"Ah, beautiful!" cried Loret. "The nymph of Vaux! thank you, La Fontaine; you have just given me the two concluding verses of my paper."
"Well, if you can rhyme so well, La Fontaine," said Pellisson, "tell me now in what way you would begin my prologue?"
"I should say, for instance, 'Oh! nymph, who—' After 'who' I should place a verb in the second person singular of the present indicative; and should go on thus: 'this grot profound.'"
"But the verb, the verb?" asked Pellisson.
"To admire the greatest king of all kings round," continued La Fontaine.
"But the verb, the verb," obstinately insisted Pellisson. "This second person singular of the present indicative?"
"Well then; quittest:—
"O, nymph, who quittest now this grot profound,
To admire the greatest king of all kings round."
"You would put 'who quittest,' would you?"
"Why not?"