Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-04-20
LIGHT or H A
h Tallow Candles of Our Fathers.
Candles Nodded and 'Dipped.'
mi -. =. .IA.-1I. r. as

"Who II il coming tor
She gives the candle a light shake and
the letter drops next 10 Katy.
''Tllcrc's a shroud in the candle to-
night, Ellen"
''Oh, don't say so. Yes; it is there
sure enoughl Poor Jim!'
..Thcrc will be divine worship next
Sabbath evening in the school honse at
-Four Corners, Dec volente, ut early
~candlclight.'
The above literature belongs 10 an age
that !, past, hut the old boys and girls
Of today can easily recall the dialogue
and announcement as part of the house.
hold conversation of thirty or forty years
ago. when the candle was not only the
light Of the family but lis oracle rs well.
This was before the age Of petroleum and
in the infancy uf gas when ''huughten''
candles of L..llw or sperm were used for
company, and the talow dip was the
every day luminary.
Candle making was one of the indus
trial branches of housekeeping in those
DAYS. A cake of tallpw. made from fat
rendered in the house, and Il hall of wick
iug. purchased ut the general dry goods
store, furnished capital for the invest
ment. Then a SIT Of molas, bought of a
tin pedller-snch rs Jim Fisk used TO sell
from his wagon-and the work began.
The young,tcrSo of the family were usually
chosen for this. They liked il. IL was
easier than Clurning. and they had con-
siderable pride in pulling handsome cam
dies. and there Vas just enough peCil in
the undertaking to make il Interesting.
II the tallow was not Just right, ur the
mods not prepared well, or the candles
not properly cooled, they ''acted." Some
times, indeed, they seemed Possessed.
This was when the six long wickS pulled
out. leaving the uallow in the molds 10
be melted out aud run over again. But
if all went right. and six elegant candles
were pulled. there was joy in the house
hold. The nearer they came To the
.'loughtcu' article in appearance and
worth. the prouder the domestic candle
maker.
There was also n test in the burning.
Thcy muEt not ''sputter' nor gutter. F"
A certain amount of beeswax would pre-
vcut this. They must not burn ~cxtrava-
ganrly or to one side, nor he greasy TO the
touch. And they must have presCrva-
tive qualities AMI keep well. There
was economy in those days in burning
candles. which extended To the way in
which they were snutIel. \ family of
any prctrnsiunS always had several SETS
of snulfgTs. A silver tray and shutters
was usually an heirloom. \ brass set,
kept in n high state Of polish, was used
in the parlor every night. the silver ones
being kept sacred To company. Usually
n ~riciiuty snuiTcr without any tray did
duty in the kitchen. In many homes the
fingers did all the snuiiing. They became
50 hardened 10 il that no matter how hot
a pinch they took, there was no Gld ef-
feet.
We can afford now To- smile at The
economy Of light in those days, when we
had TO light one candle tosuc il the other
was burning. Two candles meant COM
pany. three u crowd. six an illumination.
All the corners Of the room were. in
shadows in those good old days. when
spooks and goblins were within easy
reach. After all there was the glow of
the fireplace. with its iitful shadows.
We have lost that with the lesser light.
The odds and ends of candles were set
up to burn on the altar of the kitchen,
and on Saturday nights to light the bird
hand or the bound boy 10 bed. Other
nights they went to bel in the dark.
The tlllow dip was an attenuated OBJ
feet that tormcntcd the family like a
poor relation. 4 lot of wiCks were strung
together on a rod, the tallow was melted
and served in a tub Of water. Into this
the wicks were dipped every little while,
then hung across the tub tall they cooled
sufficiently 10 receive another dip.
When finished they look like the sl,clc-
tons Of candles eaten 10y rats, they
ilarcl aud gathered and male horrible
shadows, but were accepted rs light.
Lessons in candle department were
given in those DAYS. Ii may seem an
easy thing tD snuff a candle; 81 it is-to
smut il out. But tn smut it gracefully
and easily. using only one hand, and not
uhNcuriug thu light a moment, l. work
Of art. Blowing the candle nut was also
deprecated 10y the old timrrs. 1t was
either -nuiTcd out or cNlinglishcd by n
metal night cap, which is usually fast 10
the handle If the bedroom Clndlestick.
The ease with which a candle went out
when a door was opened or a draught
struck il was almost phenomenal. And
it WINS equally hard to relight it. Do you
remember taking up n coal in the tongs
and blowing until you rcscmhIel n hcay-
enly chcrub trying 90 coax the smoking
wick back 10 n blaze: Il was a COMMON