The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-10-12
ANECDOTES OF PRINTERS.



than man, and that most men are much less.
He habitually speaks of the Car of all the
Russians as AleclS Romanof; the Emperor
of Germany as Old Dutch Bill; of the Pope
of Rome as an ancient duffer. In his eyes
forms are puerilties, and etiquette a sham.
There is not grain of hero-worship in his
compositions; he would not flatter Neptune
for his trident, nor Jove for his power to
thunder. He would ask the Sultan of Tur
key for chew of tobacco; he would invite
the Grand LLAMA to game Of draw-poker.
Several years before Chief Justice Taney's
death the Government Printing Office at
Washington had occasion to send him some
prooislips of an important decision, and
they were intrusted to printers boy, who
appeared at the Judges Office and before the
Judge with, ais Tancy in?"
al presume you wish to see the Chief
Justice of the United States"
al don't care a cuss about him. I've got
some proofs for Tancy."
81 am the Hon. Roger B. Taney."
"You're Taney, aren't you?"
al am not, fellow. am the Hon. Roger
B. Taney."
"Then the proofs are not for you" and
the unceremonious messenger would have
gone off with them if the Judge had not adj
mitted himself to be Taney simply.
On certain occasion Edward Everett
visited the composng-room of the Boston
AdUertiser at late hour to read a proof of
an Grafton which he had failed 10 see at an
earlier hour. Extremely particular about
his style, he was altering sentences and
making additions while the forms were
waiting, which so irritated the foreman
that he roared out, "Cut it short, Everett
confound it, cut it short; there's no time
now for patching up bad English"
New Orleans, not long-hgo! was afflicted
with one Williams, a newspaper bore-he
was known, geographically, as the Great
Artesian-who was constantly sending poor
articles to the dailes, and haunting the
Offices to inquire if they had been used. lie
went into the office of the Picay,tRe in the
morning nobody being present but com
positor, rather muddled from drink over
night, who had taken possession of one of
the desks
as the editor in?"
al -to-that-name," replied
the typo who was very exact and deliber-
ate of speech, and who recognized the bore
at once. "May-I-be-per. mit-ted to--in-
quire-the nature of your-busi ness"
al want to know if an elaborate poem of
mine, entitled The Rose of the South" has
been accepted"
"Mis-ter Williams, allow me to say that
when first saw you | formed the impress
sion that you We're a con.summate ass; ard
although have met You since on great
many occasions and under a variety of
cir-cum -stan-ces, | have never seen any
thing in you conduct to cause me to change
the o-pir-ion which then formed. Good
morning. Mister Williams"
From that day Mr. Williams ceased toin-
fest the office of the Picdy,me, in which, after
this incident, he was called the Artesian
Uuwel.
A typo who has made some absurd blunder
in Savannah will learn, on entering an
office in Milwaukee, that his blunder has
preceded him. Some ludierous incident OF
which he is the subject, or object, will cross
the continent almost as rapidly as he can.
A good thing on him, as it is styled, will
take up its residence in the news-rooms Of
every large city, and refuse to be expelled
He can not put quietus upon his mistakes,
either professional or personal. They will
confront him again and again at unexpected
seasons and in out-of the-way places, In a
printing office all days are Judgment days.
printers are condemned repeatedly for the
same otiense, and each time punished with
new tortures. At first they are goadcd
nearly to frenzy by This worthless itttdtion;
but they get used to it, as eels are presumed
to get used to being skinned. Atlast they as
sumo to be callous, and to seem callousis is to
cripple criticism. have known sensitive
youth to suffer terribly in their typographical
initiation, and to be obliged, after heroic en-
durance, to relinquish an avocation in which
the bed Of Procrustes is so unremittingly en-
ployed.
have an instance still vivid in my mind.
A yonng printer had come to the city from
an interior town, and "take" Of a critique
had written on Edwin Booths "Hamlet"
fell to his lot. The melancholy Dane" oc-
curing in a sentence, he set it the "melan-
choly Dave" and, by oversight ofthe proof |
reader, so it appeared IN the morning issue.
The error, which had occurred by a "v" /
getting into the "n" box, was no indication I
of his intelligence, but it was too ludicrous
to pass unnoticed.
When the unfortunate wight entered the
composing the next day, he was greet
ed with, "Here comes Dave Hamlet" /
How are YOU Dave?"
q don't 90 "a much C,r p..yLt- TT.,.I..