the young lady only to remark casually and rather patronisingly, after
his first encounter with her, that she was a regular little flower. (The
little flower was nearly three years older than himself.) Apart from
this he hadn't alluded to her and had taken up no allusion of mine. Mrs.
Pallant informed me again--for which I was prepared--that I was quite
too primitive; after which she said: "We needn't discuss the case if you
don't wish to, but I happen to know--how I obtained my knowledge isn't
important--that the moment Mr. Parker should propose to my daughter
she'd gobble him down. Surely it's a detail worth mentioning to you."

I sought to defer then to her judgement. "Very good. I'll sound him.
I'll look into the matter tonight."

"Don't, don't; you'll spoil everything!" She spoke as with some finer
view. "Remove him quickly--that's the only thing."

I didn't at all like the idea of removing him quickly; it seemed too
summary, too extravagant, even if presented to him on specious grounds;
and moreover, as I had told Mrs. Pallant, I really had no wish to change
my scene. It was no part of my promise to my sister that, with my
middle-aged habits, I should duck and dodge about Europe. So I
temporised. "Should you really object to the boy so much as a son-in-
law? After all he's a good fellow and a gentleman."

"My poor friend, you're incredibly superficial!" she made answer with an
assurance that struck me.

The contempt in it so nettled me in fact that I exclaimed: "Possibly!
But it seems odd that a lesson in consistency should come from YOU."