New-York tribune., 1901-12-24

ia offered by mental hab bit The moment one
| begins to reason he detects the immense sani-
| tary advantages of this method Of disposing oi
| the dead And for every sentimental argument
| that can be advanced in favor of the old sys-
| tenn an equally forcibie one can be found for
the new. However. in "a Quarter Century OF
Cremation" (Knight & Miller), John Storer Cobb
leaves this phase of the subject alone. He deals
only with history and statistics. The latter
show that there twentysix crematories
| in the United States and one in Canada, ana
| that while the number of incinerations in 1854
was only IS. that In 1900 was 2,414. Prior to
the year first mentioned and beginning with
| 1876 there only %.
The valuable treatise On Correct Compost
ton" CThe Century Company which Mr. The
odore L. De vinne has just published is not
a book to be read for amusement. In fact. 1t is
not a book TO be read at all-in the usual sense
AS well try to read THE Statesmans Year
Book or the tAlmanach de Gotha Mr. De
Vlnne's volume is one for reference, in the hrst
place, on disputed points of language and. sec
ondly it is a guide for persons employed in the
mechanical part of bookmaking After giving
rules for the abbreviation, contraction and com
pounding of words, the author announces the
laws by which we are 10 punctuate, italicize and
capitalize But some of his observations hereon
may be taken rather advice than as COM
rnands because it is precisely in these subjects
that authors insist upon exercising individual
well. taste or Judgment, whichever you prefer
Certainly Mr.. De Winnie admits this very thing
in heading one of his pages thus; Capital let
tiers unwisely used. Just here, too. is an excel
lent illustration OF difference in opinion. Note
that the heading of Mr.. De Vinne's page is in
italics in the book and that only the first word
begins with a capital letter. Having looked
upon that picture now look this: ENGLISH
SOCIALIST PROPOSALS. This is the heading
of page 1893 of the second volume of Leckys
Democracy and Liberty which the present re
viewer a moment ago selected (and opened quite
at haphazard) from his own bookshelves! The
heading of pages, at least the choosing OF the
type for 1t. belongs to the mechanical, not the
literary. part of the business. Yet here another
distinction is necessary, for it takes editorial
eve to decide questions of type before the com
positor can begin his work Of the difficulties
that beset this aproned, inky-fngered setter-up
Of sublime sonnets, political bulletins circus
programmes. and in fact of everything that is
literature the volume before US has a tale OF
woe to tell. The proofreader, too, has snare
of Mr.. De vinnes varied sympathies, and here
we almost regret having hinted that no amuse-
ment was to be got out of his book, for we find,
in footnote. the following anecdote:
Writers who continue to the older forms
of British spelling make trouble for the proof
reader Some years ago a Richmond editor
sharply rebuked proofreader: Why do
you strike out of my proof the u in honour ana
the * in musciz?" The reader replied that he
had been taught to follow Webster. wv epSter!
shrieked the angered editor. Never let me hear
that name as an authority! Webster may spell
to suit a Yankee trader, but not Virginia
gentleman. Be pleased hereafter to follow my
copy and Doctor Johnsons dictionary. Let US
hear more Of Webster