10/11 Sense And Sensibility - Stephanie Poppins

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Chapter 10 Marianne's preserver called at the cottage early the next morning to make his personal enquiries.

He was received by Mrs Dashwood with a kindness which her own gratitude prompted,

And everything that passed during the visit tended to assure him of the sense,

Elegance,

Mutual affection and domestic comfort of the family to whom accident had now introduced him.

Of their personal charms he had not required a second interview to be convinced.

Miss Dashwood had a delicate complexion,

Regular features and a remarkably pretty figure.

Marianne was still handsomer.

Her face was so lovely that when in the common cant of praise she was called a beautiful girl,

Truth was less violently outraged than usually happens.

Her features were all good.

Her smile was sweet and attractive,

And in her eyes,

Which were very dark,

There was a life,

A spirit,

An eagerness which could hardly be seen without delight.

From Willoughby their expression was first held back by the embarrassment which the remembrance of his assistance created.

But when this passed away,

When her spirits became collected,

When she saw that to the perfect good breeding of a gentleman he united frankness and vivacity,

And above all,

When she heard him declare that of music and dancing he was passionately fond,

She gave him such a look of approbation as secured the largest share of his discourse to herself for the rest of his stay.

They speedily discovered their enjoyment of dancing and music was mutual.

Encouraged by this to a further examination of his opinions,

She proceeded to question him on the subject of books.

Their taste was strikingly alike,

Or if any difference appeared,

Any objection arose,

It lasted no longer than till the force of her arguments and the brightness of her eyes could be displayed.

He acquiesced in all her decisions,

Caught all her enthusiasm,

And long before his visit concluded,

They conversed with familiarity of a long-established acquaintance.

Well,

Marianne,

Said Eleanor as soon as he had left them,

For one morning I think you've done pretty well.

You've already ascertained Mr.

Willoughby's opinion in almost every manner of importance,

But how is your acquaintance to be long supported under such extraordinary dispatch of every subject?

You will soon have exhausted each favourite topic.

Eleanor,

Cried Marianne,

Are my ideas so scanty?

But I see what you mean.

I have been too much at my ease,

Too happy,

Too frank.

I have been open and sincere where I ought to have been reserved,

Spiritless,

Dull and deceitful.

My love,

Said her mother,

You must not be offended with Eleanor,

She was only in jest.

I should scold her myself if she were capable of wishing to check the delight of your conversation with our new friend.

Willoughby gave every proof of his pleasure in their acquaintance,

Which an evident wish of improving it could offer.

He came to them every day.

He was a young man of good abilities,

Quick imagination,

Lively spirits,

And open,

Affectionate manners.

He was exactly formed to engage Marianne's heart,

For with all this he joined not only a captivating person,

But a natural ardour of mind which was now roused and increased by the example of her own,

And which recommended him to her affection beyond everything else.

In Mrs Dashwood's estimation,

He was as faultless as in Marianne's,

And Eleanor saw nothing to censure in him,

But a propensity of saying too much what he thought on every occasion,

Without attention to persons or circumstances.

In hastily forming and giving his opinion of other people,

In sacrificing general politeness to the enjoyment of undivided attention where his heart was engaged,

He displayed a want of caution which Eleanor could not approve.

Marianne began now to perceive that the desperation which had seized her at sixteen and a half of ever seeing a man who could satisfy her ideas of perfection had been rash and unjustifiable.

Willoughby was all that her fancy had delineated in that unhappy hour,

And every brighter period as capable of attaching her,

And his behaviour declared his wishes to be in that respect as earnest as his abilities were strong.

Her mother too,

In whose mind not one speculative thought of their marriage had been raised by his prospect of riches,

Was led before the end of the week to hope and expect it.

Colonel Brandon's partiality for Marianne now first became perceptible to Eleanor when it ceased to be noticed by them.

She was obliged,

Though unwillingly,

To believe that the sentiments with which Mrs Jennings assigned him for her own satisfaction were now actually excited by her sister.

She saw it with concern,

For what could a silent man of five-and-thirty hope when opposed by a very lively one of five-and-twenty?

She liked him in spite of his gravity and reserve,

She beheld him an object of interest.

His manners,

Though serious,

Were mild,

And his reserve appeared rather the result of some oppression of spirits than of any natural gloominess of temper.

Perhaps she pitied and esteemed him the more because he was slighted by Willoughby and Marianne,

Who,

Prejudiced against him for being neither lively nor young,

Seemed resolved to undervalue his merits.

"'Brandon is just the kind of man,

' said Willoughby one day,

"'whom everybody speaks well of and nobody cares about.

' "'That is exactly what I think of him,

' cried Marianne.

' "'Do not boast of it,

However,

' said Eleanor,

"'for it's injustice in both of you.

"'He's highly esteemed by all the family at the park,

"'and I never see him myself without taking pains to converse with him.

' "'That he is patronised by you,

' replied Willoughby,

"'is certainly in his favour,

But as for the esteem of the others,

"'it's a reproach in itself.

"'Who would submit to the indignity of being approved "'by such women as Lady Middleton and Mrs Jennings "'that could command the indifference of anybody else?

' "'But perhaps the abuse of such people as yourself and Marianne "'will make amends for the regard of Lady Middleton and her mother.

"'If their praise is censure,

Your censure may be praise,

"'for they're not more undiscerning than you are prejudiced and unjust.

"'In defence of your protégé,

You can even be saucy.

"'My protégé,

As you call him,

"'he's a sensible man and sense will always have attractions for me.

"'He has seen a great deal of the world,

Has been abroad,

"'has read and has a thinking mind.

"'I have found him capable of giving me much information on various subjects "'and he has always answered my enquiries with good nature.

' "'That is to say,

' cried Marianne contemptuously,

"'he's told you that in the East Indies the climate's hot and mosquitoes are troublesome.

' "'Perhaps,

' said Willoughby,

"'his observations may have extended to the existence of nabobs,

Gold moors and palanquins.

"'I may venture to say that his observations have stretched much further than your candour,

"'but why should you dislike him?

' "'I do not dislike him.

"'I consider him,

On the contrary,

As a very respectable man "'who has more money than he can spend and more time than he knows how to employ.

' "'Add to which,

' cried Marianne,

"'that he has neither genius,

Taste nor spirit.

' "'You decide on his imperfection so much in the mass,

' replied Eleanor,

"'that the commendation I am to give of him is comparatively cold and insipid.

"'I can only pronounce him to be a sensible man,

Well-bred,

Well-informed,

Of gentler dress,

"'and I believe possessing an amiable heart.

' "'Miss Dashwood,

' cried Willoughby,

"'you are endeavouring to disarm me by reason,

But it will not do.

"'You shall find me as stubborn as you can be artful.

"'I have three unanswerable reasons for disliking Colonel Brandon.

"'He has threatened me with rain when I wanted it to be fine.

"'He has found fault with the hanging of my curricle,

"'and I cannot persuade him to buy my brown mare.

"'If it will be any satisfaction to you,

However,

"'to be told that I believe his character to be in other respects inapproachable,

"'I am ready to confess it.

"'And in return for an acknowledgement,

Which must give me some pain,

"'you cannot deny me the privilege of disliking him as much as ever.

'" Chapter 11 Little had Mrs Dashwood or her daughters imagined,

When they first came into Devonshire,

That so many engagements would arise to occupy their time.

When Marianne was recovered,

The schemes of amusement at home and abroad,

Which Sir John had been previously forming,

Were put in execution.

The private balls at the park then began.

Willoughby was included,

And the ease and familiarity which naturally attended these parties were exactly calculated to give increasing intimacy to his acquaintance with the Dashwoods,

To afford him opportunity of witnessing the excellencies of Marianne and of receiving,

In her behaviour to himself,

The most pointed assurance of her affection.

Eleanor could only wish that it was less openly shown,

And once or twice did venture to suggest the propriety of some self-command to Marianne.

But Marianne abhorred all concealment,

Where no real disgrace could attend unreserved.

Willoughby thought the same,

And their behaviour,

At all times,

Was an illustration of their opinions.

When he was present,

She had eyes for no one else.

Everything he did was right,

Everything he said was clever.

If their evenings at the park were concluded with cards,

He cheated himself and all the rest of the party to get her a good hand.

If dancing formed the amusement of the night,

They were partners for half the time,

And when obliged to separate for a couple of dances,

They were careful to stand together and scarcely spoke a word to anybody else.

This was the season of happiness to Marianne.

Her heart was devoted to Willoughby,

And the fond attachment to Norland was more likely to be softened than she had thought it possible before the charms which his society bestowed on her present home.

Eleanor's happiness was not so great.

Her heart was not so much at ease,

Nor her satisfaction in their amusement so pure.

They afforded her no companion that could make amends for what she had left behind.

Neither Lady Middleton nor Mrs Jennings could supply to her the conversation she missed,

Although the latter was an everlasting talker.

Lady Middleton was more agreeable than her mother,

Only in being more silent.

Eleanor needed little observation to perceive that her reserve was a mere calmness of manner with which sense had nothing to do.

Her insipidity was invariable,

And though she did not oppose the parties arranged by her husband,

Provided everything were conducted in style and her two eldest children attended her,

She never appeared to receive more enjoyment from them than she might have experienced in sitting at home.

In Colonel Brandon alone,

Of all her new acquaintance,

Did Eleanor find a person who could give pleasure as a companion?

Willoughby was out of the question.

Her admiration and regard,

Even her sisterly regard,

Were all his own.

But he was a lover.

His attentions were wholly Marianne's.

Colonel Brandon,

Unfortunately for himself,

Had no such encouragement to think only of Marianne,

And in conversing with Eleanor,

He found the greatest consolation for the total indifference of her sister.

Eleanor's compassion for him increased.

As she had reason to suspect,

The misery of disappointed love had already been known by him.

This suspicion was given some words which accidentally dropped from him one evening at the park when they were sitting down together by mutual consent while the others were dancing.

His eyes were fixed on Marianne,

And after a silence of some minutes,

He said with a faint smile,

Your sister,

I understand,

Does not approve of second attachments?

No,

Replied Eleanor,

Her opinions are all romantic.

Or rather,

As I believe,

She considers them impossible to exist.

I believe she does.

A few years,

However,

Will settle her opinions on the reasonable basis of common sense and observation,

And then they may be more easy to define and to justify than they are now,

By anybody but herself.

This will probably be the case,

He replied.

And yet there is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of a more general opinion.

I cannot agree with you there,

Said Eleanor.

There are inconveniences attending such feelings as Marianne's which all the charms of enthusiasm and ignorance of the world cannot atone for.

After a short pause,

He resumed the conversation by saying,

Does your sister make no distinction in her objections against a second attachment?

Or is it equally criminal in everybody?

Are those who have been disappointed in their first choice,

Whether from the inconstancy of its object or the perverseness of circumstances,

To be equally indifferent during the rest of their lives?

Upon my word,

I am not acquainted with the minutia of her principles.

I only know that I never heard her admit any instance of a second attachment being pardonable.

This,

Said he,

Cannot hold.

But a change of sentiments?

No,

No,

Do not desire it,

For when the romantic refinements of a young mind are obliged to give way,

How frequently are they succeeded by such opinions as are but too common.

I speak from experience.

I once knew a lady who in temper and mind greatly resembled your sister,

Who thought and judged like her,

But who from an enforced change,

From any series of unfortunate circumstances.

Here he stopped suddenly,

To think that he had said too much,

And by his countenance gave rise to conjectures which might not otherwise have entered Eleanor's head.

The lady would probably have passed without suspicion,

Had he not convinced Miss Dashwood that what concerned her ought not to escape his lips.

As it was,

It required but a slight effort of fancy to connect his emotion with a tender recollection of past regard.