“With an alphabet of thirty-nine letters, but it is harsh and guttural.”
“Yes.”
“Like the language of most mountainous people—the Armenians call it Haik.”
“Do they?”
“And themselves, Haik, also; they are a remarkable people, and, though their original habitation is the Mountain of Ararat, they are to be found, like the Jews, all over the world.”
“Well!”
“Well, father, that’s all I can tell you about the Haiks, or Armenians.”
“And what does it all amount to?”
“Very little, father; indeed, there is very little known about the Armenians; their early history, in particular, is involved in considerable mystery.”
“And, if you knew all that it was possible to know about them, to what would it amount? to what earthly purpose could you turn it? have you acquired any knowledge of your profession?”