Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 104 Fanny's Misfortune and Shrewdness
Just a few days after this meeting, the news appeared in the newspaper: Mr. Thomas Palmer's wife gave birth to a son and heir safely.It was interesting and satisfying news, at least according to those closest relatives who had prior knowledge of the situation.

The importance of this event, which concerned Mrs. Jennings' happiness, caused her to temporarily alter her schedule, which also affected that of her young friends.Because Mrs. Jennings wanted to spend as much time with Charlotte as possible, she went to her house as soon as she got dressed early in the morning and came back late at night; and the Dashwood sisters were specially invited by the Middleton family. , spent every day in Rue Condit from morning to night.As far as comfort was concerned, they preferred to be at Mrs. Jennings's, at least all morning.However, it was inconvenient for them to go against everyone's wishes, so they insisted on making such a request.So their time was spent with Mrs. Middleton and Sister Steele.In fact, although they said that they wanted to find them as companions, they were actually not welcome.

The Miss Dashwoods are very intelligent people, and naturally they cannot be Mrs. Middleton's ideal companions.And the Miss Steeles looked upon them with even more envy, as intruding on their turf, and sharing in the kindness which they would have had to themselves.Although Mrs. Middleton was extremely polite to Eleanor and Marianne, she was far from liking them.Just because they flattered neither herself nor her children, she had no reason to think them agreeable.And they also like to read, which makes her think they are sarcastic.Although she may not know what sarcasm means, it doesn't matter, the word is just an accusation that everyone throws out every now and then.

Their presence is a constraint on both her and Lucy, not only restricting her idleness, but also restricting Lucy from doing her best.Lady Middleton felt a little ashamed of doing nothing in their presence; Lucy feared that they might despise her gallantry, which would have been perfectly handy for her in their absence.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 only one of them could give her a full account of the whole history of Marianne's love affair with Mr. Willoughby, she would feel herself adequately compensated, for not vacating the place.But this rapprochement was not without its problems: although she often showed Eleanor a look of pity for her sister, and more than once said in Marianne's presence that the heartless man was abominable, but Apart from triggering Eleanor's expression of indifference and Marianne's expression of disgust, it 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.She had nothing to do, therefore, but to amuse herself, if Sir John was going out to dinner.

These jealousies and dissatisfaction, however, aroused no suspicions from Mrs. Jennings, who found it a pleasant thing for the girls to be together.To congratulate her young friends every night on not having to spend so long with a stupid old woman.She stayed with them sometimes at Sir John's, and sometimes at her own.Wherever she was, however, she was bright, cheerful, and full of air.She attributed Charlotte's smooth recovery to her own careful attention, and she would have liked to tell a detailed and accurate account of Charlotte's situation, but Miss Steele was the only one who was willing to listen.But there was one thing that really didn't please me, and that was Mr. Palmer's usual notion that babies were all alike--that's not what a father would say.Though Mrs. Jennings was often able to perceive the likeness of the little fellow to every relative of both parents, she could not persuade his father to accept her opinion.She could not convince him that the little one was different from other children his own size; she could not even convince him of the simple opinion that this little one was the prettiest child in the world.

About this time an unfortunate incident befell Mrs. John Dashwood which I now relate.When her sister-in-law and Mrs. Jennings first visited her in Harley Street, it so happened that another friend of hers ended up visiting her - an event which, in itself, did not necessarily affect her. come to misfortune.But some people will take it for granted to get wrong views on the behavior of others, and judge the situation based on the phenomenon of scales and fragments.In this way, the happiness of people is always at the mercy of reality to a certain extent.For the present, the lady who came last, whose fancy was so far beyond the bounds of fact and possibility, had no sooner heard the names of the two Miss Dashwood, and knew that they were Mrs. Dashwood's sister-in-law, than she at once decided that They also now live in Harley Street.Because of this misunderstanding, she sent invitations a day or two later, inviting the two ladies and their brother and sister-in-law to a small concert at her house.It turned out to be a great inconvenience to Mrs. John Dashwood, who not only had to send a car to fetch the Dashwood sisters, but what was worse, she had to suppress her unhappiness and pretend to be Be affectionate to them.That was enough to upset her - who's to say they wouldn't look forward to hanging out with her a second time?Indeed, she has the right to refuse them at any time.But that's not enough, because when people decide to act in a way they know is wrong, you can only make them angry if you want them to take the right action.

Marianne had grown so used to going out every day to keep her appointments that it didn't matter to her whether she went out or not.She doesn't expect an iota of fun out of it, and often doesn't know where she's being taken until the very last moment.Even so, she kept silent and mechanically prepared for her appointment every night.

Marianne gradually became completely indifferent to dress and appearance, and made up her makeup casually.After Miss Steele came in, she could not help expressing her concern.In contrast, all the energy Marianne expended on her makeup was not half the energy that Miss Steel expended in considering Marianne's clothes in the five minutes after she came in.She observed everything carefully, was curious about everything, saw everything, asked everything, and she would never stop 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.She even hoped to find out how much Marianne spent on laundry each week and how much she spent on herself each year before they parted.Besides, she was always followed by a few words of flattery after such impolite cross-examinations.Notwithstanding her good intentions, Marianne thought it more impolite than anything else; for Miss Steele, having carefully investigated the price and style of her coat, the color of her shoes, and the style of her hair, said to her with almost certainty: " To be honest, you look very beautiful, and you will definitely conquer many men."

Freed by this encouragement, Marianne took leave of Miss Steele, and went down to her brother's carriage.It was only five minutes before the carriage stopped at the door, and they were ready to stop, and got in, although their punctuality was not to the liking of their sister-in-law, who had arrived at a friend's house before them, in the hope that they would be delayed.Though it might inconvenience the coachman, it would not inconvenience herself.

The evening's activities were not very exciting.As with any other concert, there are many people who can really appreciate the performance, and many people who don't know anything about it at all.And those performers were, as usual, regarded by themselves and their relatives as Britain's leading folk artists.

Elinor neither liked music nor pretended to, and she could look away from the grand piano without any scruples, look around at will, and didn't even care that the harp and cello were in front of her eyes, and she could look at whatever she liked in the room.As she looked around, she caught sight of one of the young lads, the same man who had bought toothpick boxes at Gray's.In an instant Elinor was aware that he was looking at her, and speaking affectionately to her brother.She was about to ask her brother what his name was, when they both came up to her, and Mr. John Dashwood introduced her to be Mr. Robert Ferrars.

He greeted Eleanor casually, with a sort of civility and casualness, and with a sort of bow of his head, he made it clear to her, as clearly as words, that he was the dandy Lucy had described to her.She would have been very glad if she had liked Edward not because of his good character, but because of his close relatives.Originally, the surly temper of his mother and sister had aroused her resentment, but now his brother's bow has pushed this resentment to the apex.However, when she was surprised by the different personalities of the two young people, she did not lose her humble and noble affection for the other because of the ignorance and conceit of one.Why they were so different, Robert explained to her himself in a quarter of an hour's conversation.As soon as he spoke of his brother, he regretted his extreme unsociability, which he thought really prevented him from being in the company of decent people.He freely admitted that this was not due to any lack of talent in his brother, but to his unfortunate private education.As for himself, although his talent may not be particularly superior, due to the advantage of going to a public school, he gets along with people more easily than anyone else.

"To be honest," he went on, "I don't think it's a big deal. When my mother is upset about it, I often say to her: 'My dear mother, take it easy. This misfortune is There is no way to recover, and it is all your own fault. Why didn’t you make up your own mind, and just believed your uncle Sir Robert’s words, and sent Edward to a private school at the most critical moment in his life? You only wanted him to be like me To Westminster, and not to Mr Pratt's, and all this could have been avoided.' That is how I have always looked at the matter, and my mother has fully realized her fault."

Elinor did not want to argue with him, for whatever she thought of the advantages of public schooling, she had never been satisfied with the fact that Edward had lived with Mr. Pratt.

"I think you live in Devonshire," went on Robert, "at a cottage near Dawlish."

Eleanor corrected him for the location, which seemed strange to him that someone should live in Devon and not be near Dawlish.Still, he praised houses like theirs.

"Personally," he said, "I am extremely fond of country houses. They are always so comfortable and elegant. If I had money to spare, I should buy a piece of land not far from London for myself. Build a house, and you can drive out of the city any time, and have a few friends to entertain. Whoever wants to build a house, I advise him to build a country house. My friend, Sir Cortland, came to me for advice that day. Three different plans by Bonomie were set before me, and I was asked to decide which was the best. I threw them all into the fire, and said: 'My dear Cortland, Don't use any of your shares, and build a cottage anyway.' I think that's how things ended up. Some people think that the villa is not very spacious and not very convenient. This is all a misunderstanding. Last month, I lived in my My friend Eliot's, near Dartford. Mrs. Eliot is giving a ball. 'But what to do?' said she. 'My dear Ferrars, please tell me what to do.' There isn't a single room in this country house for ten couples, and where is supper?" I saw at once that there was no difficulty, so I said: 'My dear Mrs Elliott, you need not trouble yourself. The room can accommodate eighteen couples without crowding; the card table can be placed in the drawing room; the study can be used for tea; Going down to the dining room, I found that there was just enough room for eighteen couples, and things were arranged exactly as I had imagined. So, you see, living in a country house is actually the same as living in the most spacious house, if one knows how to arrange it. Yes, any comfort can be enjoyed.”

Elinor agreed with all of this, and she thought it was useless to argue with such a person, it would be too flattering to him.

John Dashwood shared his elder sister's distaste for music, and was therefore absent-mindedly preoccupied with other things.He came up with an idea during the party, went home and told his wife to ask her permission.As Mrs. Dennison mistook his sisters as guests, it occurred to him at little expense or inconvenience to take them over for a real stay while Mrs. Jennings was absent--he was a A very conscientious man, in order to fully fulfill his promise to his father, it is absolutely necessary to take care of them.Fanny was startled at the suggestion.

"I suppose," said she, "that it must be an offense to Lady Middleton, for they are with her every day. Otherwise, I should be glad to do it. I always do, you know." Do my best to take care of them, as I have shown by taking them out this evening. But how can I take them away from Lady Middleton, as they are guests?"

Her husband saw no persuasiveness in her objection, but he listened to her with the utmost humility. "They have been in Condit Street for a week now, and Lady Middleton will not be surprised if they spend the same amount of time with such close relatives as we are."

Fanny paused for a moment, then pulled herself together, and said, "My dear, I would sincerely ask them if I could. But I just made up my mind to ask Sister Steele to stay for a few days. They're good girls who are very modest; and I think they should be entertained, because their uncle used to be so good to Edward. You know, we can have your sister in another year, and Sister Steele may not Going to town again. You're sure to like them. In fact, you know, you already like them, and my mother likes them too, and Harry has such a special fondness for them."

Mr. John Dashwood was persuaded.He saw that it was indeed necessary to invite Sisters Steele, and he thought it would be justified in his conscience to invite the sisters next year.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 Eleanor would be Colonel Bland's wife, and Marianne their guest. .

Mrs. Dashwood was glad that she had avoided unnecessary trouble, and she was proud of her quick wit.She wrote to Lucy next morning to ask her to come to Harley Street with her sister for a few days, as soon as Lady Middleton could part with her.This of course made Lucy very happy.It seemed that Mrs. John Dashwood was really doing her favors, nurturing all her hopes, and promoting all her intentions!Nothing could have meant more to her than this opportunity to be with Edward and his family, and nothing could have pleased her more than this invitation!It was a great thing that she was grateful for and could not wait for.Although she originally had no definite time limit for being a guest at Mrs. Middleton's house, but now she suddenly found that she seemed to have planned to stay for two days before leaving.

Within ten minutes of receiving the letter, Lucy took it to Eleanor to show her.After reading it, Eleanor felt for the first time that Lucy really had some hope.However, after a few days of acquaintance, Lucy has received such extraordinary love. It seems that sister-in-law's kindness to Lucy is not entirely out of malice towards herself. If they are more courteous, they talk to each other, and Lucy can be called happy.Lucy's flattery had conquered Lady Middleton's arrogance, and had opened a channel in Mrs. John Dashwood's locked heart, so that Lucy, too, might succeed more.

The Miss Steeles moved to Harley Street, where they were greatly favored.The news reached Eleanor's ears, which further strengthened her sense of anticipation for the good omen.Sir John called on them more than once, and when he came back he always said how favored they were, which surprised everyone.Mrs. Dashwood never liked any young girls so much in her life as she liked them.She gave them sewing boxes made by immigrants and referred to her directly by Lucy's Christian name.From this point of view, it is really uncertain whether Fanny will be willing to leave them in the future.

(End of this chapter)