“Theerrorisplainenough，“saidthelesscourteousEdmund；
“suchgirlsareillbroughtup。Theyaregivenwrongnotionsfromthebeginning。Theyarealwaysactinguponmotivesofvanity，andthereisnomorerealmodestyintheirbehaviour_before_theyappearinpublicthanafterwards。“
“Idonotknow，“repliedMissCrawfordhesitatingly。
“Yes，Icannotagreewithyouthere。Itiscertainlythemodestestpartofthebusiness。Itismuchworsetohavegirlsnotoutgivethemselvesthesameairsandtakethesamelibertiesasiftheywere，whichIhaveseendone。
Thatisworsethananything——quitedisgusting!“
“Yes，_that_isveryinconvenientindeed，“saidMr。Bertram。
“Itleadsoneastray；onedoesnotknowwhattodo。
Theclosebonnetanddemureairyoudescribesowellandnothingwaseverjuster，tellonewhatisexpected；
butIgotintoadreadfulscrapelastyearfromthewantofthem。IwentdowntoRamsgateforaweekwithafriendlastSeptember，justaftermyreturnfromtheWestIndies。
MyfriendSneyd——youhaveheardmespeakofSneyd，Edmund——
hisfather，andmother，andsisters，werethere，allnewtome。WhenwereachedAlbionPlacetheywereout；
wewentafterthem，andfoundthemonthepier：Mrs。andthetwoMissSneyds，withothersoftheiracquaintance。
Imademybowinform；andasMrs。Sneydwassurroundedbymen，attachedmyselftooneofherdaughters，walkedbyhersideallthewayhome，andmademyselfasagreeableasIcould；theyoungladyperfectlyeasyinhermanners，andasreadytotalkastolisten。
IhadnotasuspicionthatIcouldbedoinganythingwrong。
Theylookedjustthesame：bothwell-dressed，withveilsandparasolslikeothergirls；butIafterwardsfoundthatIhadbeengivingallmyattentiontotheyoungest，whowasnot_out_，andhadmostexcessivelyoffendedtheeldest。MissAugustaoughtnottohavebeennoticedforthenextsixmonths；andMissSneyd，Ibelieve，hasneverforgivenme。“
“Thatwasbadindeed。PoorMissSneyd。“ThoughIhavenoyoungersister，Ifeelforher。Tobeneglectedbeforeone’stimemustbeveryvexatious；butitwasentirelythemother’sfault。MissAugustashouldhavebeenwithhergoverness。Suchhalf-and-halfdoingsneverprosper。
ButnowImustbesatisfiedaboutMissPrice。
Doesshegotoballs？Doesshedineouteverywhere，aswellasatmysister’s？“
“No，“repliedEdmund；“Idonotthinkshehaseverbeentoaball。Mymotherseldomgoesintocompanyherself，anddinesnowherebutwithMrs。Grant，andFannystaysathomewith_her_。“
“Oh!thenthepointisclear。MissPriceisnotout。“
Mr。Bertramsetofffor，andMissCrawfordwaspreparedtofindagreatchasmintheirsociety，andtomisshimdecidedlyinthemeetingswhichwerenowbecomingalmostdailybetweenthefamilies；andontheiralldiningtogetherattheParksoonafterhisgoing，sheretookherchosenplacenearthebottomofthetable，fullyexpectingtofeelamostmelancholydifferenceinthechangeofmasters。Itwouldbeaveryflatbusiness，shewassure。Incomparisonwithhisbrother，Edmundwouldhavenothingtosay。Thesoupwouldbesentroundinamostspiritlessmanner，winedrankwithoutanysmilesoragreeabletrifling，andthevenisoncutupwithoutsupplyingonepleasantanecdoteofanyformerhaunch，orasingleentertainingstory，about“myfriendsuchaone。“
Shemusttrytofindamusementinwhatwaspassingattheupperendofthetable，andinobservingMr。Rushworth，whowasnowmakinghisappearanceatMansfieldforthefirsttimesincetheCrawfords’arrival。Hehadbeenvisitingafriendintheneighbouringcounty，andthatfriendhavingrecentlyhadhisgroundslaidoutbyanimprover，Mr。Rushworthwasreturnedwithhisheadfullofthesubject，andveryeagertobeimprovinghisownplaceinthesameway；
andthoughnotsayingmuchtothepurpose，couldtalkofnothingelse。Thesubjecthadbeenalreadyhandledinthedrawing-room；itwasrevivedinthedining-parlour。
MissBertram’sattentionandopinionwasevidentlyhischiefaim；andthoughherdeportmentshowedratherconscioussuperioritythananysolicitudetoobligehim，thementionofSothertonCourt，andtheideasattachedtoit，gaveherafeelingofcomplacency，whichpreventedherfrombeingveryungracious。
“IwishyoucouldseeCompton，“saidhe；“itisthemostcompletething!Ineversawaplacesoalteredinmylife。
ItoldSmithIdidnotknowwhereIwas。Theapproach_now_，isoneofthefinestthingsinthecountry：youseethehouseinthemostsurprisingmanner。Ideclare，whenI
gotbacktoSothertonyesterday，itlookedlikeaprison——
quiteadismaloldprison。“
“Oh，forshame!“criedMrs。Norris。“Aprisonindeed？
SothertonCourtisthenoblestoldplaceintheworld。“
“Itwantsimprovement，ma’am，beyondanything。Ineversawaplacethatwantedsomuchimprovementinmylife；
anditissoforlornthatIdonotknowwhatcanbedonewithit。“
“NowonderthatMr。Rushworthshouldthinksoatpresent，“
saidMrs。GranttoMrs。Norris，withasmile；“butdependuponit，Sothertonwillhave_every_improvementintimewhichhisheartcandesire。“
“Imusttrytodosomethingwithit，“saidMr。Rushworth，“butIdonotknowwhat。IhopeIshallhavesomegoodfriendtohelpme。“
“Yourbestfrienduponsuchanoccasion，“saidMissBertramcalmly，“wouldbeMr。Repton，Iimagine。“
“ThatiswhatIwasthinkingof。AshehasdonesowellbySmith，IthinkIhadbetterhavehimatonce。
Histermsarefiveguineasaday。“
“Well，andiftheywere_ten_，“criedMrs。Norris，“Iamsure_you_neednotregardit。Theexpenseneednotbeanyimpediment。IfIwereyou，Ishouldnotthinkoftheexpense。Iwouldhaveeverythingdoneinthebeststyle，andmadeasniceaspossible。
SuchaplaceasSothertonCourtdeserveseverythingthattasteandmoneycando。Youhavespacetoworkuponthere，andgroundsthatwillwellrewardyou。Formyownpart，ifIhadanythingwithinthefiftiethpartofthesizeofSotherton，Ishouldbealwaysplantingandimproving，fornaturallyIamexcessivelyfondofit。ItwouldbetooridiculousformetoattemptanythingwhereIamnow，withmylittlehalfacre。Itwouldbequiteaburlesque。
ButifIhadmoreroom，Ishouldtakeaprodigiousdelightinimprovingandplanting。WedidavastdealinthatwayattheParsonage：wemadeitquiteadifferentplacefromwhatitwaswhenwefirsthadit。Youyoungonesdonotremembermuchaboutit，perhaps；butifdearSirThomaswerehere，hecouldtellyouwhatimprovementswemade：andagreatdealmorewouldhavebeendone，butforpoorMr。Norris’ssadstateofhealth。Hecouldhardlyevergetout，poorman，toenjoyanything，and_that_
disheartenedmefromdoingseveralthingsthatSirThomasandIusedtotalkof。Ifithadnotbeenfor_that_，weshouldhavecarriedonthegardenwall，andmadetheplantationtoshutoutthechurchyard，justasDr。Granthasdone。Wewerealwaysdoingsomethingasitwas。
ItwasonlythespringtwelvemonthbeforeMr。Norris’sdeaththatweputintheapricotagainstthestablewall，whichisnowgrownsuchanobletree，andgettingtosuchperfection，sir，“addressingherselfthentoDr。Grant。
“Thetreethriveswell，beyondadoubt，madam，“repliedDr。Grant。
“Thesoilisgood；andIneverpassitwithoutregrettingthatthefruitshouldbesolittleworththetroubleofgathering。“
“Sir，itisaMoorPark，weboughtitasaMoorPark，anditcostus——thatis，itwasapresentfromSirThomas，butIsawthebill——andIknowitcostsevenshillings，andwaschargedasaMoorPark。“
“Youwereimposedon，ma’am，“repliedDr。Grant：
“thesepotatoeshaveasmuchtheflavourofaMoorParkapricotasthefruitfromthattree。Itisaninsipidfruitatthebest；butagoodapricotiseatable，whichnonefrommygardenare。“
“Thetruthis，ma’am，“saidMrs。Grant，pretendingtowhisperacrossthetabletoMrs。Norris，“thatDr。Granthardlyknowswhatthenaturaltasteofourapricotis：
heisscarcelyeverindulgedwithone，foritissovaluableafruit；withalittleassistance，andoursissucharemarkablylarge，fairsort，thatwhatwithearlytartsandpreserves，mycookcontrivestogetthemall。“
Mrs。Norris，whohadbeguntoredden，wasappeased；
and，foralittlewhile，othersubjectstookplaceoftheimprovementsofSotherton。Dr。GrantandMrs。Norriswereseldomgoodfriends；theiracquaintancehadbegunindilapidations，andtheirhabitsweretotallydissimilar。