New-York tribune., 1902-03-25
THE PROOFREADER.
A SERMON on HIS MIsDEEDs. WITH SOME
PICTURESQUE EXAMPLES


Andrew Lang. in The London Morning Post
OF old the proofreader was, and occasionally
he still IS. the authors best ally. The author,
knowing what he intends TO say, and reading in
proof sheets his own work. OF which, perhaps, he
is passing weary. finds there, by a kind Of llu-
passes his proof sheet. But very often what
ought TO be in the printed sheet is not there but
something very unlike It, printers error This
Is especially apt to happen where dates in
Arabic numerals are concerned. I know very
well when the Earl OF Morton beheaded;
II was IN l''Nl The printer probably does not
know, and prints 1881. Being sure OF my fact
the error OF single figure escapes my eye TIL
see my book published And then my Ian
guage is prOp0ctiOnate 10 my distress. 1t is
points like this that the pToofreader used TO be,
and sometimes IS, so servicea BILE. An educated
and accurate man he noticed the misprints, and
aoticed the grammar. and ObsCurities in express
sion and everything else which the author ought
10 have corrected. hut had left standing. No
body but good professional proOfreader
really read proof sheets properly; the author
Is too familiar with what he meant say and
thought he had said; the authors friends
often too busy. or too lazy. 10 be very careful,
and so. without good proofreader book goes
!oIth in slovenly condition. 1t is not the fault
# the cOmpositOTs they not specialists. and
when they have made a word out Of the au
thors scrawl they naturally make II So
though the word may have meaning, the
wrong meaning. in the context.
take up paper devoted entirely to liter
ature. a weekly literary paper ! find an au-
thor complaining that, in his last weeks essay
or letter he wrote the tort11res of their prjs-
oners," and, 10, he finds in print the futures OF
their prisoners" He wrote there is truth in
the converse OF a certain proposition. but he
reads in print there is truth in the universe
and for that. he says. he would like to
vouDh without further investigation" Now
he compositOr, accustomed TO reading the most
singular state fI1lellts, never Denched at the re-
mark that there IS truth in the universe"
Doubtless there is, matter Of fact. But
editor, or 9 proofreader. ought to have seen that
The large generalization about the existence OF
truth in the universe did not make sense and
be ought TO Rave seen COPY If he could not
4 daily paper long ago Mr.. Browning's Just
for HANDFUL Of silver he left US" This ap-
peared in public Just for handle OF silver
he left US" ! complained to the gentleman
@ho doing editorial duty; I said everybody
Knew that quotation, and that handle OF silver
was not sense He said that he did not know
the quotation. and that he did not expect sense
from Mr. Browning. In fact, the quotation
being nonsense as Il stood, no doubt he took that
Tor proof that, as Il was from Browning. ii
correctly printed Now, the right sort Of proof
reader would have corrected the misprint as the
author OF the article no proofs In the same
aumber OF the same exclusively literary paper
read: We can only say that having men from
Father Gelards book with etc. we have his
adversary's reply with our uprooted notions
once more upright and hearty Where is the
proofreader2 The sentence is absolute non
sense. What Is having men from Father Ger
ards book? Probably the unlucky critic wrote
That makes sense, at all events, though men
is not very like risen" It IS rather like II in
my hand, bur then dare say the critic does not
write q hand like mine. For we have his ad-
versary's reply with our uprooted notions once
more upright and hearty" 1 venture TO con-
lecture that we ought TO read we leave his ad-
Fersary's reply" and so on. Now, proofreader
ought 10 have sagacity enough to make these
eonjectural emendations on the principle that
people do not usually write pure nonsense but
mean something.
Still pursuing my researches find a Quota
ton from Lady X. She says On a magazine
article), WAS IL in Thackeray's Book Of snobs'
where (sic) Jones, having married Lady Dulcirna
Tomnoddy, is greeted by Smith, after the mar
riage with the hearty inquiry, Well Jones
and how's your wifeT returns tho cold re-
sponee, Do you refer 10 Lady DulcirnaT" The
proofreader knows very well that this passa ge
does not occur in Thackeray's Book of Bnobs"
or In any other work by Thackeray and tho
trcofreaner knows what to think of Lady ks
grammar. BY taking q little pains the proof
reader would have corrected the grammar, and
De would have presented Lady X with the