Asto‘ca’n’t’,itwillnotbedisputedthat,inallotherwordsendingin‘n’t’,theselettersareanabbreviationof‘not’;anditissurelyabsurdtosupposethat,inthissolitaryinstance,‘not’isrepresentedby‘’t’!
Again,in‘wo’n’t’,thefirstapostropheisneeded,becausetheword‘would’ishereabridgedinto‘wo’:butIholditpropertospell‘don’t’withonlyoneapostrophe,becausetheword‘do’isherecomplete.
Astosuchwordsas‘traveler’,Iholdthecorrectprincipletobe,todoubletheconsonantwhentheaccentfallsonthatsyllable;otherwisetoleaveitsingle.
Thisruleisobservedinmostcases(e.g.wedoublethe‘r’in‘preferred’,butleaveitsinglein‘offered’),sothatIamonlyextending,toothercases,anexistingrule.
Iadmit,however,thatIdonotspell‘parallel’,astherulewouldhaveit;buthereweareconstrained,bytheetymology,toinsertthedouble‘l’.
InthePrefacetoVol.I.,atpp.379,380,Igaveanaccountofthemaking-upofthestoryof‘SylvieandBruno’.AfewmoredetailsmayperhapsbeacceptabletomyReaders.
MostofthesubstanceofbothVolumeswastheninexistenceinmanuscript:andmyoriginalintentionwastopublishthewholestoryatonce.
InSeptember,1885,IreceivedfromMr.Furnissthefirstsetofdrawings—thefourwhichillustrate‘PeterandPaul’:inNovember,1886,Ireceivedthesecondset—thethreewhichillustratetheProfessor’ssongaboutthe‘littleman’whohad‘alittlegun’:andinJanuary,1887,Ireceivedthethirdset—thefourwhichillustratethe‘Pig-Tale’.
Itisanattempttoshowwhatmightpossiblyhappen,supposingthatFairiesreallyexisted;andthattheyweresometimesvisibletous,andwetothem;andthattheyweresometimesabletoassumehumanform:andsupposing,also,thathumanbeingsmightsometimesbecomeconsciousofwhatgoesonintheFairy-world—byactualtransferenceoftheirimmaterialessence,suchaswemeetwithin‘EsotericBuddhism’.
(c)aformoftrance,inwhich,whileunconsciousofactualsurroundings,andapparentlyasleep,he(i.e.hisimmaterialessence)migratestootherscenes,intheactualworld,orinFairyland,andisconsciousofthepresenceofFairies.
InthePrefacetoVol.I.,atpp.379and380,Igaveanaccountoftheoriginationofsomeoftheideasembodiedinthebook.AfewmoresuchdetailsmayperhapsinterestmyReaders:
I.(‘Thingsthataregreaterthanthesamearegreaterthanoneanother’,and‘Allanglesareequal’)wereactuallyenunciated,inallseriousness,byundergraduatesatauniversitysituatednot100milesfromEly.
II.p.550.Soalsowashisremark(‘Iknowwhatitdoesn’tspell’).Andhisremark(‘Ijusttwiddledmyeyes,&c.’)Iheardfromthelipsofalittlegirl,whohadjustsolvedapuzzleIhadsether.
Theremark,madebyaguestatthedinner-party,whenaskingforadishoffruit(‘I’vebeenwishingforthem,&c.’)IheardmadebythegreatPoet-Laureate,whoselossthewholereading-worldhassolatelyhadtodeplore.
ItiscopiedverbatimfromthecolumnsoftheStandard,andwasspokenbySirWilliamHarcourt,whowas,atthetime,amemberofthe‘Opposition’,atthe‘NationalLiberalClub’,onJulythe16th,1890.
II.p.685.ThedialoguebetweenSylvieandBruno,whichoccupieslines29to34,isaverbatimreport(merelysubstituting‘cake’for‘penny’)ofadialogueoverheardbetweentwochildren.
MayItakethisopportunityofcallingattentiontowhatIflattermyselfwasasuccessfulpieceofname-coining,atp.400ofVol.I.
ThegentleReaderhasnodoubtobservedwhatasingularlyuselessarticleinahouseabrazentrumpetis,ifyousimplyleaveitlyingabout,andneverblowit!
IwillpublishtheanswertothispuzzleinthePrefacetoalittlebookof‘OriginalGamesandPuzzles’,nowincourseofpreparation.
Ihadintended,inthisPreface,todiscussmorefully,thanIhaddoneinthepreviousVolume,the‘MoralityofSport’,withspecialreferencetolettersIhavereceivedfromloversofSport,inwhichtheypointoutthemanygreatadvantageswhichmengetfromit,andtrytoprovethatthesuffering,whichitinflictsonanimals,istootrivialtoberegarded.
Itis,thatGodhasgiventoMananabsoluterighttotakethelivesofotheranimals,foranyreasonablecause,suchasthesupplyoffood:butthatHehasnotgiventoMantherighttoinflictpain,unlesswhennecessary:thatmerepleasure,oradvantage,doesnotconstitutesuchanecessity:and,consequently,thatpain,inflictedforthepurposesofSport,iscruel,andthereforewrong.
ButIfinditafarmorecomplexquestionthanIhadsupposed;andthatthe‘case’,onthesideoftheSportsman,isamuchstrongeronethanIhadsupposed.
Inmyopinion,fartoomanysermonsareexpectedfromourpreachers;and,asaconsequence,agreatmanyarepreached,whicharenotworthlisteningto;and,asaconsequenceofthat,weareveryaptnottolisten.
FortheCongregationthisnewmovementinvolvesthedangeroflearningtothinkthattheServicesaredoneforthem;andthattheirbodilypresenceisalltheyneedcontribute.
And,forClergyandCongregationalike,itinvolvesthedangerofregardingtheseelaborateServicesasendsinthemselves,andofforgettingthattheyaresimplymeans,andtheveryhollowestofmockeries,unlesstheybearfruitinourlives.
Notlongago,IattendedaCathedral-Service,andwasplacedimmediatelybehindarowofmen,membersoftheChoir;andIcouldnothelpnoticingthattheytreatedtheLessonsasapartoftheServicetowhichtheyneedednottogiveanyattention,andasaffordingthemaconvenientopportunityforarrangingmusic-books,&c.,&c.AlsoIhavefrequentlyseenarowoflittlechoristers,aftermarchinginprocessiontotheirplaces,kneeldown,asifabouttopray,andrisefromtheirkneesafteraminutespentinlookingaboutthem,itbeingbuttooevidentthattheattitudewasameremockery.
Asaninstanceofirreverenttreatmentofholythings,Iwillmentionacustom,whichnodoubtmanyofmyreadershavenoticedinChurcheswheretheClergyandChoirenterinprocession,viz.
that,attheendoftheprivatedevotions,whicharecarriedoninthevestry,andwhichareofcourseinaudibletotheCongregation,thefinal‘Amen’isshouted,loudenoughtobeheardallthroughtheChurch.
Thisservesasasignal,totheCongregation,topreparetorisewhentheprocessionappears:anditadmitsofnodisputethatitisforthispurposethatitisthusshouted.
WhenweremembertoWhomthat‘Amen’isreallyaddressed,andconsiderthatitishereusedforthesamepurposeasoneoftheChurch-bells,wemustsurelyadmitthatitisapieceofgrossirreverence?
Letmeadd,however,mostearnestly,thatIfullybelievethatthisprofanityis,inmanycases,unconscious:the‘environment’(asIhavetriedtoexplainatpp.590,591)makesallthedifferencebetweenmanandman;andIrejoicetothinkthatmanyoftheseprofanestories—whichIfindsopainfultolistento,andshouldfeelitasintorepeat—givetotheirearsnopain,andtotheirconsciencesnoshock;andthattheycanutter,notlesssincerelythanmyself,thetwoprayers,‘HallowedbeThyName’,and‘fromhardnessofheart,andcontemptofThyWordandCommandment,GoodLord,deliverus!’
TowhichIwoulddesiretoadd,fortheirsakeandformyown,Keble’sbeautifulpetition,‘helpus,thisandeveryday,tolivemorenearlyaswepray!’
Itis,infact,foritsconsequences—forthegravedangers,bothtospeakerandtohearer,whichitinvolves—ratherthanforwhatitisinitself,thatImournoverthisclericalhabitofprofanityinsocialtalk.
Tothebelievingheareritbringsthedangeroflossofreverenceforholythings,bythemereactoflisteningto,andenjoying,suchjests;andalsothetemptationtoretailthemfortheamusementofothers.
Totheunbelievingheareritbringsawelcomeconfirmationofhistheorythatreligionisafable,inthespectacleofitsaccreditedchampionsthusbetrayingtheirtrust.
Forsurelysuchjests,ifutteredwithnoconsciousnessofharm,mustnecessarilybealsoutteredwithnoconsciousness,atthemoment,oftherealityofGod,asalivingbeing,whohearsallwesay.
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