113.
I was talking to a lady one day, and not happening to hear something
that I said, she exclaimed in a loud voice, "=What?=" I was as much
astonished as Minnie's aunt was in Story Lesson 111, and quite forgot
what I had intended to say next. What should the lady have said? She
should have said, "I beg your pardon". Perhaps she had forgotten herself
just that one time.
Suppose you are sitting at table next to mother, who is pouring the tea;
perhaps there is no bread and butter near enough for her to reach, and
you do not notice that her plate is empty. She is obliged to ask you to
pass her something, and as you do so you feel sorry that you have not
done it =without= being asked, and you say, "I beg your pardon, mother".
Some people leave out the "=I=," and say "Beg your pardon," or "Beg
pardon," but the proper words are, "I beg your pardon".