Should he persevere in his suit, or should he rejoice that he had escaped from such an ill-conditioned minx?
He remembered that he had read, in his younger days, that lovers in novels generally do persevere, and that they are almost always successful at last.

In affairs of the heart, such perseverance was, he thought, the correct thing.

But in this instance the conduct of the lady had not given him the slightest encouragement.

When a horse balked with him at a fence, it was his habit to force the animal till he jumped it,--as the groom had recommended Phineas to do.

But when he had encountered a decided fall, it was not sensible practice to ride the horse at the same place again.