CHAPTER III

he Miss Dashwoods had now been rather more than two

months in town, and Marianne's impatience to be gone

increased every day. She sighed for the air, the liberty, the

quiet of the country; and fancied that if any place could give her

ease, Barton must do it. Elinor was hardly less anxious than

herself for their removal, and only so much less bent on its being

effected immediately, as that she was con scious of the difficulties

of so long a journey, which Marianne could not be brought to

acknowledge. She began, however, seriously to turn her thoughts

towards its accomplishment, and had already mentioned their

wishes to their kind hostess, who resisted them with all the

eloquence of her good-will, when a plan was suggested, which,

though detaining them from home yet a few weeks longer,

appeared to Elinor altogether much more eligible than any other.

The Palmers were to remove to Cleveland about the end of March,

for the Easter holidays; and Mrs. Jennings, with both her friends,

received a very warm invitation from Charlotte to go with them.

This would not, in itself, have been sufficient for the delicacy of

Miss Dashwood;―but it was inforced with so much real politeness

by Mr. Palmer himself, as, joined to the very great amendment of

his manners towards them since her sister had been known to be

unhappy, induced her to accept it with pleasure.

When she told Marianne what she had done, however, her first

reply was not very auspicious.

"Cleveland!"―she cried, with great agitation. "No, I cannot go

to Cleveland."―

"You forget," said Elinor gently, "that its situation is not . . . that

it is not in the neighbourhood of . . ."

"But it is in Somersetshire.―I cannot go into Somersetshire.―

There, where I looked forward to going . . . No, Elinor, you cannot

expect me to go there."

Elinor would not argue upon the propriety of overcoming such

feelings;―she only endeavoured to counteract them by working

on others;―represented it, therefore, as a measure which would

fix the time of her returning to that dear mother, whom she so

much wished to see, in a more eligible, more comfortable manner,

than any other plan could do, and perhaps without any greater

delay. From Cleveland, which was within a few miles of Bristol,

the distance to Barton was not beyond one day, though a long

day's journey; and their mother's servant might easily come there

to attend them down; and as there could be no occasion of their

staying above a week at Cleveland, they might now be at home in

little more than three weeks' time. As Marianne's affection for her

mother was sincere, it must triumph with little difficulty, over the

imaginary evils she had started.

Mrs. Jennings was so far from being weary of her guests, that

she pressed them very earnestly to return with her again from

Cleveland. Elinor was grateful for the attention, but it could not

alter her design; and their mother's concurrence being readily

gained, every thing relative to their return was arranged as far as

it could be;―and Marianne found some relief in drawing up a

statement of the hours that were yet to divide her from Barton.

"Ah! Colonel, I do not know what you and I shall do without the

Miss Dashwoods;"―was Mrs. Jennings's address to him when he

first called on her, after their leaving her was settled―"for they

are quite resolved upon going home from the Palmers;―and how

forlorn we shall be, when I come back!―Lord! we shall sit and

gape at one another as dull as two cats."

Perhaps Mrs. Jennings was in hopes, by this vigorous sketch of

their future ennui, to provoke him to make that offer, which might

give himself an escape from it;―and if so, she had soon afterwards

good reason to think her object gained; for, on Elinor's moving to

the window to take more expeditiously the dimensions of a print,

which she was going to copy for her friend, he followed her to it

with a look of particular meaning, and conversed with her there

for several minutes. The effect of his discourse on the lady too,

could not escape her observation, for though she was too

honourable to listen, and had even changed her seat, on purpose

that she might not hear, to one close by the pianoforté on which

Marianne was playing, she could not keep herself from seeing that

Elinor changed colour, attended with agitation, and was too intent

on what he said to pursue her employment.―Still farther in

confirmation of her hopes, in the interval of Marianne's turning

from one lesson to another, some words of the Colonel's inevitably

reached her ear, in which he seemed to be apologizing for the

badness of his house. This set the matter beyond a doubt. She

wondered, indeed, at his thinking it necessary to do so; but

supposed it to be the proper etiquette. What Elinor said in reply

she could not distinguish, but judged from the motion of her lips,

that she did not think that any material objection;―and Mrs.

Jennings commended her in her heart for being so honest. They

then talked on for a few minutes longer without her catching a

syllable, when another lucky stop in Marianne's performance

brought her these words in the Colonel's calm voice,

"I am afraid it cannot take place very soon."

Astonished and shocked at so unlover-like a speech, she was

almost ready to cry out, "Lord! what should hinder it?"―but

checking her desire, confined herself to this silent ejaculation.

"This is very strange!―sure he need not wait to be older."

This delay on the Colonel's side, however, did not seem to

offend or mortify his fair companion in the least, for on their

breaking up the conference soon afterwards, and moving different

ways, Mrs. Jennings very plainly heard Elinor say, and with a

voice which shewed her to feel what she said,

"I shall always think myself very much obliged to you."

Mrs. Jennings was delighted with her gratitude, and only

wondered that after hearing such a sentence, the Colonel should

be able to take leave of them, as he immediately did, with the

utmost sang-froid, and go away without making her any reply!―

She had not thought her old friend could have made so indifferent

a suitor.

What had really passed between them was to this effect.

"I have heard," said he, with great compassion, "of the injustice

your friend Mr. Ferrars has suffered from his family; for if I

understand the matter right, he has been entirely cast off by them

for persevering in his engagement with a very deserving young

woman.―Have I been rightly informed?―Is it so?―"

Elinor told him that it was.

"The cruelty, the impolitic cruelty,"―he replied, with great

feeling,―"of dividing, or attempting to divide, two young people

long attached to each other, is terrible.―Mrs. Ferrars does not

know what she may be doing―what she may drive her son to. I

have seen Mr. Ferrars two or three times in Harley-street, and am

much pleased with him. He is not a young man with whom one

can be intimately acquainted in a short time, but I have seen

enough of him to wish him well for his own sake, and as a friend of

yours, I wish it still more. I understand that he intends to take

orders. Will you be so good as to tell him that the living of

Delaford, now just vacant, as I am informed by this day's post, is

his, if he think it worth his acceptance―but that, perhaps, so

fortunately" title="ad.不幸；不朽；可惜">unfortunately circumstanced as he is now, it may be nonsense to

appear to doubt; I only wish it were more valuable.―It is a rectory,

but a small one; the late incumbent, I believe, did not make more

than 200l. per annum, and though it is certainly capable of

improvement, I fear, not to such an amount as to afford him a very

comfortable income. Such as it is, however, my pleasure in

presenting him to it, will be very great. Pray assure him of it."

Elinor's astonishment at this commission could hardly have

been greater, had the Colonel been really making her an offer of

his hand. The preferment, which only two days before she had

considered as hopeless for Edward, was already provided to

enable him to marry;―and she, of all people in the world, was

fixed on to bestow it!―Her emotion was such as Mrs. Jennings

had attributed to a very different cause;―but whatever minor

feelings less pure, less pleasing, might have a share in that

emotion, her esteem for the general benevolence, and her

gratitude for the particular friendship, which together prompted

Colonel Brandon to this act, were strongly felt, and warmly

expressed. She thanked him for it with all her heart, spoke of

Edward's principles and disposition with that praise which she

knew them to deserve; and promised to undertake the commission

with pleasure, if it were really his wish to put off so agreeable an

office to another. But at the same time, she could not help thinking

that no one could so well perform it as himself. It was an office in

short, from which, unwilling to give Edward the pain of receiving

an obligation from her, she would have been very glad to be spared

herself;―but Colonel Brandon, on motives of equal delicacy,

declining it likewise, still seemed so desirous of its being given

through her means, that she would not on any account make

farther opposition. Edward, she believed, was still in town, and

fortunately she had heard his address from Miss Steele. She could

undertake therefore to inform him of it, in the course of the day.

After this had been settled, Colonel Brandon began to talk of his

own advantage in securing so respectable and agreeable a

neighbour, and then it was that he mentioned with regret, that the

house was small and indifferent;―an evil which Elinor, as Mrs.

Jennings had supposed her to do, made very light of, at least as far

as regarded its size.

"The smallness of the house," said she, "I cannot imagine any

inconvenience to them, for it will be in proportion to their family

and income."

By which the Colonel was surprised to find that she was

considering Mr. Ferrars's marriage as the certain consequence of

the presentation; for he did not suppose it possible that Delaford

living could supply such an income, as anybody in his style of life

would venture to settle on―and he said so.

"This little rectory can do no more than make Mr. Ferrars

comfortable as a bachelor; it cannot enable him to marry. I am

sorry to say that my patronage ends with this; and my interest is

hardly more extensive. If, however, by an unforeseen chance it

should be in my power to serve him farther, I must think very

differently of him from what I now do, if I am not as ready to be

useful to him then as I sincerely wish I could be at present. What I

am now doing indeed, seems nothing at all, since it can advance

him so little towards what must be his principal, his only object of

happiness. His marriage must still be a distant good;―at least, I

am afraid it cannot take place very soon.―"

Such was the sentence which, when misunderstood, so justly

offended the delicate feelings of Mrs. Jennings; but after this

narration of what really passed between Colonel Brandon and

Elinor, while they stood at the window, the gratitude expressed by

the latter on their parting, may perhaps appear in general, not less

reasonably excited, nor less properly worded than if it had arisen

from an offer of marriage.
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