Paris in the time of the good King Henry, and you might walk along
under shelter of its houses, projecting story above story, till they
nearly met at top, for more than a mile. Before it was paved, the
roadway was an intolerable quagmire, winter and summer; and, after
stones had been put down, there murmured along the middle a black
gurgling stream, charged with all the outpourings and filth of
unnumbered houses. Over, or through this, according as the fluid was
low or high, you had to make your way, if you wanted to cross the
street and greet a friend; if you lived in the street and wished to
converse with your opposite neighbour, you had only to mount to the
garret story, open the lattice window, and literally shake hands with
him, so near did the gables approach. The fronts of the houses were
ornamented with every device which the skilful carpenters of former
times could invent: the beam-ends were sculptured into queer little
crouching figures of monkeys or angels, and all sorts of _diableries_
decorated the cornices that ran beneath the windows; there were no
panes of glass, such as we boast of in these degenerate times, but
narrow latticed lights to let in the day, and the wind, and the cold;
while the roofs were covered commonly with shingles, or, in the houses
of the wealthy, with sheets of lead. Between each gable came forth a
long water-spout, and poured down a deluge into the gutter beneath;
each gable-top was peaked into a fantastic spiry point or flower, and
the chimneys congregated into goodly companies amidst the roofs,
removed from the vulgar gaze or fastidious jests of the people below.
So large were the fireplaces in those rooms that could own them, and
so ample were the chimney flues, that smoky houses were unheard of:
the staircases, it is true, enjoyed only a dubious ray, that served to
prevent you from breaking your neck in a rapid descent; but the
apartments were generally of commodious dimensions, and the tenements
possessed many substantial comforts.

Once out of doors, you might proceed in all weather fearless of rain;
the projecting upper stories sheltered completely the sides of the
street, and a stout cloth cloak was all that was needed to save either
sex from the inclemency of the seasons. At frequent intervals there
opened into the main street, side streets, and _ruelles_ or alleys,
which showed in comparison like Gulliver in Brobdignag: up some of
these ways a single horseman might be abl