Notices (also: Open Post)

[edgar_huntly]

Two notices on the noticeboard, with varying degrees of accurate spelling rewritten by Gen:

If any here have information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Alexander Misurov, please advise Mr. Edgar Huntly. He may be found in the main hall between the hours of noon and three.

and also, in much larger letters,

One bedframe, free, with mattress.

Comments

[kotoba_tadashii]

Gen reads the note with a small smile. "Amazing, what a communication revolution will do for standardized spelling."

[edgar_huntly]

Glancing up, slightly covered in feathers, "What's that?"

[kotoba_tadashii]

"Well, by my time, nearly everyone spells things in English exactly the same way. It makes things easier to understand on paper, but means that spelling has less and less to do with how you pronounce things."

[edgar_huntly]

"Ah." He checks his notices carefully. "I have tried to conform to Mr. Johnson's spellings in every respect that I can, but if there is some error ..."

[kotoba_tadashii]

Gen grins a little, and pulls out a pencil. Very lightly, he recopies the notice in standard modern American English spelling. "Assuming I understood everything correctly...that's how it's written at the turn of my century."

[edgar_huntly]

And, we assume, with the standard anglicization of 'Misurov.' There aren't truly that many differences since the typist is too lazy to look up the Johnson dictionary's spellings, but it nonetheless seems an enormous change for Edgar. "Why--must I learn all of my grammar over?"

[kotoba_tadashii]

"Well, I've a bit of an unfair advantage, as yours has been around for me to see, now and then. Besides, I could understand most of it, as it was."

[edgar_huntly]

"At least the sound is only a little different. Would you please replace my own poor rendering with yours?" He begins picking bits of down off of his jacket, sitting on the bedframe and pushing each bit into the mattress.

[kotoba_tadashii]

"If you like. May I ask why you're giving a bed away?" He moves to tack up his own copy of the note.

[edgar_huntly]

"I had made it for a woman who had said she had none, but did not want to live here; she has since found better-furnished lodgings, and I already have my own bed." He lets the frame shake a little, testing to see how it holds together; it is not a large construction, a little more narrow than a twin bed, and it has a rope framework to go under the feather mattress. By Edgar's standards, though, it is the most luxurious bed that he has the skill to make.

[kotoba_tadashii]

"You made it?" Gen is very impressed, as he has not known many people in his life who were true craftsmen.

[edgar_huntly]

"It is only a bed," he answers, not sure what to make of the impressed tone. In his time, nearly everyone had to have some craft, and Edgar's only useful skills were woodwork and hunting. "If you do not like your own, I could try to build one for you--"

[kotoba_tadashii]

"There is nothing wrong with mine, but if you like the work, you certainly may. I certainly wouldn't know where to begin."

[edgar_huntly]

"Would you like to learn? My Latin is progressing well, with your assistance; I should be glad to repay the favor."

[kotoba_tadashii]

He considers, then says, "Yes, I would. The only thing I do now besides my profession is cook, and there's little call for it without a steady residence. Unless this place now counts for that."

[edgar_huntly]

He grins. "I think that it does--and what I know of your cooking is excellent, although the ease of the cabinet makes cooking more a hobby than a necessity." Edgar consults the clock, smiling ruefully. "But I must stay until three. I had made a firm promise that I would make every effort to find Alexander Misurov, and I will keep to my word."