s it, seems to awaken in me an
hereditary memory, to recall a life of two centuries ago. I recall the
autumns of trial and of promise in our early history, and the bayberry
fields are peopled with children in Puritan garb, industriously
gathering the tiny waxen fruit. Equally full of sentiment is the scent
of my burning bayberry candles, which were made last autumn in an old
colony town.

The history of whale-fishing in New England is the history of one of the
most fascinating commercial industries the world has ever known. It is a
story with every element of intense interest, showing infinite romance,
adventure, skill, courage, and fortitude. It brought vast wealth to the
communities that carried on the fishing, and great independence and
comfort to the families of the whalers. To the whalemen themselves it
brought incredible hardships and dangers, yet they loved the life with
a love which is strange to view and hard to understand. In the oil made
from these "royal fish" the colonists found a vast and cheap supply for
their metal and glass lamps; while the toothed whales had stored in
their blunt heads a valuable material which was at once used for making
candles; it is termed, in the most ancient reference I have found to it
in New England records, Sperma-Coeti.

It was asserted that one of these spermaceti candles gave out more light
than three tallow candles, and had four times as big a flame. Soon their
manufacture and sale amounted to large numbers, and materially improved
domestic illumination.

All candles, whatever their material, were carefully used by the
economical colonists to the last bit by a little wire frame of pins and
rings called a save-all. Candle-sticks of various metals and shapes were
found in every house; and often sconces, which were also called
candle-arms, or prongs. Candle-beams were rude chandeliers, a metal or
wooden hoop with candle-holders. Snuffers were always seen, with which
to trim the candles, and snuffers trays. These were sometimes
exceedingly richly ornamented, and were often of silver: extinguishers
often accompanied the snuffers.

Though lamps occasionally appear on early inventories and lists of
sales, and though there was plenty of whale and fish oil to burn, lamps
were not extensively used in America for many years. "Betty-lamps,"
shaped much like antique Roman lamps, were the earliest form. They were
small, shallow receptacles, two or three inches in diameter and about