Austen Said:

Her love made no answer; and after slightly bowing to the ladies, began complaining of the weather.

said he.

The rest of the company soon dropt in.

said Sir John,

Marianne looked very grave and said nothing.

said Mrs. Palmer;

said her husband.

said Mr. Palmer.

Marianne remained perfectly silent, though her countenance betrayed her interest in what was said.

continued Mrs. Palmer —

When they were seated in the dining room, Sir John observed with regret that they were only eight all together.

said he to his lady,

said Mrs. Jennings,

cried Mr. Palmer.

said his wife with her usual laugh.

said the good-natured old lady,

Charlotte

laughed heartily to think that her husband could not get rid of her; and exultingly

said,

It was impossible for any one to be more thoroughly good-natured, or more determined to be happy than Mrs. Palmer. The studied indifference, insolence, and discontent of her husband gave her no pain; and when he scolded or abused her, she was highly diverted.

said she, in a whisper, to Elinor.

Elinor was not inclined, after a little observation, to give him credit for being so genuinely and unaffectedly ill-natured or ill-bred as he wished to appear.

but she knew that

she believed,

said Mrs. Palmer soon afterwards,

applying to her husband,

he replied, with a sneer —

said his lady,

They both eagerly and resolutely declined her invitation.

Elinor could hardly keep her countenance as she assented to the hardship of such an obligation.

said Charlotte,

Mr. Palmer took no notice of her.

she continued —

said he,

She surprised Elinor very much as they returned into the drawing-room, by asking her whether she did not like Mr. Palmer excessively.

said Elinor;

Elinor was again obliged to decline her invitation; and by changing the subject, put a stop to her entreaties. She thought it probable that as they lived in the same county, Mrs. Palmer might be able to give some more particular account of Willoughby's general character, than could be gathered from the Middletons' partial acquaintance with him; and she was eager to gain from any one, such a confirmation of his merits as might remove the possibility of fear from Marianne.

She began by inquiring

replied Mrs. Palmer;

replied Elinor,

said Elinor.

Mrs. Palmer's information respecting Willoughby was not very material; but any testimony in his favour, however small, was pleasing to her.

continued Charlotte. —

she added in a low voice,

The Palmers returned to Cleveland the next day, and the two families at Barton were again left to entertain each other. But this did not last long; Elinor had hardly got their last visitors out of her head, had hardly done wondering at Charlotte's being so happy without a cause, at Mr. Palmer's acting so simply, with good abilities, and at the strange unsuitableness which often existed between husband and wife, before Sir John's and Mrs. Jennings's active zeal in the cause of society, procured her some other new acquaintance to see and observe.

In a morning's excursion to Exeter, they had met with two young ladies, whom Mrs. Jennings had the satisfaction of discovering to be her relations, and this was enough for Sir John to invite them directly to the park, as soon as their present engagements at Exeter were over. Their engagements at Exeter instantly gave way before such an invitation, and Lady Middleton was thrown into no little alarm on the return of Sir John, by hearing that she was very soon to receive a visit from two girls whom she had never seen in her life, and of whose elegance, — whose tolerable gentility even, she could have no proof; for the assurances of her husband and mother on that subject went for nothing at all. Their being her relations too made it so much the worse; and Mrs. Jennings's attempts at consolation were therefore unfortunately founded, when

she advised her daughter

As it was impossible, however, now to prevent their coming, Lady Middleton resigned herself to the idea of it, with all the philosophy of a well-bred woman, contenting herself with merely giving her husband a gentle reprimand on the subject five or six times every day.

The young ladies arrived: their appearance was by no means ungenteel or unfashionable. Their dress was very smart, their manners very civil, they were delighted with the house, and in raptures with the furniture, and they happened to be so doatingly fond of children that Lady Middleton's good opinion was engaged in their favour before they had been an hour at the Park.

She declared them to be