The Story of Porcelain | Page 4

and floors
with great bearskins, trophies of his luck.
As his guests entered he hurried forward to put another four-foot log on
the fire, after which he dragged out three steamer-chairs and placed
them before the blaze.
"All the comforts of home, you see," he said gaily.
"More comforts than some of us get at home," smiled Dr. Swift. "There
is nothing to equal this in New York."
For a moment none of them spoke; they were watching the scarlet rise
and fall of the flame.
"What a lot of company a fire is!" mused Dr. Swift.
"I know it," came from Mr. Croyden. "And did you ever think how
easily we can produce it? Within the space of a second we can start a
blaze. A fire was quite another problem for our forefathers who lived
long before matches were invented. Think back to the time when
people rubbed dried sticks together to make a spark; or later when they
were forced to use flint and matchlock. It meant no end of work to
capture that first light, and even then it frequently went out. How
housewives struggled to keep the embers on the hearth always glowing
that a new fire might be built without so much trouble; and how men

carried from place to place coals enough to kindle other fires! When we
strike a match and so quickly get our response of flame we do not half
appreciate how fortunate we are."
"I never thought what it would mean to have no matches," reflected
Theo.
"Man's discovery of the use of fire was one of the first steps in his
civilization," Dr. Swift put in. "It meant that henceforth instead of
eating raw food as did the other animals he could have it cooked. For
man, you must remember, is the only animal who cooks his food."
"And hand in hand with the cooking came the need of dishes in which
to prepare it," rejoined Mr. Croyden. "Meats could, of course, be
broiled over the fire on a forked stick; but no stews or soups could be
had until man invented some utensil which would contain liquid and at
the same time withstand the heat of the blaze. That problem was the
one that confronted all primitive races, and set them to fashioning
pottery. The history of their first attempts is most interesting. Probably
chance led people to the discovery that they could mix clay with water,
and that it would harden in the sun. They may have seen a print of their
own feet immortalized in the sun-baked mud, and caught at the idea of
taking the clay for more useful purposes. Nobody knows where they
got their first inspiration. But every race that has existed has had its
crude receptacles for food and water."
Theo was not sleepy now; he was far too interested to think of sleep.
"Even in the Stone Age, when men lived in caves and great creatures
now extinct roamed the earth, men made bowls, pots, and vases, some
of which are in existence in our museums of to-day," continued Mr.
Croyden. "We have, too, a few specimens of clumsy vessels made from
grayish black clay which are relics of the Lake Dwellers, who
fashioned their houses on piles, and set them in the middle of small
lakes as a protection against wild animals and rival races of savages.
Then followed what is known as the Bronze Age, and we find that the
people of this era also worked with clay. Their designs showed a
decided advance, too, even some simple decoration being attempted."

"All that was in Europe, I suppose," Theo ventured shyly.
"By no means," replied Mr. Croyden. "On the contrary, we have found
in our own hemisphere specimens of this prehistoric pottery. In some
cases baskets of twigs were woven and lined with clay, after which they
were baked in the fire and the twigs burned off. Other pieces were built
up from coils of clay wound round and round, and when partly
hardened these were worked together with a tool in order that the
cracks might be filled. All through the western part of our country have
been found clay relics of various early tribes of Indians; and in some
places are giant mounds in which have been buried all sorts of crude
clay jugs and bowls. Since these primal peoples used for materials the
natural clays and earths they succeeded in producing some excellent
colors, too."
Mr. Croyden paused.
"Was the potter's wheel in use then?" questioned Dr. Swift.
"Probably not. There is no trace of it in this early work. It is not until
the historic age that we have the potter's wheel, the oldest and first
mechanical device mentioned in history. Mexicans, Peruvians,
Egyptians, Greeks, Assyrians,