The weekly tribune., 1891-06-19
OLD LONDON PICTURED.
COMPARED WITH THE CITY OF
TODAY TWAS A SORRY SIGHT.
Its Houses Were Dwarfy. Squaiid Struct-
ures aud Easily Pulled Down-The Gil
mate Then Was Colder and More I'm
benrnble--Fan.ine and PestiIence.

ures aud Easily Pulled Down-The Cli-
mate Then Was Colder AMI More I'm
bcarabie--Famine and PestiIence.
Who can rebuild before the eye of the
mind single ordinary dwelling of the
vanished London of the middle of the
Thirteenth century: 1t was dwarfsh,
squalid structure of such crazy unsub-
stantality that with stout iron crook
and two strong cords, provided by the
ward, it nigh be pulled down and
dragged off speedily in case of fire; a
structure of one story jutting over
low ground floor. with another jut of
caves above, its roof perchance engrailed
with gables. its front bearing an odd re-
semblance to the back of couple of
huge stairs. and the whole most rick
ETY.. tumbledown, top heavy. fantastical
thing Chimneys were fairly in vogue
then so it had them-sguat. square,
wide mouthed, faced with white plaster
red tiles or gray pebble work
Red tiles covered its roof Its walls
were rough planed planks or wooden
framework filled with composite of
straw and clay. buttressed with posts
and crossed this way and that with sup
porting beams, the whole daubed over
with whitewash, of which the weather
soon made graywash. In front was a
neutrality-suspicious. covered. sometimes
motor stepladder set slantwiSe against
the wall for an entrance to the upper
story
The doorways We're narrow and low,
the windows also, and the latter, dark
ened with overbrows Of wooden shut
ters, propped up from beneath and
sticking out like long, slender awnings,
were further darkened by slshes of
parchment, linen or thin shaved horn
for glass came from Flanders. and was
costly and rare.
ROMANTIC BUILDING.
Such. joint and seam and tile being
loosened into crack and Granny and crev
| ice everywhere, was the dwelling of the
London citizen as the eye might see it in
the middle of the Thirteenth century
Multiply that dwelling into tortuous
and broken perspective of like buildings
some joined by party walls, some with
spaces between, all pent rooted or gable
peaked, heavy eaved. stub ch;mneyed
narrow latticed, awning shuttered, stair
cased, post buttressed, beam crossed
dusky red rooted, dingy white walled
and low under the overhanging vastness
of the sky. and you have an ancient Lon
don street, which shall be foul and mar
row. with open drains. footways roughly
tagged and horseway deep with slushy
mire, overstrewn with ashes, shards and
offal. and smelling abominably.
There were indeed at that period
thinly interspersed here and there,
houses of somewhat better description,
soldly built of stone and timber, though
at best strangely deficient in comfort
and convenience, according to the fash
ion of that most inconvenient and un-
comfortable age Here and there, too,
for those were the times of the feudal
soldier and priest, rose in dreadful beau
teous contrast with the squalid city
the architectural grandeur of church
and cathedral, or the stately house or
palace of bishop or earl, But all around
stretched dwellings which our poorest
modern house eXcels, and on those
dwellings all evils and discomforts that
can befall had their quarry.
Light came dim and sunshine dimly
glimmering into their darkened rooms.
Summer heats made ovens of them. The
old gray family of London fogs rose
from the marshes north of the city walls,
from the city's intersecting rivulets,
from the Thames below, and crept in at
every opening to make all dark and chill
within. Down their squat chimneys
swept the smoke. choking and binding.
Rains such as even RAINY England knows
not now soaked them through for weeks
together
TERRIBLE PICTURE.
| Cold such as English winters have for
} gotten now pierced with gripping blast
and silent sitting snow to their shiver-
ing inmates Foul exhaiatiOnS from the