“At the Maheus’ house, Number Sixteen in the second block, nothing stirred. Thick darkness filled the one and only first-floor room: it bore down like a crushing weight on the people sleeping there, whose presence could be felt rather than seen as they lay crowded together, their mouths open, stunned by exhaustion. Despite the bitter cold outside, the air was heavy with the warmth of the living, that stuffy heat to be found even in the best-kept bedrooms, with its reek of the human herd.”
Émile Zola, “Germinal”, 1885.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 