Sir, During the last few days my “ocular demonstration” has been much offended by the bad spelling which is exhibited in and about the town of Ryde. I should have thought that the fact of a Royal residence being so near would necessitate that “Queen’s English” would be the rule, but anyone can see that in many instances it is the exception. I do not know if you possess the luxury of a School Board in this delightful resort, but I hope that steps will be taken at your places of education to enlighten the minds of the rising generation as to the proper use of commas, full stops &c., and more especially to teach them to spell correctly, for I find that in one of your streets a house is styled “The Observatary”, and a short distance from it a notice cautions the would-be offender against “depositeing” certain rubbish &c; while near one of the railway stations an enterprising tradesman emphatically informs the public that something is done in all its “branchies”. Near the Pier is a large notice board, written in an uncomfortable style, with the information upon it considerably mixed, and interspersed with pot-hooks and hangers, with an apostrophe turned into a full-stop and placed at the bottom of a word &c. I think that probably more of such incongruities can be found, but verb sap.
Yours obediently,
Ryde 11th July,1887
A VISITOR
