@@@@@?His house shall not be hurtI have quite as great an
interest in being careful of his house as you can have; and as to such
alterations as I was suggesting just now, such as moving a bookcase,
or unlocking a door, or even as using the billiard-room for the space
of a week without playing at billiards in it, you might just as well
suppose he would object to our sitting more in this room, and less
in the breakfast-room, than we did before he went away, or to my
sister?s pianoforte being moved from one side of the room to the
otherAbsolute nonsense!?
?The innovation, if not wrong as an innovation, will be wrong as
an expense
?Yes, the expense of such an undertaking would be prodigious!
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Jane Austen
Perhaps it might cost a whole twenty poundsSomething of a theatre
we must have undoubtedly, but it will be on the simplest plan:
a green curtain and a little carpenter?s work, and that?s all; and as the
carpenter?s work may be all done at home by Christopher Jackson
himself, it will be too absurd to talk of expense; and as long as Jackson
is employed, everything will be right with Sir ThomasDon?t
imagine that nobody in this house can see or judge but yourself
Don?t act yourself, if you do not like it, but don?t expect to govern
everybody else
?No, as to acting myself,? said Edmund, ?that I absolutely protest
against
Tom walked out of the room as he said it, and Edmund was left to
sit down and stir the fire in thoughtful vexation
Fanny, who had heard it all, and borne Edmund company in every
feeling throughout the whole, now ventured to say, in her anxiety
to suggest some comfort, ?Perhaps they may not be able to find
any play to suit themYour brother?s taste and your sisters? seem
very different
?I have no hope there, FannyIf they persist in the scheme, they
will find somethingI shall speak to my sisters and try to dissuade
them, and that is all I can do
?I should think my aunt Norris would be on your side
?I dare say she would, but she has no influence with either Tom or
my sisters that could be of any use; and if I cannot convince them
myself, I shall let things take their course, without attempting it
through herFamily squabbling is the greatest evil of all, and we had
better do anything than be altogether by the ears
His sisters, to whom he had an opportunity of speaking the next
morning, were quite as impatient of his advice, quite as unyielding
to his representation, quite as determined in the cause of pleasure,
as TomTheir mother had no objection to the plan, and they were
not in the least afraid of their father?s disapprobationThere could
be no harm in what had been done in so many respectable families,
and by so many women of the first consideration; and it must be
scrupulousness run mad that could see anything to censure in a
plan like theirs, comprehending only brothers and sisters and intimate
friends, and which would never be heard of beyond them114
Mansfield Park
selvesJulia did seem inclined to admit that Maria?s situation might
require particular caution and delicacy?but that could not extend
to her?she was at liberty; and Maria evidently considered her engagement
as only raising her so much more above restraint, and
leaving her less occasion than Julia to consult either father or mother
Edmund had little to hope, but he was still urging the subject when
Henry Crawford entered the room, fresh from the Parsonage, calling
out, ?No want of hands in our theatre, Miss BertramNo want
of understrappers: my sister desires her love, and hopes to be admitted
into the company, and will be happy to take the part of any old
duenna or tame confidante, that you may not like to do yourselves
Maria gave Edmund a glance, which meant, ?What say you now?
Can we be wrong if Mary Crawford feels the same?? And Edmund,
silenced, was obliged to acknowledge that the charm of acting might
well carry fascination to the mind of genius; and with the ingenuity
of love, to dwell more on the obliging, accommodating purport of
the message than on anything elseOpposition was vain; and as to
