Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-20
SOME FIREPLACE LORE

SOME FIREPIACE LUXE
The history of the fireside dates
back to the dark ages. before man was
acquainted with the existence of nre
as blessed influence for warmth. A
Phoenician tradition attributes its dis
covery to Vulcan, a king. In wander
ing through the woods one winter sea-
son he found tree burning from a
stroke of lightning. He was cheered
by the heat and as he added more
wood and the warmth increased ne
called his companions to share his
pleasure and he claimed to be the
inventor of flame.
Though the primeval savage at first
stood in awe of fire, regarding 1T as
a supernatural agent, he gradually
felt the comfortable influence of its
warmth and came to welcome it as
blessed thing. And thus does trad1-
tion give us the story of the earliest
fresides for around the embers of the
burning trees, with their brightness
and warmth, men learned to congre-
gate, and this bond of common enjoy
ment induced social intercourse. 1t is
very possible that the discovery OF
fire began the formation of language,
for one of the theories of the origin
of language is that it is the conse-
quence of mans social instinct and OF
his desire to communicate with his fel-
lowmen. So the discovery of fire gave
rise to the first social life of mankind,
which was the foundation of all the
wonders of subsequent civilization.
1t is worth thinking of when we are
gathered around "our ain ffreside' nav
ing cosy, chatty heart to heart talks,
that this very enjoyment in common
is possibly the source of all c1Vlllza-
ton, even of language.
AS men grew more intelligent they
began to seek greater warmths and to
seek it under cover. In the frst
houses, which, of course. were chiefly
caves, a place for fire was bullt IN
the middle of them, and this they en-
joyed, in spite of the smoke, for there
were no outlets for smoke save the
hole which served as a door. Even
when men learned to build houses,
the same rude method was continued,
only they made hole in the roof TO
allow the smoke to escape. 1t seems
as if the steps in the development OF
the fireplace were few and far be-
tween.
The Egyptians built excellent houses
and are reputed to have been excep-
tionally particular in their domestic
affairs, but they made their hres on a
hearth in the center of the room OF
used pans in which they burned char-
coal. The method of using fuel among
the Greeks was similar and we must
remember that fire in those days mad
to serve as light as we'll as warmth.
The Romans made great improve
ments in fireplaces, although they, too,
were unable to get rid of the smoke.
An architect of those times suggested
that all rooms in which fires were
burned should be finished in black.
Pompeiian excavations have brought
to light many family hearths of the
Romans The general method was
burning charcoal in a brazier in the
center of a room and allowing the
vapors to escape through the door and
windows. These braziers were made
of iron and bronze, in all sizes and
frequently were quite magnificent in
design and workmanship.
When the Romans landed in Britain
they found the aborgines of the ISL
and living in wigwams or in huts or
loose stones, or in excavated caves.
They had fires in the center OF the
caves, and were simply sitting with
smoke An old Welsh historian de-
scribes fireside picture that is long
way from being filled with beauty
and sentiment as the fireside pictured
of today is. He said: Families live
in a large hut with fire in the CEN
ter which serves to keep them warm
by day and by night. The family lie