f a
gentleman, wax-lights, 5/." Poor men used tallow dips or went to bed in
the dark. It is interesting to note the importance of the candle in the
household budget of early times in various sayings. For example, "The
game is not worth the candle," implies that the cost of candle-light was
not ignored. In these days little attention is given to the cost of
artificial light under similar conditions. If a person "burns a candle
at both ends" he is wasteful and oblivious to the consequences of
extravagance whether in material goods or in human energy.

With the rise of the Christian church, candles came to be used in
religious ceremonies and many of the symbolisms, meanings, and customs
survive to the present time. Some of the finest art of past centuries is
found in the old candlesticks. Many of these antiques, which ofttimes
were gifts to the church, have been preserved to posterity by the
church. The influence of these lighting accessories is often noted in
modern lighting-fixtures, but unfortunately early art often suffers from
adaptation to the requirements of modern light-sources, or the eyesight
suffers from a senseless devotion to art which results in the use of
modern light-sources, unshaded and glaring, in places where it was
unnecessary to shade the feeble candle.

The oldest materials employed for making candles are beeswax and tallow.
The beeswax was bleached before use. The tallow was melted and strained
and then cotton or flax fibers were dipped into it repeatedly, until the
desired thickness was obtained. In early centuries the pith of rushes
was used for wicks. Tallow is now used only as a source of stearine.
Spermaceti, a fatty substance obtained from the sperm-whale, was
introduced into candle-making in about 1750 and great numbers of men
searched the sea to fill the growing demands. Paraffin wax, a mixture of
solid hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum, came into use in 1854 and
stearine is now used with it. The latter increases the rigidity and
decreases the brittleness of the candle. Some of the modern candles are
made of a mixture of stearine and the hard fat extracted from
cocoanut-oil. Modern candles vary in composition, but all are the
product of much experience and of the application of scientific
knowledge. The wicks are now made chiefly of cotton yarn, braided or
plaited by machinery and chemically treated to aid in complete
combustion when the candle is burned. Their structure is the result of