Page images
PDF
EPUB

another modern fancy, that grey printing iş more beautiful than black. Hence the English new books are printed in fo dim a character as to be read with difficulty by old eyes, unlefs in a very ftrong light and with good glaffes. Whoever compares a volume of the Gentleman's Magazine, printed between the years 1731 and 1740, with one of those printed in the last ten years, will be convinced of the much greater degree of perfpicuity given by black than by the grey. Lord Chesterfield pleasantly remarked this difference to Faulkener, the printer of the Dublin Journal, who was vainly making encomiums on his own paper, as the moft complete of any in the world. "But Mr. Faulkener,' lays my lord, "don't you think it might "be ftill farther improved, by using paper and ink not quite fo near of a colour ?"-For all these reasons I cannot but wish that our American printers

G4

printers would, in their editions, avoid thefe fancied improvements, and thereby render their works more agreeable to foreigners in Europe, to the great advantage of our bookfelling commerce.

Farther, to be more fenfible of the advantage of clear and distinct printing, let us confider the affistance it affords in reading well aloud to an auditory. In fo doing the eye generally flides forward three or four words before the voice. If the fight clearly diftinguishes what the coming words are, it gives time to order the modulation of the voice to exprefs them properly. But if they are obfcurely printed, or difguifed by omitting the capitals and long 's, or otherwife, the reader is apt to modulate wrong; and finding he has done fo, he is obliged to go back and begin the fentence again; which leffens the pleasure of the hearers. This leads me to mention an old error in

our mode of printing. We are fenfible

that

that when a question is met with in the reading, there is a proper variation to be used in the management of the voice. We have, therefore, a point, called an interrogation, affixed to the question, in order to diflinguish it. But this is abfurdly placed at its end, fo that the reader does not difcover it till he finds that he has wrongly modulated his voice, and is therefore obliged to begin again the fentence. To prevent this, the Spanish printers, more fenfibly, place an interrogation at the beginning as well as at the end of the queftion. We have another error of the fame kind in print. ing plays, where fomething often occurs that is marked as spoken afide. But the word afide is placed at the end of the fpeech, when it ought to precede it, as a direction to the reader, that he may govern his voice accordingly. The practife of our ladies in meeting five or fix together, to form little bufy parties, where

where each is employed in fome useful work, while one reads to them, is fo commendable in itself, that it deferves the attention of authors and printers to make it as pleafing as poffible, both to the read and hearers.

[ocr errors]

My best wishes attend you, being, with fincere efteem,

Sir,

Your most obedient and

very humble servant,

B. FRANKLIN.

AN

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Ir

Power of this court.

may receive and promulgate accufations of all kinds, against all perfons and characters among the citizens of the state, and even against all inferior courts and may judge, fentence, and condemn to infamy, not only private individuals, but public bodies, &c. with or without enquiry or hearing, at the court's discretion.

Whofe favour, or for whofe emolument this court is established.

In favour of about one citizen in five hundred, who, by education, or practice

in

« PreviousContinue »