worthy of the name, and it may still be seen in
our nurseries. But what has the fender in our
sitting-rooms dwindled down to? It has got
annually lower and lower, till now it is as nearly
as may be flat and level with the hearth, a mere
receptacle for the fire-irons and a sort of finish
to the general effect of the stove-setting. A
lady's dress sweeps over it and into the fire as
easily as if there was nothing there at all. The
thing happened only a short time since, as a
lady was standing talking to an invalid who lay
on a sofa drawn round to the fire.

Is there no way of getting back the old
fender? or if the laws of fashion forbid this,
why not have a guard perpetually over the fire?
It need not be like the present fire-guard, which
has an uncomfortable look, and has to be
removed whenever the fire is poked. Four or five
brass bars descending in a curve from the top of
the grate-arch to the hearth would serve every
purpose of fencing in the fire, and would neither
be unsightly nor inconvenient. They would be
so far apart that not only could the fire be poked
between them, but the coal-scoop full of coals
could be introduced without the removal of the
guard.

But we have not done yet with the first clause
of our precautionary measures against fire; there
is yet another mode of fencing the dangerous
element about, which might with propriety be
made use of. Why should bedroom candles be
used without a glass chimney over them? There
is every reason why such a protection should
always be placed about them. Independently of
the tendency to "flare," which all good housewives
deplore in bedroom candles, and which a
glass shade would entirely do away with, the
candlestick which has such a shade looks
infinitely prettier than one without it, while the
increased safety which such a guard would give
cannot be doubted. It is possible that both the
accidents quoted above, might have been
prevented had the candles used by those two
unfortunate ladies been furnished with glasses.

We now come to the second kind of
precautionary measure to be used against fire, that
of rendering the objects most likely to come in
contact with it as far as maybe insensible to its
influence. It is time that public attention should
be especially directed to this section of our
subject. It is now established on excellent
authority that it is perfectly possible, and, what is
more, perfectly easy, to render all those light
fabrics, from which, the most danger is to be
apprehended in connexion with fire, if not entirely
incombustible, at any rate uninflammable. In
other words, it is an established fact that there
are certain chemical applications to whose
influence these fabrics may be subjected which so
far alter their condition that, though they may
smoulder away when brought in contact with the
iire, they will never burst into a flame. A dress
so prepared may be partially or wholly destroyed
by fire without the wearer's safety being
compromised. Much very valuable evidence has
been already elicited on this subject, and more
would undoubtedly be forthcoming if a due and

proper amount of inquiry were given to it.
Speaking on this question, on the occasion of an
inquest held in the course of the present year,
Dr. Gull, of Brook-street, Grosvenor-square,
said, "That he wished to say one word with
respect to the getting up of these light dresses. If
the laundress, in preparing these dresses, would
put a small portion of sulphate of salt, or
sulphate of soda into the starch, it would render
them perfectly incombustible, at the cost of
about one-tenth of a farthing per dress ....
He had seen the experiment tried on two pieces
of linen, one prepared with the sulphate, and
the other not. The piece that was prepared
with the sulphate was held over a candle, and
the flame had no effect at all upon it, the other
when held over it was consumed."

Dr. Odling, of Guy's Hospital, treating of this
same subject, says: "The various means
proposed for rendering textile fabrics non-inflammable
were carefully investigated a short time
back by two well-known chemists, Messrs. Verdmann
and Oppenheim. An account of their
experiments was read at the Aberdeen Meeting of
the British Association in 1859, and was
afterwards published in the Journal of the Society of
Arts, and in a separate form by Trubner and
Co., of Paternoster-row. They showed that
linen and cotton goods dried after immersion in
a solution of one or other of several salts
possessed the property of non-inflammability, and
that the best results were obtained with a solution
of sulphate of ammonia, or of tungstate of
soda, neither of which liquids produced any
injurious effect upon the tissue or colours of the
fabric. The tungstate of soda solution was found
most applicable to laundry purposes on account
of its not interfering in any way with the process
of ironing. Muslins, &c.," Dr. Odling continues,
"steeped in a seven per cent solution of sulphate
of ammonia, or a twenty per cent solution of
tungstate of soda, and then dried, may be held in.
the flame of a candle or gas-lamp without taking
fire. That portion of the stuff in contact with
the light becomes charred and destroyed, but it
does not inflame, and consequently the burning
state does not spread to the rest of the material."

Still more recently, we read in the Times of
November 21, in the present year:

"A French chemist has just discovered the
mode of rendering muslin, lace, and all kinds of
light stuff incombustible. Neither does he make
any secret of his discovery. It is merely necessary
to mix with the starch used in making them up
half of its weight of carbonate of lime, commonly
called Spanish chalk or Spanish white. The
muslin or other stuff is then ironed as usual.
The chalk thus added in no respect injures either
the appearance, the quality, or the whiteness of
the stuff."

Nothing can be more simple or more straightforward
than these statements. They are easy
to understand, easy to confute if they will not
bear any amount of practical trial.

Christmas-time is at hand, we say once more,
and cold as that season of the year generally is,
it is yet a great time for muslins, lace, and all