* Not what we today call neckties, but rather a soft band of
cloth worn loosely around the neck and used as a sweatband,
to keep sweat and dirt from lodging in the neckband of the
shirt. A collar at this time was a separate piece of cloth,
buttoned on and worn only for at least semi-formal
occasions.
To give the proper shape and smoothness to the candles, I determined to
use the bamboo moulds I had prepared. My first idea was to pour the wax
in at the end of the mould, and then when the candles were cooled to
slip them out; but I was soon convinced that this plan would not
succeed.
I therefore determined to divide the moulds lengthways, and then,
having greased them well, we might pour the melted wax into the two
halves bound tightly together, and so be able to take out the candles
when cool without injuring them.
The wicks were my next difficulty, and as my wife positively refused to
allow us to devote our ties and handkerchiefs for the purpose, I took a
piece of inflammable wood from a tree, a native of the Antilles, which
I thought would serve our purpose; this I cut into long slips, and
fixed in the centres of the moulds. My wife, too, prepared some wicks
from the fibres of the karata tree, which she declared would beat mine
completely out of the field.
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