Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 87 The Appearance of the Steele Sisters
The next day, the Palmer couple went back to Cleveland, and only the Barton's two families invited them back and forth.But Elinor kept wondering: how could Charlotte be so happy for no reason; how could Mr. Palmer, with his intelligence, be so hasty;While her last visitor was still in her mind, it was not long before Sir John and Mrs. Jennings, always sociable, introduced her to new acquaintances.

One morning, they all went to Exeter to visit together, and happened to meet the two ladies.Mrs. Jennings's delight in discovering that these two were relations of hers was reason enough for Sir John to invite them to Barton Park as soon as their time at Exeter was over.With such an invitation, their appointment at Exeter was coming to an end.When Sir John returned home, Lady Middleton was greatly surprised to learn that the two ladies were soon to be received.She had never met the two young ladies, and she had no way of proving that they were well-behaved--or even that they were well-bred, for the assurances of her husband and mother in this respect could not be relied upon at all.They were also her relatives, which made matters more subtle.Jennings tried to comfort her greatly, and advised her not to worry about their being too fashionable, and since she and they were cousins, we must bear with each other—these words became empty guns in the ears of Mrs. Middleton.It is now impossible to stop them from coming.Mrs. Middleton could only treat this with the optimism expected of a well-bred woman, and resigned herself to the matter, consoling herself with mild reproaches to her husband five or six times a day.

The two ladies arrived.From the outside, they are by no means out of style, nor out of fashion.They dressed very smartly, behaved well, and were very fond of the house, and were fascinated by its furnishings.Unexpectedly, they doted on a few children like that again. They won the favor of Mrs. Middleton before they stayed in Barton Manor for an hour.She declared publicly that they were indeed two very agreeable ladies.This can be regarded as a very warm appreciation for the lady of the jazz.Sir John, full of confidence in his eyesight, upon hearing this warm compliment, ran to the cottage, and told the Dashwood ladies that the Miss Steeles were coming, and assured them, Said Sister Steele was the loveliest young lady in the world.However, just hearing such compliments, you can't understand much substantive content.Elinor knew in her heart that the loveliest young ladies in the world could be found everywhere in England, but they were all different in figure, appearance, temper and intelligence.Sir John sent out all the Dashwoods at once to Barton Park to meet his guests.What a kind and kind man!Even two distant cousins, not having the opportunity to socialize, made him feel bad.

"Go," said he, "go, please--you must--I say you must. You can't imagine how much you'll like them. Lucy is so pretty and sweet-natured! Children Has clung to her as if she were an old acquaintance. They were both looking forward to seeing you, for at Exeter they had heard that you were the best of the world. I told them it was true, and it was far It's more than that. I dare say you'll like them both. They bring a wagon full of toys to the children. How can you be so unhappy that you won't even show your face! You know, come to think of it , They are still your distant cousins. You are my cousins, and they are my wife's cousins, so you are also related."

But Sir John could not persuade them.He only got a reply that they would call within a day or two, and with a feeling of profound surprise at their indifference, he took his leave and went home.Once at home, he again boasted to the Miss Steeles of the charms of the Dashwood sisters, as he had just done to the Miss Steeles.

Keeping their word, they come to Barton Manor and are introduced to the two ladies.They found that the older sister was nearly 22 years old, with a very ordinary face, she didn't look smart, and she wasn't commendable at all.But that sister, they all thought was quite handsome.She was only [-] or [-] years old, with a pretty face, sharp eyes, and a clever demeanor. If she could not be called truly elegant and handsome, she could be called outstanding.The manners of the sisters were so humble that Elinor could not help at once realizing that there was something in them, for she found them always so tactful and courteous to Lady Middleton.They had been playing with her children, praising them for their beauty, teasing them, and letting them do whatever they wanted.In the intervals between courteous and courteous detachment from the children, they applauded whatever they saw my ladyship doing, or measured the pattern of her beautiful new dress which had made them admire her the day before.Fortunately for the flatterer, the doting mother, though often craving the false flattery of others in pursuit of the admiration of her children, is often the most dissatisfied of all human beings. He is the easiest person to trust others.Such an insatiable and credulous man, therefore, in Mrs. Middleton's view, there was nothing surprising or suspicious in the excessive indulgence and indulgence of the little ones by the Steele sisters.It pleased her mother to see the two cousins ​​being rudely offended and mischievously played upon by the little one.She watched their belts being undone, their hair scratched, their sewing bags rummaged through, their knives and scissors stolen, and she had no doubt that it was just a joke.It is amazing that Eleanor and Marianne can sit aside calmly, ignoring the frolicking in front of them.

"John is so happy today!" said Mrs. Middleton, as John snatched Miss Steele's handkerchief and threw it out of the window. "He's got a lot of tricks."

After a while, her second boy pinched Miss Steele's fingers again, and Mrs. Middleton said in a loving tone: "William is naughty!"

"Look, my sweet little Anna Maria," she said, lovingly petting the three-year-old, who hadn't made a fuss in two minutes. "She's always so quiet. I've never seen such a quiet little darling!"

Unfortunately, when Mrs. Middleton was hugging her so affectionately, the pin on her tiara scratched the little girl's neck lightly, causing the most quiet little girl in the world to scream , that menacing energy is simply beyond the reach of the little guy who claims to be the loudest.The child's mother panicked, but not quite as panicked as Sister Steele's.

At this critical juncture, it seems that only love can relieve the pain of this suffering little boy, so the three of them are very busy.The mother held the little girl on her knees and kissed it; one Miss Steele was on her knees washing the little one's wounds with lavender water; mouth with candy.Since tears can win so much, the little clever ghost just kept crying.She continued to cry desperately, and when the two brothers wanted to touch her, she immediately kicked her feet up.Seeing that everyone couldn't coax her, fortunately, Mrs. Middleton remembered that the same unfortunate thing happened last week-at that time, the little guy had a bruised temple, and then he ate some apricot jam.So she hastened to propose the same treatment for this scrape.When the little girl heard it, she stopped screaming for a while, which undoubtedly gave everyone hope that the apricot jam might stop her crying.So her mother carried her out of the room to search for the elixir.Although the mother tried her best to dissuade the two boys from staying in the room, they insisted on going out together.So only the four ladies were left in the room, and for the first time in several hours, the room was quiet.

"Poor little fellow!" said Miss Steele, as soon as they were out of the room, "there was a near disaster."

"I don't think it's a big deal," cried Marianne, "unless the circumstances are quite different. But it's the same old fuss this time, and it's not really a big deal."

"Lady Middleton is a good-natured woman," said Lucy Steele.

Marianne was silent.It was impossible for her to flatter her insincerely in any matter, however insignificant; and therefore it always fell to Elinor to tell falsehoods where politeness required it.Now that it was necessary, she spoke of Lady Middleton as passionately as she could, far less than Miss Lucy's, but far more than her own real feelings.

"And Sir John," cried Miss Steele, "what a man he is!"

Miss Dashwood's praise of Sir John was also simple and measured, without exaggeration.She just said he was very kind and gracious.

"What a wonderful little family they have! I've never seen such fine children. I'll tell you, I love them. I've always loved children, really, as hell."

"From what I saw this morning," Eleanor said with a smile, "I think it is indeed the case."

"I think," said Lucy, "that you think the Middletons are too coddled, and perhaps they are a little too much. But it seems natural to Mrs. Middleton. As far as I am concerned, I like to see children alive and happy. I can't stand them being quiet and well-behaved."

"To be honest," Eleanor replied, "when I came to Barton Manor, I never disliked well-behaved and quiet children."

After these words, the room was silent for a while, and Miss Steele broke the silence.She seemed very talkative, and now she said suddenly: "You like Devonshire very much, Miss Dashwood? I think you must be very sorry to leave Sussex?"

The question was so abrupt, at least in the manner in which it was asked, that Eleanor, a little surprised, replied that she was very sorry.

"Norland Park is a very beautiful place, isn't it?" Miss Steele went on.

Lucy seemed to think her sister was speaking too freely, and tried to smooth things over: "We hear Sir John admires that place very much."

"I think anyone who has seen that place," replied Elinor, "will appreciate it, though probably none can appreciate its beauty as we do."

"You've got a lot of nice boys there, don't you? I don't think there are many here. As far as I'm concerned, I think it's always a good thing to have them."

"But why do you think," said Lucy, seeming ashamed for her sister, "that there aren't as many educated young people in Devon as there are in Sussex?"

"No, my dear, I'm not talking nonsense, of course. There must be plenty of nice boys in Exeter. But you see, how do I know what kind of nice boys there are around Nolan? I'm just afraid that if the Miss Dashwoods Don't see so many lads as before, you'll find Barton boring. But maybe you young station girls don't care about amorous lads, if they're all the same. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they dress well and behave well, I thought they were very lovely. But I can't bear to see them slovenly and nonchalant. Well, there's a Mr. Ross in Exeter right now, a handsome fellow, really. The girl's favorite. He's Mr. Simpson's secretary, but if you meet him one morning you'll find him a real shame. Miss Dashwood, I think your brother must have been a pretty young man before he married, too, and a lot A girl's favorite, because he's rich."

"To tell you the truth," replied Elinor, "I can't say that, because I don't quite understand the meaning of the word. But I can tell you one thing: if he had been the girl's heart before he married, he would have It’s still the same now, because he hasn’t changed a bit.”

"Oh! God! People never think of married men as attractive—they've got other things to do when they're married."

"Dear me! Anne," cried her sister, "you can't keep your mouth shut for your lover, and Miss Dashwood thinks you've got such thoughts in your head." Then she changed the subject to admiring the house and Displays come.

The Steele sisters are truly typical.The eldest lady is vulgar and reckless, ignorant and ignorant, with no redeeming qualities.Although the second lady looks very handsome and looks very clever, Eleanor is not blindfolded by this, and she can see that she lacks real elegance and frankness.Therefore, when she left, she didn't want to have any further contact with them.

Sister Steele didn't think so.When they came from Exeter they had long intended to express their admiration for Sir John and Mrs. John and their relations, and a great part of this admiration was now directed to his handsome cousin.They professed openly that Sister Dashwood was the fairest, most refined, most accomplished, most amiable young lady they had ever seen, and were eager to have further acquaintance with them.Elinor soon found that further acquaintance with them was inevitable, for Sir John was entirely on Sister Steele's side, and they were bound to be present at their party.It was too much of a treat for them to give in, which meant sitting in the same room with Sister Steele almost every day for an hour or two.Sir John could do no more, nor knew that more was needed.From his point of view, staying together counted as intimacy, and as long as he could arrange for them to meet again and again, he had no doubt that they had become close friends.

To do justice, Sir John did his best to promote their intimacy.He gave Sister Steele all that he knew about his nieces with great detail and detail.Sister Steele met Eleanor only twice, and the Missy congratulated her, saying that her sister was very lucky to have conquered a very handsome young man when she first arrived in Barton.

"It's a very good thing she's married so young, of course," she said. "I've heard he's a very nice man, and he's very handsome. I hope you will have the same luck before long. But maybe You've already made friends in private."

Elinor felt that Sir John, having made so much publicity about Marianne, would be less careful about herself and Edward.In fact, compared with the two, Jazz prefers to make jokes about Eleanor, because this joke is fresher and more worthy of speculation.Since Edward's visit, every time we dined together, he would raise his glass meaningfully to wish her a happy relationship, nod and wink frequently to attract everyone's attention.The word "Fei" is always brought up again and again, causing endless jokes, so that everyone thinks that in Eleanor's mind, the word "Fei" has long been designated as the most wonderful word in the world.

Sure enough, there was no Eleanor, and the Steele sisters took advantage of these jokes.These jokes aroused the young lady's curiosity, and she insisted on finding out the gentleman's first and last name.Although her words are often not light or heavy, it is not surprising, because this is completely consistent with her behavior of inquiring about all the gossip of their family.Sir John, with all his delight in arousing curiosity, had no patience for prolonged teasing, and was as eager to speak the name as Miss Steele was to hear it.

"His name is Fellars," he said, quietly but clearly, "but please don't tell it. It's a big secret."

"Fellars!" repeated Miss Steele, "that lucky man is Mr. Ferrars, isn't he? What! Your sister-in-law's brother, Miss Dashwood? That's a very sweet fellow, of course, I know him, no doubt."

"How can you say that, Anne?" cried Lucy, who was always fond of paraphrasing her sister, "though we've seen him once or twice at my uncle's, it's a little too much to say we know him well."

Elinor listened carefully to this, and was greatly surprised: "Who is this uncle? Where does he live? How did they know each other?" She very much hoped that they would go on, though she herself did not want to interrupt.But the conversation fell silent, and for the first time in Elinor's life it seemed to Elinor that Mrs. Jennings lacked both the inquiring curiosity and the self-consciousness to inform.Miss Steel's air when she was speaking of Edward had heightened her curiosity, for she felt that the lady was out of sorts, and suspected that she knew (or thought she knew) that there was something dishonorable about Edward, but her Curiosity proved fruitless, for Mr. Ferrars' name was never mentioned again by Miss Steele, either by hint or by public reference.

(End of this chapter)