"I wish papa would give me a gold pen; I believe I could keep one a long time," said Essie.
"DID YOU GET A LETTER?" SHE ASKED.
"Probably the best steel pens are made in England, but American gold pens are the best. A great amount of labor is bestowed upon them. Every one is carefully tested before it is put into the market. When a person buys a gold pen he pays a good price for it and expects it to last a long time, and this is the reason that they are so carefully tested. If half the steel pens in your box prove to be worthless, the remainder are still cheap."
"But, mamma, you have not told me why people do not use quill pens nowadays."
"I suppose principally because metal pens are more durable. Quill pens require to be mended often and one who writes much would find it quite a task to make and mend his pens. I should not wonder if we would find a bunch of quills hanging from the rafters in the attic of this old house and I should like to make a quill pen for you that you may write with a pen like the one your grandfather always used. And now, Essie, if you will pay attention to your father's request you shall have a gold pen when we go back home," said mamma, smiling kindly.
"You mean about taking pains with my writing?"
"Yes; I have sometimes thought that in nothing does culture or want of culture show itself more than in a person's penmanship."
Mrs. J. H. Foster.
