Waiting (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
The wonderful news about Caroline’s imminent wedding is overshadowed by “a terrible announcement came this morning.” The mother “has been taken dangerously ill at Versailles.” They were “within a day or two of starting,” but all thought of leaving “must now be postponed, for she cannot possibly be moved in her present state.” The father instantly decided to go to her, and Alicia has been “occupied all day in getting him off.” She feels “anxious” for the old man, “stay-at-home as he is,” and “unable to cope with any difficulty.” This imagery evokes a feeling of anxiousness and worry, for Alicia is left on her own and there is nothing she can do to help her parents.
An artist (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
The father is of opinion that Caroline’s wedding “should not be delayed too long.” While at Versailles, he made the acquaintance of M. de la Feste’s “disposition and conduct,” and now is “strongly in favor of his suit.” Alicia finds it “odd” that Caroline’s “betrothed should influence in his favour” all who come near him. His portrait, which Caroline has shown Alicia, exhibits him to be “of a physique that partly accounts for this.” However, Alicia suspects that there must be “something more” than “mere appearance,” and it is probably “some sort of glamour or fascinating power.” This imagery evokes a feeling of curiosity. That mysterious M. de la Feste is too good to be an actual living and breathing person.
The first impression (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
Alicia has finally made the acquaintance of M. de la Feste, and now she seems to be “another woman” to fall in love with the famous charm of his. Alicia cannot describe why this should be so, but “conversation with him seems to expend the view, and open the heart,” and “raise one as upon the stilts to wider prospects.” The man has “a good intellectual forehead, perfect eyebrows, dark hair and eyes, an animated manner and a persuasive voice.” They have been talking of his art: she had no notion that “art demanded such sacrifices or such tender devotion.” She did not know that there were only two “roads for choice within its precincts, the road of vulgar money-making, and the road of high aims” and “consequent in appreciation for man long years by the public.” This imagery shows how much Alicia likes her sister’s betrothed. What is more, she is both anxious and ashamed to admit that she likes him a lot.
A debt (The example is taken from “A Committee-Man of 'The Terror'”)
That night Mademoiselle V saw “a divinely sent vision.” “A procession of her lost relatives – father, brother, uncle, cousin” seemed to cross her chamber “between her bed and the window,” and when she “endeavoured to trace their features” she perceived them to be “headless.” She could only recognize them by “their familiar clothes only.” In the morning she couldn’t shake off the effects of “this appearance on her nerves.” In the evening her sense “of family duty waxed stronger.” Yet, she asked herself, how could she, “alone and unprotected,” go at this “eleventh hour” and “reassert to an affianced husband that she could not and would not marry him.” The situation “dismayed her.” This imagery evokes a feeling of insecurity and hesitation.
Groggy (The example is taken from “Absent-Mindedness in a Parish Choir”)
Levi Limpet, “a boy who sat in the gallery,” nudged Timothy and Nicholas, so that they would start playing. The church was “so dark” and their heads were so “muddled” that the musicians thought they were at the party they had played at “the night before.”So it was decided by Nicholas to start “The Devil among the Tailors.” “Nothing doubting,” the rest of the band “followed their leader with all their strength, according to custom.” They poured out that there tune “till the lower bass notes” of “the Devil among the Tailors” made “the cobwebs in the roof shiver like ghosts.” This imagery evokes a feeling of mirth, for such confusions as this one become perfect anecdotes to laugh at later.
