首页 >出版文学> Mansfield Parkby>第71章

第71章

  Youforgetyourself:thereisadecideddifferenceinyourtempers,Iallow。Heislively,youareserious;
  butsomuchthebetter:hisspiritswillsupportyours。
  Itisyourdispositiontobeeasilydejectedandtofancydifficultiesgreaterthantheyare。Hischeerfulnesswillcounteractthis。Heseesdifficultiesnowhere:
  andhispleasantnessandgaietywillbeaconstantsupporttoyou。Yourbeingsofarunlike,Fanny,doesnotinthesmallestdegreemakeagainsttheprobabilityofyourhappinesstogether:donotimagineit。Iammyselfconvincedthatitisratherafavourablecircumstance。
  Iamperfectlypersuadedthatthetempershadbetterbeunlike:
  Imeanunlikeintheflowofthespirits,inthemanners,intheinclinationformuchorlittlecompany,inthepropensitytotalkortobesilent,tobegraveortobegay。
  Someoppositionhereis,Iamthoroughlyconvinced,friendlytomatrimonialhappiness。Iexcludeextremes,ofcourse;andaverycloseresemblanceinallthosepointswouldbethelikeliestwaytoproduceanextreme。
  Acounteraction,gentleandcontinual,isthebestsafeguardofmannersandconduct。“
  FullwellcouldFannyguesswherehisthoughtswerenow:
  MissCrawford’spowerwasallreturning。Hehadbeenspeakingofhercheerfullyfromthehourofhiscominghome。
  Hisavoidingherwasquiteatanend。HehaddinedattheParsonageonlytheprecedingday。
  Afterleavinghimtohishappierthoughtsforsomeminutes,Fanny,feelingitduetoherself,returnedtoMr。Crawford,andsaid,“Itisnotmerelyin_temper_thatIconsiderhimastotallyunsuitedtomyself;though,in_that_
  respect,Ithinkthedifferencebetweenustoogreat,infinitelytoogreat:hisspiritsoftenoppressme;
  butthereissomethinginhimwhichIobjecttostillmore。
  Imustsay,cousin,thatIcannotapprovehischaracter。
  Ihavenotthoughtwellofhimfromthetimeoftheplay。
  Ithensawhimbehaving,asitappearedtome,soveryimproperlyandunfeelingly——Imayspeakofitnowbecauseitisallover——soimproperlybypoorMr。Rushworth,notseemingtocarehowheexposedorhurthim,andpayingattentionstomycousinMaria,which——inshort,atthetimeoftheplay,Ireceivedanimpressionwhichwillneverbegotover。“
  “MydearFanny,“repliedEdmund,scarcelyhearinghertotheend,“letusnot,anyofus,bejudgedbywhatweappearedatthatperiodofgeneralfolly。ThetimeoftheplayisatimewhichIhatetorecollect。Mariawaswrong,Crawfordwaswrong,wewereallwrongtogether;butnonesowrongasmyself。Comparedwithme,alltherestwereblameless。Iwasplayingthefoolwithmyeyesopen。“
  “Asabystander,“saidFanny,“perhapsIsawmorethanyoudid;andIdothinkthatMr。Rushworthwassometimesveryjealous。“
  “Verypossibly。Nowonder。Nothingcouldbemoreimproperthanthewholebusiness。IamshockedwheneverIthinkthatMariacouldbecapableofit;but,ifshecouldundertakethepart,wemustnotbesurprisedattherest。“
  “Beforetheplay,Iammuchmistakenif_Julia_didnotthinkhewaspayingherattentions。
  “Julia!IhaveheardbeforefromsomeoneofhisbeinginlovewithJulia;butIcouldneverseeanythingofit。
  And,Fanny,thoughIhopeIdojusticetomysisters’
  goodqualities,Ithinkitverypossiblethattheymight,oneorboth,bemoredesirousofbeingadmiredbyCrawford,andmightshewthatdesirerathermoreunguardedlythanwasperfectlyprudent。Icanrememberthattheywereevidentlyfondofhissociety;andwithsuchencouragement,amanlikeCrawford,lively,anditmaybe,alittleunthinking,mightbeledonto——therecouldbenothingverystriking,becauseitisclearthathehadnopretensions:hisheartwasreservedforyou。AndImustsay,thatitsbeingforyouhasraisedhiminconceivablyinmyopinion。
  Itdoeshimthehighesthonour;itshewshisproperestimationoftheblessingofdomestichappinessandpureattachment。
  Itproveshimunspoiltbyhisuncle。Itproveshim,inshort,everythingthatIhadbeenusedtowishtobelievehim,andfearedhewasnot。“
  “Iampersuadedthathedoesnotthink,asheought,onserioussubjects。“
  “Say,rather,thathehasnotthoughtatalluponserioussubjects,whichIbelievetobeagooddealthecase。
  Howcoulditbeotherwise,withsuchaneducationandadviser?
  Underthedisadvantages,indeed,whichbothhavehad,isitnotwonderfulthattheyshouldbewhattheyare?
  Crawford’s_feelings_,Iamreadytoacknowledge,havehithertobeentoomuchhisguides。Happily,thosefeelingshavegenerallybeengood。Youwillsupplytherest;andamostfortunatemanheistoattachhimselftosuchacreature——
  toawomanwho,firmasarockinherownprinciples,hasagentlenessofcharactersowelladaptedtorecommendthem。
  Hehaschosenhispartner,indeed,withrarefelicity。
  Hewillmakeyouhappy,Fanny;Iknowhewillmakeyouhappy;
  butyouwillmakehimeverything。“
  “Iwouldnotengageinsuchacharge,“criedFanny,inashrinkingaccent;“insuchanofficeofhighresponsibility!“
  “Asusual,believingyourselfunequaltoanything!
  fancyingeverythingtoomuchforyou!Well,thoughI
  maynotbeabletopersuadeyouintodifferentfeelings,youwillbepersuadedintothem,Itrust。
  Iconfessmyselfsincerelyanxiousthatyoumay。
  IhavenocommoninterestinCrawford’swell-doing。Nexttoyourhappiness,Fanny,hishasthefirstclaimonme。
  YouareawareofmyhavingnocommoninterestinCrawford。“
  Fannywastoowellawareofittohaveanythingtosay;
  andtheywalkedontogethersomefiftyyardsinmutualsilenceandabstraction。Edmundfirstbeganagain——
  “Iwasverymuchpleasedbyhermannerofspeakingofityesterday,particularlypleased,becauseIhadnotdependeduponherseeingeverythinginsojustalight。
  Iknewshewasveryfondofyou;butyetIwasafraidofhernotestimatingyourworthtoherbrotherquiteasitdeserved,andofherregrettingthathehadnotratherfixedonsomewomanofdistinctionorfortune。
  Iwasafraidofthebiasofthoseworldlymaxims,whichshehasbeentoomuchusedtohear。Butitwasverydifferent。
  Shespokeofyou,Fanny,justassheought。Shedesirestheconnexionaswarmlyasyouruncleormyself。
  Wehadalongtalkaboutit。Ishouldnothavementionedthesubject,thoughveryanxioustoknowhersentiments;
  butIhadnotbeenintheroomfiveminutesbeforeshebeganintroducingitwithallthatopennessofheart,andsweetpeculiarityofmanner,thatspiritandingenuousnesswhicharesomuchapartofherself。Mrs。Grantlaughedatherforherrapidity。“
  “WasMrs。Grantintheroom,then?“
  “Yes,whenIrea(丁香书院小说)chedthehouseIfoundthetwosisterstogetherbythemselves;andwhenoncewehadbegun,wehadnotdonewithyou,Fanny,tillCrawfordandDr。Grantcamein。“
  “ItisaboveaweeksinceIsawMissCrawford。“
  “Yes,shelamentsit;yetownsitmayhavebeenbest。
  Youwillseeher,however,beforeshegoes。Sheisveryangrywithyou,Fanny;youmustbepreparedforthat。
  Shecallsherselfveryangry,butyoucanimagineheranger。
  Itistheregretanddisappointmentofasister,whothinksherbrotherhasarighttoeverythinghemaywishfor,atthefirstmoment。Sheishurt,asyouwouldbeforWilliam;butshelovesandesteemsyouwithallherheart。“
  “Iknewshewouldbeveryangrywithme。“
  “MydearestFanny,“criedEdmund,pressingherarmclosertohim,“donotlettheideaofherangerdistressyou。
  Itisangertobetalkedofratherthanfelt。Herheartismadeforloveandkindness,notforresentment。
  Iwishyoucouldhaveoverheardhertributeofpraise;
  Iwishyoucouldhaveseenhercountenance,whenshesaidthatyou_should_beHenry’swife。AndIobservedthatshealwaysspokeofyouas’Fanny,’whichshewasneverusedtodo;
  andithadasoundofmostsisterlycordiality。“