“Well,” the Professor smilingly concluded, “there was certainly an hiatus. Her aboriginal powers of interpretation were dulled—dulled—perhaps extinguished.”
“But Professor, you woke up a good deal of oratory. In fact, Professor, you’re nervy and—if I may be permitted the vulgarity of quotation—
‘You would joke with hyenas, returning their stare
With an impudent wag of your head,
And you went to walk, paw-in-paw, with a bear,
“Just to keep up its spirits,” you said.
Without rest or pause—while those frumious jaws
Went savagely snapping around—
You skipped and you hopped and you floundered and flopped
Till fainting you fell to the ground.’”