Chapter 8

In spite of Udolpho and the dressm aker, however, the party from

Pulteney Street reached the Upper Room s in very good tim e. The Thorpes and Jam es Morland were there only two m inutes before them ; and Isabella having gone through the usual cerem onial of m eeting her friend with the m ost sm iling and affectionate haste, of adm iring the set of her gown, and envy ing the curl of her hair, they followed their chaperones, arm in arm , into the ballroom , whispering to each other whenever a thought occurred, and supply ing the place of m any ideas by a squeeze of the hand or a sm ile of affection.

The dancing began within a few m inutes after they were seated; and

Jam es, who had been engaged quite as long as his sister, was very im portunate with Isabella to stand up; but John was gone into the card-room to speak to a friend, and nothing, she declared, should induce her to j oin the set before her dear Catherine could j oin it too. “I assure y ou,” said she, “I would not stand up without y our dear sister for all the world; for if I did we should certainly be separated the whole evening.” Catherine accepted this kindness with gratitude, and they continued as they were for three m inutes longer, when Isabella, who had been talking to Jam es on the other side of her, turned again to his sister and whispered, “My dear creature, I am afraid I m ust leave y ou, y our brother is so am azingly im patient to begin; I know y ou will not m ind m y going away, and I dare say John will be back in a m om ent, and then y ou m ay easily find m e out.” Catherine, though a little disappointed, had too m uch good nature to m ake any opposition, and the others rising up, Isabella had only tim e to press her friend’s hand and say, “Good-by e, m y dear love,” before they hurried off. The y ounger Miss Thorpes being also dancing, Catherine was left to the m ercy of Mrs. Thorpe and Mrs. Allen, between whom she now rem ained. She could not help being vexed at the non-appearance of Mr. Thorpe, for she not only longed to be dancing, but was likewise aware that, as the real dignity of her situation could not be known, she was sharing with the scores of other y oung ladies still sitting down all the discredit of wanting a partner. To be disgraced in the ey e of the world, to wear the appearance of infam y while her heart is all purity, her actions all innocence, and the m isconduct of another the true source of her debase-m ent, is one of those circum stances which peculiarly belong to the heroine’s life, and her fortitude under it what particularly dignifies her character. Catherine had fortitude too; she suffered, but no m urm ur passed her lips.

From this state of hum iliation, she was roused, at the end of ten m inutes,

to a pleasanter feeling, by seeing, not Mr. Thorpe, but Mr. Tilney, within three y ards of the place where they sat; he seem ed to be m oving that way, but he did not see her, and therefore the sm ile and the blush, which his sudden reappearance raised in Catherine, passed away without sully ing her heroic im portance. He looked as handsom e and as lively as ever, and was talking with interest to a fashionable and pleasing-looking y oung wom an, who leant on his arm , and whom Catherine im m ediately guessed to be his sister; thus unthinkingly throwing away a fair opportunity of considering him lost to her forever, by being m arried already. But guided only by what was sim ple and probable, it had never entered her head that Mr. Tilney could be m arried; he had not behaved, he had not talked, like the m arried m en to whom she had been used; he had never m entioned a wife, and he had acknowledged a sister. From these circum stances sprang the instant conclusion of his sister’s now being by his side; and therefore, instead of turning of a deathlike paleness and falling in a fit on Mrs. Allen’s bosom , Catherine sat erect, in the perfect use of her senses, and with cheeks only a little redder than usual.

Mr. Tilney and his com panion, who continued, though slowly, to

approach, were im m ediately preceded by a lady, an acquaintance of Mrs. Thorpe; and this lady stopping to speak to her, they, as belonging to her, stopped likewise, and Catherine, catching Mr. Tilney ’s ey e, instantly received from him the sm iling tribute of recognition. She returned it with pleasure, and then advancing still nearer, he spoke both to her and Mrs. Allen, by whom he was very civilly acknowledged. “I am very happy to see y ou again, sir, indeed; I was afraid y ou had left Bath.” He thanked her for her fears, and said that he had quitted it for a week, on the very m orning after his having had the pleasure of seeing her.

“Well, sir, and I dare say y ou are not sorry to be back again, for it is

j ust the place for y oung people – and indeed for every body else too. I tell Mr. Allen, when he talks of being sick of it, that I am sure he should not com plain, for it is so very agreeable a place, that it is m uch better to be here than at hom e at this dull tim e of y ear. I tell him he is quite in luck to be sent here for his health.”

“And I hope, m adam , that Mr. Allen will be obliged to like the place,

from finding it of service to him .”

“Thank y ou, sir. I have no doubt that he will. A neighbour of ours, Dr.

Skinner, was here for his health last winter, and cam e away quite stout.”

“That circum stance m ust give great encouragem ent.”

“Yes, sir, and Dr. Skinner and his fam ily were here three m onths; so I

tell Mr. Allen he m ust not be in a hurry to get away.”

Here they were interrupted by a request from Mrs. Thorpe to Mrs.

Allen, that she would m ove a little to accom m odate Mrs. Hughes and Miss Tilney with seats, as they had agreed to j oin their party. This was accordingly done, Mr. Tilney still continuing standing before them ; and after a few m inutes’ consideration, he asked Catherine to dance with him . This com plim ent, delightful as it was, produced severe m ortification to the lady ; and in giving her denial, she expressed her sorrow on the occasion so very m uch as if she really felt it that had Thorpe, who j oined her j ust afterwards, been half a m inute earlier, he m ight have thought her sufferings rather too acute. The very easy m anner in which he then told her that he had kept her waiting did not by any m eans reconcile her m ore to her lot; nor did the particulars which he entered into while they were standing up, of the horses and dogs of the friend whom he had j ust left, and of a proposed exchange of terriers between them , interest her so m uch as to prevent her looking very often towards that part of the room where she had left Mr. Tilney. Of her dear Isabella, to whom she particularly longed to point out that gentlem an, she could see nothing. They were in different sets. She was separated from all her party, and away from all her acquaintance; one m ortification succeeded another, and from the whole she deduced this useful lesson, that to go previously engaged to a ball does not necessarily increase either the dignity or enj oy m ent of a y oung lady. From such a m oralizing strain as this, she was suddenly roused by a touch on the shoulder, and turning round, perceived Mrs. Hughes directly behind her, attended by Miss Tilney and a gentlem an. “I beg y our pardon, Miss Morland,” said she, “for this liberty – but I cannot any how get to Miss Thorpe, and Mrs. Thorpe said she was sure y ou would not have the least obj ection to letting in this y oung lady by y ou.” Mrs. Hughes could not have applied to any creature in the room m ore happy to oblige her than Catherine. The y oung ladies were introduced to each other, Miss Tilney expressing a proper sense of such goodness, Miss Morland with the real delicacy of a generous m ind m aking light of the obligation; and Mrs. Hughes, satisfied with having so respectably settled her y oung charge, returned to her party.

Miss Tilney had a good figure, a pretty face, and a very agreeable

countenance; and her air, though it had not all the decided pretension, the resolute sty lishness of Miss Thorpe’s, had m ore real elegance. Her m anners showed good sense and good breeding; they were neither shy nor affectedly open; and she seem ed capable of being y oung, attractive, and at a ball without wanting to fix the attention of every m an near her, and without exag-gerated feelings of ecstatic delight or inconceivable vexation on every little trifling occurrence. Catherine, interested at once by her appearance and her relationship to Mr. Tilney, was desirous of being acquainted with her, and readily talked therefore whenever she could think of any thing to say, and had courage and leisure for say ing it. But the hindrance thrown in the way of a very speedy intim acy, by the fre-quent want of one or m ore of these requisites, prevented their doing m ore than going through the first rudim ents of an acqua-intance, by inform ing them selves how well the other liked Bath, how m uch she adm ired its buildings and surrounding country, whether she drew, or play ed, or sang, and whether she was fond of riding on horseback.

The two dances were scarcely concluded before Catherine found her

arm gently seized by her faithful Isabella, who in great spirits exclaim ed, “At last I have got y ou. My dearest creature, I have been looking for y ou this hour. What could induce y ou to com e into this set, when y ou knew I was in the other? I have been quite wretched without y ou.”

“My dear Isabella, how was it possible for m e to get at y ou? I could not

even see where y ou were.”

“So I told y our brother all the tim e, but he would not believe m e. Do go

and see for her, Mr. Morland, said I, but all in vain, he would not stir an inch. Was not it so, Mr. Morland? But y ou m en are all so im m o-derately lazy ! I have been scolding him to such a degree, m y dear Catherine, y ou would be quite am azed. You know I never stand upon cerem ony with such people.”

“Look at that y oung lady with the white beads round her head,”

whispered Catherine, detaching her friend from Jam es. “It is Mr. Tilney ’s sister.”

“Oh! Heavens! You don’t say so! Let m e look at her this m om ent. What

a delightful girl! I never saw any thing half so beautiful! But where is her all-conquering brother? Is he in the room ? Point him out to m e this instant, if he is. I die to see him . Mr. Morland, y ou are not to listen. We are not talking about y ou.”

“But what is all this whispering about? What is going on?”

“There now, I knew how it would be. You m en have such restless

curiosity ! Talk of the curiosity of wom en, indeed! ’Tis nothing. But be satisfied, for y ou are not to know any thing at all of the m atter.”

“And is that likely to satisfy m e, do y ou think?”

“Well, I declare I never knew any thing like y ou. What can it signify to

y ou, what we are talking of. Perhaps we are talking about y ou; therefore I would advise y ou not to listen, or y ou m ay happen to hear som ething not very agreeable.”

In this com m onplace chatter, which lasted som e tim e, the original

subj ect seem ed entirely forgotten; and though Catherine was very well pleased to have it dropped for a while, she could not avoid a little suspicion at the total suspension of all Isabella’s im patient desire to see Mr. Tilney. When the orchestra struck up a fresh dance, Jam es would have led his fair partner away, but she resisted. “I tell y ou, Mr. Morland,” she cried, “I would not do such a thing for all the world. How can y ou be so teasing; only conceive, m y dear Catherine, what y our brother wants m e to do. He wants m e to dance with him again, though I tell him that it is a m ost im proper thing, and entirely against the rules. It would m ake us the talk of the place, if we were not to change partners.”

“Upon m y honour,” said Jam es, “in these public assem blies, it is as

often done as not.”

“Nonsense, how can y ou say so? But when y ou m en have a point to

carry, y ou never stick at any thing. My sweet Catherine, do support m e; persuade y our brother how im possible it is. Tell him that it would quite shock y ou to see m e do such a thing; now would not it?”

“No, not at all; but if y ou think it wrong, y ou had m uch better change.”

“There,” cried Isabella, “y ou hear what y our sister say s, and y et y ou

will not m ind her. Well, rem em ber that it is not m y fault, if we set all the old ladies in Bath in a bustle. Com e along, m y dearest Catherine, for heaven’s sake, and stand by m e.” And off they went, to regain their form er place. John Thorpe, in the m eanwhile, had walked away ; and Catherine, ever willing to give Mr. Tilney an opportunity of repeating the agreeable request which had already flattered her once, m ade her way to Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe as fast as she could, in the hope of finding him still with them – a hope which, when it proved to be fruitless, she felt to have been highly unreasonable. “Well, m y dear,” said Mrs. Thorpe, im patient for praise of her son, “I hope y ou have had an agreeable partner.”

“Very agreeable, m adam .”

“I am glad of it. John has charm ing spirits, has not he?”

“Did y ou m eet Mr. Tilney, m y dear?” said Mrs. Allen. “No, where is he?”

“He was with us j ust now, and said he was so tired of lounging about,

that he was resolved to go and dance; so I thought perhaps he would ask y ou, if he m et with y ou.”

“Where can he be?” said Catherine, looking round; but she had not

looked round long before she saw him leading a y oung lady to the dance.

“Ah! He has got a partner; I wish he had asked y ou,” said Mrs. Allen;

and after a short silence, she added, “he is a very agreeable y oung m an.”

“Indeed he is, Mrs. Allen,” said Mrs. Thorpe, sm iling com placently ; “I

m ust say it, though I am his m other, that there is not a m ore agreeable y oung m an in the world.”

This inapplicable answer m ight have been too m uch for the

com prehension of m any ; but it did not puzzle Mrs. Allen, for after only a m om ent’s consideration, she said, in a whisper to Catherine, “I dare say she thought I was speaking of her son.”

Catherine was disappointed and vexed. She seem ed to have m issed by

so little the very obj ect she had had in view; and this persuasion did not incline her to a very gracious reply, when John Thorpe cam e up to her soon afterwards and said, “Well, Miss Morland, I suppose y ou and I are to stand up and j ig it together again.”

“Oh, no; I am m uch obliged to y ou, our two dances are over; and,

besides, I am tired, and do not m ean to dance any m ore.”

“Do not y ou? Then let us walk about and quiz people. Com e along with

m e, and I will show y ou the four greatest quizzers in the room ; m y two y ounger sisters and their partners. I have been laughing at them this half hour.”

Again Catherine excused herself; and at last he walked off to quiz his

sisters by him self. The rest of the evening she found very dull; Mr. Tilney was drawn away from their party at tea, to attend that of his partner; Miss Tilney, though belonging to it, did not sit near her, and Jam es and Isabella were so m uch engaged in conversing together that the latter had no leisure to bestow m ore on her friend than one sm ile, one squeeze, and one “dearest Catherine.”