The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-01-12
philadelphia Inquirer)

There is probably as much discom-
fort in the world as there ever was;
but there never was period in its
history when so many people were
comfortably housed and fed as now
Steam has revolutionized the poor
mans table. Tea, coffee, spices, fruits
from California and Florida are within
his reach, and for S. he can buy coal
oil stove, by which he can do a maxi
mum of cooking at minimum of cost.
Poor, indeed, is the Northern man
who lives ma house that has no glass
windows; but in the days of Queen
Elizabeth and the Great Charles ".
glass was very sparingly used, even in
the most splendid establishments.
When a family possessing glass case
ments left home they had them taken
out and packed UP, for fear of acci-
dent, and for long period windows
were movable property, like chairs and
tables, But glass was known to the
ancient Egytians, even before the exo-
dus of the Israelites, so some scholars
say Bits of blue glass have been
found in the ruins of Thebes, and glass
utensils unearthed at Herculeaneum.
Weaving is believed to be an older
art than spinning. Rude looms are pic
tured on the tombs at Thebes, and it
Is believed that the 10 curtains of fine
twined linen, blue and purple and
scarlet, with cherubin of cunning
work." made for the tabernacle, were
tapestries, the work of the loom, not
the needle.
The old story of Penelope and her
oftunraveled web is familiar to all:
During the middle ages, while France
and England were becoming nations,
thousands of patient fingers toiled at
tapestries, plcturing the stories of the
Bible in many tinted threads of wool
and silk, for some great cathedral, or
ewaving the deeds of gallant knights
on hangings for castle. Noble Ia
dies worked at these tapestries, and
great artists made designs for them,
and no doubt they shielded many titled
heads from unpleasant drafts. But
tapestries were not for the poor; Meth.
er were the curtains Of embroidered
leather, which the Crusaders brought
patterns of from the East.
Skins of the bear and the wolf prob
ably protected the feet of Queen Eli
zabeth from the cold stone floor of her
bower. 1t Is doubtful II soft rugs from
Smyrna adorned it. Rushes strewed
the floors of her banquet halls and au-
dience chambers. He was a rich man
who could aord fresh rushes every
day.
1t is scarcely $50 years since the
manufacture of carpets began In Eng
land. Harbcring, as 1t does, dust and
disease germs, the carpet may not be
an unmixed good; but it protects the
feet of invalids and aged persons, and
creeping infants, from cold, and SO
must add something to the average
length of human life.
About 200 years ago an ingenious
Frenchman traced pattern with var
nish on cotton cloth, and sitting pow
dered flock Of dierent colors upon 1t
produced pleasing and cheap wall
covering. Not long afterward another
Frenchman invented a machine for
making continuous paper. Hand-print-
ed wall paper was soon made, but wall
paper was not printed by machinery
until 1910.
Paper was invented by the Saracens
some time in the seventh century; but,
like glass and the art of weaving, It
was long time in bringing comfort
and cheer to the poor.
Cotton was manufactured into cloth
In ancient Egypt, and in India before
the dawn of history, and Cortes found
the Mexicans clothed In cotton; but II
was not manufactured In Europe until
800 A. d., when Abderrahman ILL.,, the
greatest Of Moorish Princes, was reign,
ing over the fairest part of Spain.
The name cotton" comes to us from
the Arabic. But cotton was manufac.
tured, indeed, till the invention of the
spinning jenny u769), the carding en-.
gine Q76o). the steam engine (by
Watt, 1859 and the power loom