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SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
by Jane Austen (1811)
Chapter 36
Within a few days after this meeting, the
newspapers announced to the world, that the
lady of Thomas Palmer, Esq. was safely
delivered of a son and heir; a very
interesting and satisfactory paragraph, at
least to all those intimate connections who
knew it before.
This event, highly important to Mrs.
Jennings's happiness, produced a temporary
alteration in the disposal of her time, and
influenced, in a like degree, the
engagements of her young friends; for as
she wished to be as much as possible with
Charlotte, she went thither every morning
as soon as she was dressed, and did not
return till late in the evening; and the
Miss Dashwoods, at the particular request
of the Middletons, spent the whole of every
day in Conduit Street.
For their own comfort they would much
rather have remained, at least all the
morning, in Mrs. Jennings's house; but it
was not a thing to be urged against the
wishes of everybody.
Their hours were therefore made over to
Lady Middleton and the two Miss Steeles, by
whom their company, in fact was as little
valued, as it was professedly sought.
They had too much sense to be desirable
companions to the former; and by the latter
they were considered with a jealous eye, as
intruding on THEIR ground, and sharing the
kindness which they wanted to monopolize.
Though nothing could be more polite than
Lady Middleton's behaviour to Elinor and
Marianne, she did not really like them at
all.
Because they neither flattered herself nor
her children, she could not believe them
good-natured; and because they were fond of
reading, she fancied them satirical:
perhaps without exactly knowing what it was
to be satirical; but THAT did not signify.
It was censure in common use, and easily
given.
Their presence was a restraint both on her
and on Lucy.
It checked the idleness of one, and the
business of the other.
Lady Middleton was ashamed of doing nothing
before them, and the flattery which Lucy
was proud to think of and administer at
other times, she feared they would despise
her for offering.
Miss Steele was the least discomposed of
the three, by their presence; and it was in
their power to reconcile her to it
entirely.
Would either of them only have given her a
full and minute account of the whole affair
between Marianne and Mr. Willoughby, she
would have thought herself amply rewarded
for the sacrifice of the best place by the
fire after dinner, which their arrival
occasioned.
But this conciliation was not granted; for
though she often threw out expressions of
pity for her sister to Elinor, and more
than once dropt a reflection on the
inconstancy of beaux before Marianne, no
effect was produced, but a look of
indifference from the former, or of disgust
in the latter.
An effort even yet lighter might have made
her their friend.
Would they only have laughed at her about
the Doctor!
But so little were they, anymore than the
others, inclined to oblige her, that if Sir
John dined from home, she might spend a
whole day without hearing any other
raillery on the subject, than what she was
kind enough to bestow on herself.
All these jealousies and discontents,
however, were so totally unsuspected by
Mrs. Jennings, that she thought it a
delightful thing for the girls to be
together; and generally congratulated her
young friends every night, on having
escaped the company of a stupid old woman
so long.
She joined them sometimes at Sir John's,
sometimes at her own house; but wherever it
was, she always came in excellent spirits,
full of delight and importance, attributing
Charlotte's well doing to her own care, and
ready to give so exact, so minute a detail
of her situation, as only Miss Steele had
curiosity enough to desire.
One thing DID disturb her; and of that she
made her daily complaint.
Mr. Palmer maintained the common, but
unfatherly opinion among his sex, of all
infants being alike; and though she could
plainly perceive, at different times, the
most striking resemblance between this baby
and every one of his relations on both
sides, there was no convincing his father
of it; no persuading him to believe that it
was not exactly like every other baby of
the same age; nor could he even be brought
to acknowledge the simple proposition of
its being the finest child in the world.
I come now to the relation of a misfortune,
which about this time befell Mrs. John
It so happened that while her two sisters
with Mrs. Jennings were first calling on
her in Harley Street, another of her
acquaintance had dropt in--a circumstance
in itself not apparently likely to produce
evil to her.
But while the imaginations of other people
will carry them away to form wrong
judgments of our conduct, and to decide on
it by slight appearances, one's happiness
must in some measure be always at the mercy
of chance.
In the present instance, this last-arrived
lady allowed her fancy to so far outrun
truth and probability, that on merely
hearing the name of the Miss Dashwoods, and
understanding them to be Mr. Dashwood's
sisters, she immediately concluded them to
be staying in Harley Street; and this
misconstruction produced within a day or
two afterwards, cards of invitation for
them as well as for their brother and
sister, to a small musical party at her
house.
The consequence of which was, that Mrs.
John Dashwood was obliged to submit not
only to the exceedingly great inconvenience
of sending her carriage for the Miss
Dashwoods, but, what was still worse, must
be subject to all the unpleasantness of
appearing to treat them with attention: and
who could tell that they might not expect
to go out with her a second time?
The power of disappointing them, it was
true, must always be hers.
But that was not enough; for when people
are determined on a mode of conduct which
they know to be wrong, they feel injured by
the expectation of any thing better from
them.
Marianne had now been brought by degrees,
so much into the habit of going out every
day, that it was become a matter of
indifference to her, whether she went or
not: and she prepared quietly and
mechanically for every evening's
engagement, though without expecting the
smallest amusement from any, and very often
without knowing, till the last moment,
where it was to take her.
To her dress and appearance she was grown
so perfectly indifferent, as not to bestow
half the consideration on it, during the
whole of her toilet, which it received from
Miss Steele in the first five minutes of
their being together, when it was finished.
Nothing escaped HER minute observation and
general curiosity; she saw every thing, and
asked every thing; was never easy till she
knew the price of every part of Marianne's
dress; could have guessed the number of her
gowns altogether with better judgment than
Marianne herself, and was not without hopes
of finding out before they parted, how much
her washing cost per week, and how much she
had every year to spend upon herself.
The impertinence of these kind of
scrutinies, moreover, was generally
concluded with a compliment, which though
meant as its douceur, was considered by
Marianne as the greatest impertinence of
all; for after undergoing an examination
into the value and make of her gown, the
colour of her shoes, and the arrangement of
her hair, she was almost sure of being told
that upon "her word she looked vastly
smart, and she dared to say she would make
a great many conquests."
With such encouragement as this, was she
dismissed on the present occasion, to her
brother's carriage; which they were ready
to enter five minutes after it stopped at
the door, a punctuality not very agreeable
to their sister-in-law, who had preceded
them to the house of her acquaintance, and
was there hoping for some delay on their
part that might inconvenience either
herself or her coachman.
The events of this evening were not very
remarkable.
The party, like other musical parties,
comprehended a great many people who had
real taste for the performance, and a great
many more who had none at all; and the
performers themselves were, as usual, in
their own estimation, and that of their
immediate friends, the first private
performers in England.
As Elinor was neither musical, nor
affecting to be so, she made no scruple of
turning her eyes from the grand pianoforte,
whenever it suited her, and unrestrained
even by the presence of a harp, and
violoncello, would fix them at pleasure on
any other object in the room.
In one of these excursive glances she
perceived among a group of young men, the
very he, who had given them a lecture on
toothpick-cases at Gray's.
She perceived him soon afterwards looking
at herself, and speaking familiarly to her
brother; and had just determined to find
out his name from the latter, when they
both came towards her, and Mr. Dashwood
introduced him to her as Mr. Robert
Ferrars.
He addressed her with easy civility, and
twisted his head into a bow which assured
her as plainly as words could have done,
that he was exactly the coxcomb she had
heard him described to be by Lucy.
Happy had it been for her, if her regard
for Edward had depended less on his own
merit, than on the merit of his nearest
relations!
For then his brother's bow must have given
the finishing stroke to what the ill-humour
of his mother and sister would have begun.
But while she wondered at the difference of
the two young men, she did not find that
the emptiness of conceit of the one, put
her out of all charity with the modesty and
worth of the other.
Why they WERE different, Robert exclaimed
to her himself in the course of a quarter
of an hour's conversation; for, talking of
his brother, and lamenting the extreme
GAUCHERIE which he really believed kept him
from mixing in proper society, he candidly
and generously attributed it much less to
any natural deficiency, than to the
misfortune of a private education; while he
himself, though probably without any
particular, any material superiority by
nature, merely from the advantage of a
public school, was as well fitted to mix in
the world as any other man.
"Upon my soul," he added, "I believe it is
nothing more; and so I often tell my
mother, when she is grieving about it.
'My dear Madam,' I always say to her, 'you
must make yourself easy.
The evil is now irremediable, and it has
been entirely your own doing.
Why would you be persuaded by my uncle, Sir
Robert, against your own judgment, to place
Edward under private tuition, at the most
critical time of his life?
If you had only sent him to Westminster as
well as myself, instead of sending him to
Mr. Pratt's, all this would have been
prevented.'
This is the way in which I always consider
the matter, and my mother is perfectly
convinced of her error."
Elinor would not oppose his opinion,
because, whatever might be her general
estimation of the advantage of a public
school, she could not think of Edward's
abode in Mr. Pratt's family, with any
satisfaction.
"You reside in Devonshire, I think,"--was
his next observation, "in a cottage near
Elinor set him right as to its situation;
and it seemed rather surprising to him that
anybody could live in Devonshire, without
living near Dawlish.
He bestowed his hearty approbation however
on their species of house.
"For my own part," said he, "I am
excessively fond of a cottage; there is
always so much comfort, so much elegance
about them.
And I protest, if I had any money to spare,
I should buy a little land and build one
myself, within a short distance of London,
where I might drive myself down at any
time, and collect a few friends about me,
and be happy.
I advise every body who is going to build,
to build a cottage.
My friend Lord Courtland came to me the
other day on purpose to ask my advice, and
laid before me three different plans of
Bonomi's.
I was to decide on the best of them.
'My dear Courtland,' said I, immediately
throwing them all into the fire, 'do not
adopt either of them, but by all means
build a cottage.'
And that I fancy, will be the end of it.
"Some people imagine that there can be no
accommodations, no space in a cottage; but
this is all a mistake.
I was last month at my friend Elliott's,
near Dartford.
Lady Elliott wished to give a dance.
'But how can it be done?' said she; 'my
dear Ferrars, do tell me how it is to be
managed.
There is not a room in this cottage that
will hold ten couple, and where can the
I immediately saw that there could be no
difficulty in it, so I said, 'My dear Lady
Elliott, do not be uneasy.
The dining parlour will admit eighteen
couple with ease; card-tables may be placed
in the drawing-room; the library may be
open for tea and other refreshments; and
let the supper be set out in the saloon.'
Lady Elliott was delighted with the
We measured the dining-room, and found it
would hold exactly eighteen couple, and the
affair was arranged precisely after my
plan.
So that, in fact, you see, if people do but
know how to set about it, every comfort may
be as well enjoyed in a cottage as in the
most spacious dwelling."
Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not
think he deserved the compliment of
rational opposition.
As John Dashwood had no more pleasure in
music than his eldest sister, his mind was
equally at liberty to fix on any thing
else; and a thought struck him during the
evening, which he communicated to his wife,
for her approbation, when they got home.
The consideration of Mrs. Dennison's
mistake, in supposing his sisters their
guests, had suggested the propriety of
their being really invited to become such,
while Mrs. Jennings's engagements kept her
from home.
The expense would be nothing, the
inconvenience not more; and it was
altogether an attention which the delicacy
of his conscience pointed out to be
requisite to its complete enfranchisement
from his promise to his father.
*** was startled at the proposal.
"I do not see how it can be done," said
she, "without affronting Lady Middleton,
for they spend every day with her;
otherwise I should be exceedingly glad to
do it.
You know I am always ready to pay them any
attention in my power, as my taking them
out this evening shews.
But they are Lady Middleton's visitors.
How can I ask them away from her?"
Her husband, but with great humility, did
not see the force of her objection.
"They had already spent a week in this
manner in Conduit Street, and Lady
Middleton could not be displeased at their
giving the same number of days to such near
relations."
*** paused a moment, and then, with fresh
vigor, said,
"My love I would ask them with all my
heart, if it was in my power.
But I had just settled within myself to ask
the Miss Steeles to spend a few days with
us.
They are very well behaved, good kind of
girls; and I think the attention is due to
them, as their uncle did so very well by
Edward.
We can ask your sisters some other year,
you know; but the Miss Steeles may not be
in town any more.
I am sure you will like them; indeed, you
DO like them, you know, very much already,
and so does my mother; and they are such
favourites with Harry!"
Mr. Dashwood was convinced.
He saw the necessity of inviting the Miss
Steeles immediately, and his conscience was
pacified by the resolution of inviting his
sisters another year; at the same time,
however, slyly suspecting that another year
would make the invitation needless, by
bringing Elinor to town as Colonel
Brandon's wife, and Marianne as THEIR
visitor.
***, rejoicing in her escape, and proud
of the ready wit that had procured it,
wrote the next morning to Lucy, to request
her company and her sister's, for some
days, in Harley Street, as soon as Lady
Middleton could spare them.
This was enough to make Lucy really and
reasonably happy.
Mrs. Dashwood seemed actually working for
her, herself; cherishing all her hopes, and
promoting all her views!
Such an opportunity of being with Edward
and his family was, above all things, the
most material to her interest, and such an
invitation the most gratifying to her
feelings!
It was an advantage that could not be too
gratefully acknowledged, nor too speedily
made use of; and the visit to Lady
Middleton, which had not before had any
precise limits, was instantly discovered to
have been always meant to end in two days'
time.
When the note was shown to Elinor, as it
was within ten minutes after its arrival,
it gave her, for the first time, some share
in the expectations of Lucy; for such a
mark of uncommon kindness, vouchsafed on so
short an acquaintance, seemed to declare
that the good-will towards her arose from
something more than merely malice against
herself; and might be brought, by time and
address, to do every thing that Lucy
wished.
Her flattery had already subdued the pride
of Lady Middleton, and made an entry into
the close heart of Mrs. John Dashwood; and
these were effects that laid open the
probability of greater.
The Miss Steeles removed to Harley Street,
and all that reached Elinor of their
influence there, strengthened her
expectation of the event.
Sir John, who called on them more than
once, brought home such accounts of the
favour they were in, as must be universally
striking.
Mrs. Dashwood had never been so much
pleased with any young women in her life,
as she was with them; had given each of
them a needle book made by some emigrant;
called Lucy by her Christian name; and did
not know whether she should ever be able to
part with them.
[At this point in the first and second
editions, Volume II ended.]