Chapter 6

by Jane Austen

　　The first part of their journey was performed in toomelancholy a disposition to be otherwise than tediousand unpleasant. But as they drew towards the end of it,their interest in the appearance of a country which theywere to inhabit overcame their dejection, and a view ofBarton Valley as they entered it gave them cheerfulness.It was a pleasant fertile spot, well wooded, and richin pasture. After winding along it for more than a mile,they reached their own house. A small green court wasthe whole of its demesne in front; and a neat wicket gateadmitted them into it.As a house, Barton Cottage, though small, was comfortableand compact; but as a cottage it was defective, for thebuilding was regular, the roof was tiled, the windowshutters were not painted green, nor were the walls coveredwith honeysuckles. A narrow passage led directly throughthe house into the garden behind. On each side of theentrance was a sitting room, about sixteen feet square;and beyond them were the offices and the stairs.Four bed-rooms and two garrets formed the rest of the house.It had not been built many years and was in good repair.In comparison of Norland, it was poor and small indeed!--butthe tears which recollection called forth as they enteredthe house were soon dried away. They were cheeredby the joy of the servants on their arrival, and eachfor the sake of the others resolved to appear happy.It was very early in September; the season was fine,and from first seeing the place under the advantageof good weather, they received an impression in itsfavour which was of material service in recommendingit to their lasting approbation.The situation of the house was good. High hills roseimmediately behind, and at no great distance on each side;some of which were open downs, the others cultivated and woody.The village of Barton was chiefly on one of these hills,and formed a pleasant view from the cottage windows.The prospect in front was more extensive; it commanded thewhole of the valley, and reached into the country beyond.The hills which surrounded the cottage terminatedthe valley in that direction; under another name,and in another course, it branched out again between twoof the steepest of them.With the size and furniture of the house Mrs. Dashwoodwas upon the whole well satisfied; for though her formerstyle of life rendered many additions to the latterindispensable, yet to add and improve was a delight to her;and she had at this time ready money enough to supply allthat was wanted of greater elegance to the apartments."As for the house itself, to be sure," said she, "it istoo small for our family, but we will make ourselvestolerably comfortable for the present, as it is too latein the year for improvements. Perhaps in the spring,if I have plenty of money, as I dare say I shall, we maythink about building. These parlors are both too smallfor such parties of our friends as I hope to see oftencollected here; and I have some thoughts of throwing thepassage into one of them with perhaps a part of the other,and so leave the remainder of that other for an entrance;this, with a new drawing room which may be easily added,and a bed-chamber and garret above, will make it a very snuglittle cottage. I could wish the stairs were handsome.But one must not expect every thing; though I suppose itwould be no difficult matter to widen them. I shall seehow much I am before-hand with the world in the spring,and we will plan our improvements accordingly."In the mean time, till all these alterations couldbe made from the savings of an income of five hundreda-year by a woman who never saved in her life, they werewise enough to be contented with the house as it was;and each of them was busy in arranging their particularconcerns, and endeavoring, by placing around them booksand other possessions, to form themselves a home.Marianne's pianoforte was unpacked and properly disposed of;and Elinor's drawings were affixed to the walls of theirsitting room.In such employments as these they were interruptedsoon after breakfast the next day by the entrance oftheir landlord, who called to welcome them to Barton,and to offer them every accommodation from his own houseand garden in which theirs might at present be deficient.Sir John Middleton was a good looking man about forty.He had formerly visited at Stanhill, but it was too longfor his young cousins to remember him. His countenancewas thoroughly good-humoured; and his manners wereas friendly as the style of his letter. Their arrivalseemed to afford him real satisfaction, and their comfortto be an object of real solicitude to him. He said muchof his earnest desire of their living in the most sociableterms with his family, and pressed them so cordiallyto dine at Barton Park every day till they were bettersettled at home, that, though his entreaties were carriedto a point of perseverance beyond civility, they couldnot give offence. His kindness was not confined to words;for within an hour after he left them, a large basketfull of garden stuff and fruit arrived from the park,which was followed before the end of the day by a presentof game. He insisted, moreover, on conveying all theirletters to and from the post for them, and would not bedenied the satisfaction of sending them his newspaperevery day.Lady Middleton had sent a very civil message by him,denoting her intention of waiting on Mrs. Dashwood as soon asshe could be assured that her visit would be no inconvenience;and as this message was answered by an invitationequally polite, her ladyship was introduced to them the next day.They were, of course, very anxious to see a person onwhom so much of their comfort at Barton must depend; and theelegance of her appearance was favourable to their wishes.Lady Middleton was not more than six or seven and twenty;her face was handsome, her figure tall and striking,and her address graceful. Her manners had all the elegancewhich her husband's wanted. But they would have beenimproved by some share of his frankness and warmth;and her visit was long enough to detract something fromtheir first admiration, by shewing that, though perfectlywell-bred, she was reserved, cold, and had nothing to sayfor herself beyond the most common-place inquiry or remark.Conversation however was not wanted, for Sir Johnwas very chatty, and Lady Middleton had taken the wiseprecaution of bringing with her their eldest child, a finelittle boy about six years old, by which means there wasone subject always to be recurred to by the ladies in caseof extremity, for they had to enquire his name and age,admire his beauty, and ask him questions which his motheranswered for him, while he hung about her and helddown his head, to the great surprise of her ladyship,who wondered at his being so shy before company, as hecould make noise enough at home. On every formal visita child ought to be of the party, by way of provisionfor discourse. In the present case it took up ten minutesto determine whether the boy were most like his fatheror mother, and in what particular he resembled either,for of course every body differed, and every body wasastonished at the opinion of the others.An opportunity was soon to be given to the Dashwoodsof debating on the rest of the children, as Sir Johnwould not leave the house without securing their promiseof dining at the park the next day.