W. S.

by L.P. Hartley

A

 little comforted, Walter went home. The talk with the police had done him good. He thought it over. It was quite true what he had told them—that he had no enemies. He was not a man of strong personal feelings; such feelings as he had went into his books. In his books he had drawn some pretty nasty characters. Not of recent years, however. Of recent years he had felt a reluctance to draw a very bad man or woman: he thought it morally irresponsible and artistically unconvincing, too. There was good in everyone: Iagos were a myth. Latterly—but he had to admit that it was several weeks since he laid pen to paper, so much had this ridiculous business of the postcards weighed upon his mind—if he had to draw a really wicked person he represented him as a Nazi—someone who had deliberately put off his human characteristics. But in the past, when he was younger and more inclined to see things in black or white, he had let himself go once or twice. He did not remember his old books very well but there was a character in one, “The Outcast,” into whom he had really got his knife. He had written about him with extreme vindictiveness, just as if he was a real person whom he was trying to show up. He had experienced a curious pleasure in attributing every kind of wickedness to this man. He never gave him the benefit of the doubt. He had never felt a twinge of pity for him, even when he paid the penalty for his misdeeds on the gallows. He had so worked himself up that the idea of this dark creature, creeping about brimful of malevolence, had almost frightened him.

NOTES AND EXERCISES:

1.     If a noun ends in “–y” after a consonant, the “y” changes into “ie” before the plural inflection “s”: enemy—enemies. However, if the “y” is preceded by a vowel, it is preserved: boy—boys. Proper names in the plural also preserve the “y”: Mary—the three Marys.

2.     The suffixes “–ance” and “–ant” are used to form nouns and adjectives respectively. Memorize the spelling of the following nouns and derive adjectives from them wherever possible:

reluctance	assistance	circumstance	jubilance	abundance
importance	clearance	transmittance	vigilance	attendance
disturbance	repentance	admittance	acceptance	guidance
distance	elegance	inheritance	instance	reliance
resistance	ambulance	forbearance	defiance	acquaintance
appearance	assurance	procurance	sufferance	resemblance

3.     Word study:

latterly          of late; nowadays

twinge            a sudden sharp pain: a twinge of toothache

misdeed         a wicked act; a crime: to be punished for one’s misdeeds

malevolence               wishing to do evil or cause harm to others

penalty          a punishment for wrong-doing, for failure to obey rules or keep an agreement; a fine: Spitting forbidden: Penalty £5. Forbidden under penalty of death.

to let oneself go          to give way to; no longer hold back one’s feelings, desires, impulses, etc.: He let himself go on the subject.

4.     Translate the following expressions and use them in sentences of your own:

        penal servitude, penal code, penalty kick, penal laws, a penal offence, a penal settlement (a colony).