nothing could be objected to when it came under the discussion of the neighbourhood except that the carriage which conveyed the bride and bridegroom and from tbe church door to wm e chaise which mr had used for a before in every thing else the etiquette of the day ind the investigation done and tbey were gone sir thomas felt as an anxious father must feel and was indeed much of the agitation which his wife had been of herself but liad fortunately escaped mrs most to assist in the duties of the day by spending it at the park to support her sister s spirits and the health of mr and mrs in a glass or two was all joyous delight � for she had made the match � she had done everything � and no one would have supposed fi om her confident triumph that she had ever heard of in her life or could have the smallest insight into the disposition of the niece who had been brought up und r her eye the plan of the young couple was to proceed after a few days to and take a house there for some weeks every public place was new to maria and is almost as gay in winter as in summer when the novelty of amusement there was over it would be time for the wider range of london was to go with them to since between the sisters had ceased they had been gradually recovering much of their former good understanding and were at least friends to make each of them exceedingly glad to be with the other at such a time some other companion than mr was of the first consequence to his lady and was quite as eager for novelty and pleasure as maria though she might not have struggled through so much to obtain them and could better bear a subordinate situation their departure made another material change at a chasm which required some time to fill up the family circle became greatly contracted and though the had added little to its gaiety they could not but be missed even their mother missed them � and how much more their tender hearted cousin who wandered about the house and thought of them and felt for them with a i� of regret which they had never done much v chapter s consequence increased on the departure of her cousins becoming as she then did the only young woman m the drawing room the only of that interesting division of the family in which she had hitherto held so humble a third it was impossible for her not to be more looked at more thought of and attended to than she had ever been before and where is v became no uncommon question even without her being wanted for any one s convenience not only at home did her value increase but at the too in that house which she had hardly entered twice a year since mr s death she became a welcome an invited guest and in the gloom and dirt of a november day most acceptable to mary her visits there beginning by chance were continued by mrs grant really eager to get any change for her sister could by the easiest self deceit persuade herself that she was doing the kindest thin by and giving her the most important opportunities of improvement in pressing her frequent calls having been sent into the village on some errand by aunt was overtaken by a heavy shower close to the and being from one of the windows endeavouring to find under the branches and lingering leaves of an oak just beyond their premises was forced though not without some modest reluctance on her part to come in a civil servant she had but when i r park grant himself went out with an umbrella there was nothing to be done but to be very much ashamed and to get into the house as fast as possible and to poor miss who had just been contemplating the dismal rain in a very state of mind sighing over the ruin of all her plan of exercise for that morning and of every chance of seeing a single creature beyond themselves for the next y four hours the sound of a little bustle at the front door and the sight of miss price dripping with wet in the was delightful the value of an event on a wet day in the country was most forcibly brought before her she was all alive again directly and among the most active in being useful to in her to be than she would at first allow and providing her with dry clothes arid after being obliged to submit to all this attention and to being assisted and waited on by and maids being also obliged on returning down stairs to be fixed in their drawing room for an hour while the rain continued the blessing of fresh to see and think of was thus extended to miss and might carry on her spirits to the of dressing and dinner the two sisters were so kind to her and so pleasant that might have enjoyed her visit could she have believed herself not in the way and could she have foreseen that the weather would clear at the end of the hour and save her from the shame of having dr grant s carriage and horses out to take her home with which she was threatened as to anxiety for any alarm that her absence in such weather might occasion at home she had nothing to suffer on that score for as her being out was known only to her two she was perfectly aware that none would be felt and that in whatever cottage aunt might choose to establish her during the rain her being in such cottage would be to aunt it was beginning to look bright when 