Crome Yellow

Ivor leaves Crome without warning, spurred onward by the demands of never-ending social engagements across England and Scotland. Denis and Mr. Scogan find that Ivor has written a poem in the visitors’ book. It is a Shakespearean sonnet in which Ivor praises Crome as far more magical than even the most storied mythical places and bemoans the fact that he had to leave. Mr. Scogan likes the poem, but Denis points out that Ivor used unnecessarily advanced words. He says that some of the most beautiful words do not actually mean what they should mean and gives carminative as an example. He says he has loved that word since he saw it on a cinnamon bottle as a child and once associated it with the warmth and satisfaction of drinking cinnamon (and later, as an adult, of drinking alcohol). However, after eventually looking up the meaning, he stopped using it. He feels as though he lost something precious and innocent from his childhood and tells Mr. Scogan that he does not know what it is like to love words as much as someone like Denis loves them.

Mr. Scogan agrees, saying that this is a feature of the literary mind.