of sin and ignorance they will discover how to preserve the extra
warmth of the torrid zone and of the hot summers in our own latitudes
to be evenly diffused through colder climes and seasons. Next to sun's
heat is that which comes from visible combustion--the burning of wood
and coal. Such spontaneous, radiant, living warmth differs essentially
from that which we receive by contact with artificially-warmed
substances, somewhat as fruit that has been long gathered differs from
that taken directly from the vine.'"

"Isn't this getting sort of misty, what you might call 'transcendental
like'?"

"Possibly, and this is still more so: 'Warmth is the vital atmosphere
of life, and a living flame imparts to us some of nature's own
mysterious vitality. Hence, the sun's rays and the blaze of burning
fuel give not only a material but a spiritual comfort and cheer, which
mere warm air is powerless to impart. Here is another reason why direct
radiation, even from a black iron pipe, is preferable to a current of
warm air brought from a distance: in a room warmed by such a current
nothing is ever quite so warm as the air itself unless so situated as
to obstruct its flow, but every solid substance near a hot stove or
radiator absorbs the radiated heat and is satisfied, while the air for
respiration remains at a comparatively low temperature.'"

"There may be a little sense in that," said Jack, "but the rest is
several fathoms too deep for me. Has he any practical advice to give?"

"That depends upon what you call practical. 'I have little patience,'
he says, 'with the common objection to direct radiation, that it brings
no fresh air. Fresh air can be had for the asking under a small stove