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874

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mat letter of the king in parchment, sealed withjiis seal, and di -rected to some judge, officer, or minister, &c. at the suit of asubject, for the cause briefly expressed, which is to be determinedin the proper court according to law.

WRITING, the art or act of signifying and conveying ourIdeas to others, by letters or characters visible to the eye. SeeComposition, English Languagk, and Grammar .

Writing, Ancient Methods op. The most ancient remainsof writing, which have been transmitted to us, are upon hard sub-stances, such as stones and metals, which were used by the an-cients for edicts and matters of public notoriety ; the decaloguewas wiitten on two tables of stone ; but this practice was notpeculiar to the Jews , for it was used by most of the eastern nations,as well as by the Greeks and Romans. The laws penal, civil, andceremonial, among the Greeks, were engraven on tables of brasswhich were called Cyrbes. Wood was also used for writing onin different countries. In the Sloanian library are six specimensof Kusic writing, on boards about two feet in length, and sixinches in depth. The Chinese , before the invention of paper,wrote or engraved with an iron-tool upon thin boards or on bamboo.Pliny says, that table-books of wood were in use before the timeof Homer. These table-books were called by the Romans pu-giliares. The wood was cut into thin slices, and finely planedand polished. The writing was at first upon the bare wood, withan iron-instrument, called a style. In later times these tables werecommonly coated with wax, and written upon with that instry-ment. The matter written upon the tables which were thus waxed-over was easily effaced, and by smoothing the wax, new mattermight be substituted in the place of what had been written before.The Greeks and Romans continued the use of waxed table-books,long alter the use of papyrus, leaves, and skins, became common,because they were so convenient for correcting extemporary com-positions. Table-books of ivory are still used for memorandums,but they are commonly written upon with black-lead pencils.The practice of writing on table-books covered with wax was notentirely laid aside till the commencement of the 14th century.The bark of trees was also used for writing by the ancients, andis so still in several parts of Asia . The same thing may be saidof the leaves of trees. The use of Parchment , Vellum, Papyrus,and Paper , for writing is well known. See these articles. It isobvious, that when men wrote, or rather engraved on hard sub-stances, instruments of metal were necessary, such as the chiseland the stylus ; but the latter was chiefly vised for writing uponboards, waxed tables, or on bark. When the ancients wrote onsofter materials than wood or metal, other instruments were usedfor writing with, of which reeds and canes seem to have been thefirst. Reeds and canes are still used as instruments fur writingwith by the Tartars, the Indians, the Persians , the Turks, and theGreeks. Pencils made of hair are used by the Chinese for theirwriting. Hair-pencils have likewise been used for writing in En- Jrope. Large capital letters were made with them from the time iof the Roman emperors till the 16th century. After the inven- \tion of printing they were drawn by the illuminators. Quills of ,geese, swans, peacocks, crows, and other birds, have been usedin these western parts for writing with, but how long is not easy toascertain. St. Isidore of Seville , who lived about the middle ofthe seventh century, describes a pen made of a quill as .used inhis time.

Writings, Method of Cotying, a piece of thin unsizedpaper, exactly of the size of the paper to be copied : it is to bemoistened with water, or what is better, with the following li- jquid : 'fake of distilled vinegar two pounds weight, dissolve it inone ounce of boracic acid ; then take four ounces of oyster-shells . 1calcined to whiteness, and carefully freed from their brown crust

put them into the vinegar, shake the mixture frequently for 24hours, then let it stand until it deposits its sediment ; filter theclear part through unsized paper into a glass-vessel ; then add twoounces, of the best blue Aleppo galls bruised, and place the liquorin a warm place, shaking it frequently for 24 hours ; then filterthe liquor again through unsized paper, and add lo it after filtrationone quart, ale-measure, or pure water. It must then stand 24hours, and be filtered again if it shews a disposition to deposit anysediment, which it generally does. When the paper has been wetwith this liquid, put it between two thick unsized papers to absorbt lie superfluous moisture ; then lay it over the writing to be copied,and put a piece of clean writing-paper above it. Put the wholeon the board of a rolling press, and press them through the rolls,as is done in printing copper-plates, and a copy of the writingshall appear on both sides of the thin moistened paper ; on oneside in a reversed order and direction, but on the other side in thenatural order and direction of the lines.

WROTHAM, a town of Kent , II miles S. W. by W. ofMaidstone, and 25 S. E. by E. of London . Lon. 0. 20. E. Lat.

51. 20. N.

WROXETER, an ancient town of Salop , 5 miles S. E. ofShrewsbury, and 155 N. W. of London .

WULFENIA, in botany, a genus of the diandria monogyniaclass and order. Corolla tubular, ringent, with the upper lipshort, entire, the lower three-parted, with the aperture bearded ;calyx five-parted; capsule two-celled, four-valved. There isonly one species, viz. W. Carinthiaca, a native of Carinthia , onthe highest Alps .

WULPIT, or WOOLPIT, a town of Suffolk , 8 miles from St.Edmund’s-bury, and 17 N. W. of Ipswich . Lon. 0. 55. E. Lat.

52. 20. N.

WURMBEA, in botany, a genus of the hexandria trigyniaclass and order. Natural order, Corouarise. Calyx none : co-rolla six-parted, with an hexangular tube ; filaments inserted intothe throat. There are three species.

WtJRTEMBURG, or WIRTEMBURG, a sovereign duchyof Germany, in Suabia , one of the most, fertile countries inGermany . Stutgard is the capital.

WURTSBURG, WURTZBURG, or WURZBURG , abishopric in Germany, comprehending the principal part of Fran-conia , secularized in 1802.

Wurtsburg, or Wurtzburg , a large and handsome city ofGermany, in Franconia, capital of the above bishopric. Lon.10. 2. E. Lat. 49. 40. N.

WURZACtl. a town of Suabia, in Waldburg , on the Aitracb,17 miles N. of Waugen. Lon. 9. 55. E. Lat . 48. 1. N.

WYCK, a town in the duchy of Limburg . Lon 5. 41. E. Lat.50. 52. N.

WYCOMB, Chipping, or High, a populous and well-builtborough of Bucks, 12 miles S. of Aylesbury, and 31 W. ofLondon .

WYE, a river of S. Wales, which rising from Piinlimmonhill, on the confines of Cardiganshire , and running S. if. dividesthe counties of Radnor and Brecknock, and falls into the mouthof the Severn at Chepstow.

Wye, a town of Kent, 10 miles S. of Canterbury , and 59S. E. of London . Lon. 1.4. E. Lat. 51. 10. N.

V' ye, a town of Switzerland , in St. Gallon, 1.6 miles S. S. W.of Constance. Lon. 9. 4. E. Lat. 47. 34. N.

WYTHE, a county of Virginia , 120 miles long, and 44broad ; it Las mines of lead, mixed with silver. Evansham is thecapital.

WYVERN, in heraldry, a chimerical animal, variously re-presented ; will) or without feet, legs, or wings. . See Heraldry,