CHAPTER 6
The following conversation, which took place between the two friends inthe pump-room one morning, after an acquaintance of eight or ninedays, is given as a specimen of their very warm attachment, and of thedelicacy, discretion, originality of thought, and literary taste whichmarked the reasonableness of that attachment.
They met by appointment; and as Isabella had arrived nearly fiveminutes before her friend, her first address naturally was, ”My dearestcreature, what can have made you so late? I have been waiting for you atleast this age!”
”Have you, indeed! I am very sorry for it; but really I thought I was invery good time. It is but just one. I hope you 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 enjoyourselves. I have an hundred things to say to you. In the first place,I was so afraid it would rain this morning, just as I wanted to set off;it looked very showery, and that would have thrown me into agonies! Doyou know, I saw the prettiest hat you can imagine, in a shop window inMilsom Street just now--very like yours, only with coquelicot ribbonsinstead of green; I quite longed for it. But, my dearest Catherine, whathave you been doing with yourself all this morning? Have you gone onwith Udolpho?”
”Yes, I have been reading it ever since I woke; and I am got to theblack veil.”
”Are you, indeed? How delightful! Oh! I would not tell you what isbehind the black veil for the world! Are not you wild to know?”
”Oh! Yes, quite; what can it be? But do not tell me--I would not betold upon any account. I know it must be a skeleton, I am sure it isLaurentina's skeleton. Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should liketo spend my whole life in reading it. I assure you, if it had not beento meet you, I would not have come away from it for all the world.”
”Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finishedUdolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a listof ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.”
”Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?”
”I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook.Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of theBlack Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries.Those will last us some time.”
”Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are allhorrid?”
”Yes, quite sure; for a particular friend of mine, a Miss Andrews, asweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world, has read everyone of them. I wish you knew Miss Andrews, you would be delighted withher. She is netting herself the sweetest cloak you can conceive. I thinkher as beautiful as an angel, and I am so vexed with the men for notadmiring her! I scold them all amazingly about it.”
”Scold them! Do you scold them for not admiring her?”
”Yes, that I do. There is nothing I would not do for those who arereally my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it isnot my nature. My attachments are always excessively strong. I toldCaptain Hunt at one of our assemblies this winter that if he was totease me all night, I would not dance with him, unless he would allowMiss Andrews to be as beautiful as an angel. The men think us incapableof real friendship, you know, and I am determined to show them thedifference. Now, if I were to hear anybody speak slightingly of you, Ishould fire up in a moment: but that is not at all likely, for you arejust the kind of girl to be a great favourite with the men.”
”Oh, dear!” cried Catherine, colouring. ”How can you say so?”
”I know you very well; you have so much animation, which is exactlywhat Miss Andrews wants, for I must confess there is something amazinglyinsipid about her. Oh! I must tell you, that just after we partedyesterday, I saw a young man looking at you so earnestly--I am sure heis in love with you.” Catherine coloured, and disclaimed again. Isabellalaughed. ”It is very true, upon my honour, but I see how it is; you areindifferent to everybody's admiration, except that of one gentleman,who shall be nameless. Nay, I cannot blame you”--speaking moreseriously--”your feelings are easily understood. Where the heart isreally attached, I know very well how little one can be pleased with theattention of anybody else. Everything is so insipid, so uninteresting,that does not relate to the beloved object! I can perfectly comprehendyour feelings.”
”But you should not persuade me that I think so very much about Mr.Tilney, for perhaps I may never see him again.”
”Not see him again! My dearest creature, do not talk of it. I am sureyou would be miserable if you thought so!”
”No, indeed, I should not. I do not pretend to say that I was not verymuch pleased with him; but while I have Udolpho to read, I feel as ifnobody could make me miserable. Oh! The dreadful black veil! My dearIsabella, I am sure there must be Laurentina's skeleton behind it.”
”It is so odd to me, that you should never have read Udolpho before; butI suppose Mrs. Morland objects 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 amazing horrid book, is it not? Iremember Miss Andrews could not get through the first volume.”
”It is not like Udolpho at all; but yet I think it is veryentertaining.”
”Do you indeed! You surprise me; I thought it had not been readable.But, my dearest Catherine, have you settled what to wear on your headtonight? I am determined at all events to be dressed exactly like you.The men take notice of that sometimes, you know.”
”But it does not signify if they do,” said Catherine, very innocently.
”Signify! Oh, heavens! I make it a rule never to mind what they say.They are very often amazingly impertinent if you do not treat them withspirit, and make them keep their distance.”
”Are they? Well, I never observed that. They always behave very well tome.”
”Oh! They give themselves such airs. They are the most conceitedcreatures in the world, and think themselves of so much importance!By the by, though I have thought of it a hundred times, I have alwaysforgot to ask you what is your favourite complexion in a man. Do youlike them best dark or fair?”
”I hardly know. I never much thought about it. Something between both, Ithink. Brown--not fair, and--and not very dark.”
”Very well, Catherine. That is exactly he. I have not forgot yourdescription of Mr. Tilney--'a brown skin, with dark eyes, and ratherdark hair.' Well, my taste is different. I prefer light eyes, and as tocomplexion--do you know--I like a sallow better than any other. You mustnot betray me, if you should ever meet with one of your acquaintanceanswering that description.”
”Betray you! What do you mean?”
”Nay, do not distress me. I believe I have said too much. Let us dropthe subject.”
Catherine, in some amazement, complied, and after remaining a fewmoments silent, was on the point of reverting to what interested herat that time rather more than anything else in the world, Laurentina'sskeleton, when her friend prevented her, by saying, ”For heaven's sake!Let us move away from this end of the room. Do you know, there are twoodious young men who have been staring at me this half hour. They reallyput me 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 examined the names, itwas Catherine's employment to watch the proceedings of these alarmingyoung men.
”They are not coming this way, are they? I hope they are not soimpertinent as to follow us. Pray let me know if they are coming. I amdetermined I will not look up.”
In a few moments Catherine, with unaffected pleasure, assured herthat she need not be longer uneasy, as the gentlemen had just left thepump-room.
”And which way are they gone?” said Isabella, turning hastily round.”One was a very good-looking young man.”
”They went towards the church-yard.”
”Well, I am amazingly glad I have got rid of them! And now, what say youto going to Edgar's Buildings with me, and looking at my new hat? Yousaid you should like to see it.”
Catherine readily agreed. ”Only,” she added, ”perhaps we may overtakethe two young men.”
”Oh! Never mind that. If we make haste, we shall pass by them presently,and I am dying to show you my hat.”
”But if we only wait a few minutes, there will be no danger of ourseeing them at all.”
”I shall not pay them any such compliment, I assure you. I have nonotion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoilthem.”
Catherine had nothing to oppose against such reasoning; and therefore,to show the independence of Miss Thorpe, and her resolution of humblingthe sex, they set off immediately as fast as they could walk, in pursuitof the two young men.