There will be work for five summers at least...
There will be work for
five summers at least before the place is liveable
“No, no, not so bad as thatThe farmyard must be moved, I grant
you; but I am not aware of anything elseThe house is by no means
bad, and when the yard is removed, there may be a very tolerable
approach to it
“The farmyard must be cleared away entirely, and planted up to
shut out the blacksmith’s shopThe house must be turned to front
the east instead of the north—the entrance and principal rooms, I
mean, must be on that side, where the view is really very pretty; I
am sure it may be doneAnd there must be your approach, through
what is at present the gardenYou must make a new garden at what
is now the back of the house; which will be giving it the best aspect
in the world, sloping to the south-eastThe ground seems precisely
formed for itI rode fifty yards up the lane, between the church and
the house, in order to look about me; and saw how it might all be
Nothing can be easierThe meadows beyond what will be the garden,
as well as what now is, sweeping round from the lane I chanel diamond watches stood in
to the north-east, that is, to the principal road through the village,
must be all laid together, of course; very pretty meadows they are,
210
Mansfield Park
finely sprinkled with timberThey belong to the living, I suppose; if
not, you must purchase themThen the stream—something must
be done with the stream; but I could not quite determine whatI
had two or three ideas
“And I have two or three ideas also,” said Edmund, “and one of
them is, that very little of your plan for Thornton Lacey will ever be
put in practiceI must be satisfied with rather less ornament and
beautyI think the house and premises may be made comfortable,
and given the air of a gentleman’s residence, without any very heavy
expense, and that must suffice me; and, I hope, may suffice all who
care about me
Miss Crawford, a little suspicious and resentful of a certain tone
of voice, and a certain half-look attending the last expression of his
hope, made a hasty finish of her dealings with William Price; and
securing his knave at an exorbitant rate, exclaimed, “There, I balenciaga knock off motorcycle bag will
stake my last like a woman of spiritNo cold prudence for meI am
not born to sit still and do nothingIf I lose the game, it shall not be
from not striving for it
The game was hers, and only did not pay her for what she had
given to secure itAnother deal proceeded, and Crawford began
again about Thornton Lacey
“My plan may not be the best possible: I had not many minutes
to form it in; but you must do a good dealThe place deserves it,
and you will find yourself not satisfied with much less than it is
capable of(Excuse me, your ladyship must not see your cardsThere,
let them lie just before you The place deserves it, BertramYou
talk of giving it the air of a gentleman’s residenceThat will be done
by the removal of the farmyard; for, independent of that terrible
nuisance, I never saw a house of the kind which had in itself so
much the air of a gentleman’s residence, so much the look of a something
above a mere parsonage-house—above the expenditure of a
few hundreds a yearIt is not a scrambling collection of low single
rooms, with as many gucci purses roofs as windows; it is not cramped into the
vulgar compactness of a square farmhouse: it is a solid, roomy, mansion-
like looking house, such as one might suppose a respectable
old country family had lived in from generation to generation,
through two centuries at least, and were now spending from two to
211
Jane Austen
three thousand a year in Miss Crawford listened, and Edmund
agreed to this“The air of a gentleman’s residence, therefore, you
cannot but give it, if you do anythingBut it is capable of much
more(Let me see, Mary; Lady Bertram bids a dozen for that queen;
no, no, a dozen is more than it is worthLady Bertram does not bid
a dozenShe will have nothing to say to it By some
such improvements as I have suggested (I do not really require you
to proceed upon my plan, though, by the bye, I doubt anybody’s
striking out a better) you may give it a higher characterYou may
raise it into a placeFrom being the mere gentleman’s residence, it
becomes, by judicious improvement, the residence of a man of education,
taste, modern manners, good pasha cartier watches blue face connexionsAll this may be
stamped on it; and that house receive such an air as to make its
owner be set down as the great landholder of the parish by every
creature travelling the road; especially as there is no real squire’s
house to dispute the point—a circumstance, between ourselves, to
enhance the value of such a situation in point of privilege and independence
beyond all calculationYou think with me, I hope” (turning
with a softened voice to Fanny)“Have you ever seen the place?”
Fanny gave a quick negative, and tried to hide her interest in the
subject by an eager attention to her brother, who was driving as
hard a bargain, and imposing on her as much as he could; but
Crawford pursued with “No, no, you must not part with the queen
You have bought her too dearly, and your brother does not offer
half her valueNo, no, sir, hands off, hands offYour sister does not
part with the queenShe is quite determinedThe game will be
yours,” turning to her again; “it will certainly be yours
“And Fanny had much rather it were William’s,” said Edmund,
smiling at tiffany heart tag toggle necklace her