to set them on fire; and if there
had been, they would not burn, because they are made of iron.

_Mother._ You are partly right, my dear, and partly wrong. They would
not burn, because there was not heat enough in the fire to burn them.
But there are very few things, and in fact it may be doubted whether
there is anything, which will not burn, when sufficient heat is applied.
But let us return to the fire: you say the heat does not come from the
windows nor from the chimney, and you say, also, that the wood and the
coal are both cold. Now, where can the heat come from?

_Daughter._ I am sure I cannot tell, mother; will you please to tell me?

_Mother._ You recollect that I told you that the rubbing of the match on
the sand-paper produces a little heat, which caused the match to burn.
The match was then applied to the shavings, and, as it was burning, gave
out heat enough to set the shavings on fire; the shavings produced heat
enough to set the pine wood, or kindling, on fire, and then the pine
wood, or kindling, produced more heat, and set the wood and coal on
fire. Now, there was nothing to produce the heat but the match, the
shavings, the wood and the coal; and _the heat must have been in them_.
The fire only served to set it free, and let it come out of the match,
the wood, and the coal.

_Daughter._ But, mother, how did the heat get into the wood and coal?

_Mother._ It is not known, my dear, how the heat _got into_ the wood and
coal, any more than how the fruit gets on to a tree. We say that it
grows on the tree; but what growing is, and how it is caused, are among
the secrets of God.

_Daughter._ If the heat is in the wood and the coal, mother, why do we
not feel it in them? They both feel cold. I cannot perceive any heat in
them.

_Mother._ The heat is in the wood and the coal, although you do not see
it. Do you see any smoke in the wood and the coal, my dear?

_Daughter._ No, mother, I do not.

_Mother._ Did you never see a stick of wood fall on the hearth from the
kitchen fire, and see the smoke coming from it?

[Illustration]

_Daughter._ O yes, mother, very often; and the smoke goes all over the
room, and into my eyes, and makes the tears come into my eyes.

_Mother._ And can you see the smoke in the wood before the wood is put
on the fire?

_Daughter._ No, mother, I am sure I cannot.

_Mother._ But you are sure that the smoke comes from the wood, are you
not?

_Daughter._ O yes, mother; I