Why could the author not make any progress with his article? How did he overcome the discomfiture
caused by having to write with a pen?
2. The author draws on the examples of distinguished
personalities to show the importance of a pencil in
his life. Does this justify his enslavement to this habit?
3. The author labels the boy in Sir Walter Scott's story
as "delicately balanced" and therefore likely to "come
to grief in this rough world." How far would you agree
with this in the light of the trick played on the boy
by Scott and the concluding paragraph of the essay?
4. Describe the plight of Mr. Balfour in the absence of
the lapels of his coat.