and was used for the same purpose. While
tablets were ordinarily used for writing of a purely temporary nature,
they were occasionally used for permanent records and especially for
correspondence. Two or more tablets could be put together with the
wooden sides out, bound, and sealed. In this way the writing was secure
from observation or interference and the tablets were less liable to
injury than papyrus or vellum. Tablets were used at a very early period
and continued to be used, especially for correspondence, all through the
middle ages and into the 16th century. Sometimes a considerable number
of them would be fastened with thongs by one edge so as to form a
continuous document which was one of the precursors of the modern book.
The British Museum has a document of this sort consisting of nine leaves
about 7 x 9 inches. The writing on it is in shorthand, which is by no
means a modern contrivance. This particular document is of Greek origin
and dates from about the 3d century A.D.

The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and other peoples of remote antiquity
used inks made of charcoal or soot mixed with gum, glue, or varnish.
Similar compositions were used to a late date. The Romans made extensive
use of sepia, the coloring substance obtained from the cuttlefish.
Irongall inks, inks that consist of an iron salt and tannin, were
invented by an 11th century monk named Theophilus. Of course these inks
were mixed with coloring matter, and other paints and pigments were used
in the preparation of manuscripts. The earlier printing inks were made
of lampblack and linseed oil. The subject of printing inks is fully
discussed in No. 12 of this series of text-books. The ink was ordinarily
applied by means of reeds which were either beaten out at the end into
fine brushes so that the characters were painted rather than written,
or sharpened and split at the end like a modern pen. Later the quill of
the goose or some other large bird, cut to a point and split, largely
took the place of the reed and continued to be the writer's tool for
centuries. In later years they have been displaced by the modern pen of
steel or gold. It is interesting to note that bronze pens imitating
quills were used by the Romans and some specimens are still preserved.

[Illustration: Mediaeval scribe at work, showing bookcase and writing
materials.]

The mediaeval scribe, or copyist, had in addition to his quill, ink, and
vellum, a pair of compasses to pric