"
Mr. Croyden rose to stamp out a spark that had snapped from the
fireplace onto the fur rug at his feet.
"Strange, isn't it, how much of our knowledge of the ancient races has
come down to us through their clay work?" he reflected. "What should
we have known of these western civilizations save through their
handiwork? And when we travel across seas it is the same. Much of our
acquaintance with Egyptian, Greek, and Roman life has been handed down
to posterity through tiles and pottery which have served to record
nations' customs and advancement. The march of the invading Roman
armies, for example, can be traced by the fragments of pottery left
behind them. These relics have been found in England, France,
Germany, Italy, and Spain, and prove that very early the Romans made
use of clay utensils for cooking their food. Even beneath the city of
London old Roman furnaces for firing dishes have been discovered; and
moreover, some of the very dishes themselves."
Theo seemed astonished.
"Later the Romans made much beautiful pottery; but it was never as
beautiful as that of the Greeks. Sometime, however, Theo, you should
go to one of our museums and see some Samian ware, the finest of Roman
clay work.
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