"Yes, sir."
Then he was asked as to a variety of solids and liquids; and the man shook his head, intimating that he could go a deuce of a way, but that there were bounds even to human knowledge.
Then Platt questioned him on less abstruse topics, and to all of his questions he kept answering,—
"Yes, my lord."
"Were fish remnants," asked Platt, "sometimes thrown into this reservoir of filth, such as old cods' heads with goggle eyes?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Rari nantes in gurgite vasto?"
"Yes, my lord."
Thesiger could stand it no longer. He had been writhing while the court had been roaring with laughter, which all the ushers in the universe could not suppress.
"My lord, my lord, there must be some limit even to cross-examination by my friend. Does your lordship think it is fair to suggest a classical quotation to a respectable but illiterate labourer?"