boiling. "Were you waiting for me?" I inquired. "Yes," said
Belle, "I thought that you would come, and I waited for you."
"That was very kind," said I. "Not half so kind," said she, "as it
was of you to get everything ready for me in the dead of last
night, when there was scarcely a chance of my coming." The tea-
things were brought forward, and we sat down. "Have you been far?"
said Belle. "Merely to that public-house," said I, "to which you
directed me on the second day of our acquaintance." "Young men
should not make a habit of visiting public-houses," said Belle,
"they are bad places." "They may be so to some people," said I,
"but I do not think the worst public-house in England could do me
any harm." "Perhaps you are so bad already," said Belle, with a
smile, "that it would be impossible to spoil you." "How dare you
catch at my words?" said I; "come, I will make you pay for doing
so--you shall have this evening the longest lesson in Armenian
which I have yet inflicted upon you." "You may well say
inflicted," said Belle, "but pray spare me. I do not wish to hear
anything about Armenian, especially this evening." "Why this
evening?" said I. Belle made no answer. "I will not spare you,"
said I; "this evening I intend to make you conjugate an Armenian
verb." "Well, be it so," said Belle; "for this evening you shall
command." "To command is hramahyel," said I. "Ram her ill,
indeed," said Belle; "I do not wish to begin with that." "No,"
said I, "as we have come to the verbs, we will begin regularly;
hramahyel is a verb of the second conjugation. We will begin with
the first." "First of all tell me," said Belle, "what a verb is?"
"A part of speech," said I, "which, according to the dictionary,
signifies some action or passion; for example, I command you, or I
hate you." "I have given you no cause to hate me," said Belle,
looking me sorrowfully in the face.