order to bring into further play his judgment and taste; and let him present to his teacher these trials of his skill, to be examined and approved or corrected. By this means will he soon be capable of so punctuating his own compositions as to be read by others with ease, pleasure, and advantage.

This is an age of authors, as well as of readers. Young aspirants after fame, some of them of considerable merit, meet us at every step, and in every department of literature. But surely, if they are capable of enlightening the world by their wisdom, or dazzling it by their genius, they can have no difficulty in writing so as to be understood. If they have thoughts worthy of being communicated through the agency of the pen and the press, they surely cannot with justice regard it as any degradation of their powers to submit to the task of indicating, as accurately as possible, what they do really intend to say. If there is beauty in their style; if there is pathos in their sentiments; if there is moral and intellectual vigor in the thoughts that burn for utterance; if their discourse is calculated to refine the taste, to improve the heart, and ennoble the mind, of the reader, surely they should be careful that that beauty be not marred, that that pathos be not unfelt, that that vigor be not weakened, that that discourse be not shorn of half its power over the character and happiness of others, from the petty motive of saving themselves the trouble of learning what, of all men, from the very nature of their pursuits, they are the best able and most bound to learn. Besides, it is worthy of remark, that, by habituating themselves to the practice of pointing, their attention will naturally be directed to clearness of thought, and

accuracy of expression. They will be more apt to regard words as but of little value, except as representatives of ideas, and as an instrument by which these may gain access to the human soul. If involved in the difficulty of punctuating a badly-formed sentence, such as the following, "God heapeth favors on his servants ever liberal and faithful," - supposing this to imply that the Divine Being is ever liberal and faithful, they will almost necessarily be led to reconstruct it, that they may rid themselves of their perplexity, and leave no doubt as to the sense meant to be conveyed; for, beyond all question, facility in punctuation is generally in proportion to the perspicuity and the good arrangement of words. Let authors, therefore, turn a little of their attention to the elements of this art, trifling and undignified as it may seem to be. Let them not transfer to their printer that department of duty which as authors it is their own province to fill. With some few boasted exceptions, no doubt much overrated, neither compositors nor correctors of the press are immaculate; for they do not understand all the subjects treated of in books, and cannot with accuracy punctuate what they do not comprehend.

It was in bygone times a preliminary requisite, that printers should be acquainted with what are termed the learned languages. But though, in this age of a more general and superficial literature, a profound knowledge of Hebrew points, Greek accents, and Latin quantities, is no longer required, it is necessary that compositors be acquainted with the principles of their native tongue, and with the functions of the peculiar marks used for setting off sentences, clauses, and phrases. Were every

author to write his work in a fair, legible character, and so punctuate his language as to convey the sense clearly and correctly, then might compositors act as mere machines, and "follow" their "copy." But, until writers for the press condescend to use the stops systematically and accurately, the humble workmen who put together the world-enlightening types must be more than unconscious machines: they must, to some degree, enter into the conceptions of those on whose works they are employed, and develop the sense of their manuscripts, with the greatest possible discrimination, by the help and service of the poor, despised, but useful handmaids, -the commas, the semicolons, and other little points. We know well the feeling which very naturally and properly exists in the minds of compositors, that the "copy" put into their hands should be prepared with an accuracy which would preclude the necessity, on their part, of losing time by pondering over the manuscript in order to render it intelligible to the reading public. But this we know also, that, in the actual state of things, the time thus apparently lost is, when employed aright, a comparative gain, by reason of the far greater consumption of unprofitable labor in the insertion and extraction of points, after the proof-sheet has been returned by the corrector of the press. If the manuscript be defective or erroneous in its sentential marks, the compositor must either take a little trouble in pointing it himself, or have it done for him afterwards by the proof-reader, to the serious diminution of his professional character, his good temper, and his weekly wages. But, further, we would ask, Is not the operative who comprehends the principles of his calling, — who really knows what he is about, —

a happier and a nobler being than he who works at mere random, and stumbles at every petty obstruction in his way? Does not his daily toil become a pleasure, when it brings into play the exercise of a fine taste and a cultivated understanding? Do not his very difficulties become a source of satisfaction, when he himself can solve them, without being forced for ever to ask the aid of his fellow-workmen, or to submit to the painful process of undoing what he has already done, of altering and improving what he has ignorantly and blunderingly executed? Do not, indeed, these difficulties become less and less, the more frequently he is successful in removing them? Does he not, by his endeavors to perform his work in a skilful manner, acquire habits of discrimination, that will enable him, in cases at which others would fret and foam or idly stand, to see, as it were intuitively, the very thing required, and the mode in which it should be done? These questions may be asked in relation to manual labor of any kind. They may be asked, too, in respect to all the branches of work in which a compositor may be engaged. But they are put here chiefly in reference to his knowledge and appliance of the art of Punctuation; and we feel assured, that, if desirous of being able to insert points with skill and propriety, he will also aim to perform well all the duties pertaining to his sphere of toil. If, therefore, the compositor would lose as little as possible of that time which is so valuable to him; if he would have at his command greater pecuniary resources than he can have by ignorance of his art, or by habits of carelessness; if, by the exercise of his intellectual powers, he would deprive physical toil of no small share

of its pain or lassitude,

let him, if now ignorant of the subject, never rest contented till he is able both to understand the principles on which Punctuation is based, and to bring them into full practice.

The remarks just made have the strongest claim on the attention of youths learning the art of type-setting; many of whom, stimulated by a love of change or by false views of independence, soon break loose from those steady and regular habits which are necessary for mastering the difficulties of any occupation; moving about from one employer to another, without having a disposition or sufficient time to attain a knowledge even of the first principles of the craft by which they are to earn a living. But, if desirous of perfecting themselves in the various branches of typography, one of which we have shown to be the art of Punctuation, it is of the greatest moment that they resolve to remain with a person whom they can regard as a friend as well as an employer; and receive from him, or at their leisure hours from the study of books designed for the purpose, such instruction as will conduce to their improvement, and render them, when of age, competent to discharge, with honor to themselves and with satisfaction to others, the duties pertaining to their profession.

If a knowledge of Punctuation is admitted to be requisite to the setter of types, there will be the utmost reason for regarding it as indispensable to a reader of proof-sheets. Besides the multiform duties devolving on or expected from him,-of correcting and improving the work of compositors, which is seldom, if ever, a faithful representation of the "copy;" of rectifying the orthography of inexperienced writers, and drawing