Verena in the Midst: A Kind of a StoryLucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)
General
Verena in the Midst: A Kind of a Story
Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)
England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction; Epistolary fiction; Invalids -- Fiction
If new paper cannot be manufactured from wood pulp—owing to the scarcity
of labour in the forests—it must be made in other ways. Now the best
of these is from old paper. Now this can be done satisfactorily only
if the printed words on it can be removed; in other words (to be for
a moment scientific) it must be “de-inked.” De-inking is a mysterious
business, but Sybil, who took a course of chemistry at Newnham, has hit
on a process which cannot fail. She has tried it in the kitchen of her
flat with an old copy of the _Nineteenth Century and After_ and found
it perfect. Our plan then is to buy up thousands and thousands of the
largest papers, such as the _Daily Telegraph_ and the _Queen_ and the
_Field_—the paper for each copy of which now probably costs more than the
price it is sold for (this discrepancy being made possible by the wealth
of advertisements)—de-ink them and sell the new paper at a considerable
profit. All that is needed is the capital for the erection of the
de-inking plant. Speed is of course imperative. If you are interested—and
this cannot fail—please telegraph.
Ever since the day when I first met Sybil in the Egyptian Room at the
British Museum my life has been a whirl of joy and intellectual stimulus.
We are both convinced that we lived and loved before, in a previous
existence, and Sybil even goes so far as to believe that as ancient
Egyptians we were instrumental in overcoming a papyrus shortage in the
days of the Ptolemies. Personally I think this a little fanciful, but it
might be true. Who can say? And women have wonderful intuition.
We both long to be united. Lack of pence is our only obstacle.
Please telegraph, dear Aunt Verena, to
Yours sincerely,
HORACE MUN-BROWN
CLXXI
WALTER RABY TO HIS SISTER VERENA
(_Six Months Later_)
DEAR OLD GIRL,—I was surprised to have your long letter. You seem to have
been having a pretty thin time, but I hope you’re all right by now. We
have some fine cattle coming along. Keep fit, it’s the only way. Yours
ever,
WALTER
INDEX TO POETRY
PAGE
Binyon, Laurence, 128
Blake, William, 66
Browne, William, 56
Burns, Robert, 57
Colman, George, 62
Conklin, Hilda, 200
Cory, William, 253
De La Mare, Walter, 89
Fitzgerald, Edward, 42
Galsworthy, John, 178
Giles, A. H., 152, 156
Herrick, Robert, 57
Hodgson, Ralph, 77
Hunt, Leigh, 173
Jonson, Ben, 56
Kilmer, Joyce, 221
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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