“Have you seen the king?” said Sir Joseph Cornelis.
“My dear, you should not ask such questions,” said his mother.
“Why not?”
“Because the gentleman may not wish to answer them.”
“On the contrary, madam, I like being questioned. I have been teaching your son for the last six years to be always asking something, for that is the way to acquire knowledge. He who asks nothing knows nothing.”
I had touched her to the quick, and she fell into a sulky silence.
“You have not told me yet,” said the lad, “whether you saw the king.”
“Yes, my man, I saw the king and the queen, and both their majesties did me the honour to speak to me.”
“Who introduced you?”
“The French ambassador.”