Article January 29, 1972 Issue

"The labour we delight in"

ENID SAUNDERS CANDLIN

A few persons find their work so delightful that they continue to pursue it in their holidays, a notable example being those professional musicians who spend their free fortnight in the extremely uncomfortable conditions of a rudimentary tented camp in a chill and rainy climate, playing all day long the music they particularly cherish.

Nothing is more exacting, nothing demands more patience, than the performance of music, yet we justly use the verb "to play" in connection with it. An occupation like theirs is a joy and a fulfillment; it does not weary; the players lose themselves completely in it.

But how rare this is! Many people don't find their work their joy—and no wonder. To some, it is only a modern version of the Adamic curse—brambles and thorns, sorrow and dust, translated into drudgery and bondage.

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