Sunday, May 17, 2009

the reason I love T H White

His description of a store-room from The Once and Future King will give you an ample idea of his style, and why I love this book.

"It smelt of oatmeal, ham, smoked salmon, dried cod, onions, shark oil, pickled herrings in tubs, hemp, maize, hen's fluff, sailcloth, milk -- the butter was churned there on Thursdays -- seasoning pine wood, apples, herbs drying, fish glue and varnish used by the fletcher, spices from overseas, dead rat in trap, venison, seaweed, wood shavings, litter of kittens, fleeces from the mountain sheep not yet sold, and the pungent smell of tar."

That is a lot of smell for one store-room.

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