asIshalldo——nottoloseaword;oronlylookingoffjusttonotedownanysentencepreeminentlybeautiful?
Wewillprovideourselveswithtabletsandapencil。
Whenwillitbe?YoumustpreachatMansfield,youknow,thatSirThomasandLadyBertrammayhearyou。“
“Ishallkeepclearofyou,Crawford,aslongasIcan,“
saidEdmund;“foryouwouldbemorelikelytodisconcertme,andIshouldbemoresorrytoseeyoutryingatitthanalmostanyotherman。“
“Willhenotfeelthis?“thoughtFanny。“No,hecanfeelnothingasheought。“
Thepartybeingnowallunited,andthechieftalkersattractingeachother,sheremainedintranquillity;
andasawhist-tablewasformedaftertea——formedreallyfortheamusementofDr。Grant,byhisattentivewife,thoughitwasnottobesupposedso——andMissCrawfordtookherharp,shehadnothingtodobuttolisten;
andhertranquillityremainedundisturbedtherestoftheevening,exceptwhenMr。Crawfordnowandthenaddressedtoheraquestionorobservation,whichshecouldnotavoidanswering。MissCrawfordwastoomuchvexedbywhathadpassedtobeinahumourforanythingbutmusic。Withthatshesoothedherselfandamusedherfriend。
TheassuranceofEdmund’sbeingsosoontotakeorders,cominguponherlikeablowthathadbeensuspended,andstillhopeduncertainandatadistance,wasfeltwithresentmentandmortification。Shewasveryangrywithhim。Shehadthoughtherinfluencemore。
She_had_beguntothinkofhim;shefeltthatshehad,withgreatregard,withalmostdecidedintentions;
butshewouldnowmeethimwithhisowncoolfeelings。
Itwasplainthathecouldhavenoseriousviews,notrueattachment,byfixinghimselfinasituationwhichhemustknowshewouldneverstoopto。Shewouldlearntomatchhiminhisindifference。Shewouldhenceforthadmithisattentionswithoutanyideabeyondimmediateamusement。
If_he_couldsocommandhisaffections,_hers_shoulddohernoharm。
Chapter24CHAPTERXXIV
HenryCrawfordhadquitemadeuphismindbythenextmorningtogiveanotherfortnighttoMansfield,andhavingsentforhishunters,andwrittenafewlinesofexplanationtotheAdmiral,helookedroundathissisterashesealedandthrewtheletterfromhim,andseeingthecoastclearoftherestofthefamily,said,withasmile,“AndhowdoyouthinkImeantoamusemyself,Mary,onthedaysthatIdonothunt?
Iamgrowntoooldtogooutmorethanthreetimesaweek;
butIhaveaplanfortheintermediatedays,andwhatdoyouthinkitis?“
“Towalkandridewithme,tobesure。“
“Notexactly,thoughIshallbehappytodoboth,but_that_
wouldbeexerciseonlytomybody,andImusttakecareofmymind。Besides,_that_wouldbeallrecreationandindulgence,withoutthewholesomealloyoflabour,andIdonotliketoeatthebreadofidleness。No,myplanistomakeFannyPriceinlovewithme。“
“FannyPrice!Nonsense!No,no。Yououghttobesatisfiedwithhertwocousins。“
“ButIcannotbesatisfiedwithoutFannyPrice,withoutmakingasmallholeinFannyPrice’sheart。
Youdonotseemproperlyawareofherclaimstonotice。
Whenwetalkedofherlastnight,younoneofyouseemedsensibleofthewonderfulimprovementthathastakenplaceinherlookswithinthelastsixweeks。
Youseehereveryday,andthereforedonotnoticeit;
butIassureyousheisquiteadifferentcreaturefromwhatshewasintheautumn。Shewasthenmerelyaquiet,modest,notplain-lookinggirl,butsheisnowabsolutelypretty。Iusedtothinkshehadneithercomplexionnorcountenance;butinthatsoftskinofhers,sofrequentlytingedwithablushasitwasyesterday,thereisdecidedbeauty;andfromwhatIobservedofhereyesandmouth,Idonotdespairoftheirbeingcapableofexpressionenoughwhenshehasanythingtoexpress。
Andthen,herair,hermanner,her_tout__ensemble_,issoindescribablyimproved!Shemustbegrowntwoinches,atleast,sinceOctober。“
“Phoo!phoo!Thisisonlybecausetherewerenotallwomentocompareherwith,andbecauseshehasgotanewgown,andyouneversawhersowelldressedbefore。SheisjustwhatshewasinOctober,believeme。Thetruthis,thatshewastheonlygirlincompanyforyoutonotice,andyoumusthaveasomebody。Ihavealwaysthoughtherpretty——notstrikinglypretty——but’prettyenough,’
aspeoplesay;asortofbeautythatgrowsonone。
Hereyesshouldbedarker,butshehasasweetsmile;
butasforthiswonderfuldegreeofimprovement,Iamsureitmayallberesolvedintoabetterstyleofdress,andyourhavingnobodyelsetolookat;andtherefore,ifyoudosetaboutaflirtationwithher,youneverwillpersuademethatitisincomplimenttoherbeauty,orthatitproceedsfromanythingbutyourownidlenessandfolly。“
Herbrothergaveonlyasmiletothisaccusation,andsoonafterwardssaid,“IdonotquiteknowwhattomakeofMissFanny。Idonotunderstandher。Icouldnottellwhatshewouldbeatyesterday。Whatishercharacter?
Isshesolemn?Isshequeer?Issheprudish?Whydidshedrawbackandlooksograveatme?Icouldhardlygethertospeak。Ineverwassolongincompanywithagirlinmylife,tryingtoentertainher,andsucceedsoill!
Nevermetwithagirlwholookedsograveonme!
Imusttrytogetthebetterofthis。Herlookssay,’Iwillnotlikeyou,Iamdeterminednottolikeyou’;
andIsaysheshall。“
“Foolishfellow!Andsothisisherattractionafterall!
Thisitis,hernotcaringaboutyou,whichgiveshersuchasoftskin,andmakeshersomuchtaller,andproducesallthesecharmsandgraces!Idodesirethatyouwillnotbemakingherreallyunhappy;
a_little_love,perhaps,mayanimateanddohergood,butIwillnothaveyouplungeherdeep,forsheisasgoodalittlecreatureaseverlived,andhasagreatdealoffeeling。“
“Itcanbebutforafortnight,“saidHenry;“andifafortnightcankillher,shemusthaveaconstitutionwhichnothingcouldsave。No,Iwillnotdoheranyharm,dearlittlesoul!onlywanthertolookkindlyonme,togivemesmilesaswellasblushes,tokeepachairformebyherselfwhereverweare,andbeallanimationwhenItakeitandtalktoher;tothinkasIthink,beinterestedinallmypossessionsandpleasures,trytokeepmelongeratMansfield,andfeelwhenI
goawaythatsheshallbeneverhappyagain。Iwantnothingmore。“
“Moderationitself!“saidMary。“Icanhavenoscruplesnow。
Well,youwillhaveopportunitiesenoughofendeavouringtorecommendyourself,forweareagreatdealtogether。“
Andwithoutattemptinganyfartherremonstrance,sheleftFannytoherfate,afatewhich,hadnotFanny’sheartbeenguardedinawayunsuspectedbyMissCrawford,mighthavebeenalittleharderthanshedeserved;
foralthoughtheredoubtlessaresuchunconquerableyoungladiesofeighteenoroneshouldnotreadaboutthem
asarenevertobepersuadedintoloveagainsttheirjudgmentbyallthattalent,manner,attention,andflatterycando,IhavenoinclinationtobelieveFannyoneofthem,ortothinkthatwithsomuchtendernessofdisposition,andsomuchtasteasbelongedtoher,shecouldhaveescapedheart-wholefromthecourtshipthoughthecourtshiponlyofafortnightofsuchamanasCrawford,inspiteoftherebeingsomepreviousillopinionofhimtobeovercome,hadnotheraffectionbeenengagedelsewhere。
Withallthesecuritywhichloveofanotheranddisesteemofhimcouldgivetothepeaceofmindhewasattacking,hiscontinuedattentions——continued,butnotobtrusive,andadaptingthemselvesmoreandmoretothegentlenessanddelicacyofhercharacter——obligedherverysoontodislikehimlessthanformerly。Shehadbynomeansforgottenthepast,andshethoughtasillofhimasever;
butshefelthispowers:hewasentertaining;andhismannersweresoimproved,sopolite,soseriouslyandblamelesslypolite,thatitwasimpossiblenottobeciviltohiminreturn。
Averyfewdayswereenoughtoeffectthis;andattheendofthosefewdays,circumstancesarosewhichhadatendencyrathertoforwardhisviewsofpleasingher,inasmuchastheygaveheradegreeofhappinesswhichmustdisposehertobepleasedwitheverybody。William,herbrother,thesolongabsentanddearlylovedbrother,wasinEnglandagain。Shehadaletterfromhimherself,afewhurriedhappylines,writtenastheshipcameupChannel,andsentintoPortsmouthwiththefirstboatthatlefttheAntwerpatanchorinSpithead;andwhenCrawfordwalkedupwiththenewspaperinhishand,whichhehadhopedwouldbringthefirsttidings,hefoundhertremblingwithjoyoverthisletter,andlisteningwithaglowing,gratefulcountenancetothekindinvitationwhichherunclewasmostcollectedlydictatinginreply。
ItwasbutthedaybeforethatCrawfordhadmadehimselfthoroughlymasterofthesubject,orhadinfactbecomeatallawareofherhavingsuchabrother,orhisbeinginsuchaship,buttheinterestthenexcitedhadbeenveryproperlylively,determininghimonhisreturntotowntoapplyforinformationastotheprobableperiodoftheAntwerp’sreturnfromtheMediterranean,etc。;