第5章

P. had little doubt， that he and his Sister Miss D. who lived withhim， would be principally remembered in her Will. He sincerely hoped it.—Miss Denham had a very small provision—and her Brother was a poor Man for his rank in Society. 'He is a warm friend to Sanditon'—said Mr. Parker—'and his hand would be as liberal as his heart， had he the Power.—He would be a noble Coadjutor！—As it is， he does what he can—and is running up a tasteful little Cottage Ornèe on a strip of Waste Ground Lady D. has granted him， which I have no doubt we shall have many a Candidate for， before the end even of this Season.' Till within the last twelvemonth， Mr. P. had considered Sir Edward as standingwithout a rival， as having the fairest chance of succeeding to the greater part of all that she had to give—but there was now another person's claims to be taken into the account， those of the young female relation， whom Lady D. had been induced to receive into her Family. After having always protested against any such Addition， and long and often enjoyed the repeated defeats she had given to every attempt of her relations to introduce this young Lady， or that young Lady as a Companion at Sanditon House， she had brought back with her from London last Michaelmas a Miss Brereton， who bid fair by her Merits to vie in favour with Sir Edward， and to secure for herself and her family that share of the accumulated Property which they had certainly the best right to inherit.—Mr. Parker spoke warmly of Clara Brereton， and the interest of his story increased very much with the introduction of such a Character. Charlotte listened with more than amusement now；—it was solicitude and Enjoyment， as she heard her described to be lovely， amiable， gentle， unassuming， conducting herself uniformly with great good sense， and evidently gaining by her innate worth， on the affections of her Patroness.—Beauty， Sweetness， Poverty and Dependance， do not want the imagination of a Man to operate upon. With due exceptions—Woman feels for Woman very promptly and compassionately. He gave the particulars which had led to Clara's admission at Sanditon， as no bad exemplification of that mixture of Character， that union of Littleness with Kindness with Good Sense with even Liberality which he saw in Lady D.—After having avoided London for many years， principally on account of these very Cousins， who were continually writing， inviting and tormenting her， and whom she was determined to keep at a distance， she had been obliged to gothere last Michaelmas with the certainty of being detained at least a fortnight.—She had gone to an Hotel—living by her own account as prudently as possible， to defy the reputed expensiveness of such a home， and at the end of three Days calling for her Bill， that she might judge of her state.—Its amount was such as determined her on staying not another hour in the House， and she was preparing in all the anger and perturbation which a belief of very gross imposition there， and an ignorance of where to go for better usage， to leave the Hotel at all hazards， when the Cousins， the politic and lucky Cousins， who seemed always to have a spy on her， introduced themselves at this important moment， and learning her situation， persuaded her to accept such a home for the rest of her stay as their humbler house in a very inferior part of London， could offer.—She went； was delighted with her welcome and the hospitality and attention she received from every body—found her good Cousins the B.s beyond her expectation worthy people—and finally was impelled by a personal knowledge of their narrow Income and pecuniary difficulties， to invite one of the girls of the family to pass the Winter with her. The invitation was to one， for six months—with the probability of another being then to take her place；—but in selecting the one， Lady D. had shewn the good part of her Character—for passing by the actual daughters of the House， she had chosen Clara， a Niece， more helpless and more pitiable of course than any—a dependant on Poverty—an additional Burthen on an encumbered Circle—and one， who had been so low in every worldly view， as with all her natural endowments and powers， to have been preparing for a situation little better than a Nursery Maid.—Clara had returned with her— and by her good sense and merit had now， to all appearancesecured a very strong hold in Lady D.'s regard. The six months had long been over—and not a syllable was breathed of any change， or exchange.—She was a general favourite；—the influence of her steady conduct and mild， gentle Temper was felt by everybody. The prejudices which had met her at first in some quarters， were all dissipated. She was felt to be worthy of Trust— to be the very companion who would guide and soften Lady D.— who would enlarge her mind and open her hand.—She was as thoroughly amiable as she was lovely—and since having had the advantage of their Sanditon Breezes， that Loveliness was complete.