University of Maine at Presque Isle - Salmagundi Yearbook (Presque Isle, ME)

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6 SALMAGUNDI achievement of the ancient Egyptians. Just as We have two forms of letters, one for printing and an- other for writing, so the Egyptians employed three forms of script: the hieroglyphics,-in which the pic- tures and symbols were carefully drawn,-a form generally employed in monumental rnscriptionsg the hieretio, asimplii-led form of the hieroglyphics, and the demotic,a still further simplification of the .hie- ratic form. Then by very slow degrees this hiero- glyphic system was altered until certain signs became phonetic, that is, expressive of sounds, not always of some object. The Phoenicians formed out of these phonetics the first pure alphabet. ' There is no evidence that the Saxons brought any written language w1th them to Britain. Before the time of Alfred there were no schools except in 'the monasteries, which were institutions of learning as well as of religion. The monks showed great skill in copying and illu- minating books upon vellum, or parchment. These books were in the form of rells and it is interesting to note that our word VOLUME is derived from the Latin word VOLVERE, to roll. A vast amount ot hard labor was expended upon the making of the initial letters. Angelic and human figures, birds, beasts, and fishes, flowers, shells, and leaves were ali pressed into the service of the patient monks. When the book was finished, which might be the work of years, the title was often painted in red or some other brilliant colored ink at the bottom of the last page. The I headings of the various chapters were also written for the most part in red ink and the covers of the books were richly illuminated. A The art of printing was introduced into England from Belgium, by lVilliam Caxton, in 1474. He set up a printing oiiice near Westminster Abbey and one of the first books printed was a translation from the French called the HGarne and Playe of the Chesseii Sixty-live works, translated and original are assigned to the pen and press ot Uaxton. When he died in 1491, his assistants carried on the great work he had started. These were the men who printed our earliest Eng- lish books, which were of so much importance in the educational life of the people or England by dissem- inating the language of that country. The types of these early printers have been multi.. plied by millions, and their presses by hundreds, un- til at the present day, books for which Claxton charged a piece of gold, can be purchased for a silver coin, A BELL, '10,

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SALMAGUNDI 5 cords. Strings of various colors, with knots of differ- ent sizes and variously arranged, contained the na- tional history of these peoples. As it is not the nature of man to be contented with these imperfect means of recording great events, the old book of perishable, green leaves was soon exchanged for one of tough bark, and this Was later discarded for more durable materials. Records which men were anxious to preserve were engraved on slabs of rock or cut into plates of metal. In some ancient countries may still be found tombs and monuments, on which are inscriptions, giving the historical events of these nations. The Egyptian, Greek and Roman scholars wrote many of their early works on rolls of parchment, or of papyrus, a kind of paper which was made from the outer layer of a tall reed found in the swampy parts of the river Nile. A common form of the book in Greek and Roman days, also, consisted of tablets of wood, ivory, or metal coated thinly with wax, on which the writer scratched the symbols of his thoughts with an iron or bronze bodkin, called the stilus. A The people of Mexico kept their early records on strips of cotton cloth, upon which were painted flowers, trees, animals and many other objects which had some symbolic meaning. The diierentcolors in which these pictures were painted also had some par- ticular meaning. . The skins of various animals were tanned into smooth leather which afforded the people a durable material for their books and documents. Out of this class of writing materials came the parchment and the vellum, which is still much used by lawyers on account of its lasting qualities. Parchment is made from sheepskin, and vellum is a liner material made from calf skin. Perhaps the richest specimens of the ancient man- uscripts are copies of the Gospels! written on purple vellum with letters of silver and the sacred 'names Written in gold. These were written in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries. Drawing and painting were undoubtedly the earliest methods of conveying ideas in books, and still pic- tures and sketches aid in many of our books, at the present day, to convey a clearer meaning. r The link which connects such picture-writing with the use of the alphabetic symbols, lies V in the hiero- glyphic writings of the Egyptians. This working out of a system of writing, very curious and complex, was perhaps the greatest

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SALMAGUNDI 7 The Trip Up-Stream. ....-1-.T One Friday in early September, Mr. Merriman an- nounced, that on the next Monday the Normal School pupils would take the much talked-of trip up the Presqus Isle stream. The following Monday dawned bright and clear and promised to be a hot day in town. For once in the historyof dormitory life every one arose when the bell rang, and, to the credit of the Normal school be it said that nearly all were ready at nine olclock, the time appointed for our departure. When we arrived at the boat-house we found the steamboat already launched with a hotfire beneath the boiler. Just as the announcement was made that we would start in a few minutes, the boat was obscured by a dense fog caused by steam from the boiler. When this had cleared, it was found that the little glass tube, show- ing the height of the Water in the boiler, had broken, necessitatinga half-hour's delay on the part of the impatient students. After what seemed hours of waiting, all those, except the ten who were to go in canoes, embarked in the steamer. 'Wefully expected a prosperous trip to the picnic ground but when We were fairly out in mid-stream the boat suddenly stopped. Afzer a few minutes of waiting we pro- ceeded on our way. The stream is beautiful at any time but in early September it looks its best. Its banks are lined with large maple, spruce, and tir trees, which, with the shrubs and rich grasses form a dense green bank. Here and there a striking contrast is made by bits of vivid color betokening the brilliant reds and yellows of later autumn. Arriving at Mr. Willett's camp, which had been opened for our use, we were assisted to the mainland by the canoeists who had arrived earlier, though they, also, had had troubles to contend with, the brisk wind having made the water very rough, just enough to make the trip exciting. , V The morning was spent by the pupils in house- work, in paddling, and in investigating the surround- ings. Miss Jordan busied herself with her accus- tomed letter-writing and Miss Gussman found time to cover a paste-jar with rafiia, that much-loved C?j work of the F's. We wondered if this economy of time on their part was a plan to set a good example to the students. But a see-saw made by placing a board over the stump of a tree, lured these two staid teach- ers with its pleasures and soon they might be seen teetering solemnly up and down on this board for the