As there were plenty of analogies in English for that sort of word formation, I became quite sure of my ground, and at the end of my list wrote with the pride of a philologist, ‘7 ziebenedens’.
A few other words I got with comparative ease, and jotted down in their places.
The more I looked at my finished document, the better I liked it.
This is how it ran:—
- Lyst voor de Waschvrouw:
- 6 halsbanden,
- 4 paar handboeien.
- 3 nachtgewaden.
- 4 paar sokken? (Vilten binnenzolen).
- 7 Zie benedens.
- Totaal = 32 Voorwerpen.
Ik bid de waschvrouw gauw de voorwerpen terug te zenden.
Aug. 5. J. O’Neill.
VOOR EEN HOND.
I was quite unprepared for the effect which my manuscript had on the landlady. When she came up presently for the wash-list, I said to her carelessly, as if I was in the habit of writing Dutch every day, “Voor de waschvrouw,—klaar”.