[Illustration] This was a device indicating something respecting the authors or proprietors of a volume, and, in this case, was composed of two _ecus_, or shields, which were taken from the armorial bearings of their families. As Gutenberg was of the nobility, some have affirmed that the monogram alluded to was his device, and adopted by the three partners before they separated; if otherwise, and it simply referred to Faust and Schoeffer, these partners did an act of great injustice in omitting his name from the colophon or conclusion of the Psalter. [Illustration] [Illustration] XVIII. New Friends.--The Nun.--Gutenberg at Work again.--Printing of the “Balbus de Janua.”--Other Works.--A Curious Record.--Death of the Great Inventor.--Fadeless Laurels. Was the art for which Gutenberg had toiled all his life, forever to be torn from him, and his rivals alone garner the fruits? In his despondency Anna was hopeful. She would often say to him,-- “There will be a way of deliverance. Thou has wintered with misfortunes ere this, and camest forth unharmed; and now, even if everything is taken, God can change the hearts of those who have wronged thee, and incline others to enlist in thy behalf.” “Those are noble sentiments,” Gutenberg would reply; “and if all things else are adverse, my Anna is true, and gives me good counsel.” Genuine faith is never unrewarded; and as if to encourage Anna, about this time Friele Gutenberg, having returned from Venice, where he had spent some years, visited his brother at the Zum Jungen. Gutenberg told him the story of his art, and how, when he had nearly completed the Bible, he was overwhelmed by a lawsuit, being unjustly required to pay money to Faust before he could raise anything from the sales. Friele was shocked at the recital; and at his request Gutenberg conducted him to the printing rooms, and showed him copies of the Bible. “Why,” exclaimed Friele, “this is indeed wonderful! It is the most beautiful book I ever beheld. And is the issuing of it entirely taken out of thy hands, my brother?” “It is even so,” was the reply. “I have been constrained to retire from the firm, and have no means to prosecute the art which has been the study of my life.” “But yours is a success,” said Friele. “You ought to be encouraged. I will aid you to the extent of my ability, and influence my friends to do something for you. There is also something due you from our father’s estate, which will soon be settled; and this, with other sums, will establish you in business under favorable auspices.” This was so unexpected that Gutenberg, overcome, could only press his brother’s hand in grateful silence.