The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-08-06
'THE INTELLIGENT ooMPosIroR..

10 Inc american.
A typographical error Is one Of the
seven denominations, one OF the seven
cardinal sins. The Eagle Orator"
Hon. G. A. Henry. once said to me.
upon an occasion when one Of my print
ers had twisted awry one OF his best
periods. that he could feel compassion
for vice and exercise charity for crime.
but a typographical error was beyond
any power of human charity and per
haps would stretch divine mercy.
As to the one I'm complaining of, 1t
didn't matter-light article-light sem
tence-amusement of an idle hour-but
1t serves to Illustrate how near the high
ly moral strain may lie to the low and
almost ribbald. Your printer made me
say:
The very birds-even the English
sparrow, that ought to go TO hell every
day-fy around Rockland."
That is low. purposelessly gross. al
most profane. wrote:
THE very birds-even the dare devil
jaybird. that goes to hell every Friday
even the English sparrow, that ought to
go to hell every day-fy around Rock
land
Mark the difference. Reference to the
popular belief that the jaybird sojourns
in regions plutonic during the unlucky
day Of the week, gave highly moral,
quent profound truth concerning the
English sparrow. The omission degraded
what was lofty, moral. and poetical with
popular tradition concerning the jay
bird and his character-belief that his
saucy, hooking, devilish ways could
only be learned and must require week
ly renewal in tophet-and highly moral
and profoundly truthful reflection con-
corning the sparrow into mere commons
place ''cuss talk"
It's not universally true, however.
that typographical error spoils an
article. Upon the occasion Of the death
Of the kind and excellent Mr.. Peabody.
wrote highfiown bit Of mortuary
panegyric, which ended with an allusion
to his princely bequest to the people Of
the South and the cause Of Southern
education. closing with the words, The
people of the South will ever cherish
hic IL Cal.n 01 hax oh
expression, which, suppose, aroused
the critical ire of the printer, for he set
it up, 1.-The people of the South viii
ever cherish his money" and so 1t was
printed.
My friend. William Rule. Of the Knox
vile Chronicle. was once immensely dis
gusted-and destroyed all of an entire
issue, except those that got off on the
early mails-to find that. where he had
intended to pay high compliment to
a gentleman with whom he differed po-
litically, and had written over a speech
on n-political subject the headline;
THE Emmett of the South" the printer
made it read. THE Eunuch Of the
South" That 'Emmet" was out early
to catch the early mail. He had gath
cred up a number of the boys to see
what Rule had said. His disgust was
only equalled by that Of Rule. In fact,
he was Disguised beyond rule.
The ways Of the 81. c." with copy are
past finding out. hasten to say-be-
cause 1t Is due-that printers are the
best fellows in the world, and often
among the most intelligent, although the
printers ease" is no longer, nor likely
to be again, a school for Franklins.
Greeleys and Bayard Taylors. The Elm
telligent compositor," however. is some
thing more than printer. His dis
tinguishing mark is that he assumes,
as an assumption no proof can overturn
what in law is called conclusive pre-
sumption-that every word that is not
in his vocabulary is base and intoler-
able invention of the author. The lam
guage contains no expression that is
not in his mind. 1t is impossible to
teach him word he doesn't know, be-
cause he knows there is no such word
No man ever got printer to set up
the word "hypercritical." 1t always
gets into print "hypocritical." may get
it in this time, because I've promised
the boys to rush the growler" If they'll
let 1t in.
I've tried that word Just to see II It
could be got in. I've never succeeded.
But 'tisn't always the Il. c." Ia
a reporter at Memphis, who described
a popular young lady who was leader
Of social affairs, as a chiffonniere. He
had the brazen effrontery, next morn
ing, to swear that he'd asked me II
'twasn't good word to use in that con-
nection, and that I'd said 1t was. Per-
haps I did. I've made worse mistakes
of my own.
Present my distinguished considera-
ton to the intelligent compositor and
the proof-reader. That about the
'growler" doesn't go. On reflection, i
don't think it's right.
H. M. DoAK.
Demands of summer Guests.