uding
with a piece of prose, by the same author, assuring his Sweet Honey, that
the poem, though strange, was true, that he had just seen the angelic
anglers on board the steamer, and it would not be for lack of good advice
on his part, if Lucy did not present herself at Woolstone-lane, to
partake of the dish called humble pie, on the derivation whereof
antiquaries were divided.

Half amused, half vexed by his levity, and wholly relieved and hopeful,
Honora could not help showing Owen's performance to Phoebe for the sake
of its cleverness; but she found the child too young and simple to enter
into it, for the whole effect was an entreaty that Robert might not see
it, only hear the facts.

Rather annoyed by this want of appreciation of Owen's wit, Honora saw,
nevertheless, that Phoebe had come to a right conclusion. The breach was
not likely to be diminished by finding that the wilful girl had exposed
herself to ridicule, and the Fulmort nature had so little sense of the
ludicrous, that this good-natured brotherly satire would be taken for
mere derision.

So Honor left it to Phoebe to give her own version, only wishing that the
catastrophe had come to his knowledge before his arrangements had been
made with Mr. Parsons.

Phoebe had some difficulty in telling her story. Robert at first
silenced her peremptorily, but after ten minutes relented, and said,
moodily, 'Well, let me hear!' He listened without relaxing a muscle of
his rigid countenance; and when Phoebe ended by saying that Miss
Charlecote had ordered Lucy's room to be prepared, thinking that she
might present herself at any moment, he said, 'Take care that you warn me
when she comes. I shall leave town that minute.'

'Robert, Robert, if she come home grieved and knowing better--'

'I will not see her!' he repeated. 'I made her taking this journey the
test! The result is nothing to me! Phoebe, I trust to you that no
intended good-nature of Miss Charlecote's should bring us together.
Promise me.'

Phoebe could do nothing but promise, and not another sentence could she
obtain from her brother, indeed his face looked so formidable in its
sternness, that she would have been a bold maiden to have tried.

Honora augured truly, that not only was his stern nature deeply offended,
but that he was quite as much in dread of coming under the power of
Lucy's fascinations, as Cilla had ever been of his strength. Such mutual
aversion was really a token of the f