P. had little doubt, that he and his Sister Miss D. who lived withhim, would be principally remembered in her Will. He sincerely hoped it.—Miss Denham had a very small provision—and her Brother was a poor Man for his rank in Society. 'He is a warm friend to Sanditon'—said Mr. Parker—'and his hand would be as liberal as his heart, had he the Power.—He would be a noble Coadjutor!—As it is, he does what he can—and is running up a tasteful little Cottage Ornèe on a strip of Waste Ground Lady D. has granted him, which I have no doubt we shall have many a Candidate for, before the end even of this Season.' Till within the last twelvemonth, Mr. P. had considered Sir Edward as standingwithout a rival, as having the fairest chance of succeeding to the greater part of all that she had to give—but there was now another person's claims to be taken into the account, those of the young female relation, whom Lady D. had been induced to receive into her Family. After having always protested against any such Addition, and long and often enjoyed the repeated defeats she had given to every attempt of her relations to introduce this young Lady, or that young Lady as a Companion at Sanditon House, she had brought back with her from London last Michaelmas a Miss Brereton, who bid fair by her Merits to vie in favour with Sir Edward, and to secure for herself and her family that share of the accumulated Property which they had certainly the best right to inherit.—Mr. Parker spoke warmly of Clara Brereton, and the interest of his story increased very much with the introduction of such a Character. Charlotte listened with more than amusement now;—it was solicitude and Enjoyment, as she heard her described to be lovely, amiable, gentle, unassuming, conducting herself uniformly with great good sense, and evidently gaining by her innate worth, on the affections of her Patroness.—Beauty, Sweetness, Poverty and Dependance, do not want the imagination of a Man to operate upon. With due exceptions—Woman feels for Woman very promptly and compassionately. He gave the particulars which had led to Clara's admission at Sanditon, as no bad exemplification of that mixture of Character, that union of Littleness with Kindness with Good Sense with even Liberality which he saw in Lady D.—After having avoided London for many years, principally on account of these very Cousins, who were continually writing, inviting and tormenting her, and whom she was determined to keep at a distance, she had been obliged to gothere last Michaelmas with the certainty of being detained at least a fortnight.—She had gone to an Hotel—living by her own account as prudently as possible, to defy the reputed expensiveness of such a home, and at the end of three Days calling for her Bill, that she might judge of her state.—Its amount was such as determined her on staying not another hour in the House, and she was preparing in all the anger and perturbation which a belief of very gross imposition there, and an ignorance of where to go for better usage, to leave the Hotel at all hazards, when the Cousins, the politic and lucky Cousins, who seemed always to have a spy on her, introduced themselves at this important moment, and learning her situation, persuaded her to accept such a home for the rest of her stay as their humbler house in a very inferior part of London, could offer.—She went; was delighted with her welcome and the hospitality and attention she received from every body—found her good Cousins the B.s beyond her expectation worthy people—and finally was impelled by a personal knowledge of their narrow Income and pecuniary difficulties, to invite one of the girls of the family to pass the Winter with her. The invitation was to one, for six months—with the probability of another being then to take her place;—but in selecting the one, Lady D. had shewn the good part of her Character—for passing by the actual daughters of the House, she had chosen Clara, a Niece, more helpless and more pitiable of course than any—a dependant on Poverty—an additional Burthen on an encumbered Circle—and one, who had been so low in every worldly view, as with all her natural endowments and powers, to have been preparing for a situation little better than a Nursery Maid.—Clara had returned with her— and by her good sense and merit had now, to all appearancesecured a very strong hold in Lady D.'s regard. The six months had long been over—and not a syllable was breathed of any change, or exchange.—She was a general favourite;—the influence of her steady conduct and mild, gentle Temper was felt by everybody. The prejudices which had met her at first in some quarters, were all dissipated. She was felt to be worthy of Trust— to be the very companion who would guide and soften Lady D.— who would enlarge her mind and open her hand.—She was as thoroughly amiable as she was lovely—and since having had the advantage of their Sanditon Breezes, that Loveliness was complete.
同类推荐
热门推荐
我的大明不可能这么猛
【精品爽文】明末穿陕北,惨!一开始还没有记忆,坑。起初他只是想吃口饱饭,但是……荷西葡英法签署了《北大西洋公约》,共同打击明国海军在北大西洋海域的私掠活动。俄土印波签署《金帐同盟》阻挡明军铁骑西侵。英国发私掠证没事,沙俄吞并中亚也没事。怎么到了大明就组团来闹事了呢!这该怎么办?在线等,挺急的。大明救急群QQ153940226孪生姐妹之替嫁新娘
★★★注:此文已入半价书库,看完全文只需三块钱左右!★★★特别推荐,奴的新文:★★★《俏妈咪de天才宝宝》★★★(奴此次走轻松路线,敬请亲们多多支持!谢谢!)孙志豪——闷骚型男,深爱女主的姐姐蓝紫,岂料心上人竟在婚礼当日,叫其妹妹冒名顶替。笑话,这能瞒过他那双锐利的眼睛吗?就在新婚当晚,他便知道,她不是她。这是一场商业联姻,而且在庄严的礼堂也宣过誓了,他岂可随意抛弃。不过,别想他有好脸色,居然合伙起来骗我。蓝玉——丑小鸭一只,所有的光环全部被姐姐抢了去,她只能充当一片绿叶,默默无闻,任劳任怨。追姐姐的男生一抓成把,偏偏她爱上了那个二世祖,在婚礼当天还丢了个烫手山芋给她。原以为可以瞒天过海,岂料婚礼当晚她就原形毕露,忍气吞声地接受他的冷嘲热讽。蓝紫——故事似乎因为我而起。我很无奈啊,肚子里有个小球球了,还能嫁给别人吗?既然是好男人,那就留给自己的亲妹妹吧。纪宇风——该死,那一晚他竟然没有做好安全措施,更该死的是,竟然弄错的对象。谁叫她们是孪生姐妹,连他也有弄错的时候。小玉玉的姐姐都带个球球找上门来了,要他该怎么办?他爱的不是她啊!可是,做了事总得负责吧!就当他是小玉玉就好了。此文比较慢热,但故事内容绝对精彩,奴会用心去诠释文中每个人物内心的挣扎,矛盾,纠结,欲罢不能和痛彻心扉。请不喜欢虐文的亲们,慎入。。。写文是条漫漫长征路,每位作者都是一样的,渴望有大群读者的鼓励与支持,才会有勇气走下去!所以,每位读者亲的收藏、投票、留言等都是对作者莫大的鼓舞!如果您确实喜欢此文,就请您不要太吝啬,用您行动来支持奴!先鞠躬感谢大家了!