Introduction
Journalist A. G. Gardiner, better known by the pen-name of ‘Alpha of the Plough’, lived in the countryside, where he enjoyed the companionship of two familiar voices. One was the merry piping of the robin by day; the other was the hopeless sigh of the owl by night. ‘Where are the songs of spring’ the little fellow seemed to say ‘and the leaves of summer?’ But Gardiner refused to be borne along by Wol’s pessimism.
A CHEERLESS fellow. Some people find him an intolerable companion. I was talking at dinner in London a few nights ago to a woman who has a house in Sussex, and I found that she had not been there for some time.
“I used to find the owl endurable,” said she, “but since the war I have found him unbearable. He hoots all night and makes me so depressed that I feel that I shall go mad.”
“And so you come and listen to the owl in London?” I said.
“The owl in London?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, “the owl that hoots in Carmelite Street and Printing House Square.”
“Ah,” she said, “but he is such an absurd owl. Now the owl down in the country is such a solemn creature.”
“He says a very foolish thing
In such a solemn way,”*
I murmured.
“Yes, but in the silence and the darkness there doesn’t seem any answer to him.”
“Madame,” I said, “if you will look up at the stars you will find a very complete answer.”
* Adapted from ‘To an Insect’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894):
Thou say’st an undisputed thing
In such a solemn way.
Gardiner’s solemn owl is not saying ‘an undisputed thing’, but being foolishly pessimistic.
Précis
Columnist ‘Alpha of the Plough’ recalled a dinner conversation in which a lady had admitted that she rarely visited her home in the Sussex countryside because of the depressing call of a certain night-time owl. The journalist observed that even London had owls, but this owl seemed especially to oppress her, so soon after the Great War. (57 / 60 words)
Columnist ‘Alpha of the Plough’ recalled a dinner conversation in which a lady had admitted that she rarely visited her home in the Sussex countryside because of the depressing call of a certain night-time owl. The journalist observed that even London had owls, but this owl seemed especially to oppress her, so soon after the Great War.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, just, may, must, not, or, since, until.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
