The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-02-01
A SKILLFUL READER.
A MAN WHO DOES A REMARKABLE
AMOUNT OF WORK IN A YEAR.

Dollars IA Ncck-Ic Tells Interesting
Facts Concerning Bibles.
A most interesting illustration of the
marvellous capacity of the human brain is
found in the person of an employee of Il pub
fishing house in this city. His duties con-
sist of proofrcading in 2i2 languages and
dialects
At the Bible house on Fourth avenue the
American Bible society employs as proof
reader Mr. j. Emery Nc lean. lie is ma
tive of Canada, nearly thirty years of age
quite feet = inches in stature, and has
been resident of New York about four
years. Aside from his trying task as proof
reader, he has found considerable time to
devote to literary work, which, during the
life of the late Count Norriakow. Russian
exile, included the correct "Englishing" of
the counts translations of Russian works
ana since the demise of the noblcmun, Mr.
Mclean has aided the Countess Ella Nor
Krakow to some extent in her labors.
Mr.. McLeans functions rs n proofrcadcr
cover the final revision of the proofs of the
HOLY Scriptures as printed and circulated
by tho society," the languages and dialects
(242 III numbcr) that he handles being des-
1gnatcd under these heads British isles, 1
toe; continent of Europe, TO Is; Asia, 90
to lo2; the islands, 1853 to 1856; Africa, 1SG to
2l'; American continent, 2lS to 242 For u
'oN't ~ iiiiuI tsiScS lUc Oh DrOOlS
snow the different nlphabets or characters
which the people use. The Turkish version,
1or example, is prepared for Moslcms in the
Arabic letter, but for Armcnians an en-
tlfely different form is needed, and for
Greeks yet another; thus, making due al
lowance for repettions, tho specimens (2l2)
actually represent about 2l3 languages and
dialects
After taking into account the wonderful
T.t
the almost endless number of words and
characters i'll these languages, perhaps tho
strongest features of his remarkable gift is
the fact that Mr.. Mclean is not n lingllst
docs not converse i'll any language but
English, nor does he understand any other,
his work being done purely through his
power of embracing form ut sight
rake for illustration John iii, JIG, For
God SO loved the world that he gave his
only begottcn son, that whatsoever bclieveth
in him should not perish, but have ever
lasting life"
This III Dutch reads, WANT alzoo lief
heeft God dc wercld ghab, dat hij zijncn
eeniggeboren' zoon gegvcn heeft, opdat cen
1egelijk, die in hem gclooft MET verdervc,
mar het eeuwigo levcn hcbbe."
The Maori New Zealund) version is this:
Ma, kola nno tc aroha o TO Atua XII tc 40,
homai ana e in tana Tamaiti ko tahi, kia
1N"hOiS al lc ttIlHtllI e Wl0EHDOnO
ana ki in, cngari kia whiwhi nj XII lc
ornnga tonutanga."
The Mindingo (Wcst Africa reads thus:
"katuko ALA ye dunya kannu nyinuyma,
an aiding wulukilering Iii, mensating mo-
ano men lata ala, ate tinyaa, barri asi
balu abadaring sotto"
In an interview relative to his labors Mr..
Mclean gave some very interesting facts.
Il find" said he, that the work tells
ma. .l,, Il
have experienced spells that almost verge
upon nervous prostitution from the effect of
continuous application to proofreading,
and when | feel the spell coming on am
Obliged to cease work entirely and rest
no. do not understand any language but
the English. For instance, if am reading
proof i'll koor,lish or Arabic L read by
comparison-that is | have the original
before me and correct the errors i'll the
proof by form, and that entails the greatest
possible exhaustion. mention the Arabic
for the reason that that is one of the most
trying forms vi proof to read. Look ut this
page.
10 an inexperienced eye it resembles an
intoxicated series of pothooks, shorthand
characters and fly specks. The Georgian,
as you sec here, is full of crabs claws and
corkscrews The ancient and modern Ar
meninn are each cross between the rlZzlc
u"Hze ana tHc ta-ra-ra DOOm-ue-ay dances.
The Sanskrit resembles n MONDAYS wash
ing hung on lines to dry-big clothes. little
clothes, pinaiores, all kinds of clothes. So
does the Punjabi or Sikh, the Gondi Gen
trail India), the Mnrathi and several others,
only each line appears to be burdened with
different styles of garments"
How did you get into the way of such
complicated work."
by years of solid practice am so nc
customed to the forms of letters and char
acters that my eyes instantly lead me to
detect an error in II word or sentence. The
public Mt large have not the faintcst idea of
the magnitude of the manufacture of Bibles.
Take the American Bible society alone.
1t was organized in New York in May, 1916,
by convention of delegates from the Bible
societies Ill different parts of the country
1t had been preceded by large number of
local and independent organizations. the
Oldest of which was that established in
Philadelphia III 1908. Its work is benevolent
and unsectarian The only version in the
English language which it can circulate is
that which has been commonly received
since the year lG1l.
"Upto date its total issues of Bibles, Tes-
taments and integral portions of the Scrip
lures are over 5O,C00,0O0 copies, and its en-
penditures will reach nearly S25, 900. 600 The
American society acts in conjunction with
the British and Foreign Bible society so far
as circulation is concerned. The version of
the English Bible now in common use was
first printed in 1911 in a folio volume which
contains 1920 pages, each measuring SIX
teen inches by eleven. If two pages were
printed Mt one time and $50 Impressions
were taken i'll one hour, each press in day
of ten hours would yield the equivalent of
three Bibles, and ten presses would he re-
quircd for production of 5000 Bibles q
year.