CHAPTER XXI

he Palmers returned to Cleveland the next day, and the

two families at Barton were again left to entertain each

other. But this did not last long; Elinor had hardly got

their last visitors out of her head, had hardly done wondering at

Charlotte's being so happy without a cause, at Mr. Palmer's acting

so simply, with good abilities, and at the strange unsuitableness

which often existed between husband and wife, before Sir John's

and Mrs. Jennings's active zeal in the cause of society, procured

her some other new acquaintance to see and observe.

In a morning's excursion to Exeter, they had met with two

young ladies, whom Mrs. Jennings had the satisfaction of

discovering to be her relations, and this was enough for Sir John

to invite them directly to the park, as soon as their present

engagements at Exeter were over. Their engagements at Exeter

instantly gave way before such an invitation, and Lady Middleton

was thrown into no little alarm on the return of Sir John, by

hearing that she was very soon to receive a visit from two girls

whom she had never seen in her life, and of whose elegance,―

whose tolerable gentility even, she could have no proof; for the

assurances of her husband and mother on that subject went for

nothing at all. Their being her relations too made it so much the

worse; and Mrs. Jennings's attempts at consolation were therefore

fortunately" title="ad.不幸；不朽；可惜">unfortunately founded, when she advised her daughter not to care

about their being so fashionable; because they were all cousins

and must put up with one another. As it was impossible, however,

now to prevent their coming, Lady Middleton resigned herself to

the idea of it, with all the philosophy of a well-bred woman,

contenting herself with merely giving her husband a gentle

reprimand on the subject five or six times every day.

The young ladies arrived, their appearance was by no means

ungenteel or unfashionable. Their dress was very smart, their

manners very civil, they were delighted with the house, and in

raptures with the furniture, and they happened to be so doatingly

fond of children that Lady Middleton's good opinion was engaged

in their favour before they had been an hour at the Park. She

declared them to be very agreeable girls indeed, which for her

ladyship was enthusiastic admiration. Sir John's confidence in his

own judgment rose with this animated praise, and he set off

directly for the cottage to tell the Miss Dashwoods of the Miss

Steeles' arrival, and to assure them of their being the sweetest

girls in the world. From such commendation as this, however,

there was not much to be learned; Elinor well knew that the

sweetest girls in the world were to be met with in every part of

England, under every possible variation of form, face, temper and

understanding. Sir John wanted the whole family to walk to the

Park directly and look at his guests. Benevolent, philanthropic

man! It was painful to him even to keep a third cousin to himself.

"Do come now," said he―"pray come―you must come―I

declare you shall come―You can't think how you will like them.

Lucy is monstrous pretty, and so good humoured and agreeable!

The children are all hanging about her already, as if she was an

old acquaintance. And they both long to see you of all things, for

they have heard at Exeter that you are the most beautiful

creatures in the world; and I have told them it is all very true, and

a great deal more. You will be delighted with them I am sure. They

have brought the whole coach full of playthings for the children.

How can you be so cross as not to come? Why they are your

cousins, you know, after a fashion. You are my cousins, and they

are my wife's, so you must be related."

But Sir John could not prevail. He could only obtain a promise

of their calling at the Park within a day or two, and then left them

in amazement at their indifference, to walk home and boast anew

of their attractions to the Miss Steeles, as he had been already

boasting of the Miss Steeles to them.

When their promised visit to the Park and consequent

introduction to these young ladies took place, they found in the

appearance of the eldest, who was nearly thirty, with a very plain

and not a sensible face, nothing to admire; but in the other, who

was not more than two or three and twenty, they acknowledged

considerable beauty; her features were pretty, and she had a sharp

quick eye, and a smartness of air, which though it did not give

actual elegance or grace, gave distinction to her person.―Their

manners were particularly civil, and Elinor soon allowed them

credit for some kind of sense, when she saw with what constant

and judicious attention they were making themselves agreeable to

Lady Middleton. With her children they were in continual

raptures, extolling their beauty, courting their notice, and

humouring their whims; and such of their time as could be spared

from the importunate demands which this politeness made on it,

was spent in admiration of whatever her ladyship was doing, if she

happened to be doing any thing, or in taking patterns of some

elegant new dress, in which her appearance the day before had

thrown them into unceasing delight. Fortunately for those who

pay their court through such foibles, a fond mother, though, in

pursuit of praise for her children, the most rapacious of human

beings, is likewise the most credulous; her demands are

exorbitant; but she will swallow any thing; and the excessive

affection and endurance of the Miss Steeles towards her offspring

were viewed therefore by Lady Middleton without the smallest

surprise or distrust. She saw with maternal complacency all the

impertinent encroachments and mischievous tricks to which her

cousins submitted. She saw their sashes untied, their hair pulled

about their ears, their work-bags searched, and their knives and

scissors stolen away, and felt no doubt of its being a reciprocal

enjoyment. It suggested no other surprise than that Elinor and

Marianne should sit so composedly by, without claiming a share in

what was passing.

"John is in such spirits to-day!" said she, on his taking Miss

Steeles's pocket handkerchief, and throwing it out of window―

"He is full of monkey tricks."

And soon afterwards, on the second boy's violently pinching

one of the same lady's fingers, she fondly observed, "How playful

William is!"

"And here is my sweet little Annamaria," she added, tenderly

caressing a little girl of three years old, who had not made a noise

for the last two minutes; "And she is always so gentle and quiet―

Never was there such a quiet little thing!"

But fortunately" title="ad.不幸；不朽；可惜">unfortunately in bestowing these embraces, a pin in her

ladyship's head dress slightly scratching the child's neck,

produced from this pattern of gentleness such violent screams, as

could hardly be outdone by any creature professedly noisy. The

mother's consternation was excessive; but it could not surpass the

alarm of the Miss Steeles, and every thing was done by all three, in

so critical an emergency, which affection could suggest as likely to

assuage the agonies of the little sufferer. She was seated in her

mother's lap, covered with kisses, her wound bathed with

lavender-water, by one of the Miss Steeles, who was on her knees

to attend her, and her mouth stuffed with sugar plums by the

other. With such a reward for her tears, the child was too wise to

cease crying. She still screamed and sobbed lustily, kicked her two

brothers for offering to touch her, and all their united soothings

were ineffectual till Lady Middleton luckily remembering that in a

scene of similar distress last week, some apricot marmalade had

been successfullyapplied for a bruised temple, the same remedy

was eagerly proposed for this unfortunate scratch, and a slight

intermission of screams in the young lady on hearing it, gave them

reason to hope that it would not be rejected.―She was carried out

of the room therefore in her mother's arms, in quest of this

medicine, and as the two boys chose to follow, though earnestly

entreated by their mother to stay behind, the four young ladies

were left in a quietness which the room had not known for many

hours.

"Poor little creatures!" said Miss Steele, as soon as they were

gone. "It might have been a very sad accident."

"Yet I hardly know how," cried Marianne, "unless it had been

under totally different circumstances. But this is the usual way of

heightening alarm, where there is nothing to be alarmed at in

reality."

"What a sweet woman Lady Middleton is!" said Lucy Steele.

Marianne was silent; it was impossible for her to say what she

did not feel, however trivial the occasion; and upon Elinor

therefore the whole task of telling lies when politeness required it,

always fell. She did her best when thus called on, by speaking of

Lady Middleton with more warmth than she felt, though with far

less than Miss Lucy.

"And Sir John too," cried the elder sister, "what a charming

man he is!"

Here too, Miss Dashwood's commendation, being only simple

and just, came in without any eclat. She merely observed that he

was perfectly good humoured and friendly.

"And what a charming little family they have! I never saw such

fine children in my life.―I declare I quite doat upon them already,

and indeed I am always distractedly fond of children."

"I should guess so," said Elinor, with a smile, "from what I have

witnessed this morning."

"I have a notion," said Lucy, "you think the little Middletons

rather too much indulged; perhaps they may be the outside of

enough; but it is so natural in Lady Middleton; and for my part, I

love to see children full of life and spirits; I cannot bear them if

they are tame and quiet."

"I confess," replied Elinor, "that while I am at Barton Park, I

never think of tame and quiet children with any abhorrence."

A short pause succeeded this speech, which was first broken by

Miss Steele, who seemed very much disposed for conversation,

and who now said rather abruptly, "And how do you like

Devonshire, Miss Dashwood? I suppose you were very sorry to

leave Sussex."

In some surprise at the familiarity of this question, or at least of

the manner in which it was spoken, Elinor replied that she was.

"Norland is a prodigious beautiful place, is not it?" added Miss

Steele.

"We have heard Sir John admire it excessively," said Lucy, who

seemed to think some apology necessary for the freedom of her

sister.

"I think every one must admire it," replied Elinor, "who ever

saw the place; though it is not to be supposed that any one can

estimate its beauties as we do."

"And had you a great many smart beaux there? I suppose you

have not so many in this part of the world; for my part, I think they

are a vast addition always."

"But why should you think," said Lucy, looking ashamed of her

sister, "that there are not as many genteel young men in

Devonshire as Sussex?"

"Nay, my dear, I'm sure I don't pretend to say that there an't.

I'm sure there's a vast many smart beaux in Exeter; but you know,

how could I tell what smart beaux there might be about Norland;

and I was only afraid the Miss Dashwoods might find it dull at

Barton, if they had not so many as they used to have. But perhaps

you young ladies may not care about the beaux, and had as lief be

without them as with them. For my part, I think they are vastly

agreeable, provided they dress smart and behave civil. But I can't

bear to see them dirty and nasty. Now there's Mr. Rose at Exeter,

a prodigious smart young man, quite a beau, clerk to Mr. Simpson,

you know, and yet if you do but meet him of a morning, he is not

fit to be seen.―I suppose your brother was quite a beau, Miss

Dashwood, before he married, as he was so rich?"

"Upon my word," replied Elinor, "I cannot tell you, for I do not

perfectlycomprehend the meaning of the word. But this I can say,

that if he ever was a beau before he married, he is one still for

there is not the smallest alteration in him."

"Oh! dear! one never thinks of married men's being beaux―

they have something else to do."

"Lord! Anne," cried her sister, "you can talk of nothing but

beaux;―you will make Miss Dashwood believe you think of

nothing else." And then to turn the discourse, she began admiring

the house and the furniture.

This specimen of the Miss Steeles was enough. The vulgar

freedom and folly of the eldest left her no recommendation, and as

Elinor was not blinded by the beauty, or the shrewd look of the

youngest, to her want of real elegance and artlessness, she left the

house without any wish of knowing them better.

Not so the Miss Steeles.―They came from Exeter, well

provided with admiration for the use of Sir John Middleton, his

family, and all his relations, and no niggardly proportion was now

dealt out to his fair cousins, whom they declared to be the most

beautiful, elegant, accomplished, and agreeable girls they had ever

beheld, and with whom they were particularly anxious to be better

acquainted.―And to be better acquainted therefore, Elinor soon

found was their inevitable lot, for as Sir John was entirely on the

side of the Miss Steeles, their party would be too strong for

opposition, and that kind of intimacy must be submitted to, which

consists of sitting an hour or two together in the same room almost

every day. Sir John could do no more; but he did not know that

any more was required; to be together was, in his opinion, to be

intimate, and while his continual schemes for their meeting were

effectual, he had not a doubt of their being established friends.

To do him justice, he did every thing in his power to promote

their unreserve, by making the Miss Steeles acquainted with

whatever he knew or supposed of his cousins' situations in the

most delicate particulars,―and Elinor had not seen them more

than twice, before the eldest of them wished her joy on her sister's

having been so lucky as to make a conquest of a very smart beau

since she came to Barton.

"'Twill be a fine thing to have her married so young to be sure,"

said she, "and I hear he is quite a beau, and prodigious handsome.

And I hope you may have as good luck yourself soon,―but

perhaps you may have a friend in the corner already."

Elinor could not suppose that Sir John would be more nice in

proclaiming his suspicions of her regard for Edward, than he had

been with respect to Marianne; indeed it was rather his favourite

joke of the two, as being somewhat newer and more conjectural;

and since Edward's visit, they had never dined together without

his drinking to her best affections with so much significancy and

so many nods and winks, as to excite general attention. The letter

F― had been likewise invariably brought forward, and found

productive of such countless jokes, that its character as the wittiest

letter in the alphabet had been long established with Elinor.

The Miss Steeles, as she expected, had now all the benefit of

these jokes, and in the eldest of them they raised a curiosity to

know the name of the gentleman alluded to, which, though often

impertinently expressed, was perfectly of a piece with her general

inquisitiveness into the concerns of their family. But Sir John did

not sport long with the curiosity which he delighted to raise, for he

had at least as much pleasure in telling the name, as Miss Steele

had in hearing it.

"His name is Ferrars," said he, in a very audible whisper; "but

pray do not tell it, for it's a great secret."

Ferrars!" repeated Miss Steele; "Mr. Ferrars is the happy

man, is he? What! your sister-in-law's brother, Miss Dashwood? a

very agreeable young man to be sure; I know him very well."

"How can you say so, Anne?" cried Lucy, who generally made

an amendment to all her sister's assertions. "Though we have seen

him once or twice at my uncle's, it is rather too much to pretend to

know him very well."

Elinor heard all this with attention and surprise. "And who was

this uncle? Where did he live? How came they acquainted?" She

wished very much to have the subject continued, though she did

not chuse to join in it herself; but nothing more of it was said, and

for the first time in her life, she thought Mrs. Jennings deficient

either in curiosity after petty information, or in a disposition to

communicate it. The manner in which Miss Steele had spoken of

Edward, increased her curiosity; for it struck her as being rather

ill-natured, and suggested the suspicion of that lady's knowing, or

fancying herself to know something to his disadvantage.―But her

curiosity was unavailing, for no far ther notice was taken of Mr.

Ferrars's name by Miss Steele when alluded to, or even openly

mentioned by Sir John.
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