Literary Blunders: A Chapter in the History of Human Error""

is a sub- division of the genus mistakes. Many mistakes are very serious in their consequences, but there is almost always some sense of fun connected with a blunder, which is a mistake usual

hus he arrives at the right goal, but by an unorthodox road. Sir Roger L'Estrange says that

le gives the clue to what a blunder really is. It is caused by a confusion of two or more things, and unless something is

persistent and the most difficult to kill. In this class may be mentioned (1) Ghost words, as they are called by Professor Skeat-words, that is, which have been regi

nise is a charming word which first appeared in a number of the Edinburgh Review in 1808. Fortunately for the fun of the thing, the word occurred in an article on Indian Missions, by Sydney Smith. We read, ``The Hindoos have some very strange customs, which it would be desirable to abolish. Some swing on hooks, some run knises through their hands, and widows burn themselves to death.'' The reviewer was attacked for his statement by Mr. John Styles, and he replied in an article on Methodism printed in the Edinburgh in the following year. Sydney Smith wrote: ``Mr. Styles is peculiarly severe upon us for not being more shocked at their piercing their limbs with knises . . . it is for us to explain the plan and nature of this terrible and unknown piece of mechanism. A knise, then, is neither more nor less than a false print in the Edinburgh Review for a knife; and from this blunder of the printer has Mr. Styles manufactured this Ddalean instrument of torture called a knise.'' A similar instance occurs in a misprint of a passage

of one of

r when they spell ``ye'' for ``the'' are ignorant of this, and pronounce the article as if it were the pronoun. Dr. Skeat quotes a curious instance of the misreading of the thorn () as p, by which

ieson's Scottish Dictionary will do well to strike out the fictitious entry cietezour, cited from Bellenden's Chronicle in the plural cietezouris, which is merely a misreading of cietezanis (i.e. with Scottish z = = y), c

ions of Dra

I., st. xxx

ynthus with a t

oets, iii. 16. It may save some readers a needless reference to the dictionary

n (Fr. naperon), and adder should be nadder (A.-S. nddre). An amusing confusion has arisen in respect to the Ridings of Yorkshire, of which there are three. The word should be triding, but the t has got lost in the adjective, as West Triding became West Ridi

ennet, in t

took his ti

ng to a blund

village in

lin

original declaration, as given in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI., was: ``I, N., take thee N., to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this

ng through a mistaken view of their etymology. They are too numerous, and the consideration

right way, much wild guessing continues to be prevalent. It is not, however, often that we can point to such a brilliant instance of blundering etymology as that to be found in Barlow's English Dictiona

mean? It is a word of Latin origin: a compound word; and the two elements here brought together are responde

French, set them down as such. The two words esoteric and exoteric were not so frequently used in the last century as they are now; so perhaps there may be some excuse for the following entry: ``Esoteric (adj. an incorrect spelling) exoteric.'' Dr. Ash could not have been well read in Arthurian literature, or he would not have turned the noble knight Sir Gawaine into a woman, ``the sister of King Arthur.'' There is a story of a blunder in Littleton's Latin Dictionary, which further research has proved to be no mistake at all. It is said that when the Doctor was compiling hi

the word animalcule (plural animalcules), also written animalculum (plural animalcula). Now, the plural animalcula is often supposed to be the feminine singular, and a new plural is at once made-animalcul. This blunder is one co

Some of the supposed changes in public-house signs, such as Bull and Mouth from ``Boulogne mouth,'' and Goat and Compasses from ``God encompasseth us,'' are more than doubtful; but the Bacchanals has certainly changed into the Ba

iduality it would not be easy to prove. All

know how St. Veronica came into being, and equally well known is the origin of St. Ursula and her

the Martyrologie Romaine of Baronius. Her name was obtained by a misreading of Chrys

; but the links in the chain of evidence have been completed by reference to Mr. H. C. Maxwell Lyte's valuable Report on the Manuscripts of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. The first stage in the corruption took place in France, and the name must have been introduced into this country as Vast. This loss of the middle consonant is in accordance with the constant practice in early French of dropping out the consonant preceding an accented vowel, as reine from regina. The change of Augustine to Austin is an analogous instance. Vast would here be pronounced Vaust, in the same way as the word vase is still sometimes pronounced vause. The interchange of v and f, as in the cases of

Vane and Fane and fox and vixen, is too common to need more than a passing notice. We have now arrived at the form St. Faust, and the evidence of the old deeds of St. Paul's explains the rest, showing us that the sec

885, p. 15; and a paper by the Rev. W. Sparrow Simpson in the Jourr

it) is supposed to have been originally chorea invita. But the strangest of saints

for consecrating a day in honour of Saint Viar. His Holiness in the voluminous catalogue of his sain

V

onvincing them that these letters were only the remains of an inscription erect

TV]S VI

supposed these to be the names of two giants. A similar mistake to this was that of the man who boasted that ``not all the British House of Commons, not the whole bench of Bishops, not even Leviticu

to the ground.'' There was not much information here, and he was ignorant of the fact that this building was in London and in Oxford Street, but he was equal to the occasion. He elaborated a remarkable account of the destruction by fire of the principal music hall of academic Oxford. He told how it was situated in the midst of histo

g that the locality of the find was San Francisco, California. It is a common mistake of those who

have heard of Grolier bindings to suppose that the eminent book collector was a binder; but this is nothing to that of the workman who told t

anhope. The having a stutterer in the family will appear to most readers to be a strange cause of pride. The author writes: ``It was usual in ancient times with the greatest families, and is by all genealogists allowed to be a mighty evidence of dignity, to use certain nicknames which the French

ns written in cypher were sent to him, with particular directions that he should not apply on this subject to Father Wolff, the Emperor's confessor. The person who copied these instructions, however, happened to omit the word not in the copy in cypher. Bartholdi was surprised at the order, but obeyed it and made the matter known t

ch of literary blunders w

as ``He who runs may read''; and the Divine condemnation ``In the sweat of thy fa

ng of the verb to sit will be found a curious perversion of a text of Scripture. There we read, ``Asses are ye that sit in judgement- Judges,'' but of course there is no su

her comic. Thus an ignorant reader coming upon a reference to an angle of forty-five degrees was puzzled, and astonished his hearers by giving it out as angel of forty-five degrees. This

me- honoured name of King's Bench to Queen's Bench. A queen is a female king, and she reigns as a king; the absurdity of the change of sex in the descri

we consider the crop of blunders that have gathered about the texts of celebrated books, we shall be grate

sharp as a pen and a table of greene fields.'' A friend suggested that it should read `` 'a talked,'' and Theobald then suggested `` 'a babbled,'' a reading which has found its way into all texts, and is never likely

ions ``the sinecure of every eye,'' ``as white

as the drivelling snow.''[2] Of intentional mistakes, the best known are those which have been call

tor, December

s of fam

k was latel

pointer> no mo

ill commence next week-admittanc

ctory explanation of the word has been given, although it appears to be intimately connec

25>under the name of Bulls, but if any man shall demand of mee why they be so called, I must put them off with this woman's reason, they are so because they bee so.'' All the author can affirm is that they have no connection with the

Omniana, vol

on of the Exchequer 1625-49, when presiding at the Bury Assizes, had a cause about wintering of cattle before him. He thought the charge immoderate, and said, ``Why, friend, this is most unreasonable; I wonder

dotes and Tradi

William in the Highlands of Scotland. In this inscription a very clumsy

hese roads befor

your hands and ble

the Vatican, culminated in a very fair bull. The notices commenced with ``H

hy black is perhaps as good an instance as could be cited. He pledged ``De Gobern

, as it has been said of some, Hibernicis ipsis Hibernior, it is to Ireland tha

the first shot killed him, but the second was not fatal.'' Connoisseurs in bulls will probably say that this is only a blunder. Perhaps t

withstanding the large amount paid for medicine and medical attendance, very few deaths

occurred during the year.'' A country editor's correspondent wrote: ``Will you please to insert this obituary notice? I make bold to as

`Va-t'en.'' ' '' Mr. Hill Burton found

the original of Sir Boyle Roche's bull of the bird which was in two places at once in a letter of a Scotsman-Robertson of Rowan. Steele said that all was the effect of climate, and that, if an Englishman were born in Ireland, he would make as many bulls. Mistakes of an equally absurd character may be found in English Acts of Parliament, such as this: ``The new gaol to be built from the materials of the old one, and the prisoners to remain in the latter till the former is ready''; or the disposition of the prisoner's punishment of transportation for seven years- ``half to go to the king, and the other half to the

nd has a somewhat artificial look: ``Her cup of m