Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-27


ever Irefer TO my honored coaulryInen a:
white males, am reported as having
addressed them as white mules. All
these are very good jokes il credited tc
the printers devil, but not to those who
represent an unpopular idea and carefully
weigh their words.
The editor of q well-kDowE religious
journal, in reference to an individual, took
occasion TO write that he was TectuS IA
ecctesiG-that is, in good standing in the
church. The type-setter, 10 whom this
was dead language, in the editors alb
sence converted IT, into Teetas ia cniilld,
which, although pretty good Latin, alters,
in some degree, the sense, as it accorded
TO the reverend gentleman spoken of only
a good standing in the kitchen.
Incorrect punctuation is also a prolific
source of fa,er pcs of the press When
| Lord Timothy Dexter, of Newburyport,
wrote his famous book entitled 4 Pikc5
| for the Rnoa0iRg Ones, there happened
TO be many heresies, schisnls and false
teachings abroad in the land regarding
punctuation, and as many diverse sys-
tens appeared for the location of COM
mas, semicolons, periods, da-hes, etc., as
there were works published. To obviate
the difficulty, and give every one an OPP
portunity of suiting himself, his lordship
left out all marks of punctuation from the
body of his work, and at the end of the
volume had printed five pages of nothing
but pauses and stops, with which he said
the reader could pepper and salt his liter
airy dish as he chose.
The following sentence from a recently
published sensation novel shows the great
importance of correct punctuation ''He
enters on his head, his helmet on his feet,
armed sandals on his brow; there was a
cloud in his right hand, his faithful sword
N his eye, an angry glare he sat down.
A second instance occurred in an account
of Delmonico dinner. At the banquet
this toast was given: Without
her man, is a brute. Another case is
that of New York editor who thus in
trOduced some verses: ''The poem pub
lished this week was composed by an
esteemed friend who has lain in his grave
for many years for his own amusement"
Still another ludicrous mistake was that
made by the clergyman of parish, to
whom the wife of a person about to sail
on distant voyage sent a note expressing
the following ga husband going 30 sea,
his wife desires the prayers of this congre-
CATION" Unfortunately, the good matron
was not skilled in spelling or punctuation,
nor had the minister quick vision, and he
accordingly read the note, ga husband
going to see his wife, desires the-prayers
of this congregation" This mistake is
nearly as bad as that of an Irish journal
'For his Grace the duchess of Devon
shire was safely delivered, read her
Grace the Duke of Devonshire.
The late Peter HASTE, of New York
City, discovered above one thousand errors |
of spelling, syntax and punctuation in
so-caIIed immaculate English edition of |
the Bible, and one-tenth that number of |
eTr0tu on two pages of popular I'M
abridged American dictionary. The only
books that are believed to beperfect-i. G.,
entirely free from typographical errors
are an Oxford edition of the Bible, a Lon |
don and Leipsic Horace and an American
reprint of Dante The University of Ok |
ford had standing offer of guinea for |
each and every error that might be found |
in their edition of the Holy Bible referred
to aboves For very many years no one |
claimed the reward, until recently an |
c5rnt1t1a was discovered by a lynX-eyed |
reader, the reward duly paid, the error
corrected, and it is now confidently be- |
lieVed to be without typographical blem-
ish of any description.
JAMES GRANT WusDS.