"And what do they think about the Canadas in Marylebone?"
"Not one man in a thousand cares whether the Canadians prosper or fail to prosper. They care that Canada should not go to the States, because,—though they don't love the Canadians, they do hate the Americans. That's about the feeling in Marylebone,—and it's astonishing how like the Maryleboners are to the rest of the world."
"Dear me, what a fellow you are for an Under-Secretary! You've heard the news about little Violet."
"What news?"
"She has quarrelled with Chiltern, you know."
"Who says so?"
"Never mind who says so, but they tell me it's true. Take an old friend's advice, and strike while the iron's hot."
Phineas did not believe what he had heard, but though he did not believe it, still the tidings set his heart beating. He would have believed it less perhaps had he known that Laurence had just received the news from Mrs. Bonteen.