第25章

andthoughLordRavenshawofferedtoresignhistome，itwasimpossibletotakeit，youknow。Iwassorryfor_him_thatheshouldhavesomistakenhispowers，forhewasnomoreequaltotheBaron——alittlemanwithaweakvoice，alwayshoarseafterthefirsttenminutes。Itmusthaveinjuredthepiecematerially；

but_I_wasresolvedtomakenodifficulties。

SirHenrythoughtthedukenotequaltoFrederick，butthatwasbecauseSirHenrywantedtheparthimself；

whereasitwascertainlyinthebesthandsofthetwo。

IwassurprisedtoseeSirHenrysuchastick。

Luckilythestrengthofthepiecedidnotdependuponhim。

OurAgathawasinimitable，andthedukewasthoughtverygreatbymany。Anduponthewhole，itwouldcertainlyhavegoneoffwonderfully。“

“Itwasahardcase，uponmyword“；and，“Idothinkyouwereverymuchtobepitied，“werethekindresponsesoflisteningsympathy。

“Itisnotworthcomplainingabout；buttobesurethepoorolddowagercouldnothavediedataworsetime；

anditisimpossibletohelpwishingthatthenewscouldhavebeensuppressedforjustthethreedayswewanted。

Itwasbutthreedays；andbeingonlyagrandmother，andallhappeningtwohundredmilesoff，Ithinktherewouldhavebeennogreatharm，anditwassuggested，Iknow；

butLordRavenshaw，whoIsupposeisoneofthemostcorrectmeninEngland，wouldnothearofit。“

“Anafterpieceinsteadofacomedy，“saidMr。Bertram。

“Lovers’Vowswereatanend，andLordandLadyRavenshawlefttoactMyGrandmotherbythemselves。Well，thejointuremaycomfort_him_；andperhaps，betweenfriends，hebegantotrembleforhiscreditandhislungsintheBaron，andwasnotsorrytowithdraw；andtomake_you_amends，Yates，IthinkwemustraisealittletheatreatMansfield，andaskyoutobeourmanager。“

This，thoughthethoughtofthemoment，didnotendwiththemoment；fortheinclinationtoactwasawakened，andinnoonemorestronglythaninhimwhowasnowmasterofthehouse；andwho，havingsomuchleisureastomakealmostanynoveltyacertaingood，hadlikewisesuchadegreeoflivelytalentsandcomictaste，aswereexactlyadaptedtothenoveltyofacting。

Thethoughtreturnedagainandagain。“OhfortheEcclesfordtheatreandscenerytotrysomethingwith。“

Eachsistercouldechothewish；andHenryCrawford，towhom，inalltheriotofhisgratificationsitwasyetanuntastedpleasure，wasquitealiveattheidea。

“Ireallybelieve，“saidhe，“Icouldbefoolenoughatthismomenttoundertakeanycharacterthateverwaswritten，fromShylockorRichardIIIdowntothesingingheroofafarceinhisscarletcoatandcockedhat。

IfeelasifIcouldbeanythingoreverything；

asifIcouldrantandstorm，orsighorcutcapers，inanytragedyorcomedyintheEnglishlanguage。

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