Re: three grammar/usage points


"Rip Rock" <riprock@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1125466614.911061.216850@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [quote]
> Shall I acknowledge it? The conclusion of this whole business was,
> that
> it soon became a fixed fact of my chambers, that a pale young
> scrivener,
> by the name of Bartleby, and a desk there; that he copied for me at the
> usual rate of four cents a folio (one hundred words); but he was
> permanently exempt from examining the work done by him, that duty being
> transferred to Turkey and Nippers, one of compliment doubtless to their
> superior acuteness; moreover, said Bartleby was never on any account to
> be dispatched on the most trivial errand of any sort; and that even if
> entreated to take upon him such a matter, it was generally understood
> that he would prefer not to--in other words, that he would refuse
> pointblank.
> [/quote]
> http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/1/2/3/11231/11231.txt
>
> The above passage has three interesting points:
> 1) "and a desk there" appears to be either a grammar error on
> Melville's part, a transcription error, or perhaps an odd bit of legal
> jargon;

"and" is a typo for "had"

> 2) "one of compliment" is a very rare usage in modern English (I am not
> certain whether this means "duty that is flattering to T & N" or
> "transfer that is flattering to T &N" or whether there is another
> intended meaning);

It would have been an odd phrase at any time, but doesn't appear to be a
typo. The question is, what's the antecedent of "one"? "Duty" looks like the
only candidate, but it's still an awkward construction.

> 3) "moreover, said Bartleby" is a a more common usage, which I
> translate as "the aforesaid Bartleby," or "the Bartleby that had been
> previously mentioned."

That's correct.

--
Jess Askin
Iowa, USA


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