in which-coals
are kept and into which the water is laid on, but in the
houses adjoining the privies I was told that the walls
were reeking with impurities, which drained through the
cesspools to such an extent as to make the cellars per-
fectly noisome. The whole of the south side of this
street is to be removed in order to make way for the ter-
minus of the Victoria tunnel.
It is pleasant to turn from the contemplation of such
squalor to the consideration of the remedy.
No. 3 is a plan of Kent-terrace, which is situated on
the east side of Kent-street, between Mr. Tomkinson's
stone-yard and the Mersey Brewery, and divided from
Cornwallis-street by a boat-building-yard, the high wall
of which impedes the free circulation of air about the
houses. The front to Kent-street is farmed with shops
of a tolerable size, the rear of which is laid out into a
species of double court, the flags of which are below the
level of the street. Each side of the court consists of two
tiers of houses, the upper being approached by steps at
the west end, communicating by a balcony with each
house. The corresponding houses in each tier are let at
the same rents, the inconvenient approach to the upper
houses bring compensated by their better air and light.
In the centre of the middle block, a sewer is constructed
to carry the refuse of each house to a cess-pool at the
west end, and the flags of each court are laid to a fall to
channel-stones in the middle, which communicate with
the sewer. So far the constructor had done all that lay
in his power to render the houses free from nuisance, but
at the time of my visit the cess-pool was full, and there-
fore the drainage incomplete, and the air felt damp and
heavy. This seemed to be the great subject of complaint
by the inhabitants, who:otherwise spoke contentedly of
the accommodation provided. The remedy for this defect
in the drainage was manifestly to allow the sewer of this
property to drain itself into the public sewers, which is
contrary to the regulations of the Highway Board ; but I
hope that when the Council succeed to their jurisdiction
this short-sighted restriction will be removed, and that
the owners of property shall be compelled to adopt a com-
plete drainage, rather than be impeded by authority.
Another important defect was in the construction of the
privies, which are common to two houses, and consist