@@@@@His great object was to be off as soon as
@@@@@His great object was to be
off as soon as possibleWhen Mansfield was considered, time was
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precious; and the state of his own mind made him find relief only in
motionIt was settled that he should order the carriage to the door
in half an hourFanny answered for their having breakfasted and
being quite ready in half an hourHe had already ate, and declined
staying for their mealHe would walk round the ramparts, and join
them with the carriageHe was gone again; glad to get away even
from Fanny
He looked very ill; evidently suffering under violent emotions,
which he was determined to suppressShe knew it must be so, but it
was terrible to her
The carriage came; and he entered the house again at the same
moment, just in time to spend a few minutes with the family, and
be a witness—but that he saw nothing—of the tranquil manner in
which the daughters were parted with, and just in time to prevent
their sitting down to the breakfast-table, which, by dint of much
unusual activity, was quite and completely ready as the carriage drove
from the doorFanny’s last meal in her father’s house was in character
with her first: she was dismissed from it as hospitably as she had
been welcomed
How her heart swelled with joy and gratitude as she passed the
barriers of Portsmouth, and how Susan’s face wore its broadest smiles,
may be easily conceivedSitting forwards, however, and screened by
her bonnet, those smiles were unseen
The journey was likely to be a silent oneEdmund’s deep sighs
often reached FannyHad he been alone with her, his heart must
have opened in spite of every resolution; but Susan’s presence drove
him quite into himself, and his attempts to talk on indifferent subjects
could never be long supported
Fanny watched him with never-failing solicitude, and sometimes
catching his eye, revived an affectionate smile, which comforted
her; but the first day’s journey passed without her hearing a word
from him on the subjects that were weighing him downThe next
morning produced a little moreJust before their setting out from
Oxford, while Susan was stationed at a window, in eager observation
of the departure of a large family from the inn, the other two
were standing by the fire; and Edmund, particularly struck by the
alteration in Fanny’s looks, and from his ignorance of the daily evils
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of her father’s house, attributing an undue share of the change, attributing
all to the recent event, took her hand, and said in a low,
but very expressive tone, “No wonder—you must feel it—you must
sufferHow a man who had once loved, could desert you! But yours—
your regard was new compared with——Fanny, think of me!”
The first division of their journey occupied a long day, and brought
them, almost knocked up, to Oxford; but the second was over at a
much earlier hourThey were in the environs of Mansfield long
before the usual dinner-time, and as they approached the beloved
place, the hearts of both sisters sank a littleFanny began to dread
the meeting with her aunts and Tom, under so dreadful a humiliation;
and Susan to feel with some anxiety, that all her best manners,
all her lately acquired knowledge of what was practised here, was on
the point of being called into actionVisions of good and ill breeding,
of old vulgarisms and new gentilities, were before her; and she
was meditating much upon silver forks, napkins, and finger-glasses
Fanny had been everywhere awake to the difference of the country
since February; but when they entered the Park her perceptions and
her pleasures were of the keenest sortIt was three months, full three
months, since her quitting it, and the change was from winter to
summe