“IratherwonderJuliaisnotinlovewithHenry,“
washerobservationtoMary。
“Idaresaysheis,“repliedMarycoldly。“Iimaginebothsistersare。“
“Both!no,no,thatmustnotbe。Donotgivehimahintofit。ThinkofMr。Rushworth!“
“YouhadbettertellMissBertramtothinkofMr。Rushworth。
Itmaydo_her_somegood。IoftenthinkofMr。Rushworth’spropertyandindependence,andwishtheminotherhands;
butIneverthinkofhim。Amanmightrepresentthecountywithsuchanestate;amanmightescapeaprofessionandrepresentthecounty。“
“Idaresayhe_will_beinparliamentsoon。WhenSirThomascomes,Idaresayhewillbeinforsomeborough,buttherehasbeennobodytoputhiminthewayofdoinganythingyet。“
“SirThomasistoachievemanymightythingswhenhecomeshome,“saidMary,afterapause。“DoyourememberHawkinsBrowne’s’AddresstoTobacco,’inimitationofPope?——
Blestleaf!whosearomaticgalesdispenseToTemplarsmodesty,toParsonssense。
Iwillparodythem——
BlestKnight!whosedictatoriallooksdispenseToChildrenaffluence,toRushworthsense。
Willnotthatdo,Mrs。Grant?EverythingseemstodependuponSirThomas’sreturn。“
“Youwillfindhisconsequenceveryjustandreasonablewhenyouseehiminhisfamily,Iassureyou。Idonotthinkwedosowellwithouthim。Hehasafinedignifiedmanner,whichsuitstheheadofsuchahouse,andkeepseverybodyintheirplace。LadyBertramseemsmoreofaciphernowthanwhenheisathome;andnobodyelsecankeepMrs。Norrisinorder。But,Mary,donotfancythatMariaBertramcaresforHenry。Iamsure_Julia_doesnot,orshewouldnothaveflirtedasshedidlastnightwithMr。Yates;andthoughheandMariaareverygoodfriends,IthinkshelikesSothertontoowelltobeinconstant。“
“IwouldnotgivemuchforMr。Rushworth’schanceifHenrysteptinbeforethearticlesweresigned。“
“Ifyouhavesuchasuspicion,somethingmustbedone;
andassoonastheplayisallover,wewilltalktohimseriouslyandmakehimknowhisownmind;andifhemeansnothing,wewillsendhimoff,thoughheisHenry,foratime。“
Julia_did_suffer,however,thoughMrs。Grantdiscerneditnot,andthoughitescapedthenoticeofmanyofherownfamilylikewise。Shehadloved,shedidlovestill,andshehadallthesufferingwhichawarmtemperandahighspiritwerelikelytoendureunderthedisappointmentofadear,thoughirrationalhope,withastrongsenseofill-usage。Herheartwassoreandangry,andshewascapableonlyofangryconsolations。Thesisterwithwhomshewasusedtobeoneasytermswasnowbecomehergreatestenemy:theywerealienatedfromeachother;
andJuliawasnotsuperiortothehopeofsomedistressingendtotheattentionswhichwerestillcarryingonthere,somepunishmenttoMariaforconductsoshamefultowardsherselfaswellastowardsMr。Rushworth。Withnomaterialfaultoftemper,ordifferenceofopinion,topreventtheirbeingverygoodfriendswhiletheirinterestswerethesame,thesisters,undersuchatrialasthis,hadnotaffectionorprincipleenoughtomakethemmercifulorjust,togivethemhonourorcompassion。Mariafelthertriumph,andpursuedherpurpose,carelessofJulia;
andJuliacouldneverseeMariadistinguishedbyHenryCrawfordwithouttrustingthatitwouldcreatejealousy,andbringapublicdisturbanceatlast。
FannysawandpitiedmuchofthisinJulia;buttherewasnooutwardfellowshipbetweenthem。Juliamadenocommunication,andFannytooknoliberties。Theyweretwosolitarysufferers,orconnectedonlybyFanny’sconsciousness。
TheinattentionofthetwobrothersandtheaunttoJulia’sdiscomposure,andtheirblindnesstoitstruecause,mustbeimputedtothefullnessoftheirownminds。
Theyweretotallypreoccupied。Tomwasengrossedbytheconcernsofhistheatre,andsawnothingthatdidnotimmediatelyrelatetoit。Edmund,betweenhistheatricalandhisrealpart,betweenMissCrawford’sclaimsandhisownconduct,betweenloveandconsistency,wasequallyunobservant;andMrs。Norriswastoobusyincontrivinganddirectingthegenerallittlemattersofthecompany,superintendingtheirvariousdresseswitheconomicalexpedient,forwhichnobodythankedher,andsaving,withdelightedintegrity,halfacrownhereandtheretotheabsentSirThomas,tohaveleisureforwatchingthebehaviour,orguardingthehappinessofhisdaughters。
Everythingwasnowinaregulartrain:theatre,actors,actresses,anddresses,wereallgettingforward;
butthoughnoothergreatimpedimentsarose,Fannyfound,beforemanydayswerepast,thatitwasnotalluninterruptedenjoymenttothepartythemselves,andthatshehadnottowitnessthecontinuanceofsuchunanimityanddelightashadbeenalmosttoomuchforheratfirst。
Everybodybegantohavetheirvexation。Edmundhadmany。
Entirelyagainst_his_judgment,ascene-painterarrivedfromtown,andwasatwork,muchtotheincreaseoftheexpenses,and,whatwasworse,oftheeclatoftheirproceedings;andhisbrother,insteadofbeingreallyguidedbyhimastotheprivacyoftherepresentation,wasgivinganinvitationtoeveryfamilywhocameinhisway。
Tomhimselfbegantofretoverthescene-painter’sslowprogress,andtofeelthemiseriesofwaiting。
Hehadlearnedhispart——allhisparts,forhetookeverytriflingonethatcouldbeunitedwiththeButler,andbegantobeimpatienttobeacting;andeverydaythusunemployedwastendingtoincreasehissenseoftheinsignificanceofallhispartstogether,andmakehimmorereadytoregretthatsomeotherplayhadnotbeenchosen。
Fanny,beingalwaysaverycourteouslistener,andoftentheonlylistenerathand,cameinforthecomplaintsandthedistressesofmostofthem。_She_knewthatMr。Yateswasingeneralthoughttorantdreadfully;
thatMr。YateswasdisappointedinHenryCrawford;
thatTomBertramspokesoquickhewouldbeunintelligible;
thatMrs。Grantspoiledeverythingbylaughing;thatEdmundwasbehindhandwithhispart,andthatitwasmiserytohaveanythingtodowithMr。Rushworth,whowaswantingaprompterthrougheveryspeech。Sheknew,also,thatpoorMr。Rushworthcouldseldomgetanybodytorehearsewithhim:
_his_complaintcamebeforeheraswellastherest;
andsodecidedtohereyewashercousinMaria’savoidanceofhim,andsoneedlesslyoftentherehearsalofthefirstscenebetweenherandMr。Crawford,thatshehadsoonalltheterrorofothercomplaintsfrom_him_。
Sofarfrombeingallsatisfiedandallenjoying,shefoundeverybodyrequiringsomethingtheyhadnot,andgivingoccasionofdiscontenttotheothers。
Everybodyhadaparteithertoolongortooshort;
nobodywouldattendastheyought;nobodywouldrememberonwhichsidetheyweretocomein;nobodybutthecomplainerwouldobserveanydirections。
Fannybelievedherselftoderiveasmuchinnocentenjoymentfromtheplayasanyofthem;HenryCrawfordactedwell,anditwasapleasureto_her_tocreepintothetheatre,andattendtherehearsalofthefirstact,inspiteofthefeelingsitexcitedinsomespeechesforMaria。Maria,shealsothought,actedwell,toowell;andafterthefirstrehearsalortwo,Fannybegantobetheironlyaudience;
andsometimesasprompter,sometimesasspectator,wasoftenveryuseful。Asfarasshecouldjudge,Mr。Crawfordwasconsiderablythebestactorofall:
hehadmoreconfidencethanEdmund,morejudgmentthanTom,moretalentandtastethanMr。Yates。Shedidnotlikehimasaman,butshemustadmithimtobethebestactor,andonthispointtherewerenotmanywhodifferedfromher。
Mr。Yates,indeed,exclaimedagainsthistamenessandinsipidity;andthedaycameatlast,whenMr。Rushworthturnedtoherwithablacklook,andsaid,“Doyouthinkthereisanythingsoveryfineinallthis?Forthelifeandsoulofme,Icannotadmirehim;and,betweenourselves,toseesuchanundersized,little,mean-lookingman,setupforafineactor,isveryridiculousinmyopinion。“
Fromthismomenttherewasareturnofhisformerjealousy,whichMaria,fromincreasinghopesofCrawford,wasatlittlepainstoremove;andthechancesofMr。Rushworth’severattainingtotheknowledgeofhistwo-and-fortyspeechesbecamemuchless。Astohisevermakinganything_tolerable_ofthem,nobodyhadthesmallestideaofthatexcepthismother;_she_,indeed,regrettedthathispartwasnotmoreconsiderable,anddeferredcomingovertoMansfieldtilltheywereforwardenoughintheirrehearsaltocomprehendallhisscenes;buttheothersaspiredatnothingbeyondhisrememberingthecatchword,andthefirstlineofhisspeech,andbeingabletofollowtheprompterthroughtherest。Fanny,inherpityandkindheartedness,wasatgreatpainstoteachhimhowtolearn,givinghimallthehelpsanddirectionsinherpower,tryingtomakeanartificialmemoryforhim,andlearningeverywordofhispartherself,butwithouthisbeingmuchtheforwarder。
Manyuncomfortable,anxious,apprehensivefeelingsshecertainlyhad;butwithallthese,andotherclaimsonhertimeandattention,shewasasfarfromfindingherselfwithoutemploymentorutilityamongstthem,aswithoutacompanioninuneasiness;quiteasfarfromhavingnodemandonherleisureasonhercompassion。
Thegloomofherfirstanticipationswasprovedtohavebeenunfounded。Shewasoccasionallyusefultoall;