Is this not a hoot? You can tell he has read quite a few of these to get the patter down so well. And don’t you love Catherine’s response?

"Oh! Mr. Tilney, how frightful! This is just like a book! … Well, what then?" … "Oh! No, no--do not say so. Well, go on."

But Henry was too much amused by the interest he had raised to be able to carry it farther; he could no longer command solemnity either of subject or voice

Very funny. I am with Henry here, I cannot keep from smiling at Catherine either. She so enjoys being scared. ;-)

Now, what about that cabinet? In Henry’s parody he describes a “black and gold” chest with a mysterious roll of parchment concealed within. In her room Catherine find a “black and yellow japan” which looks like gold int eh candlelight and concealed within is … laundry lists. LOL!

But – did Henry know which room Catherine would be in? Did he know that chest was in that room? Did he include that “black and gold” cabinet in his story on purpose? Could he have gone so far as to conceal the laundry lists? I tend to think that Henry knew the cabinet was in her room and was giving her a tease, but that the laundry lists were a coincidence.