George Borrow

“ We went into the tent and sat down, and now the rain began to pour with vehemence. 'I hope we shall not be flooded in this hollow,' said I to Belle. 'There is no fear of that,' said Belle; 'the wandering people, amongst other names, call it the dry hollow. I believe there is a passage somewhere or other by which the wet is carried off. There must be a cloud right above us, it is so dark. Oh! what a flash!'
'And what a peal!' said I; 'that is what the Hebrews call Koul Adonai—the voice of the Lord. ”

“ Belle, there are ten declensions in Armenian!'
'What's a declension?'
'The way of declining a noun.'
'Then, in the civilest way imaginable, I decline the noun. Is that a declension?'
'You should never play on words; to do so is low, vulgar, smelling of the pothouse, the workhouse. Belle, I insist on your declining an Armenian noun.'
'I have done so already,' said Belle.
'If you go on in this way,' said I, 'I shall decline taking any more tea with you. Will you decline an Armenian noun?'
'I don't like the language,' said Belle. ”

“ Somewhat less than a week ago, whilst I was wandering along the road by the side of a wood, I came to a place where some peasants were engaged in cutting up and clearing away a confused mass of fallen timber: a mighty aged oak had given way the night before, and in its fall had shivered some smaller trees ”