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1"And such is your definition of matrimony and dancing. Taken in that light certainly, their resemblance is not striking;
2but I think I could place them in such a view. You will allow, that in both, man has the advantage of choice, woman only
3the power of refusal; that in both, it is an engagement between man and woman, formed for the advantage of each; and
4that when once entered into, they belong exclusively to each other till the moment of its dissolution; that it is their
5duty, each to endeavour to give the other no cause for wishing that he or she had bestowed themselves elsewhere, and
6their best interest to keep their own imaginations from wandering towards the perfections of their neighbours, or
7fancying that they should have been better off with anyone else. You will allow all this?" "Yes, to be sure, as you
8state it, all this sounds very well; but still they are so very different. I cannot look upon them at all in the same
9light, nor think the same duties belong to them." "In one respect, there certainly is a difference. In marriage, the man
10is supposed to provide for the support of the woman, the woman to make the home agreeable to the man; he is to purvey,
11and she is to smile. But in dancing, their duties are exactly changed; the agreeableness, the compliance are expected
12from him, while she furnishes the fan and the lavender water. That, I suppose, was the difference of duties which struck
13you, as rendering the conditions incapable of comparison." "No, indeed, I never thought of that." "Then I am quite at a
14loss. One thing, however, I must observe. This disposition on your side is rather alarming. You totally disallow any
15similarity in the obligations; and may I not thence infer that your notions of the duties of the dancing state are not
16so strict as your partner might wish? Have I not reason to fear that if the gentleman who spoke to you just now were to
17return, or if any other gentleman were to address you, there would be nothing to restrain you from conversing with him
18as long as you chose?" "Mr. Thorpe is such a very particular friend of my brother's, that if he talks to me, I must talk
19to him again; but there are hardly three young men in the room besides him that I have any acquaintance with." "And is
20that to be my only security? Alas, alas!" "Nay, I am sure you cannot have a better; for if I do not know anybody, it is
21impossible for me to talk to them; and, besides, I do not want to talk to anybody." "Now you have given me a security
22worth having; and I shall proceed with courage. Do you find Bath as agreeable as when I had the honour of making the
23inquiry before?" "Yes, quite--more so, indeed." "More so! take care, or you will forget to be tired of it at the proper
24time. You ought to be tired at the end of six weeks." "I do not think I should be tired, if I were to stay here six
25months." "Bath, compared with London, has little variety, and so everybody finds out every year. 'For six weeks, I allow
26Bath is pleasant enough; but beyond that, it is the most tiresome place in the world.' You would be told so by people of
27all descriptions, who come regularly every winter, lengthen their six weeks into ten or twelve, and go away at last
28because they can afford to stay no longer." "Well, other people must judge for themselves, and those who go to London
29may think nothing of Bath. But I, who live in a small retired village in the country, can never find greater sameness in
30such a place as this than in my own home; for here are a variety of amusements, a variety of things to be seen and done
31all day long, which I can know nothing of there." "You are not fond of the country." "Yes, I am. I have always lived
32there, and always been very happy. But certainly there is much more sameness in a country life than in a Bath life. One
33day in the country is exactly like another." "But then you spend your time so much more rationally in the country." "Do
34I?" "Do you not?" "I do not believe there is much difference." "Here you are in pursuit only of amusement all day long."
35"And so I am at home--only I do not find so much of it. I walk about here, and so I do there; but here I see a variety
36of people in every street, and there I can only go and call on Mrs. Allen." Mr. Tilney was very much amused. "Only go
37and call on Mrs. Allen!" he repeated. "What a picture of intellectual poverty! however, when you sink into this abyss
38again, you will have more to say. You will be able to talk of Bath, and of all that you did here." "Oh! yes. I shall
39never be in want of something to talk of again to Mrs. Allen, or anybody else. I really believe I shall always be
40talking of Bath, when I am at home again--I do like it so very much. If I could but have Papa and Mamma, and the rest of
41them here, I suppose I should be too happy! james's coming (my eldest brother) is quite delightful--and especially as it
42turns out that the very family we are just got so intimate with are his intimate friends already. Oh! who can ever be
43tired of Bath?" "Not those who bring such fresh feelings of every sort to it as you do. But papas and mammas, and
44brothers, and intimate friends are a good deal gone by, to most of the frequenters of Bath--and the honest relish of
45balls and plays, and everyday sights, is past with them." Here their conversation closed, the demands of the dance
46becoming now too importunate for a divided attention. Soon after their reaching the bottom of the set, Catherine
47perceived herself to be earnestly regarded by a gentleman who stood among the lookers-on, immediately behind her
48partner. He was a very handsome man, of a commanding aspect, past the bloom, but not past the vigour of life; and with
49his eye still directed towards her, she saw him presently address Mr. Tilney in a familiar whisper. Confused by his
50notice, and blushing from the fear of its being excited by something wrong in her appearance, she turned away her head.
51But while she did so, the gentleman retreated, and her partner, coming nearer, said, "I see that you guess what I have
52just been asked. That gentleman knows your name, and you have a right to know his. It is General Tilney, my father."
53Catherine's answer was only "Oh!"--but it was an "Oh!" expressing everything needful: attention to his words, and
54perfect reliance on their truth. With real interest and strong admiration did her eye now follow the General, as he
55moved through the crowd, and "How handsome a family they are!" was her secret remark. In chatting with Miss Tilney
56before the evening concluded, a new source of felicity arose to her. She had never taken a country walk since her
57arrival in Bath. Miss Tilney, to whom all the commonly frequented environs were familiar, spoke of them in terms which
58made her all eagerness to know them too; and on her openly fearing that she might find nobody to go with her, it was
59proposed by the brother and sister that they should join in a walk, some morning or other. "I shall like it," she cried,
60"beyond anything in the world; and do not let us put it off--let us go to-morrow." This was readily agreed to, with only
61a proviso of Miss Tilney's, that it did not rain, which Catherine was sure it would not. At twelve o'clock, they were to
62call for her in Pulteney Street; and "Remember--twelve o'clock," was her parting speech to her new friend. Of her other,
63her older, her more established friend, Isabella, of whose fidelity and worth she had enjoyed a fortnight's experience,
64she scarcely saw anything during the evening. Yet, though longing to make her acquainted with her happiness, she
65cheerfully submitted to the wish of Mr. Allen, which took them rather early away, and her spirits danced within her, as
66she danced in her chair all the way home. CHAPTER 11
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