Evening star., 1944-12-05
This and That
Bv Charles E. TraceiDeU.
IN STREET.

IN STREET.
Dear Sir:
I'm the old days our fireplace was
more of a morale builder than any
thing else, but in the last few years we
have really used our fireplace, and find
that 1t still possesses its power to cheer
and comfort as well as give heat. I
imagine thousands of Washingtonians
have found this out, too, as the fuel
shortage hit them.
II have always liked our fireplace but
I must confess that many seasons did
not have 1t lit more than a few times,
just when company would come in, and
the like; it was always such nuisance
And then our chimney smoked just
little bit, too. 1t still does, but we
rather like to smell it. No clouds of
smoke in the room, you understand,
but just little fragrance.
Il have always read about the cheer
and pleasure of a fireside. AS I recall,
you have written about it from time
to time. have never realized just what
this means until took to keeping
consistent fire going, to take off the
chill of an under-heated house.
"All the Christmas cards used to
smoke coming out of the chimney.
Maybe running the fireplace more, in
thousands of homes, will make this and
all our other dreams come true
Thanking you for your richly under
standing articles I am,
very truly yours, H. c. D."
The Washington fireplace has always
been an institution.
Now that conditions require its more
constant use, no doubt greater appre-
citation of it will come into force.
A fireplace, even the most elaborate
one, is real antique.
1t goes back to the beginnings of
time, as mankind knows time. 1t was
one of our first great inventions. The
wonder of it is no less today than
ever, if we stop to think about it, which
we seldom do.
Surely it is a wonder and no less, to
have raging forest fire controlled and
harmless on the hearth.
No less a wonder, indeed, than to
have river in our house, and we should
never forget it. 1t is good to remind
ourselves of our everyday miracles,
lest they lose something, and especially
lest We lose our capacity for wonder
We have never been in bathroom
without appreciating, if only for Sec
ond, the wonder of it all. Plumbers are
not just workmen, to us, but mighty
men of vision and achievement. How
godlike they seem, in our hour of need,
knocking and banging away We know,
as every one knows, that one must be
real magician to manhandle such
pipes and put them in their places.
Something of this same feeling holds
true of the fireplace, even though it is
one OF the most modern fireplaces, re-
plete with gadgets. Elementaly it is
much the same sort of thing as that
simple hearth around which Og and his
family huddled SO long ago.
Og knew nothing of automobiles and
airplanes, but he and his animal skin
clad family appreciated the warmth of
the controlled fire quite as much as
any one could
The wonder of the fireplace is that
it doesn't burn the house down. Leap
ing flames but few feet from fragile
cloth and paper and wood and other
combustibles. Yet, with a little caution.
the fire is harmless. 1t is good idea
to be sure no other opening in the
house Is open at the time the fire is
going. A chimney with a good draught
Is marvellously responsive to any open
window or door in the house. We re-
mind our correspondent of this fact.
with the hope that by checking up on
other openings he may prevent a back
draught, and thus end smoke in his liv-
ing room. With sensitive chimney,
window open no more than an inch in
some other part of the house can
cause an otherwise model fireplace to
smoke in the room. Surely we need the
sense OF wonder and appreciation more
today than ever; there Is so much of
the other sort of thing on view the
world around.