The sun., 1890-09-14
4 ~rrnrrps rRAYRR RoOE.
Pr,us,S ~ loee. anA Netsbss fsr Haying
the WORD sNot" Osatttsd.

leaving out tho negative in the Seventh Com
mandment
The Star Chamber existed In those days. and
promptly sent for Robert Barber and Martin
Lucas and fined them several thousand pounds
sterling, besides inflicunR some corporal pun
ishment
Recently, on looking over an old Prayer Book.
which Is q very old family relic. l chanced to
find an Identical error In the omission OF the
negative which so changes the meaning OF the
passage az to make this Book OF Common
Prayer At companion to the Wicked Bible
The Prayer Book In question was printed by
Charles Bill Henry Hills, and Thomas New
comb, printers to the Kings most Excellent
Majesty. In the year 1886. Just one year after
James the Second became King OF England.
This Prayer Book has always had special In
forest In my hands. as being tho first prayer
book which contained those special forms OF
prayers OF political character which were
ordered to be road on special days, with fast
ing In every church throughout the land. The
first Of those was devoted to the memory OF
the " Martyrdom OF the Blessed King Charles
the First" and the last "a form Of Prayer with
Thanksgiving. for the happy Deliverence OF
the King, and the Three Estates OF the Realm,
from the most Traiterous and bloudy intended
Massacre By Gun powder"
Recently on opening this book at the four
teenth Sunday after Trinity, aud reading tho
Epistle 1. Gal 8. 16 verses. 1 found this:
Now the work. Of the flesh are manifest which are
these; Adultery, unolsannesa asoiviousnesG idoary
witohoraft hatred. variance murders, drunkenness,
reveiinEA and such like OF which tell You before
have also told you In past time hdt sv rho DO snch
thtnsI shdu Inherit tae kingdom Of Cod
Tho reader will not fail to notice that the
word not has been omitted after the word
shall" which would make It read shall not
inherit the kingdom Of God." This puts very
different construction on the passage.
was interested to know II this error had
been noticed and corrected by the printers and
publishers, or whether It had run through the
entire edition. could find no old prayer books
In any public or private library In the United
States. naturally inquired OF Mr.. Moore Of
the Lenox Library. but he wrote to cay they
had no collection OF prayer books, and that he
had never heard OF the extraordinary varia-
ton" to which had drawn his attention, and
he added your volume will undoubtedly rank
with what Is 80 well known as the Wicked
Bible'"
The Archbishop OF Canterbury took much
interest In my discovery. and requested hi
librarian to make me report, based on the
collection Of Lambeth Palace. This the Arch-
bishop kindly forwarded, and as it contains
facts likely to be OF service to collectors Of
prayer books give the report in full:
THE LIBRARY. LAMBETH PALACE. 1890.
In compliance with an INQUIRY as to certain
editions Of the Book Of Common Prayer, pre-
served In Lambeth Palace Library, beg to
make the following report:
edition Of 1855 in the library: Both these In
Il SFSs XII sbs words shall "o' inherit the Kingdom
There is also copy Of the octave edition Of
Or editions before and after that Of 1885, the
Sdsns Of sdcns hsS 1SS S 6 h5 S and q ss
nj Il the omissio1 9f the word not" eta IL Mr.
become an error running through the edition.
tHn5 S1d hSvS 6ssn nHsGsd IN
no aliusion is made to such omission Though
he mentions several such qmissions and errors
Of the Bible such e The vaeESs Bbe where
stead OF !" Parable OF the Vineyard"
1t was clear from this report that the error
had been discovered and corrected in the lat
ter part OF the edition printed. which made my
COPY all the more interesting.
The librarian Of the British Museum. wrote
to say they had no COPY OF the octave prayer
book Of 1886, and expressed the interest they
took in my discovery. and asked me to send
them a photograph copy OF the page contain
ing the omitted mot" He also advised mo to
write to the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
whore they had copies Of the prayer book
from the earliest date.
The Bodleian Library had adupllcate COPY Of
my book. and tho librarian wrote to cay their
copy has the not omitted as In your COPY. it
10 inserted with the pen." He also kindly re-
ported Il have examined this epistle In
several prayer books, Just before and after this
date They all have not, except an edition. viz,
Charles Bill. Henry Hills, and Thomas New
comb, 1888. ovo. This edition omits the not"
This report, taken With that from Lam beth
Palace, shows that the error was corrected, but
that the Same printers two years later pub
lished an edition in which the same error was
reproduced-a remarkable circumstance,
which. / think is strong evidence that both
errors were due to Intentional alterations OF
the type and not to mere typographical err
ror. This view appears to have been enter-
tanned BY writer OF the period. who stated:
/" These errata were mono OF the printer. but
eRregious blasphemies and damnable er-
rata Of some sectarisn." find that
printer named Field. who was o partner
OF Hills twho printed my book) was fined
E1.500 for purposely corruptinR Q text
DIsraeli also mentions that Hills and
Field printed Bibles with abundant errata,
reducing the text Of the Scriptures to nom
sense or basphemy." And in one OF these
Bibles I find these worthies made the very
same error as that in my prayer book. but in
another text
In First Corinthians. vi. 0. they printed
Know 70 not that the unrighteous. shall fpf ertt
tho kingdom Of God" for shall not inherit. This
error is in the Pearl Bible" Of which, be-
lieve. the British Museum have CODY To
printed ooDy OF the Bible that In one edition
nearly 1000 errors were discovered
1t may be well to state that this Bible Is not
the translation which is now In use. for that
was then still in manuscript. and had been suf-
fered to lie neglected since the time OF James
tho First JoHa MICHELE.