No idea but...

Posted by Alex on November 13, 2001

In Reply to: No answer came the stern reply posted by Richard Beck on November 13, 2001

: I would like to know the origin of the phrase
: "No answer came the stern reply"

It's quite similar to a line from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven":
'...Stern Despair returned, instead of the sweet Hope he dared adjure - / That sad answer, "Never - nevermore."'