Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen of Persuasion. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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Speaker 1: Elizabeth Klett Persuasion by Jane Austen, chapter seventeen. While Sir
Speaker 1: Walter and Elizabeth were assiduously pushing their good fortune in
Speaker 1: law place, Anne was renewing an acquaintance of a very
Speaker 1: different description. She had called on her former governess and
Speaker 1: had heard from her of there being an old schoolfellow
Speaker 1: in Bath who had the two strong claims on her
Speaker 1: attention of past kindness and present suffering. Miss Hamilton, now
Speaker 1: missus Smith, had shown her kindness in one of those
Speaker 1: periods of her life when it had been most valuable.
Speaker 1: Anne had gone unhappy to school, grieving for the loss
Speaker 1: of a mother whom she had dearly loved, feeling her
Speaker 1: separation from home, and suffering as a girl of fourteen
Speaker 1: of strong sensibility and not high spirits must suffer at
Speaker 1: such a time. And Miss Hamilton, three years older than herself,
Speaker 1: but still from the want of near relations in a
Speaker 1: settled home, remaining another year at school, had been useful
Speaker 1: and good to her in a way which had considerably
Speaker 1: lessened her misery, and could never be remembered with indifference.
Speaker 1: Miss Hamilton had left school, had married not long afterwards,
Speaker 1: was said to have married a man of fortune. And
Speaker 1: this was all that Anne had known of her till
Speaker 1: now that their governess's account brought her situation forward in
Speaker 1: a more decided, but very different form. She was a
Speaker 1: widow and poor. Her husband had been extravagant, and at
Speaker 1: his death about two years before, had left his affairs
Speaker 1: dreadfully involved. She had had difficulties of every sort to
Speaker 1: contend with, and in addition to these distresses, had been
Speaker 1: afflicted with a severe rheumatic fever, which, finally settling in
Speaker 1: her legs, had made her for the present a cripple.
Speaker 1: She had come to Bath on that account, and was
Speaker 1: now in lodgings near the hot baths, living in a
Speaker 1: very humble way, unable even to afford herself the comfort
Speaker 1: of a servant, and of course almost excluded from society.
Speaker 1: Their mutual friend answered for the satisfaction which a visit
Speaker 1: from miss Elliot would give missus Smith, and Anne therefore
Speaker 1: lost no time in going. She mentioned nothing of what
Speaker 1: she had heard or what she intended at home, It
Speaker 1: would excite no proper interest. There she only consulted Lady Russell,
Speaker 1: who entered thoroughly into her sentiments, and was most happy
Speaker 1: to convey her as near to missus Smith's lodgings in
Speaker 1: Westgate Buildings as Anne chose to be taken. The visit
Speaker 1: was paid. Their acquaintance re established their interest in each
Speaker 1: other more than rekindled. The first ten minutes had its
Speaker 1: awkwardness in its emotion. Twelve years were gone since they
Speaker 1: had parted, and each presented a somewhat different person from
Speaker 1: what the other had imagined. Twelve years had changed Anne
Speaker 1: from the blooming, silent, unformed girl fifteen to the elegant
Speaker 1: little woman of seven and twenty, with every beauty except bloom,
Speaker 1: and with manners as consciously right as they were invariably gentle.
Speaker 1: And twelve years had transformed the fine looking, well grown
Speaker 1: Miss Hamilton, in all the glow of health and confidence
Speaker 1: of superiority, into a poor, infirm, helpless widow receiving the
Speaker 1: visit of her former protegee as a favor. But all
Speaker 1: that was uncomfortable in the meeting had soon passed away.
Speaker 1: And left only the interesting charm of remembering former partialities
Speaker 1: and talking over old times. Anne found in Missus Smith
Speaker 1: the good sense and agreeable manners which she had almost
Speaker 1: ventured to depend on, and a disposition to converse and
Speaker 1: be cheerful beyond her expectation. Neither the dissipations of the past,
Speaker 1: and she had lived very much in the world, nor
Speaker 1: the restrictions of the present. Neither sickness nor sorrow seemed
Speaker 1: to have closed her heart or ruined her spirits. In
Speaker 1: the course of a second visit, she talked with great openness,
Speaker 1: and Anne's astonishment increased. She could scarcely imagine a more
Speaker 1: cheerless situation in itself than Missus Smith's. She had been
Speaker 1: very fond of her husband, she had buried him. She
Speaker 1: had been used to affluence. It was gone. She had
Speaker 1: no child to connect her with life and happiness again,
Speaker 1: no relations to assist in the arrangement of perplexed affairs,
Speaker 1: no health to make all the rest supportable. Her accommodations
Speaker 1: were limited to a noisy parlor and a dark bedroom behind,
Speaker 1: with no possibility of moving from one to the other
Speaker 1: without assistance, which there was only one servant in the
Speaker 1: house to afford, and she never quitted the house, but
Speaker 1: to be conveyed into the warm bath. Yet in spite
Speaker 1: of all this, Anne had reason to believe that she
Speaker 1: had moments only of languor and oppression, two hours of
Speaker 1: occupation and enjoyment. How could it be? She watched, observed, reflected,
Speaker 1: and finally determined that this was not a case of
Speaker 1: fortitude or resignation. Only a submissive spirit might be patient,
Speaker 1: a strong understanding would supply resolution. But here was some
Speaker 1: thing more. Here was that elasticity of mind, that disposition
Speaker 1: to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil
Speaker 1: to good, and of finding employment which carried her out
Speaker 1: of herself, which was from nature alone. It was the
Speaker 1: choicest gift of heaven. And Anne viewed her friend as
Speaker 1: one of those instances in which, by a merciful appointment,
Speaker 1: it seems designed to counterbalance almost every other want. There
Speaker 1: had been a time missus Smith told her, when her
Speaker 1: spirits had nearly failed, she could not call herself an
Speaker 1: invalid now compared with her state on first reaching Bath,
Speaker 1: then she had indeed been a pitiable object, for she
Speaker 1: had caught cold on the journey and had hardly taken
Speaker 1: possession of her lodgings before she was again confined to
Speaker 1: her bed and suffering under severe and constant pain, and
Speaker 1: all this among strangers with the absolute necessity of having
Speaker 1: a regular nurse, and finances at that moment particularly unfit
Speaker 1: to meet any extraordinary expense. She had weathered it, however,
Speaker 1: and could truly say that it had done her good.
Speaker 1: It had increased her comforts by making her feel herself
Speaker 1: to be in good hands. She had seen too much
Speaker 1: of the world to expect sudden or disinterested attachment anywhere.
Speaker 1: But her illness had proved to her that her landlady
Speaker 1: had a character to preserve and would not use her
Speaker 1: ill And she had been particularly fortunate in her nurse
Speaker 1: as a sister of her landlady, a nurse by profession,
Speaker 1: and who had always a home in that house. When unemployed,
Speaker 1: chanced to be at Liberty just in time to attend her,
Speaker 1: And she said, missus Smith, besides nursing me most admirably,
Speaker 1: has really proved an invaluable acquaintance. As soon as I
Speaker 1: could use my hands, she taught me to knit, which
Speaker 1: has been a great amusement. And she put me in
Speaker 1: the way of making these little thread cases, pincushions and
Speaker 1: card racks, which you will always find me so busy about,
Speaker 1: and which supply me with the means of doing a
Speaker 1: little good to one or two very poor families in
Speaker 1: this neighborhood. She had a large acquaintance, of course, professionally,
Speaker 1: among those who can afford to buy, and she disposes
Speaker 1: of my merchandise. She always takes the right time for applying.
Speaker 1: Everybody's heart is open, you know, when they have recently
Speaker 1: escaped from severe pain or are recovering the blessing of health,
Speaker 1: and Nurse Rook thoroughly understands when to speak. She is
Speaker 1: a shrewd, intelligent, sensible woman. Hers is a line for
Speaker 1: seeing human nature, and she has a fund of good
Speaker 1: sense and observation, which, as a companion, make her infinitely
Speaker 1: superior to thousands of those who, having only received the
Speaker 1: best education in the world, know nothing worth attending. To
Speaker 1: call it gossip, if you will, But when Nurse Rook
Speaker 1: has half an hour's leisure to bestow on me, she
Speaker 1: is sure to have something to relate that is entertaining
Speaker 1: and profitable, something that makes one know one's species better.
Speaker 1: One likes to hear what is going on to be
Speaker 1: au fait as to the newest modes of being trifling
Speaker 1: and silly to me, who lives so much alone. Her conversation,
Speaker 1: I assure you, is a treat. Anne, far from wishing
Speaker 1: to cavil at the pleasure, replied, I can easily believe it.
Speaker 1: Women of that class have great opportunities, and if they
Speaker 1: are intelligent, may be well worth listening to such varieties
Speaker 1: of human nature as they are in the habit of witnessing.
Speaker 1: And it is not merely in its follies that they
Speaker 1: are well read, for they see it occasionally under every
Speaker 1: circumstance that can be most interesting or affecting, what instances
Speaker 1: must pass before them of ardent, disinterested, self denying, attachment
Speaker 1: of heroism, fortitude, patience, resignation of all the conflicts, and
Speaker 1: all the sacrifices that a noblest most a sick chamber
Speaker 1: may often furnish the worth of volumes. Yes, said Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: more doubtingly. Sometimes it may, though I fear its lessons
Speaker 1: are not often in the elevated style you describe here
Speaker 1: and there. Human nature may be great in times of trial,
Speaker 1: but generally speaking, it is its weakness and not its
Speaker 1: strength that appears in a sick chamber. It is selfishness
Speaker 1: and impatience rather than generosity and fortitude that one hears of.
Speaker 1: There is so little real friendship in the world, and unfortunately,
Speaker 1: speaking low and tremulously, there are so many who forget
Speaker 1: to think seriously till it is almost too late. Anne
Speaker 1: saw the misery of such feelings. The husband had not
Speaker 1: been what he ought, and the wife had been led
Speaker 1: among that part of mankind, which made her think worse
Speaker 1: of the world than she hoped it deserved. It was
Speaker 1: but a passing emotion. However, with Missus Smith she shook
Speaker 1: it off and soon added, in a different tone. I
Speaker 1: do not suppose the situation my friend Missus Rook is
Speaker 1: in at present will furnish much either to interest or
Speaker 1: edify me. She is only nursing Missus Wallace of Marlborough Buildings,
Speaker 1: a mere, pretty, silly, expensive, fashionable woman, I believe, and
Speaker 1: of course will have nothing to report but of lace
Speaker 1: and finery. I mean to make my profit of Missus Wallace. However,
Speaker 1: she has play plenty of money, and I intend she
Speaker 1: shall buy all the high priced things I have in hand. Now.
Speaker 1: Anne had called several times on her friend, before the
Speaker 1: existence of such a person was known in Camden Place.
Speaker 1: At last it became necessary to speak of her. Sir Walter,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth and Missus Clay returned one morning from Laura Place
Speaker 1: with a sudden invitation from Lady Tullrymple for the same evening,
Speaker 1: and Anne was already engaged to spend that evening in
Speaker 1: Westgate Buildings. She was not sorry for the excuse. They
Speaker 1: were only asked. She was sure because Lady Dalrymple, being
Speaker 1: kept at home by a bad cold, was glad to
Speaker 1: make use of the relationship which had been so pressed
Speaker 1: on her. And she declined in her own account with
Speaker 1: great alacrity, as she was engaged to spend the evening
Speaker 1: with an old schoolfellow. They were not much interested in
Speaker 1: anything relative to Anne, but still there were questions enough
Speaker 1: asked to make it understood what this old schoolfellow was.
Speaker 1: And Elizabeth was disdainful, and Sir Walter severe Westgate Buildings,
Speaker 1: said he, and who is miss Anne Elliot to be
Speaker 1: visiting in Westgate Buildings? A Missus Smith, a widow Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: and who was her husband? One of five thousand mister
Speaker 1: Smiths whose names are to be met with everywhere? And
Speaker 1: what is her attraction? That she is old and sickly?
Speaker 1: Upon my word, miss Anne Elliot, you have the most
Speaker 1: extraordinary taste. Everything that revolts other people, low company, poultry, rooms,
Speaker 1: foul air, disgusting associations are inviting to you. But surely
Speaker 1: you may put off this old lady till to morrow.
Speaker 1: She is not so near her end, I presume, but
Speaker 1: that she may hope to see another day. What is
Speaker 1: her age? Forty? No, sir, she is not one and thirty.
Speaker 1: But I do not think I can put off my engagement,
Speaker 1: because it is the only evening for some time which
Speaker 1: will at once suit her and myself. She goes into
Speaker 1: the warm bath to morrow and for the rest of
Speaker 1: the week. You know we are engaged. But what does
Speaker 1: lady Russell think of this acquaintance, asked Elizabeth. She sees
Speaker 1: nothing to blame in it, replied Anne. On the contrary,
Speaker 1: she approves it, and has generally taken me when I
Speaker 1: have called on missus Smith. Westgate Buildings must have been
Speaker 1: rather surprised by the appearance of a carriage drawn up
Speaker 1: near its pavement, observed Sir Walter. Sir Henry Russell's widow
Speaker 1: indeed has no honors to distinguish her arms. But still
Speaker 1: it is a handsome equipage, and no doubt is well
Speaker 1: known to convey a Miss Eliot, a widow, Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: lodging in Westgate buildings, a poor widow, barely able to
Speaker 1: live between thirty and forty, a mere Missus Smith, an
Speaker 1: every day Missus Smith, of all people and all names
Speaker 1: in the world, to be the chosen friend of miss
Speaker 1: Anne Elliot, and to be preferred by her to her
Speaker 1: own family connections among the nobility of England and Ireland.
Speaker 1: Missus Smith, such a name. Missus Clay, who had been
Speaker 1: present while all this passed, now thought it advisable to
Speaker 1: leave the room. And Anne could have said much, and
Speaker 1: did long to say a little in defense of her
Speaker 1: friend's not very dissimilar claims to theirs, but her sense
Speaker 1: of personal respect to her father prevented her. She made
Speaker 1: no reply. She left it to himself to recollect that
Speaker 1: Missus Smith was not the only widow in Bath between
Speaker 1: thirty and forty, with little to live on and no
Speaker 1: surname of dignity. Anne kept her appointment, the others kept theirs,
Speaker 1: and of course she heard the next morning that they
Speaker 1: had had a delightful evening. She had been the only
Speaker 1: one of the set absent, for Sir Walter and Elizabeth
Speaker 1: had not only been quite at her Ladyship's service themselves,
Speaker 1: but had actually been happy to be employed by her
Speaker 1: in collecting others, and had been at the trouble of
Speaker 1: inviting both Lady Russell and mister Elliot. And mister Elliot
Speaker 1: had made a point of leaving Colonel Wallace early, and
Speaker 1: Lady Russell had fresh arranged all her evening engagements in
Speaker 1: order to wait on her. Anne had the whole history
Speaker 1: of all that such an evening could supply from Lady
Speaker 1: Russell to her. Its greatest interest must be in having
Speaker 1: been very much talked of between her friend and mister Eliot,
Speaker 1: in having been wished for, regretted, and at the same
Speaker 1: time honored for staying away in such a cause. Her
Speaker 1: kind compassionate visits to this old schoolfellow, sick and reduced,
Speaker 1: seemed to have quite delighted mister Eliot. He thought her
Speaker 1: a most extraordinary young woman in her temper, manners mind
Speaker 1: a model of female excellence he could meet. Even Lady
Speaker 1: Russell in a discussion of her merits, and Anne could
Speaker 1: not be given to understand so much by her friend,
Speaker 1: could not know herself to be so highly rated by
Speaker 1: a sensible man. Without many of those agreeable sensations which
Speaker 1: her friend meant to create. Lady Russell was now perfectly
Speaker 1: decided in her opinion of mister Eliot. She was as
Speaker 1: much convinced of his meaning to gain Anne in time
Speaker 1: as of his deserving her, and was beginning to calculate
Speaker 1: the number of weeks which would free him from all
Speaker 1: the remaining restraints of widowhood and leave him at liberty
Speaker 1: to exert her most open powers of pleasing. She would
Speaker 1: not speak to Anne with half the certainty she felt
Speaker 1: on the subject. She would venture on little more than
Speaker 1: hints of what might be hereafter, of a possible attachment
Speaker 1: on his side, of the desirableness of the alliance, supposing
Speaker 1: such attachment to be real, and returned. Anne heard her
Speaker 1: and made no violent exclamations. She only smiled, blushed, and
Speaker 1: gently shook her head. I am no match maker, as
Speaker 1: you well know, said Lady Russell, being much too well
Speaker 1: aware of the uncertainty of all human events and calculations.
Speaker 1: I only mean that if mister Eliot should some time
Speaker 1: hence pay his addresses to you, and if you should
Speaker 1: be disposed to accept him, I think there would be
Speaker 1: every possibility of your being happy together, a most suitable connection.
Speaker 1: Everybody must consider it, but I think it might be
Speaker 1: a very happy one. Mister Eliot is an exceedingly agreeable man,
Speaker 1: and in many respects I think highly of him, said Anne.
Speaker 1: But we should not suit. Lady Russell let this, and
Speaker 1: said only in rejoinder, I own that to be able
Speaker 1: to regard you as the future mistress of Kellynch, the
Speaker 1: future Lady Eliot. To look forward and see you occupying
Speaker 1: your dear mother's place, succeeding to all her rights and
Speaker 1: all her popularity, as well as to all her virtues,
Speaker 1: would be the highest possible gratification to me. You are
Speaker 1: your mother's self in countenance and disposition, and if I
Speaker 1: might be allowed to fancy you such as she was
Speaker 1: in situation and name and home, presiding and blessing in
Speaker 1: the same spot, and only superior to her in being
Speaker 1: more highly valued, my dearest Anne, it would give me
Speaker 1: more delight than is often felt at my time of life.
Speaker 1: Anne was obliged to turn away, to rise to walk
Speaker 1: to a distant table, and leaning there in pretended employment,
Speaker 1: tried to subdue the feelings this picture excited. For a
Speaker 1: few moments, her imagination and her heart were bewitched. The
Speaker 1: idea of becoming what her mother had been, of having
Speaker 1: the precious name of Lady Elliot first revived in her,
Speaker 1: of being restored to Kellynch calling at her home again,
Speaker 1: her home forever, was a charm which she could not
Speaker 1: immediately resist. Lady Russell said not another word, willing to
Speaker 1: leave the matter to its own operation, and believing that
Speaker 1: could mister Elliot at that moment, with propriety have spoken
Speaker 1: for himself? She believed, in short, what Anne did not believe.
Speaker 1: The same image of mister Elliot speaking for himself brought
Speaker 1: Anne to composure again. The charm of Kellynch and of
Speaker 1: Lady Elliot all faded away. She never could accept him,
Speaker 1: and it was not only that her feelings were still
Speaker 1: adverse to any man save one. Her judgment, on a
Speaker 1: serious consideration of the possibilities of such a case was
Speaker 1: against mister Elliot. Though they had now been acquainted a month,
Speaker 1: she could not be satisfied that she really knew his character,
Speaker 1: that he was a sensible man, an agreeable man, that
Speaker 1: he talked well, professed good opinions, seemed to judge properly,
Speaker 1: and as a man of principle, this was all clear enough.
Speaker 1: He certainly knew what was right. Nor could she fix
Speaker 1: on any one article of moral duty evidently transgressed. But
Speaker 1: yet she would have been afraid to answer for his conduct.
Speaker 1: She distrusted the past, if not the present. The names
Speaker 1: which occasionally dropped to former associates, the allusions to former
Speaker 1: practices and pursuits, suggested suspicions not favorable of what he
Speaker 1: had been. She saw that there had been bad habits,
Speaker 1: that Sunday traveling had been a common thing, That there
Speaker 1: had been a period of his life, and probably not
Speaker 1: a short one, when he had been at least careless
Speaker 1: in all serious matters. And though he might now think
Speaker 1: very differently, who could answer for the true sentiments of
Speaker 1: a clever, cautious man, grown old enough to appreciate a
Speaker 1: fair character. How could it ever be ascertained that his
Speaker 1: mind was truly cleansed. Mister Eliot was rational, discreet, polished,
Speaker 1: but he was not open. There was never any burst
Speaker 1: of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight at the
Speaker 1: evil or good others. This, to Anne was a decided imperfection.
Speaker 1: Her early impressions were incurable. She prized the frank, the
Speaker 1: open hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and
Speaker 1: enthusiasm did captivate her. Still, she felt that she could
Speaker 1: so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who
Speaker 1: sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing,
Speaker 1: than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose
Speaker 1: tongue never slipped. Mister Elliot was too generally agreeable various,
Speaker 1: as were the tempers in her father's house. He pleased
Speaker 1: them all. He endured too well, stood too well with everybody.
Speaker 1: He had spoken to her with some degree of openness
Speaker 1: of missus Clay, had appeared completely to see what missus
Speaker 1: Clay was about, and to hold her in contempt. And
Speaker 1: yet missus Clay found him as agreeable as anybody. Lady
Speaker 1: Russell saw either less or more than her young friend,
Speaker 1: for she saw nothing to excite distrust. She could not
Speaker 1: imagine a man more exactly what he ought to be
Speaker 1: than mister Eliot, nor did she ever enjoy a sweeter
Speaker 1: feeling than the hope of seeing him receive the hand
Speaker 1: of her beloved Anne in Kellynch Church in the course
Speaker 1: of the following autumn end of chapter seventeen