“Yes,” said her father; “doors are very often shut violently by the wind; and this would doubtless often happen to windows, if they were hung in a similar manner.”
“Once I saw a house,” said Lucy, “where the window was broken, and the people had put a piece of board in the place of the glass.”
“Yes,” said her father, “perhaps they had no more glass. But there is another reason why windows shouldn’t open like doors. Can you think what it is?”
“No,” said Lucy, “I can’t think.”
“If windows opened upon hinges, like doors, they must either open outward into the open air, or inward towards the room. If they were made to open outward, then, when they were wide open, they would swing back against the side of the house, and it would be very inconvenient to reach them to shut them.”
“We could go out of doors,” said Lucy.
“Yes,” replied her father, “but that would be very inconvenient, especially if there came up a sudden shower of rain, and we wished to shut the windows quick.
“But, on the other hand,” continued her father, “if the windows were made to open inwards, then they would be apt to knock the things over on the table. We often have a table before a window, but we never have a table before a door; for it would be in the way when we wanted to pass in and out. So you see the reasons, why it is better that windows should be made to slide up and down, and doors to open upon hinges.”
“But, father,” said Lucy, “why couldn’t doors be made to slide up and down like windows?”
“Think of it yourself,” said her father, “and see if you can think of any difficulty.”