fenced at the corner with silver roses and studs - »Pr'ythee, undo this button,«
said he, as he observed Lovel fumbling at the clasp. He did so, - the lid
opened, and discovered a thin quarto, curiously bound in black shagreen -
»There, Mr. Lovel - there is the work I mentioned to you last night - the rare
quarto of the Augsburg Confession, the foundation at once and the bulwark of the
Reformation, drawn up by the learned and venerable Melancthon, defended by the
Elector of Saxony, and the other valiant hearts who stood up for their faith,
even against the front of a powerful and victorious emperor, and imprinted by
the scarcely less venerable and praiseworthy Aldobrand Oldenbuck, my happy
progenitor, during the yet more tyrannical attempts of Philip II. to suppress at
once civil and religious liberty. Yes, sir - for printing this work, that
eminent man was expelled from his ungrateful country, and driven to establish
his household gods even here at Monkbarns, among the ruins of papal superstition
and domination. - Look upon his venerable effigies, Mr. Lovel, and respect the
honourable occupation in which it presents him, as labouring personally at the
press for the diffusion of Christian and political knowledge. - And see here his
favourite motto, expressive of his independence and self-reliance, which scorned
to owe anything to patronage that was not earned by desert - expressive also of
that firmness of mind and tenacity of purpose recommended by Horace. He was
indeed a man who would have stood firm, had his whole printing-house, presses,
fonts, forms, great and small pica, been shivered to pieces around him - Read, I
say, his motto, - for each printer had his motto, or device, when that
illustrious art was first practised. My ancestor's was expressed, as you see, in
the Teutonic phrase, KUNST MACHT GUNST - that is, skill, or prudence, in
availing ourselves of our natural talents and advantages, will compel favour and
patronage, even where it is withheld from prejudice or ignorance.«
    »And that,« said Lovel, after a moment's thoughtful silence - »that, then,
is the meaning of these German words?«
    »Unquestionably. You perceive the appropriate application to a consciousness
of inward worth, and of eminence in a useful and honourable art. - Each printer
in those days, as I have already informed you, had his device, his impresa, as I
may call it, in the same manner as the doughty chivalry of the age, who