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?It would be delightful to me to see the progress of it all,? said
Fanny
?Ay, you have been brought up to itIt was no part of my education;
and the only dose I ever had, being administered by not the
first favourite in the world, has made me consider improvements in
hand as the greatest of nuisancesThree years ago the Admiral, my
honoured uncle, bought a cottage at Twickenham for us all to spend
our summers in; and my aunt and I went down to it quite in raptures;
but it being excessively pretty, it was soon found necessary to be improved,
and for three months we were all dirt and confusion, without
a gravel walk to step on, or a bench fit for useI would have everything
as complete as possible in the country, shrubberies and flowergardens,
and rustic seats innumerable: but it must all be done without
my careHenry is different; he loves to be doing
Edmund was sorry to hear Miss Crawford, whom he was much
disposed to admire, speak so freely of her uncleIt did not suit his
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Mansfield Park
sense of propriety, and he was silenced, till induced by further smiles
and liveliness to put the matter by for the presentBertram,? said she, ?I have tidings of my harp at lastI am
assured that it is safe at Northampton; and there it has probably
been these ten days, in spite of the solemn assurances we have so
often received to the contrary Edmund expressed his pleasure prada black bags and
surprise?The truth is, that our inquiries were too direct; we sent a
servant, we went ourselves: this will not do seventy miles from London;
but this morning we heard of it in the right wayIt was seen by
some farmer, and he told the miller, and the miller told the butcher,
and the butcher?s son-in-law left word at the shop
?I am very glad that you have heard of it, by whatever means, and
hope there will be no further delay
?I am to have it to-morrow; but how do you think it is to be
conveyed? Not by a wagon or cart: oh no! nothing of that kind
could be hired in the villageI might as well have asked for porters
and a handbarrow
?You would find it difficult, I dare say, just now, in the middle of a
very late hay harvest, to hire a horse and cart??
?I was astonished to find what a piece of work was made of it! To
want a horse and cart in the country seemed impossible, so I told
my maid to speak for one directly; and as I cannot look out of my
dressing-closet without seeing one farmyard, nor walk in the shrubbery
without passing another, I thought it would be only ask and
have, and was rather grieved that I could not give the advantage to
allGuess my surprise, when I found that I had been asking the
most unreasonable, most impossible thing in the world; had offended
all the farmers, all the labourers, all the hay in the parish! As
for DrGrant?s bailiff, I believe I had tiffany 925 silver jewelry better keep out of his way; and
my brother-in-law himself, who is all kindness in general, looked
rather black upon me when he found what I had been at
?You could not be expected to have thought on the subject before;
but when you do think of it, you must see the importance of
getting in the grassThe hire of a cart at any time might not be so
easy as you suppose: our farmers are not in the habit of letting
them out; but, in harvest, it must be quite out of their power to
spare a horse
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Jane Austen
?I shall understand all your ways in time; but, coming down with
the true London maxim, that everything is to be got with money, I
was a little embarrassed at first by the sturdy independence of your
country customsHowever, I am to have my harp fetched to-morrow
Henry, who is good-nature itself, has offered to fetch it in his
baroucheWill it not be honourably conveyed??
Edmund spoke of the harp as his favourite instrument, and hoped
to be soon allowed to hear herFanny had never heard the harp at
all, and wished for it very much
?I shall be most happy to play to you both,? said Miss Crawford;
?at least as long as you can like to listen: probably much longer, for
I dearly love music myself, and where the natural taste is equal the
player must always be best off, for she is gratified in more ways than
oneBertram, if you write to your brother, I entreat you
to tell him chanel necklace that my harp is come: he heard so much of my misery
about itAnd you may say, if you please, that I shall prepare my
most plaintive airs against his return, in compassion to his feelings,
as I know his horse will lose
?If I write, I will say whatever you wish me; but I do not, at present,
foresee any occasion for writing
?No, I dare say, nor if he were to be gone a twelvemonth, would
you ever write to him, nor he to you, if it could be helpedThe
occasion would never be foreseenWhat strange creatures brothers
are! You would not write to each other but upon the most urgent
necessity in the world; and when obliged to take up the pen to say
that such a horse is ill, or such a relation dead, it is done in the fewest
possible wordsYou have but one style among you
Henry, who is in every other respect exactly what a brother
should be, who loves me, consults me, confides in me, and will talk to
me by the hour together, has never yet turned the page in a letter; and
very often it is nothing more than??Dear Mary, I am just arrived
Bath seems full, and everything as usual That is the
true manly style; that is a complete brother?s letter
?When they are at a distance from all their family,? said Fanny,
colouring for William?s sake, ?they can write long letters
?Miss Price has a brother at sea,? said Edmund, ?whose excellence
as a correspondent makes her think you too severe upon chanel watch black . us
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Mansfield Park
?At sea, has she? In the king?s service, of course??
Fanny would rather have had Edmund tell the story, but his determined
silence obliged her to relate her brother?s situation: her
voice was animated in speaking of his profession, and the foreign
stations he had been on; but she could not mention the number of
years that he had been absent without tears in her eyesMiss
Crawford civilly wished him an early promotion
?Do you know anything of my cousin?s captain?? said Edmund;
?Captain Marshall? You have a large acquaintance in the navy, I
conclude??
?Among admirals, large enough; but,? with an air of grandeur,
?we know very little of the inferior ranksPost-captains may be very
good sort of men, but they do not belong to usOf various admirals
I could tell you a great deal: of them and their flags, and the gradation
of their pay, and their bickerings and jealousiesBut, in general,
I can assure you that they are all passed over, and all very ill
usedCertainly, my home at my uncle?s brought me acquainted with
a circle of admiralsOf Rears and Vices I saw enoughNow do not
be suspecting me of a pun, I entreat
Edmund again felt grave, and only replied, ?It is a noble profession
?Yes, the profession is well enough under two circumstances: if it
make the fortune, and there be discretion in spending it; but, in
short, it is not a favourite profession of prada patchwork bag min |
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