, 1877-06-20

time to orope in the dark and feel its way
before it could fairly find a footing. The
first attempts were simple and rude enough
the mere stamping of certain grotesquC
marks or characters upon bales or packages
of goods, to insure their Identification anC
point out their ownership. 1t may wei
have been this practice of stamping The
goods Of the merchant that suggested the
cutting of rude pictures and passages OF
Scripture upon blocks Of wood, impressions
from WHICH were common IN Germany for
a CT considerable time before printing with
types beeaa to be practiseI. Such impress
8lous, when bound together, formed what
are called :" block boo,s," some Ci which
are sill preserved, one If them knowA as
" Bib,ia Fauperum,'' or B)0k OF the Poor,
beng ~wa..-known to collectors. Again,
there were PLAYING cards in use even ba'0re
the book books, and though many makers
ofsuch cards produced them by a sort Of
atoncjUinc process, it Is pretty clear that
vast numbers Ct them, manufactured IN
Venice, were faced WITH impressions nom
wood blocks. Further, there were in use
for generations before Faust OF Gutenberg
appeared on the scene, small sheets or
leaves bearing impressions from blocks,
which set forth the simple clements of
grammar, and these little manuals by
Donatus We're put into The hands OF children
at school. The first man, whoever he was
land that question is not likely 10 be set
tled), WAC conceived the idea Of substitute
iur movable characters instea4 Of the solid
block, he il was who really laid Ii" ioun-
dat;or o. Ntn4. and may be fairly Gid
to have iuf ed The art. Whose was The
oricioe ya DO not know, but we do
know That ID vas Gutenberg who first
brought it to q practical issue, and he has
reaped in reputation his merlted reward.
A Stroke Of Fortune.-It is not often
that we have to record 50 Welcome and
large a fortune as that which has descend
ed into the lap Of DR.. Proctor, q physician
practising in the little village of Rhyme,
Aberdeeushire. BY the death Of Miss
Macpherson Gram, the WcaIthlost hPiress
Ct Scotland, he unexpe ctedIy, as a cousin
and nearest OF kin, i~nilerits one OF the most
beautiful estates in Scotland, together with
a fortune OF between 50,O00I. and 80,000L.
Four other relatives of Miss Grant also,
in by no means wealthy circumstances
become entitled to sums of 100000. each.
The story is altogether q romantic one.
Miss Macpherson Grant was herself the
daughter Of a country medical practitioner,
and, by a singular train of events, became
the sole heiress to the estate OF an Unclc,
the traditional nabo5 OF the last century,
who had realised q great fortune in the
Indies. Many years since, Bliss Grant con-
clude1 az SOFT of compact with another
lady they mutually undertook to abide
together in single blesssdness. a year or
two since, Miss Grants companion broke
her part Of the contract by marrying.
From the moment that this resolution was
announced, Miss Grant refused to speak to
her lifelong friend and although for three
or four months afterwards they lived in
the same house, and, we believe, slept in
the same bed, she exchanged no word with
her. Subsequently she revoked the will
by which she had left the whole Of her
property to her once faithful friend and
companion in celibacy. We have mention
ed only some salient points of this history,
which is, indeed, a strange romance Of
modern life.
An Expensive Colony.-There were