“Yes, Mary,” said he, drawing her arm within his,...
“Yes, Mary,” said he, drawing her arm within his, and walking
along the sweep as if not knowing where he was: “I could not get
away sooner; Fanny looked so lovely! I am quite determined, Mary
My mind is entirely made upWill it astonish you? No: you must be
aware that I am quite determined to marry Fanny Price
The surprise was now complete; for, in spite of whatever his consciousness
might suggest, a suspicion of his having any such views
had never entered his sister’s imagination; and she looked so truly
the astonishment she felt, that he was obliged to repeat what he had
said, and more fully and more solemnlyThe conviction of his de254
Mansfield Park
termination once admitted, it was not unwelcomeThere was even
pleasure with the surpriseMary was in a state of mind to rejoice in
a connexion with the Bertram family, and to be not displeased with
her brother’s marrying a little beneath him
“Yes, Mary,” was Henry’s concluding assurance
You know with what idle designs I began; but this is the end of
themI have, I flatter myself, made no inconsiderable progress in
her affections; but my own are entirely fixed
“Lucky, lucky girl!” cried Mary, as soon as she could speak; “what
a match for her! My dearest Henry, this must be my first feeling; but
my second, which diamond gucci watch black you shall have as sincerely, is, that I approve your
choice from my soul, and foresee your happiness as heartily as I
wish and desire itYou will have a sweet little wife; all gratitude and
devotionExactly what you deserveWhat an amazing match for
her! MrsNorris often talks of her luck; what will she say now? The
delight of all the family, indeed! And she has some true friends in it!
How they will rejoice! But tell me all about it! Talk to me for ever
When did you begin to think seriously about her?”
Nothing could be more impossible than to answer such a question,
though nothing could be more agreeable than to have it asked
“How the pleasing plague had stolen on him” he could not say; and
before he had expressed the same sentiment with a little variation of
words three times over, his sister eagerly interrupted him with, “Ah,
my dear Henry, and this is what took you to London! This was your
business! You chose to consult the Admiral before you made up
your mind
But this he stoutly deniedHe knew his uncle too well to consult
him on any matrimonial schemeThe Admiral hated marriage, and
thought it never pardonable in a young man of independent fortune
“When Fanny is known to him,” continued Henry, “he will doat
on herShe is exactly the woman to do away every fendi handbag prejudice of such
a man as the Admiral, for she he would describe, if indeed he has
now delicacy of language enough to embody his own ideasBut till
it is absolutely settled—settled beyond all interference, he shall know
nothing of the matterNo, Mary, you are quite mistakenYou have
not discovered my business yet
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Jane Austen
“Well, well, I am satisfiedI know now to whom it must relate,
and am in no hurry for the restFanny Price! wonderful, quite wonderful!
That Mansfield should have done so much for—that you
should have found your fate in Mansfield! But you are quite right;
you could not have chosen betterThere is not a better girl in the
world, and you do not want for fortune; and as to her connexions,
they are more than goodThe Bertrams are undoubtedly some of
the first people in this countryShe is niece to Sir Thomas Bertram;
that will be enough for the world
What are your plans? Does she know her own happiness?”
“No
“What are you waiting for?”
“For—for very little more than opportunityMary, she is not like
her cousins; but I think I shall not ask in vainWere you even less pleasing—supposing her
not to love you already (of which, however, I can have little doubt)—
you would be safeThe gentleness and gratitude of her disposition
would secure her all replica prada fairy bag your own immediatelyFrom my soul I do not
think she would marry you without love; that is, if there is a girl in
the world capable of being uninfluenced by ambition, I can suppose
it her; but ask her to love you, and she will never have the heart
to refuse
As soon as her eagerness could rest in silence, he was as happy to
tell as she could be to listen; and a conversation followed almost as
deeply interesting to her as to himself, though he had in fact nothing
to relate but his own sensations, nothing to dwell on but Fanny’s
charmsFanny’s beauty of face and figure, Fanny’s graces of manner
and goodness of heart, were the exhaustless themeThe gentleness,
modesty, and sweetness of her character were warmly expatiated on;
that sweetness which makes so essential a part of every woman’s
worth in the judgment of man, that though he sometimes loves
where it is not, he can never believe it absentHer temper he had
good reason to depend on and to praiseHe had often seen it tried
Was there one of the family, excepting Edmund, who had not in
some way or other continually exercised her patience and forbearance?
Her affections were evidently strongTo see her with her
brother! What could more delightfully prove that the warmth of
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her heart was equal tiffany co bracelets to its gentleness? What could be more encouraging
to a man who had her love in view? Then, her understanding
was beyond every suspicion, quick and clear; and her manners were
the mirror of her own modest and elegant mind
Henry Crawford had too much sense not to feel the worth of good
principles in a wife, though he was too little accustomed to serious
reflection to know them by their proper name; but when he talked
of her having such a steadiness and regularity of conduct, such a
high notion of honour, and such an observance of decorum as might
warrant any man in the fullest dependence on her faith and integrity,
he expressed what was inspired by the knowledge of her being
well principled and religious
“I could so wholly and absolutely confide in her,” said he; “and
that is what I want
Well might his sister, believing as she really did that his opinion of
Fanny Price was scarcely beyond her merits, rejoice in her prospects
“The more I think of it,” she cried, “the more am I convinced that
you are doing quite right; and though I should never have selected
Fanny Price as the girl most likely to attach you, I am now persuaded
she is the very one to make you happyYour wicked project
upon her peace turns out a clever thought indeedYou will both
find your good in prada black bags