In fact, I would permit no gibes to be cast at either myself or
my chimney; and never again did my visitor refer to it in my
hearing, without coupling some compliment with the mention. It
well deserves a respectful consideration. There it stands,
solitary and alone--not a council--of ten flues, but, like his
sacred majesty of Russia, a unit of an autocrat.

Even to me, its dimensions, at times, seem incredible. It does
not look so big--no, not even in the cellar. By the mere eye, its
magnitude can be but imperfectly comprehended, because only one
side can be received at one time; and said side can only present
twelve feet, linear measure. But then, each other side also is
twelve feet long; and the whole obviously forms a square and
twelve times twelve is one hundred and forty-four. And so, an
adequate conception of the magnitude of this chimney is only to
be got at by a sort of process in the higher mathematics by a
method somewhat akin to those whereby the surprising distances of
fixed stars are computed.

It need hardly be said, that the walls of my house are entirely
free from fireplaces. These all congregate in the middle--in the
one grand central chimney, upon all four sides of which are
hearths--two tiers of hearths--so that when, in the various
chambers, my family and guests are warming themselves of a cold
winter's night, just before retiring, then, though at the time
they may not be thinking so, all their faces mutually look
towards each other, yea, all their feet point to one centre; and,
when they go to sleep in their beds, they all sleep round one
warm chimney, like so many Iroquois Indians, in the woods, round
their one heap of embers. And just as the Indians' fire serves,