Noteless dealings

The problem was that schools began expecting dialogues to appear in students’ books. Conversations going backwards and forwards between learner and teacher. People wrote comments, which were responded to, then a new comment appeared, which again was responded to, and then a new comment was written ………. Marking had become not triple impact but quintuple, nonuple, quattuordecuple and maybe centuple impact marking. A well-intentioned idea had spiralled out of control.

Never the prude, Eliza walked out into the dorm common room naked as a jaybird and grabbed her forgotten towel.

Chinese traders, mostly from the southern ports of Amoy (Hsia-men) and Canton, took raw silk, fabrics, and apparel to Manila, where these cargoes were sold for silver and carried back for sale in the New World.