A Letter to Ms Scarlet O Fenwick
My dear Scarlet,
What a prize you are! What joy you've brought us! Tea, and tobacco! Had I any doubt before, I am confirmed now in my opinion: you are the kindest, best friend I could want! (I have shared the tea with Theodor, but the tobacco, I have kept entirely for myself. It has been my evening respite from the travaills of the sea, and every taste gives me the completest peace I have known in many a month.)
You will be asking, What travaills?--for you are keen to hear what I would not say, and you would not let me go without saying it, even if you had to pry it from me by force. Therefore, I shall say that I have fought already, in a mere three days at zee, with tentacled beasts and with viscious pirates, and aquitted myself, I think, tolerably in defence of the ship. Theodor is, of course, remarkably calm about the adventure, taking our trials as a matter of probability and very likely on such a voyage as this one, but I cannot contain a certain thrill at the excitement of the engagements.
Every evening, I play for the zailors and learn their zongs, one of which I have recopied for you in full on the following page; it is, I think you will agree, a tolerably sprightly zong, and the words are very witty. It is perhaps not a suitable tune for a parlour, but it is nonetheless a fine melody for a dance, and I hope you will apply yourself to the learning of it.
So that you might improve your range during my absence, I have taken the liberty of drawing you a chart, on which you will find all of the notes that your violin can be made to produce, as well as the finger positions that will make them. If you will learn and practise your scales in anticipation of my return, I would be made very happy.
I shall not have a chance to send a long letter again for four days, but until then, I shall be,
yours in anticipation,
Henrik Paulsen.
[attached are a zong entitled 'The Merry Maids of Wolfstack Docks' and a complete fingering chart for violin]