Insurance of houses and goods against fire began in London in 1667, the year after the Great Fire, in which the citizens had so terrible an experience of the character of the all-devouring element. The business has now attained gigantic proportions, the insurance companies of our own day being as a rule very wealthy and profitable concerns. The rates charged for insurance are calculated at so much per cent.—or so much for every hundred pounds—of the sum insured. They vary in amount according to the nature of the risk. If there is little danger under ordinary circumstances—as in a dwelling-house—of the property being destroyed by fire, the sum to be paid is low; if, on the other hand, the danger is considerable—as in a sugar refinery—the charge is high. Risks may be divided into three classes—common, hazardous, and doubly hazardous. Common insurances are charged 1s. 6d. to 2s. per cent. per annum, with certain exceptions; hazardous insurances are charged 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per cent. per annum, with certain exceptions; and doubly hazardous insurances are charged 4s. 6d. to 5s. per cent. per annum, with certain exceptions; and in the case of the exceptions the rate may run to 10s., 15s., or even more per cent. In describing the property to be insured, you must be careful to tell the whole truth about it, so that the company may know what risk they are running in insuring it. Suppose, too, after the insurance has been effected the risk should become greater—say by the erection of a stove—you must not fail to keep yourself safe by communicating with the company. There are some kinds of property, such as ready money, books of accounts (their value as documents), bank-notes, stamps, bills, bonds, and other written securities, which insurance companies will not undertake to insure on any terms. Insurance premiums are usually paid once a year at one or other of the four quarter-days. Fifteen _days of grace_ are allowed after the expiry of annual policies, and if the premium is not paid before the end of these fifteen days, the insurance company holds itself free from all risk. All policies, however, are not annual ones. You may insure for any length of time. No days of grace are allowed on “short-time policies”—that is, on policies for less than twelve months. If one has any property to speak of, it is always well to insure, for accidents will happen. Perhaps, after paying for many years without a disaster, one may be inclined to lament having insured at all, and wish that all the money paid in premiums were in her own pocket; but this is not the right way of looking at it. The money sunk in premiums is well spent in buying ease of mind. A person insured can sleep in comfort, knowing that if fire should overtake her property she will recover full value; whilst one uninsured may pass many sleepless hours thinking, If I am burned out, what will become of me?