View report page

21
tor during this quarter. Part of it consisted in exploring
and getting rid of the most dangerous nuisances, most of
them amongst the better classes; for instance, two houses in
Green-street, each filled with sewer vapour, through the
rotten state of a soil pipe passing perpendicularly down in a
groove in the party wall. This is a common, often unsuspected,
and most effectual way of keeping two adjoining
houses filled with the most abominable odours. In the same
street, another house, whose own drains had been set to
rights, was flooded with sewage from an old drain passing
under an archway adjoining. In Upper Brook-street, one
house was quite poisoned by its old rotten drains, from which
by means of rats, ill vapours were conveyed into the next
house also. Another case deserves mention from its singularity.
No. 6, Adam's-mews, is a house having also a
cottage in its yard, often visited for illness, and which had in
our eyes the reputation of anything but a healthy house;
nevertheless, the rooms had been cleansed, and the drains
were said to be efficient. At all events, there was no evidence
that would have justified us in ordering them to be
dug up. At last, however, Mr. Grant found out that the
drainage from this house, containing families and people,
consisting of all their sewage and slops, was not carried
away, nor yet even received in a cesspool, but was permitted
to soak away into the earth underneath the cottage in the
yard. This state of things had existed ever since the house
was built. The soil is of course porous; and there is a pump
in the next yard, the water of which was used for washing
carriages, and was noticed to be often offensive. A very
large cesspool was abolished from under an inhabited stable
in Derby-street.
Much other work fell on the inspector, in visiting houses
in which illness was prevalent.