There were only a few left, but a flat candlestick with numerous wick-ends in its socket accounted for the remainder.
"These candles seemed to dispose of the difficulty.

They were not necessary for ordinary lighting, since gas was laid on in all three rooms.

For what purpose, then, were they used, and in such considerable quantities?
I subsequently obtained some of the same brand--Price's stearine candles, six to the pound--and experimented with them.

Each candle was seven and a quarter inches in length, not counting the cone at the top, and I found that they burned in still air at the rate of a fraction over one inch in an hour.

We may say that one of these candles would burn in still air a little over six hours.