Lord Spoonbill was not any more disposed than his friend to carry on the discourse, and therefore declined the invitation to dine, and made the best of his way home again. As he rode homewards he attempted to think, but he found no small difficulty in that mental operation. There are some advertising schoolmasters who profess to teach their pupils to think; but as we were not educated in one of these thought-mongering seminaries, we cannot think how thinking can be taught. It may be possible, for the only impossibility in these days is to decide à priori that anything is impossible. But we do verily believe that, had Lord Spoonbill been at one of these establishments, he would have puzzled his preceptor as much as his preceptor would have puzzled him. By the time that his lordship had arrived at home he had come to the conclusion of his thinking, and the result was, that he thought Erpingham to be quite an altered man; and he also thought that he would not follow the ridiculous advice which his friend had given him. Penelope made her appearance at dinner, and looked, as Lord Spoonbill said, most divinely. How Lord Spoonbill should know what divine looks are, we cannot tell: perhaps he meant that Penelope looked like a parson. However Penelope might look at dinner, it is very certain that Lord Spoonbill looked very much at Penelope. But the young lady's thoughts were so pleasingly and agreeably engaged, and her anticipations were so delightful, that everybody and everything appeared agreeable to her. It was very different with the Countess of Smatterton. Her anticipations were not very pleasant: her ladyship apprehended that the return of Mr Primrose to England would be the destruction of her prospects, as far as they related to Miss Primrose. Having already observed that the young lady had manifested some reluctance to the public exhibition of her musical talents, the Countess very naturally supposed that Mr Primrose would indulge an only child in whatever fancy she might take up. It was unfortunate also for the Countess, that she could not easily suppress her feelings of displeasure or dissatisfaction when any of her favourite fancies were disappointed. Having already so far committed herself among her rival prodigy-fanciers as to make a kind of preliminary exhibition of her newly discovered wonder, her ladyship felt that it would be very mortifying indeed to make her appearance in town without fulfilling the high promises which she had made, and gratifying the expectations which she had raised.