PRINTING. 91 



began with the compositors' room, where, with marvellous 

 rapidity, the workmen were selecting the letters from their 

 respective boxes in the case of type, and arranging them in 

 their proper order. The extraordinary illegibility of some of 

 the MSS. from which the compositors were reading with 

 apparent ease astonished our boys, who could make nothing of 

 them. They then paid a visit to the reader, who has the weari- 

 some and eye-tiring task of reading over and correcting the 

 proofs. When the proofs have been corrected and the "revise" 

 submitted to the author, and his corrections made, the process 

 of stereotyping comes in. The sheet of type is covered with 

 a layer of plaster-of-paris, which takes a perfect impression of 

 the words on the sheet of type. From this plaster-of-paris cast 

 another cast is taken in metal, and this forms the stereotype 

 plate from which the book is printed. The type, which is very 

 valuable, can then be distributed to its proper places, and used 

 again. The stereotype plates are always kept stored in stacks, 

 like bottles in a wine-bin. 



Jimmy, being of a mechanical turn of mind, was very much 

 interested in the stereotyping process, and more particularly 

 in the account they received of the way in which many daily 

 papers are printed. The impression is in the first instance 

 taken by means of a soft wet paper of sufficient thickness. 

 This is dried, and the molten metal is poured upon it, and 

 takes a perfect impression, without in any way spoiling the 

 paper mould, or " matrix," which can be used again, while a 

 plaster one cannot. Jimmy asked to be shown some wooden 

 blocks from which wood engravings are printed, and the boys 

 examined them curiously. 



They received an invitation to spend the evening at their 

 friend's house, and after returning to the boat to feed the 

 hawks with some " lights " bought at a butcher's shop, they had 

 a very pleasant evening, and slept that night on shore. 



