RITING is the art of expressing ideas by visible signs or characters inscribed on some material. It is either ideographic or phonetic. Ideographic writing may be either pictorial, representing objects by imitating their forms, or symbolic, by indicating their nature or proportions. Phcnetic writing may be syllabic or alphabetic; in the former, each character represents a syllable; in the latter, a single letter.

The first mention of written letters of which we have any record is in the account given in the Book of Genesis of the Tables of the Law. We are told that the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God on tables or tablets of stone. This statement has led some writers, among them the learned Dr. Adam Clarke, to believe that letters were Divinely invented upon this occasion. There is no necessity, however, for taking this view of the case; for at the time of the "Giving of the Law," a written language was the possession of each of the nations inhabiting the southern shore of the Mediterranean. The Phoenician alphabet, upon which that of the Hebrews was modelled, had been in existence for several centuries before this time, and as Phoenicia was then a dependency of Egypt, and engaged in active commerce with that country, Moses was doubtless acquainted with the Phoenician system. The fact that the Hebrew alphabet was modeled upon the Phoenician seems almost a positive proof of this theory.

The date of the invention of the Phoenician alphabet, which was the first (17)

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purely phonetic system ever used, is now definitely settled. It was during the supremacy of the Shepherd Kings over Egypt. These were princes of Canaanitish origin, who had conquered Lower Egypt, and were contemporary with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. The discoveries of science give us reason to believe that it was the Shepherd Kings of Avaris, who borrowed from the Egyptian hieratic writing a certain number of alphabetical characters, employed them to represent the sounds of their own language, and thus produced the Phoenician alphabet of twenty-two letters, the origin of most of the other alphabets of the world. The Phoenicians not only invented the alphabet; they taught the use of it to all nations with whom they had commercial transactions. With the progress of the world, the art of writing and the characters employed were greatly simplified, until the system in use at present was adopted by the civilized nations of the world.

Penmanship is the art of writing well. It is one of the most important accomplishments a person can possess. No matter what your position in life, the ability to write a good, clear, legible hand, is a priceless possession. To a young man starting out to make his way in life, it is so much genuine capital, which he can turn to advantage at almost every step. The great object should be to write a firm, clear hand, with uniformly made, well-shaped, and properly shaded letters. An abundance of flourishes or marks is a defect, except where ornamental writing or "flourishing" is intended.

The present system of forming and combining letters seems to be perfect. It enables the writer to put his thoughts on paper almost with the rapidity of speech, and it is not probable that it will ever be improved upon.

In this country two styles of penmanship are in use. One is known as the round hand, the other as the angular. A new system, known as the semiangular, has been introduced, mainly through the efforts of the Spencers, and of Payson, Dunton and Scribner, and is winning its way to favor. The "copy books" prepared by these masters present the best and most progressive system of penmanship now accessible to the learner, and we cordially commend them to all.

Practice.

The only way in which a person can acquire the art of writing a good hand is by constant and conscientious practice. With some persons good penmanship is a gift, but all may acquire it by persistent practice. Select a good system of copies the series referred to above cannot be improved upon-and try faithfully to form your hand upon the model selected. Do not be satisfied until you can do as well as the master you are seeking to imitate.

Writing Materials.

It is of the greatest importance that the writing materials used by you should be of the best quality.

The pen should be of steel or of gold. Many persons prefer the gold pen, because it more nearly approaches the quill in flexibility. It is also the most durable pen. A good gold pen, properly used, should last for years. For general use, and especially for ornamental writing, a good steel pen is by far the best. It enables you to make a finer and sharper line than can possibly be made with the gold or quill pen.

The paper should be of the best quality and texture, clearly ruled, and not too rough in surface. It is most common now to use copy-books, regularly prepared and ruled. These may be obtained from any stationer, those of the Spencerian System, and of Payson, Dunton and Scribner being the best. It is a good plan, after you have completed a copy-book, to go over the same set of copies again. This may be done by taking half a dozen sheets of foolscap and

cutting them in half. Place the half sheets within each other, and stitch them together, protecting the whole with a cover of stiff paper. Then use the copies of the book you have just finished, writing on the new book you have thus made. This saves the expense of a new copybook.

A slip of blotting-paper should be provided for every copy-book. In writing rest the hand upon this, especially in warm weather. The perspiration thrown off by the hand is greasy in its nature, and soils the paper upon which the hand rests, and renders it unfit to receive the ink.

Never use poor ink. Black ink should always be used in learning to write, and in ordinary correspondence. Blue and red inks are designed for special purposes, and not for ordinary use. An ink that flows freely and is nearly black when first used is best. Do not use a shallow or light inkstand. The first will not allow you to fill your pen properly; the latter will be easily turned over. The inkstand should be heavy and flat, and of such a form that you can at once see the amount of ink in it, and thus know how deep to dip your pen. Dip your pen lightly into the ink, and see that it does not take up too much. The surplus ink should be thrown back into the inkstand, and not upon the floor. By stopping the mouth of the bottle when you have finished using it, you will prevent the ink from evaporating too fast, and also from becoming too thick. A pen-wiper should always be provided. This should be of some substance that will not leave a fibre in the slit of the pen. A linen rag or a piece of chamois or buckskin will answer.