ferred to superficial neatness, which answers no other end than that of making the bevelled-off parts of a quoin useless, and incapable of doing the same execution with a plain one, that binds and bears alike in all its parts. As to the edges that are planed off across the two ends of a quoin, the want of them causes the shooting-stick to fly off the quoin almost at every hard stroke of the mallet, because the quoin end of the shooting-stick is rounded off; for which reason we should choose to have that end made of a forked, or else of a square form, to be of greater service in unlocking a form.

It often occurs that the quoins, from having been locked up wet, stick so tight to the furniture as to render it troublesome to unlock them; in such cases the inconvenience is remedied by driving the quoin up instead of down, which immediately loosens it, and it unlocks with ease.

Our form, or forms, being now locked up, and become portable, we deliver them to the pressmen to pull a proof of them. But here we must notice a corruption that prevails with some pressmen, in turning the term of first proof into that of foul proof, and often pull the proofs accordingly; whereas even a slight knowledge of printing is sufficient to judge, that a proof sheet ought to be pulled as clean and as neat as any sheet in a heap that is worked off. Hence it is a rule with careful pressmen, not to give proofs a high colour, nor to use very wet paper for them, but instead of these easements to give them a long and slow pull, that the matter may appear full and plain; after which the forms are rubbed over with a wet lie-brush, then carefully taken off the press, and the proof and forms delivered to the compositor's further care.

A Half Sheet of Thirty-twos, with Two Signatures.

A Half Sheet of Thirty-twos, 20 pages of the Work, 4 pages of Title, &c. and 8 of other matter.

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CHAP. VIII.

CORRECTORS AND CORRECTING.

IT has ever been the pursuit of eminent printers to aim at accuracy, by their particular care that the effects of their profession should appear without faults and errors, not only with respect to wrong letters and false spelling, but chiefly in regard to their correcting and illustrating such words and passages as are not fully explained or expressed, or are obscurely written in the copy. The office of corrector is not be applied to one that has merely a tolerable judgment of his mother tongue, but who has some knowledge of such languages as are in frequent use, viz. Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, Italian and German, and possesses a quick and discerning eye-these are the accomplishments by which a corrector may raise his own and his master's credit; for it is maxim with booksellers to give the first edition of a work to be done by such printers whom they know to be either able correctors themselves, or that employ fit persons, though not of universal learning, and who know the fundamentals of every art and science that may fall under their examination. We say, examination; for in cases where a corrector is not acquainted with the subject before him, he, together with the person that reads to him, can do no more than literally compare and cross-examine the proof by the original, without altering either the spelling or punctuation; since it is an author's province to prevent mistakes in such case, either by delivering his copy very accurate, and fairly written, or by carefully perusing the proof sheet. But where a corrector understands the language and characters of a work, he often finds

occasion to alter and to mend things that he can maintain to be either wrong or ill digested. If, therefore, a corrector suspects copy to want revising, he is notto postpone it, but to make his emendations in the manuscript before it is wanted by the compositor, that he may not be hindered in the pursuit of his business, or prejudiced by alterations in the proof, especially if they are of no real signification; such as far-fetched spelling of words, changing and thrusting in points, capitals, or any thing else that has nothing but fancy and humour for its authority and foundation.

What is chiefly required of a corrector, besides espying literal faults, is to spell and point after the prevailing method and genius of each particular language: but these being two points that never will be reconciled, but always afford employment for pedantic critics, every corrector ought to fix upon a method to spell ambiguous words and compounds always the same way. And that the compositors may become acquainted with and accustomed to his way of spelling, the best expedient will be to draw out, by degrees, a catalogue of such ambiguous words and compounds.

As it is necessary that correctors should understand languages, so it is requisite that they should be acquainted with the nature of printing, else they will be apt to expose themselves in objecting against several things that are done according to method and practice in printing. It is for this reason that correctors, in most printing-offices, are chosen out of compositors that are thought capable of that office, and who know how not only to correct literal faults, but can also discern where improprieties in workmanship are used, which cannot be expected in gentlemen who have not a sufficient knowledge of