"If you must teach me languages, why not teach me French or Chinese ?" "I know nothing of Chinese; and as for French, none but a Frenchman is clever enough to speak it--to say nothing of teaching; no, we will stick to Armenian, unless, indeed, you would prefer Welsh!" "Welsh, I have heard, is vulgar," said Belle; "so, if I must learn one of the two, I will prefer Armenian, which I never heard of till you mentioned it to me; though of the two, I really think Welsh sounds best." "The Armenian noun," said I, "which I propose for your declension this night, is Dyer, which signifieth Lord, or Master." "It soundeth very like tyrant," said Belle.
"I care not what it sounds like," said I; "it is the word I chose, though it is not of the first declension.

Master, with all its variations, being the first noun, the sound of which I would have you learn from my lips.

Come, let us begin-- "A master Dyer, Of a master, Dyern.

Repeat--" "The word sounds very strange to me," said Belle.

"However, to oblige you I will do my best;" and thereupon Belle declined master in Armenian.
"You have declined the noun very well," said I; "that is in the singular number; we will now go to the plural." "What is the plural ?" said Belle.
"That which implies more than one, for example, masters; you shall now go through masters in Armenian." "Never," said Belle, "never; it is bad to have one master, but more I would never bear, whether in Armenian or English." "You do not understand," said I; "I merely want you to decline masters in Armenian." "I do decline them; I will have nothing to do with them, nor with master either; I was wrong to--What sound is that ?" "I did not hear it, but I dare say it is thunder; in Armenian--" "Never mind what it is in Armenian; but why do you think it is thunder ?" "Ere I returned from my stroll, I looked up into the heavens, and by their appearance I judged that a storm was nigh at hand." "And why did you not tell me so ?" "You never asked me about the state of the atmosphere, and I am not in the habit of giving my opinion to people on any subject, unless questioned.