" Eventually he became king of Macedonia, and ancestor of Alexander
the Great.]
V.
A CHAPTER ON CHIMNEYS.
61. It appears from the passage in Herodotus, which we alluded to in the
last paper, that there has been a time, even in the most civilized
countries, when the king's palace was entirely unfurnished with anything
having the slightest pretension to the dignity of chimney tops; and the
savory vapors which were wont to rise from the hospitable hearth, at
which the queen or princess prepared the feast with the whitest of
hands, escaped with indecorous facility through a simple hole in the
flat roof. The dignity of smoke, however, is now better understood, and
it is dismissed through Gothic pinnacles, and (as at Burleigh House)
through Tuscan columns, with a most praiseworthy regard to its comfort
and convenience. Let us consider if it is worth the trouble.
62. We advanced a position in the last paper, that silence is never
perfect without motion. That is, unless something which might possibly
produce sound is evident to the eye, the absence of sound is not
surprising to the ear, and, therefore, not impressive. Let it be
observed, for instance, how much the stillness of a summer's evening is
enhanced by the perception of the gliding and majestic motion of some
calm river, strong but still; or of the high and purple clouds; or of
the voiceless leaves, among the opening branches.
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