AXUIEST MODES OP iLLUMiXATiox.] UNDULATORY FORCES. LIGHT. 



87 



for purposes of illumiuation ; aud, according to Fos- 

 brooke, the candles were not made by regular crafts- 

 men, but by the monks, and the servants of the nobility. 

 An illustration of this is to be found in Asser's Annals, 

 where an account is given of the manner in which King 

 Alfred directed his candles to be formed. "He com- 

 manded his chaplain to supply wax in sufficient quan- 

 tity ; and he caused it to be weighed in such a manner, 

 that when there was so much of it as would equal the 

 weight of seventy-two pence, he caused the chaplain to 

 make six caudles thereof, each of equal length, so that 

 each candle might have twelve divisions marked across 

 it." These caudles, when burnt in succession, lasted 

 for twenty-four hours, and each division indicated the 

 third of an hour. 



Up to that time, the use of candles was chiefly confined 

 to the churches, the monasteries, and the houses of the 

 nubility ; but iu the 15th century the employment 

 of caudles had become very general ; and the trade of 

 making them had acquired so much importance, that 

 the chandlers of London had obtained an act of incor- 

 poration. The candles of those days were all made by 

 dipping the wick into the melted wax or tallow ; but in 

 the 18th century, the Sieur de Brez of Paris invented 

 the plan which is now practised, of casting them in 

 metal mould i ; and, later still, the wax candles were made 

 by rolling the wax around the wick. All subsequent 

 ' ivements in the manufacture of candles have re- 

 sulted from the very elaborate investigations of Chevreul 

 into the composition of fata ; indeed, most of his results 

 have been made the basis of the several patents of 

 modern time; as, for example, those of Bolts, Fremy, 

 De Milly, Gwynne, Wilson, and others. 



Lamps are also contrivances of very ancient date. 

 They are frequently mentioned in the sacred writings ; 

 and there can be no doubt that they were much better 

 known and more generally used than candle*. Clemens 

 Alexandrinus, and Eusebius, ascribe their invention to 

 the Egyptians ; but it is rather a singular fact that they 

 were not well known in Greece during the time of Homer 

 at least, he has not referred to them. In his story of 

 Penelope, he says, as most classical scholar* will re- 

 member, that the suitors of Penelope paid homage 

 to her with torches aud odoriferous wood hud in a 

 brazier. Lamps, however, were common enough in 

 Rome during the early period of her history. Pliny 

 frequently refers to them, aud even describes the oil and 

 the wicks that were burnt in them. The cities of II 

 culaneum and Pompeii have furnished us with excellent 

 examples of both the form and the material of ancient 

 lamps. It would appear that at first they were made of 

 baked clay (terra-cotta), and that the design was simple 

 in the extreme an oval or elongated vessel, having a 

 lip at one end for the wick ; but in process of time, as 

 the habits of the Romans became more luxurious aud 

 expensive, the material was changed for gold, silver, or 

 Corinthian brass, and the design became more com- 

 plicated. These lamps were either suspended from the 

 ceiling or arranged in rows on a stand or candelabrum, 

 the designs of some of which are exceedingly beautiful. 

 The light which they furnished must have been dim and 

 unsteady, for the construction of the lamp was always 

 the same namely, a solid wick immersed in a vegetable 

 oil. Pliny says that the inhabitants of Sicily burned a 

 kinl of bitumen, resembling an unctuous or oily liquor; 

 and that they collected it from the surface of a spring iu 

 the territory of Agrigentum. In other cases the oil 

 which they used was of vegetable origin : it was extracted 

 from the fruits of castor or olive ; and, in more recent 

 times, animal fats were employed. This was the con- 

 dition of things until a very modern period, when M. 

 Argand, of Geneva, effected a complete change in the art 

 of illumination. Every one is acquainted with the 

 lamp that bears his name ; the principle of which is, that 

 tlio oil burns at a high temperature, with a plentiful 

 Hiipply of atmospheric air. This is accomplished by 

 HUMUS of a hollow cylindrical wick, and a glass chimney 

 which surrounds the flame. Few improvements of :iny 

 practical importance have boon made on this principle, 



notwithstanding that many contrivances have been 

 originated, and various combustible liquids resorted to. 



The history of street-lighting furnishes many examples 

 of the slow progress with which the art of domestic 

 illumination has advanced. At first, the only lights in 

 the public highways were those of the cautious citizen, 

 who deemed it prudent to make his nocturnal visits 

 under the protection of a link, a flambeau, or a lantern. 

 We are told that the streets of Rome, even in her 

 palmiest days, rarely exhibited more than one or two 

 lanterns, which were suspended over the baths and other 

 places of public resort. Now aud then they were illu- 

 minated for a festival, and sometimes the forum was 

 lighted up for a midnight exhibition ; but, with these 

 few exceptions, the city was a city of darkness. In the 

 4th century, the streets of Autioch aud Edessa were 

 furnished with public lamps. Libauius, in his panegyric 

 of the former, says " The light of the sun is succeeded 

 by other lights, which are far superior to the lamps 

 lighted by the Egyptians on the festival of Minerva or 

 Sais. The night with us differs from the day, only in 

 the appearance of the light : aud with regard to labour 

 and employment, everything goes on well; for some 

 work continually, while others laugh and amuse them- 

 selves with singing." This fact is confirmed by Jerome, 

 who tells us of a serious dispute that was maintained 

 for some hours iu the streets of Autioch, between a dis- 

 ciple of Lucifer and one of the orthodox : he says that 

 the dispute was kept up until the streets were lighted, 

 and then the disputants spat in each other's face and 

 retired. In the history of Jesue Stylites, we are in- 

 formed that Eulogius, the governor of Edessa in Syria, 

 ordered lamps to be kept burning in the streets during 

 the night; and that he employed for that purpose a 

 part of the oil which was before given to the churches 

 and monasteries. 



It is worthy of notice, however, that public illumina- 

 tions, either on account of religious festivals or general 

 rejoicings, were very common with the ancients, and are 

 of great antiquity. Herodotus states that the Egyptians 

 had a festival of much solemnity, during which lamps 

 were placed before the houses, and kept burning through- 

 out the night; the Jews, also, celebrated their fcntum 

 encceniorum in like manner. According to ^Kschylus, 

 it would appear that the Greeks had their nights of 

 public rejoicing; aud there can be no doubt that the 

 Romans were continually in the habit of lighting up 

 their streets with lamps and torches, whenever an event 

 of public importance commanded their attention. In 

 some instances these displays were wholly unpremedi- 

 tated, as wheu an orator distinguished himself in the 

 senate, or a soldier in the camp. Cicero was thus 

 honoured when he defeated the conspiracy of Cataline ; 

 and many a Roman general has been encouraged in his 

 march by a like display of public enthusiasm. 



Until very recently, the modern cities of Europe were 

 no better provided for in this respect than the ancient. 

 It is true that statutes were made, and orders proclaimed, 

 to the effect that every citizen should contribute hLi 

 share to a system of general illumination. This was 

 effeted by placing a caudle in each of the lower windows 

 of the house, and keeping it burning, from nightfall to 

 the hour of twelve. At first the performance of this duty 

 was optional, but at last it became compulsory ; never- 

 theless, it was at all times so sadly neglected, that the 

 thief and the assassin had abundant opportunities for 

 mischief. Paris was the first city to improve on this 

 condition cf things; for in the year 1558, huge con- 

 trivances, called falvU, were erected in the principal 

 thoroughfares. The falot was a sort of vase filled with 

 pitch, resin, and such-like things, in a state of com- 

 bustion; but it was soon found that this mode of 

 lighting the streets was expensive, dangerous, and in- 

 convenient, and consequently the falot was quickly dis- 

 placed by the lantern, which was a rude frame covered 

 with horn or varnished leather. For more than a 

 hundred years this was the plan of illumination gene- 

 rally adopted ; and, as may be supposed, the light was 

 too feeble for any useful purpose : indeed, no one of 



