intolerable, but we will change the verb; or rather I will now
proceed to tell you here, that some of the Armenian conjugations have
their anomalies; one species of these I wish to bring before your notice.
As old Villotte says--from whose work I first contrived to pick up the
rudiments of Armenian--'Est verborum transitivorum, quorum infinitivus--'
but I forgot, you don't understand Latin. He says there are certain
transitive verbs, whose infinitive is in outsaniel; the preterite in
outsi; the imperative in one; for example--parghatsout-saniem, I
irritate--"

"You do, you do," said Belle; "and it will be better for both of us, if
you leave off doing so."

"You would hardly believe, Belle," said I, "that the Armenian is in some
respects closely connected with the Irish, but so it is; for example,
that word parghatsout-saniem is evidently derived from the same root as
feargaim, which, in Irish, is as much as to say I vex."

"You do, indeed," said Belle, sobbing.

"But how do you account for it?"

"O man, man!" said Belle, bursting into tears, "for what purpose do you
ask a poor ignorant girl such a question, unless it be to vex and
irritate her? If you wish to display your learning, do so to the wise
and instructed, and not to me, who can scarcely read or write. Oh, leave
off your nonsense; yet I know you will not do so, for it is the breath of
your nostrils! I could have wished we should have parted in kindness,
but you will not permit it. I have deserved better at your hands than
such treatment. The whole time we have kept company together in this
place, I have scarcely had one kind word from you, but the strangest--"
and here the voice of Belle was drowned in her sobs.

"I am sorry to see you take on so, dear Belle," said I. "I really have
given you no cause to be so unhappy; surely teaching you a little
Armenian was a very innocent kind of diversion."

"Yes, but you went on so long, and in such a strange way, and made me
repeat such strange examples, as you call them, that I could not bear
it."

"Why, to tell you the truth, Belle, it's just my way; and I have dealt
with you just as I would with--"

"A hard-mouthed jade," said Belle, "and you practising your
horse-witchery upon her. I have been of an unsubdued spirit, I
acknowledge, but I was always kind to you; and if you have made me cry,
it's a poor thing to boast of."

"Boast of!" said I; "a pretty thing indeed to boast of; I had no idea of
m