Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1836-12-20
W iscelIa ar y.
Trs@ IA BaiG~or, Saturday, Ecs.ias JesrasI
MISE9IEs OF A COMPOsITOR.
nv oSR

We besrs good desl Of tho mi.eties Of editors
bv, never o. those Of their bumbia eosdju,ors the
eompcsiiofs nevertheless. the latter have their
grievances, and The philosophy aud temper with
which they are borne are In striking contrast 10
the irritable peiulsnce of their snperiors Of the
gull.
b. your ls,ve Mesus Editors I gill en- n, er,ie
few Of tho more manifold Of the compo.itors
misefies. Tho employment, OF compositor is of
q two-fuld nature - nee hsnicsl and mental lie
commits 10 memory as much of his copy ns can
readily be obtsined by once reading over. and then
proceeds TO pick up the individual letters Of which
this portion !. composed, attending a, The en- ne
time 10 punciustion, spelhng and grammar. To
do this essfully. requires undivided attention
quick eye, 9 resdy hand. AMI un,iring patience
Under the mos; fsvorsble circumstances this labor
brings the compostor to- premature old oge--
bis SIGHT fails, his hand becomes tremulous the
sense Of touch dulled, and the nerves lose their
quckuess and energy; this, with but few cxcep-
tons, s the necessary and Ineyliibe result of his
employment. Bu, in addition 20 this, he is Sub
iect TO many miscries from he ignorance. the ca
pr,ce, or the csrelessue,s Of authors
The eompositor has a certain number ofsonares
exscted from him as bis days work this is expec-
ted whether his copy be clenr or obscure, icgible
or ilegible. punc,usted or not. Upon these cir.
cunstsnees, his earrings, his bread depends and
common humanity would dictate author. hat their
minstering servant. the coinpos,'or should be as-
sisted ns much es possible 10 his humble labors
for their present fame snd future hotor.
lliegibe cory is, perhsps.the composlors great.
eu misery az it lie frequenily found in combination
with every other fault. This is = universal failing
Of which tie liieraie and l'erste are alike guilty
III the former It is inexcusabe. Another griev.
fault authors is the attempt TO give foice 10
Q feeble style, aud cearness 10 an obscure one by
the frequen, introduction of ltslc words. This
SPOTS the appearance Of the printing. is alike in
suing 10 the taste and discrimination of the read.
CT, and sore evil TO the purse Of the poor com
positor as the italic case is often in u distant
part Of the Office. THIS misery tries the temper
more than illegIbity, though not serious in the
resul,s--ihe former msy arise from the incapsblty
the latter always :iO.n presumption and bad taste.
Another fault Of third rate authors, and alas. for
the compos,or, they by far he most numerous
j. continually insulting the capabilities Of The kings
Engiish With scraps Of foreign languages. This lie
the trick Of the shallow pedant. who mistakes the
acquisition OF languages for knowledge, and the
display Of them for wisdom. lis chief effect upon
the com9ositor is, that G every letter accen, and
diD,hong,be no, legbly marked, he makes mistakes :
bis besoied ignorance is such that the connect, on
10 here no aid TO han. One more misery and We
have done with the dolorous catalogue Some
authors snd their name is legion, for thcy ere
many cannot .ell how sentence will read ull
they zee il in print then, indeed il is palpablc, and
they alter siih great zeal and perseverance,. no,
rejecting that these sltercstiops cos, the compus
i,or trouble. timc. health, aud temper. OF those
nrmorous perpet rations, which are the result Of
sheer ignorance. DOT rendered offensive BY copceit
or presumption. ard heh fall to the compo.itor's
unhappy lot 10 shape into form and comcliness. we
,,ke NJ notice they evils insepsrablc from his
condition. and at frequently sufficiently amusing
20 eou Penssie in some measure FOR The loss rbev
occasion.
The suthor ~hom the printer delights TO honor
"a one who whites legiby, with bn, few erasures or
in,erinea'ionf whose punciusi ION is systematic
and may always be depended upon whose s,ylo
is not inverted and unnstursl but Towing and es,y
and readily retained ia the memory who uses IsIc
spsnnaiy foreigu language never aud who uskes
no alterations from copy on the procf sheet sncb
man is the glory snd the pgide Of the pri,,., -
him he sees no hults the broad mamie a ~
merits cover al rigor defects; and though his
principles may be ., insble, and his purposes De
'es'seie. he is 81 ic:s, SUR Of good word rom
the Printer.
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