tters, and he found that to cut them by hand was too slow a process;
moreover, the lead letters were very soft and wore down quickly. He must
cast his letters in brass molds and make them of more durable metal. But
alas, such an innovation was costly and his money had given out.
Therefore, much as he dreaded to part with his secret, he was forced to
take into partnership a rich metal worker by the name of John Faust."

Mr. Cameron paused to think a moment.

"It was thus that Gutenburg procured the brass for his molds; made in
them letters of harder material; and printed his Bible. With the
production of this masterpiece came a strange happening, too. You can
see that by printing from letters cast in molds the text was more
regular than was the handwork done by the priests and monks. Hence when
Charles VII of France saw one of the new Bibles he was enchanted with it
and eagerly bought it because of its uniform text. The next day he
displayed his recently acquired treasure to the Archbishop with no
little pride, and great was his astonishment when the Archbishop
asserted with promptness that he himself owned a newly purchased Bible
that was quite as perfect in execution. The king protested that such a
miracle could not be--that no one could write by hand two such copies.
To settle the dispute the Archbishop's Bible was produced and placed
beside the king's, and there they were, identically the same. The
dignitaries were troubled. It was not humanly possible to pen by hand
two such books. Why, it would take a lifetime--more than a lifetime; nor
could any penman write two manuscripts so exactly alike. To make the
matter worse and more puzzling, other copies were discovered precisely
like the king's and the Archbishop's. Not a line or letter varied. It
was magic!"

Paul laughed with pleasure.

"No wonder the poor king and the stately archbishop were upset!" he
said.

"They were very much upset indeed," agreed his father. "It was, you must
recall, a superstitious age. Everything that could not be fathomed was
attributed to witchcraft. Hence witchcraft was the only explanation of
the present miracle. John Faust, of whom the two royal persons had
bought the books, must have sold himself to the devil. They would have
the unlucky merchant brought, and if he could not satisfactorily tell
how and where he had got the Bibles, he should be burned alive."

"I suppose he went and told!" put in Paul indignantly.

"Yes, he did. H