Chapter 6

The following conversation, which took place between the two friends in

the pum p-room one m orning, after an acquaintance of eight or nine day s, is given as a specim en of their very warm attachm ent, and of the delicacy, discretion, originality of thought, and literary taste which m arked the reasonableness of that attachm ent.

They m et by appointm ent; and as Isabella had arrived nearly five

m inutes before her friend, her first address naturally was, “My dearest creature, what can have m ade y ou so late? I have been waiting for y ou at least this age!”

“Have y ou, indeed! I am very sorry for it; but really I thought I was in

very good tim e. It is but j ust one. I hope y ou have not been here long?”

“Oh! These ten ages at least. I am sure I have been here this half hour.

But now, let us go and sit down at the other end of the room , and enj oy ourselves. I have an hundred things to say to y ou. In the first place, I was so afraid it would rain this m orning, j ust as I wanted to set off; it looked very showery, and that would have thrown m e into agonies! Do y ou know, I saw the prettiest hat y ou can im agine, in a shop window in Milsom Street j ust now – very like y ours, only with coquelicot ribbons instead of green; I quite longed for it. But, m y dearest Catherine, what have y ou been doing with y ourself all this m orning? Have y ou gone on with Udolpho?”

“Yes, I have been reading it ever since I woke; and I am got to the black

veil.”

“Are y ou, indeed? How delightful! Oh! I would not tell y ou what is

behind the black veil for the world! Are not y ou wild to know?”

“Oh! Yes, quite; what can it be? But do not tell m e – I would not be told

upon any account. I know it m ust be a skeleton, I am sure it is Laurentina’s skeleton. Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend m y whole life in reading it. I assure y ou, if it had not been to m eet y ou, I would not have com e away from it for all the world.”

“Dear creature! How m uch I am obliged to y ou; and when y ou have

finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have m ade out a list of ten or twelve m ore of the sam e kind for y ou.”

“Have y ou, indeed! How glad I am ! What are they all?”

“I will read y ou their nam es directly ; here they are, in m y pocketbook.

“Castle of Wolfenbach”, “Clerm ont”, “My sterious Warnings”, “Necrom ancer of the Black Forest”, “Midnight Bell”, “Orphan of the Rhine”, and “Horrid My steries”. Those will last us som e tim e.”

“Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are y ou sure they are all

horrid?”

“Yes, quite sure; for a particular friend of m ine, a Miss Andrews, a sweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world, has read every one of them . I wish y ou knew Miss Andrews, y ou would be delighted with her. She is netting herself the sweetest cloak y ou can conceive. I think her as beautiful as an angel, and I am so vexed with the m en for not adm iring her! I scold them all am azingly about it.”

“Scold them ! Do y ou scold them for not adm iring her?”

“Yes, that I do. There is nothing I would not do for those who are really

m y friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not m y nature. My attachm ents are alway s excessively strong. I told Captain Hunt at one of our assem blies this winter that if he was to tease m e all night, I would not dance with him , unless he would allow Miss Andrews to be as beautiful as an angel. The m en think us incapable of real friendship, y ou know, and I am determ ined to show them the difference. Now, if I were to hear any body speak slightingly of y ou, I should fire up in a m om ent: but that is not at all likely, for y ou are j ust the kind of girl to be a great favourite with the m en.”

“Oh, dear!” cried Catherine, colouring. “How can y ou say so?”

“I know y ou very well; y ou have so m uch anim ation, which is exactly

what Miss Andrews wants, for I m ust confess there is som ething am azingly insipid about her. Oh! I m ust tell y ou, that j ust after we parted y esterday, I saw a y oung m an looking at y ou so earnestly – I am sure he is in love with y ou.” Catherine coloured, and disclaim ed again. Isabella laughed. “It is very true, upon m y honour, but I see how it is; y ou are indifferent to every body ’s adm iration, except that of one gentlem an, who shall be nam eless. Nay, I cannot blam e y ou” – speaking m ore seriously – “y our feelings are easily understood. Where the heart is really attached, I know very well how little one can be pleased with the attention of any body else. Every thing is so insipid, so uninteresting, that does not relate to the beloved obj ect! I can perfectly com prehend y our feelings.”

“But y ou should not persuade m e that I think so very m uch about Mr.

Tilney, for perhaps I m ay never see him again.”

“Not see him again! My dearest creature, do not talk of it. I am sure

y ou would be m iserable if y ou thought so!”

“No, indeed, I should not. I do not pretend to say that I was not very

m uch pleased with him ; but while I have Udolpho to read, I feel as if nobody could m ake m e m iserable. Oh! The dreadful black veil! My dear Isabella, I am sure there m ust be Laurentina’s skeleton behind it.”

“It is so odd to m e, that y ou should never have read Udolpho before; but

I suppose Mrs. Morland obj ects to novels.”

“No, she does not. She very often reads Sir Charles Grandison herself;

but new books do not fall in our way.”

“Sir Charles Grandison! That is an am azing horrid book, is it not? I

rem em ber Miss Andrews could not get through the first volum e.”

“It is not like Udolpho at all; but y et I think it is very entertaining.”

“Do y ou indeed! You surprise m e; I thought it had not been readable.

But, m y dearest Catherine, have y ou settled what to wear on y our head tonight? I am determ ined at all events to be dressed exactly like y ou. The m en take notice of that som etim es, y ou know.”

“But it does not signify if they do,” said Catherine, very innocently. “Signify ! Oh, heavens! I m ake it a rule never to m ind what they say.

They are very often am azingly im pertinent if y ou do not treat them with spirit, and m ake them keep their distance.”

“Are they ? Well, I never observed that. They alway s behave very well

to m e.”

“Oh! They give them selves such airs. They are the m ost conceited

creatures in the world, and think them selves of so m uch im portance! By the by, though I have thought of it a hundred tim es, I have alway s forgot to ask y ou what is y our favourite com plexion in a m an. Do y ou like them best dark or fair?”

“I hardly know. I never m uch thought about it. Som ething between both,

I think. Brown – not fair, and – and not very dark.”

“Very well, Catherine. That is exactly he. I have not forgot y our

description of Mr. Tilney – ‘a brown skin, with dark ey es, and rather dark hair.’ Well, m y taste is different. I prefer light ey es, and as to com plexion – do y ou know – I like a sallow better than any other. You m ust not betray m e, if y ou should ever m eet with one of y our acquaintance answering that description.”

“Betray y ou! What do y ou m ean?”

“Nay, do not distress m e. I believe I have said too m uch. Let us drop the

subj ect.”

Catherine, in som e am azem ent, com plied, and after rem aining a few

m om ents silent, was on the point of reverting to what interested her at that tim e rather m ore than any thing else in the world, Laurentina’s skeleton, when her friend prevented her, by say ing, “For heaven’s sake! Let us m ove away from this end of the room . Do y ou know, there are two odious y oung m en who have been staring at m e this half hour. They really put m e quite out of countenance. Let us go and look at the arrivals. They will hardly follow us there.”

Away they walked to the book; and while Isabella exam ined the nam es,

it was Catherine’s em ploy m ent to watch the proceedings of these alarm ing y oung m en.

“They are not com ing this way, are they ? I hope they are not so

im pertinent as to follow us. Pray let m e know if they are com ing. I am determ ined I will not look up.”

In a few m om ents Catherine, with unaffected pleasure, assured her that

she need not be longer uneasy, as the gentlem en had j ust left the pum p-room .

“And which way are they gone?” said Isabella, turning hastily round.

“One was a very good-looking y oung m an.”

“They went towards the church-y ard.”

“Well, I am am azingly glad I have got rid of them ! And now, what say

y ou to going to Edgar’s Buildings with m e, and looking at m y new hat? You said y ou should like to see it.”

Catherine readily agreed. “Only,” she added, “perhaps we m ay

overtake the two y oung m en.”

“Oh! Never m ind that. If we m ake haste, we shall pass by them

presently, and I am dy ing to show y ou m y hat.”

“But if we only wait a few m inutes, there will be no danger of our

seeing them at all.”

“I shall not pay them any such com plim ent, I assure y ou. I have no

notion of treating m en with such respect. That is the way to spoil them .”

Catherine had nothing to oppose against such reasoning; and therefore,

to show the independence of Miss Thorpe, and her resolution of hum bling the sex, they set off im m ediately as fast as they could walk, in pursuit of the two y oung m en.