THE LETTER "P."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 948, 15 October 1910, Page 9

THE LETTER "P."

• Apropos of ; the : controversy- in the -"Westminster Gazette" ' over: ."beautiful words," ' the; "Manchester . Guar-'; dian" observes:— .' i A: writer in , tliev "Nation" .starts a good gamOj or'.rather,'.carries on; one: that began in/;the':''Westminster^'Gaz-;. ;etto," Iby .trying to pick' out' the 'most' '.beautiful .words, he rknoiwsrrwords •beau-' . ftiful in .'.themselves,' apart', .from their meaning,:;; like "amber," "cadence,"; ) " "echo,":. "beryl,''' ''rosemary," etc. ; -.This;;i,s laiyful'spprt; .'Biit he. goes ,a; step further'' and Vsug-. ..gests a beauty competition for singlp. : ' 'P, " ,;hd' says,; ,''is the :uglicst -of./letters—'V.'.- the.. most _'beautiful.'"li.Oiio i&'inclined, m the Parljar s ; all; the >,:pretty : ; p'sj., rI in.. ;.shakespeare's' .' 'j , Pliimpy Bacchjis with;;, pink. eyne P;/ iliVhatrabpiit/;^ tKai,*: pli^tly^jimtf^ing^l^Tf.'ih'' "lips" ;to the rhythm; of Irisrj-yy/' ;; - :Take',;:"G take^tlio'se-lip's laWay.?..,. .If you.'- .Balthasar's;; . song 'rightly ;"Much t ;'Notning,'';':you '■ 'haivib.'>seen ./iri; .tlie' ; sec- 1 •ond'Word of the lirio '• ."• ,/Of. dumps, so. dull ar.d heavy, /another./.instance of tlio special teaiity.' ;to the slowjy formed;labial . ••interpqsdd' r aindhgV.ttb^ iants.;: 'And:then;therd.-is..all-.the beauty; that /tl}e ; /great; i®chnicmns;^^ : the' us'e lof' p; with./ certain / other. V'con-. /sonants!/"to •' form'-, y special s:;recurrent. /chords, 1, ;likp the' cKord'of/p.y. f' thatvßV' L./Stevenson^discovered..: in. Milton's /comedy. .'cannot, praise ..a fugitive and- cloistered' . virtue,''.; eto-i'and; in the 1 lines'of .'.VTroilus and Cres^ida"/:/:'- ; ;/;'i/ But ih. thtv.'wind and .tempest of her. frown,; Distinctipn'with a loud and .powerful 'fan, Puffmg;at\all,. ctc. ... j In at'leasMpue case Shakespeare;';when' 'evidently, lading; himself-out'to/do. a; big thing in the iray of superb'w;riting,; -made ...ofp's; I'and their sister..'ii's:—. ! The b'ar'se; sie .'sat'in, a iike- ai' burnished , throne, 1 ; "y'yl'-. .'Burnt oh tho water: the.poop was beaten. v: .g01d,.:/ ' . Purple the "sails and so.' perfumed that, T etc. ,•'/ ■■■.■'y" ~;} ' ... ' '■■■' .On ,the we are .rather sceptical 1 ■ about relative degrees: of beauty in '.consonant'!. When; one heard words ut-: . tered byjjonij like Sir. Henry Irving, who evidently loved them, as painters ' love,pamt| and .who, delivered 1 the words; that he loved' with'a sort of caressing' ' "delight in:' the lines of their cbuson- , antal structure; and in -the colour' of •their vowehy oiio folt that all the letters wore equal in beauty because each \achieved an infinitude of it, and no' ;one infinite thing can be less than . 'another. •.■'■'■. ~ .. , (