Lantern lan·tern, n. - a translucent case for holding a light.

Fall into the fading light! Autumn has arrived with broomstick in hand to scare away the sweltering summer heat. Shining its brightest summer rays, the days begin eluding the scorching sun. Darkness spins a careful web between magnificence and mischief. The nighttime’s twinkling sky proves to be an unreliable source of illumination.

“Autumn draws darkness closer until even the moon’s translucency is swallowed up in the blackest of nights.”

Lanterns light the way from dusk till dawn.

Lanterns in some form have been used for thousands of years. Recorded writings prove their existence early on throughout ancient Greece, Egypt and China. In the beginning lanterns were iron baskets full of wooden knots. Lit during the night, they would hang from poles at crossroads. Lanterns made from silk, animal hide, paper and bamboo began to light the pathways ahead. A glowing candle made from whale or tallow fat adorned lanterns as a primitive light source. The chandlers or candlemakers went door to door making candles from kitchen fats saved up. A revolution of beeswax drastically changed the candle’s flame. Homes now thoroughly awakened by the sweet smell of beeswax. A successor to the traditional foul smell of smoky impurities.

Let there be a protector of the light.

Lanterns were not only light sources, but carriers of light. A true protector from the unpredictable wind and rain. A lit candle was not taken for granted for matches were not a plentiful resource. An open flame was a moving target for restlessness. In these early times, the light controlled the individual instead of the individual controlling the light. A lofty sunny day was never squandered.

The Brass Lantern

©Sarah Ihrig 10~2021

Determined to stay up and write throughout the night

I've accidentally snuffed out my bedside candlelight

Terror swallows the room as fear floods my head

I know my fate begins the moment I step out of this bed

No shadows as a beacon in this thick black light

Slowly shuffling I use my feet as my guiding sight

I’m doubting these cold stairs and what might unfold

More than once I’ve seen a man lay silently cold

Darkness is my mask in which I cannot remove

Eyes wide open I imagine a fully lit moon

My landlord regularly sleeps with a pistol in hand

His delusion of an intruder would be my permanent bed

Holding my breath I slowly pivot the foyer knob

It’s frozen and stiff, my right boot pries it ajar

I toss my jeweled hair pin where the watchman awaits

“Pardon me?” He speaks, holding a brass lantern to my face

I held out my candle, “Please re-lume?"

The roaring glow from his lantern buries all my gloom

“Hold this truth”, he whispered with a compassionate wink

“Always light a brighter path so others may see.”

A sheath for the dark tidings ahead

Watchmen were hired to patrol the streets carrying lanterns. A protectant against the darkness, a line of fire to deter crime. Painfully dim the cities grew increasingly eerie. As the population grew so did the need for light. The imagined enemies were made up, but still inflicted fear. The fantasies of the dark could seem frightfully real. When the dark is that dark hobgoblins, witches and trolls, at times were thought to be seen. Hiding out in the dead of night ready to sense the warmth of your skin. The unknown mysteries carried weight and their stares could become uncomfortably heavy from behind.

The lantern guarded the known and defended the hidden.

The real enemies were the murderers and thieves. Whose eyes could be seen and evil could be witnessed. The Scowrers and Hectors wandered the dark streets preying upon the innocent. They were the groups of swaggering bullies wreaking unimaginable malice. Unquestionably they took advantage of the dark’s weaknesses. Regarded as the night's urchins coming up for air when the moon's reflection saw the sea.

The lantern becomes the disruptor of darkness.

At the foot of a steeple overlooking Northern Boston stood Captain John Pulling, Jr. and church sexton, Robert Newman. Their mighty 154 step climb consisted of stairs, ladders and trapdoors in sheer darkness! In the Old North Church on the night of April 18, 1775 the two patriots assisted Paul Revere in a political signal. Just days prior Revere had told Col. Conant and some friends in Charleston to keep an eye on the steeple of the church. Revere indicated there would be a signal about the British regular troops. Arranging for lanterns to be hung in the church steeple, Revere became a protector of the light. His courage would be the fastest and most reliable way to declare the warning beyond Boston. One lantern if the British troops were marching out of Boston by land, two if they were departing by boats across the Charles River.

On that evening, 2 glowing lanterns made of iron and glass illuminated the church tower. The flames gleamed just under one minute; 8.5 stories high. In an entire night of uncertainty, the candlelit lanterns brought forth the power of tenacity and change.

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-Excerpt from Paul Revere’s Ride

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Paul Revere Lantern

One if by land, and two if by sea

And I on the opposite shore will be

Ready to ride and spread the alarm

Through every Middlesex village and farm

For the country-folk to be up and to arm

This famous poem was written long after the American Revolution. Longfellow released the poem in 1860, just one year prior to the American Civil War. The poem was intended to be an outreach effort by Longfellow to inspire people to sign up to be a part of the Civil War movement. The people were inspired by the poem differently. I believe they felt and understood that when you protect the light you will prevail.

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Bravely stand in pure darkness.

A lantern possesses an internal understanding of control and resiliency. Bravely putting itself amidst conflict; light against darkness. A defiance against collapse and a searchlight always seeking resurgence. It shall be the never ending battle to rage on to remain ignited. When the odds are waged against you, it is possible to defy the odds. A lantern lit on a sunny day seems pointless. In the dark is where its light will shine most bright. Never underestimate the spaces you could view. Take a moment to stand in pure darkness. It is there you'll understand where to shine your light.

Work Cited:

Bell, J. L. “Boston 1775.” Who Got the Message from Old North Church?, 12 Apr. 2007, https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2007/04/who-got-message-from-old-north-church.html.

Buckler, Julie, and Samuel Hazzard. “Symbols of the American Revolution.” Omeka RSS, https://hum54-15.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/exhibits/show/oldnorthchurch/americanrevolution.

Carlson, Claire. “Light up the Dark Days with a Homemade Lantern.” Historic Deerfield, Historic Deerfield, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.historic-deerfield.org/makers-blog/2020/11/20/light-up-the-dark-days-with-a-homemade-lantern.

Ken, Historical. “Collecting History: The Lantern from the Old North Church.” Collecting History: The Lantern from the Old North Church, 1 Jan. 1970, http://passionforthepast.blogspot.com/2015/03/collecting-history-lanterrn-from-old.html.

Staff. “History Early Wicked Candles.” National Candle Association, 23 July 2020, https://candles.org/history/.