wick, will be put out. The reason is, that the flame has not had time to
make the fuel hot enough to burn, as it does above, where it is carried in
small quantities into the wick, and has all the effect of the heat
exercised upon it.

There is another condition which you must learn as regards the candle,
without which you would not be able fully to understand the philosophy of
it, and that is the vaporous condition of the fuel. In order that you may
understand that, let me shew you a very pretty, but very common-place
experiment. If you blow a candle out cleverly, you will see the vapour
rise from it. You have, I know, often smelt the vapour of a blown-out
candle--and a very bad smell it is; but if you blow it out cleverly, you
will be able to see pretty well the vapour into which this solid matter is
transformed. I will blow out one of these candles in such a way as not to
disturb the air around it, by the continuing action of my breath; and now,
if I hold a lighted taper two or three inches from the wick, you will
observe a train of fire going through the air till it reaches the candle.
I am obliged to be quick and ready, because, if I allow the vapour time to
cool, it becomes condensed into a liquid or solid, or the stream of
combustible matter gets disturbed.

Now, as to the shape or form of the flame. It concerns us much to know
about the condition which the matter of the candle finally assumes at the
top of the wick--where you have such beauty and brightness as nothing but
combustion or flame can produce.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher
lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond; but none of these rival the