Querist

But the Queriſt, and all others of his Opinion, may be aſſured, That there is no Man in England vvho underſtands the Conſtitution of his Country, that is at all concerned vvho vvere the Parents of the Child he talks of: […] [T]hat this Queriſt thinks himſelf at preſent very ſeaſonable in the Queſtions he propoſes in his Favour, is a matter vvorthy [of] Conſideration.

[T]he Queriſt muſt not proceed too ſvviftly tovvards the Determination of his Point propos'd, that he may vvith more Eaſe, vvith brighter Evidence, and vvith ſurer Succeſs dravv the Learner on to aſſent to thoſe Principles ſtep by ſtep, from vvhence the final Concluſion vvill naturally ariſe.

VVere vve aſked in the ſame manner vvhat is air, vve ſhould refer the queriſt to his experience alone for information.

"I am only saying," I replied, "that I must be a monk." "Thank God it is no worse," replied the querist, "your contumacy must long ago have wearied the Superior and the brethren—thank God it's no worse."

"I can answer a civil question civilly," said the youth, "and will pay fitting respect to your age, if you do not urge my patience with mockery. Since I have been here in France and Flanders, men have called me, in their fantasy, the Varlet with the Velvet Pouch, because of this hawk-purse which I carry by my side; but my true name, when at home, is Quentin Durward." / "Durward!" said the querist; "is it a gentleman's name?"

Querists who occasionally exhibit unreasonable impatience are those who send quotations, prose or poetic, and ask us to find the source. Does it not occur to them that (unless we have happened on it recently in our own reading, or it has found its way into the "quotation dictionaries") in some instances the only certain way of finding what they wish is to read through about half-a-million books, and that at any rate he (or, as it often is, she) should give us time to look through a few books; even when the author is named, if he were a voluminous writer, the task is not easy.