The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-04-11
Ridiculous Blunders.
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Among the most amusing things in newspapers are the blunders which the intelligent compositor, ably assisted by careless editing and sleepy proofreaders, frequently Jugs in by the ears. These surprising grotesque, or simply stupid slips of the pen or freaks of the typo, have an unfortu aate tendency to provoke the editor-in-chief to profanity, but often they stir up the disabilities of his readers more than his wt,est sentence, or the bright est mot cf his paragraph writer. The most carefully edited journal is fallible in this direction. Proof-readers are con- stantly in hot water. In the London Tfmss' office they are fined for every blunder that eludes them. On the New York Hrrald they have been suspended for weeks. in spite of this severe discip- line, the Heya!I once m Ade the sstonish- ing announcement that q" long line of scorpions feathers filed into the church," instead of surpliced fathers" A re- porter on that paper had occasion to quote verse from familiar hymn in which the word herald occurred. The proof reader dutifully underscored the word, and the verse appeared, Hark, THE HERALD angels sing" IL was in the
 Worfd's report of political meeting that the word shouts" was so ludicrously misprinted as to make the blunder famous. "The shouts of ten thousand democrats rent the air" read the report
 A few years ago the journalist who is widely known as "G sth," wrote a Fourth ofJaly article. With fervid eloquence he told how the eff:te m on archies of the old world trembled in their boots when they read the immortal declaration penned by Thomas Jefferson. Thrones reeled," ]" wrote the imp assioned Gath. Next morn ing he wished he hadn't, when he saw in cold type, Thomas reeled." A local re- porte recently wrote that Dr. Talmage closed his services with the hymn, Nearer, by God, to Thee" The malic- ious bunder was caught on the fly in the proof-room and didn't get into the paper. A daily paper up the Hudson reported the speech of Fourth of July orator, in which he had something to say about the fiat of the Almighty" The proof reader had never heard of !" fiat money" and he was willing to bet his weeks wages there was no such word in the yer nacular. So he printed it, "the fist ofthe Almighty" When Mapleson first came to New York the Heraig welcomed the impressario and his troupe, with great flourish of trumpets. It is said that the young editors state of mind was so ne- thing fearful to contemplate when he found that his three column article began with the sentence, Colonel H Ma pie son and his opera bouffe company have arrived" Last year at the time of the Meeker massacre, a dispatch from the west attributed the mutiny to the farmers having pulled down the Indians tents and corrals." ltwas put into type as "hav- ing pulled down the Indians bee,s and carrots" The Winnepeg Times, on the death awhile ago of right reverend, for the death of "prelate printed "the death of pirate" A Cardiff newspaper in reporting the sermon of the Rev. Dr. Mellor before the Congregational union, where the reverend gentleman spoke of women clothed with sanctity," by an unfortunate transposition of the "c" printed the phrase women clothed with scautity." The story IS told that Ernest R.nan once had occasion to telegraph across the British channel the subject of a proposed lecture of his in Westminster Abbey. The subject as written by him was "The Influence of Rome on the Formation of Christianity" It was pub lished in England as "The Influence of