曼斯菲尔德庄园 Chapter 15

CHAPTER XV 

Miss Crawford accepted the part very readily; and soon after Miss Bertram's return from the Parsonage, Mr. Rushworth arrived, and another character was consequently cast. He had the offer of Count Cassel and Anhalt, and at first did not know which to chuse, and wanted Miss Bertram to direct him; but upon being made to understand the different style of the characters, and which was which, and recollecting that he had once seen the play in London, and had thought Anhalt a very stupid fellow, he soon decided for the Count. Miss Bertram approved the decision, for the less he had to learn the better; and though she could not sympathise in his wish that the Count and Agatha might be to act together, nor wait very patiently while he was slowly turning over the leaves with the hope of still discovering such a scene, she very kindly took his part in hand, and curtailed every speech that admitted being shortened; besides pointing out the necessity of his being very much dressed, and chusing his colours. Mr. Rushworth liked the idea of his finery very well, though affecting to despise it; and was too much engaged with what his own appearance would be to think of the others, or draw any of those conclusions, or feel any of that displeasure which Maria had been half prepared for. 

Thus much was settled before Edmund, who had been out all the morning, knew anything of the matter; but when he entered the drawing-room before dinner, the buzz of discussion was high between Tom, Maria, and Mr. Yates; and Mr. Rushworth stepped forward with great alacrity to tell him the agreeable news. 

"We have got a play," said he. "It is to be Lovers' Vows; and I am to be Count Cassel, and am to come in first with a blue dress and a pink satin cloak, and afterwards am to have another fine fancy suit, by way of a shooting-dress. I do not know how I shall like it." 

Fanny's eyes followed Edmund, and her heart beat for him as she heard this speech, and saw his look, and felt what his sensations must be. 

"Lovers' Vows!" in a tone of the greatest amazement, was his only reply to Mr. Rushworth, and he turned towards his brother and sisters as if hardly doubting a contradiction. 

"Yes," cried Mr. Yates. "After all our debatings and difficulties, we find there is nothing that will suit us altogether so well, nothing so unexceptionable, as Lovers' Vows. The wonder is that it should not have been thought of before. My stupidity was abominable, for here we have all the advantage of what I saw at Ecclesford; and it is so useful to have anything of a model! We have cast almost every part." 

"But what do you do for women?" said Edmund gravely, and looking at Maria. 

Maria blushed in spite of herself as she answered, "I take the part which Lady Ravenshaw was to have done, and" (with a bolder eye) "Miss Crawford is to be Amelia." 

"I should not have thought it the sort of play to be so easily filled up, with _us_," replied Edmund, turning away to the fire, where sat his mother, aunt, and Fanny, and seating himself with a look of great vexation. 

Mr. Rushworth followed him to say, "I come in three times, and have two-and-forty speeches. That's something, is not it? But I do not much like the idea of being so fine. I shall hardly know myself in a blue dress and a pink satin cloak." 

Edmund could not answer him. In a few minutes Mr. Bertram was called out of the room to satisfy some doubts of the carpenter; and being accompanied by Mr. Yates, and followed soon afterwards by Mr. Rushworth, Edmund almost immediately took the opportunity of saying, "I cannot, before Mr. Yates, speak what I feel as to this play, without reflecting on his friends at Ecclesford; but I must now, my dear Maria, tell _you_, that I think it exceedingly unfit for private representation, and that I hope you will give it up. I cannot but suppose you _will_ when you have read it carefully over. Read only the first act aloud to either your mother or aunt, and see how you can approve it. It will not be necessary to send you to your _father's_ judgment, I am convinced." 

"We see things very differently," cried Maria. "I am perfectly acquainted with the play, I assure you; and with a very few omissions, and so forth, which will be made, of course, I can see nothing objectionable in it; and _I_ am not the _only_ young woman you find who thinks it very fit for private representation." 

"I am sorry for it," was his answer; "but in this matter it is _you_ who are to lead. _You_ must set the example. If others have blundered, it is your place to put them right, and shew them what true delicacy is. In all points of decorum _your_ conduct must be law to the rest of the party." 

This picture of her consequence had some effect, for no one loved better to lead than Maria; and with far more good-humour she answered, "I am much obliged to you, Edmund; you mean very well, I am sure: but I still think you see things too strongly; and I really cannot undertake to harangue all the rest upon a subject of this kind. _There_ would be the greatest indecorum, I think." 

"Do you imagine that I could have such an idea in my head? No; let your conduct be the only harangue. Say that, on examining the part, you feel yourself unequal to it; that you find it requiring more exertion and confidence than you can be supposed to have. Say this with firmness, and it will be quite enough. All who can distinguish will understand your motive. The play will be given up, and your delicacy honoured as it ought." 

"Do not act anything improper, my dear," said Lady Bertram. "Sir Thomas would not like it.--Fanny, ring the bell; I must have my dinner.--To be sure, Julia is dressed by this time." 

"I am convinced, madam," said Edmund, preventing Fanny, "that Sir Thomas would not like it." 

"There, my dear, do you hear what Edmund says?" 

"If I were to decline the part," said Maria, with renewed zeal, "Julia would certainly take it." 

"What!" cried Edmund, "if she knew your reasons!" 

"Oh! she might think the difference between us-- the difference in our situations--that _she_ need not be so scrupulous as _I_ might feel necessary. I am sure she would argue so. No; you must excuse me; I cannot retract my consent; it is too far settled, everybody would be so disappointed, Tom would be quite angry; and if we are so very nice, we shall never act anything." 

"I was just going to say the very same thing," said Mrs. Norris. "If every play is to be objected to, you will act nothing, and the preparations will be all so much money thrown away, and I am sure _that_ would be a discredit to us all. I do not know the play; but, as Maria says, if there is anything a little too warm (and it is so with most of them) it can be easily left out. We must not be over-precise, Edmund. As Mr. Rushworth is to act too, there can be no harm. I only wish Tom had known his own mind when the carpenters began, for there was the loss of half a day's work about those side-doors. The curtain will be a good job, however. The maids do their work very well, and I think we shall be able to send back some dozens of the rings. There is no occasion to put them so very close together. I _am_ of some use, I hope, in preventing waste and making the most of things. There should always be one steady head to superintend so many young ones. I forgot to tell Tom of something that happened to me this very day. I had been looking about me in the poultry-yard, and was just coming out, when who should I see but Dick Jackson making up to the servants' hall-door with two bits of deal board in his hand, bringing them to father, you may be sure; mother had chanced to send him of a message to father, and then father had bid him bring up them two bits of board, for he could not no how do without them. I knew what all this meant, for the servants' dinner-bell was ringing at the very moment over our heads; and as I hate such encroaching people (the Jacksons are very encroaching, I have always said so: just the sort of people to get all they can), I said to the boy directly (a great lubberly fellow of ten years old, you know, who ought to be ashamed of himself), "_I'll_ take the boards to your father, Dick, so get you home again as fast as you can." The boy looked very silly, and turned away without offering a word, for I believe I might speak pretty sharp; and I dare say it will cure him of coming marauding about the house for one while. I hate such greediness-- so good as your father is to the family, employing the man all the year round!" 

Nobody was at the trouble of an answer; the others soon returned; and Edmund found that to have endeavoured to set them right must be his only satisfaction. 

Dinner passed heavily. Mrs. Norris related again her triumph over Dick Jackson, but neither play nor preparation were otherwise much talked of, for Edmund's disapprobation was felt even by his brother, though he would not have owned it. Maria, wanting Henry Crawford's animating support, thought the subject better avoided. Mr. Yates, who was trying to make himself agreeable to Julia, found her gloom less impenetrable on any topic than that of his regret at her secession from their company; and Mr. Rushworth, having only his own part and his own dress in his head, had soon talked away all that could be said of either. 

But the concerns of the theatre were suspended only for an hour or two: there was still a great deal to be settled; and the spirits of evening giving fresh courage, Tom, Maria, and Mr. Yates, soon after their being reassembled in the drawing-room, seated themselves in committee at a separate table, with the play open before them, and were just getting deep in the subject when a most welcome interruption was given by the entrance of Mr. and Miss Crawford, who, late and dark and dirty as it was, could not help coming, and were received with the most grateful joy. 

"Well, how do you go on?" and "What have you settled?" and "Oh! we can do nothing without you," followed the first salutations; and Henry Crawford was soon seated with the other three at the table, while his sister made her way to Lady Bertram, and with pleasant attention was complimenting _her_. "I must really congratulate your ladyship," said she, "on the play being chosen; for though you have borne it with exemplary patience, I am sure you must be sick of all our noise and difficulties. The actors may be glad, but the bystanders must be infinitely more thankful for a decision; and I do sincerely give you joy, madam, as well as Mrs. Norris, and everybody else who is in the same predicament," glancing half fearfully, half slyly, beyond Fanny to Edmund. 

She was very civilly answered by Lady Bertram, but Edmund said nothing. His being only a bystander was not disclaimed. After continuing in chat with the party round the fire a few minutes, Miss Crawford returned to the party round the table; and standing by them, seemed to interest herself in their arrangements till, as if struck by a sudden recollection, she exclaimed, "My good friends, you are most composedly at work upon these cottages and alehouses, inside and out; but pray let me know my fate in the meanwhile. Who is to be Anhalt? What gentleman among you am I to have the pleasure of making love to?" 

For a moment no one spoke; and then many spoke together to tell the same melancholy truth, that they had not yet got any Anhalt. "Mr. Rushworth was to be Count Cassel, but no one had yet undertaken Anhalt." 

"I had my choice of the parts," said Mr. Rushworth; "but I thought I should like the Count best, though I do not much relish the finery I am to have." 

"You chose very wisely, I am sure," replied Miss Crawford, with a brightened look; "Anhalt is a heavy part." 

"_The_ _Count_ has two-and-forty speeches," returned Mr. Rushworth, "which is no trifle." 

"I am not at all surprised," said Miss Crawford, after a short pause, "at this want of an Anhalt. Amelia deserves no better. Such a forward young lady may well frighten the men." 

"I should be but too happy in taking the part, if it were possible," cried Tom; "but, unluckily, the Butler and Anhalt are in together. I will not entirely give it up, however; I will try what can be done--I will look it over again." 

"Your _brother_ should take the part," said Mr. Yates, in a low voice. "Do not you think he would?" 

"_I_ shall not ask him," replied Tom, in a cold, determined manner. 

Miss Crawford talked of something else, and soon afterwards rejoined the party at the fire. 

"They do not want me at all," said she, seating herself. "I only puzzle them, and oblige them to make civil speeches. Mr. Edmund Bertram, as you do not act yourself, you will be a disinterested adviser; and, therefore, I apply to _you_. What shall we do for an Anhalt? Is it practicable for any of the others to double it? What is your advice?" 

"My advice," said he calmly, "is that you change the play." 

"_I_ should have no objection," she replied; "for though I should not particularly dislike the part of Amelia if well supported, that is, if everything went well, I shall be sorry to be an inconvenience; but as they do not chuse to hear your advice at _that_ _table_" (looking round), "it certainly will not be taken." 

Edmund said no more. 

"If _any_ part could tempt _you_ to act, I suppose it would be Anhalt," observed the lady archly, after a short pause; "for he is a clergyman, you know." 

"_That_ circumstance would by no means tempt me," he replied, "for I should be sorry to make the character ridiculous by bad acting. It must be very difficult to keep Anhalt from appearing a formal, solemn lecturer; and the man who chuses the profession itself is, perhaps, one of the last who would wish to represent it on the stage." 

Miss Crawford was silenced, and with some feelings of resentment and mortification, moved her chair considerably nearer the tea-table, and gave all her attention to Mrs. Norris, who was presiding there. 

"Fanny," cried Tom Bertram, from the other table, where the conference was eagerly carrying on, and the conversation incessant, "we want your services" 

Fanny was up in a moment, expecting some errand; for the habit of employing her in that way was not yet overcome, in spite of all that Edmund could do. 

"Oh! we do not want to disturb you from your seat. We do not want your _present_ services. We shall only want you in our play. You must be Cottager's wife." 

"Me!" cried Fanny, sitting down again with a most frightened look. "Indeed you must excuse me. I could not act anything if you were to give me the world. No, indeed, I cannot act." 

"Indeed, but you must, for we cannot excuse you. It need not frighten you: it is a nothing of a part, a mere nothing, not above half a dozen speeches altogether, and it will not much signify if nobody hears a word you say; so you may be as creep-mouse as you like, but we must have you to look at." 

"If you are afraid of half a dozen speeches," cried Mr. Rushworth, "what would you do with such a part as mine? I have forty-two to learn." 

"It is not that I am afraid of learning by heart," said Fanny, shocked to find herself at that moment the only speaker in the room, and to feel that almost every eye was upon her; "but I really cannot act." 

"Yes, yes, you can act well enough for _us_. Learn your part, and we will teach you all the rest. You have only two scenes, and as I shall be Cottager, I'll put you in and push you about, and you will do it very well, I'll answer for it." 

"No, indeed, Mr. Bertram, you must excuse me. You cannot have an idea. It would be absolutely impossible for me. If I were to undertake it, I should only disappoint you." 

"Phoo! Phoo! Do not be so shamefaced. You'll do it very well. Every allowance will be made for you. We do not expect perfection. You must get a brown gown, and a white apron, and a mob cap, and we must make you a few wrinkles, and a little of the crowsfoot at the corner of your eyes, and you will be a very proper, little old woman." 

"You must excuse me, indeed you must excuse me," cried Fanny, growing more and more red from excessive agitation, and looking distressfully at Edmund, who was kindly observing her; but unwilling to exasperate his brother by interference, gave her only an encouraging smile. Her entreaty had no effect on Tom: he only said again what he had said before; and it was not merely Tom, for the requisition was now backed by Maria, and Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Yates, with an urgency which differed from his but in being more gentle or more ceremonious, and which altogether was quite overpowering to Fanny; and before she could breathe after it, Mrs. Norris completed the whole by thus addressing her in a whisper at once angry and audible--"What a piece of work here is about nothing: I am quite ashamed of you, Fanny, to make such a difficulty of obliging your cousins in a trifle of this sort--so kind as they are to you! Take the part with a good grace, and let us hear no more of the matter, I entreat." 

"Do not urge her, madam," said Edmund. "It is not fair to urge her in this manner. You see she does not like to act. Let her chuse for herself, as well as the rest of us. Her judgment may be quite as safely trusted. Do not urge her any more." 

"I am not going to urge her," replied Mrs. Norris sharply; "but I shall think her a very obstinate, ungrateful girl, if she does not do what her aunt and cousins wish her-- very ungrateful, indeed, considering who and what she is." 

Edmund was too angry to speak; but Miss Crawford, looking for a moment with astonished eyes at Mrs. Norris, and then at Fanny, whose tears were beginning to shew themselves, immediately said, with some keenness, "I do not like my situation: this _place_ is too hot for me," and moved away her chair to the opposite side of the table, close to Fanny, saying to her, in a kind, low whisper, as she placed herself, "Never mind, my dear Miss Price, this is a cross evening: everybody is cross and teasing, but do not let us mind them"; and with pointed attention continued to talk to her and endeavour to raise her spirits, in spite of being out of spirits herself. By a look at her brother she prevented any farther entreaty from the theatrical board, and the really good feelings by which she was almost purely governed were rapidly restoring her to all the little she had lost in Edmund's favour. 

Fanny did not love Miss Crawford; but she felt very much obliged to her for her present kindness; and when, from taking notice of her work, and wishing _she_ could work as well, and begging for the pattern, and supposing Fanny was now preparing for her _appearance_, as of course she would come out when her cousin was married, Miss Crawford proceeded to inquire if she had heard lately from her brother at sea, and said that she had quite a curiosity to see him, and imagined him a very fine young man, and advised Fanny to get his picture drawn before he went to sea again--she could not help admitting it to be very agreeable flattery, or help listening, and answering with more animation than she had intended. 

The consultation upon the play still went on, and Miss Crawford's attention was first called from Fanny by Tom Bertram's telling her, with infinite regret, that he found it absolutely impossible for him to undertake the part of Anhalt in addition to the Butler: he had been most anxiously trying to make it out to be feasible, but it would not do; he must give it up. "But there will not be the smallest difficulty in filling it," he added. "We have but to speak the word; we may pick and chuse. I could name, at this moment, at least six young men within six miles of us, who are wild to be admitted into our company, and there are one or two that would not disgrace us: I should not be afraid to trust either of the Olivers or Charles Maddox. Tom Oliver is a very clever fellow, and Charles Maddox is as gentlemanlike a man as you will see anywhere, so I will take my horse early to-morrow morning and ride over to Stoke, and settle with one of them." 

While he spoke, Maria was looking apprehensively round at Edmund in full expectation that he must oppose such an enlargement of the plan as this: so contrary to all their first protestations; but Edmund said nothing. After a moment's thought, Miss Crawford calmly replied, "As far as I am concerned, I can have no objection to anything that you all think eligible. Have I ever seen either of the gentlemen? Yes, Mr. Charles Maddox dined at my sister's one day, did not he, Henry? A quiet-looking young man. I remember him. Let _him_ be applied to, if you please, for it will be less unpleasant to me than to have a perfect stranger." 

Charles Maddox was to be the man. Tom repeated his resolution of going to him early on the morrow; and though Julia, who had scarcely opened her lips before, observed, in a sarcastic manner, and with a glance first at Maria and then at Edmund, that "the Mansfield theatricals would enliven the whole neighbourhood exceedingly," Edmund still held his peace, and shewed his feelings only by a determined gravity. 

"I am not very sanguine as to our play," said Miss Crawford, in an undervoice to Fanny, after some consideration; "and I can tell Mr. Maddox that I shall shorten some of _his_ speeches, and a great many of _my_ _own_, before we rehearse together. It will be very disagreeable, and by no means what I expected."

CHAPTER XVI 

It was not in Miss Crawford's power to talk Fanny into any real forgetfulness of what had passed. When the evening was over, she went to bed full of it, her nerves still agitated by the shock of such an attack from her cousin Tom, so public and so persevered in, and her spirits sinking under her aunt's unkind reflection and reproach. To be called into notice in such a manner, to hear that it was but the prelude to something so infinitely worse, to be told that she must do what was so impossible as to act; and then to have the charge of obstinacy and ingratitude follow it, enforced with such a hint at the dependence of her situation, had been too distressing at the time to make the remembrance when she was alone much less so, especially with the superadded dread of what the morrow might produce in continuation of the subject. Miss Crawford had protected her only for the time; and if she were applied to again among themselves with all the authoritative urgency that Tom and Maria were capable of, and Edmund perhaps away, what should she do? She fell asleep before she could answer the question, and found it quite as puzzling when she awoke the next morning. The little white attic, which had continued her sleeping-room ever since her first entering the family, proving incompetent to suggest any reply, she had recourse, as soon as she was dressed, to another apartment more spacious and more meet for walking about in and thinking, and of which she had now for some time been almost equally mistress. It had been their school-room; so called till the Miss Bertrams would not allow it to be called so any longer, and inhabited as such to a later period. There Miss Lee had lived, and there they had read and written, and talked and laughed, till within the last three years, when she had quitted them. The room had then become useless, and for some time was quite deserted, except by Fanny, when she visited her plants, or wanted one of the books, which she was still glad to keep there, from the deficiency of space and accommodation in her little chamber above: but gradually, as her value for the comforts of it increased, she had added to her possessions, and spent more of her time there; and having nothing to oppose her, had so naturally and so artlessly worked herself into it, that it was now generally admitted to be hers. The East room, as it had been called ever since Maria Bertram was sixteen, was now considered Fanny's, almost as decidedly as the white attic: the smallness of the one making the use of the other so evidently reasonable that the Miss Bertrams, with every superiority in their own apartments which their own sense of superiority could demand, were entirely approving it; and Mrs. Norris, having stipulated for there never being a fire in it on Fanny's account, was tolerably resigned to her having the use of what nobody else wanted, though the terms in which she sometimes spoke of the indulgence seemed to imply that it was the best room in the house. 

The aspect was so favourable that even without a fire it was habitable in many an early spring and late autumn morning to such a willing mind as Fanny's; and while there was a gleam of sunshine she hoped not to be driven from it entirely, even when winter came. The comfort of it in her hours of leisure was extreme. She could go there after anything unpleasant below, and find immediate consolation in some pursuit, or some train of thought at hand. Her plants, her books-- of which she had been a collector from the first hour of her commanding a shilling--her writing-desk, and her works of charity and ingenuity, were all within her reach; or if indisposed for employment, if nothing but musing would do, she could scarcely see an object in that room which had not an interesting remembrance connected with it. Everything was a friend, or bore her thoughts to a friend; and though there had been sometimes much of suffering to her; though her motives had often been misunderstood, her feelings disregarded, and her comprehension undervalued; though she had known the pains of tyranny, of ridicule, and neglect, yet almost every recurrence of either had led to something consolatory: her aunt Bertram had spoken for her, or Miss Lee had been encouraging, or, what was yet more frequent or more dear, Edmund had been her champion and her friend: he had supported her cause or explained her meaning, he had told her not to cry, or had given her some proof of affection which made her tears delightful; and the whole was now so blended together, so harmonised by distance, that every former affliction had its charm. The room was most dear to her, and she would not have changed its furniture for the handsomest in the house, though what had been originally plain had suffered all the ill-usage of children; and its greatest elegancies and ornaments were a faded footstool of Julia's work, too ill done for the drawing-room, three transparencies, made in a rage for transparencies, for the three lower panes of one window, where Tintern Abbey held its station between a cave in Italy and a moonlight lake in Cumberland, a collection of family profiles, thought unworthy of being anywhere else, over the mantelpiece, and by their side, and pinned against the wall, a small sketch of a ship sent four years ago from the Mediterranean by William, with H.M.S. Antwerp at the bottom, in letters as tall as the mainmast. 

To this nest of comforts Fanny now walked down to try its influence on an agitated, doubting spirit, to see if by looking at Edmund's profile she could catch any of his counsel, or by giving air to her geraniums she might inhale a breeze of mental strength herself. But she had more than fears of her own perseverance to remove: she had begun to feel undecided as to what she _ought_ _to_ _do_; and as she walked round the room her doubts were increasing. Was she _right_ in refusing what was so warmly asked, so strongly wished for--what might be so essential to a scheme on which some of those to whom she owed the greatest complaisance had set their hearts? Was it not ill-nature, selfishness, and a fear of exposing herself? And would Edmund's judgment, would his persuasion of Sir Thomas's disapprobation of the whole, be enough to justify her in a determined denial in spite of all the rest? It would be so horrible to her to act that she was inclined to suspect the truth and purity of her own scruples; and as she looked around her, the claims of her cousins to being obliged were strengthened by the sight of present upon present that she had received from them. The table between the windows was covered with work-boxes and netting-boxes which had been given her at different times, principally by Tom; and she grew bewildered as to the amount of the debt which all these kind remembrances produced. A tap at the door roused her in the midst of this attempt to find her way to her duty, and her gentle "Come in" was answered by the appearance of one, before whom all her doubts were wont to be laid. Her eyes brightened at the sight of Edmund. 

"Can I speak with you, Fanny, for a few minutes?" said he. 

"Yes, certainly." 

"I want to consult. I want your opinion." 

"My opinion!" she cried, shrinking from such a compliment, highly as it gratified her. 

"Yes, your advice and opinion. I do not know what to do. This acting scheme gets worse and worse, you see. They have chosen almost as bad a play as they could, and now, to complete the business, are going to ask the help of a young man very slightly known to any of us. This is the end of all the privacy and propriety which was talked about at first. I know no harm of Charles Maddox; but the excessive intimacy which must spring from his being admitted among us in this manner is highly objectionable, the _more_ than intimacy--the familiarity. I cannot think of it with any patience; and it does appear to me an evil of such magnitude as must, _if_ _possible_, be prevented. Do not you see it in the same light?" 

"Yes; but what can be done? Your brother is so determined." 

"There is but _one_ thing to be done, Fanny. I must take Anhalt myself. I am well aware that nothing else will quiet Tom." 

Fanny could not answer him. 

"It is not at all what I like," he continued. "No man can like being driven into the _appearance_ of such inconsistency. After being known to oppose the scheme from the beginning, there is absurdity in the face of my joining them _now_, when they are exceeding their first plan in every respect; but I can think of no other alternative. Can you, Fanny?" 

"No," said Fanny slowly, "not immediately, but-- 

"But what? I see your judgment is not with me. Think it a little over. Perhaps you are not so much aware as I am of the mischief that _may_, of the unpleasantness that _must_ arise from a young man's being received in this manner: domesticated among us; authorised to come at all hours, and placed suddenly on a footing which must do away all restraints. To think only of the licence which every rehearsal must tend to create. It is all very bad! Put yourself in Miss Crawford's place, Fanny. Consider what it would be to act Amelia with a stranger. She has a right to be felt for, because she evidently feels for herself. I heard enough of what she said to you last night to understand her unwillingness to be acting with a stranger; and as she probably engaged in the part with different expectations--perhaps without considering the subject enough to know what was likely to be-- it would be ungenerous, it would be really wrong to expose her to it. Her feelings ought to be respected. Does it not strike you so, Fanny? You hesitate." 

"I am sorry for Miss Crawford; but I am more sorry to see you drawn in to do what you had resolved against, and what you are known to think will be disagreeable to my uncle. It will be such a triumph to the others!" 

"They will not have much cause of triumph when they see how infamously I act. But, however, triumph there certainly will be, and I must brave it. But if I can be the means of restraining the publicity of the business, of limiting the exhibition, of concentrating our folly, I shall be well repaid. As I am now, I have no influence, I can do nothing: I have offended them, and they will not hear me; but when I have put them in good-humour by this concession, I am not without hopes of persuading them to confine the representation within a much smaller circle than they are now in the high road for. This will be a material gain. My object is to confine it to Mrs. Rushworth and the Grants. Will not this be worth gaining?" 

"Yes, it will be a great point." 

"But still it has not your approbation. Can you mention any other measure by which I have a chance of doing equal good?" 

"No, I cannot think of anything else." 

"Give me your approbation, then, Fanny. I am not comfortable without it." 

"Oh, cousin!" 

"If you are against me, I ought to distrust myself, and yet--But it is absolutely impossible to let Tom go on in this way, riding about the country in quest of anybody who can be persuaded to act--no matter whom: the look of a gentleman is to be enough. I thought _you_ would have entered more into Miss Crawford's feelings." 

"No doubt she will be very glad. It must be a great relief to her," said Fanny, trying for greater warmth of manner. 

"She never appeared more amiable than in her behaviour to you last night. It gave her a very strong claim on my goodwill." 

"She _was_ very kind, indeed, and I am glad to have her spared"... 

She could not finish the generous effusion. Her conscience stopt her in the middle, but Edmund was satisfied. 

"I shall walk down immediately after breakfast," said he, "and am sure of giving pleasure there. And now, dear Fanny, I will not interrupt you any longer. You want to be reading. But I could not be easy till I had spoken to you, and come to a decision. Sleeping or waking, my head has been full of this matter all night. It is an evil, but I am certainly making it less than it might be. If Tom is up, I shall go to him directly and get it over, and when we meet at breakfast we shall be all in high good-humour at the prospect of acting the fool together with such unanimity. _You_, in the meanwhile, will be taking a trip into China, I suppose. How does Lord Macartney go on?"--opening a volume on the table and then taking up some others. "And here are Crabbe's Tales, and the Idler, at hand to relieve you, if you tire of your great book. I admire your little establishment exceedingly; and as soon as I am gone, you will empty your head of all this nonsense of acting, and sit comfortably down to your table. But do not stay here to be cold." 

He went; but there was no reading, no China, no composure for Fanny. He had told her the most extraordinary, the most inconceivable, the most unwelcome news; and she could think of nothing else. To be acting! After all his objections--objections so just and so public! After all that she had heard him say, and seen him look, and known him to be feeling. Could it be possible? Edmund so inconsistent! Was he not deceiving himself? Was he not wrong? Alas! it was all Miss Crawford's doing. She had seen her influence in every speech, and was miserable. The doubts and alarms as to her own conduct, which had previously distressed her, and which had all slept while she listened to him, were become of little consequence now. This deeper anxiety swallowed them up. Things should take their course; she cared not how it ended. Her cousins might attack, but could hardly tease her. She was beyond their reach; and if at last obliged to yield--no matter--it was all misery now. 

第一卷 第十五章

克劳福德小姐非常爽快地接受了分给她的角色。伯特伦小姐从牧师住宅回来后不久，拉什沃思先生就来了，因此又派定了一个角色。他可以在卡斯尔伯爵和安哈尔特之间选一个，起初他不知道演哪个好，便让伯特伦小姐给他出主意。等了解到这是两个不同类型的人物，分清了谁是谁之后，他想起曾在伦敦看过这出戏，并且记得安哈尔特是个蠢货，于是便立即决定演伯爵。伯特伦小姐赞成这一决定，因为让他背的台词越少越好。他希望伯爵和阿加莎能一起出场，对此她并不赞同。他慢吞吞地一页一页翻着书，想找到这样一幕，她在一旁等着很不耐烦。不过，她却很客气地拿过他的台词，把他要讲的话尽量缩短，此外还告诉他，他必须盛装打扮，挑选衣帽领带。拉什沃思先生一听要让他穿戴华丽的服饰，不由得十分高兴，尽管表面上假装瞧不起这些东西。他只顾想着自己盛装之下会是个什么样子，没有去想别人，也没有看出什么问题，又没有感到不快，而玛丽亚对此早有了思想准备。

埃德蒙整个上午都不在家，事情安排到了这一步，而他却一无所知。等他在饭前走进客厅时，汤姆、玛丽亚和耶茨先生还在热烈地讨论。拉什沃思先生兴高采烈地走上前来向他报告这个好消息。

“我们选定了一个剧，”他说，“是《山盟海誓》。我演卡斯尔伯爵，先是穿一身蓝衣服、披一件红缎子斗篷出场，然后再换一身盛装，作为猎装。我不知道我会不会喜欢这身打扮。”

范妮两眼紧盯着埃德蒙，听到这番话真为他心跳。她看到了他的脸色，也看出了他的心情。

“《山盟海誓》！”他以惊骇万分的口气，只对拉什沃思先生回答了这一句。他转向他哥哥和两个妹妹，好像毫不怀疑会受到反驳似的。

“是的，”耶茨先生大声说道。“我们争论来争论去，最后发现《山盟海誓》最适合我们演，最无可非议。奇怪的是，先前居然没有想到它。我太傻了，我在埃克尔斯福德看到的有利条件，这里全都具备。有人先演过了对我们多有好处啊！我们差不多把所有角色都派好了。”

“小姐们的角色是怎样安排的？”埃德蒙一本正经地说，眼睛望着玛丽亚。

玛丽亚不由得脸红起来，答道：“我演雷文肖夫人演的那个角色，（眼神大胆了一点）克劳福德小姐演阿米丽亚。”

“我认为这样的剧本，从我们这些人里是不大容易找到演员的。”埃德蒙答道。他转身走到他妈妈、姨妈和范妮就座的炉火跟前，满面怒容地坐了下来。

拉什沃思先生跟在他身后说：“我出场三次．说话四十二次。还算不错吧？不过我不大喜欢打扮得那么漂亮。我穿一身蓝衣服，披一件红缎子斗篷，会认不出自己来。”

埃德蒙无言以对。过了一会，伯特伦先生被叫出屋去，解决木匠提出的问题，耶茨先生陪他一块出去，随后不久拉什沃思先生也跟了出去。这时埃德蒙立即抓住时机说：“我当着耶茨先生的面不便讲我对这个剧的看法，不然会有损他在埃克尔斯福德的朋友们的名誉——不过，亲爱的玛丽亚，我现在必须告诉你，我认为这个剧极不适合家庭演出，希望你不要参加。我相信，你只要仔细地读一遍，就一定会放弃。你只要把第一幕读给妈妈或姨妈听，看你还会不会赞成。我相信，用不着写信请父亲裁决。”

“我们对事情的看法大不相同，”玛丽亚大声说道。“我告诉你，我对这个剧非常熟悉——当然，只要把剧中很少的几个地方删去，我觉得没有什么不合适的。你会发现，认为这个剧适合家庭演出的年轻女子可不止我一个。”

“我为此感到遗憾，”埃德蒙答道。“不过在这件事情上，领头的应该是你。你应该树立榜样。如果别人犯了错误，你有责任帮他们改正，让他们知道怎样才算文雅端庄。在各种礼节礼仪问题上，你的行为必须对其他人起到表率作用。”

玛丽亚本来最喜欢领导别人，受到这般抬举自然会产生一定效果。于是，她的心情比刚才好多了，回答道：“我非常感谢你，埃德蒙。我知道，你完全是一片好心——不过，我还是觉得你把事情看得太严重了。在这样一件事情上，我真是无法讲大道理把众人训斥一顿。我认为那样做最不合乎礼节规矩。”

“你认为我会产生这样的念头吗？不对——用你的行为来说服他们。你就说，你研究了这个角色，觉得自己演不了。演这个角色要下很大的工夫，要有足够的信心，而你却下不了这么大工夫，也没有足够的信心。只要说得斩钉截铁就行了。头脑清楚的人一听就会明白你的意思。这个剧就会放弃不演了，你的娴雅稳重就会理所应当地受到敬重。”

“亲爱的，不要演有失体统的戏，”伯特伦夫人说。“托马斯爵士会不高兴的。范妮，摇摇铃，我要吃饭了。朱莉娅这时候肯定已经穿戴好了。”

“妈妈，我相信，”埃德蒙没让范妮摇铃，说道，“托马斯爵士会不高兴的。”

“喂，亲爱的，你听见埃德蒙的话了吗？”

“我要是不演这个角色，”玛丽亚重又来了兴头，说道，“朱莉娅肯定会演的。”

“什么！”埃德蒙嚷道，“要是知道你为什么不演了，她还会演呀！”

“噢！她会觉得我们两个不一样——我们的处境不一样——她会觉得她用不着像我一样有所顾忌。我想她一定会这样说的。不行，你得原谅我，我答应的事不能反悔。这是早就说定了的事，我反悔了，大家会大失所望的。汤姆会发怒的。我们要是这样挑剔，那就永远找不到一个能演的剧本。”

“我也正想这么说呢，”诺里斯太太说。“要是见到一个剧本反对一个，那就什么也演不成——白做了那么多准备工作，等于白扔了那么多的钱——那肯定会丢我们大家的脸。我不了解这个剧。不过，正如玛丽亚说的那样，如果剧中有什么过于粗俗的内容（大多数剧本都有点这样的内容），随便删去就行了。我们不能过于刻板，埃德蒙。拉什沃思先生也要参加演出，这就不会有什么问题。我只希望木匠们开工时，汤姆心里有个数，他们做边门可是多用了半天工呀。不过，幕布会做得很好的。女佣们干活很用心，我看可以省下几十个幕环退回去。没有必要搞得那么密。我想在防止浪费和保证物尽其用上，起点作用。这么多年轻人，总得有个老练沉稳的人在一旁监督。就在今天，我遇到了一件事，我忘了告诉汤姆。我在养鸡场里四下张望，正往外走的时候，你猜我看见了谁？我看见迪克·杰克逊手里拿着两块松木板朝仆人住处门口走去，肯定是送给他爸的。原来他妈碰巧有事打发他给他爸送个信，他爸就叫他给他弄两块板子来，说是非常需要。我明白这是什么意思，因为这时仆人的开饭铃正在丁零当啷响。我不喜欢爱占便宜的人，杰克逊这家人还就爱占便宜，我常这么说，就是见东西就拿的那种人。你知道，这孩子已经十岁了，长了个傻大个儿，应该知道羞耻了。因此，我直截了当地对他说：‘迪克，我把板子给你爸送去，你快点回家去吧。’我想可能是由于我的话说得很不客气的缘故，他一脸傻相，一句话没说扭头就走了。我敢说，他一时不敢再来大宅里偷东西了。我恨他们这样贪心不足——你们的父亲对他们这家人这么好，整年雇用那个当家的呀！”

谁也没有接她的话。其他人很快都回来了。埃德蒙觉得，他无法制止他们了，唯一可以感到自慰的是，他已经劝说过他们了。

饭桌上的气氛非常沉闷。诺里斯太太把她战胜迪克·杰克逊的事又讲了一遍，但却没人提起剧本和准备演出的事。埃德蒙的反对甚至使他哥哥的情绪都受到了影响，尽管他哥哥不肯承认这一点。玛丽亚由于没有亨利·克劳福德在场积极支持她，便觉得还是避开这个话题为好。耶茨先生想尽力讨好朱莉娅，发现一谈到为她不能参加戏班子而感到遗憾，那比什么话题都让她郁郁不乐。而拉什沃思先生呢，虽然心里只想着自己的角色和服装，可是早把这两方面能说的话都唠叨完了。

不过，对演戏的议论只暂停了一两个小时。还有许多问题没有解决，晚饭喝的酒给他们增添了新的勇气，因此，汤姆、玛丽亚和耶茨先生在会客厅刚一会齐，便单独围着一张桌子坐下，把剧本摊开在面前，准备深入研究一番。恰在这时，一件求之不得的事情发生了：克劳福德先生和克劳福德小姐走了进来。尽管夜色已浓，天空阴暗，道路泥泞，他们还是忍不住来了，受到了欣幸不已、兴高采烈的欢迎。

寒喧过后，接着便是如下的对话：“喂，你们进行得怎么样了？”“你们解决了什么问题？”“噢！你们不在我们什么也干不成。”转眼间，亨利·克劳福德和桌子边的那三个人坐在一起，他妹妹走到伯特伦夫人身边，去讨好起她来。“剧本选好了，我真得向夫人您表示祝贺，”她说。“尽管您以堪称典范的度量容忍我们，可是我们吵吵闹闹地争来争去，肯定会让您心烦。剧本定下来了，演戏的人固然会感到高兴，可旁观的人更会感到万分庆幸。夫人，我衷心祝您快乐，还有诺里斯太太，以及所有受到干扰的人。”一边半胆怯、半狡猾地越过范妮瞥了埃德蒙一眼。

伯特伦夫人客客气气地答谢了她，但是埃德蒙一句话也没有说。他没有否认他只是一位旁观者。克劳福德小姐和炉子周围的人继续聊了一会，便回到桌子周围的那几个人那里，站在他们旁边，似乎在听他们谈论如何安排。这时，她好像突然想起什么似的，大声叫道：“诸位好友，你们在悠然自得地谈论那些农舍和酒店，里边怎么样，外边怎么样——请你们也让我了解一下我的命运吧。谁演安哈尔特？我将有幸和你们哪位先生谈情说爱呀？”

一时没人说话。接着，众人异口同声地告诉她一个可悲的事实：没有人演安哈尔特。“拉什沃思先生演卡斯尔伯爵，还没有人来演安哈尔特。”

“我对角色是有选择余地的，”拉什沃思先生说。“可我觉得我还是更喜欢伯爵——虽说我不大喜欢我要穿的豪华农服。”

“我认为你选择得非常明智，”克劳福德小姐笑逐颜开地答道。“安哈尔特是个挺有分量的角色。”

“伯爵有四十二段台词，”拉什沃思先生回答道，“这可不轻松。”

“没有人演安哈尔特，”稍顿了顿之后，克劳福德小姐说道，“我一点也不感到奇怪。阿米丽亚也是命该如此。这么放浪的姑娘，真能把男人都吓跑了。”

“如果可能的话，我很愿意演这个角色，”汤姆嚷道，“可遗憾的是，男管家和安哈尔特是同时出场的。不过，我也不愿意彻底放弃这个角色——我看看有没有什么办法——我再看一看剧本。”

“应该让你弟弟演这个角色，”耶茨低声说道。“你认为他会不肯演吗？”

“我才不去求他呢。”汤姆冷漠而坚决地说。

克劳福德小姐又讲了点别的事情，过了不久，她又回到炉边的那伙人那里。“他们根本不希望我待在他们那边，”她说着，坐了下来。“我只会让他们迷惑不解，他们还不得不客客气气地应酬我。埃德蒙·伯特伦先生，你自己不参加演出，你的意见会是公正的。因此，我要向你求教。我们怎么处理安哈尔特这个角色？能不能让哪个人同时演两个角色呢？你的意见怎么样？”

“我的意见是，”埃德蒙冷静地说，“你们换个剧本。”

“我并不反对，”克劳福德小姐答道。“如果角色配得好——也就是说，如果一切进展顺利的话，我对演阿米丽亚并不特别反感。尽管如此，我还是不愿意给人带来不便。不过，坐在那张桌边的人——（回头看了看）——他们是不会听你的话的——你的意见是肯定不会被采纳的。”

埃德蒙没有应声。

“如果有哪个角色能让你想演的话，我想就应该是安哈尔特，”稍顿了顿之后，克劳福德小姐调皮地说——“因为你知道，他是个牧师。”

“我决不会因此而想演这个角色，”埃德蒙答道，“我不愿意因为自己演技不好而把他演成一个可笑的人物。要想把安哈尔特演好，使他不至于成为一个拘谨刻板的布道者，那肯定很不容易。一个人选择了牧师职业，也许最不愿意到台上去演牧师。”

克劳福德小姐哑口无言了。她心头泛起几分愤恨和羞耻感，将椅子使劲向茶桌那边移了移，把注意力全都转向了坐在那里张罗的诺里斯太太。

“范妮，”汤姆从另一张桌边叫道，他们还在那边热烈地开着小会，说话声一直没断，“我们需要你帮忙。”

范妮以为要叫她做什么事，立即站了起来。尽管埃德蒙一再劝告，人们还是没有改掉这样支使范妮的习惯。

“噢！我们不是要你离开座位做什么事，不是要你现在就帮忙。我们只想要你参加演出。你要当村民婆子。”

“我！”范妮叫了一声，满脸惊恐地又坐下了。“你们真的不要强求我。不管怎么说，我是什么都不会演的。不行，我真的不能演。”

“可你真的一定得演，我们不能免了你。你用不着吓成那个样子，这是个无关紧要的角色，一个微不足道的人物，总共才五六段台词，你说的话，即使观众连一句也没听见，都没多大关系。因此你的声音小得像耗子也行，但却一定要让你出场。”

“要是五六段台词你都害怕，”拉什沃思先生嚷嚷道，“那叫你演我的角色你该怎么办？我要背四十二段台词。”

“我并不是怕背台词。”范妮说。她惊愕地发现，这时屋里只有她一个人在说话，觉得几乎每双眼睛都在盯着她。“可我真的不会演。”

“会的，会的，你会给我们演好的。你只要记住台词，其他的事情我们教你。你只有两场戏，村民由我演，该上场的时候我领着你上，该往哪里走听我指挥。我保证你会演得很好。”

“真的不行，伯特伦先生，你一定得免了我。你是不了解。我绝对演不了。我要是真去演的话，只会让你们失望。”

“得啦！得啦！别那么忸忸怩怩的。你会演得很好的。我们会充分体谅你的，并不要求你演得十全十美。你要穿一件褐色长裙，扎一条白围裙，戴一顶头巾式女帽，我们给你画几条皱纹，眼角上画一点鱼尾纹，这样一来，你就会很像一个小老太婆了。”

“你们得免了我，真得免了我，”范妮大声说道。她由于过于激动，脸越来越红，苦涩地望着埃德蒙。埃德蒙亲切地看着她，但又怕哥哥生气而不愿介入，只能笑吟吟地鼓励她。范妮的恳求对汤姆丝毫不起作用，他只是把先前说过的话又说一遍。要她演戏的还不只是汤姆一人，玛丽亚、克劳福德先生和耶茨先生都支持这一要求。他们都在逼迫她，只不过稍微温和一点，稍微客气一点，可是几个人一起逼迫，范妮都快顶不住了。她还没来得及缓过气来，诺里斯太太又加上了最后一棒，她恶狠狠地以故意让人听得见的低语对她说道：“屁大的事要费这么大周折。为了这么一件小事，你竟然这样为难你表哥表姐，而他们却待你这么好，我真为你害臊啊！我求你，痛痛快快地接受下来，不要让我们再听着大家议论这件事啦。”

“别逼她了，姨妈，”埃德蒙说。“这样逼她是不公平的。你看得出她不喜欢演戏。让她像我们大家一样自己拿主意。我们可以完全相信她是懂得好坏的。不要再逼她了。”

“我不会逼她，”诺里斯太太厉声答道。“不过，她要是不肯做她姨妈、表哥、表姐希望她做的事，我就认为她是个非常倔强、忘恩负义的姑娘——想一想她是个什么人，就知道她真足忘恩负义到了极点。”

埃德蒙气得说不出话来。不过，克劳福德小姐以惊讶的目光看了看诺里斯太太，接着又看了看范妮，只见她两眼泪汪汪的，便立即带刺地说：“我不喜欢我这个位置。这地方太热了，我受不了。”说着把椅子搬到桌子对面靠近范妮的地方，一边坐下，一边亲切地低声对她说道：“不要在意，亲爱的普莱斯小姐——这是一个容易动气的晚上，人人都在发脾气，捉弄人——不过，咱们不要去理会他们。”并且十分关切地继续陪她说话，想使她打起精神，尽管她自己情绪低落。她向哥哥递了个眼神，不让那个戏班子再勉强范妮了。埃德蒙看到她这样一片好心，很快又恢复了对她已经失去的那点好感。

范妮并不喜欢克劳福德小姐，但克劳福德小姐眼下对她这么好，她又非常感激。克劳福德小姐先是看她的刺绣，说她也能刺这么好就好了，并向她要刺绣的花样。她还猜测说，范妮这是在为进入社交界做准备，因为表姐结婚后，她当然要开始社交活动。接着，克劳福德小姐问她当海军的哥哥最近来信没有，说她很想见见他，并且猜想他是个非常漂亮的青年。她还劝范妮，在她哥哥再次出海之前，找人给他画张像。虽说这都是恭维之词，但范妮又不得不承认，听起来却很悦耳，于是她便不由自主地听着、回答着，而且那样来劲，她真没想到。

演戏的事还在商量之中。还是汤姆·伯特伦先把克劳福德小姐的注意力从范妮身上转移开，他不胜遗憾地告诉她说：他觉得他不可能既演男管家又演安哈尔特；他曾煞费苦心地想同时演这两个角色，但是演不成，只好作罢。“不过，要补这个角色丝毫没有困难，”汤姆补充说。“只要说一声，就有的是人让我们挑选。此时此刻，我可以至少说出六个离我们不出六英里的年轻人，他们会巴不得参加我们的戏班子，其中有一两个是不会辱没我们的。我想奥利弗弟兄俩和查东斯·马多克斯三个人，随便哪个都可以放心让他去演。汤姆·奥利弗人很聪明，查尔斯·马多克斯很有绅士派头。明天一早我骑马到斯托克一趟，和他们哪个人商定。”

汤姆说这番话的时候，玛丽亚不安地回头看了看埃德蒙。她唯恐埃德蒙会反对把外边的人也拉进来——这违背了他们的初衷。可是埃德蒙没有吭声。克劳福德小姐想了想，冷静地答道：“就我来说，你们大家认为合适的事，我都不会反对。这几个年轻人中有没有我认识的？对啦，查尔斯·马多克斯有一天就曾在我姐姐家吃过饭，是吧，亨利？一个看上去挺沉稳的年轻人。我还记得他。如果你愿意，就请他吧。对我来说，总比请一个完全不认识的陌生人要好些。”

于是就决定请查尔斯·马多克斯了。汤姆又说了一遍他第二天一早就动身。不过，一直没怎么开口的朱莉娅这时说话了。她先瞥了玛丽亚一眼，又看了埃德蒙一眼，挖苦道：“曼斯菲尔德的戏剧演出要把这整个地区搞得轰轰烈烈啦！”埃德蒙仍然一言不发，只以铁板的面孔来表明他的想法。

“我对我们的戏不抱多大希望，”克劳福德小姐思索了一番之后，低声对范妮说。“我要告诉马多克斯先生，在我们一起排演之前，我要缩短他的一些台词，并且把我的许多台词也缩短。这会很没有意思，完全不符合我原来的期望。”