36 
Garden 
THE 
Q U A L I T Y 
O F 
CANDLE 
House 
& 
L I 
G 
Since A o Other Form of Light Possesses Its Peculiar Character the Candle Will Always 
Find a Place in the Decorative Scheme of the House 
LEONARD CHITTENDEN 
S O many generations of good, 
honest service, of poetry and ro¬ 
mance lie behind it that we are 
apt to take the candle as a matter of 
course, and taking it that way we are 
apt to overlook the important role it 
can play in the modern house. Yet 
candles persist, despite our vast im¬ 
provements in lighting systems; they 
are being used more and more. The 
reason for this lies in the romance that 
surrounds the candle, in the nature of 
the candle form and in the peculiar 
quality of its light. 
No imitation electric or gas fixture 
can ever approximate the candle suffi¬ 
ciently to deceive one; in fact, the aver¬ 
age imitation candle is such a poor imi¬ 
tation that it had better not be used. 
The shape may deceive for a moment, 
but the light never does. Both of them 
are constant and unchanging. Part of 
the candle’s charm lies in the fact that 
it isn’t permanent, that it is gradually 
consumed, that its wax runs down the shaft 
in grotesque stalactites. 
C ANDLE light is a yellow light and it is 
soft. It is not a constant power, and that 
accounts for much of its interest and beauty. 
Its glow increases in a pleasant, gradual cres¬ 
cendo, flares lustily for a moment and dies off 
as the wax floods up the dam of the candle 
rim. Dimmer and dimmer grows the light un¬ 
til the wick seems almost engulfed and the 
flame strained upward as if being suffocated. 
Then the dam breaks. The hot wax spills 
merrily down the shaft—and the flame springs 
into life again. 
Something very human in this—like incon¬ 
stant endeavor, like the changeable interests of 
a woman. It is not a steady current, but a 
pulsation of light; it has a beginning, a climax 
and an end; a zenith and a nadir. Its soft¬ 
ness is the softness of a caress; candlelight 
does not hurt the eye. Its full flame is at 
once consuming and consumed. The cycle of 
its glow is rounded, complete and satisfying. 
No other light possesses these qualities. 
Others are doubtless more efficient, less trouble 
to care for, safer—but! But complete effi¬ 
ciency lacks romance; many of the beautiful 
things in the home are manifestly a bother, 
and we have pushed the Safety First campaign 
too far. 
Candles have a distinct role in the lighting 
system of the modern home and definite pro¬ 
vision should be made for them. Unless one 
wishes to reproduce an archaic interior there is 
no reason to do all the lighting by candles; in 
fact, this is inadvisable. It is best to consider 
candles simply as decorative adjuncts to an 
installed lighting system, to be used on occa¬ 
sions of festivity or when unusual spots of 
naked flame are desired in a room. 
T HE first room in which they naturally 
find a place is the dining room. Custom 
today calls for wall fixtures to afford the 
general light and candles on the dining and 
service tables. The old-style dome that flooded 
the dining table has gone out of good usage, 
and it is well that it has. Sitting at a meal 
under its glare was like eating in a spot light. 
Now dinner should be a pleasant ritual and the 
persons concerned should appear at their best. 
The gourmet might have relished a flood of 
light to eat by, but he did not make a pleasant 
picture. The fairest woman in the world pre¬ 
fers a soft light on such occasions, and she 
is wise in her preference. Not alone people, 
but objects—napery, silver and. crystal—blend 
more harmoniously in a kindly glow. Conse¬ 
quently the dome has been relegated to the 
undesirable; its place is taken by candles. 
The use of shades on the dining table can¬ 
dles is merely a matter of preference. Covered, 
they give a pleasant, colorful glow, but there 
is much to be said in favor of the naked flame. 
An electric light hidden in an imitation candle 
shaft would serve about the same purpose if a 
shade is used. They are suitable for a restau¬ 
rant when the refinements of service are not 
exacting, but in a home one 'can scarcely con¬ 
ceive of their being adopted for table use. 
The naked flame of a candle is its point of in¬ 
terest; why then hide it under a shade? 
One general criticism can be leveled at most 
of the candles found on dining tables—they are 
too low, they remind one of boudoir lights. 
They can be seen in dozens of houses—dinky 
little silver candlesticks, one at each corner of 
the table, with the top coming at about the 
eye level of the guests. When you speak 
across the table you have to talk through flame. 
It is far better to have the lights clustered 
in a more pretentious candelabra that will hold 
the flame up above the heads of the 
diners. This type of candelabra will 
also give the table an air of great dig¬ 
nity. Visualize such a table set for, 
say, six. It is long enough to support 
two candelabra for six or seven candles 
each, set toward the ends of the table. 
An interesting center piece of Italian 
majolica or Wedgwood stands in the 
middle between them. 
White twisted candles are preferable 
to the colored variety, although at 
Christmas time one might follow the 
excellent Polish custom of using red 
candles, which give an added air of 
festivity. We prefer the twisted variety 
because plain candles are too reminis¬ 
cent of religious ceremonies, and the 
one thing the hostess does not want to 
do is to make her dinner table look 
like a high altar. 
T 
HE living room presents many 
opportunities for the use of can¬ 
dles. There is usually a mantel shelf on which 
candlesticks can be placed or even a three- 
branched light. In rooms which tend towards 
the Jacobean or Italian one may use floor can¬ 
delabra of wrought iron in which many candles 
can be lighted. Certainly in this room the 
flame should not be covered. When such 
groups are being burned, there is no necessity 
for a great deal of general light. The candle 
should never be obliged to compete with a 
plenitude of electric bulbs; in fact, these two 
kinds do not mingle any too pleasantly. 
Candlesticks and candelabra for the living 
room can take such a variety of shapes that 
one must exercise care in the choice of candles 
for them. A candlestick without a candle is 
a contradiction in terms. We must have can¬ 
dles, and we should have them suit their hold¬ 
ers exactly. A great pair of Italian altar lights 
standing on the mantel shelf, for example, re¬ 
quire the thick, sturdy type of candle used for 
Mass lights. They can be purchased at stores 
dealing in ecclesiastical wares. A Colonial 
candlestick may require a bayberry dip, and 
these can be purchased in the shops almost 
anywhere. 
Cautious housewives might be inclined to 
rail at candles in a bedroom, and yet there is 
no light in the world more pleasant to read 
oneself to sleep by. But if caution denies the 
candle as a night light, then at least give us a 
candle to light us to bed. 
Come up the stairs of a country house and 
find a row of candles on a table on the land¬ 
ing. They look so simple, so kindly, so wish¬ 
ing you a pleasant rest. You light yours and 
wander off to your room. They make you 
feel that life is a little less complex, these 
night candles; they remind you of the men and 
women who, if we can believe history, found 
living a simpler matter than we do. 
