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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 1

[trade dispatches]

The items relating to the state of the trade in Australia in this month's Typographical Journal are brief, but significant: « Sydney, 20th April.—Trade as dull as ever. » « Melbourne, 30th April.—Trade still dull. »

If Mr Dowie be correctly reported in Truth, he must be a believer in « the antiquity of man, » and specially of the Jewish people. It is startling to read that « more than eighteen hundred centuries ago a man went into a Jewish synagogue to worship. » We are reminded of the Shakspeare tercentenary ode by one of Mr Punch's correspondents, opening thus:

« Accept, dear Will, my homage plenary
On thy three-hundredth tercentenary. »

The Dawn (Wellington) makes a distinction between « Spiritist » and « Spiritualist; » but our contemporary's definition is precisely the reverse of that in general use. The distinction of meaning is well marked. A Spiritualist is the opposite to a Materialist. The one is a believer in a spiritual region and spiritual beings, which the other denies, and in this clear and evident sense of the word Spiritualist, all Christian denominations are included. The term Spiritist is a denominational term, and is properly applied to those who seek to hold intercourse with spirits, and shape their creed and order their lives from supposed spirit teachings. The creed of a Spiritist is sometimes pure materialism. « Spiritualist » is a generic term; « Spiritist »is specific.

On Thursday morning, 28th April, a disastrous fire occurred in Wellington, resulting in the complete destruction of the fine building occupied by the postal, telegraph, and customs departments. The building was the finest public office in the city; it was three stories in height, and was surmounted by a high clock-tower. It was completed in 1884, and with the fittings, cost £27,000. The destruction of records, telegraph instruments, &c., brings the loss up to £30,000, which falls upon the colony, all public buildings being insured in a special public department. There is no clue to the origin of the fire, which was discovered at 4.45 a.m. by Mrs Davis, one of the cleaners attached to the establishment. The fire originated near a lift, and the flames rapidly rose to the roof, and breaking out through the windows into a square central courtyard, soon gained full possession. The Brigades worked hard, but were practically powerless, having no means of reaching the heart of the fire. All the mails were saved, and with wonderful resource and enterprise, the postal and telegraph departments were again in good working order in the course of the day.

The following list of « misused words » is from Tweed's New Grammar, an American publication. We copy the list as it stands, though some of the errors enumerated are fortunately unknown outside of the United States.

  • Acoustics is always singular.
  • Cut bias, and not cut on the bias.
  • Allow should not be used for admit.
  • Come to see me, and not come and see me.
  • Bursted is not elegant and is rarely correct.
  • Almost with a negative is ridiculous. « Almost nothing » is absurd.
  • The burden of a song means the refrain or chorus, not its sense or meaning.
  • Bountiful applies to persons, not to things, and has no reference to quantity.
  • Affable only applies when speaking of the manner of superiors to inferiors.
  • Methinks is formed by the impersonal verb think, meaning seem, and the dative me; and is literally rendered, it seems to me.
  • Admire should not be followed with the infinitive. Never say, as many do, « I should admire to go with you, » &c. This error is singularly fashionable just now.
  • Allude is now frequently misused when a thing is named, spoken of or described. It should only be used when anything is hinted at in a playful or passing manner. « Allusion is the by-play of language. »