Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-04-17
King Alfred's Lantern,

"SAo o'"u yAnS Cno UoS1AnluSS Ol EnSlSQ
history, what kind OF people those old
Anglo-saxons were, and how they lived 2
They were our far-oft 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 s0e should call chimneys9 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 al! 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 a 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 wien bed
time came, the guests who had any
ether 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 find 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
silver basin. They knew how to make
candles, however; but instead of putting
one in candlestick it was put on it.
The candlestick had point at the top
called spike, and the candle was made
hollow at the bottom and slipped down
over the spike; one 80 fixed was known
IS "pricket."
There is, emong other illustrations of
old customs, picture of candlestick,
which is very queer though very elegant,
and looks like little piece of furniture.
1t is 9 tall stem rising from three foot
ed, three-cornered stand, very much Or
namented; it comes to point at the top,
and alittle 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 WHIST no.
body had evtr seen 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
Saxons ever had.
He used to carry in his bosom ''mem-
orandum leaves, in which he made collec.
tons from his studies" and this journal
be was in the habit of examining so
much that she called it his hama. 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 wav 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-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 bis mind to do thing, he is
almost sure to find way. So he had q
quantity of wax prepared, took enough of
1t 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
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 toler-
able light, but very good way of mark
ing the hours, if the candles had always
been sure of burning 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 i.
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 a great
| one to him.
onco saw picture of rude Saxon
lantern somewhat like his, perhaps,
though it was probably an improvement
on it for no sooner does man invent q
thing than another finds way to make
it better. This, in shape, made me think
of a bird-cagc without the tray or railing.
It had kind of cupola-l1ke 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 pretty arcbed
door. Altogether, it was very curious,
but rather clumsy and rather dark Ian
| tern.-St. Nicholas for December.
Watermelons may loom up in the near
future as an important American product.
It is said that experiments in California
have shown thst sugar can be extracted
from the melons at cost of two cents