Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen of Persuasion. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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Speaker 1: Elizabeth Klett. Persuasion by Jane Austen, Chapter sixteen. There was
Speaker 1: one point which Anne, on returning to her family, would
Speaker 1: have been more thankful to ascertain, even than mister Elliot's
Speaker 1: being in love with Elizabeth, which was her father's not
Speaker 1: being in love with missus Clay. And she was very
Speaker 1: far from easy about it when she had been at
Speaker 1: home a few hours. On going down to breakfast the
Speaker 1: next morning, she found there had just been a decent
Speaker 1: pretense on the lady's side of meaning to leave them.
Speaker 1: She could imagine missus Clay to have said that now
Speaker 1: miss Anne was come, she could not suppose herself at
Speaker 1: all wanted, for Elizabeth was replying in a sort of
Speaker 1: whisper that must not be any reason. Indeed, I assure
Speaker 1: you I feel that none. She is nothing to me
Speaker 1: compared with you, And she was in full time to
Speaker 1: hear her father say, my dear madame, this must not
Speaker 1: be as yet you have seen nothing of Bath. You
Speaker 1: have been here only to be useful. You must not
Speaker 1: run away from us. Now you must stay to be
Speaker 1: acquainted with Missus Wallace, the beautiful Missus Wallace. To your
Speaker 1: fine mind, I well know, the sight of beauty is
Speaker 1: a real gratification. He spoke and looked so much in
Speaker 1: earnest that Anne was not surprised to see Missus Clay
Speaker 1: stealing a glance at Elizabeth and herself. Her countenance perhaps
Speaker 1: might express some watchfulness, but the praise of the fine
Speaker 1: mind did not appear to excite a thought in her sister.
Speaker 1: The lady could not but yield to such joint entreaties,
Speaker 1: and promised to stay. In the course of the same morning,
Speaker 1: Anne and her father, chancing to be alone together, he
Speaker 1: began to compliment her in her improved looks. He thought
Speaker 1: her less thin in her person, in her cheeks, her skin,
Speaker 1: her complexion greatly improved, clearer fresher. Had she been using
Speaker 1: anything in particular? No, nothing, merely, Goland, He supposed, no,
Speaker 1: nothing at all. Huh. He was surprised at that, and added, certainly,
Speaker 1: you cannot do better than to continue as you are.
Speaker 1: You cannot be better than well, or I should recommend
Speaker 1: Goland the constant use of Goland during the spring months.
Speaker 1: Missus Clay has been using it at my recommendation, and
Speaker 1: you see what it has done for her. You see
Speaker 1: how it has carried away her freckles. If Elizabeth could
Speaker 1: but have heard this, such personal praise might have struck her,
Speaker 1: especially as it did not appear to Anne that the
Speaker 1: freckles were at all lessened. But everything must take its chance.
Speaker 1: The evil of a marriage would be much diminished if
Speaker 1: Elizabeth were also to marry. As for herself, she might
Speaker 1: always command a home with Lady Russell. Lady Russell's composed
Speaker 1: mind and polite manners were put to some trial on
Speaker 1: this point in her intercourse in Camden Place. The sight
Speaker 1: of missus Clay in such favor, and of Anne so overlooked,
Speaker 1: was a perpetual provocation to her there, and vexed her
Speaker 1: as much as when she was away. As a person
Speaker 1: in bath who drinks the water, gets all the new publications,
Speaker 1: and has a very large acquaintance, has time to be vexed.
Speaker 1: As mister Eliot became known to her, she grew more
Speaker 1: charitable or more indifferent towards the others. His manners were
Speaker 1: an immediate recommendation, and on conversing with him, she found
Speaker 1: the solid so fully supporting the superficial that she was,
Speaker 1: at first, as she told Anne, almost ready to exclaim,
Speaker 1: can this be, mister Eliot, and could not seriously picture
Speaker 1: to herself a more agreeable or estimable man? Everything united
Speaker 1: in him, good understanding, correct opinions, knowledge of the world,
Speaker 1: and a warm heart. He had strong feelings of family
Speaker 1: attachment and family honor, without pride or weakness. He lived
Speaker 1: with the liberality of a man of fortune, without display.
Speaker 1: He judged for himself in everything essential, without defying public
Speaker 1: opinion on any point of worldly decorum. He was steady, observant, moderate, candid,
Speaker 1: never run away with by spirits or by selfishness which
Speaker 1: fancied itself, strong feeling, and yet with a sensibility to
Speaker 1: what was amiable and lovely, and a value for all
Speaker 1: the felicities of domestic life, which characters of fancied enthusiasm
Speaker 1: and violent agitation seldom really possess. She was sure that
Speaker 1: he had not been happy in marriage. Colonel Wallace said it,
Speaker 1: and Lady Russell sought, but it had been no unhappiness
Speaker 1: to sour his mind, nor she began pretty soon to
Speaker 1: suspect to prevent his thinking of a second choice. Her
Speaker 1: satisfaction mister Elliot outweighed all the plague of missus Clay.
Speaker 1: It was now some years since Anne had begun to
Speaker 1: learn that she and her excellent friend could sometimes think differently,
Speaker 1: and it did not surprise her therefore that Lady Russell
Speaker 1: should see nothing suspicious or inconsistent, nothing to require more
Speaker 1: motives than appeared in mister Eliot's great desire of a reconciliation.
Speaker 1: In Lady Russell's view, it was perfectly natural that mister Eliot,
Speaker 1: at a mature time of life, should feel it a
Speaker 1: most desirable object, and what would very generally recommend him
Speaker 1: among all sensible people to be on good terms with
Speaker 1: the head of the family, the simplest process in the
Speaker 1: world of time upon a head, naturally clear and only
Speaker 1: erring in the heyday of youth. Anne presumed, however, still
Speaker 1: to smile about it, and at last to mention Elizabeth.
Speaker 1: Lady Russell listened and looked, and made only this cautious reply, Elizabeth.
Speaker 1: Very well time will explain. It was a reference to
Speaker 1: the future, which Anne, after a little observation, felt she
Speaker 1: must submit to. She could determine nothing at present in
Speaker 1: that house, Elizabeth must be first, And she was in
Speaker 1: the habit of such general observance as miss Elliot, that
Speaker 1: any particularity of attention seemed almost impossible. Mister Elliot, too,
Speaker 1: it must be remembered, had not been a widower seven months.
Speaker 1: A little delay on his side might be very excusable.
Speaker 1: In fact, Anne could never see the crape round his
Speaker 1: hat without fearing that she was the inexcusable one in
Speaker 1: attributing to him such imaginations. For though his marriage had
Speaker 1: not been very happy, still it had existed so many
Speaker 1: years that she could not comprehend the very rapid recovery
Speaker 1: from the awful impression of its being dissolved, however it
Speaker 1: might end. He was, without any question their pleasantest acquaintance
Speaker 1: in Bath. She saw nobody equal to him, and it
Speaker 1: was a great indulgence now and then to talk to
Speaker 1: him about lyme which he seemed to have as lively
Speaker 1: wished to see again and see more of as herself.
Speaker 1: They went through the particulars of their first meeting a
Speaker 1: great many times. He gave her to understand that he
Speaker 1: had looked at her with some earnestness. She knew it well,
Speaker 1: and she remembered another person's look. Also, they did not
Speaker 1: always think alike. His value for rank and connection, she perceived,
Speaker 1: was greater than hers. It was not merely complaisance. It
Speaker 1: must be a liking to the cause which made him
Speaker 1: enter warmly into her father and sister's solicitudes on the subject,
Speaker 1: which she thought unworthy to excite them. The bath paper
Speaker 1: one morning announced the arrival of the dowager Viscountess dal
Speaker 1: Rymple and her daughter, the honorable Miss Carteret, and all
Speaker 1: the comfort of Number Camden Place was swept away for
Speaker 1: many days for the Drymples, in Anne's opinion, most unfortunately,
Speaker 1: were cousins of the Elliots, and the agony was how
Speaker 1: to introduce themselves properly. Anne had never seen her father
Speaker 1: and sister before in contact with nobility, and she must
Speaker 1: acknowledge herself disappointed. She had hoped better things from their
Speaker 1: high ideas of their own situation in life, and was
Speaker 1: reduced to form a wish which she had never foreseen,
Speaker 1: a wish that they had more pride for our cousins,
Speaker 1: Lady Lalrymple and Miss Carteret, our cousins, the du Rymples
Speaker 1: sounded in her ears all day long. Sir Walter had
Speaker 1: once been in company with the late vi Count, but
Speaker 1: had never seen any of the rest of the family,
Speaker 1: and the difficulties of the case arose from there having
Speaker 1: been a suspension of all intercourse by letters of ceremony
Speaker 1: ever since the death of that said late vi Count,
Speaker 1: When in consequence of a dangerous illness of Sir Walter's
Speaker 1: at the same time there had been an unlucky omission
Speaker 1: at Kellynch, no letter of condolence had been sent to Ireland.
Speaker 1: The neglect had been visited on the head of the sinner,
Speaker 1: for when poor Lady Eliot died herself, no letter of
Speaker 1: condolence was received at Kellynch. And consequently there was but
Speaker 1: too much reason to apprehend that the Dalrymples considered the
Speaker 1: relationship as closed. How to have this anxious business set
Speaker 1: to rights and be admitted as cousins again was the question,
Speaker 1: And it was a quest in which, in a more
Speaker 1: rational manner, neither Lady Russell nor mister Elliot fought unimportant.
Speaker 1: Family connections were always worth preserving, good company, always worth seeking.
Speaker 1: Lady Delrymple had taken a house for three months in
Speaker 1: law A Place, and of reliving in style. She had
Speaker 1: been at Bath the year before, and Lady Russell had
Speaker 1: heard her spoken of as a charming woman. It was
Speaker 1: very desirable that the connection should be renewed, if it
Speaker 1: could be done without any compromise of propriety on the
Speaker 1: side of the Eliots. Sir Walter, however, would choose his
Speaker 1: own means, and at last wrote a very fine letter
Speaker 1: of ample explanation, regret and entreaty to his right honorable cousin.
Speaker 1: Neither Lady Russell nor mister Elliot could admire the letter,
Speaker 1: but it did all that was wanted in bringing three
Speaker 1: lines of scrawl from the dowager Viscountess. She was very
Speaker 1: much honored and should be happy in their acquaintance. The
Speaker 1: toils of the business were over, the suites began. They
Speaker 1: visited in Lawa Place. They had the cards of dowager
Speaker 1: Viscountess still Rymple and the honorable Miss Carteret to be
Speaker 1: arranged wherever they might be most visible, and our cousins
Speaker 1: in Lawer Place, Our a cousin, Lady Dalrymple, and Miss
Speaker 1: Carteret were talked of to everybody. Anne was ashamed. Had
Speaker 1: Lady Dalrymple and her daughter even been very agreeable, she
Speaker 1: would still have been ashamed of the agitation they created.
Speaker 1: But they were nothing. There was no superiority of manner,
Speaker 1: accomplishment or understanding. Lady Dalrymple had acquired the name of
Speaker 1: a charming woman because she had a smile and a
Speaker 1: civil answer for everybody. Miss Carteret, with still less to say,
Speaker 1: was so plain and so awkward that she would never
Speaker 1: have been tolerated in Camden Place but for her birth.
Speaker 1: Lady Russell confessed she had expected something better, but yet
Speaker 1: it was an acquaintance worth having. And when Anne ventured
Speaker 1: to speak her opinion of them to mister Eliot, he
Speaker 1: agreed to there being nothing in themselves, but still maintained
Speaker 1: that as a family connection as good company. As those
Speaker 1: who would collect good company around them, they had their value.
Speaker 1: Anne smiled and said, my idea of good company, mister Elliot,
Speaker 1: is the company of clever, well informed people who have
Speaker 1: a great deal of conversation. That is what I call
Speaker 1: good company. You are mistaken, said he gently. That is
Speaker 1: not good company. That is the best. Good company requires
Speaker 1: only birth, education and manners. And with regard to education
Speaker 1: is not very nice. Birth and good manners are essential,
Speaker 1: but a little learning is by no means a dangerous thing.
Speaker 1: In good company. On the contrary, it will do very well.
Speaker 1: My cousin Anne shakes her head. She is not satisfied.
Speaker 1: She is fastidious, My dear cousin, sitting down by her,
Speaker 1: you have a better right to be fastidious than almost
Speaker 1: any other woman I know. But will it answer? Will
Speaker 1: it make you happy? Will it not be wiser to
Speaker 1: accept the society of these good ladies in law a
Speaker 1: place and enjoy all the advantages of the connection. As
Speaker 1: far as possible. You may depend upon it that they
Speaker 1: will move in the first set in Bath this winter,
Speaker 1: And as rank is rank, your being known to be
Speaker 1: related to them will have its use in fixing your family,
Speaker 1: our family. Let me say, in that degree of consideration
Speaker 1: which we must all wish for, Yes, sighed Anne, we
Speaker 1: shall indeed be known to be related to them. Then,
Speaker 1: recollecting herself and not wishing to be answered, she added,
Speaker 1: I certainly do think there has been by far too
Speaker 1: much trouble taken to procure the acquaintance. I suppose, smiling,
Speaker 1: I have more pride than any of you, But I
Speaker 1: confess it does vex me that we should be so
Speaker 1: solicitous to have the relationship acknowledged, which we may be
Speaker 1: very sure as a matter of perfect indifference to them.
Speaker 1: Pardon me, dear cousin, you are unjust to your own claims.
Speaker 1: In London, perhaps in your present quiet style of living
Speaker 1: it might be as you say. But in Bath, Sir
Speaker 1: Walter Elliot and his family will always be worth knowing,
Speaker 1: always acceptable as acquaintance. Well, said Anne, I certainly am proud,
Speaker 1: too proud to enjoy a welcome which depends so entirely
Speaker 1: upon place. I love your indignation, said he. It is
Speaker 1: very natural. But here you are in Bath, and the
Speaker 1: object is to be established here with all the credit
Speaker 1: and dignity which ought to belong to Sir Walter Elliot.
Speaker 1: You talk of being proud. I am called proud, I know,
Speaker 1: and I shall not wish to believe myself otherwise, for
Speaker 1: our pride, if investigated, would have the same object. I
Speaker 1: have no doubt, though the kind may seem a little different.
Speaker 1: In one point, I am sure, my dear cousin, he continued,
Speaker 1: speaking lower, though there was no one else in the room.
Speaker 1: In one point, I am sure we must feel alike,
Speaker 1: we must feel that every addition to your father's society
Speaker 1: among his equals or superiors, may be of use in
Speaker 1: diverting his thoughts from those who are beneath him. He
Speaker 1: looked as he spoke to the seat which Missus Clay
Speaker 1: had been lately occupying a sufficient explanation of what he
Speaker 1: particularly meant, And though Anne could not believe in their
Speaker 1: having the same sort of pride, she was pleased with
Speaker 1: him for not liking Missus Clay, and her conscience admitted
Speaker 1: that his wishing to promote her father's getting great acquaintance
Speaker 1: was more than excusable in the view, defeating her end
Speaker 1: of chapter sixteen.