It's a heartening thing for young new writers to find out that people they see as successful have struggled and failed in the past.

But the really heartening thing about the NMP is that the government does seem to have got the message about the transformative importance of music education.

"The heartening thing about the performance is the fact that it catches the elemental fury of the drama," he wrote.

"You choose a heartening thing to think on!"

The most heartening thing about it is that, give or take a bit of dialogue and creative scene-setting, it adheres strictly to historical records.

These protests are the most heartening thing I've seen in many years.

"It's a warm and heartening thing the way families pick up words and traits from each other."

The remarkable -and heartening - thing, was how raptly everyone was listening.

"Amateur news reporters on weblogs are functioning as their own decentralized media today, and it's one of the only heartening things about this stomach-turning day."

Paris could imagine few things less heartening than stumbling through the sickbay doors only to find your doctor lying dead.