writing papers. Hand-cap, which is a coarse paper used for packing, bore
the water-mark of an open hand.

I will now say a few words about pens and ink, for without them we could
neither have had printing nor books. Pens are of great antiquity, and are
frequently alluded to in the Bible. Pens of iron, which may mean styles,
are mentioned by Job and Jeremiah. Reed pens are known to have been in
common use by the ancients, and some were discovered at Pompeii. Pens of
gold and silver are alluded to by the classical writers, and there
is evidence of the use of quills in the seventh century. Of whatever
material the pen was made, it was called a _calamus_, whence our familiar
saying, "_currente calamo_" ("with a flowing pen"). The use of styles, or
iron pens, must have been very prevalent in ancient days, as Suetonius
tells us that the emperor Caligula incited the people to massacre a Roman
senator with their styles; and, previous to that, Caesar had wounded
Cassius with his style.

The next, and not the least important, ingredient in writing and printing
is ink. Staining and coloring matters were well known to the ancients at
a very early period, witness the lustrous pigments on Etruscan vases more
than two thousand years ago; and inks are often mentioned in the Bible.
Gold, silver, red, blue, and green inks were thoroughly understood in
the Middle Ages, and perhaps earlier; and the black writing-ink of the
seventh down to the tenth century, as seen in our manuscripts, was in
such perfection that it has retained its lustre better than some of
later ages. Printing-ink, by the time it began to be currently used for
book-printing in the fifteenth century, had attained a perfection which
has never been surpassed, and indeed scarcely equalled.

Paper and ink being at their highest point, we will now consider the