Do you take me for-- ?" "For what ?" said I.

Belle was silent.

"Were you going to say mare ?" said I.

"Mare! mare! by the bye, do you know, Belle, that mare in old English stands for woman; and that when we call a female an evil mare, the strict meaning of the term is merely a bad woman.

So if I were to call you a mare without prefixing bad, you must not be offended." "But I should though," said Belle.