hesitation, he read, “And the band played The Flag with the Stars on it, and It will be very warm in the City this Evening.” It was about a minute before the gentleman recognized the proper title of the last piece, “There ’ll be a hot Time in the old Town to-night.”

In the cases cited, and in very many others, the proof-reader has shown himself to be “a power behind the throne;” for, without his aid, innumerable errors would have occurred.

A writer on Punctuation, many years ago, said that, “Perhaps there never existed on any subject, among men of learning, a greater difference of opinion than on the true mode of punctuation, and scarcely can any two persons be brought to agree on the same method; some making the pause of a semicolon where the sense will only bear a comma; some contending for what is termed stiff pointing, and others altogether the reverse.” To-day, however, this variety of opinion is less chaotic; for since then several works on Punctuation have been published, showing that there are rules or laws determining the construction of sentences and aiding the reader to understand more readily the true meaning of the writer.

As you are aware, there is a great difference between grammatical and rhetorical punctuation. The former is for the eye, the latter for the ear. Leading actors, in preparing their plays for the stage, always punctuate rhetorically, to indicate to the speaker of the lines the pauses necessary for effect. The art of true punctuation is, however, founded on grammar, its aim being to assist the reader to discover the true meaning of a sentence.

To illustrate this matter of rhetorical punctuation, let me instance the expression, “No, sir.” The grammatical reading is, “No, O sir,” whereas the rhetorical reading is, “No sir.” The expression “The Oak, one day, said to the Reed,” rhetorically read, will be, “The Oak one day, said to the Reed.” In the latter case, the reader makes one day the name of the oak,—putting the two nouns in apposition as meaning one thing. In the Lord’s Prayer, it is not uncommon to see a comma after the words, kingdom, power, and glory; as, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.” Rhetorically, and to give force and emphasis to each expression, a pause in reading is necessary; but, grammatically, the comma is inaccurate.

Writers sometimes, and frequently proof-readers, blunder in the proper use of the exclamations, O and Oh. The former should be used only in cases of invocation, as, “O Lord!” “O my countrymen!”—the latter in cases of emotion, as, “Oh that I had the wings of a dove, that I might fly to the uttermost parts of the earth!”—“Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness!”

It is not, perhaps, surprising that errors in grammar should be frequently seen on signs; as, for instance, “House to Let,” which should be, “House to be Let.” A person can “Let” the house to another; but he who occupies it cannot say that he “Lets” it. Occasionally are seen on painted signs the words Billiards, Groceries, with an apostrophe before the letter s; and even in classic Cambridge this sign was to be seen at one time, “Students Tickets can be had here,” without the apostrophe after the letter s in the word Students. The other day, in Harvard Square, was to be seen the sign, “Students Furniture,” also without the apostrophe. Under the portrait of Admiral Dewey, during his reception in Boston, were the words, “Our Nations Hero,” without the apostrophe before the letter s. If authors and proof-readers occasionally nod, why should not also the people?

The colloquial inquiry, “Where do you live?” should be,