Persuasion Read online

  Chapter 2

  Mr Shepherd, a civil, cautious lawyer, who, whatever might be his holdor his views on Sir Walter, would rather have the disagreeable promptedby anybody else, excused himself from offering the slightest hint, andonly begged leave to recommend an implicit reference to the excellentjudgement of Lady Russell, from whose known good sense he fullyexpected to have just such resolute measures advised as he meant to seefinally adopted.

  Lady Russell was most anxiously zealous on the subject, and gave itmuch serious consideration. She was a woman rather of sound than ofquick abilities, whose difficulties in coming to any decision in thisinstance were great, from the opposition of two leading principles.She was of strict integrity herself, with a delicate sense of honour;but she was as desirous of saving Sir Walter's feelings, as solicitousfor the credit of the family, as aristocratic in her ideas of what wasdue to them, as anybody of sense and honesty could well be. She was abenevolent, charitable, good woman, and capable of strong attachments,most correct in her conduct, strict in her notions of decorum, and withmanners that were held a standard of good-breeding. She had acultivated mind, and was, generally speaking, rational and consistent;but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry; she had a value forrank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of thosewho possessed them. Herself the widow of only a knight, she gave thedignity of a baronet all its due; and Sir Walter, independent of hisclaims as an old acquaintance, an attentive neighbour, an obliginglandlord, the husband of her very dear friend, the father of Anne andher sisters, was, as being Sir Walter, in her apprehension, entitled toa great deal of compassion and consideration under his presentdifficulties.

  They must retrench; that did not admit of a doubt. But she was veryanxious to have it done with the least possible pain to him andElizabeth. She drew up plans of economy, she made exact calculations,and she did what nobody else thought of doing: she consulted Anne, whonever seemed considered by the others as having any interest in thequestion. She consulted, and in a degree was influenced by her inmarking out the scheme of retrenchment which was at last submitted toSir Walter. Every emendation of Anne's had been on the side of honestyagainst importance. She wanted more vigorous measures, a more completereformation, a quicker release from debt, a much higher tone ofindifference for everything but justice and equity.

  "If we can persuade your father to all this," said Lady Russell,looking over her paper, "much may be done. If he will adopt theseregulations, in seven years he will be clear; and I hope we may be ableto convince him and Elizabeth, that Kellynch Hall has a respectabilityin itself which cannot be affected by these reductions; and that thetrue dignity of Sir Walter Elliot will be very far from lessened in theeyes of sensible people, by acting like a man of principle. What willhe be doing, in fact, but what very many of our first families havedone, or ought to do? There will be nothing singular in his case; andit is singularity which often makes the worst part of our suffering, asit always does of our conduct. I have great hope of prevailing. Wemust be serious and decided; for after all, the person who hascontracted debts must pay them; and though a great deal is due to thefeelings of the gentleman, and the head of a house, like your father,there is still more due to the character of an honest man."

  This was the principle on which Anne wanted her father to beproceeding, his friends to be urging him. She considered it as an actof indispensable duty to clear away the claims of creditors with allthe expedition which the most comprehensive retrenchments could secure,and saw no dignity in anything short of it. She wanted it to beprescribed, and felt as a duty. She rated Lady Russell's influencehighly; and as to the severe degree of self-denial which her ownconscience prompted, she believed there might be little more difficultyin persuading them to a complete, than to half a reformation. Herknowledge of her father and Elizabeth inclined her to think that thesacrifice of one pair of horses would be hardly less painful than ofboth, and so on, through the whole list of Lady Russell's too gentlereductions.

  How Anne's more rigid requisitions might have been taken is of littleconsequence. Lady Russell's had no success at all: could not be put upwith, were not to be borne. "What! every comfort of life knocked off!Journeys, London, servants, horses, table--contractions andrestrictions every where! To live no longer with the decencies even ofa private gentleman! No, he would sooner quit Kellynch Hall at once,than remain in it on such disgraceful terms."

  "Quit Kellynch Hall." The hint was immediately taken up by MrShepherd, whose interest was involved in the reality of Sir Walter'sretrenching, and who was perfectly persuaded that nothing would be donewithout a change of abode. "Since the idea had been started in thevery quarter which ought to dictate, he had no scruple," he said, "inconfessing his judgement to be entirely on that side. It did notappear to him that Sir Walter could materially alter his style ofliving in a house which had such a character of hospitality and ancientdignity to support. In any other place Sir Walter might judge forhimself; and would be looked up to, as regulating the modes of life inwhatever way he might choose to model his household."

  Sir Walter would quit Kellynch Hall; and after a very few days more ofdoubt and indecision, the great question of whither he should go wassettled, and the first outline of this important change made out.

  There had been three alternatives, London, Bath, or another house inthe country. All Anne's wishes had been for the latter. A small housein their own neighbourhood, where they might still have Lady Russell'ssociety, still be near Mary, and still have the pleasure of sometimesseeing the lawns and groves of Kellynch, was the object of herambition. But the usual fate of Anne attended her, in having somethingvery opposite from her inclination fixed on. She disliked Bath, anddid not think it agreed with her; and Bath was to be her home.

  Sir Walter had at first thought more of London; but Mr Shepherd feltthat he could not be trusted in London, and had been skilful enough todissuade him from it, and make Bath preferred. It was a much saferplace for a gentleman in his predicament: he might there be importantat comparatively little expense. Two material advantages of Bath overLondon had of course been given all their weight: its more convenientdistance from Kellynch, only fifty miles, and Lady Russell's spendingsome part of every winter there; and to the very great satisfaction ofLady Russell, whose first views on the projected change had been forBath, Sir Walter and Elizabeth were induced to believe that they shouldlose neither consequence nor enjoyment by settling there.

  Lady Russell felt obliged to oppose her dear Anne's known wishes. Itwould be too much to expect Sir Walter to descend into a small house inhis own neighbourhood. Anne herself would have found themortifications of it more than she foresaw, and to Sir Walter'sfeelings they must have been dreadful. And with regard to Anne'sdislike of Bath, she considered it as a prejudice and mistake arising,first, from the circumstance of her having been three years at schoolthere, after her mother's death; and secondly, from her happening to benot in perfectly good spirits the only winter which she had afterwardsspent there with herself.

  Lady Russell was fond of Bath, in short, and disposed to think it mustsuit them all; and as to her young friend's health, by passing all thewarm months with her at Kellynch Lodge, every danger would be avoided;and it was in fact, a change which must do both health and spiritsgood. Anne had been too little from home, too little seen. Her spiritswere not high. A larger society would improve them. She wanted her tobe more known.

  The undesirableness of any other house in the same neighbourhood forSir Walter was certainly much strengthened by one part, and a verymaterial part of the scheme, which had been happily engrafted on thebeginning. He was not only to quit his home, but to see it in thehands of others; a trial of fortitude, which stronger heads than SirWalter's have found too much. Kellynch Hall was to be let. This,however, was a profound secret, not to be breathed beyond their owncircle.

  Sir Walter could not have borne the degradation of being known todesign letting his house. Mr Shepherd had once
mentioned the word"advertise," but never dared approach it again. Sir Walter spurned theidea of its being offered in any manner; forbad the slightest hintbeing dropped of his having such an intention; and it was only on thesupposition of his being spontaneously solicited by some mostunexceptionable applicant, on his own terms, and as a great favour,that he would let it at all.

  How quick come the reasons for approving what we like! Lady Russellhad another excellent one at hand, for being extremely glad that SirWalter and his family were to remove from the country. Elizabeth hadbeen lately forming an intimacy, which she wished to see interrupted.It was with the daughter of Mr Shepherd, who had returned, after anunprosperous marriage, to her father's house, with the additionalburden of two children. She was a clever young woman, who understoodthe art of pleasing--the art of pleasing, at least, at Kellynch Hall;and who had made herself so acceptable to Miss Elliot, as to have beenalready staying there more than once, in spite of all that LadyRussell, who thought it a friendship quite out of place, could hint ofcaution and reserve.

  Lady Russell, indeed, had scarcely any influence with Elizabeth, andseemed to love her, rather because she would love her, than becauseElizabeth deserved it. She had never received from her more thanoutward attention, nothing beyond the observances of complaisance; hadnever succeeded in any point which she wanted to carry, againstprevious inclination. She had been repeatedly very earnest in tryingto get Anne included in the visit to London, sensibly open to all theinjustice and all the discredit of the selfish arrangements which shuther out, and on many lesser occasions had endeavoured to give Elizabeththe advantage of her own better judgement and experience; but always invain: Elizabeth would go her own way; and never had she pursued it inmore decided opposition to Lady Russell than in this selection of MrsClay; turning from the society of so deserving a sister, to bestow heraffection and confidence on one who ought to have been nothing to herbut the object of distant civility.

  From situation, Mrs Clay was, in Lady Russell's estimate, a veryunequal, and in her character she believed a very dangerous companion;and a removal that would leave Mrs Clay behind, and bring a choice ofmore suitable intimates within Miss Elliot's reach, was therefore anobject of first-rate importance.