392
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
such stairways already exist in a house, others of wood are also permitted, but their width cannot be made less than three and one-half feet, and in their other dimensions they must conform with the laws already quoted.
As regards the general arrangement of dwelling-houses on the European plan, it is not necessary to enter into any very minute explanations, as instances of the same are to be found in all the large cities of America. Each European city, however, has certain peculiarities of arrangement distinguishing it from the others ; among which, in Vienna, certain are worthy of note, while others are such as we should by no means anticipate in a large capital. The absence of water has occasioned a law requiring all gutters to empty directly into the main-pipe of the water-closets. For further purification of the latter, a tube passes from this pipe through the roof and offers an exit to the accumulating gases; beyond this a window opens directly from each water-closet upon the air, often in a light well, and often to the rear of the house. Vienna is, however, by no means a sweetly-smelling city, but it is now hoped that the fine new aqueduct, bringing water from the mountain springs, forty or fifty miles distant, will do away with this evil. The direct communication of each water-closet with the exterior air, is a point which we unfortunately do not generally regard. In Berlin I have also noticed a great neglect of this precaution, the privy being there frequently placed in a corner of the kitchen, while with us, any point where room is at hand, is thought sufficient. How often do we place it in the interior of the house, and furnish it with light by means of a window opening into a bedroom ! In buildings of great extent, interior court-yards are frequent here, and furnish light and air to subordinate rooms, passages frequently also to water-closets. Where these are of great size, at least sixty or seventy feet square, and the sun can shine into them several hours a day, the better apartments are also located upon them, and are thus secured from the noise and dust of the street; this being especially the case in large schools and university buildings where lecture-rooms are frequently so placed. Another advantage is the privacy thus gained. Smaller court-yards, measuring perhaps thirty by forty feet, are often covered by