It must be remembered that the country farmer was not familiar with ready-made candles, and it probably no more entered his head to purchase candles in a town than it occurred to him to do other than bake his own bread. The cottager therefore made his candles for himself. If he were well-to-do and could afford to entertain his friends in modest fashion, he would doubtless like to illuminate his table with candles of symmetrical form. In which case he would use a candle-mould, and the wax bought in towns would serve for this purpose. But he was not always so rich, and perhaps he was happiest of all with the faintly glimmering rush dips which his forbears used. These afforded a rough-and-ready form of lighting. They burned and spluttered like a torch or flickered faintly as the tallow grew thin. Their form closely resembled an amateur's first attempt at making a cigarette. They were made in the following manner: the thin wirelike rushes which grew by the water's edge were gathered and stripped of their green surface till only the soft white pith remained. This served as a wick. The wax was then melted over a fire in a trough or candle-dipper, of which an illustration appears (p. 289). Across this long receptacle the pith wicks were laid till the wax soaked into them. They were then taken out for the wax to cool and were dipped once or twice afterwards in order to form their outer coating. By such a primitive process a kind of thin taper was formed. It was not parallel along its sides, but bulged and narrowed throughout its length in primitive manner. [Illustration: RUSHLIGHT HOLDERS. Showing rush fixed ready for lighting. SCOTCH CRUSIE. With holder. RUSHLIGHT HOLDERS. Showing forceps for holding rushlight.] [Illustration: SUFFOLK PIPE CLEANER. The long clay "churchwarden" pipes were placed in this iron rack and put into the fire, after which they came out perfectly cleaned. CANDLE-DIPPER. (_In the collection of Messrs. Phillips, Hitchin._)] [Illustration: QUEEN ANNE POT-HANGER. With original grate. Same date. (_By the courtesy of Messrs. Phillips, Hitchin._)] [Illustration: KETTLE TRIVET. Brass and Iron. Dated about 1770.] Such a taper, from its uneven thickness, would naturally not fit the socket of a candlestick, and the only receptacle would be a scissor-like mechanism with jaws capable of clasping it at any point. Thus we find the rushlight-holder of common use, as illustrated (p. 289).