flesh is weak" into,
"The ghost indeed is willing, but the meat is bad." If he had said, in
the light of some modern achievements, "the meat is embalmed," he might
have hit the nail on the head.

A gentleman who was in Venice when the news of the destruction of
Admiral Cervera's squadron came, and who could not make out the Italian
account very well, took the paper to a certain professor who speaks
almost perfect scholar's-English, and asked him to translate it. The
professor did so in excellent style until he came near the end, when,
with a little 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 R