THE INVENTION OF PRINTING.

ACCORDING to promise, I will now tell you something about the invention of printing.

In Mayence, a city built on the Rhine, in Germany, a man lived named Gensfleisch, his wife and one child, a little boy called Hans. Gensfleisch was a dyer, and he was acquainted with the few secrets belonging to the trade at that early period, for he lived in those times I told you in my last.

But a sad trouble befel this little household. Death, that great enemy of nature, which visits every home, entered this dwelling, and bore away the beloved husband and father. The bereaved widow with her orphan son, who was not twelve years old, removed to Steinheim, a village about three miles off, where she supported herself and son by cultivating, with his help, a little land, and also by doing a little at her late husband's trade, as she had learned several of the secrets from him. Most of her dye was made from different kinds of plants. Hans knew just what plants were required, and he used to be very industrious in collecting them.

Little Hans could neither read nor write, for, as I told you before, in those days there were no schools.

Hans had an uncle named Gottlieb, a monk, who was considered very clever because he could read and write. It was his duty to supply his fellow monks with writing dye (someting like our ink), and whatever else they might want for writing. The way to make durable writing dye was a secret, but as the widow knew how to make it, Gottlieb gave her the order, which was a great help to her in her needy circumstances. Hans used to often carry the dye to his uncle, and as the uncle and nephew

were very fond of each other, these visits were looked forward to by Hans as being a special treat. The only part of the Bible that Gottlieb possessed was the Book of Genesis; indeed, his own books in all only amounted to two. Often Gottlieb read to his nephew from his portion of the Holy Bible, and for hours Hans would sit listening with profound attention to the wonderful histories of Adam, Abraham, Joseph, and others, with which, I suppose, all my little readers are well acquainted, but it was all new to Hans.

Now and then his uncle would permit him to go into the room where the writing was being done. Some of it was most beautifully written. It was written on large pieces of parchment, and rolled up; so that the reader had to gradually roll up one end and unroll the other as he read. Hans was delighted with that privilege, and he began to wish that he could read and write. As his uncle saw how desirous he was to learn, he helped him to learn the alphabet, and at every visit he learned a little more, so that he began to hope that after a while he should be a writer like his uncle.

One day, as he was out gathering plants for his mother, a heavy storm came on; he went under a large beech-tree for shelter, and while there, as he was very fond of carving, and very clever at it, too, he amused himself by cutting letters on the bark. He cut away the bark down to the wood, so that the letters should be white. Then he made others by cutting away the bark all round, so that they stood up. He was trying to cut his name, but could not finish because he could not make F and C; so he left it till he saw his uncle, when he asked him again how to make those letters. His uncle wrote for him on a slip of parchment (paper was not in use then) all the letters. So he very soon paid another visit

to the beech-tree to finish his carving, which he admired very much when it was done.

He very much wanted his mother to enjoy the sight, but she refused to accompany him, as the tree was on a hill some distance off, and she did not consider the sight worth so much trouble.

Hans was disappointed, but soon he thought of a plan how he could show his work to his mother. He went one day to the tree and carefully cut off the letters, so that they were uninjured, and brought them home. In the evening he placed them so as to spell his name. His mother compared it with a slip of parchment on which was his name and register of his birth, and found to her astonishment that it was really right. After a while he found out that the same letters differently arranged would make other words, and at last, to their great surprise and pleasure, he spelt his mother's name.

One evening, as Hans was engaged with his letters, an H fell into a saucer full of dye which his mother was preparing for the monks. As the dye was hot, when he took out the letter he dropped it on the first thing, which happened to be a piece of white leather which was stretched out ready for dying. He was surprised to find, on taking the letter up, that an H was seen plainly impressed on the leather from the blackened letter. His mother, on seeing what was done, was very angry, for that skin was very valuable. In her anger she threw his treasured letters into the fire. Hans tried in vain to save them, he could only save one G. But he had seen the impression on the skin and he could not forget that, and the idea entered his mind that books could be printed in a much quicker and easier way by moveable letters blackened with ink. So that through the very acccident that so distressed the poor widow, printing was invented.

It was in the reign of Edward IV. that printing was introduced into our country, by William Caxton, a London merchant, who had been to Germany, and had there learned the art. When he returned he set up a printing press at Westminster Abbey.

You would find it very difficult to read a book printed in those days. Every author spelt the words just as he fancied, as there were not then regular rules for spelling as there are now, so that one word may be spelt in several different ways by different authors.

Printers have gone on to improve until it has got to be what you are now looking at-regular type, regular spelling, and regular punctuation.

Now I have given you a little idea of the invention of this valuable art, which has been the means of enabling all classes, rich or poor, to have God's Holy Word to read, as well as other good and useful books. How highly we ought to esteem so great a privilege, and show our gratitude to Him who is the "Giver of every good and perfect gift," by loving and studying more and more His Word!

I think I have already trespassed too much upon your space, so for the present I must bid you farewell, and remain, with my best wishes for every little Gleaner, A LOVER OF CHILDREN.

FAITH.

(LUKE viii. 40—48.)

As the Saviour passed along,
Many people did Him throng;
But they had not any need,
Therefore Jesus did not heed.

One who knew the LORD could bless
Came behind Him in the press ;

All physicians else had failed,
But the touch of faith prevailed.
Great Physician! can my case
Be too bad for Thy rich grace?
I have vainly spent my all:
Trembling at Thy feet I fall.

Only Thou canst make me whole-
Cleanse my sin-polluted soul;
Suffer me to ask this much :

Give me faith, with power to touch!

W. W.

JOHN BRIGHT AND THE WORKING

CLASSES.

THE Right Hon. John Bright, President of the Board of Trade, addressed his constituents in Birmingham on the 11th of January, 1870. He concluded his speech as follows:

"It is a fact that no Government, that no administration, that no laws, that no amount of industry or commerce, that no extent of freedom can give prosperity and solid comfort to the homes of the people, unless there be in those homes, economy, temperance, and the practice of virtue. This which I am preaching is needful for all; but it is especially needful for those whose possessions are the least abundant and the least secure. If we could substract from the ignorance, the poverty, the suffering, the sickness, and the crime which are now witnessed among us, the ignorance, the poverty, the suffering, the sickness, and the crime which are caused by one single but most prevalent bad habit or vice-the drinking needlessly of that which destroys body and mind, and home and family-do we not feel that this county would be so changed, and so changed for the better, that it would be almost impossible for us to know it ??