“I have no hope there, FannyIf they persist in... “I have no hope there, FannyIf they persist in the scheme, they
will find somethingI shall speak to my sisters and try to dissuade
them, and that is all I can do
“I should think my aunt Norris would be on your side
“I dare say she would, but she has no influence with either Tom or
my sisters that could be of any use; and if I cannot convince them
myself, I shall let things take their course, without attempting it
through herFamily squabbling is the greatest evil of all, and we had
better do anything than be altogether by the ears
His sisters, to whom he had an opportunity of speaking the next
morning, were quite as impatient of his advice, quite as unyielding
to his representation, quite as determined in the cause of pleasure,
as TomTheir mother had no objection to the plan, and they were
not in the least afraid of their father’s disapprobationThere could
be no harm in what had been done in so many respectable families,
and by so many women of the first consideration; and it must be
scrupulousness run mad that could see anything to censure in a
plan like theirs, comprehending only brothers and sisters and intimate
friends, and which would never be heard of beyond them114
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selvesJulia did seem inclined to admit that Maria’s situation might
require particular caution and delicacy—but that
mulberry leather bag could not extend
to her—she was at liberty; and Maria evidently considered her engagement
as only raising her so much more above restraint, and
leaving her less occasion than Julia to consult either father or mother
Edmund had little to hope, but he was still urging the subject when
Henry Crawford entered the room, fresh from the Parsonage, calling
out, “No want of hands in our theatre, Miss BertramNo want
of understrappers: my sister desires her love, and hopes to be admitted
into the company, and will be happy to take the part of any old
duenna or tame confidante, that you may not like to do yourselves
Maria gave Edmund a glance, which meant, “What say you now?
Can we be wrong if Mary Crawford feels the same?” And Edmund,
silenced, was obliged to acknowledge that the charm of acting might
well carry fascination to the mind of genius; and with the ingenuity
of love, to dwell more on the obliging, accommodating purport of
the message than on anything elseOpposition was vain; and as to MrsNorris,
he was mistaken in supposing she would wish to make anyShe
started no difficulties that were not talked down in five minutes by
her eldest nephew and niece, who were all-powerful with her; and
as the whole arrangement was to bring very little expense to anybody,
and none at all to herself, as she foresaw in it all the
vintage chanel jewelry comforts
of hurry, bustle, and importance, and derived the immediate advantage
of fancying herself obliged to leave her own house, where
she had been living a month at her own cost, and take up her abode
in theirs, that every hour might be spent in their service, she was, in
fact, exceedingly delighted with the project
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CHAPTER XIV
FANNY SEEMED nearer being right than Edmund had supposedThe
business of finding a play that would suit everybody proved to be
no trifle; and the carpenter had received his orders and taken his
measurements, had suggested and removed at least two sets of difficulties,
and having made the necessity of an enlargement of plan
and expense fully evident, was already at work, while a play was still
to seekOther preparations were also in handAn enormous roll of
green baize had arrived from Northampton, and been cut out by
MrsNorris (with a saving by her good management of full threequarters
of a yard), and was actually forming into a curtain by the
housemaids, and still the play was wanting; and as two or three days
passed away in this manner, Edmund began almost to hope that
none might ever be found
There were, in fact, so many things to be attended to, so many
people to be pleased, so many best characters required, and, above
all, such a need that the play should be at
cartier pasha watch once both tragedy and
comedy, that there did seem as little chance of a decision as anything
pursued by youth and zeal could hold out
On the tragic side were the Miss Bertrams, Henry Crawford, and
MrYates; on the comic, Tom Bertram, not quite alone, because it
was evident that Mary Crawford’s wishes, though politely kept back,
inclined the same way: but his determinateness and his power seemed
to make allies unnecessary; and, independent of this great irreconcilable
difference, they wanted a piece containing very few characters
in the whole, but every character first-rate, and three principal
womenAll the best plays were run over in vainNeither Hamlet,
nor Macbeth, nor Othello, nor Douglas, nor The Gamester, presented
anything that could satisfy even the tragedians; and The Rivals,
The School for Scandal, Wheel of Fortune, Heir at Law, and a
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long et cetera, were successively dismissed with yet warmer objections
No piece could be proposed that did not supply somebody
with a difficulty, and on one side or the other it was a continual
repetition of, “Oh no, that will never do! Let us have no ranting
tragediesNot a tolerable woman’s part in the
playAnything but that, my dear TomIt would be impossible to fill
it upOne could not expect anybody to take such a partNothing
but buffoonery from
prada china beginning to endThat might do, perhaps,
but for the low partsIf I must give my opinion, I have always thought
it the most insipid play in the English languageI do not wish to
make objections; I shall be happy to be of any use, but I think we
could not chuse worse
Fanny looked on and listened, not unamused to observe the selfishness
which, more or less disguised, seemed to govern them all,
and wondering how it would endFor her own gratification she
could have wished that something might be acted, for she had never
seen even half a play, but everything of higher consequence was
against it
“This will never do,” said Tom Bertram at last“We are wasting
time most abominablySomething must be fixed onNo matter
what, so that something is chosenWe must not be so niceA few
characters too many must not frighten us
We must descend a littleIf a part is insignificant, the greater our
credit in making anything of itFrom this moment I make no difficulties
I take any part you chuse to give me, so as it be comicLet it
but be comic, I condition for nothing more
For about the fifth time he then proposed the Heir at Law, doubting
only whether to prefer Lord Duberley or DrPangloss for himself;
and very earnestly, but very unsuccessfully, trying to persuade the
others that there were some fine tragic parts in the rest of the
tiffany diamond dramatis
pers