The room was lighted by
an opening in the roof, which also served for a chimney; though, of
course, in a very imperfect manner, as the inside of every dwelling
that has stood for any length of time bears witness. The upper part
of the walls and the under surface of the roof--we can hardly call
it ceiling--fairly glitter, as though they had been painted black
and varnished, and every article of clothing, book, or household
utensil, is saturated with the smell of creosote. The floor, like
the walls, is of earth, covered in part with coarse straw mats and
pieces of carpeting; and the flat roof, of the same material, rests
on a layer of sticks, supported by large beams; the mass above,
however, often sifts through, and sometimes during a heavy rain
assumes the form of a shower of mud. Bad as all this may seem, the
houses are still worse in the mountain districts, such as Gawar.
There they are half under ground, made of cobble stones laid up
against the slanting sides of the excavation, and covered by a
conical roof with a hole in the centre. They contain, besides the
family, all the implements of husbandry, the cattle, and the flocks.
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