ox horns show, when polished, beautiful gradations of color.
As far down as the time of George II, but dating back to the time when printing was -an unknown art, "horn books" were in use in England in the place of the many primers and other elementary books which now flood the country. These consisted of a single leaf, containing on one side the alphabet, large and small, in black letter or in Roman, with perhaps a small regiment of mono-syllables. Then followed a form of exorcism and the Lord's Prayer, and as a finale, the Roman numerals. The leaf was usually set in a wooden frame, with a slice of transparent horn in front—hence the name of horn book. There was a handle to hold it by, and usually this handle had a hole for a string, whereby the apparatus was fastened to the girdle. Sometimes the leaf was simply pasted to a slice of horn. These horn books are extremely rare now. Sheustone alludes to them in his poem, "The Schoolmistress." When alluding to the children he says:—
"Their books of stature small, they take in hand,
Which with pellucid horn secured are,
To save from fingers wet the letters fair."
Horns can be easily softened in hot water, and, so softened, can be flattened, or otherwise moulded. But the natural form is so graceful that one would hardly wish to alter it, unless it be to present a little more convenient surface for decoration. If the horns are procured at a slaughter house, they will need cleaning the first thing. This is done by soaking them in water, when the pith can easily be separated from the outside. Cups or tankards can be made of them by cutting off a section of the proper length. In order to render the horn soft enough to cut, it must be soaked in boiling water. While still
