"Indeed, Mr. Stallabras," I said, "you conferred great honour upon me." He bowed. "The position of affairs," he went on, "is now changed. The poet's brows are crowned with bays by the hand of a lady as skilled in poets as she is in pug-dogs; his pockets are lined with guineas; as for the Fleet Rules--I whistle the memory of the place to the winds. Phew! it is gone, never to return: I see before me a long and great future, when booksellers will compete for the honour of publishing me, and the greatest lords and ladies in the land will rush to subscribe for copies. Like Shakespeare, I shall amass a fortune: like Prior, I shall receive offers of embassies: like Addison and Chaucer, I shall be placed in posts of honour and profit." "I hope, Mr. Stallabras," I said, "that such will indeed be your future." "Do you really hope so, Miss Kitty?" His face flushed again, and I was quite sorry for him, knowing the pain I was about to inflict upon him. "Do you hope so? Then that emboldens me to say--Fairest of your sex, divine nymph, accept the homage of a poet: be celebrated for ever in his immortal verse. Be my Laura! Let me be thy Petrarch!" "I will," I replied. "I accept that offer joyfully. I will be to you what Laura was to Petrarch, if that will content you." I gave him my hand, which he seized with rapture. "Oh, beautiful Kitty!" he cried, with such joy in his eyes that I repented having said so much, "fortune has now bestowed upon me all I ask. When, goddess, wilt thou crown my happiness!" "It is already crowned," I replied. "I have given you, Mr. Stallabras, all you asked for. Let me remind you that you yourself told me the story of Petrarch's love. I will be your Laura, but I must have the liberty of doing what Laura did--namely, the right to marry some one else." His face fell. "Oh!" he murmured. "Why did I not say Heloïse?" "Because she was shut up in a convent. Come, Mr. Stallabras, let us remain friends, which is far better for both of us, and less trying to the temper than being lovers. And I will help you with your subscription-book. As for being married, you would tire of me in a week."