Speaker 1: Chapter twenty one of Persuasion. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: by Elizabeth Klett. Persuasion by Jane Austen, Chapter twenty one.
Speaker 1: Anne recollected with pleasure the next morning her promise of
Speaker 1: going to missus Smith, meaning that it should engage her
Speaker 1: from home at the time when mister Elliot would be
Speaker 1: most likely to call for To avoid mister Elliot was
Speaker 1: almost a first object. She felt a great deal of
Speaker 1: good will towards him, in spite of the mischief of
Speaker 1: his attentions. She owed him gratitude and regard, perhaps compassion.
Speaker 1: She could not help thinking much of the extraordinary circumstances
Speaker 1: attending their acquaintance of the right which he seemed to
Speaker 1: have to interest her, By everything in situation, by his
Speaker 1: own sentiments, by his early prepossession. It was all together
Speaker 1: very extraordinary, flattering, but painful. There was much to regret.
Speaker 1: How she might have felt had there been no Captain
Speaker 1: Wentworth in the case was not worth enquiry. For there
Speaker 1: was a Captain Wentworth, and be the conclusion of the
Speaker 1: present suspense, good or bad, her affection would be his forever.
Speaker 1: Their union, she believed, could not divide her more from
Speaker 1: other men than their final separation. Prettier musings of high
Speaker 1: wrought love and eternal constancy could never have passed along
Speaker 1: the streets of Bath than Anne was sporting with from
Speaker 1: Camden Place to Westgate Buildings. It was almost enough to
Speaker 1: spread purification and perfume all the way. She was sure
Speaker 1: of a pleasant reception, and her friend seemed this morning
Speaker 1: particularly obliged to her, for coming seemed hardly to have
Speaker 1: expected her, though it had been an appointment. An account
Speaker 1: of the concert was immediately claimed, and Anne's recollections of
Speaker 1: the concert were quite happy enough to animate her features
Speaker 1: and make her rejoice to talk of it. All that
Speaker 1: she could tell, she told most gladly. But the all
Speaker 1: was little for one who had been there, and unsatisfactory
Speaker 1: for such an inquirer as Missus Smith, who had already
Speaker 1: heard through the short cut of a laundress and a waiter,
Speaker 1: rather more of the general success and produce of the
Speaker 1: evening than Anne could relate, and who now asked in
Speaker 1: vain for several particulars of the company. Everybody of any
Speaker 1: consequence or notoriety in Bath was well known by name
Speaker 1: to missus Smith. The little Durands were there, I conclude,
Speaker 1: said she, with their mouths open to catch the music,
Speaker 1: like unfledged sparrows ready to be fed. They never miss
Speaker 1: a concert. Yes, I did not see them myself, but
Speaker 1: I heard mister Eliot say they were in the room.
Speaker 1: The ibotsuns. Were they there? And the two new beauties
Speaker 1: with the tall Irish officer who has talked of for
Speaker 1: one of them, I do not know. I do not
Speaker 1: think they were. Old Lady Mary mc lane. I need
Speaker 1: not ask after her. She never misses, I know, and
Speaker 1: she must have seen her. She must have been in
Speaker 1: your own circle, for as you went with Lady Dalrymple,
Speaker 1: you were in the seats of grandeur round the orchestra.
Speaker 1: Of course, no, that was what I dreaded. It would
Speaker 1: have been very unpleasant to me in every respect. But
Speaker 1: happily Lady Dalrymple always chooses to be farther off, and
Speaker 1: we were exceedingly well placed. That is for hearing, I
Speaker 1: must not say for seeing, because I appeared to have
Speaker 1: seen very little. Oh, you saw enough for your own amusement.
Speaker 1: I can understand there is a sort of domestic enjoyment
Speaker 1: to be known, even in a crowd, and this you had.
Speaker 1: You were a large party in yourselves, and you wanted
Speaker 1: nothing beyond. But I ought to have looked about me more,
Speaker 1: said Anne, conscious while she spoke that there had in
Speaker 1: fact been no want of looking about that the object
Speaker 1: only had been deficient. No, No, you were better employed.
Speaker 1: You need not tell me that you had a pleasant evening.
Speaker 1: I see it in your eye. I perfectly see how
Speaker 1: the hours passed, that that you had always something agreeable
Speaker 1: to listen to in the intervals of the concert. It
Speaker 1: was conversation. Anne half smiled and said, do you see
Speaker 1: that in my eye? Yes? I do. Your countenance perfectly
Speaker 1: informs me that you were in company last night with
Speaker 1: the person whom you think the most agreeable in the world,
Speaker 1: the person who interests you at this present time more
Speaker 1: than all the rest of the world. Put together. A
Speaker 1: blush overspread Anne's cheeks, she could say nothing, and such
Speaker 1: being the case, continued missus Smith, after a short pause.
Speaker 1: I hope you believe that I do know how to
Speaker 1: value your kindness in coming to me this morning. It
Speaker 1: is really very good of you to come and sit
Speaker 1: with me when you must have so many pleasanter demands
Speaker 1: upon your time. Anne heard nothing of this. She was
Speaker 1: still in the astonishment and confusion, excited by her friend's penetration,
Speaker 1: unable to imagine how any report of Captain Wentworth could
Speaker 1: have reached her. After another short silence, pray said Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: is mister Elliott aware of your acquaintance with me? Does
Speaker 1: he know that I am in bath? Mister Elliot repeated Anne,
Speaker 1: looking up, surprised. A moment's reflection showed her the mistake
Speaker 1: she had been under. She caught it instantaneously, and recovering
Speaker 1: her courage with the feeling of safety, she soon added
Speaker 1: more composedly, are you acquainted with mister Eliot? I have
Speaker 1: been a good deal acquainted with him, replied Missus Smith gravely,
Speaker 1: but it seems worn out now. It is a great
Speaker 1: while since we met. I was not at all aware
Speaker 1: of this. You never mentioned it before. Had I known it,
Speaker 1: I would have had the pleasure of talking to him
Speaker 1: about you to confess the truth, said Missus Smith, assuming
Speaker 1: her usual air of cheerfulness. That is exactly the pleasure
Speaker 1: I want you to have. I want you to talk
Speaker 1: about me to mister Elliot. I want your interest with him.
Speaker 1: He can be of essential service to me. And if
Speaker 1: you would have the goodness, my dear miss Eliot, to
Speaker 1: make it an object to yourself, of course course it
Speaker 1: is done, I should be extremely happy. I hope you
Speaker 1: cannot doubt my willingness to be of even the slightest
Speaker 1: use to you, replied Anne. But I suspect that you
Speaker 1: are considering me as having a higher claim on mister Eliot,
Speaker 1: a greater right to influence him than is really the case.
Speaker 1: I am sure you have somehow or other imbibed such
Speaker 1: a notion. You must consider me only as mister Elliot's relation.
Speaker 1: If in that light there is anything which you suppose
Speaker 1: his cousin might fairly ask of him, I beg you
Speaker 1: would not hesitate to employ me. Missus Smith gave her
Speaker 1: a penetrating glance, and then, smiling said, I have been
Speaker 1: a little premature, I perceive I beg your pardon. I
Speaker 1: ought to have waited for official information. But now, my
Speaker 1: dear Miss Eliot, as an old friend, do give me
Speaker 1: a hint as to when I may speak next week,
Speaker 1: to be sure by next week I may be allowed
Speaker 1: to think it all settled, and build my own selfish
Speaker 1: schemes on mister Elliot's good fortune. No, replied Anne, nor
Speaker 1: next week, nor next nor next I assure you that
Speaker 1: nothing of the sort you are thinking of will be
Speaker 1: settled any week. I am not going to marry mister Eliot.
Speaker 1: I should like to know why you imagine I am missus.
Speaker 1: Smith looked at her again, looked earnestly, smiled, shook her head,
Speaker 1: and exclaimed, Now, how I do wish I understood you?
Speaker 1: How I do wish I knew what you were at.
Speaker 1: I have a great idea that you do not design
Speaker 1: to be cruel when the right moment occurs, till it
Speaker 1: does come. You know, we women never mean to have anybody.
Speaker 1: It is a thing of course among us that every
Speaker 1: man is refused till he offers. But why should you
Speaker 1: be cruel? Let me plead for my present friend I
Speaker 1: cannot call him, but for my former friend. Where can
Speaker 1: you look for a more suitable match? Where could you
Speaker 1: expect a more gentlemanlike, agreeable man? Let me recommend mister Elliot.
Speaker 1: I am sure you hear nothing but good of him
Speaker 1: from Colonel Wallace. And who can know better than Colonel Wallace.
Speaker 1: My dear missus, mister Elliot's wife has not been dead
Speaker 1: much above half a year. He ought not to be
Speaker 1: supposed to repaying his addresses to any one. Ho, if
Speaker 1: these are your only objections, cried Missus Smith archly. Mister
Speaker 1: Elliot is safe, and I shall give myself no more
Speaker 1: trouble about him. Do not forget me when you are married,
Speaker 1: that's all. Let him know me to be a friend
Speaker 1: of yours, and then he will think little of the
Speaker 1: trouble required, which it is very natural for him now,
Speaker 1: with so many affairs and engagements of his own to
Speaker 1: avoid and get rid of as he can. Very natural,
Speaker 1: perhaps ninety nine out of a hundred would do the same.
Speaker 1: Of course he cannot be aware of the importance to me. Well,
Speaker 1: my dear miss Eliot, I hope and trust you will
Speaker 1: be very happy. Mister Elliot has sense to understand the
Speaker 1: value of such a woman. Your peace will not be
Speaker 1: shipwrecked as mine has been. You are safe in all
Speaker 1: worldly matters, and safe in his character. He will not
Speaker 1: be led astray, He will not be misled by others
Speaker 1: to his ruin. No, said Anne, I can readily believe
Speaker 1: all that of my cousin. He seems to have a calm,
Speaker 1: decided temper, not at all open to dangerous impressions. I
Speaker 1: consider him with great respect. I have no reason, from
Speaker 1: anything that has fallen within my observation to do otherwise.
Speaker 1: But I have not known him long, and he is
Speaker 1: not a man I think to be known intimately soon.
Speaker 1: Will not this manner of speaking of him, Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: convince you that he is nothing to me. Surely this
Speaker 1: must be calm enough. And upon my word, he is
Speaker 1: nothing to me. Should he ever propose to me, which
Speaker 1: I have very little reason to imagine he has any
Speaker 1: thought of doing, I shall not accept him. I assure
Speaker 1: you I shall not. I assure you, mister Eliot, had
Speaker 1: not the share which you have been supposing, in whatever
Speaker 1: pleasure the concert of last night might afford. Not, mister Eliot,
Speaker 1: it is not, mister Eliot that she stopped, regretting with
Speaker 1: a deep blush that she had implied so much. But
Speaker 1: less would hardly have been sufficient. Missus Smith would hardly
Speaker 1: have believed so soon in mister r. Elliott's failure. But
Speaker 1: from the perception of there being as somebody else as
Speaker 1: it was, she instantly submitted and with all the semblance
Speaker 1: of seeing nothing beyond, and Anne, eager to escape farther notice,
Speaker 1: was impatient to know why Missus Smith should have fancied
Speaker 1: she was to marry mister Elliot, where she could have
Speaker 1: received the idea, or from whom she could have heard it.
Speaker 1: Do tell me how it first came into your head.
Speaker 1: It first came into my head, replied Missus Smith, upon
Speaker 1: finding how much she were together, and feeling it to
Speaker 1: be the most probable thing in the world to be
Speaker 1: wished for by everybody belonging to either of you. And
Speaker 1: you may depend upon it that all your acquaintance have
Speaker 1: disposed of you in the same way. But I never
Speaker 1: heard it spoken of till two days ago, And has
Speaker 1: it indeed been spoken of? Did you observe the woman
Speaker 1: who opened the door to you when you called yesterday? No?
Speaker 1: Was it not Missus Speed as usual or the maid.
Speaker 1: I observed no one in particular. It was my friend
Speaker 1: Missus Rook, Nurse Rook, who by the bye, had a
Speaker 1: great curiosity to see you, and was delighted to be
Speaker 1: in the way to let you in. She came away
Speaker 1: from Marlborough Buildings only on Sunday, and she it was
Speaker 1: who told me you were to marry mister Eliot. She
Speaker 1: had had it from Missus Wallace herself, which did not
Speaker 1: seem bad authority. She sat an hour with me on
Speaker 1: Monday evening and gave me the whole history. The whole history,
Speaker 1: repeated Anne, laughing. She could not make a very long history.
Speaker 1: I think of one such little article of unfounded news.
Speaker 1: Missus Smith said nothing, but continued Anne. Presently, though there
Speaker 1: is no truth in my having this claim on mister Eliot,
Speaker 1: I should be extremely happy to be of use to
Speaker 1: you in any way that I could. Shall I mention
Speaker 1: to him your being in bath? Shall I take any message? No?
Speaker 1: I thank you. No, certainly not in the warmth of
Speaker 1: the moment, and under a mistaken impression. I might perhaps
Speaker 1: have endeavored to interest you in some circumstances, but not now. No,
Speaker 1: I thank you. I have nothing to trouble you with.
Speaker 1: I think you spoke of having known mister Elliot many years.
Speaker 1: I did not before he was married. I suppose, yes,
Speaker 1: he was not married when I knew him first, And
Speaker 1: were you much acquainted intimately? Indeed, then do tell me
Speaker 1: what he was at that time of life. I have
Speaker 1: a great curiosity to know what mister Elliot was as
Speaker 1: a very young man. Was he at all such as
Speaker 1: he appears now? I have not seen mister Elliot these
Speaker 1: three years, was Missus Smith's answer, given so gravely that
Speaker 1: it was impossible to pursue the subject farther. And Anne
Speaker 1: felt that she had gained nothing but an increase of curiosity.
Speaker 1: They were both silent, Missus Smith very thoughtful. At last,
Speaker 1: I beg your pardon, my dear miss Elliot, she cried,
Speaker 1: in her natural tone of cordiality. I beg your pardon
Speaker 1: for the short answers I have been giving you. But
Speaker 1: I have been uncertain what I ought to do. I
Speaker 1: have been doubting and considering as to what I ought
Speaker 1: to tell you. There were many things to be taken
Speaker 1: into the account. One hates to be officious, to be
Speaker 1: giving bad impressions, making mischief. Even the smooth surface of
Speaker 1: family union seems worth preserving, though there may be nothing
Speaker 1: durable beneath. However, I have determined I think I am right.
Speaker 1: I think you ought to be made acquainted with mister
Speaker 1: Eliot's real character, though I fully believe that at present
Speaker 1: you have not the smallest intention of accepting him. There
Speaker 1: is no saying what may happen, You might some time
Speaker 1: or other be differently affected towards him. Hear the truth. Therefore, now,
Speaker 1: while you are unprejudiced, mister Eliot is a man without
Speaker 1: heart or conscience, a designing, wary, cold blooded being who
Speaker 1: thinks only of himself, whom, for his own interest or ease,
Speaker 1: would be guilty of any cruelty or any treachery that
Speaker 1: could be perpetrated without risk of his general character. He
Speaker 1: has no feeling for others, those whom he has been
Speaker 1: the chief cause of leading into ruin. He can neglect
Speaker 1: and desert without the smallest compunction. He is totally beyond
Speaker 1: the reach of any sentiment of justice or compassion. Oh,
Speaker 1: he is black at heart, hollow and black. Anne's astonished
Speaker 1: air and exclamation of wonder made her pause, and in
Speaker 1: a calmer manner, she added, my expressions startle you. You must
Speaker 1: allow for an injured, angry woman. But I will try
Speaker 1: to command myself. I will not abuse him. I will
Speaker 1: only tell you what I have found him. Facts shall speak.
Speaker 1: He was the intimate friend of my dear husband, who
Speaker 1: trusted and loved him, and thought him as good as himself.
Speaker 1: The intimacy had been formed before our marriage. I found
Speaker 1: the most intimate friends, and I too became excessively pleased
Speaker 1: with mister Eliot, and entertained the highest opinion of him
Speaker 1: at nineteen. You know, wonders not think very seriously. But
Speaker 1: mister Elliot appeared to me quite as good as others,
Speaker 1: and much more agreeable than most others, and we were
Speaker 1: almost always together. We were principally in town, living in
Speaker 1: very good style. He was then the inferior in circumstances.
Speaker 1: He was then the poor one. He had chambers in
Speaker 1: the temple, and it was as much as he could
Speaker 1: do to support the appearance of a gentleman. He had
Speaker 1: always a home with us, whenever he chose it. He
Speaker 1: was always welcome. He was like a brother. My poor Charles,
Speaker 1: who had the finest, most generous spirit in the world,
Speaker 1: would have divided his last farthing with him, and I
Speaker 1: know that his purse was open to him. I know
Speaker 1: that he often assisted him. This must have been about
Speaker 1: that very period of mister Eliot's life, said Anne, which
Speaker 1: has always excited my particular curiosity. It must have been
Speaker 1: about the same time that became known to my father
Speaker 1: and sister I never knew him myself. I only heard
Speaker 1: of him, But there was a something in his conduct
Speaker 1: then with regard to my father and sister, and afterwards,
Speaker 1: in the circumstances of his marriage, which I never could
Speaker 1: quite reconcile with present times, it seemed to announce a
Speaker 1: different sort of man. I know it all, I know
Speaker 1: it all, cried missus Smith. He had been introduced to
Speaker 1: Sir Walter and your sister before I was acquainted with him,
Speaker 1: but I heard him speak of them for ever. I
Speaker 1: know he was invited and encouraged, and I know he
Speaker 1: did not choose to go. I can satisfy you, perhaps
Speaker 1: on points which you would little expect. And as to
Speaker 1: his marriage, I knew all about it at the time.
Speaker 1: I was privy to all the fours, and againsts I
Speaker 1: was a friend to whom he confided his hopes and plans.
Speaker 1: And though I did not know his wife previously, her
Speaker 1: inferior situation and society indeed rendered that impossible. Yet I
Speaker 1: knew her all her life afterwards, or at least till
Speaker 1: within the last two years of her life, and can
Speaker 1: answer any question you may wish to put. Nay, said Anne,
Speaker 1: I have no particular inquiry to make about her. I
Speaker 1: have always understood they were not a happy couple, But
Speaker 1: I I like to know why, at that time of
Speaker 1: his life he should slight my father's acquaintance as he did.
Speaker 1: My father was certainly disposed to take very kind and
Speaker 1: proper notice of him. Why did mister Eliot draw back?
Speaker 1: Mister Eliot replied, missus Smith, at that period of his life,
Speaker 1: had one object in view, to make his fortune, and
Speaker 1: by a rather quicker process than the law. He was
Speaker 1: determined to make it by marriage. He was determined at
Speaker 1: least not to mar it by an imprudent marriage. And
Speaker 1: I know it was his belief, whether justly or not.
Speaker 1: Of course, I cannot decide that your father and sister,
Speaker 1: in their civilities and invitations, were designing a match between
Speaker 1: the heir and the young lady, and it was impossible
Speaker 1: that such a match should have answered his ideas of
Speaker 1: wealth and independence. That was his motive for drawing back.
Speaker 1: I can assure you he told me the whole story.
Speaker 1: He had no concealments with me. It was curious that,
Speaker 1: having just left you behind me in bath, my first
Speaker 1: and principal acquaintance on marrying should be your cousin, and
Speaker 1: that through him I should be constantly hearing of your
Speaker 1: father and sister. He described one, Miss Eliot, and I
Speaker 1: thought very affectionately of the other, perhaps, cried Anne, struck
Speaker 1: by a sudden idea. You sometimes spoke of me to
Speaker 1: mister Eliot. To be sure, I did very often. I
Speaker 1: used to boast of my own, Anne, Eliot, and vouch
Speaker 1: for your being a very different creature from She checked
Speaker 1: herself just in time. This accounts for something which mister
Speaker 1: Elliot said last night, cried Anne. This explains it. I
Speaker 1: found he had been used to hear of me. I
Speaker 1: could not comprehend how what wild imaginations one forms where
Speaker 1: dear self is concerned, how sure to be mistaken? But
Speaker 1: I beg your pardon I have interrupted you. Mister Elliot
Speaker 1: married then completely for money, the circumstances probably which first
Speaker 1: opened your eyes to his character. Missus Smith hesitated a
Speaker 1: little here, Oh, those things are too common when one
Speaker 1: lives in the world. A man or woman's marrying for
Speaker 1: money is too common to strike one as a aught.
Speaker 1: I was very young and associated only with the young,
Speaker 1: and we were a thoughtless gay set, without any strict
Speaker 1: rules of conduct. We lived for enjoyment. I think differently now.
Speaker 1: Time and sickness and sorrow have given me other notions.
Speaker 1: But at that period I must own I saw nothing
Speaker 1: reprehensible in what mister Eliot was doing to do the
Speaker 1: best for himself past as a duty. But was not
Speaker 1: she a very low woman? Yes, which I objected to,
Speaker 1: But he would not regard money. Money was all that
Speaker 1: he wanted. Her father was a grazier, her grandfather had
Speaker 1: been a butcher, but that was all nothing. She was
Speaker 1: a fine woman, had had a decent education, was brought
Speaker 1: forward by some cousins, thrown by chance into mister Eliot's company,
Speaker 1: and fell in love with him. And not difficulty or
Speaker 1: a scruple was there on his side with respect to
Speaker 1: her birth. All his caution was spent in being secured
Speaker 1: of the real amount of her fortune before he committed
Speaker 1: himself depend upon it. Whatever esteem mister Eliot may have
Speaker 1: for his own situation in life, now, as a young man,
Speaker 1: he had not the smallest value for it. His chance
Speaker 1: for the Kellnch estate was something, but all the honor
Speaker 1: of the family he held as cheap as dirt. I
Speaker 1: have often heard him declare that if baronet's ees were saleable.
Speaker 1: Anybody should have his for fifty pounds, arms and motto
Speaker 1: name and livery included. But I will not pretend to
Speaker 1: repeat half that I used to hear him say on
Speaker 1: that subject. It would not be fair. And yet you
Speaker 1: ought to have proof for what is all this but assertion?
Speaker 1: And you shall have proof. Indeed, my dear missus Smith,
Speaker 1: I want none, cried Anne. You have asserted nothing contradictory
Speaker 1: to what mister Elliot appeared to be some years ago.
Speaker 1: This is all in confirmation rather of what we used
Speaker 1: to hear and believe. I am more curious to know
Speaker 1: why he should be so different now. But for my satisfaction,
Speaker 1: if you will have the goodness to ring for Mary stay,
Speaker 1: I am sure you will have the still greater goodness
Speaker 1: of going yourself into my bedroom and bringing me the
Speaker 1: small inlate books which you will find in the upper
Speaker 1: shelf of the closet. Anne, seeing her friend to be
Speaker 1: earnestly bent on it, did as she was desired. The
Speaker 1: box was brought and placed before her, and Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: sighing over it as she unlocked it, said, this is
Speaker 1: full of papers belonging to him, to my husband, A
Speaker 1: small portion only of what I had to look over
Speaker 1: when I lost him. The letter I am looking for
Speaker 1: was one written by mister Eliot to him before our marriage,
Speaker 1: and happened to be saved. Why one can hardly imagine.
Speaker 1: But he was careless and immethodical, like other men about
Speaker 1: those things. And when I came to examine his papers,
Speaker 1: I found it with others still more trivial from different people,
Speaker 1: scattered here and there. While many letters and memorandums of
Speaker 1: real importance had been destroyed, here it is. I would
Speaker 1: not burn it, because, being even then very little satisfied
Speaker 1: with mister Eliot, I was determined to reserve every document
Speaker 1: of former intimacy. I have now another motive for being
Speaker 1: glad that I can produce it. This was the letter
Speaker 1: directed to Charles Smith, Esquire, Tunbridge Wells, and dated from
Speaker 1: London as far back as July eighteen o three. Dear Smith,
Speaker 1: I have received yours. Your kindness almost overpowers me. I
Speaker 1: wish nature had made such hearts as yours more common,
Speaker 1: but I have lived three and twenty years in the
Speaker 1: world and have seen none like it. At present. Believe me,
Speaker 1: I have no need of your services being in cash. Again,
Speaker 1: give me joy. I have got rid of Sir Walter
Speaker 1: and miss They are gone back to Kellynch, and almost
Speaker 1: made me swear to visit them this summer. But my
Speaker 1: first visit to Kellynch will be with the surveyor to
Speaker 1: tell me how to bring it with best advantage to
Speaker 1: the hammer. The baronet, nevertheless, is not unlikely to marry again.
Speaker 1: He is quite fool enough. If he does, however, they
Speaker 1: will leave me in peace, which may be a decent
Speaker 1: equivalent for the reversion. He is worse than last year.
Speaker 1: I wish I had any name, but Eliot. I am
Speaker 1: sick of it. The name of Walter I can drop,
Speaker 1: thank God, and I desire you will never insult me
Speaker 1: with I second doub you again, meaning for the rest
Speaker 1: of my life to be only yours, truly, William Eliot.
Speaker 1: Such a letter could not be read without putting Anne
Speaker 1: in a glow, and missus Smith, observing the high color
Speaker 1: in her face, said, the language I know is highly disrespectful,
Speaker 1: though I have forgot the exact terms. I have a
Speaker 1: perfect impression of the general meaning. But it shows you
Speaker 1: the man mark as professions to my poor husband. Can
Speaker 1: anything be stronger? Anne could not immediately get over the
Speaker 1: shock and mortification of finding such words applied to her father,
Speaker 1: She was obliged to recollect that her seeing the letter
Speaker 1: was a violation of the laws of honor, that no
Speaker 1: one ought to be judged or to be known by
Speaker 1: such testimonies, that no private correspondence could bear the eye
Speaker 1: of others. Before she could recover calmness enough to return
Speaker 1: the letter, which she had been meditating over, and say
Speaker 1: thank you. This is full proof, undoubtedly proof of everything
Speaker 1: you were saying. But why be acquainted with us? Now?
Speaker 1: I can explain this too, cried missus Smith, smiling. Can
Speaker 1: you really Yes? I have shown you mister Elliot as
Speaker 1: he was a dozen years ago, and I will show
Speaker 1: him as he is now. I cannot produce written proof again,
Speaker 1: but I can give as authentic oral testimony as you
Speaker 1: can desire of what he is now wanting and what
Speaker 1: he is now doing. He is no hypocrite. Now he
Speaker 1: truly wants to marry you. His present attentions to your
Speaker 1: family are very sincere, quite from the heart. I will
Speaker 1: give you my authority his friend Colonel Wallace. Colonel Wallace,
Speaker 1: you are acquainted with him? No, it does not come
Speaker 1: to me in quite so direct a line as that
Speaker 1: it takes a bend or two, but nothing of consequence.
Speaker 1: The stream is as good as at first. The little
Speaker 1: rubbish it collects in the turnings is easily moved away.
Speaker 1: Mister Eliot talks unreservedly to Colonel Wallace a his views
Speaker 1: on you, which said Colonel Wallace I imagined to be
Speaker 1: in himself a sensible, careful, discerning sort of character. But
Speaker 1: Colonel Wallace has a very pretty, silly wife, to whom
Speaker 1: he tells things which he had better not, and he
Speaker 1: repeats it all to her. She, in the overflowing spirits
Speaker 1: of her recovery, repeats it all to her nurse, and
Speaker 1: the nurse, knowing my acquaintance with you, very naturally brings
Speaker 1: it all to me. On Monday evening, my good friend
Speaker 1: missus Rook led me thus much into the secrets of
Speaker 1: Marlborough buildings when I talked of a whole history. Therefore,
Speaker 1: you see I was not romancing so much as you supposed.
Speaker 1: My dear Missus Smith, your authority is deficient. This will
Speaker 1: not do. Mister Elliot's having any views on me will
Speaker 1: not in the least account for the efforts he made
Speaker 1: towards a reconciliation with my father. That was all prior
Speaker 1: to my coming to Bath. I found them on the
Speaker 1: most friendly terms when I arrived. I know you did,
Speaker 1: I know it all perfectly. But indeed, Missus Smith, we
Speaker 1: must not expect to get real information in such a line.
Speaker 1: Facts or opinions which are to pass through the hands
Speaker 1: of so many to be misconceived by folly in one
Speaker 1: and ignorance in another, can hardly have much truth left.
Speaker 1: Only give me a hearing. You will soon be able
Speaker 1: to judge of the general credit due by listening to
Speaker 1: some particulars which you can yourself immediately contradict or confirm.
Speaker 1: Nobody supposes that you were his first inducement. He had
Speaker 1: seen you, indeed before he came to Bath and admired you,
Speaker 1: but without knowing it to be you, so says my historian.
Speaker 1: At least is this true? Did he see you last
Speaker 1: summer or autumn somewhere down in the west, to use
Speaker 1: her own words, without knowing it to be you? He
Speaker 1: certainly did so far, it is very true at Lime
Speaker 1: I happened to be at Lime, well, continued Missus Smith,
Speaker 1: triumphantly grant my friend the credit due to the estateablishment
Speaker 1: of the first point, asserted he saw you then at
Speaker 1: lyme and liked you so well as to be exceedingly
Speaker 1: pleased to meet with you again in Camden Place, as
Speaker 1: miss Anne Elliott, and from that moment I have no
Speaker 1: doubt had a double motive in his visits there. But
Speaker 1: there was another, and an earlier, which I will now explain.
Speaker 1: If there is anything in my story which you know
Speaker 1: to be either false or improbable, stop me. My account
Speaker 1: states that your sister's friend, the lady now staying with you,
Speaker 1: whom I have heard you mention, came to Bath with
Speaker 1: miss Elliott and Sir Walter as long ago as September,
Speaker 1: in short, when they first came themselves, it has been
Speaker 1: staying there ever since. That she is a clever, insinuating,
Speaker 1: handsome woman, poor and plausible, and altogether such in situation
Speaker 1: and manner as to give a general idea among Sir
Speaker 1: Walter's acquaintance of her meaning to be Lady Elliot, and
Speaker 1: as general a surprise that Miss Eliot would apparently blind
Speaker 1: to the danger here. Missus Smith paused a moment, but
Speaker 1: Anne had not a word to say, and she continued,
Speaker 1: This was the light in which it appeared to those
Speaker 1: who knew the family long before you returned to it.
Speaker 1: And Colonel Wallace had his eye upon your father enough
Speaker 1: to be sensible of it. Though he did not then
Speaker 1: visit in Camden Place, but his regard for mister Elliot
Speaker 1: gave him an interest in watching all that was going
Speaker 1: on there. And when mister Elliot came to Bath for
Speaker 1: a day or two, as he happened to do a
Speaker 1: little before Christmas, Colonel Wallace made him acquainted with the
Speaker 1: appearance of things, and the reports beginning to prevail. Now
Speaker 1: you are to understand that time had worked a very
Speaker 1: material change in mister Elliot's opinions as to the value
Speaker 1: of a baronetcy. Upon all points of blood and connection.
Speaker 1: He is a completely altered man, Having long had as
Speaker 1: much money as he could spend, nothing to wish for
Speaker 1: on the side of avarice or indulgence, he has been
Speaker 1: gradually learning to pin his happiness upon the consequence he
Speaker 1: is heir to. I thought it coming on before our
Speaker 1: acquaintance ceased, but it is now a confirmed feeling. He
Speaker 1: cannot bear the idea of not being Sir William. You
Speaker 1: may guess, therefore, that the news he heard from his
Speaker 1: friend could not be very agreeable, and you may guess
Speaker 1: what it produced, the resolution of coming back to Bath
Speaker 1: as soon as possible, and of fixing himself here for
Speaker 1: a time, with the view of renewing his former acquaintance
Speaker 1: and recovering such a footing in the family as might
Speaker 1: give him the means of ascertaining the degree of his danger,
Speaker 1: and of circumventing the lady if he found it material.
Speaker 1: This was agreed upon between the two friends as the
Speaker 1: only thing to be done, and Colonel Wallace was to
Speaker 1: assist in every way that he could. He was to
Speaker 1: be introduced, and Missus Wallace was to be introduced, and
Speaker 1: everybody was to be introduced. Mister Elliot came back accordingly,
Speaker 1: and on application was forgiven as you know, and re
Speaker 1: admitted into the family. And there it was his constant
Speaker 1: object and his only object till your arrival. Added another
Speaker 1: motive to watch Sir Eliot and Missus Clay. He omitted
Speaker 1: no opportunity of being with them, threw himself in their
Speaker 1: way called at all hours. But I need not be
Speaker 1: particular on this subject. You can imagine what an artful
Speaker 1: man would do, and with this guide perhaps may recollect
Speaker 1: what you have seen him do, yes, said Anne. You
Speaker 1: tell me nothing which does not accord with what I
Speaker 1: have known or could imagine. There is always something offensive
Speaker 1: in the details of cunning. The maneuvers of selfishness and
Speaker 1: duplicity must ever be revolting. But I have heard nothing
Speaker 1: which really surprises me. I know those would be shocked
Speaker 1: by such a representation of mister Eliot, who would have
Speaker 1: difficulty in believing it. But I have never been satisfied.
Speaker 1: I have always wanted some other motive for his conduct
Speaker 1: than appeared. I should like to know his present opinion
Speaker 1: as to the probability of the event he has been
Speaker 1: in dread of, whether he considers the danger to be
Speaker 1: lessening or not lessening. I understand, replied Missus Smith. He
Speaker 1: thinks Missus Clay afraid of him, aware that he sees
Speaker 1: through her, and not daring to proceed as she might
Speaker 1: do in his absence. But since he must be absent
Speaker 1: some time or other, I do not perceive how he
Speaker 1: can ever be secure while she holds her present influence.
Speaker 1: Missus Wallace has an amusing idea. As nurse tells me
Speaker 1: that it is to be put into the marriage articles
Speaker 1: when you and mister Elliot, Mary, that your father is
Speaker 1: not to marry Missus Clay, a scheme worthy of Missus
Speaker 1: Wallace's understanding by all accounts. But my sensible Nurse Rook
Speaker 1: sees the absurdity of it. Why to be sure, ma'am,
Speaker 1: said she, it would not prevent his marrying anybody else,
Speaker 1: And indeed, to own the truth, I do not think
Speaker 1: Nurse in her heart is a very strenuous opposer of
Speaker 1: Sir Walter's making a second match. She must be allowed
Speaker 1: to be a favorer of matrimony, you know, And since
Speaker 1: self will intrude, who can say that she may not
Speaker 1: have some flying visions of attending the next Lady Elliot
Speaker 1: through Missus Wallace's recommendation. I am very glad to know
Speaker 1: all this, said Anne, after a little thoughtfulness. It will
Speaker 1: be more painful to me in some respects to be
Speaker 1: in company with him, but I shall know better what
Speaker 1: to do my life, and if conduct will be more direct.
Speaker 1: Mister Eliot is evidently a disingenuous, artificial worldly man, who
Speaker 1: has never had any better principle to guide him than selfishness.
Speaker 1: But mister Elliot was not done with Missus Smith had
Speaker 1: been carried away from her first direction, and Anne had forgotten,
Speaker 1: in the interest of her own family concerns, how much
Speaker 1: had been originally implied against him. But her attention was
Speaker 1: now called to the explanation of those first hints. Had
Speaker 1: she listened to a recital which, if it did not
Speaker 1: perfectly justify the unqualified bitterness of Missus Smith, proved him
Speaker 1: to have been very unfeeling in his conduct towards her,
Speaker 1: very deficient both injustice and compassion. She learned that the
Speaker 1: intimacy between them continuing unimpaired by mister Eliot's marriage. They
Speaker 1: had been as before, always together, and mister Elliot had
Speaker 1: led his friend into expenses much beyond his fortune. Missus
Speaker 1: Smith did not want to take blame to herself, and
Speaker 1: was most tender of throwing any on her husband. But
Speaker 1: Anne could collect that their income had never been equal
Speaker 1: to their style of living, and that from the first
Speaker 1: there had been a great deal of general and joint extravagance.
Speaker 1: From his wife's account of him, she could discern mister
Speaker 1: Smith to have been a man of warm feelings, easy temper,
Speaker 1: careless habits, and not strong understanding, much more amiable than
Speaker 1: his friend, and very unlike him, led by him, and
Speaker 1: probably despised by him. Mister Eliot raised by his marriage
Speaker 1: to great affluence and disposed to every gratification of pleasure
Speaker 1: and vanity which could be commanded without involving himself. For
Speaker 1: with all his self indulgence, he had become a prudent man,
Speaker 1: and beginning to be rich, just as his friend ought
Speaker 1: to have found himself to be poor. Seemed to have
Speaker 1: had no concern at all for that friend's probable finances,
Speaker 1: but on the contrary, had been prompting and encouraging expenses
Speaker 1: which could only end in ruin, and the Smiths accordingly
Speaker 1: had been ruined. The husband had died just in time
Speaker 1: to be spared the full knowledge of it. They had
Speaker 1: previously known embarrassment enough to try the friendship of their friends,
Speaker 1: and proved that mister Eliot's had better not be tried.
Speaker 1: But it was not till his death that the wretched
Speaker 1: state of his affairs was fully known, with a confidence
Speaker 1: in mister Elliot's regard more creditable to his feelings in
Speaker 1: his judgment, mister Smith had appointed him the executor of
Speaker 1: his will, but mister Elliot would not act, and the
Speaker 1: difficulties in distress which this refusal had heaped on her.
Speaker 1: In addition to the inevitable sufferings of her situation had
Speaker 1: been such as could not be related without anguish of spirit,
Speaker 1: or listened to without corresponding indignation. Anne was shown some
Speaker 1: letters of his on the occasion, answers to urgent applications
Speaker 1: from Missus Smith, which all breathed the same stern resolution
Speaker 1: of not engaging in a fruitless trouble, and under a
Speaker 1: cold civility, the same hard hearted indifference to any of
Speaker 1: the evils it might bring on her. It was a
Speaker 1: dreadful picture of ingratitude and inhumanity, and Anne felt at
Speaker 1: some moments that no flagrant open crime could have been worse.
Speaker 1: She had a great deal to listen to. All the
Speaker 1: particulars of past sad scenes, All the minutia of distress
Speaker 1: upon distress, which in former conversations had been merely hinted at,
Speaker 1: were dwelt on now with a natural indulgence. Anne could
Speaker 1: perfectly comprehend the exquisite relief, and was only the more
Speaker 1: inclined to wonder at the composure of her friend's usual
Speaker 1: state of mind. There was one circumstance in the history
Speaker 1: of her grievances of particular irritation. She had good reason
Speaker 1: to believe that some property of her husband in the
Speaker 1: West Indies, which had been for many years under a
Speaker 1: sort of sequestration for the payment of its own encumbrances,
Speaker 1: might be recoverable by proper measures, and this property, though
Speaker 1: not large, would be enough to make her comparatively rich.
Speaker 1: But there was nobody to stir in it. Mister Elliot
Speaker 1: would do nothing, and she could do nothing herself, equally
Speaker 1: disabled from personal exertion by her state of bodily weakness
Speaker 1: and from employing others by her want of money, She
Speaker 1: had no natural connections to assist her, even with their counsel,
Speaker 1: and she could not afford to purchase the assistance of
Speaker 1: the law. This was a cruel aggravation of actually straitened means.
Speaker 1: To feel that she ought to be in better circumstances,
Speaker 1: that a little trouble in the right place might do it,
Speaker 1: and to fear that delay might be even weakening her claims,
Speaker 1: was hard to bear. It was on this point that
Speaker 1: she had hoped to engage Anne's good offices with mister Eliot.
Speaker 1: She had previously in the anticipation of their marriage, been
Speaker 1: very apprehensive of losing her friend by it, but on
Speaker 1: being assured that he could have made no attempt of
Speaker 1: that nature since he did not even know her to
Speaker 1: be in bath, it immediately occurred that something might be
Speaker 1: done in her favor by the influence of the woman
Speaker 1: he loved, and she had been hastily preparing to interest
Speaker 1: Anne's feelings as far as the observances due to mister
Speaker 1: Elliot's character would allow. When Anne's refutation of the supposed
Speaker 1: engagement changed the face of everything, and while it took
Speaker 1: from her the new formed hope of succeeding in the
Speaker 1: object of her first anxiety, left her at least the
Speaker 1: comfort of telling the whole story her own way. After
Speaker 1: listening to this full description of mister Eliot, Anne could
Speaker 1: not but express some surprise at Missus Smith's having spoken
Speaker 1: of him so favorably. In the beginning of their conversation.
Speaker 1: She had seemed to recommend and praise him. My dear,
Speaker 1: was Missus Smith reply, there was nothing else to be done.
Speaker 1: I considered your marrying him as certain, though he might
Speaker 1: not yet have made the offer, and I could no
Speaker 1: more speak the truth of him than if he had
Speaker 1: been your husband. My heart bled for you as I
Speaker 1: talked of happiness. And yet he is sensible, he is agreeable,
Speaker 1: and with such a woman as you, it was not
Speaker 1: absolutely hopeless. He was very unkind to his first wife.
Speaker 1: They were wretched together, but she was too ignorant and
Speaker 1: giddy for respect, and he had never loved her. I
Speaker 1: was willing to hope that you must fare better. Anne
Speaker 1: could just acknowledge within herself such a possibility of having
Speaker 1: been induced to marry him. Has made her shudder at
Speaker 1: the idea of the misery which must have followed. It
Speaker 1: was just possible that she might have been persuaded by
Speaker 1: Lady Russell, and under such a supposition, which would have
Speaker 1: been most miserable when time had disclosed all too late.
Speaker 1: It was very desirable that Lady Russell should be no
Speaker 1: longer deceived. And one of the concluding arrangements of this
Speaker 1: important conference, which carried them through the greater part of
Speaker 1: the morning, was that Anne had full liberty to communicate
Speaker 1: to her friend everything relative to missus Smith in which
Speaker 1: his conduct was involved. End of Chapter twenty one