Onedoesnotseemuchofthisinfluenceandimportanceinsociety，andhowcanitbeacquiredwheretheyaresoseldomseenthemselves？Howcantwosermonsaweek，evensupposingthemworthhearing，supposingthepreachertohavethesensetopreferBlair’stohisown，doallthatyouspeakof？governtheconductandfashionthemannersofalargecongregationfortherestoftheweek？
Onescarcelyseesaclergymanoutofhispulpit。“
“_You_arespeakingofLondon，_I_amspeakingofthenationatlarge。“
“Themetropolis，Iimagine，isaprettyfairsampleoftherest。“
“Not，Ishouldhope，oftheproportionofvirtuetovicethroughoutthekingdom。Wedonotlookingreatcitiesforourbestmorality。Itisnottherethatrespectablepeopleofanydenominationcandomostgood；anditcertainlyisnottherethattheinfluenceoftheclergycanbemostfelt。Afinepreacherisfollowedandadmired；
butitisnotinfinepreachingonlythatagoodclergymanwillbeusefulinhisparishandhisneighbourhood，wheretheparishandneighbourhoodareofasizecapableofknowinghisprivatecharacter，andobservinghisgeneralconduct，whichinLondoncanrarelybethecase。
Theclergyarelostthereinthecrowdsoftheirparishioners。
Theyareknowntothelargestpartonlyaspreachers。
Andwithregardtotheirinfluencingpublicmanners，MissCrawfordmustnotmisunderstandme，orsupposeImeantocallthemthearbitersofgood-breeding，theregulatorsofrefinementandcourtesy，themastersoftheceremoniesoflife。The_manners_Ispeakofmightratherbecalled_conduct_，perhaps，theresultofgoodprinciples；
theeffect，inshort，ofthosedoctrineswhichitistheirdutytoteachandrecommend；anditwill，Ibelieve，beeverywherefound，thatastheclergyare，orarenotwhattheyoughttobe，soaretherestofthenation。“
“Certainly，“saidFanny，withgentleearnestness。
“There，“criedMissCrawford，“youhavequiteconvincedMissPricealready。“
“IwishIcouldconvinceMissCrawfordtoo。“
“Idonotthinkyoueverwill，“saidshe，withanarchsmile；
“IamjustasmuchsurprisednowasIwasatfirstthatyoushouldintendtotakeorders。Youreallyarefitforsomethingbetter。Come，dochangeyourmind。
Itisnottoolate。Gointothelaw。“
“Gointothelaw!WithasmucheaseasIwastoldtogointothiswilderness。“
“Nowyouaregoingtosaysomethingaboutlawbeingtheworstwildernessofthetwo，butIforestallyou；
remember，Ihaveforestalledyou。“
“Youneednothurrywhentheobjectisonlytopreventmysayinga_bon__mot_，forthereisnottheleastwitinmynature。Iamaverymatter-of-fact，plain-spokenbeing，andmayblunderonthebordersofareparteeforhalfanhourtogetherwithoutstrikingitout。“
Ageneralsilencesucceeded。Eachwasthoughtful。
Fannymadethefirstinterruptionbysaying，“IwonderthatIshouldbetiredwithonlywalkinginthissweetwood；
butthenexttimewecometoaseat，ifitisnotdisagreeabletoyou，Ishouldbegladtositdownforalittlewhile。“
“MydearFanny，“criedEdmund，immediatelydrawingherarmwithinhis，“howthoughtlessIhavebeen!Ihopeyouarenotverytired。Perhaps，“turningtoMissCrawford，“myothercompanionmaydomethehonouroftakinganarm。“
“Thankyou，butIamnotatalltired。“Shetookit，however，asshespoke，andthegratificationofhavingherdoso，offeelingsuchaconnexionforthefirsttime，madehimalittleforgetfulofFanny。“Youscarcelytouchme，“saidhe。“Youdonotmakemeofanyuse。
Whatadifferenceintheweightofawoman’sarmfromthatofaman!AtOxfordIhavebeenagooddealusedtohaveamanleanonmeforthelengthofastreet，andyouareonlyaflyinthecomparison。“
“Iamreallynottired，whichIalmostwonderat；
forwemusthavewalkedatleastamileinthiswood。
Donotyouthinkwehave？“
“Nothalfamile，“washissturdyanswer；forhewasnotyetsomuchinloveastomeasuredistance，orreckontime，withfemininelawlessness。
“Oh!youdonotconsiderhowmuchwehavewoundabout。
Wehavetakensuchaveryserpentinecourse，andthewooditselfmustbehalfamilelonginastraightline，forwehaveneverseentheendofityetsinceweleftthefirstgreatpath。“
“Butifyouremember，beforeweleftthatfirstgreatpath，wesawdirectlytotheendofit。Welookeddownthewholevista，andsawitclosedbyirongates，anditcouldnothavebeenmorethanafurlonginlength。“
“Oh!Iknownothingofyourfurlongs，butIamsureitisaverylongwood，andthatwehavebeenwindinginandouteversincewecameintoit；andtherefore，whenIsaythatwehavewalkedamileinit，Imustspeakwithincompass。“
“Wehavebeenexactlyaquarterofanhourhere，“
saidEdmund，takingouthiswatch。“Doyouthinkwearewalkingfourmilesanhour？“
“Oh!donotattackmewithyourwatch。Awatchisalwaystoofastortooslow。Icannotbedictatedtobyawatch。“
Afewstepsfartherbroughtthemoutatthebottomoftheverywalktheyhadbeentalkingof；andstandingback，wellshadedandsheltered，andlookingoveraha-haintothepark，wasacomfortable-sizedbench，onwhichtheyallsatdown。
“Iamafraidyouareverytired，Fanny，“saidEdmund，observingher；“whywouldnotyouspeaksooner？Thiswillbeabadday’samusementforyouifyouaretobeknockedup。
Everysortofexercisefatigueshersosoon，MissCrawford，exceptriding。“
“Howabominableinyou，then，toletmeengrossherhorseasIdidalllastweek!Iamashamedofyouandofmyself，butitshallneverhappenagain。“
“_Your_attentivenessandconsiderationmakesmemoresensibleofmyownneglect。Fanny’sinterestseemsinsaferhandswithyouthanwithme。“
“Thatsheshouldbetirednow，however，givesmenosurprise；
forthereisnothinginthecourseofone’sdutiessofatiguingaswhatwehavebeendoingthismorning：
seeingagreathouse，dawdlingfromoneroomtoanother，strainingone’seyesandone’sattention，hearingwhatonedoesnotunderstand，admiringwhatonedoesnotcarefor。
Itisgenerallyallowedtobethegreatestboreintheworld，andMissPricehasfounditso，thoughshedidnotknowit。“
“Ishallsoonberested，“saidFanny；“tositintheshadeonafineday，andlookuponverdure，isthemostperfectrefreshment。“
AftersittingalittlewhileMissCrawfordwasupagain。
“Imustmove，“saidshe；“restingfatiguesme。
Ihavelookedacrosstheha-hatillIamweary。Imustgoandlookthroughthatirongateatthesameview，withoutbeingabletoseeitsowell。“
Edmundlefttheseatlikewise。“Now，MissCrawford，ifyouwilllookupthewalk，youwillconvinceyourselfthatitcannotbehalfamilelong，orhalfhalfamile。“
“Itisanimmensedistance，“saidshe；“Isee_that_
withaglance。“
Hestillreasonedwithher，butinvain。Shewouldnotcalculate，shewouldnotcompare。Shewouldonlysmileandassert。Thegreatestdegreeofrationalconsistencycouldnothavebeenmoreengaging，andtheytalkedwithmutualsatisfaction。Atlastitwasagreedthattheyshouldendeavourtodeterminethedimensionsofthewoodbywalkingalittlemoreaboutit。Theywouldgotooneendofit，inthelinetheywerethenin——
fortherewasastraightgreenwalkalongthebottombythesideoftheha-ha——andperhapsturnalittlewayinsomeotherdirection，ifitseemedlikelytoassistthem，andbebackinafewminutes。Fannysaidshewasrested，andwouldhavemovedtoo，butthiswasnotsuffered。
Edmundurgedherremainingwhereshewaswithanearnestnesswhichshecouldnotresist，andshewasleftonthebenchtothinkwithpleasureofhercousin’scare，butwithgreatregretthatshewasnotstronger。
Shewatchedthemtilltheyhadturnedthecorner，andlistenedtillallsoundofthemhadceased。