When I talk about books you think me a nincompoop .-- That word used to amuse me so when I was a child.

I remember laughing wildly whenever I saw or heard it.

It _is_ a funny word, isn't it ?' 'The last I should apply to you,' said Rolfe in an absent undertone, as he caught a glimpse of the white teeth between her laughing lips.
They entered the supper-room, where as yet only a few people were refreshing themselves.

Provisions for a regiment spread before the gaze; delicacies innumerable invited the palate: this house was famed for its hospitable abundance.

Alma, having asked her companion to get her some lemonade, talked awhile with two ladies who had begun to eat and drink in a serious spirit; waiting for her, Rolfe swallowed two glasses of wine to counteract a certain dullness and literalness which were wont to possess him in such company.
'I won't sit down,' she said.