“Themindwhichdoesnotstruggleagainstitselfunder_one_circumstance,wouldfindobjectstodistractitinthe_other_,Ibelieve;andtheinfluenceoftheplaceandofexamplemayoftenrousebetterfeelingsthanarebegunwith。Thegreaterlengthoftheservice,however,Iadmittobesometimestoohardastretchuponthemind。
  Onewishesitwerenotso;butIhavenotyetleftOxfordlongenoughtoforgetwhatchapelprayersare。“
  Whilethiswaspassing,therestofthepartybeingscatteredaboutthechapel,JuliacalledMr。Crawford’sattentiontohersister,bysaying,“DolookatMr。RushworthandMaria,standingsidebyside,exactlyasiftheceremonyweregoingtobeperformed。Havenottheycompletelytheairofit?“
  Mr。Crawfordsmiledhisacquiescence,andsteppingforwardtoMaria,said,inavoicewhichsheonlycouldhear,“IdonotliketoseeMissBertramsonearthealtar。“
  Starting,theladyinstinctivelymovedasteportwo,butrecoveringherselfinamoment,affectedtolaugh,andaskedhim,inatonenotmuchlouder,“Ifhewouldgiveheraway?“
  “IamafraidIshoulddoitveryawkwardly,“washisreply,withalookofmeaning。
  Julia,joiningthematthemoment,carriedonthejoke。
  “Uponmyword,itisreallyapitythatitshouldnottakeplacedirectly,ifwehadbutaproperlicence,forherewearealtogether,andnothingintheworldcouldbemoresnugandpleasant。“AndshetalkedandlaughedaboutitwithsolittlecautionastocatchthecomprehensionofMr。Rushworthandhismother,andexposehersistertothewhisperedgallantriesofherlover,whileMrs。Rushworthspokewithpropersmilesanddignityofitsbeingamosthappyeventtoherwheneverittookplace。
  “IfEdmundwerebutinorders!“criedJulia,andrunningtowherehestoodwithMissCrawfordandFanny:
  “MydearEdmund,ifyouwerebutinordersnow,youmightperformtheceremonydirectly。Howunluckythatyouarenotordained;Mr。RushworthandMariaarequiteready。“
  MissCrawford’scountenance,asJuliaspoke,mighthaveamusedadisinterestedobserver。Shelookedalmostaghastunderthenewideashewasreceiving。Fannypitiedher。
  “Howdistressedshewillbeatwhatshesaidjustnow,“
  passedacrosshermind。
  “Ordained!“saidMissCrawford;“what,areyoutobeaclergyman?“
  “Yes;Ishalltakeorderssoonaftermyfather’sreturn——
  probablyatChristmas。“
  MissCrawford,rallyingherspirits,andrecoveringhercomplexion,repliedonly,“IfIhadknownthisbefore,Iwouldhavespokenoftheclothwithmorerespect,“
  andturnedthesubject。
  Thechapelwassoonafterwardslefttothesilenceandstillnesswhichreignedinit,withfewinterruptions,throughouttheyear。
  MissBertram,displeasedwithhersister,ledtheway,andallseemedtofeelthattheyhadbeentherelongenough。
  Thelowerpartofthehousehadbeennowentirelyshewn,andMrs。Rushworth,neverwearyinthecause,wouldhaveproceededtowardstheprincipalstaircase,andtakenthemthroughalltheroomsabove,ifhersonhadnotinterposedwithadoubtoftherebeingtimeenough。
  “Forif,“saidhe,withthesortofself-evidentpropositionwhichmanyaclearerheaddoesnotalwaysavoid,“weare_too_longgoingoverthehouse,weshallnothavetimeforwhatistobedoneoutofdoors。Itispasttwo,andwearetodineatfive。“
  Mrs。Rushworthsubmitted;andthequestionofsurveyingthegrounds,withthewhoandthehow,waslikelytobemorefullyagitated,andMrs。Norriswasbeginningtoarrangebywhatjunctionofcarriagesandhorsesmostcouldbedone,whentheyoungpeople,meetingwithanoutwarddoor,temptinglyopenonaflightofstepswhichledimmediatelytoturfandshrubs,andallthesweetsofpleasure-grounds,asbyoneimpulse,onewishforairandliberty,allwalkedout。
  “Supposeweturndownhereforthepresent,“saidMrs。Rushworth,civillytakingthehintandfollowingthem。“Herearethegreatestnumberofourplants,andherearethecuriouspheasants。“
  “Query,“saidMr。Crawford,lookingroundhim,“whetherwemaynotfindsomethingtoemployusherebeforewegofarther?Iseewallsofgreatpromise。
  Mr。Rushworth,shallwesummonacouncilonthislawn?“
  “James,“saidMrs。Rushworthtoherson,“Ibelievethewildernesswillbenewtoalltheparty。TheMissBertramshaveneverseenthewildernessyet。“
  Noobjectionwasmade,butforsometimethereseemednoinclinationtomoveinanyplan,ortoanydistance。
  Allwereattractedatfirstbytheplantsorthepheasants,andalldispersedaboutinhappyindependence。
  Mr。Crawfordwasthefirsttomoveforwardtoexaminethecapabilitiesofthatendofthehouse。Thelawn,boundedoneachsidebyahighwall,containedbeyondthefirstplantedareaabowling-green,andbeyondthebowling-greenalongterracewalk,backedbyironpalisades,andcommandingaviewoverthemintothetopsofthetreesofthewildernessimmediatelyadjoining。
  Itwasagoodspotforfault-finding。Mr。CrawfordwassoonfollowedbyMissBertramandMr。Rushworth;andwhen,afteralittletime,theothersbegantoformintoparties,thesethreewerefoundinbusyconsultationontheterracebyEdmund,MissCrawford,andFanny,whoseemedasnaturallytounite,andwho,afterashortparticipationoftheirregretsanddifficulties,leftthemandwalkedon。
  Theremainingthree,Mrs。Rushworth,Mrs。Norris,andJulia,werestillfarbehind;forJulia,whosehappystarnolongerprevailed,wasobligedtokeepbythesideofMrs。Rushworth,andrestrainherimpatientfeettothatlady’sslowpace,whileheraunt,havingfalleninwiththehousekeeper,whowascomeouttofeedthepheasants,waslingeringbehindingossipwithher。PoorJulia,theonlyoneoutoftheninenottolerablysatisfiedwiththeirlot,wasnowinastateofcompletepenance,andasdifferentfromtheJuliaofthebarouche-boxascouldwellbeimagined。Thepolitenesswhichshehadbeenbroughtuptopractiseasadutymadeitimpossibleforhertoescape;whilethewantofthathigherspeciesofself-command,thatjustconsiderationofothers,thatknowledgeofherownheart,thatprincipleofright,whichhadnotformedanyessentialpartofhereducation,madehermiserableunderit。
  “Thisisinsufferablyhot,“saidMissCrawford,whentheyhadtakenoneturnontheterrace,andweredrawingasecondtimetothedoorinthemiddlewhichopenedtothewilderness。“Shallanyofusobjecttobeingcomfortable?
  Hereisanicelittlewood,ifonecanbutgetintoit。
  Whathappinessifthedoorshouldnotbelocked!butofcourseitis;forinthesegreatplacesthegardenersaretheonlypeoplewhocangowheretheylike。“
  Thedoor,however,provednottobelocked,andtheywereallagreedinturningjoyfullythroughit,andleavingtheunmitigatedglareofdaybehind。Aconsiderableflightofstepslandedtheminthewilderness,whichwasaplantedwoodofabouttwoacres,andthoughchieflyoflarchandlaurel,andbeechcutdown,andthoughlaidoutwithtoomuchregularity,wasdarknessandshade,andnaturalbeauty,comparedwiththebowling-greenandtheterrace。Theyallfelttherefreshmentofit,andforsometimecouldonlywalkandadmire。Atlength,afterashortpause,MissCrawfordbeganwith,“Soyouaretobeaclergyman,Mr。Bertram。Thisisratherasurprisetome。“
  “Whyshoulditsurpriseyou?Youmustsupposemedesignedforsomeprofession,andmightperceivethatIamneitheralawyer,norasoldier,norasailor。“
  “Verytrue;but,inshort,ithadnotoccurredtome。
  Andyouknowthereisgenerallyanuncleoragrandfathertoleaveafortunetothesecondson。“
  “Averypraiseworthypractice,“saidEdmund,“butnotquiteuniversal。Iamoneoftheexceptions,and_being_one,mustdosomethingformyself。“
  “’Butwhyareyoutobeaclergyman?Ithought_that_
  wasalwaysthelotoftheyoungest,wherethereweremanytochusebeforehim。“
  “Doyouthinkthechurchitselfneverchosen,then?“
  “_Never_isablackword。Butyes,inthe_never_
  ofconversation,whichmeans_not__very__often_,Idothinkit。Forwhatistobedoneinthechurch?
  Menlovetodistinguishthemselves,andineitheroftheotherlinesdistinctionmaybegained,butnotinthechurch。
  Aclergymanisnothing。“
  “The_nothing_ofconversationhasitsgradations,Ihope,aswellasthe_never_。Aclergymancannotbehighinstateorfashion。Hemustnotheadmobs,orsetthetonindress。ButIcannotcallthatsituationnothingwhichhasthechargeofallthatisofthefirstimportancetomankind,individuallyorcollectivelyconsidered,temporallyandeternally,whichhastheguardianshipofreligionandmorals,andconsequentlyofthemannerswhichresultfromtheirinfluence。Nooneherecancallthe_office_nothing。Ifthemanwhoholdsitisso,itisbytheneglectofhisduty,byforegoingitsjustimportance,andsteppingoutofhisplacetoappearwhatheoughtnottoappear。“
  “_You_assigngreaterconsequencetotheclergymanthanonehasbeenusedtoheargiven,orthanIcanquitecomprehend。