"beat with perpetual storms."
Which of these is indicative of the true edition? Again: in the small paper, p. 275, line 20, we read properly
"Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat prata biberunt."
in the large paper,
"Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat parta biberunt."
It was in my power to have cancelled the leaf in the large paper as well as in the small; but I thought it might thereby have taken from the former the air of a true edition; and so the blunder (a mere transposition of the letters ar) will go down to a future generation in the large paper. There is yet another slight variation between the small and large. At p. 111, in the account of the catalogue of Krohn's books, the concluding sentence wholly varies: but I believe there is not an error in either, to entitle one to the rank of Truism more than another.[H]
[H] During the youth of the printer of this book, a curious mistake occurred: a splendid folio work was going on for Dr. Bonnell Thornton; in a certain page, as printers technically say, a space stood up; the Dr. (not understanding printers' marks) wrote on a head page "take out horizontal line at p. so and so"—the compositor inserted these words as a displayed line in the head-page whereon they were written—the reader passed it in the revise—and it was so worked off! Being eventually detected—the leaf was of course cancelled.
Alman. It seems to me to be downright idiotism. But I suspect you exaggerate?
Lysand. In sober truth, I tell you only what every day's experience in the book-market will corroborate.
Belin. Well!—what strange animals are you bibliomaniacs. Have we any other symptom to notice? Yes, I think Lysander made mention of an eighth; called a passion for the Black-Letter. Can any eyes be so jaundiced as to prefer volumes printed in this crabbed, rough, and dismal manner?