o, pursuing her, 'then I tell you what it
is. The moment you are known to keep company with him, you may find some
other home than this; and if you determine to marry him, you shall be no
longer a daughter of mine. I'll never, as long as I live--'

'Hush, hush, David, hush, please,' said Mrs Prothero, putting her hand
on his arm. 'Netta will not disobey us, I am sure. But it is her
obstinate temper; she never would say anything she was commanded to
say.'

'Then you ought to have taught her better. She is a good-for-nothing
girl, and I'll--'

'Netta, you had better leave the room,' said Rowland, opening the door,
through which Netta gladly escaped. '"Fathers, provoke not your children
to wrath,"' he added, turning to his father. 'You will do nothing with
her at present. She is worked up to a spirit of resistance by too much
argument, and the more you say the more obstinate she will become.'

'You are all as obstinate as mules,' said Mr Prothero; 'I can't think
who you turn after. And then to have the impudence to say I was a
Papist! Why, I'd rather be a Methody preacher any day. And you to
encourage her, brother Jonathan. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.'

Brother Jonathan started up from his dream of Garn Goch and the
Inquisition, to repudiate the imputation of encouragement.

'I was merely glad to find that she knew anything about the Inquisition,
and had any information at all in her head; generally speaking, women
know so little. I assure you, David, it was far from me to wish to
encourage her in disobedience, or to offend you; so give me your hand.'

The brothers shook hands very warmly, and in so doing, the contrast
between them was very great. The farmer I have already described. The
clergyman was a remarkable specimen of the 'dry-as-dust' species. Very
tall, very thin, with very loose joints, seemingly hung together on
wires, and a very prominent nose. He had acquired the habit of poking
his chin and looking on the ground, as if he were always in search for
something, which he possibly was, as he never despaired of finding some
antiquity or curiosity at any moment. It must not be augured from his
devotion to antiquarian lore that he made a bad clergyman On the
contrary, he was always ready at the call of the poorest parishioner,
regular in his visits to the sick, charitable in no mean degree, and
humble in his deportment to rich and poor. True, his sermons were
somewhat dry, and occasionally too learne