STORIES FOR STANDARD III. 1. THE FIRST ENGLISH PRINTER. art, trade, skill Ab-bey, a kind of church ap-pren-tice, one learning a trade might-i-er, more powerful mul-ti-plied, increased in-tro-duced, first brought un-der-stand, know the ben-e-fit, good Here is another new book full of pleasant stories and beautiful pictures. It must be a great pleasure to have plenty of nice books; but it is better to be able to read them, and better still to be able to understand what is in them. A few hundred years ago there were very few books in the world. We owe the thousands and millions of books we now possess to the art of Printing. Before reading any of the stories in this book, or looking at its pictures, let me tell you a little about the man who introduced printing into this country. William Caxton has the honour of being the first English printer. He was born in the Weald 7 of Kent about the year 1412. After receiving a very fair education he was sent to London, where he was made an apprentice to a mercer who shortly afterwards became Lord Mayor of the city. Young Caxton gave strict attention to the business, and won the respect of his master. In 1442 he went to Holland, which at that time was called the Low Country. He was there some years, during which he learned the art of printing. If you visit Westminster Abbey when you are in London, no doubt you will be shown that part of it known as the 'Poets' Corner.' You will find there a great number of marble monuments which have been raised to the memory of some of our greatest poets, whose remains lie buried in that part of the Abbey. It was in this very corner that William Caxton set up his first printing-press upon his return to England. The press which Caxton used at first was a very clumsy one, and the sheets which he printed looked very strange with their curious black letters. He was as busy with his press as he had been at his trade when an apprentice boy years before; and as he lived until over eighty years of age, the list of books he printed in English and French is a large one. There was not very much stir at the time about this wonderful art, for the people were too ignorant to know the value of books. Little did they think that Caxton was raising up a power in England that would never die. The quiet man, with his funny-looking machine, was creating a power which would scatter blessings to all parts of the world. Great improvements have been made in printing since those days; the books we get now are much better and very much cheaper than books were even a hundred years ago. How very thankful we ought to be to Caxton for bringing to this country the art of printing! Before that time all books had to be written and every picture drawn by the hand. You will readily see that books would be dear, and none but the rich could buy them. Now, however, the poorest child in England has better books than kings and princes had four hundred years ago. The printing-press has multiplied copies of books so rapidly that they have become very cheap a beautiful book like this can be had for less than a shilling. The art of printing has been a great benefit to the people of this country. Good and clever men have written books which have been printed off in great numbers, and read by thousands and tens of thousands. Books have made people wiser, and better, and happier. Books have made men laugh and weep, sorrow and rejoice, and work and suffer. Boys and girls do not know the mighty power which the printing-press has awakened. It has made kings tremble and great men bow before it. The pen and the press have proved themselves mightier than the sword. Their power to-day is greater than ever; and as long as men think and read, they will bless the name of William Caxton. |