After a while he thought of making the letters of lead instead of wood; and finally he found that a mixture of lead and tin was better than pure lead, because it was harder and more durable. And so, year after year, Laurence Coster toiled at the making of types and the printing of books. Soon his books began to attract attention, and as they were really better and cheaper than the block books, there was much call for them.
Some of the good people of Haarlem were greatly troubled because the old gentleman spent so much of his time at such work.
“He is bewitched,” said some.
“He has sold himself to the evil one,” said others.
“No good thing will ever come out of this business,” said they all.
III. JOHN GUTENBERG.
One day when Laurence Coster was making his first experiments in printing, a young traveler, with a knapsack on his back and a staff in his hand, came trudging into Haarlem.
“My name is John Gutenberg, and my home is at Mayence,” he said to the landlord of the inn where he stopped.
“And pray what may be your business in our good city of Haarlem?” asked the landlord.
“I am trying to gain knowledge by seeing the world,” was the answer. “I have been to Rome and Venice and Genoa; I have visited Switzerland and all the great cities in Germany; and now I am on my way through Holland to France.”