Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Editor’s preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Note on the text
- Volume I Mansfield Park
- Volume II Mansfield Park
- Volume III Mansfield Park
- Introductory note on Lovers’ Vows
- Lovers’ Vows
- Corrections and emendations to 1816 text
- Appendix: Commentary on the text
- Abbreviations
- Explanatory notes
Chapter 9
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Editor’s preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Note on the text
- Volume I Mansfield Park
- Volume II Mansfield Park
- Volume III Mansfield Park
- Introductory note on Lovers’ Vows
- Lovers’ Vows
- Corrections and emendations to 1816 text
- Appendix: Commentary on the text
- Abbreviations
- Explanatory notes
Summary
FANNY was right enough in not expecting to hear from Miss Crawford now, at the rapid rate in which their correspondence had begun; Mary's next letter was after a decidedly longer interval than the last, but she was not right in supposing that such an interval would be felt a great relief to herself.—Here was another strange revolution of mind!—She was really glad to receive the letter when it did come. In her present exile from good society, and distance from every thing that had been wont to interest her, a letter from one belonging to the set where her heart lived, written with affection, and some degree of elegance, was thoroughly acceptable.—The usual plea of increasing engagements was made in excuse for not having written to her earlier, “and now that I have begun,” she continued, “my letter will not be worth your reading, for there will be no little offering of love at the end, no three or four lines passionées from the most devoted H. C. in the world, for Henry is inNorfolk; business called him to Everingham ten days ago, or perhaps he only pretended the call, for the sake of being travelling at the same time that you were. But there he is, and, by the by, his absence may sufficiently account for any remissness of his sister's in writing, for there has been no ‘well, Mary, when do you write to Fanny?—is not it time for you to write to Fanny?’ to spurme on. At last, after various attempts at meeting, I have seen your cousins, ‘dear Julia and dearest Mrs. Rushworth;’ they found me at home yesterday, and we were glad to see each other again. We seemed very glad to see each other, and I do really think we were a little.—We had a vast deal to say.— Shall I tell you how Mrs. Rushworth looked when your name was mentioned? I did not use to think her wanting in selfpossession, but she had not quite enough for the demands of yesterday. Upon the whole Julia was in the best looks of the two, at least after you were spoken of. There was no recovering the complexion from the moment that I spoke of ‘Fanny,’ and spoke of her as a sister should.
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- Mansfield Park , pp. 455 - 462Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005