River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-04-17
King Alf'red's Lantern.

Did you ever try to imagine, when you
were studying the beginnings of English
history, what kind OF people those old
Anglo-Saxons were, and how they lived 7
They were our far off ancestors, and our
language for the most part was made from
theirs; IN fact, we are called Anglo-Sax-
ons ourselves; so we ought to be interest
ed in them.
They were rude people IN many re-
spects, and lived in rude way, compared
with ours. How would you like windows
which had no glass in them-very small
windows, too-but had oil paper and
sheets of horn instead2 OF course the
rooms must have been dark and dismal,
you will say. And what would you
think of houses without chimneys, or
anything zoe should call chinneys2 But
matters were really not much better, even
in Kings houses, about ten hundred years
ago.
The most important room in those days
was called the hall and was large enough
TO accommodate the family, 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 wandering harpers, to
beggars and everybody else.
The fire was built against clay or
stone arrangement, answering for fire.
place, at one end, or on an immense
stone hearth in the middle; and the
smoke, after floating up overhead, found
its way out through an opening or kind
| of turret in the root. At dark they
heaped high the logs and fagots; and
happy was he who on stormy night
could get near the blaze. When supper
| time came, servants stood behind those
at table and held torches over their heads
| till the meal was over; and VIXEN bed
| time 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 Anglo
| Saxons, it is not easy to fad out. We
see in some very old pictures simple
little lamp, shaped perhaps like sau-
Ger, hung by chains at the side of the
room, and holding, no doubt, piece Of
wax or some kind of oil, with strip of
cloth in it for wick. Sometimes, in
the royal chambers, for very long time
after King Alfred's day, light was
kept by means of cake of wax in a
silver basin. They knew how to make
candles, however; but instead of putting
one in a candlestick it was put on it.
The candlestick had point at the top
| called a 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, smong other illustrations OF
old customs, a picture of a candlestick,
which is very queer though very elegant,
It is tall stem rising from three-foot-
ed, three-cornered stand, very much or
namented; it comes to a point at the top
and little way below is 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 no
body had evenseen before in that coun-
try, for he invented it himself, and that
was lantern.
This good King was very busy man
the people around him might be willing
to idle away their days over the fire
listening to the harpers, telling stories
and playing with the hounds, but he felt
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
Sayons ever had.
He used to carry in his bosom "mem-
orandum leaves, in which he made collec-
tions from his studies" and this journal
he was in the habit of examining so
much that she called it his hand. book. "
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, because the houses were so
open that the wind came in from every
quarter. He had noon-m marks, but those
amounted to nothing on rainy days; and
everybody knows what a country England
is for rain.
However, when such man as Alfred
makes up his mind to do thing, be is
almost sure to find way. So he had a
quantity of wax prepared, took enough of
it to weigh down seventy-+wo silver pen.
MES, 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 twenty-four hours;
and he always kept one lighted day and
of saints which he had, and which, being
q very pious man, he carried about with
his luggage wherever he went
He would now have had not only toler-
able light, but very good way of mark
ing the hours, if the candles had always
been sure of burning a given time. But
if the wind blew, the flames would fare,
and perhaps go out; and the King made
up his mind that there could be some
thing done to remedy this-and he did it.
He made framework, and fixed into 1t
little plates or windows Of horn; scraped
so thin that the light could shine through,
set his candle inside, and shut it in-and
the thing was done. He had lantern,
sure in all weathers. A very small affair
it may seem to you, but it was great
one to him.
/ once saw picture of rude Saxon
lantern somewhat like his, perhaps,
though it was probably an improvement
on IL; for no sooner does man invent a
thing, than another finds wav to make
it better. This, in shape, made me think
of bird-csge without the tray or railing.
1t had kind of cupola-llke top. and was
much ornamented; there were bands with
bosses on them. looking like metal,
around the bottom, the middle and next
to the roof; and there was a pretty arcbed
door Altogether, it was very curious,
but rather clumsy and rather dark Ian
tern.-St. Nicholas for December.