HEATING AND LIGHTING UTENSILS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM 41 



recorders of the fleeting hours. It is told that Alfred, feeling the 

 great need for a more accurate division of the day into the three 

 periods which he had allotted for his regimen, namely, eight hours 

 for prayer, eight hours for sleep, and eight hours for work, devised a 

 time candle. It is necessary to read into the legend at this point 

 that Alfred by experiment found the amount of wax or tallow which, 

 when made into a candle, would burn a certain time. It is told also 

 that in order to preserve his candles from draft Alfred surrounded 

 them with transparent horn, and it is gathered from this that he was 

 the inventor of the lantern. The time candle figured in Plate 15, Fig- 

 ure 2, was made in London about 1890. They were sold as curiosities. 

 (Cat. No. 152594, England; Edward Lovett; 11.4 inches (29 cm.) 

 long.) The custom of auction by candle is recorded in numerous 

 instances in England. In deference to the language of ancient con- 

 veyances some tracts of land are periodically sold in this manner to 

 this day. 



SNOFFEKS, SNUFFEB THAYS, AND EXTINGUISHERS 



It may well be surmised that the first snuffer was the index finger 

 and thumb dextrously manipulated. It also seems true that snuffers 

 were, for the above reason, not in considerable demand during the 

 early periods of the candle. Old English snuffers were crude, con- 

 sisting of two short rods of hand-forged iron expanded a bit at one 

 end to form opposing faces, coming to a sharp point at the distal 

 end, and pivoted like the rush clip. The elaborate and artistic 

 specimens coming at the height of the candle as an illuminant form 

 a vivid contrast to these. At this period luxury required a separate 

 tray for the snuffers, or a candlestick with tray and a divided stem 

 through which the snuffers could be thrust. The candlestick might 

 also have a hole in the handle in which the arm of the extinguisher 

 was to be stuck. Separate trays varied from inexpensive to costly. A 

 familiar variety to former generations was of sheet iron lacquered 

 and painted with floral designs. (PI. 37, figs, 1, 3, Cat. No. 311870, 

 Pennsylvania and the Colonies; Elizabeth S. Stevens; 10.3 inches 

 (26 cm.) long.) Toward the other extreme is a Sheffield plate tray 

 with ornamental border of silver. (PI. 37, fig. 7, Cat. No. 303804, 

 England ; Isobel Lenman ; 9.4 inches (24 cm.) by 4.3 inches (11 cm.) .) 

 A spoon-shape cast-brass tray with three ball feet and handle with a 

 ring expresses the ideas of a Dutch artist designer. (PI. 37, fig. 8, 

 Cat. No. 168319; S. B. Dean; 10 inches (25.5 cm.) long.) Another, 

 of cast brass, is bilobed and has four ball feet and a handle loop like 

 that of the candle dish. (PI. 37, fig. 12, Cat. No. 311504, England; 

 Elizabeth S. Stevens; 7.7 inches (19.5 cm.) long.) An attractive 

 brass candlestick with divided stem and tray for the snuffers is shown 



