r the empress.
There was a _Charta blanca_, which obtained its title from its beautiful
whiteness, and which we appear to have retained by applying it to a
blank sheet of paper which is only signed, _Charte Blanche_. They had
also a _Charta nigra_, painted black, and the letters were in white or
other colours.

Our present paper surpasses all other materials for ease and convenience
of writing. The first paper-mill in England was erected at Dartford, by
a German, in 1588, who was knighted by Elizabeth; but it was not before
1713 that one Thomas Watkins, a stationer, brought the art of
paper-making to any perfection, and to the industry of this individual
we owe the origin of our numerous paper-mills. France had hitherto
supplied England and Holland.

The manufacture of paper was not much encouraged at home, even so late
as in 1662; and the following observations by Fuller are curious,
respecting the paper of his times:--"Paper participates in some sort of
the characters of the country which makes it; the _Venetian_, being
neat, subtile, and court-like; the _French_, light, slight, and slender;
the _Dutch_, thick, corpulent, and gross, sucking up the ink with the
sponginess thereof." He complains that the paper-manufactories were not
then sufficiently encouraged, "considering the vast sums of money
expended in our land for paper, out of Italy, France, and Germany, which
might be lessened, were it made in our nation. To such who object that
we can never equal the perfection of _Venice-paper_, I return, neither
can we match the purity of Venice-glasses; and yet many _green ones_ are
blown in Sussex, profitable to the makers, and convenient for the users.
Our _home-spun paper_ might be found beneficial." The present German
printing-paper is made so disagreeable both to printers and readers from
their paper-manufacturers making many more reams of paper from one cwt.
of rags than formerly. Rags are scarce, and German writers, as well as
their language, are voluminous.

Mr. Astle deeply complains of the inferiority of our _inks_ to those of
antiquity; an inferiority productive of the most serious consequences,
and which appears to originate merely in negligence. From the important
benefits arising to society from the use of ink, and the injuries
individuals may suffer from the frauds of designing men, he wishes the
legislature would frame some new regulations respecting it. The
composition of ink is simple, but we possess n