Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1898 — Amusing Blunders. [ARTICLE]

Amusing Blunders.

Many of the errors in books and papers arise from mistakes In punctuation. A writer in a ladies’ journal states that ‘lt has become quite the fashion of late for ladies to take their tea in their hats and gloves.” The ladles suffered more severely at the hands of a Washington reporter who, describing the costumes at the presidential reception, had intended to say that “firs. B. wore nothing in the nature of a dress that was remarkable.” He left hurriedly for the West next day, when he opened the paper and read: “Mrs. Brown wore nothing in the nature of a dress. That was remarkable.” A London paper reported on one occasion the capture in “mid-channel of a large man-eating shark.” A provincial journal, copying the paragraph, but less careful about the punctuation, gave a different version of the incident: “A large man, eating shark, was captured in mid-channel.” Herbert Spencer once wrote, “Whales are not fish because they possess fins, and a fishlike tail;” but what the public read was: “Whales are not fish, because they possess fins and a fish-like tail,” which truly is a most remarkable reason why whales are not fish. But perhaps the most amusing instance of the ludicrous effects of Wrong punctuation is afforded in the following description of the Jubilee procession, which appeared In an East Anglican weekly paper: “Next came Lord Roberts riding. On a gray Arab steed wearing a splendid scarlet uniform, covered with medals on his head, a field marshal’s hat with plumes In his hand, the baton of a field marshal on his rugged feature; a smile of pleasure as he acknowledged the thundering cheers of the crowd.”