Sense and Sensibility

CHAPTER 50

After a proper resistance on the part of Mrs. Ferrars, just so violentand so steady as to preserve her from that reproach which she alwaysseemed fearful of incurring, the reproach of being too amiable, Edwardwas admitted to her presence, and pronounced to be again her son.

Her family had of late been exceedingly fluctuating. For many years ofher life she had had two sons; but the crime and annihilation of Edwarda few weeks ago, had robbed her of one; the similar annihilation ofRobert had left her for a fortnight without any; and now, by theresuscitation of Edward, she had one again.

In spite of his being allowed once more to live, however, he did notfeel the continuance of his existence secure, till he had revealed hispresent engagement; for the publication of that circumstance, hefeared, might give a sudden turn to his constitution, and carry him offas rapidly as before. With apprehensive caution therefore it wasrevealed, and he was listened to with unexpected calmness. Mrs.Ferrars at first reasonably endeavoured to dissuade him from marryingMiss Dashwood, by every argument in her power;--told him, that in MissMorton he would have a woman of higher rank and larger fortune;--andenforced the assertion, by observing that Miss Morton was the daughterof a nobleman with thirty thousand pounds, while Miss Dashwood was onlythe daughter of a private gentleman with no more than THREE; but whenshe found that, though perfectly admitting the truth of herrepresentation, he was by no means inclined to be guided by it, shejudged it wisest, from the experience of the past, to submit--andtherefore, after such an ungracious delay as she owed to her owndignity, and as served to prevent every suspicion of good-will, sheissued her decree of consent to the marriage of Edward and Elinor.

What she would engage to do towards augmenting their income was next tobe considered; and here it plainly appeared, that though Edward was nowher only son, he was by no means her eldest; for while Robert wasinevitably endowed with a thousand pounds a-year, not the smallestobjection was made against Edward's taking orders for the sake of twohundred and fifty at the utmost; nor was anything promised either forthe present or in future, beyond the ten thousand pounds, which hadbeen given with Fanny.

It was as much, however, as was desired, and more than was expected, byEdward and Elinor; and Mrs. Ferrars herself, by her shuffling excuses,seemed the only person surprised at her not giving more.

With an income quite sufficient to their wants thus secured to them,they had nothing to wait for after Edward was in possession of theliving, but the readiness of the house, to which Colonel Brandon, withan eager desire for the accommodation of Elinor, was makingconsiderable improvements; and after waiting some time for theircompletion, after experiencing, as usual, a thousand disappointmentsand delays from the unaccountable dilatoriness of the workmen, Elinor,as usual, broke through the first positive resolution of not marryingtill every thing was ready, and the ceremony took place in Bartonchurch early in the autumn.

The first month after their marriage was spent with their friend at theMansion-house; from whence they could superintend the progress of theParsonage, and direct every thing as they liked on the spot;--couldchuse papers, project shrubberies, and invent a sweep. Mrs. Jennings'sprophecies, though rather jumbled together, were chiefly fulfilled; forshe was able to visit Edward and his wife in their Parsonage byMichaelmas, and she found in Elinor and her husband, as she reallybelieved, one of the happiest couples in the world. They had in factnothing to wish for, but the marriage of Colonel Brandon and Marianne,and rather better pasturage for their cows.

They were visited on their first settling by almost all their relationsand friends. Mrs. Ferrars came to inspect the happiness which she wasalmost ashamed of having authorised; and even the Dashwoods were at theexpense of a journey from Sussex to do them honour.

”I will not say that I am disappointed, my dear sister,” said John, asthey were walking together one morning before the gates of DelafordHouse, ”THAT would be saying too much, for certainly you have been oneof the most fortunate young women in the world, as it is. But, Iconfess, it would give me great pleasure to call Colonel Brandonbrother. His property here, his place, his house, every thing is insuch respectable and excellent condition!--and his woods!--I have notseen such timber any where in Dorsetshire, as there is now standing inDelaford Hanger!--And though, perhaps, Marianne may not seem exactlythe person to attract him--yet I think it would altogether be advisablefor you to have them now frequently staying with you, for as ColonelBrandon seems a great deal at home, nobody can tell what mayhappen--for, when people are much thrown together, and see little ofanybody else--and it will always be in your power to set her off toadvantage, and so forth;--in short, you may as well give her achance--You understand me.”--

But though Mrs. Ferrars DID come to see them, and always treated themwith the make-believe of decent affection, they were never insulted byher real favour and preference. THAT was due to the folly of Robert,and the cunning of his wife; and it was earned by them before manymonths had passed away. The selfish sagacity of the latter, which hadat first drawn Robert into the scrape, was the principal instrument ofhis deliverance from it; for her respectful humility, assiduousattentions, and endless flatteries, as soon as the smallest opening wasgiven for their exercise, reconciled Mrs. Ferrars to his choice, andre-established him completely in her favour.

The whole of Lucy's behaviour in the affair, and the prosperity whichcrowned it, therefore, may be held forth as a most encouraging instanceof what an earnest, an unceasing attention to self-interest, howeverits progress may be apparently obstructed, will do in securing everyadvantage of fortune, with no other sacrifice than that of time andconscience. When Robert first sought her acquaintance, and privatelyvisited her in Bartlett's Buildings, it was only with the view imputedto him by his brother. He merely meant to persuade her to give up theengagement; and as there could be nothing to overcome but the affectionof both, he naturally expected that one or two interviews would settlethe matter. In that point, however, and that only, he erred;--forthough Lucy soon gave him hopes that his eloquence would convince herin TIME, another visit, another conversation, was always wanted toproduce this conviction. Some doubts always lingered in her mind whenthey parted, which could only be removed by another half hour'sdiscourse with himself. His attendance was by this means secured, andthe rest followed in course. Instead of talking of Edward, they camegradually to talk only of Robert,--a subject on which he had alwaysmore to say than on any other, and in which she soon betrayed aninterest even equal to his own; and in short, it became speedilyevident to both, that he had entirely supplanted his brother. He wasproud of his conquest, proud of tricking Edward, and very proud ofmarrying privately without his mother's consent. What immediatelyfollowed is known. They passed some months in great happiness atDawlish; for she had many relations and old acquaintances to cut--andhe drew several plans for magnificent cottages;--and from thencereturning to town, procured the forgiveness of Mrs. Ferrars, by thesimple expedient of asking it, which, at Lucy's instigation, wasadopted. The forgiveness, at first, indeed, as was reasonable,comprehended only Robert; and Lucy, who had owed his mother no duty andtherefore could have transgressed none, still remained some weekslonger unpardoned. But perseverance in humility of conduct andmessages, in self-condemnation for Robert's offence, and gratitude forthe unkindness she was treated with, procured her in time the haughtynotice which overcame her by its graciousness, and led soon afterwards,by rapid degrees, to the highest state of affection and influence.Lucy became as necessary to Mrs. Ferrars, as either Robert or Fanny;and while Edward was never cordially forgiven for having once intendedto marry her, and Elinor, though superior to her in fortune and birth,was spoken of as an intruder, SHE was in every thing considered, andalways openly acknowledged, to be a favourite child. They settled intown, received very liberal assistance from Mrs. Ferrars, were on thebest terms imaginable with the Dashwoods; and setting aside thejealousies and ill-will continually subsisting between Fanny and Lucy,in which their husbands of course took a part, as well as the frequentdomestic disagreements between Robert and Lucy themselves, nothingcould exceed the harmony in which they all lived together.

What Edward had done to forfeit the right of eldest son, might havepuzzled many people to find out; and what Robert had done to succeed toit, might have puzzled them still more. It was an arrangement,however, justified in its effects, if not in its cause; for nothingever appeared in Robert's style of living or of talking to give asuspicion of his regretting the extent of his income, as either leavinghis brother too little, or bringing himself too much;--and if Edwardmight be judged from the ready discharge of his duties in everyparticular, from an increasing attachment to his wife and his home, andfrom the regular cheerfulness of his spirits, he might be supposed noless contented with his lot, no less free from every wish of anexchange.

Elinor's marriage divided her as little from her family as could wellbe contrived, without rendering the cottage at Barton entirely useless,for her mother and sisters spent much more than half their time withher. Mrs. Dashwood was acting on motives of policy as well as pleasurein the frequency of her visits at Delaford; for her wish of bringingMarianne and Colonel Brandon together was hardly less earnest, thoughrather more liberal than what John had expressed. It was now herdarling object. Precious as was the company of her daughter to her,she desired nothing so much as to give up its constant enjoyment to hervalued friend; and to see Marianne settled at the mansion-house wasequally the wish of Edward and Elinor. They each felt his sorrows, andtheir own obligations, and Marianne, by general consent, was to be thereward of all.

With such a confederacy against her--with a knowledge so intimate ofhis goodness--with a conviction of his fond attachment to herself,which at last, though long after it was observable to everybodyelse--burst on her--what could she do?

Marianne Dashwood was born to an extraordinary fate. She was born todiscover the falsehood of her own opinions, and to counteract, by herconduct, her most favourite maxims. She was born to overcome anaffection formed so late in life as at seventeen, and with no sentimentsuperior to strong esteem and lively friendship, voluntarily to giveher hand to another!--and THAT other, a man who had suffered no lessthan herself under the event of a former attachment, whom, two yearsbefore, she had considered too old to be married,--and who still soughtthe constitutional safeguard of a flannel waistcoat!

But so it was. Instead of falling a sacrifice to an irresistiblepassion, as once she had fondly flattered herself with expecting,--insteadof remaining even for ever with her mother, and finding her onlypleasures in retirement and study, as afterwards in her more calm andsober judgment she had determined on,--she found herself at nineteen,submitting to new attachments, entering on new duties, placed in a newhome, a wife, the mistress of a family, and the patroness of a village.

Colonel Brandon was now as happy, as all those who best loved him,believed he deserved to be;--in Marianne he was consoled for every pastaffliction;--her regard and her society restored his mind to animation,and his spirits to cheerfulness; and that Marianne found her ownhappiness in forming his, was equally the persuasion and delight ofeach observing friend. Marianne could never love by halves; and herwhole heart became, in time, as much devoted to her husband, as it hadonce been to Willoughby.

Willoughby could not hear of her marriage without a pang; and hispunishment was soon afterwards complete in the voluntary forgiveness ofMrs. Smith, who, by stating his marriage with a woman of character, asthe source of her clemency, gave him reason for believing that had hebehaved with honour towards Marianne, he might at once have been happyand rich. That his repentance of misconduct, which thus brought itsown punishment, was sincere, need not be doubted;--nor that he longthought of Colonel Brandon with envy, and of Marianne with regret. Butthat he was for ever inconsolable, that he fled from society, orcontracted an habitual gloom of temper, or died of a broken heart, mustnot be depended on--for he did neither. He lived to exert, andfrequently to enjoy himself. His wife was not always out of humour,nor his home always uncomfortable; and in his breed of horses and dogs,and in sporting of every kind, he found no inconsiderable degree ofdomestic felicity.

For Marianne, however--in spite of his incivility in surviving herloss--he always retained that decided regard which interested him inevery thing that befell her, and made her his secret standard ofperfection in woman;--and many a rising beauty would be slighted by himin after-days as bearing no comparison with Mrs. Brandon.

Mrs. Dashwood was prudent enough to remain at the cottage, withoutattempting a removal to Delaford; and fortunately for Sir John and Mrs.Jennings, when Marianne was taken from them, Margaret had reached anage highly suitable for dancing, and not very ineligible for beingsupposed to have a lover.

Between Barton and Delaford, there was that constant communicationwhich strong family affection would naturally dictate;--and among themerits and the happiness of Elinor and Marianne, let it not be rankedas the least considerable, that though sisters, and living almostwithin sight of each other, they could live without disagreementbetween themselves, or producing coolness between their husbands.

THE END