FIRE-GRATES 375 



-was usually imposed upon the chimney sweep's boy, until it was 

 prohibited by legislation, but modern fires have flues of such 

 small size as not to admit the most diminutive boy. 



When huge fires were customary, they warmed the huge 

 ilues above them, and down-draughts were prevented ; but 

 when the same huge flues were warmed only by a basketful 

 of coal, there was no longer the same upward draught, and 

 the fires began to smoke. To remedy this, new fireplaces were 

 made rather smaller, and the flues were slightly contracted ; 

 but the remedy was not effectual, and the next step, taken 

 towards the end of the eighteenth century, was to fill up the 

 large opening, and thereby restrict the access of air to the space 

 occupied by the fire, and thus came into being the first of our 

 modern fire-grates, which carry no suggestion with them of 

 the ancient open fire on the hearth. This form of grate was 

 an improvement, but it was wasteful and inefficient, and was 

 at length superseded by the numerous modern contrivances 

 which minimise the consumption of fuel, and direct more of 

 the heat into the room and less up the flue. It would be 

 rash to say that they have done away with smoky chimneys, 

 but at any rate they have made them the exception rather 

 than the rule. 



The inventories of Francis Hawes are interesting in other 

 ways than in marking the change from the ancient wood fires to 

 the modern coal fires : they tell us of the manner in which his 

 rooms were adorned and furnished. It would be outside the 

 scope of the present inquiry to enter into these details at any 

 length, but a few of the words thus spoken direct from the past 

 may be worth listening to. The parlours of the London house 

 were apparently panelled or otherwise decorated with some 

 fixed material, since no mention is made of hangings. They 

 had chimney-glasses, sconces of brass or glass, and curtains to 

 the windows : of furniture one had two card-tables, ten red 

 Turkey-leather chairs, a leather screen, sixteen pictures, and a 

 painted cloth for the floor not a very elaborate furnishing. 

 The other parlour had a pier glass and marble slab, a scrutoire, 

 six cane chairs, two Dutch chairs, a leather dressing-chair, two 

 tables, a small nest of drawers, eight pictures, and a small carpet. 

 The effect must have been rather bare according to modern 

 standards, but these have gone to the other extreme, with the 

 result that many rooms are now overcrowded with furniture. 



