I fancy this excellent woman, sitting on the platform to watch the trains go homewards, and yearning for the day to come when she will take a seat in one of them, disclosed a secret which many of us share, but few of us have the courage to confess. She was bored by her holiday. It was her annual Purgatory,* her time of exile by the alien waters of Babylon.* There she sat while the commonplaces of her home life, her comfortable bed, the mysteries of her larder, the gossip of her neighbours, the dusting of the front parlour, the trials of shopping, her good man’s going and returning, the mending of the children’s stockings, and all the little somethings-and-nothings that made up her daily round, assumed a glamour and a pathos that familiarity had deadened. She had to go away from home to discover it again. She had to get out of her rut in order to find that she could not be happy anywhere else. Then she could say with Touchstone, “So this is the forest of Arden: well, when I was at home I was in a better place.”*
It does not follow that her holiday was a failure. It was a most successful holiday. The main purpose of a holiday is to make us home-sick.
From ‘Many Furrows’ (1924), a selection of essays by Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946).
* In the traditional doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, Purgatory is the name for that place or state into which the souls of the dead immediately pass, and where they are purified from or suffer punishment for their sins. The word tends to be used for a cleansing and temporary kind of hell.
* A reference to Psalm 137. After the conquest by Babylon early in the sixth century BC, the nobility of Jerusalem were deported to Babylon. When curious locals asked to hear a Hebrew song or two, the exiles, so far from home, were thrown into great distress.
* Touchstone is a character in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, a court jester.
Précis
Gardiner reflected that this lady was braver than most people, because she admitted what they do not: that she found holiday leisure dull. This, said Gardiner, was not a bad thing at all, because the great virtue of a holiday is that it teaches us to appreciate life at home once again. (52 / 60 words)
Gardiner reflected that this lady was braver than most people, because she admitted what they do not: that she found holiday leisure dull. This, said Gardiner, was not a bad thing at all, because the great virtue of a holiday is that it teaches us to appreciate life at home once again.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, just, may, must, otherwise, since, whereas, who.
About the Author
Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946) was a journalist, editor and political campaigner. In 1887, joined the Northern Daily Telegraph, and moved to the Blackburn Weekly Telegraph two years later as editor. Gardiner was appointed editor of the Daily News in 1902, which he helped to turn into one of the leading liberal newspapers of the day with a dramatically increased circulation. He resigned over a point of policy in 1919, but by this time he had been writing for the Star for four years under the pen-name of ‘Alpha of the Plough’ — like other contributors, he chose a name drawn from astronomy. His essays were regarded highly for their craft and good humour, and several collections were published.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Appear. Comfortable. Dust.
2 Address. Not. Seat.
3 Front. Gaze. Share.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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