"

"The books of that early time were indeed a marvel," mused his father.
"They were not at all like the books we know now. Most of them were
ponderous affairs with board covers from one to two inches thick. Around
many of these covers went a metal band, usually of iron, to keep the
boards from warping; and in addition this band was frequently fastened
across the front with a mammoth clasp. Sometimes there were even two of
these bands. The corners also were protected with metal, and to guard
the great volume from wear while it lay upon its side, massive,
round-headed nails studded both covers. More of these big nails were set
in the metal corners."

"The thing must have weighed a ton!" exclaimed Paul.

"A single book was a far heavier commodity than you would have cared to
hold in your lap," smiled Mr. Cameron. "In fact, it was impossible to
hold one of them; hence we find the old-time reading desk used as a
support. It was indispensable."

"But what on earth could a person do with such a book?" asked Paul. "Two
or three of them would fill a room."

"Almost," laughed his father. "People did not pretend to own many of
them. In the first place they cost too much; and in the next place one
could not have them lying about because the nails in their sides
scratched the tables. Nor could they be arranged side by side on a
shelf, as we arrange books now, because of the projecting nails or
buttons. Their weight, too, was a menace to safety. Petrarch almost lost
his leg by having a volume of Cicero which he was reading fall on it."

"I always thought Cicero would much better be left alone!" cut in Paul
wickedly. "Thank goodness that although I have to study Latin, I don't
have to do it out of a book of that size!"

"You do right to make the most of your blessings," his father answered,
with a twinkle in his eye. "Such books were, to say the least, awkward
to handle. Most of them were kept chained to the lecterns or desks of
the churches; sometimes even to the pillars."

"Chained?"

"Yes, indeed," nodded Mr. Cameron. "Books were too precious and rare to
risk their being stolen, as they doubtless would have been had they been
left about."

"I shouldn't think anybody would have wanted to carry a book big as the
dictionary very far."

"But suppose you were very eager to learn to read and never had the
chance to lay hands on a book?"

"Oh, that would be different."

"That was the condition most of the persons faced w