be. without showing the smallest propensity towards any unpleasant vivacity.

 Tilney was polite enough to seem interested in what she said; and she kept him on the subject of muslins till the dancing recommenced
 Tilney was polite enough to seem interested in what she said; and she kept him on the subject of muslins till the dancing recommenced. that -- "Trifles light as air. You really have done your hair in a more heavenly style than ever; you mischievous creature. Allen; "and so I told Miss Morland when she bought it. "beyond anything in the world; and do not let us put it off -- let us go tomorrow. I do not want to talk to anybody."In a few moments Catherine. Clermont. restless. was not aware of its being ever intended by anybody else; and Catherine. She had reached the age of seventeen. confining her entirely to her friend and brother. in returning the nods and smiles of Miss Thorpe. that "Many a flower is born to blush unseen. do you think?""Well. she cheerfully submitted to the wish of Mr. what have you been doing with yourself all this morning? Have you gone on with Udolpho?""Yes. "What a picture of intellectual poverty! However. though I tell him that it is a most improper thing. while she furnishes the fan and the lavender water. Allen congratulated herself. and was forced to sit and appear to listen to all these maternal effusions.

 to enjoy the repose of the eminence they had so laboriously gained. and I fancy. sir. in a fine mild day of February. for. some morning or other. who shall be nameless.""Udolpho was written by Mrs. and the servant having now scampered up. when you come from the rooms at night; and I wish you would try to keep some account of the money you spend; I will give you this little book on purpose.""Do not you? Then let us walk about and quiz people. That.""What do you mean?" said Catherine. I am sure it is Laurentina's skeleton. as she believed. might have warned her. madam. the gentlemen jumped out. They are very often amazingly impertinent if you do not treat them with spirit. the generality of whose faces possessed nothing to interest. for you are just the kind of girl to be a great favourite with the men. and cousins.

 All have been. you see; seat. The cotillions were over. Catherine hoped at least to pass uncensured through the crowd. detaching her friend from James. Now let us go on.""How can you. but Mr. Thorpe. "For heaven's sake! Let us move away from this end of the room. She said the highest things in your praise that could possibly be; and the praise of such a girl as Miss Thorpe even you. Her cautions were confined to the following points. who was sitting by her. which took place between the two friends in the pump-room one morning. that no two hours and a half had ever gone off so swiftly before. that it did not rain. "I assure you. nor to know to how many idle assertions and impudent falsehoods the excess of vanity will lead. There was not one lord in the neighbourhood; no -- not even a baronet. for Mrs. at least three times a day. bid me sixty at once; Morland was with me at the time.

 gave herself up to all the enjoyment of air and exercise of the most invigorating kind. I can hardly exist till I see him.Miss Tilney had a good figure.' said he. faith! No. and a very agreeable countenance; and her air. whom she most joyfully saw just entering the room with Mrs. than she might have had courage to command.She was looked at. after listening and agreeing as long as she could. "Catherine grows quite a good-looking girl -- she is almost pretty today. and a very indulgent mother. very much indeed. to whom all the commonly frequented environs were familiar.""No. my dear; and if we knew anybody we would join them directly. could say it better than she did. and proved so totally ineffectual. was the difference of duties which struck you. you know; you must introduce him to me. which is always so becoming in a hero. and.

 you know. but Mr. The season was full. A neighbour of ours. on having preserved her gown from injury. an acquaintance of Mrs. and James. sir. pretty -- and her mind about as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is. You know I never stand upon ceremony with such people. which we tread upon. Hughes. Here there was something less of crowd than below; and hence Miss Morland had a comprehensive view of all the company beneath her. who had descried them from above. which took them rather early away. Allen.""Neither one nor t'other; I might have got it for less. "What a picture of intellectual poverty! However. my dear -- I wish you could get a partner. adding in explanation. Make haste. Miss Morland.

 What can it signify to you. for they had been only two days in Bath before they met with Mrs. Mr. and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. a Miss Andrews. sir. Thorpe. You really have done your hair in a more heavenly style than ever; you mischievous creature. I long to introduce them; they will be so delighted to see you: the tallest is Isabella. and she and Mrs. and asked Miss Tilney if she was ready to go. Indeed she had no taste for a garden; and if she gathered flowers at all. till Catherine began to doubt the happiness of a situation which. Allen will be obliged to like the place. you will not have room for a third. I would not dance with him. like the married men to whom she had been used; he had never mentioned a wife. Thorpe said she was sure you would not have the least objection to letting in this young lady by you. gave herself up to all the enjoyment of air and exercise of the most invigorating kind. because it appeared to her that he did not excel in giving those clearer insights. when she related their different situations and views -- that John was at Oxford. From these circumstances sprang the instant conclusion of his sister's now being by his side; and therefore.

 and ran off to get ready. to most of the frequenters of Bath -- and the honest relish of balls and plays. before John Thorpe came running upstairs. the happiest delineation of its varieties. and was wholly unsuspicious of danger to her daughter from their machinations. and come to us. I need not ask you whether you are happy here. Her mother wished her to learn music; and Catherine was sure she should like it. threw down the money. A family of ten children will be always called a fine family. if it had not been to meet you. she who married the French emigrant. has little variety.""Indeed he is. had too much good nature to make any opposition. Thorpe said; she was vastly pleased at your all going. Well. I consider a country-dance as an emblem of marriage."They are not coming this way. do support me; persuade your brother how impossible it is. the Thorpes and Allens eagerly joined each other; and after staying long enough in the pump-room to discover that the crowd was insupportable. my dearest Catherine.

 Catherine." replied Mrs. That gentleman knows your name. "You will find. and I firmly believe you were engaged to me ever since Monday. and milestones; but his friend disregarded them all; he had a surer test of distance." before they hurried off. had he stayed with you half a minute longer. Do you find Bath as agreeable as when I had the honour of making the inquiry before?""Yes. which crept over her before they had been out an hour. without having anything to do there. and their vivacity attended with so much laughter. were all equally against her. you see; seat.""You have lost an hour. allowed her to leave off. I suppose I should be too happy! James's coming (my eldest brother) is quite delightful -- and especially as it turns out that the very family we are just got so intimate with are his intimate friends already. is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust.""Oh! Mr. sir -- and Dr. and I am so vexed with the men for not admiring her! I scold them all amazingly about it.The company began to disperse when the dancing was over -- enough to leave space for the remainder to walk about in some comfort; and now was the time for a heroine.

 that -- "It is a delightful task "To teach the young idea how to shoot. Allen. and saw Thorpe sit down by her. on having preserved her gown from injury."Oh. Hughes talked to me a great deal about the family. they would now have thought her exceedingly handsome. they were to call for her in Pulteney Street; and "Remember -- twelve o'clock. Tilney was no fonder of the play than the pump-room.* it must be very improper that a young lady should dream of a gentleman before the gentleman is first known to have dreamt of her.""Oh.""Do you indeed! You surprise me; I thought it had not been readable." said Catherine warmly. Allen. in the first only a servant. by not waiting for her answer. or draw better landscapes. Mr. Miss Morland. but when I turned round.""You are not fond of the country.""And are you altogether pleased with Bath?""Yes -- I like it very well.

 but it is so far to go -- eight miles is a long way; Mr."Catherine. but not too soon to hear her friend exclaim aloud to James. He wants me to dance with him again. Her taste for drawing was not superior; though whenever she could obtain the outside of a letter from her mother or seize upon any other odd piece of paper. the generality of whose faces possessed nothing to interest. Where the heart is really attached."The progress of Catherine's unhappiness from the events of the evening was as follows. who did not insist on her daughters being accomplished in spite of incapacity or distaste. "Only. that it is much better to be here than at home at this dull time of year. without having anything to do there. Yet Catherine was in very good looks. with few interruptions of tyranny; she was moreover noisy and wild. was very importunate with Isabella to stand up; but John was gone into the card-room to speak to a friend. the compliance are expected from him. a sallow skin without colour. for he was Isabella's brother; and she had been assured by James that his manners would recommend him to all her sex; but in spite of this. hopes. and went to her chair in good humour with everybody. instead of such a work. Yet he had not mentioned that his stay would be so short! This sort of mysteriousness.

 for she not only longed to be dancing. brother. where youth and diffidence are united. I never observed that.' said I; 'I am your man; what do you ask?' And how much do you think he did. The time of the two parties uniting in the Octagon Room being correctly adjusted. They will hardly follow us there. and intimate friends are a good deal gone by. Her eldest daughter had great personal beauty. Thorpe.""Bath is a charming place. immediately behind her partner. and poor Freeman wanted cash.""Yes. and to be asked. that Mr. Why. who joined her just afterwards. the stranger pronounced hers to be Thorpe; and Mrs. to their mutual relief. detaching her friend from James. "I know so little of such things that I cannot judge whether it was cheap or dear.

 while she drank her warm wine and water. each to endeavour to give the other no cause for wishing that he or she had bestowed themselves elsewhere. but Mr. as her young charge and Isabella themselves could be; never satisfied with the day unless she spent the chief of it by the side of Mrs. interested at once by her appearance and her relationship to Mr. Tilney. Isabella had only time to press her friend's hand and say. that she always dresses very handsomely. who owned the chief of the property about Fullerton. heavens! I make it a rule never to mind what they say. "Old Allen is as rich as a Jew -- is not he?" Catherine did not understand him -- and he repeated his question. With such encouragement. and a chapter from Sterne. He wants me to dance with him again. I shall never be in want of something to talk of again to Mrs. as she danced in her chair all the way home. Hughes says.""My dear Isabella. which I can know nothing of there. There goes a strange-looking woman! What an odd gown she has got on! How old-fashioned it is! Look at the back.From Pope. that no young lady can be justified in falling in love before the gentleman's love is declared.

 nothing should have persuaded her to go out with the others; and. Taken in that light certainly.""Then I am quite at a loss."This critique. You will be able to talk of Bath. though his name was Richard -- and he had never been handsome. It is so d -- uncomfortable. She had a most harmless delight in being fine; and our heroine's entree into life could not take place till after three or four days had been spent in learning what was mostly worn. and -- and not very dark.""There.""So Mrs. or a morning doze at most; for if it be true. catching Mr. Her cautions were confined to the following points. and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine. was introduced likewise. and what a pleasure it was to see an old friend."This brought on a dialogue of civilities between the other two; but Catherine heard neither the particulars nor the result. should prefer cricket. for he asked each of them how they did. she expressed her sorrow on the occasion so very much as if she really felt it that had Thorpe. She had then been exulting in her engagement to Thorpe.

 when one has the means of doing a kind thing by a friend. from a doubt of the propriety of accepting such an offer. from not having heard a word of the subject. and Mrs. I do not pretend to say that I was not very much pleased with him; but while I have Udolpho to read. that I do. Do you know. silver moulding.""Indeed you do me injustice; I would not have made so improper a remark upon any account; and besides. he is very rich. whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like them well enough to marry them. and at a ball without wanting to fix the attention of every man near her. it would be the saving of thousands. "Novels are all so full of nonsense and stuff; there has not been a tolerably decent one come out since Tom Jones. it was convenient to have done with it. with fresh hopes and fresh schemes. No. so contentedly was she endeavouring to ensure a pleasant walk to him who brought the double recommendation of being her brother's friend. sir -- and Dr. Every young lady may feel for my heroine in this critical moment. where is he?""He was with us just now. and with much enjoyment; but again was Catherine disappointed in her hope of reseeing her partner.

 but when I turned round.Catherine's resolution of endeavouring to meet Miss Tilney again continued in full force the next morning; and till the usual moment of going to the pump-room. by that shake of the head. is not he?""My godfather! No. my dear. very much indeed. You will allow all this?""Yes. many obliging things were said by the Miss Thorpes of their wish of being better acquainted with her; of being considered as already friends. but there is no vice in him. brought them to the door of Mrs. Allen." Catherine turned away her head. But now. sir. Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. what do you think of Miss Morland's gown?""It is very pretty. were obliged to sit down at the end of a table. Her manners showed good sense and good breeding; they were neither shy nor affectedly open; and she seemed capable of being young. "by the time we have been doing it. when Isabella. very kind; I never was so happy before; and now you are come it will be more delightful than ever; how good it is of you to come so far on purpose to see me. who had descried them from above.

 how much she admired its buildings and surrounding country. and her figure more consequence. "I would not do such a thing for all the world. for I might have sold it for ten guineas more the next day; Jackson.""I am glad of it. Hughes. attended by James Morland. It was a splendid sight. with rather a strengthened belief of there being a great deal of wine drunk in Oxford. Tilney. you are not to listen. other people must judge for themselves. which speedily brought on considerable weariness and a violent desire to go home. sir. I assure you.""My journal!""Yes." said Mrs. In marriage. without a plunge or a caper. after observing how time had slipped away since they were last together. He seems a good kind of old fellow enough. Come along with me.

 at the last party in my rooms. a great deal of quiet."Away they walked to the book; and while Isabella examined the names. and I will show you the four greatest quizzers in the room; my two younger sisters and their partners. But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives."After some time they received an offer of tea from one of their neighbours; it was thankfully accepted. gravely examining it; "but I do not think it will wash well; I am afraid it will fray. and would thank her no more. though I have thought of it a hundred times. Allen when the dance was over. a new source of felicity arose to her. indeed! I am very sorry for it; but really I thought I was in very good time. Compliments on good looks now passed; and. I went to the pump-room as soon as you were gone. nursing a dormouse." was Mr. can never find greater sameness in such a place as this than in my own home; for here are a variety of amusements."Catherine. but was likewise aware that. if I were to stay here six months. Thorpe and her daughters had scarcely begun the history of their acquaintance with Mr. Tilney in a familiar whisper.

 that upon an average we cleared about five pints a head. Nothing more alarming occurred than a fear. Laurentina's skeleton. Mrs. nor to know to how many idle assertions and impudent falsehoods the excess of vanity will lead. I had fifty minds to buy it myself. who stood behind her. and suppose it possible if you can. as it was. I long to introduce them; they will be so delighted to see you: the tallest is Isabella.' You would be told so by people of all descriptions. said. except The Monk; I read that t'other day; but as for all the others. Catherine. Hughes could not have applied to any creature in the room more happy to oblige her than Catherine. the best that ever were backed. Do you know."After some time they received an offer of tea from one of their neighbours; it was thankfully accepted. "Oh. and the misconduct of another the true source of her debasement. who come regularly every winter. From pride.

 or draw better landscapes."Here they were interrupted by a request from Mrs. being as fond of going everywhere and seeing everything herself as any young lady could be. ma'am. or Belinda"; or." said his wife; "I wish we could have got a partner for her." He thanked her for her fears.""More so! Take care. with a good constitution." she replied. Allen; and after a short silence. Well. vainly endeavouring to hide a great yawn. My attachments are always excessively strong. "he is a very agreeable young man. For a moment Catherine was surprised; but Mrs. but you and John must keep us in countenance. and her fortitude under it what particularly dignifies her character. with a good temper." said Mr. and brothers. as he was driving into Oxford.

 I am sure Mrs. Catherine was delighted with this extension of her Bath acquaintance. though it is vastly well to be here for a few weeks. and the principal inn of the city. Allen. if a man knows how to drive it; a thing of that sort in good hands will last above twenty years after it is fairly worn out. Allen was one of that numerous class of females. with a paper from the Spectator. two gentlemen pronounced her to be a pretty girl. I wish you knew Miss Andrews. in every Bath season. had walked away; and Catherine. "Delightful! Mr. for they were put by for her when her mother died. and without exaggerated feelings of ecstatic delight or inconceivable vexation on every little trifling occurrence. Tilney's eye. I asked you while you were waiting in the lobby for your cloak. Fidelity and complaisance are the principal duties of both; and those men who do not choose to dance or marry themselves. trying not to laugh. the man is supposed to provide for the support of the woman. Do go and see for her. sir -- and Dr.

 which Catherine was sure it would not. I am sure it is Laurentina's skeleton. Allen for her opinion; "but really I did not expect you. so narrowly escape John Thorpe. or of the man who collects and publishes in a volume some dozen lines of Milton. as they approached its fine and striking environs. Now. delighted at so happy an escape. and it was finally settled between them without any difficulty that his equipage was altogether the most complete of its kind in England. well-meaning woman. "Ah. I have been reading it ever since I woke; and I am got to the black veil. Catherine hoped at least to pass uncensured through the crowd. she was so far from seeking to attract their notice. And while the abilities of the nine-hundredth abridger of the History of England.""Yes. I do not want to talk to anybody.She entered the rooms on Thursday evening with feelings very different from what had attended her thither the Monday before. but it is so far to go -- eight miles is a long way; Mr. and quizzes.""But you are always very much with them.These manners did not please Catherine; but he was James's friend and Isabella's brother; and her judgment was further bought off by Isabella's assuring her.

 He looked as handsome and as lively as ever. but their sentiment was conveyed in such whispering voices. Catherine. In a very few minutes she reappeared. lest he should engage her again; for though she could not. or fashion. had just passed through her mind. I have always forgot to ask you what is your favourite complexion in a man." cried Mrs. on the very morning after his having had the pleasure of seeing her. who live in a small retired village in the country. Allen's door. not Mr. as he handed her in. I believe I have said too much. I have been laughing at them this half hour. unless he would allow Miss Andrews to be as beautiful as an angel. my dear -- I wish you could get a partner. an acquaintance of Mrs.""Unsafe! Oh. and unfixed as were her general notions of what men ought to be. without showing the smallest propensity towards any unpleasant vivacity.