nations which occupied the Assyrian empire, until it assumed the form of the present known inscriptions. There are three classes of Cuneiform charactersthe Assyrian or Babylonian, the Scythian or Median, and the Persian. The first is the most complicated, containing from 600 to 700 symbols; the second is less complicated, but contains about 100 symbols, or three times as many as the third, which is almost purely alphabetic. Of these three original systems, the Egyptian is by far the most important, for from its hieratic symbols was probably derived the Phoenician alphabet, the parent of almost all the principal graphic systems of the world. The Roman letters were used in Italy until the latter part of the 6th century, when the Lombardic style was introduced. This is also sometimes called Roman, because used by the Popes in their bulls; it continued. in use until the 13th century.. The Visigothic style, carried into Spain by the Visigoths, was legally abolished in 1091, and Latin letters were adopted for all public instruments. In France the Merovingian style prevailed from the close of the 6th century to the end of the 8th. Charlemagne introduced the Caroline, which, having degenerated before the close of the 10th century, was restored by Hugh Capet, and was subsequently called the Capetian. It was in use in England, France, and Germany till the middle of the 12th century, when the modern Gothic spread all over Europe. The present German alphabet is a modification of this. There are no traces of writing in Britain before the Roman conquest, when Latin letters were introduced. What is called the Roman-Saxon, resembling the Roman, prevailed until the middle of the 8th century; the set Saxon succeeded it, lasting until the middle of the 9th; this was followed by the runninghand Saxon of the time of Alfred; the mixed Saxon, combining the Roman, Lomba dic, and Saxon letters; and the elegant Saxon, which was introduced in the 10th century, and did not become obsolete until the middle of the 12th. The Norman style, quaint, illegible, affected, and composed of letters nearly Lombardic, came in with William the Conqueror. The modern Gothic dates in England from the 12th century; the old English, from the middle of the 14th. The English court had a barbarous corruption of the Norman, which was contrived by the lawyers of the 16th century, and lasted till the reign of George II., when it was abolished by law. The utmost diversity exists among different nations in the manner or direction of writing; but in general the Semitic races wrote from right to left, and the Aryan from left to right. In form ancient manuscripts were either rolls, volumnia, or flat pages like our printed books, codices. The Egyptian papyri are usually in rolls of an indefinite length, according to the subject matter, but some of the smaller ones are flat. The transcripts of manuscripts were committed by the Greeks and Romans principally to slaves, who were esteemed of great value when they excelled in the art. There were also at Rome professional copyists, some of whom were women. About the 5th century, associations of scribes, who worked under stringent rules, were formed. In the middle ages copying was almost exclusively in the hands of ecclesiastics, who were called clerks, clerici. In the Imperial library at Vienna is a Roman calendar executed in the first half of the 4th century. In the Vatican there is a fragment of a Virgil of the 4th century. The most ancient manuscripts extant are the papyrus rolls from the tombs of Egypt, where the dryness of the climate and of the sand beneath which they were buried preserved them in an almost perfect condition for thousands of years. HOW TO LEARN TO WRITE. B EGIN with good paper, good pens, good ink. occurs it may present an unvarying model to the pupil. The turns and slopes should be alike, the loops of the same length and width, the proper distances between the letters carefully observed, and shade duly distributed. Curlicues, flourishes, and ornamental capitals, may delight an amateur in a show-case; a thorough business man detests them in his correspondence. In a lady's writing they are sim ply vulgar. The course of instruction given in the copies should constitute a system, arranged in that order of progression which ig indicated by a careful analysis of the forms of the letters and of the powers of the human hand, so that each advance may prepare the way for the next, and the steps not be farther apart than the necessities of the case compel. To this end, the simpler forms should precede the more complex; the short, the long. Those that have similar curves and turns and iden tical parts should be together. Words should precede sen. tences. The columns should be first narrow, then broader, to accustom the hand by degrees to move easily on the given rests across the longest word. These columnar sections, intended to be written down, are the gradual preparation for the sentences, which occupy the width of the page. The selection of the words for the columns should be in accordance with the same principle of progressiveness,―first the easier, then the more difficult combinations. In them the loops should so occur that when the copy is written they may be hand. somely distributed, and the general appearance of the page be harmonious. A good paper costs more, but it is indispensable. It should be tolerably thick, well laid, with a smooth surface, moderately glazed; so that the ink will not show through when dry, and that there may be no roughness or little hairs for the pen to pick up, and that the pen may glide along without jar on the muscles or nerves of the fingers and hand,— -a very impor. tant consideration now that steel pens are used, as paralysis has in several instances resulted from their use, and their injurious effect must needs be greater on a rough surface. A white paper is generally to be preferred to a blue, indeed is almost invariably used. The pen should be fine-pointed, so that a good hair-line can be made, and have a good springy nib, that the shades may be cleanly cut, and that the writing may not be rendered stiff, a result inevitably following the use of a "hard" pen. They should be of a uniform character as much as possible,—not one, very hard and another very soft. Slight differences cannot be avoided; those that vary least are the best, if they are right in other respects. A new pen is often greasy, owing to a certain process in the manufacture, and will not retain the ink. Dip it and raise it from the ink slowly, then wipe it; repeat this two or three times and the trouble will be removed. Good ink is a very difficult thing to procure. It should be sufficiently fluid to flow easily from the pen, dark enough to enable the pupil to see at the time what he is writing, and to judge of hair-strokes and shades. It must not evaporate rapidly from the inkstand, nor leave a layer of mud in it; neither should it mould. Frost should not affect it. Ink should stain the paper in order to be permanent. Its color when thoroughly dry should be a deep black, which neither time nor exposure to the sun can change. Pupils will learn by experiment that, if they raise the pen from the ink suddenly, it will be too full, and apt to blot; if very slowly, the attraction of the fluid will leave none in the pen; and, therefore, a moderate motion must be used. One experiment is worth hours of talking. Attention to this will save many a blot. Cleanliness is as absolutely necessary for the well-being of the pen as for our own. Pens should be carefully cleaned at the close of the exercise. Always dip and wipe a new pen two or three times before it is written with, or it will be very likely to make a blot. To avoid the same mishap, the pen should never be wiped on the outside of the pen-wiper, but always between the leaves of it. Should the pen-wiper then happen to get on the book, no dam. age will be done. A stiff blotter will last the longest, but common blottingpaper, or a piece of newspaper, or any paper, will answer, not indeed for blotting, but for the use we now designate. The copy-book must be kept perfectly clean, and the blotter is to be used for that purpose. The right hand does not soil the book, for it rests on the nails of two fingers and only touches the page with them. It is the left hand that does the mischief. To obviate it, place the blotter so as to cover each column as soon as it is dry after being written, and rest the left hand on that, and not on the page. HE immediate human instrument in writing is the arm. It consists of three parts, the upperarm, the fore-arm, and the hand. The two connections of these are the elbow and wrist. The arm is attached to the body by the shoulderjoint. The position of the body must, therefore, evidently depend upon the use we wish to make of the arm and hand. This use, then, must be determined first. Various ones have been advo cated by different teachers. The three following are the most strongly distinguished; the others arise from combinations of two or more of them. First, considering the shoulder as a point of suspension, and moving the whole arm without any support and without any motion of the finger-joints. There are, however, very few who possess sufficient muscular strength and steadiness of nerve to write thus. It is the true movement for striking large capitals and flourishing. Secondly, resting the fore-arm near the elbow and on the nails of the third and fourth fingers, and forming the letters by its movement without any help from the pen-fingers. Thirdly, resting the fore-arm and hand as in the last, while the letters are formed by the movement of those fingers only which hold the pen. This generally leads to a feeble, constrained style. There Must Be Freedom of Style.-This condition can only be fulfilled by keeping the arm free from all unnatural constraint. This precludes it from affording any support to the body. Again, the letters are to be written across the page on a horizontal line. A requirement of beauty is that this line should be straight. This is secured without much difficulty where the base is ruled. The only important thing is to keep on it. If, now, we take pen in hand, use the elbow, placed opposite the middle of the page, for a pivot, and move the hand across, we find that the arc of a circle is described, touching the base line in only two points. In the middle it rises a full half inch above the base line. This is a difficulty to be overcome. Once more, whilst mere form does not demand consideration here, because readiness in shaping letters can only be acquired by practice, yet uniformity of slope and similarity of turns, which are required, will evidently greatly depend upon the maintenance of the same relative position of the pen, hand, and fore-arm for each letter. If we now ob serve a little farther the movement above described, we find that in it the position of the hand in relation to each succeeding letter is changed, and assumes a new direction. How can this difficulty be overcome? Again, it is clear that we shall be able to write much faster, if the pen touches the paper lightly, than if it presses on it heavily: this also contributes greatly to freedom of style. Finally, in order to boldness of style, powerful muscles must, if possible, be brought into play in aid of the slight muscles of the fingers, while forming the letters. This would also help to prevent fatigue. To sum up, the essentials of the work to be done are: long continuance, freedom, forming the letters on a horizontal straight line across the page, uniformity of slope and similarity of turns, rapidity and boldness. The conditions we have found to be hereby imposed on the arm are: avoidance of unnatural constraint, relief of all unnecessary pressure, movement of the hand and fore-arm across the page with the same relative position to each letter, and counteraction of the curve arising from this movement, adequate support, and use of powerful muscles. The Human Instrument.-A little in front of the elbow, at the thickest part of the fore-arm, we find a mass of muscle If the arm is placed on the desk, suspended from the shoulder, and resting lightly on this mass as a support, we find an excellent ability for moving the fore-arm on it with freedom from left to right and back again, within a certain limited distance the muscle rolling under the arm. We will name this support the rolling rest. It is of the highest importance to observe the peculiar movement of the fore-arm on this rest. It is not to be so used as that, when the hand passes to the left, the elbow moves to the right, and vice versa. The fore-arm moves sideways as the muscle rolls under it, with sufficient play, when it is placed at right angles to the base line and opposite the middle of a word or short clause, to carry the hand across from one end of it to the other without changing its direction. Bending the wrist sideways to the right-a most cramping movement, and painful if frequently repeated-is thus rendered quite unnecessary, and should be carefully watched against. By turning the third and fourth fingers under, so that the hand can rest on the corner of their nails, or, if preferred, on the little finger only, another support, like the runners of a sleigh, is provided, capable of moving freely over the paper. We name this the sliding rest. To avoid friction, the wrist should not touch the desk; by means of the two rests, it may easily and comfortably be kept a little raised. These, then, we conceive to be the natural positions and rests, namely, the right hand and fore-arm in the same straight line, at right angles to the line of writing, and opposite the middle of a long word or a clause of moderate length. The fore-arm is supported on the rolling rest, the hand on the sliding rest, and the wrist slightly raised. The left fore-arm and hand are placed at right angles to the right fore-arm, with the fingers on the blotter, which covers the part already written, to steady the book, and move it when necessary. The left fore-arm is therefore in the direction of the line of writing. What now are the movements of the right fore-arm and hand? On the rolling rest the whole fore-arm moves, so as always to be parallel to its first position, and carries with it the hand supported on the sliding rest. The rolling rest is stationary; the sliding rest glides along the paper on a horizontal line, that is, parallel to the line of writing: this is its only movement. The whole fore-arm and hand move gradually to the right in this way, with a nearly continuous motion, for the formation of the successive letters, so that their relative position to every letter is the same. All stoppages of the nails and jerks to get the hand forward are to be absolutely forbidden. This movement of the hand is named the sliding movement; the movement of the fore-arm we have named the comital movement (Lat. comes, a companion), because it accompanies the hand. Since the com..tal movement is more or less limited, some further means must be found of keeping the fore-arm and hand in the right relative position to the letters. Two methods offer themselves to us for selection. One is, to draw the paper to the left as we write. The other, which we prefer, is, by means of a lift from the shoulder, to place the fore-arm and hand in a position farther to the right this should be done only at the end of a word. To distinguish this movement, we have named it the lateral movement. In performing it, the hand slides as before. Experiment will now demonstrate that, by the adoption of the rolling rest and the lateral movement, the difficulty mentioned above, of the curve formed by the hand crossing the page, is entirely done away with. : For the attaining of Boldness of Style, the powerfu muscles of the fore-arm must be brought into action by a slight play of the whole fore-arm forwards and backwards, in direction of the slope on the rolling rest, over the sliding rest,fixed point, so far as this movement is concerned. This gives a full heft, through the medium of the hand, to the fingers which move the pen, and, as a consequence, boldness of style, just as a large and massive stone rolling down a hill maintains its course over considerable inequalities of surface, while the slightest obstacle diverts a small and light one. This play of the fore-arm we name the muscular movement. The resulting play of the hand, as the medium of its transmission to the penfingers, we name the medial movement. It We are now prepared to form a correct judgment as to the best position of the body for the accomplishing of these movements most naturally, and consequently with the least fatigue. may be summed up in two words. The body must be upright and self-supported. Its relative position to the desk is a matter of comparative indifference; only, all the pupils should conform to one plan. Each position has its advantages and inconveniences. The simplest division of positions is twofold; the right side to the desk, and the face to the desk. Where we adopt the former, we direct the pupil to turn on his seat, so that his right side may be directly to the desk without touching; the body to be erect, and supported by the spinal column; the left foot slightly advanced. The book is ad. justed with the back to the front edge of the desk, and at a two-seated desk, the top edge of one at the outside edge of the desk, of the other in a line with the inkstand. When opened, the left side of the page to be written is to be placed at the edge of the desk. The left hand is brought across, and the fingers placed on the left side of the page to keep it steady. The right fore-arm is placed on the desk, parallel with the front edge. If necessary, from short-sightedness or bad adaptation of the height of the seats to the desks, the body may be inclined forward from the seat,-never by rounding the back and contracting the chest,-and the head may be bowed somewhat forward by bending the neck. The advantages of this plan of seating the scholars are: the perfectly natural position of the body; the freedom of the right arm from all avoidable weight, and its ability to form the movements required; the certainty that both rests are on the desk ; and the facility with which the teacher can look down the files and along the lines in large classes, and see that every pen is rightly held, and every movement correctly made. An objection to this posi tion is made on the ground that, in business, when using large account-books, it is impossible. We reply, that we adopt this position for learners, because it is very convenient for the teacher. When the art is acquired, the position becomes com paratively a matter of indifference. Where we adopt the second method of seating, namely, the body fronting the desk fairly, or with more or less inclination of the right or left side to it, we take care of these two points: that both rests of the right fore-arm shall be on and be kept on the desk, and that the book is at right angles to the right fore-arm. The following troubles are apt to arise: A tendency to sprawl over the desk, and, as a necessary conse. quence, to press the chest against it,-a practice most injuri ous. The book gets turned from its proper position at right angles to the right fore-arm. When writing down a column, a habit we strongly commend for learners, the book must be continually pushed up, or the back rest of the arm will get more and more off the desk. Indeed, pupils are sometimes found actually resting the wrist on the front edge of the desk. On the other hand, this is often the only position the seats admit of; it is the position that must be adopted, when writing in large account-books; and there is no necessity that the above faults should prevail. They certainly will not under the care of a faithful teacher. We conclude, then, that the position of the body at the desk is matter of indifference, provided it is upright and self-supported. The next point which claims our attention is the manner of holding the pen, and the movement of the pen-fingers. We have seen that the hand is supported on the sides of the nails of the third and fourth fingers. Their ends, being bent under, are separated from the others, and there is room for the execution of the pen-finger movements. The fingers should touch one another at the second joints, as far as the shape of the hand permits this gives unity and support. The pen is held by means of the thumb and the first and second fingers. Place the right extremity of the holder against the left side of the second finger just below the nail; the end of the finger will thus be above the pen. Next, adjust the holder obliquely across the left side of the third portion of the first finger, just behind the second joint, the middle finger being at the same time slightly bent. The first two portions of the forefinger may now be closed down on the holder, which will be found to cross and touch them diagonally. The first and second fingers touch throughout. Next, let the upper corner of the fleshy part of the thumb, near the nail, be placed, by slightly bending the thumb, against the lower half of the left side of the holder, opposite the first joint of the middle finger, and the pen will be found in a secure and natural position, both for extension and retraction. It will be observed that we have given the medium position of the pen. The fingers and thumb with the joints slightly bent outwards, straightening them would extend the pen; bending them still more would retract it. The pen is really held between three points,—the side of the end of the second finger, the side of the third portion of the first finger behind the second joint in front of the knuckle, and the side of the end of the thumb. The first finger is like the lid of a box placed on it to keep the pen from jumping out; it is also the principal agent in effecting the pressure for the shades. As to movement, the The first and second thumb may be regarded as a spring. fingers, by contraction of their muscles, press against it; we relax its muscles, and it yields by bending: thus the downward strokes are made. By relaxing, in turn, the muscles of the fingers, and straightening the thumb by calling its muscles into action, it pushes back the fingers, and the up-strokes are formed. The movement is twofold and alternate, extending and retracting, to form oblique lines, ovals, or horizontals. The pen must be held with the least possible grasp. It is to be at right angles to the base line, and thus in a line with the fore-arm. Great care must be taken to guard against a wrong position of the hand and pen. The pen must be so held that the right side is turned a little down, so that the right nib touches the paper first when the pen is put down. With this right nib the hair-strokes are made. The nibs, so to speak, are at right angles to the slope; not horizontal. By this means the shades can be made smooth. When it is neglected, the shades will be "scratchy," or rough on one side. A glance at the holder tells the teacher in a moment if the hand is right. With beginners, it will be found almost as variable as a weathercock. Now it is inclined to the right, showing that the hand is lying down,-a fault requiring constant watchfulness, and arising from neglect of the comital movement of the fore-arm; now to the left, showing that the hand is turned too far over in that direction. Now the end points outwards, showing the elbow has got away; again, it points inwards, showing that the wrist is bent to the right. The body with the right side to the desk, or directly facing it, or with either side more or less turned to it. It is to be upright and self-supported. The fore-arms rest lightly on the desk at right angles to one another. The right is supported by the rolling rest, and the hand by the sliding rest. The left arm has the fingers on the left side of the book, to steady it and to move it when necessary. The copy-book is placed with its vertical lines in the direction of the right, fore-arm, and its horizontal lines in that of the left. It must be kept far enough on the desk to allow the rests also to be on. This position of the book at right angles to the right fore-arm is invariable, whatever direction the arm may be in on the desk. The rolling rest is the muscle in front of the elbow; the sliding rest, the corners of the nails of the third and fourth fingers bent under. The movements of the fore-arm are three. The comital, which accompanies the sliding movement of the hand, and is made sidewise on the rolling rest. The muscular, which causes the medial movement of the hand, and gives heft to the pen-fingers. It is a play of the arm forwards and backwards on the rolling rest. The consequent medial movement of the hand is made over the sliding rest, of which the only move, ment is in a horizontal line. The lateral is the lifting and moving the whole fore-arm and hand to the right it is ren dered necessary by the limited scope of the comital. The simplest movement for beginners is to form the letters by the motion of the fingers, moving the hand and arm along by the united sliding and comital movements, which should be nearly continuous. When thoroughly familiar with these, after considerable practice, the medial and muscular movements may be added to give freedom and boldness of style. The lateral will not be needed until sentences are written. The movements of the pen fingers are in different directions, by extension and retraction: thus are written oblique straight lines; ovals, direct, inverted, and alternate; and horizontal lines. The shades are made by pressure. As to these, great care is needed. They must be made in ovals, with a gradual increase and diminution of pressure. The usual fault is to make them too abrupt, or with the greatest thickness too long continued. The moment the thickest point is reached, the pressure should begin to diminish. Special directions are given in the analysis of the letters, where needed. |