第64章

Shewouldratherdiethanownthetruth；andshehoped，byalittlereflection，tofortifyherselfbeyondbetrayingit。

“IndependentlyoftheinterestwhichMr。Crawford’s_choice_

seemedtojustify“saidSirThomas，beginningagain，andverycomposedly，“hiswishingtomarryatallsoearlyisrecommendatorytome。Iamanadvocateforearlymarriages，wheretherearemeansinproportion，andwouldhaveeveryyoungman，withasufficientincome，settleassoonafterfour-and-twentyashecan。Thisissomuchmyopinion，thatIamsorrytothinkhowlittlelikelymyowneldestson，yourcousin，Mr。Bertram，istomarryearly；butatpresent，asfarasIcanjudge，matrimonymakesnopartofhisplansorthoughts。

Iwishheweremorelikelytofix。“HerewasaglanceatFanny。“Edmund，Iconsider，fromhisdispositionsandhabits，asmuchmorelikelytomarryearlythanhisbrother。_He_，indeed，Ihavelatelythought，hasseenthewomanhecouldlove，which，Iamconvinced，myeldestsonhasnot。AmIright？Doyouagreewithme，mydear？“

“Yes，sir。“

Itwasgently，butitwascalmlysaid，andSirThomaswaseasyonthescoreofthecousins。Buttheremovalofhisalarmdidhisniecenoservice：asherunaccountablenesswasconfirmedhisdispleasureincreased；andgettingupandwalkingabouttheroomwithafrown，whichFannycouldpicturetoherself，thoughshedarednotliftuphereyes，heshortlyafterwards，andinavoiceofauthority，said，“Haveyouanyreason，child，tothinkillofMr。Crawford’stemper？“

“No，sir。“

Shelongedtoadd，“ButofhisprinciplesIhave“；butherheartsunkundertheappallingprospectofdiscussion，explanation，andprobablynon-conviction。Herillopinionofhimwasfoundedchieflyonobservations，which，forhercousins’sake，shecouldscarcelydarementiontotheirfather。MariaandJulia，andespeciallyMaria，weresocloselyimplicatedinMr。Crawford’smisconduct，thatshecouldnotgivehischaracter，suchasshebelievedit，withoutbetrayingthem。Shehadhopedthat，toamanlikeheruncle，sodiscerning，sohonourable，sogood，thesimpleacknowledgmentofsettled_dislike_

onhersidewouldhavebeensufficient。Toherinfinitegriefshefounditwasnot。

SirThomascametowardsthetablewhereshesatintremblingwretchedness，andwithagooddealofcoldsternness，said，“Itisofnouse，Iperceive，totalktoyou。Wehadbetterputanendtothismostmortifyingconference。Mr。Crawfordmustnotbekeptlongerwaiting。Iwill，therefore，onlyadd，asthinkingitmydutytomarkmyopinionofyourconduct，thatyouhavedisappointedeveryexpectationIhadformed，andprovedyourselfofacharactertheveryreverseofwhatIhadsupposed。ForI_had_，Fanny，asIthinkmybehaviourmusthaveshewn，formedaveryfavourableopinionofyoufromtheperiodofmyreturntoEngland。

Ihadthoughtyoupeculiarlyfreefromwilfulnessoftemper，self-conceit，andeverytendencytothatindependenceofspiritwhichprevailssomuchinmoderndays，eveninyoungwomen，andwhichinyoungwomenisoffensiveanddisgustingbeyondallcommonoffence。Butyouhavenowshewnmethatyoucanbewilfulandperverse；

thatyoucanandwilldecideforyourself，withoutanyconsiderationordeferenceforthos

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