In "The Awful German Language," here's the sentence: Difficult? -- Troublesome? -- these words cannot describe it. I heard a Californian student in Heidelberg, say, in one of his calmest moods, that he would rather decline two drinks than one German adjective. from _Selected Shorter Writings of Mark Twain_, ed. Walter Blair (Houghton Mifflin, 1962), 181. Hope this helps. Donna Campbell Donna M. Campbell | Gonzaga University Assistant Professor of English | AD Box 31 502 E. Boone [log in to unmask] | Spokane, WA 99258 http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell | (509) 323-6676