Chapter 50

by Jane Austen

　　After a proper resistance on the part of Mrs. Ferrars,just so violent and so steady as to preserve her from thatreproach which she always seemed fearful of incurring,the reproach of being too amiable, Edward was admittedto her presence, and pronounced to be again her son.Her family had of late been exceedingly fluctuating.For many years of her life she had had two sons;but the crime and annihilation of Edward a few weeks ago,had robbed her of one; the similar annihilation of Roberthad left her for a fortnight without any; and now,by the resuscitation of Edward, she had one again.In spite of his being allowed once more to live,however, he did not feel the continuance of his existencesecure, till he had revealed his present engagement;for the publication of that circumstance, he feared,might give a sudden turn to his constitution, and carryhim off as rapidly as before. With apprehensive cautiontherefore it was revealed, and he was listened to withunexpected calmness. Mrs. Ferrars at first reasonablyendeavoured to dissuade him from marrying Miss Dashwood,by every argument in her power;--told him, that in Miss Mortonhe would have a woman of higher rank and larger fortune;--and enforced the assertion, by observing that Miss Mortonwas the daughter of a nobleman with thirty thousand pounds,while Miss Dashwood was only the daughter of a privategentleman with no more than three; but when she found that,though perfectly admitting the truth of her representation,he was by no means inclined to be guided by it,she judged it wisest, from the experience of the past,to submit--and therefore, after such an ungracious delayas she owed to her own dignity, and as served to preventevery suspicion of good-will, she issued her decreeof consent to the marriage of Edward and Elinor.What she would engage to do towards augmentingtheir income was next to be considered; and here itplainly appeared, that though Edward was now her only son,he was by no means her eldest; for while Robert wasinevitably endowed with a thousand pounds a-year,not the smallest objection was made against Edward's takingorders for the sake of two hundred and fifty at the utmost;nor was anything promised either for the present or in future,beyond the ten thousand pounds, which had been given with Fanny.It was as much, however, as was desired,and more than was expected, by Edward 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 wantsthus secured to them, they had nothing to wait forafter Edward was in possession of the living, but thereadiness of the house, to which Colonel Brandon,with an eager desire for the accommodation of Elinor,was making considerable improvements; and after waitingsome time for their completion, after experiencing,as usual, a thousand disappointments and delaysfrom the unaccountable dilatoriness of the workmen, Elinor,as usual, broke through the first positive resolutionof not marrying till every thing was ready, and theceremony took place in Barton church early in the autumn.The first month after their marriage was spentwith their friend at the Mansion-house; from whencethey could superintend the progress of the Parsonage,and direct every thing as they liked on the spot;--could chuse papers, project shrubberies, and invent a sweep.Mrs. Jennings's prophecies, though rather jumbled together,were chiefly fulfilled; for she was able to visit Edwardand his wife in their Parsonage by Michaelmas, and shefound in Elinor and her husband, as she really believed,one of the happiest couples in the world. They hadin fact nothing to wish for, but the marriage of ColonelBrandon and Marianne, and rather better pasturage fortheir cows.They were visited on their first settling by almostall their relations and friends. Mrs. Ferrars cameto inspect the happiness which she was almost ashamedof having authorised; and even the Dashwoods were atthe expense of a journey from Sussex to do them honour."I will not say that I am disappointed, my dear sister,"said John, as they were walking together one morning beforethe gates of Delaford House, "that would be saying too much,for certainly you have been one of the most fortunate youngwomen in the world, as it is. But, I confess, it wouldgive me great pleasure to call Colonel Brandon brother.His property here, his place, his house, every thing is insuch respectable and excellent conditionIhave not seen such timber any where in Dorsetshire, as thereis now standing in Delaford Hanger!--And though, perhaps,Marianne may not seem exactly the person to attract him--yet I think it would altogether be advisable for you tohave them now frequently staying with you, for as ColonelBrandon seems a great deal at home, nobody can tell whatmay happen--for, when people are much thrown together,and see little of anybody else--and it will always bein your power to set her off to advantage, and so forth;--in short, you may as well give her a chance--You understandme."--But though Mrs. Ferrars did come to see them, and alwaystreated them with the make-believe of decent affection,they were never insulted by her real favour and preference.That was due to the folly of Robert, and the cunningof his wife; and it was earned by them before many monthshad passed away. The selfish sagacity of the latter,which had at first drawn Robert into the scrape,was the principal instrument of his deliverance from it;for her respectful humility, assiduous attentions,and endless flatteries, as soon as the smallest openingwas given for their exercise, reconciled Mrs. Ferrarsto his choice, and re-established him completely inher favour.The whole of Lucy's behaviour in the affair,and the prosperity which crowned it, therefore, may be heldforth as a most encouraging instance of what an earnest,an unceasing attention to self-interest, however its progressmay be apparently obstructed, will do in securing everyadvantage of fortune, with no other sacrifice than that of timeand conscience. When Robert first sought her acquaintance,and privately visited her in Bartlett's Buildings,it was only with the view imputed to him by his brother.He merely meant to persuade her to give up the engagement;and as there could be nothing to overcome but the affectionof both, he naturally expected that one or two interviewswould settle the matter. In that point, however,and that only, he erred;--for though Lucy soon gave himhopes that his eloquence would convince her in time,another visit, another conversation, was always wantedto produce this conviction. Some doubts always lingeredin her mind when they parted, which could only beremoved by another half hour's discourse with himself.His attendance was by this means secured, and the restfollowed in course. Instead of talking of Edward,they came gradually to talk only of Robert,--a subjecton which he had always more to say than on any other,and in which she soon betrayed an interest even equalto his own; and in short, it became speedily evidentto both, that he had entirely supplanted his brother.He was proud of his conquest, proud of tricking Edward,and very proud of marrying privately without hismother's consent. What immediately followed is known.They passed some months in great happiness at Dawlish;for she had many relations and old acquaintances tocut--and he drew several plans for magnificent cottages;--and from thence returning to town, procured the forgivenessof Mrs. Ferrars, by the simple expedient of asking it,which, at Lucy's instigation, was adopted. The forgiveness,at first, indeed, as was reasonable, comprehended only Robert;and Lucy, who had owed his mother no duty and thereforecould have transgressed none, still remained some weekslonger unpardoned. But perseverance in humility of conductand messages, in self-condemnation for Robert's offence,and gratitude for the unkindness she was treated with,procured her in time the haughty notice which overcameher by its graciousness, and led soon afterwards, by rapiddegrees, to the highest state of affection and influence.Lucy became as necessary to Mrs. Ferrars, as either Robertor Fanny; and while Edward was never cordially forgivenfor having once intended to marry her, and Elinor,though superior to her in fortune and birth, was spokenof as an intruder, she was in every thing considered,and always openly acknowledged, to be a favourite child.They settled in town, received very liberal assistancefrom Mrs. Ferrars, were on the best terms imaginablewith the Dashwoods; and setting aside the jealousiesand ill-will continually subsisting between Fanny and Lucy,in which their husbands of course took a part, as wellas the frequent domestic disagreements between Robert andLucy themselves, nothing could exceed the harmony in whichthey all lived together.What Edward had done to forfeit the right of eldestson, might have puzzled many people to find out; and whatRobert had done to succeed to it, might have puzzled themstill more. It was an arrangement, however, justified inits effects, if not in its cause; for nothing everappeared in Robert's style of living or of talking to givea suspicion of his regretting the extent of his income,as either leaving his brother too little, or bringinghimself too much;--and if Edward might be judged fromthe ready discharge of his duties in every particular,from an increasing attachment to his wife and his home,and from the regular cheerfulness of his spirits,he might be supposed no less contented with his lot,no less free from every wish of an exchange.Elinor's marriage divided her as little from herfamily as could well be contrived, without renderingthe cottage at Barton entirely useless, for her motherand sisters spent much more than half their time with her.Mrs. Dashwood was acting on motives of policy as wellas pleasure in the frequency of her visits at Delaford;for her wish of bringing Marianne and Colonel Brandon togetherwas hardly less earnest, though rather more liberal thanwhat John had expressed. It was now her darling object.Precious as was the company of her daughter to her,she desired nothing so much as to give up its constantenjoyment to her valued friend; and to see Marianne settled atthe mansion-house was equally the wish of Edward and Elinor.They each felt his sorrows, and their own obligations,and Marianne, by general consent, was to be the rewardof all.With such a confederacy against her--with a knowledgeso intimate of his goodness--with a conviction of his fondattachment to herself, which at last, though long after itwas observable to everybody else--burst on her--what could shedo?Marianne Dashwood was born to an extraordinary fate.She was born to discover the falsehood of her own opinions,and to counteract, by her conduct, her most favourite maxims.She was born to overcome an affection formed so latein life as at seventeen, and with no sentimentsuperior to strong esteem and lively friendship,voluntarily to give her hand to another!--and that other,a man who had suffered no less than herself under theevent of a former attachment, whom, two years before,she had considered too old to be married,--and who stillsought the constitutional safeguard of a flannel waistcoat!But so it was. Instead of falling a sacrificeto an irresistible passion, as once she had fondlyflattered herself with expecting,--instead of remainingeven for ever with her mother, and finding her onlypleasures in retirement and study, as afterwards in hermore calm and sober judgment she had determined on,--she found herself at nineteen, submitting to new attachments,entering on new duties, placed in a new home, a wife,the mistress of a family, and the patroness of a village.Colonel Brandon was now as happy, as all those who bestloved him, believed he deserved to be;--in Marianne hewas consoled for every past affliction;--her regard and hersociety restored his mind to animation, and his spiritsto cheerfulness; and that Marianne found her own happinessin forming his, was equally the persuasion and delightof each observing friend. Marianne could never loveby halves; and her whole heart became, in time, as muchdevoted to her husband, as it had once been to Willoughby.Willoughby could not hear of her marriage withouta pang; and his punishment was soon afterwards completein the voluntary forgiveness of Mrs. Smith, who, by statinghis marriage with a woman of character, as the sourceof her clemency, gave him reason for believing that had hebehaved with honour towards Marianne, he might at once havebeen happy and rich. That his repentance of misconduct,which thus brought its own punishment, was sincere,need not be doubted;--nor that he long thought of ColonelBrandon with envy, and of Marianne with regret. But thathe was for ever inconsolable, that he fled from society,or contracted an habitual gloom of temper, or died of abroken heart, must not be depended on--for he did neither.He lived to exert, and frequently to enjoy himself.His wife was not always out of humour, nor his homealways uncomfortable; and in his breed of horses and dogs,and in sporting of every kind, he found no inconsiderabledegree of domestic felicity.For Marianne, however--in spite of his incivilityin surviving her loss--he always retained that decidedregard which interested him in every thing that befell her,and made her his secret standard of perfection in woman;--and many a rising beauty would be slighted by him inafter-days as bearing no comparison with Mrs. Brandon.Mrs. Dashwood was prudent enough to remain at the cottage,without attempting a removal to Delaford; and fortunately forSir John and Mrs. Jennings, when Marianne was taken from them,Margaret had reached an age highly suitable for dancing,and not very ineligible for being supposed to have a lover.Between Barton and Delaford, there was that constantcommunication which strong family affection wouldnaturally dictate;--and among the merits and the happinessof Elinor and Marianne, let it not be ranked as the leastconsiderable, that though sisters, and living almost withinsight of each other, they could live without disagreementbetween themselves, or producing coolness between their husbands.THE END