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," replie