districts shelter the poorest, most depraved, and worthless members of
the community, and may be regarded as the sources of those frightful
epidemics which, beginning here, spread desolation over Glasgow."

Let us hear how J. C. Symonds, Government Commissioner for the
investigation of the condition of the hand-weavers, describes these
portions of the city: {38}

"I have seen wretchedness in some of its worse phases both here and
upon the Continent, but until I visited the wynds of Glasgow I did not
believe that so much crime, misery, and disease could exist in any
civilised country. In the lower lodging-houses ten, twelve, sometimes
twenty persons of both sexes, all ages and various degrees of
nakedness, sleep indiscriminately huddled together upon the floor.
These dwellings are usually so damp, filthy, and ruinous, that no one
could wish to keep his horse in one of them."

And in another place:

"The wynds of Glasgow contain a fluctuating population of fifteen to
thirty thousand human beings. This quarter consists wholly of narrow
alleys and square courts, in the middle of every one of which there
lies a dung heap. Revolting as was the outward appearance of these
courts, I was yet not prepared for the filth and wretchedness within.
In some of the sleeping-places which we visited at night (the
Superintendent of Police, Captain Miller, and Symonds) we found a
complete layer of human beings stretched upon the floor, often fifteen
to twenty, some clad, others naked, men and women indiscriminately.
Their bed was a litter of mouldy straw, mixed with rags. There was
little or no furniture, and the only thing which gave these dens any