第107章

It is a parchment roll which was found in a Kariat synagogue in the Crimea. Another, brought from Danganstan, if the superscription be genuine, has a date corresponding with A. D. 580. The date of still another of the celebrated Hebrew scriptural codices, about which there is no dispute, is the Hilel codex written at the end of the sixth century. Its name is said to be derived from the fact that it was written at Hila, a town built near the ruins of the ancient Babel;some maintain, however, that it was named after the man who wrote it.

One of the earliest specimens of Greek (wax) writing is an inscription on a small wooden tablet now in the British museum. It refers to a money transaction of the thirty-first year of Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. C. 254.

In England the custom of using wooden tallies, inscribed as well as notched in the public accounts, lasted down to the nineteenth century.

Gold writing was a practice which died out in the thirteenth century.

The first discovery of Greek papyri in Egypt took place in the year 1778. It is of the (late of A. D. 191 and outside of Egypt and Herculaneum is the only place in which the Greek papyri has ever been found.

Square capital ink writing in Latin of ancient date is found on a few leaves of an MS. of Virgil, which is attributed to the close of the fourth century, and the first rustic MS. to which an approximate date can be given, belongs to the close of the fifth century.

The most ancient uncial ink writing extant, belongs to the fourth century, whilst the earliest mixed uncial and miniscule writing pertains to the sixth century.

The oldest extant Irish MS. in the round Irish hand is ascribed to the latter part of the seventh century, while the earliest specimen of English writing of any kind extant dates about the beginning of the eighth century.

The gold pen won by Peter Bales in his trial of skill with Johnson, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, if really made for use, is probably the first modern example of such pens. Bales was employed by Sir Francis Walsingham, and afterwards kept a writing school at the upper end of the Old Bailey.

In 1595, when nearly fifty years old, he had a trial of skill with one Daniel Johnson, by which he was the winner of a golden pen, of a value of L20, which, in the pride of his victory, he set up as his sign. Upon this occasion John Davis made the following epigram in his "Scourge of Folly:""The Hand and Golden Pen, Clophonion Sets on his sign, to shew, O proud, poor soul, Both where he wonnes, and how the same he won, From writers fair, though he writ ever foul;But by that Hand, that Pen so borne has been, From place to Place, that for the last half Yeare, It scarce a sen'night at a place is seen.

That Hand so plies the Pen, though ne'er the neare, For when Men seek it, elsewhere it is sent, Or there shut up as for the Plague or Rent, Without which stay, it never still could stand, Because the Pen is for a Running Hand."The sign of the "Hand and Pen" was also used by the Fleet street marriage-mongers, to denote "marriages performed without imposition."Robert More, a famous writing master, in 1696lived in Castle street, near St. Paul's churchyard, London, at the sign of the "Golden Pen."The ink horn in Queen Elizabeth's time was in popular use as a receptacle for holding writing ink, and Petticoat lane in London was the great manufacturing center for them. Bishops Gate in the same vicinity was known as the "home of the scribblers."Beginning with 1560 and for many years thereafter the sign of the Five Ink Horns was appropriately displayed by Haddon on the house in which he dwelt.

Away back in the time of King Edward III (1313-1377), royalty was employing the pen, both quill and gold, as badges. This is indicated in the accompanying interesting list to be found in the Harlein library:

"King Edward the iii. gave a lyon in his proper coulor, armed, azure, langue d'or. The oustrich fether gold, the pen gold, and a faucon in his proper coulor and the Sonne Rising.

"The Prince of Wales the ostrich fether pen and all arg.

"Henry, sonne of the Erl of Derby, first Duk of Lancaster, gave the red rose uncrowned, and his ancestors gave the Fox tayle in his prop. coulor and the ostrich fether ar. the pen ermyn.

"The Ostrych fether silver, the pen gobone sylver and azur, is the Duk of Somerset's bage.

"The ostrych fether silver and pen gold ys the kinges.

"The ostrych fether pen and all sylver ys the Prynces.

"The ostrych fether sylver, pen ermyn is the Duke of Lancesters.

"The ostrych fether sylver and pen gobone is the Duke of Somersets.""What's great Goliath's spear, the sevenfold shield, Scanderbeg's sword, to one who cannot wield Such weapons? Or, what means a well cut quill, In th' untaught hand of him that's void of skill?"--COCKER, A. D. 1650.

The oldest ink (Russian) documents that exist in Russia are two treaties with the Greek emperors, made by Oleg, A. D. 912, and Igor, A. D. 943. Christianity, introduced into Russia at the beginning of the eleventh century by Vladimir the Great, brought with it many words of Greek origin. Printing was introduced there about the middle of the sixteenth century. The oldest printed book which has been discovered is a Sclavonic psalter, the date Kiev, 1551, two years after a press was established in Moscow.

It is said that the skins of 300 sheep were used in every copy of the first printed Bible. Hence the old saying, "It takes a flock of sheep to write a book."What would have been the comment in olden times, to learn that it takes almost a forest of trees to print the Sunday edition of some of our great newspapers?

Wax (shoemakers') was first employed on documents A. D. 1213, although it was white wax which was used to seal the magna charta, granted to the English barons by King John, A. D. 1215. In 1445red wax was much employed in England, but the earliest specimen of red sealing wax extant is found on a letter dated August 3, 1554.

Pliny enumerates and describes eight different kinds of papyrus paper: