"Well, ain't that the same thing?"
"No, it ain't. Imperial means empire."
"Then why ain't it spelled so? Imperial begins with an i and so does imp, and, accordin' to what I learned when I went to school, empire begins with an e."
There seemed to be no adequate reply to this, so Grandmother went on: "If Cleopatra's nose had been an inch longer, where would Egypt have been now?"
"Where 'tis, I reckon," Matilda returned, seeing that an answer was expected.
"No, it wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"I don't know why not, but if it wouldn't have made no difference, the man that wrote the piece wouldn't have asked about it."
"Well, then, let him answer it himself, as long as he knows."
"'Wars have been fought over beautiful women,'" Grandmother resumed, "'and will continue to be till the end of time.'"