The manner in which Dr. Johnson
selected the quotations for his Dictionary
is well known, and as a general rule
these are tolerably accurate; but under
the thirteenth heading of the verb to
sit will be found a curious perversion
of a text of Scripture. There we read,
``Asses are ye that sit in judgement--
_Judges_,'' but of course there is no such
passage in the Bible. The correct reading
of the tenth verse of the fifth chapter is:
``Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye
that sit in judgment, and walk by the
way.''

From misquotations it is an easy step

to pass to mispronunciations. These are
mostly too common to be amusing, but
sometimes the blunderers manage to hit
upon something which is rather comic.
Thus an ignorant reader coming upon a
reference to an angle of forty-five degrees
was puzzled, and astonished his hearers
by giving it out as _angel_ of forty-five
degrees. This blunderer, however, was
outdone by the speaker who described a
distinguished personage ``as a very
indefatgable young man,'' adding, ``but even
he must succmb'' (suck 'um) at last.