The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-03-21

and its mechanical processes have af-
forded to the ingenious story teller many
q chance for a thrilling tale.
This is especially true Of the system
of placing water marks, so called, III
various brands or makes of paper.
Perhaps the most interesting true
story which has to do with this branch
of the industry is that of the famous
"Ireland's Confessions.
Ireland had fabricated some Shake
speare manuscripts, which for long
! time were accepted rs actual They
made such an impression indeed that a
number of men, famous at that time for
their erudition and for their literary
standing, voluntarily prepared a testi-
monial attesting absolute belief in the
authenticity of the manuscripts. To this
document these men affixed their sigma
lures and sent the paper broadcast
The whole of the original edition of
the fakes was disposed of in few hours,
and SO great was the eagerness for the
edition that single copies were disposed
of in auction rooms ut enormous prices.
Some time after that Ireland himself
threw these gentlemen into much sor-
row by explaining just how he had had
fun with them.
Ireland s story was that the sheet of
paper which he used was the outside of
several others on which some accounts
had been kept during the reign of
Charles !. At that time Ireland was
wholly unacquainted with the subject
of water marks.
81 carefully selected, says he, 1.-TWO
half sheets not having any mark what
ever on which penned my first effu-
sion. " A few pages further on he wrote:
Being thus urged forward to the pro-
duction of more manuscripts, it became
necessary that ! should possess suffi-
cient quantity Of old paper to enable me
| to proceed, in consequence of which l
applied to a bookseller, who, for the
sum of shillings, suffered me to take
from all the folio and quarto volumes
in his shop the fly leaves which they
contained.
"By this means l was amply stored
with that commodity, nor did / fear
any mention of tho circumstances by
| the bookseller AS / was fully aware,
| from the variety of water marks which
are in existence at the present day, that
they must have constantly been altered
since the period of Elizabeth, and being
for some time wholly unacquainted with
the water marks of that age, | very care
fully produced my first specimens of the
writing on such sheets of old paper as
had no mark whatever
"Having heard it frequently stated
that the appearance of tuch marks ol
the papers would have greatly tended Il
establish their validity, l listened tt
every remark that was made on the sub
ject, and at length CLEANED the intelli
gence that jug was the prevalent wa
ter mark Of the reign of Elizabeth, il
consequence of which inspected al
the sheets of old paper then in my pos
session, and having selected such as hat
the jug ON them produced the succeed
ing manuscripts upon these, being care
full, however, to mingle with them {
certain number of blank leaves that the
production on sudden of so many wa
ter marks might not excite suspicion il
the breasts of those persons who were
most conversant with the manuscripts, y
A traveller in Messina was once shown
letter written by the Virgin Mary
with her own hand. He remarked that
it must indeed be miracle, since the
paper showed By its water mark that il
was not made till some centuries after
the age of Mary.
1t is the greatest mystery to most peo'
y
yet the matter is the simplest thing in
the world. In the manufacture of paper
the pulp, before it has begun to bt
dried and after it has been spread OF
the moving platform, passes under {
roller called the dandy. On this
dandy" is affixed the device which
works the water mark.
1t is of bent wire, and as tho rollel
presses the paper it presses into it th'
mark.
In the same manner most elaborat,
designs and even pictures and intricate
representations of whole battle scenes
have been done from an engraved plat
similar to an electrotype, used in tn
same manner on the dandy" roller
OF course check paper and bank pa
per is the most important variety dis
tinguished by water marks. In pair o
Go note molds prepared by the old proc
ess there are 8 curved borders, L
figures. 169 large waves and 240 letters
which had all to be separately secures
by the finest wire to the curved surface
There were 1866 wires and 81, 5S
twists and the same repetition wher
the stout wires We're introduced to SUP
D port the under surface.
In ancient times the water mark
. were used for the same purposes rs tn
o old inn signs. The old inns had doll
s and beehives, horses and various othe
forms as signs, For the same reason tn
II paper makers had some distinguishin
e mark which made their product distinC
l. from that of other makers.
A very famous mark of the sixteent
century was the handmark-a hand tor
ped with a star. The jug or pot mar
gave the name to the ''pot" paper, Will
the foolscap mark used ON paper of
certain size gave that size its nam'
which it retains to this day,
!. The post paper was so called becaus
% it bore a mark Of shield with po
horn on it.-London Letters.
A Delicate Distinction.
did you say you wanted Shak