“Oh, certainly, my dear sir,” said Serjeant Parsing, suddenly changing his tone. “When you like any one you are a very good-natured fellow, and can say all sorts of sweet things. I heard you in Schoolroom-shire telling Mary that her mamma is her own dearest, kindest, sweetest mother—that baby is a bright, bonny little darling—that Fido is a good, faithful old doggie—and that home is the happiest place in the whole wide world. Oh, yes,” continued Serjeant Parsing, “you can call people good names as well as bad.”
“I do not call people names,” said Adjective, indignantly. “I qualify them. I could qualify you, Mr. Parsing, and say you are an impertinent, rude——”
“That will do, Mr. Adjective,” interrupted the Judge. “We understand what you mean by qualifying. But tell us, are your words always placed before nouns?”
“Oh, no, my lord,” answered Adjective. “They can, almost all of them, be used before a noun, but they are often used after it, in this way:—
The sky is blue,
The sun is bright,
My words are true,
The snow is white.
“You could also say, blue sky, bright sun, true words, white snow, but it does not sound so well, I think. And when a pronoun stands instead of a noun, and my words qualify it——”
“Oh, you qualify pronouns as well as nouns, do you?” asked Serjeant Parsing.