18 Northanger Abbey - Read By Stephanie Poppins

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

Your go-to podcast that offers you a calm and relaxing transition into a great night's sleep.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now,

And nowhere you need to go.

Close your eyes and feel yourself sink into the support beneath you and let all the worries of the day drift away.

This is your time and your space.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

There is nothing you need to be doing now,

And nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Chapter 15 Continued When Isabella spoke again,

It was to resolve on the quality of her wedding gown.

The conference was at last put to an end by the anxious young lover himself,

Who came to breathe his parting sigh before he sent off a wheelchair.

Catherine wished to congratulate him,

But she knew not what to say,

And her eloquence was only in her eyes.

From them,

However,

The eight parts of a speech shone out most expressively,

And James could combine them with ease.

Impatient for the realisation of all that he hoped at home,

His adieus were not long,

And they would have been less shorter had he not been frequently detained by the urgent entreaties of Isabella.

Twice was he called almost from the door by her eagerness to have him gone.

Indeed,

Morland,

I must drive you away.

Consider how far you have to ride.

I cannot bear to see you linger so.

For heaven's sake,

Waste no more time.

Go,

Go,

I insist on it.

The two friends with hearts now more united than ever were inseparable for the day,

And in schemes of sisterly happiness the hours flew long.

Mrs Thorpe and her son,

Who were acquainted with everything,

And who seemed only to want Mr Morland's consent to consider Isabella's engagement as the most fortunate circumstance imaginable,

Were allowed to join their councils and add their quota of significant looks and mysterious expressions to fill up the measure of curiosity to be raised in the unprivileged younger sisters.

To Catherine's simple feelings,

This odd sort of reserve seemed neither kindly meant nor consistently supported,

And its unkindness she would hardly have forborn pointing out had its inconsistency been less their friend.

But Anne-Maria soon set her heart at ease by the sagacity of their I-know-what,

And the evening was spent in a sort of war of wit,

A display of family ingenuity,

On one side in the mystery of an effective secret,

On the other of undefined discovery,

All equally acute.

Catherine was with her friend the next day,

Endeavouring to support her spirits,

And while away the many tedious hours before the delivery of the letters,

A needful exertion,

For as the time of reasonable expectation drew near,

Isabella became more and more desponding,

And before the letter arrived had worked herself into a state of real distress.

But when it did come,

Where could distress be found?

I have had no difficulty in gaining the consent of my kind parents,

And am promised that everything in their power should be done to forward my happiness,

Said Morland in the first three lines.

In one moment all was joyful security,

The brightest glow was instantly spread over Isabella's features,

And all care and anxiety seemed removed.

She called herself without scruple the happiest of mortals.

Mrs Thorpe with tears of joy embraced her daughter,

Her son,

Her visitor,

And could have embraced half the inhabitants and bathed with satisfaction.

Her heart was overflowing with tenderness.

It was dear John this,

And dear Catherine at every word.

Dear Anne and dear Maria must immediately be made sharers in their felicity.

And the two dears,

At once before the name of Isabella,

Were not more than beloved child had now well earned.

John himself was no skulker in joy.

He not only bestowed on Mr Morland the high commendation of being one of the finest fellows in the world,

But swore off many sentences in his praise.

The letter,

Whence sprang all this felicity,

Was short,

Containing little more than this assurance of success,

And every particular was deferred till James could write again.

But four particulars Isabella could well afford to wait.

The needful was compromised in Mr Morland's promise.

His honour was pledged to make everything easy,

And by what means their income was to be formed,

Whether landed property were to be resigned or funded money made over,

Was a matter in which her disinterested spirit took no concern.

She knew enough to feel secure of an honourable and speedy establishment,

And her imagination took a rapid flight over its attendant felicities.

Isabella saw herself at the end of a few weeks,

The gaze and admiration of every new acquaintance at Fullerton,

The envy of every valued old friend in Putney,

With a carriage at her command,

A new name on her tickets,

And a brilliant exhibition of hoop rings on her finger.

When the contents of the letter were ascertained,

John Thorpe,

Who had only waited its arrival to begin his journey to London,

Prepared to set off.

"'Well,

Miss Morland,

' said he,

On finding her alone in the parlour,

"'I'm come to bid you good-bye.

' Catherine wished him a good journey.

Without appearing to hear her,

He walked to the window,

Fidgeted about,

Hummed a tune,

And seemed wholly self-occupied.

"'Shall you not be late at devises?

' said Catherine.

He made no answer,

But after a minute's silence burst out with,

"'A famous good thing,

This marrying scheme,

Upon my soul!

A clever fancy of Morland's and Belle's.

What do you think of it,

Miss Morland?

I say it's no bad notion.

' "'I'm sure it's a very good one.

' "'Do you?

Hm,

That's honest by heavens.

I am glad you're no enemy to matrimony,

However.

Did you ever hear the old song,

Going to one wedding brings on another?

I say you will come to Belle's wedding,

I hope?

' "'Yes,

I promise your sister to be with her,

If possible.

' "'Then you know,

' twisting himself about and forcing a foolish laugh,

"'I say then you know,

We may try the truth of this same old song.

' "'May we?

But I never sing.

Well,

I wish you a good journey.

I dine with Miss Tilney today,

And must now be going home.

' "'Nay,

But there's no such confounded hurry.

Who knows when we may be together again?

Not but that I shall be down again by the end of a fortnight,

And a devilish long fortnight it'll appear to me.

' "'Then why do you stay away so long?

' replied Catherine,

Finding that he waited for an answer.

"'That is kind of you,

However,

Kind and good-natured.

I shall not forget it in a hurry.

But you have more good-nature in all that than any body living,

I believe.

A monstrous deal of good-nature,

And it's not only good-nature,

But you have so much of everything,

And then you have such.

.

.

Upon my soul,

I do not know anybody like you.

' "'Oh,

Dear,

' said Catherine,

''there are a great many people like me,

I dare say.

Only a great deal better.

Good morning to you.

' "'But I say,

Miss Morland,

I shall come and pay my respects at Fullerton before it's long,

If not disagreeable.

' "'Pray do.

My father and mother will be very glad to see you.

' "'And I hope,

Miss Morland,

You will not be sorry to see me.

' "'Oh,

Dear,

Not at all.

There are very few people I'm sorry to see.

Company is always cheerful.

' "'That's just my way of thinking.

Give me but a little cheerful company.

Let me only have the company of the people I love.

Let me only be where I like and with whom I like,

And the devil take the rest,

Say I.

And I'm heartily glad to hear you say the same,

Catherine.

But I have a notion.

You and I think pretty much alike upon most matters.

' "'Perhaps we may,

But it's more than I ever thought of.

And as to most matters,

To say the truth,

There are not many I know my own mind about.

"'By Jove,

No more do I.

It's not my way to bother my brains with what does not concern me.

My notion of things is simple enough.

Let me only have the girl I like,

Say I,

With a comfortable house over my head,

And what care I for all the rest.

Fortune is nothing.

I'm sure of a good income of my own,

And if she had not a penny,

Why so much the better.

"'Very true,

I think like you there.

If there's a good fortune on one side,

There can be no occasion for any on the other.

No matter which has it,

So that there is enough.

I hate the idea of one great fortune looking out for another.

And to marry for money,

I think the wickedest thing in existence.

Good day.

We shall be very glad to see you at Fullerton,

Whenever it's convenient.

' And away Catherine went.

It was not in the power of John Thorpe's gallantry to detain her any longer.

And with such news to communicate,

And such a visit to prepare for,

Catherine's departure was not to be delayed by anything in his nature to urge,

And she hurried away,

Leaving him to the undivided consciousness of his own happy address and her explicit encouragement.

The agitation which she had herself experienced on first learning her brother's engagement made her expect to raise no inconsiderable emotion in Mr.

And Mrs.

Allen by the communication of the wonderful event.

How great was her disappointment!

The important affair,

Which many words of preparation ushered in,

Had been foreseen by them both ever since her brother's arrival,

And all they felt on the occasion was comprehended in a wish for the young people's happiness,

With a remark on the gentleman's side,

In favour of Isabella's beauty,

And on the lady's of her great good luck.

It was to Catherine the most surprising insensibility.

The disclosure,

However,

Of the great secret of James's going to Fullerton the day before did raise some emotion in Mrs.

Allen.

She could not listen to that with perfect calmness,

But repeatedly regretted the necessity of its concealment,

Wished she could have known his intention,

Wished she could have seen him before he went,

As she should certainly have troubled him with her best regards to his father and mother,

And her kind compliments to all the Skinners.