The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-11-03

| IDere are some Things WDlCn must Dc seen 10
be thoroughly understood With such feelings
as these we started on a tour through Bedford
street, and much as we thought we were pre-
pared for what we we're to see, vet we found that
all our ideas of the place fell far short Of the
reality. The street itself runs east and west be-
tween Fifth and Eighth Streets and between
Shipper and South streets. One morning we
started out to make tour through the place,
| by invitation of the Missionary, Rev. Mr.. Long.
1t was bracing, cool morning in October ana
the sun shone clear aud bright. As we ap'
preached the street. we soon began to see its IN
huence In the people that Issued from IT, we
reached the place, aud turned towardsltne mis-
sion, which is situated between SiXth ana
Seventh streets, on the nortn slue' 1t
was a plain, unpretendiug, STRUCTURE, three
stories in height. Finding Mr.. Long at his
post, we soon got reauy ana mace
start. few steps brought us to rickety
tumble-down looking frame shanty, whose rotten
superstructure seemed to lean over with more
of an inclination than the celebrated tower of
Pisa. The windo ws-which once, perhaps, had
panes ofglass in them-exhibited mass of rags
and old paper that served to keep out
the rain and wind No curtains were there
and the broken shutters were closed with
covered with masses of moss that still looked
fresh and green, although it covered decay and
corruption, and the tum mble-down chimneys, COM
pleted the outside picture. No, not quite,
either. On one side of cellar door sat two
negro women. They were dirty and slovenly.
On their heads were ragged greasy, and filthy
handkerchiefs that had once been of gay colors.
mass of filthy rags covered their attenuated
Co., ,osu
bleared eyes gave wicked look to their fea-
lures as they sat huddled up resting their chins
on their hands, and looking up at us from under
their eyebrows Says Mr.. Long to them, "You
live down the cellar, don't you?n One of the
women replied In an indignant manner, and
with flourish of her hand, "No, don't live
down there; live in Spafford street. does;n
and then got up, and, with series of grunts,
waddled off TO her proper domicile. The other
negro said, in sort of halfashsmed, haltde6-
ant manner, 81 live there, right down there"
pointing, at the same time, with her skinny
finger into the cellar. We looked down where
she pointed, and instinctively shuddcred at the
wretched sight. The bottom of the cellar must
have been of black mud. Over the mud were
laid boards, and between these the black foul
mud had oozed up, and was spreading over the
| scanty flooring, which was already covered
with some half an inch of black filth. Around,
the walls of the cellar were begrimed with
smoke and dirt. There was not single article of
furniture, not even bench, visible ''And yetr
says Mr. Long, ''in that miserable place will pro-
badly score Of homeless tramps and thieves
1"Ss~'. "--~-----N ooverino otbar tbon
| the clothes they have on, and Sleep Iiuu ~
| many beasts. There, with the foul black ooZe
clinging to their rags, will they drag out the
| weary night hours, to disperse during the day
through the city, stealing begging, and carrying
disease wherever they CO." The upper room was
| almost as wretched as Lhe cellar. On the black
| ened, discolored walls, that had here and there
ragged shred of wall paper cllnging to it, and
through the battered plaster, by which the laths
and scantlings were exposed, hung ragged and
tattered garments. mangy-looking dog lay
down before an old stove that still con-
tained some embers OF fire almost out;
two or three chairs, three-legged
table, and some few articles of kitchen use
strewn about, completed the picture, as far as
furniture went There were no carpets Of any
kind, and the place seemed alive with vermin.
From it there issued noisome stencil that spoke
in volumes of disease and pestilence. The in
mates, some halfa,dozen in number, were ft
beings TO inhabit such place. A couple of
bleared-eyed, unkempt, unshayed men, with
nothing on but ragged breeches, dirty shirt,
and worn-out, rough boots, lounged around
with pipes in their mouths, cursine the
| women and children who were huddled together
in one corner. 1t was sad picture, but there
we're far worse ones. cav a9a3 y
The Tramp's Restaurant.a biH0E
AT one corner we stopped to look into pro-
vision shop and tramp's restaurant. There
were plates of bones and broken meat, crusts of
bread and parts ofpotatoes in heaps and piles that
would hardly be inviting to hungry dog. They
were piled on the reeking counters. The marks
OF teeth could be seen in many of the unwhole-
some yiands that were exposed to view. On the
shelves of this store were lots of rancid ham and
decayed vegetables. The smell of putrefyng
meat, bad tobacco, and rottening vegetable
matter was almost enough to drive one back
wards; and yet these dens are we'll patronized
by the tramps and thieves, who pay ten cents
per plate for the yictuals that even a well-to-do
| dog would turn from In disgust Such luxury
as knife and fork, in such place, is
rarity; and fingers and teeth take their
place with wonderful success, judging from
the way in which the foul viands disappear.
The shops are constantly repIenished with the
stores obtained from the beggars, who bring the
contents of their bags and baskets, mixed with
cigar stumps, ''old sogers,r and dirt of all
descriptions. 1t is well the hungry tramp and
ravenous bummer have no fastidious appetite or
their leatherlined stomachs would reject the
filthy scraps Around the walls are hung dried
up and mouldy links of Boognas, and sickly