Mansfield Park | Page 7

good-humoured girl, and trusting they would never have cause to throw
her off. She spoke of her farther as somewhat delicate and puny, but
was sanguine in the hope of her being materially better for change of
air. Poor woman! she probably thought change of air might agree with
many of her children.


CHAPTER II
The little girl performed her long journey in safety; and at Northampton
was met by Mrs. Norris, who thus regaled in the credit of being
foremost to welcome her, and in the importance of leading her in to the
others, and recommending her to their kindness.
Fanny Price was at this time just ten years old, and though there might
not be much in her first appearance to captivate, there was, at least,
nothing to disgust her relations. She was small of her age, with no glow
of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and
shy, and shrinking from notice; but her air, though awkward, was not
vulgar, her voice was sweet, and when she spoke her countenance was
pretty. Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram received her very kindly; and Sir
Thomas, seeing how much she needed encouragement, tried to be all
that was conciliating: but he had to work against a most untoward
gravity of deportment; and Lady Bertram, without taking half so much
trouble, or speaking one word where he spoke ten, by the mere aid of a
good-humoured smile, became immediately the less awful character of
the two.
The young people were all at home, and sustained their share in the
introduction very well, with much good humour, and no embarrassment,
at least on the part of the sons, who, at seventeen and sixteen, and tall

of their age, had all the grandeur of men in the eyes of their little cousin.
The two girls were more at a loss from being younger and in greater
awe of their father, who addressed them on the occasion with rather an
injudicious particularity. But they were too much used to company and
praise to have anything like natural shyness; and their confidence
increasing from their cousin's total want of it, they were soon able to
take a full survey of her face and her frock in easy indifference.
They were a remarkably fine family, the sons very well-looking, the
daughters decidedly handsome, and all of them well-grown and
forward of their age, which produced as striking a difference between
the cousins in person, as education had given to their address; and no
one would have supposed the girls so nearly of an age as they really
were. There were in fact but two years between the youngest and Fanny.
Julia Bertram was only twelve, and Maria but a year older. The little
visitor meanwhile was as unhappy as possible. Afraid of everybody,
ashamed of herself, and longing for the home she had left, she knew not
how to look up, and could scarcely speak to be heard, or without crying.
Mrs. Norris had been talking to her the whole way from Northampton
of her wonderful good fortune, and the extraordinary degree of
gratitude and good behaviour which it ought to produce, and her
consciousness of misery was therefore increased by the idea of its being
a wicked thing for her not to be happy. The fatigue, too, of so long a
journey, became soon no trifling evil. In vain were the well-meant
condescensions of Sir Thomas, and all the officious prognostications of
Mrs. Norris that she would be a good girl; in vain did Lady Bertram
smile and make her sit on the sofa with herself and pug, and vain was
even the sight of a gooseberry tart towards giving her comfort; she
could scarcely swallow two mouthfuls before tears interrupted her, and
sleep seeming to be her likeliest friend, she was taken to finish her
sorrows in bed.
"This is not a very promising beginning," said Mrs. Norris, when Fanny
had left the room. "After all that I said to her as we came along, I
thought she would have behaved better; I told her how much might
depend upon her acquitting herself well at first. I wish there may not be
a little sulkiness of temper--her poor mother had a good deal; but we

must make allowances for such a child--and I do not know that her
being sorry to leave her home is really against her, for, with all its
faults, it was her home, and she cannot as yet understand how much she
has changed for the better; but then there is moderation in all things."
It required a longer time, however, than Mrs. Norris was inclined to
allow, to reconcile Fanny to the novelty of Mansfield Park, and the
separation from everybody she had been used to.