It is enough however for our present purpose to observe that, with all the power which Lord Spoonbill, as an only one and a spoiled child, possessed over his parents, he was not able, even with the additional force of his sulkiness and ill-humour, to bring them to assent to the ill-assorted union which he contemplated. The Earl and Countess of Smatterton could not give their consent to such a humiliating and degrading connexion. They did not indeed know who or what Mr Primrose was, but they did know who and what he was not. They knew that he was not of their set; that he was not a man of family or title, and that whatever property he might possess, he had acquired it by his own diligence or wit. Now that was an abomination, an indelible disgrace, a reproach not easily to be wiped away. They took it for granted, indeed, that Mr Primrose had some property; but if they had known that even the little property which he had was placed in jeopardy, their indignation would have been greater still at the folly of their own and only precious pet essaying to unite himself with a young woman who had nothing to recommend her but the possession of almost every virtue that can adorn the female character, united with a strong and masculine understanding, and embellished with gracefulness of manners, gentleness of deportment, and a moral dignity, which was high enough to look down with indifference on the accidental distinctions of society. All that Lord Spoonbill could gain from his inexorable and right honorable parents, was a promise that they would think about it. CHAPTER XIII. It is a sad thing to be the most unfortunate creature in the world; and the only consolation under such calamity, is the thought that it is by no means uncommon. Almost every body is in this condition at some period or other of his life. This calamity befel Lord Spoonbill at the juncture of which we are now writing. It happened under the following circumstances. We have related that Mr Primrose, after hearing of the stoppage of his banker, went into the City to his agent at a preposterously late hour of the day, and that in so doing he lost his labour. We have also related that, during the absence of Mr Primrose from his hotel, the Right Honorable Lord Spoonbill called and made overtures to Miss Primrose. We have also related that Lord Spoonbill, finding that it was absolutely impossible to live without Penelope, and finding also that, without an establishment, it would be as impossible to live with her, had made known to his respected parents his intention to lead that same young lady to the altar, or, in plain English, to marry her. Leading a lady to the altar is merely a newspaper phrase, and sounds heathenish; we ought rather to say, leading her to the communion table. But, not to use superfluous words, let us proceed.