VI FLY-LEAF SCRIBBLINGS HILDREN have always been prone to scribbling, and the pupils in the old district schools Cabling, were no exception to the rule. They did not by any means confine their chirography to their copybooks. A fair surface of paper, no matter where found, was a temptation to some of them, and all had moments of mental ennui when the employment of the fingers in aimless, or at least unnecessary, whittling and writing was as natural as breathing. Instances can be found where there was a genuine ferment of literary or artistic inspiration, but mostly the children produced only copies of what they had seen their schoolmates do. Probably the young folks of two or three generations ago scribbled less in their school-books than their descendants; for the majority of the old books that have survived the wear and tear of use and the casualties of the passing years are comparatively free from markings. Books were rarer and far more valued in the early days than later, and were treated with more respect, though it must be admitted the comparative immaculateness of such copies as are now extant is in part due to the fact that the books most decorated were the soonest to go to pieces, and they no longer exist. But search and appeal to elderly people bring to light many curious bits of school-child lore. The first thing the youthful proprietor of a book was likely to do was to mark it with his name. Usually he put his signature on the front fly-leaf, but he might write it on the final fly-leaf, or almost anywhere else in the book. Sometimes he lettered Jabez Backus BOOK. 7790 し اب A Signature. From a Dilworth's Schoolmaster's Assistant. it outside on the cover, or even on the edges of the leaves. Various common forms of name inscriptions are given below. They exhibit considerable originality in spelling and in punctuation or the lack of it, and are transcribed just as they were written. William Orne's 1779 Elisa Lee,s property cost of it 3/ Hartford 10th Dec 1798 Allen m Shepherds Book and pen the year 1831 augest 17 1828 her book Ella Morrill is my name Mifs Jane Elizabeth Smith Price 371⁄2 Cnts January 1st 1833 Mifs Nottinghams Seminary for Young ladies 'n an old Latin book I find this signature: Andrew Hillyer Ejus Liber A D 1700 and frose to death. The Latin students were fond of writing "Ejus Liber," but the line which gives the date is the only one of the kind I have seen. Frequently the names were accompanied by verses such as: Steal not this Book For fear of Shame Steal not this book, for if you do, Steal not this book for fear of strife Steal not this book my honest friend you Let every lerking thief be taught, That learning is much better bought од Wath Wether this Book ведь Wise Advice in a Murray's English Reader, 1822. Reduced one-half. The longest and most impressive of these incantations against possible purloiners was the following: |