Chapter 36 Volume Two, Chapter Fourteen

Just a few days after this meeting, such a message was published in the newspaper: Thomas.Mr Palmer's wife safely gave birth to a son and heir.It was interesting and satisfying news, at least according to those close relatives who had prior knowledge of the situation. The event was of such importance, and as it affected Mrs. Jennings' happiness, that it caused her to temporarily alter her schedule, and likewise affected that of her young friends.Desiring to spend as much time with Charlotte as possible, the lady went out each morning as soon as she was dressed, and did not return until late in the evening.The Miss Dashwoods, at the special request of the Middletons, were obliged to spend the whole day in Condit Street.As far as comfort was concerned, they preferred to stay at Mrs. Jennings's, at least for the whole morning.However, it was inconvenient for them to go against everyone's wishes, so they insisted on making such a request.Their time, therefore, was turned to Lady Middleton and Sister Steele.In fact, although they said they wanted to have them as companions, they were actually not welcome.

The Miss Dashwoods are very intelligent people, and they cannot be Mrs. Middleton's ideal companions.And the Miss Steeles looked upon them with envy, as an intruder into their turf, and a share of the kindness which they would have kept to themselves.Though Lady Middleton could not have been more polite to Elinor and Marianne, she was by no means really fond of them.Just because they flattered neither herself nor her children, she could not think them agreeable.And because they like to read, she thinks they are sarcastic.Maybe she doesn't know what sarcasm means, but that's all right.This is a common accusation that everyone brings out at every turn.

Their presence is a constraint on both her and Lucy, restricting both the idleness of one party and the best efforts of the other party.Lady Middleton felt a little ashamed of doing nothing in their presence.And Lucy, who at other times had been flattering both in thought and in action, now feared that they might despise her for it.Of the three, the least disturbed by Miss Dashwood's arrival was Miss Steele.They are perfectly capable of living in harmony with her.After supper, as soon as she saw them coming in, she gave up her best place in front of the fire.If either of them could give her the whole history of Marianne's love affair with Mr. Willoughby, she would feel that the position was not in vain, and was adequately rewarded.This rapprochement, however, was not without its problems; and although she often expressed to Elinor sympathy for her sister, and more than once expressed in Marianne's presence reproaches for the capriciousness of men, it did not annoy Elinor. With an indifferent expression, Marianne showed a disgusted expression, which had no other effect.She would be their friend if they made the slightest effort.It is enough for them to make fun of her with the doctor!Who would have thought that they, like others, did not want to fulfill her wishes at all.So if Sir John was out and not eating at home, she wouldn't hear people teasing her about it all day long, and she would have to laugh at herself.

These jealousies and dissatisfaction, however, were not at all suspicious of Mrs. Jennings, who found it a pleasant thing for the girls to be together.To congratulate her young friends every night for being away from her silly old woman for so long.She stayed with them sometimes at Sir John's, and sometimes at her own.Wherever she was, however, she was always in good spirits, cheerful, and full of air.She attributed Charlotte's smooth recovery to her own careful attention, and she would have liked to give a detailed and exact account of her case, but Miss Steele was the only one willing to listen.One thing did cause her uneasiness, for which she complained every day.Mr. Palmer insisted on a common opinion among their men, that all babies were alike, and it was hardly a father.Though Mrs. Jennings could at various times perceive the likeness of the little chap to every relation of his parents, she could not persuade his father to accept the idea.She could not convince him that the little fellow was different from other children of his own size; nor could she even convince him of the simple opinion that the little fellow was the prettiest child in the world.

About this time, John.An unfortunate incident befell Mrs. Dashwood, which I shall now relate.It turned out that when her two sisters-in-law and Mrs. Jennings first visited her in Harley Street, another friend dropped by--an event which in itself did not necessarily bring her misfortune.But some people will think wrongly about other people's behavior and get wrong views, and judge right from wrong based on the phenomenon of scales and half claws.In this way, the happiness of people is always to a certain extent at the mercy of fate.And at present, the lady who came last, whose fancy went so far beyond the bounds of fact and possibility, as soon as she heard the names of the two Miss Dashwoods, and knew that they were Mrs. Dashwood's sister-in-law, immediately concluded that they lived On Harley Street.Because of this misunderstanding, she sent an invitation a day or two later, inviting them and their brother and sister-in-law to a small concert at her house.As a result, not only to John.Mrs. Dashwood was so inconvenient that she had to send a car to fetch the Dashwood sisters, and what was worse, she had to appear devoted to them, which displeased her.Who's to say they wouldn't look forward to going out with her a second time?Indeed, she has the right to refuse them at any time.But that's not enough, because once people decide to act in a way that they know is wrong, and you want them to take the right action, they will become angry with embarrassment.

Marianne had grown so used to going out every day to keep her appointments that it didn't matter whether she went out or not.She silently and mechanically prepares for her appointments each evening, though she does not expect the slightest pleasure from it, and often does not know where she is being taken until the last moment. Marianne, who had grown indifferent to her dress, made a careless effort to adorn Miss Steele's attention when she came in.In contrast, Marianne's entire grooming time did not expend half the energy that Miss Steele expended in considering Marianne's clothes in the five minutes after she came in.She observed meticulously, was curious about everything, saw everything, asked everything, and never stopped until she found out the price of Marianne's every dress.She could guess how many coats Marianne had in total, better than Marianne herself could.Before parting, she had even hoped to find out how much Marianne spent on laundry each week, and how much she spent on herself each year.In addition, she made such impolite cross-examinations, and she always had a few words of flattery at the end.Notwithstanding her good intentions, Marianne thought it more impolite than anything else; for after she had carefully investigated the price and shape of her coat, the color of her shoes, and the style of her hair, she said to her with almost certainty: "Tell me, You look stunning, and you're sure to win over a lot of men."

With this encouragement, Marianne took leave of Miss Steele, and went down to her brother's carriage.It had only been five minutes since the carriage stopped at the door, and they were ready.In fact, their sister-in-law did not like their punctuality, for she rushed to her friend's house before them, hoping they would delay.It might be an inconvenience to the coachman; but arriving on time would be an inconvenience to herself. The evening's activities were not very exciting.Like other concerts, there are many people who really appreciate the performance, and many people don't know anything at all.And those performers were, as usual, regarded by themselves and their relatives and friends as the foremost folk performers in England.

Elinor did not like music, nor pretended to, and could take her eyes from the grand piano without scruple, and even the harp and cello had no restraint on her, and she could look at whatever objects in the room she liked.As she looked here and there she caught sight of one of the young lads, and it was he who had explained to them the toothpick box at Gray's.In a second Elinor perceived that he was looking at her, and talking kindly to her brother.She was just about to ask her brother what his name was, but they both came towards her together.Mr. Dashwood introduced to her: He is Robert.Mr Fellers.

He spoke politely and casually to Elinor, and with a bow of his head on one side, made it clear to her as clearly as words that he was the dandy Lucy had pictured to her.If she liked Edward not because of his good character, but because of his close relatives, then she should be very grateful.Originally, the surly temper of his mother and sister had aroused her resentment, but now his brother's bow pushed this resentment to the apex.However, while she was surprised by the difference between the two young men, she did not lose her humble and noble affection for the other because of the ignorance and conceit of one.Why they were so awkwardly different, Robert himself explained to her in a quarter-hour conversation.As soon as he spoke of his brother, he bemoaned his extreme unsociability, which he thought really prevented him from associating with decent people.He is also frank and generous in attributing this to an unfortunate private education rather than to a lack of natural talent.As for himself, although his talent may not be particularly superior, due to the advantage of going to public school, he is more comfortable in dealing with people than anyone else.

"To be honest," he went on, "I don't think it's a big deal. I used to say that to my mother when she was upset about it. 'My dear mother,' I always said to her, "Relax yourself. This misfortune is irreparable, and it's all your own fault. Why don't you stick to your own opinion, but listen to my uncle, Sir Robert, and let Edward die at the most critical time in his life?" private education? You could have avoided it all if you had only sent him to Westminster, like me, instead of Mr. Pratt.' In my view, my mother has fully realized her fault."

Elinor did not want to argue with him, for whatever she might have thought of the public school's worries, she could hardly be satisfied with the thought of Edward living with the Pratts. "I think you live in Devonshire," went on Robert, "at a cottage near Dawlish." Elinor corrected him where he said it seemed strange to him that someone should live in Devon and not be near Dawlish.However, he still gave full affirmation to their kind of house. "Personally," he said, "I'm a huge fan of country houses. They're always so comfortable and elegant. I promise, if I had any money to spare, I'd buy one not far from London." Land, build a cottage by yourself, and you can drive out of town at any time, and have a few friends to entertain. I urge those who want to build a house to build a cottage. My friend Lord Courtland came to ask me that day For my opinion, I put before me the three drawings that Bonomi had drawn for him, and asked me to decide which one was the best. I threw them all into the fire, and said: 'My dear Kau Don't use any of your share, Tran, and build a cottage anyway." I think that's how it ended. Some people think that cottages are small and in poor condition, but they are quite wrong.Last month I stayed at the house of my friend Eliot, near Dartford.Mrs. Eliot wanted to give a ball. 'But what to do? 'she says. 'My dear Ferrars, please tell me what to do.There wasn't a single room in the cottage for ten couples, and where was dinner? ’ I saw at once that there was no difficulty, and said: ‘My dear Mrs. Elliott, you need not trouble yourself.The dining room can comfortably accommodate eighteen couples; the card table can be placed in the drawing room; the study can be used for tea; dinner is eaten in the drawing room. ' Mrs Elliott was very pleased with this opinion.We measured the dining room and found that there was just room for eighteen couples, and things were arranged exactly as I had envisioned.So, you see, one can have as much comfort in a country house as in the largest of dwellings, so long as one knows how to plan it. " Elinor agreed with all this, and thought it unnecessary for her to argue that Robert was unworthy of such flattery. John.Dashwood, like his elder sister, was not fond of music, and therefore his mind wandered at will.He came up with an idea during the party, and when he got home, he told his wife and asked for her approval.In view of Mrs. Dennison's misconception that his sisters were guests at his house, he should have actually invited them to visit Mrs. Jennings while she was busy.It cost little, and caused no inconvenience; he was a man of good conscience, and it was absolutely necessary to take care of them in order to fully fulfill his promise to his late father.Fanny was startled at this suggestion. "I don't know," she said, "how you can do this without embarrassing Mrs. Middleton, because they spend every day with her. Otherwise, I would be very happy to do it. You know, I Always willing to look after them as best I can, as I have shown by taking them out this evening. But how can I take them away from Lady Middleton when they are guests?" Her husband saw no persuasive force in her objection, but was very humble to her. "They have spent a week in Condit Street, and Lady Middleton will not be displeased to spend the same number of days with close relatives like us." Fanny paused for a moment, then regained her spirits, and said: "My dear, I would sincerely invite them if I could. But I have just made up my mind to have the Miss Steeles come and stay for a few days. They are decent girls. Besides, Their uncle treated Edward so well, and I think they ought to treat them too. You know, we can have your sister again in another year. And the Steeles may never come to town again. You'll love them. Actually, you know, you're very fond of them already, and my mother is very fond of them, and Harry is so fond of them." Mr. Dashwood was persuaded.He felt compelled to invite the Miss Steeles at once, and the decision to invite his sister another year comforted his conscience.But at the same time he secretly suspected that in another year there would be no need to invite them to town, for by then Elinor would be Colonel Brandon's wife, and Marianne their guest. Mrs. Dashwood was glad that she had avoided this trouble, and she was proud of her quick wit.She wrote to Lucy the next morning, asking her and her sister to come to Harley Street for a few days at once, as soon as Lady Middleton would let her go.This, of course, made Lucy very happy.Mrs. Dashwood seemed to worry about her herself, and to think of her!Nothing could mean more to her than this opportunity to be with Edward and his family, and nothing could have gratified her more than this invitation!It was a great thing that she was grateful for and could not wait for.But she said that there was no definite time limit for her visit to Mrs. Middleton's house, but now she suddenly found that she had planned to stay for two days before leaving. Lucy had not had the letter ten minutes before she showed it to Elinor.After reading it, Elinor felt for the first time that Lucy really had some hope.After only a few days of acquaintance, they have received such extraordinary love.This seemed to indicate that the good intentions towards her did not originate entirely from the malice towards herself. After a long time, if the words were congenial, Lucy would be able to get everything right.Her flattery has conquered Mrs. Middleton's arrogance and opened up John.Mrs. Dashwood's locked heart.These results are the prelude to even greater success. The Miss Steeles moved to Harley Street, where they were very popular.The news reached Elinor's ears, further enhancing her sense of anticipation.Sir John visited Sister Steele on more than one occasion, and when he returned home gave a detailed description of how they were favored, which was to everyone's amazement.Mrs. Dashwood never liked any young women so much in her life as she liked them.She gave them each a needle box made by an immigrant.She addressed Lucy by her Christian name directly.I wonder if she will be willing to let them go in the future.