n the New Testament Company (I do
not know how it may have been in the Old Testament Company) was very
rarely acted upon:--"In every case of proposed alteration that may have
given rise to discussion, to defer the voting thereupon till the next
meeting, whensoever the same shall be required by one-third of those
present at the meeting, such intended vote to be announced in the notice
for the next meeting." The only occasion on which I can remember this
rule being called into action was a comparatively unimportant one. At
the close of a long day's work we found ourselves differing on the
renderings of "tomb" or "sepulchre" in one of the narratives of the
Resurrection. This was easily and speedily settled the following
morning.

The seventh rule was as follows:--"To revise the headings of chapters and
pages, paragraphs, italics, and punctuation." This rule was very
carefully attended to except as regards headings of chapters and pages.
These were soon found to involve so much of indirect, if not even of
direct interpretation, that both Companies agreed to leave this portion
of the work to some committee of the two University Presses that they
might afterwards think fit to appoint. Small as the work might seem to
be if only confined to the simple revision of the existing headings, the
time it would have taken up, if undertaken by the Companies, would
certainly have been considerable. I revised, on my own account, the
headings of the chapters in St. Matthew, and was surprised to find how
much time was required to do accurately and consistently what might have
seemed a very easy and inconsiderable work.

The eighth rule was of some importance, though, I think, very rarely
acted upon: "To refer, on the part of each Company, when considered
desirable, to divines, scholars, and literary men, whether at home or
abroad, for their opinions." How far this was acted on by the Old
Testament Company I do not know. In regard of the New Testament Company
the only instance I can remember, when we availed ourselves of the rule,
was in reference to our renderings of portions of the twenty-seventh
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. In this particular case we sent our
sheets to the Admiralty, and asked the First Sea Lord (whom some of us
knew) kindly to tell us if the expressions we had adopted were nautically
correct. I believe this friendly and competent authority did not find
anything amiss. It has sometimes been said that i