Out of the main room
opened two narrow chambers, both together of about the same area
as the main room. One of these was occupied by Paul and Jimmy,
the other by his mother.
Those who are familiar with the construction of a New York
tenement-house will readily understand the appearance of the
rooms into which we have introduced them. It must, however, be
explained that few similar apartments are found so well
furnished. Carpets are not very common in tenement-houses, and
if there are any pictures, they are usually the cheapest prints.
Wooden chairs, and generally every object of the cheapest, are to
be met with in the dwellings of the New York poor. If we find
something better in the present instance, it is not because Paul
and his mother are any better off than their neighbors. On the
contrary, there are few whose income is so small. But they have
seen better days, and the furniture we see has been saved from
the time of their comparative prosperity.
As Paul is still at his estimate, let us improve the opportunity
by giving a little of their early history.
Mr. Hoffman, the father of Paul, was born in Germany, but came to
New York when a boy of twelve, and there he grew up and married,
his wife being an American.
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