’ FINIS CORONAT OPUS. 175

in a pile, one upon another, and placed my fire-wood all round it,
with a great heap of embers under them. I plied the fire with
fresh fuel round the outside and upon the top till I saw the pots
in the inside red hot quite through, and observed that they did
not crack at all. When I saw them clear red, I let them stand
in that heat about five or six hours, till I found one of them,
though it did not crack, did melt or run; for the sand which was
mixed with the clay melted by the violence of the heat, and would
have run into glass if I had gone on, so I slacked my fire gradually,
till the pots began to abate of the red colour; and watching them

 

f.

nix,

“ PLIED THE FIRE WITH FRESH FUEL.

all night that I might not let the fire abate too fast, in the morn-
ing I had three very good—I will not say handsome —pipkins
and two other earthen pots as hard burned as could be desired,
and one of them perfectly glazed with the running of the sand.

After this experiment I need not say that I wanted no sort of
earthenware for my use; but I must needs say, as to the shapes
of them, they were very indifferent, as any one may suppose,
when I had no way of making them but as the children make
dirt-pies, or as a woman would make pies that never learned to
raise paste

No joy at a thing of so mean a nature was ever equal to mine
when I found I had made an earthen pot that would bear the fire ;
and I had hardly patience to stay till they were cold before I set
one upon the fire again with some water in it to boil me some
meat, which it did admirably well. And with a piece of a kid ]

made some very good broth, though I wanted oatmeal, and
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