The weekly Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1872-1887, 1875-05-01
Open Fires and Muntcl-Pirccs.

says tho wise man: "A pleasant thinc
II Is Tor the eyes to look upon the SUM-
And the next pleasant thing is TO look a
an open wood fire, with ample hearth
brass andirons, fender, shovel and tong.
to match, bellows, hcarth-brush, and
The whole surmnuntcd by a handsome
mnntcl.piccc. We ought to make more
oil sunshine i'll our houses, all the year
round, and having trapped every sun
beam: at least in the winter months, con-
sidcr next the fireplace with its radiant
heat anu social glow as the best adjunct
to our domestic cheer. In the first place
for its history and its poetry. Registers
and radiators have no such quality. Our
ancestors, whether of tho New England
or the Old, never fought for any such cast
iron inventions, but for their hearth-stoncs
and their iircsides. What painter or poet
| could ever work up any "iinc frcnzy,n in
celebrating the conception of nm air-tight
stove, or Webster furnace, or even n
Morning glory2" Think Of nm old in
terror, whether of cottage or farmhouse.
or mansion, without backlog, crane OF
mantel, no ruddy glow, nor ouivcrinp
lights, nor dancing shadows! Sentiment
is qucnchcd, good cheer grows dull, and
What Il royal element is fire, emblem of
lie, power, aspiration, purity-terriblc,
bcautiiul-thc worst master, the best
servant! What part it plays in legends
OF the tire-worshippers, III illustrations Of
sacred truths, in the useful arts! What ::
place for air castles and reveries in the
Dcd Of glowing Goals and leaping tongues
Of flannel
And then the mantcl-picce-not n mca-
gre, narrow shelf nor scrimping bracket.
but mantcl-piecc indeed, with depth and
breadth, and room for shells and hya-
clnths. and bronzes, and photographs Of
good friends, and stuffed birds and bits of
porcelain, or whatever oddities and curl
osities of the mantel-piecc kind that have
pleasant associations belonging to them,
and that your purse or fancy can afford.
'."3ut there's the trouble. We can't
afford it. Hard times and household
economy forbid" Let us think that over
twice. There arc luxuries, and there are
reasonable luXurics. Candies, prize can
dies, cigars, tine-cut, and such like; we
will say nothing about them except that
the list is long, and they absorb n great
deal Of money. But health and domestic
cheer are reasonable luxurics. Good ven
tilation and well oxy9cnatcd mir arc their
prime conditions. Nothing will secure
these conditions like an open Fireplace.
1t is beyond all comparison the best VEN
ulator. 1t warns the lower part of the
room, creating current where impurities
are most likely to accumulate, and wlIisk-
ing them up the chimney. II sucks in the
purer air from every outside crcvice and
creates an invigornting flow and chnngc.
Better. still it sends out radiant heat,
which Is quite different thing from heat
ed air from cast-iron or shcct-irOn sur-
faces. 1t has penetrating and stimulnt-
ing influence peculiar TO itself, and oxy-
schuics the blood in q way aitorcther
more healthy to the brain md nervous
system generally, than the heated mir Of
furnaces or stoves. Registers and radi-
ators are well, especially when supplying
large volume Of moderately heated mir
drawn from without rather than small
volume of over-hcated mir, but they arc
not well enough, till the fireplace or open
CRATE supplements them with its perfect
ventilation and its radiant heat Even n
little fire on the hearth will suffice Tor its
various benefits of health and comfort.
and if the argument of economy bc very
cogcnt, the occasional luxury, when the
day is dark and drcary, or when the wind
Is wrong and the furnace sulIcn, or when
the icnd arrives, and your hospitality
Graves its best expression, it is, to say the
least, reasonable luxury. Why, the
very look of nn open FIREPLACE with the
wood laid and the kindIings under, nil
ready for the match, is suggestive Of IN
open heart, kindly welcome, and
chccry home.
For the sick room there is no question
about it. II is lygicnic necessity. And
what is necessity for the sick room
should set the well man a-thinking. If
you have much brain work to do, your
head hot and feet cold, your nerves tired
and sense Of goncncss, dissatisfaction
and futility mingling with your best work,
reflect on the above. Economy is some
times dUublc-cdgcd. II may he that you
cannot afford to have an open fire. And
by all means if you contemplate building
u house, provide for il, rs one that "luvctl,
life and would see many days."-Spring-
.RcId RcpuJlicdR.