incandescens | somewhat unworthy emotions

It has been raining all day. It seems to have stopped for the moment . . .

(pauses to go and look out of window)

Yes, it has stopped, though the pavements are still damp and the puddles are noticeable.

The river was running interestingly high as I was walking home from work. While I don't expect to be personally inconvenienced (unlike those of my coworkers who usually take the train home from Leeds via Wakefield Westgate, which was not running for at least part of the evening due to flooded tracks) . . . er, that is, wrenching the sentence back on course, I do not expect to be personally flooded out, or to have any sort of issues on the way into work. But I will be interested to see what happens if the rain does continue.

(That does sound rather smug. Shame on me.)

---

'His name is—'
'Well?'
'That's the point. At this point the manuscript becomes absolutely illegible. I have conjectured Percy for the first name. It may be Richard, but I'll plunge on Percy. It's the surname that stumps me. Personally, I think it's MacCow, though I trust it isn't, for the kid's sake. I showed the letter to my brother, the one who's at Oxford. He swore it was Watson, but, on being pressed, hedged with Sandys. You may as well contribute your little bit. What do you make of it?'
Gethryn scrutinized the document with care. 'She begins with a D. You can see that.'
'Well?'
'Next letter a or u. I see. Of course. It's Duncan.'
'Think so?' said Marriott doubtfully. 'Well, let's go and ask the matron if she knows anything about him.'
'Miss Jones,' he said, when they had reached the House, 'have you on your list of new boys a sportsman of the name of MacCow or Watson? I am also prepared to accept Sandys or Duncan. The Christian name is either Richard or Percy. There, that gives you a fairly wide field to choose from.'
'There's a P. V. Wilson on the list,' said the matron, after an inspection of that document.
'That must be the man,' said Marriott.

-- A Prefect's Uncle, Wodehouse