This is, word for word, the Esperanto letter of a five-days’ student. It would be interesting to see a similar production after an equally short period of self-tuition in any natural language. "Atento" instead of "atenton" seems to be the only slip!
(2). "Dear Sir,—I received the books safely yesterday morning.... I think Esperanto a most wonderful language. I shall soon translate the letters (for enrolment in the Adresaro) and send them in. I have never been so surprised as when I glanced through the text-book. I thought it would take at least 30 or 40 hours to master the grammar, but I find I can do it in 2! You will probably be rather surprised when you hear that I am only 14 years old. Yours truly, W.G.R., Montmorency, France."
We wish him every success, and hope soon to receive an Esperanto note also.
G.M.H., London, N.W., writes in Esperanto asking for "rules for the order of the words in Esperanto."
For an affirmative sentence the English order is generally the best. For questions, however, the order is not inverted. Ĉu mi havas libron? not Havas mi libron?
A most enthusiastic Sussex Samideanino writes: "I may never be able to do much—my age (71) precludes the possibility; but what I can do will give me the greatest possible pleasure."
M.A., of Weymouth, says: "I am in a slight difficulty.... What is the pronunciation of the plural termination OJ?" Unfortunately this point was not sufficiently clear in the first edition of the Text-Book. The sound is monosyllabic as in TOY. The tonic accent therefore falls on the preceding syllable. The termination of adjectives follows the same rule.