[Illustration: The fireplace of long ago, made large enough to accommodate most of the kitchen's pots and pans beside the fire] In a book of this kind there is no particular need for dwelling at length on the desirability of having a fireplace. That will be taken for granted. It is enough to say that in these days a home can scarcely be considered worthy of the name if it does not contain at least one hearth. There is some inexplicable quality in a wood fire that exerts almost a hypnotic influence upon those who eagerly gather about it. The smoldering glow of the logs induces a calm and introspective mood that banishes all the trivialities and distractions of the day's work and gives one an…
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