one reason for It"?

"The greater the compliment!" cried I, laughing; "I give up to
your request."

"Yes, ma'am, upon my speaking,-but why did you keep Me so long in
that painful suspense?"

Page 58

"Nay," cried I, "could I well be quicker? Till you spoke could I
know if you heeded it?"

"Ah, ma'am--is there no language but of words? Do you pretend to
think there is no other?'--Must I teach it you,,--teach it to
Miss Burney who speaks, who
understands it so well?--who is never silent, and never can b
silent?"

And then came his heroic old homage to the poor eyebrows
vehemently finishing with, "Do you, can you affect to know no
language but speech?"

" Not," cried I, coolly, " without the trouble of more
investigation than I had taken here."

He called this "contempt," and, exceedingly irritated, de sired
me, once more, to explain, from beginning to end, how he had ever
offended me.