St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-13
ENTERTAINING BLUNDERs.
Some Ridiculous Mistakes and BH
Which Hare Made Our incest,

Some Ridiculous Mistakes aud Bulls
Which Hare Made Our ancestors
laugh.
Horace Walpole records that when the
Duchess Of Bolton wished 10 divert George /.
she affected 10 make some ridiculous mis-
take, which never failed to put the king in
good humor. BIunders frequently take
place Of the medieval testers, the chief OF
whose wit appears to have rested upon the
absurd mistakes they failed TO make. Lord
Falmouth's dispute with Pitt in the house
would have dropped into oblivion with
countless other unimportant parliamentary
debates, save for the ridiculous mistake OF
one Of the speakers. Pitt concluded his
argument with Latin quotation, which
Lord Falmouth did not understand, but con-
ceived to be something Of an unhattering
nature applied to himself. Demanding what
was meant, Pitt dryly replied that the express
sion was not his own, but Horace's. ~ did
not believe that Horace Walpole would
have insulted me after all the
obligations 1 have laid him
under" cried the affronted peer, who was
better acquainted with the owner OF Straw
berry Hill than with the Latin poet. His
error was somewhat akin TO that of the lady
who remarked that she was surprised that
Lord Nelson, who never made great pro-
fession OF religion, should have written
book on ''The Fasts and Festivals OF the
English Church" II is often assumed that
it is only ignorant or stupid persons who
make ludicrous mistakes; but this Is quite
fallaey. Actual "bulls'' to match any in
Miss Edgworth's famous collections, have
haarn afra4 ted nv ofa h.,
DAYS when Sir Isaac Newton cut hole for
the cat and hole for the kitten in his study
door. D'Israeli has written at length on the
''Follies of the Learned" and many cele-
brate names figure In every bit of what may
be termed Historical blunders." DIR. Stuck
eley discovered a coin of Carausius, on
which he deciphered the letters ''Orivna
Avg" and concerning this TO relate TO wife,
wrote an article on the hitherto unknown
august Orivna." Unluckily. a brother
antiquarian possessed the same
coin in a better condition, and showed
the inscription to be Fortuna Avgn II
1t is said that the legend OF st. Ursula aud
her IL, 900 virgins arose out Of the misread-
ing Of the authorizations In an ancient Ms,
which spoke OF est Ursula ct Undecemilia
V. 81" (St. Ursula and Undecemilia; vir-
gin martyrs.") This a wise transcriber read
and copied as "Ursula ct Undecem Milla
Martyrum Virginium," and made two names
into IL, ZOO. Voltaire relates an amusing
story Of other antiquarian blunder. When
the fragments of the Latin author Petronius
were much talked of In the literary world,
professor at Lubbock saw letter written by \
brother scholar at Boulogne, in which the
latter remarked: "This city possesses an en-
tire Petronius.'i Never doubling that this
expression referred to the ancient author,
aud Tired with the hope Of acquiring the
complete works OF which only n fragment
had yet been recovered, the German savant
set out at once for Boulogne. Arriving
there, he an xiously inquired of the librarian OF
the city IL it were true that the town boosted
a complete Petronius. "Certainly It does, u
was the prompt reply, 'the blessed saint,
Petronius, lies buried in yonder church.