ago, who
paid from twenty-five to fifty cents for a pen, would have opened
their eyes in amazement. When the typewriter was invented, some
people said, "That will be the death of the steel pen"; but as a
matter of fact, it has greatly increased its sale. The typewriter
makes writing so easy and so quick that many more letters are written
than formerly. All these letters have to be answered, and few people
compared with the whole number own typewriters, and therefore the pen
still holds its place.

The lacquer on a steel pen protects it until it has been used for a
while. After that, it will rust, if it is not wiped, and it will wear
out whether it is wiped or not. All that the gold pen asks is not
to be bent or broken, and it will last almost forever. It has the
flexibility of the quill, but does not have to be "mended." Gold pens
are made in much the same way as are steel pens; but just at the point
a tiny shelf is squeezed. Upon this shelf a bit of the alloy of two
exceedingly hard metals, iridium and osmium, is secured by melting
the gold around it; and it is this bit which stands all the wear of
rubbing on the paper. When gold pens were first made, tiny bits of
diamonds or rubies were soldered on for points; but they were
expensive, and they had a disagreeable fashion of falling off.

A century ago, writers would have thought it the height of luxury to
have a gold pen; but now they are not satisfied unless they can be
saved the trouble of dipping it into an inkstand, and they look upon
the fountain pen as their special friend. The fountain pen carries its
supplies with it. The pen itself is like any other gold pen, but the
barrel is full of ink. A little tube carries the ink to the point, and
the slight bending back of the pen as one writes lets it run out upon
the paper. At the end of the slit, at the back of the pen, is a hole
to let air into the barrel as the ink runs out. A perfect fountain pen
ought to be prepared to write--without shaking--whenever the cap is
taken off, and not to refuse to work so long as a drop of ink remains
in the barrel. It should never drop ink at the point and, whether the
point is up or down, it should never leak there or anywhere else.

The stylographic pen is quite a different article. There is no pen to
it; the writing is done with the end of a needle which projects
through a hole at the point. The barrel and point are full of ink; but
even if the pen is held point down, it will