Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/295

Rh it is said, address their captive, when they first get him on the line, with different titles of honor, after the manner of the ancient Egyptians, believing that the reptiles have grades and ranks, and gradually going down the scale till he is landed, when they call him very hard names.

Gutenberg and the Art of Printing.—The credit of the invention of-printing in Europe appears to have been settled upon Gutenberg by the publication of a letter written by Guillaume Fichet, in 1470, only two years after Gutenberg's death, to Robert Gaguin, which has recently been found in the unique copy of the Liber Orthographiæ of Gaspar Barzilius, the second book printed in Paris, in the library of Basle. In this letter Fichet says, "They report that not far from the city of Mentz there was a certain Jew surnamed Bone-montanus (Good-mountain, Gutenberg), who first thought out the art of printing." The writer then dilates upon Gutenberg's superiority, in virtue of his invention, to the ancient gods and goddesses, benefactors of humanity, and concludes, "Nor will I be silent concerning those who already surpass their master, among whom Udalricus, Michael, and Martinus are said to be chief." The invention may have been original or not with Gutenberg, but this was not the first of it. The art of printing with movable types was known to the Coreans before it was practiced in Europe. The British Museum possesses several Corean books so printed, which, in the opinion of experts, are of earlier date than the middle of the fifteenth century. The same people afterward fell back into block printing.

Modes of Hoarding.—The passion for hoarding is an old one, and is naturally developed. All people love what is bright, like gold and jewels, and when it is not safe to use treasure openly, will hide it. The attribute of value, soon acquired by such objects, increases the desire to possess and keep them. The Indians, not having much stock of precious metals, laid up wampumbelts. The Celts and Goths rolled gold into spiral finger-rings, or made necklets, armlets, and bracelets of it to wear. The ancient Egyptians had their ring-money, and treasure-houses where it was kept. The Greeks deposited their money in temples, buried it in the ground, or laid it away in tombs. Many people simply bury it; and this custom is illustrated in the fairy and mythological tales of buried treasure. Hoarding seems to have been more extensively practiced in India than in any other country. It was stimulated there by the rapacity of all governments previous to the English. The efforts of the English to change the habits of the people, by establishing banks and facilities for circulating money with guarantees of security, have had only partial success. The Royal Commission on bimetallism estimates that the hoards of the last fifty years in that country represent about three hundred millions sterling of gold and silver, or nearly one third of the total value of the coin in circulation in the world. The hoards of past centuries must be added to these to get the full amount. The metal is laid up in the form of bullion or coin, ornaments, or jewelry, and it would be hard to say which form is preferred. Jewelry is prized highly, and always finds ready sale. British sovereigns are in favor, because of the image of St. George and the Dragon upon them, which appeals to religious motives. The hoards of some of the native princes are enormous. The treasure of the Maharajah of Burdwan occupied half a dozen or more large rooms and vaults. These hoards acquire in time a sort of sanctity as a family treasure, and it becomes a point of honor not to break into them; so that they are not drawn upon except in extreme cases. Hoarding is common among the thrifty peasantry of Europe; and it was by wisely using the opportunity to draw from stores thus accumulated that the French people achieved their wonderful success in paying off the war indemnity which the Germans levied upon them.

Chinese Prize Essays.—The Chinese Polytechnic Institute and Reading Rooms, Shanghai, has for several years been managing a scheme of prize essays which has expanded into considerable proportions. It is based upon the popular system of writing essays in an elevated style of composition, in which the Chinese excel to an extraordinary degree. A high official is asked to give out a subject, on which prize essays are invited, and to co-operate in the examination of the