The quotations for the coming week (August 11th to 17th) are all to do with
the power of words:
1. With a mallet and a pair of tweezers he knocked out mysterious wedges of
wood that released the forme, picked a letter here and inserted a letter
there, reading as he went along and stopping much to chuckle over his own
contributions.
2. '.Look! The thing shines now within and without. God! That so much should
lie on a word.'
3. .They were originally much longer than when they appeared, but the
shortening of them, first to my own fancy after rapturous re-readings, and
next to the space available, taught me that a tale from which pieces have
been raked out is like a fire that has been poked. One does not know that
the operation has been performed, but everyone feels the effect.
The sources of this week's extracts (August 4th to 10th) are as follows:
1. (.Thanks to the khaki everywhere, the scene was not unlike that which one
might have seen on earth every evening of the old days...) This is from "On
the Gate" in 'Debits and Credits'
2. (.The passengers filed out - they and the waiting crowd devouring each
other with their eyes. Some, misled by a likeness or a half-heard voice,
hurried forward crying a name...) This is from "Uncovenanted Mercies", in
'Limits and Renewals'.
3. (..."They are my own. The old women dream of me, turning in their sleep;
the maids look and listen for me when they go to fill their lotahs by the
river...") This is from "The Bridge Builders" in 'The Day's Work'.
Good wishes to all, John R
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