Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-04
King Alfred's Lantern.

Did you ever try to imagine, When
Won we're studying the beginnings oil
English history, what Kind of people
those old Anglo-Saxons we're, and how
they lived? They were our far-of an
eestors. and our language for the most
part was made from theirs; in fact, we
are called Anglo Saxons ourselves; &c
we ought 10 be interested in them.
They were a rude people in many re-
spects and lived in u rude way, com.
pared with ours. How would you like
windows which had no glass in them, -
very small windows, too.-but had oil
or paper or sheets Of horn instead
OF course the rooms must have been
dAek and dismal, you will say. And
what would you think OF houses with
out chimneys. or anything srs should
call chimneys? But matters were real.
ly not much better, even in kings
Lpuses. about ten hundred years ago.
The most important room in those
days was called the hall; and it was
large enough TO accommodate the fami-
ly, the great company Of servants, and
all the guests who chose TO come. They
ate there, sat there, and most of them
slept there, on rough benches, or rolled
up in skins on the floor. 1t was open
to every chance traveller, to the wand
ering harpers, to beggars, and every
body else.
The fire was built against clay or
stone arrangement, answering for q
fire place, at one end, or on an immense
stone hearth in the middle; and the
smoke, after floating up overhead,
fouLd its way out through an opening
or a kind of turret in the roof. At
dark they heaped high the logs and fag-
OTIS; and happy was he who on stormy
night could get near the blaze. When
supper-time came, servants stood be-
hind those at table and held torches
over their heads till the meal was over;
and when bedtime came, the guests
who had any other place than the hall
to sleep in were lighted to it in the same
way.
AS for the king, he was more priv
lodged than that; though just what
they first used for lights, and just when
lamps became common among the An
glo-Saxons, it is not easy to find out.
We see in some very old pictures SIM
pie little lamp, shaped perhaps like a
saucer, hung by chains at the side of
the room, and holding, no doubt, a
piece of wax or some kind of oil, with
strip of cloth in it for wick. Some
times, in the royal chambers, for very
long time after King Alfred's day, a
light was kept by means of cake of
wax in silver basin.
They knew how to make candles, how
ever; but instead of putting one in a
candlestick. it was put on it, The can.
dlestick had point at the top, called
spike, and the candle was made hollow
at the bottom, and slipped down over
the spike; one so fixed was known as
''pricket."
There is, among some illustrations of
old customs, picture Of candlestick,
which is very queer though very ele-
giant, and looks like little piece of fur
niture. 1t is a tall stem rising from a
three-footed, three-cornered stand, very
much ornamented; it comes to point
at the top, and little way below is a
plate to hold the tallow or wax that
might run down. We do not know
that King Alfred had anything like
this; but he had what nobody had ever
seen before in that country, for he in
vented it himself, and that was Ian
tern.
This good king was very busy man !;
the people around him might be will
ling to idle away their days over the
fire, listening to the harpers, telling
stories, and playing with the hounds,
but he felt that he had great work to
do. He wanted to make his subjects
more civilized, to teach them useful
arts, and he had not an hour to waste.
He built towns, he built ships; he read,
and studied, and wrote,-and that was
wonderful, indeed, in those days when
there were but few books, and when
even princes could not write their
own names. He was the best, the
wisest, and the most learned king that
the Saxons had ever had.
He used to carry in his bosom "mem-
orandum leaves, in which he made col
lections from his Studies" and this
journal he was in the habit of examin-
ing so much that che called it his hand
booh." And, perhaps, that is where
the word "hand-book" came from.
Of course, he read far into the night,
but he soon found two troubles, -there
was no way to mark the time. for there
were no clocks nor watches then, and
he could not keep steady light, be-
cause the houses were so open that the
wind came in from every quarter. He
had noon marks, but those amounted
to nothing on rainy days; and every
body knows what a county England is
for rain.
However, when such a man as Alfred
makes up his mind to do thing, he is
almost sure to find way. So he had q
quantity of wax prepared, took enough
of it to weigh down seventy.two silver
pennies, and of it had six candles
made, all weighing the same, and each
twelve inches long, and marked off
into twelve divisions. He planned so
nicely that these six would burn twen-
ty-four hours; and he always kept one
lighted day and night before some holy
relics and images Of saints which he
had, and which, being very pious
man. he carried about with his luggage
wherever he went.
He would now have had not only toll