able to endure the restraint which her father imposed the liberty which his absence had given was now become absolutely necessary she must escape from him and as soon as possible and find consolation in fortune and consequence bustle and the world for a wounded spirit her mind was quite determined and varied not to such feelings delay even the delay of much preparation would have been an evil and mr could hardly be more impatient for the marriage than herself in all the important preparations of the mind she was complete being prepared for matrimony by an hatred of home restraint and tranquillity by the misery of disappointed affection and contempt of the man she was to marry the rest might wait the preparations of new carriages and furniture might wait for london and spring when her own taste could have fairer play the being all agreed in this respect it soon appeared that a very few weeks would be sufficient for such arrangements as must the wedding mrs was quite ready to retire and make way for the fortunate young woman whom her dear son selected and very early in november removed herself her maid her footman and her chariot with true propriety to bath there to parade over the wonders of in her evening parties enjoying them as thoroughly perhaps in the animation of a as she had ever done on the spot and before the park middle of the same month the ceremony had taken place which gave another it was a very proper wedding the bride was dressed uie two were duly inferior her father gave her away her mother stood with in her hand expecting to be agitated her aunt tried to cry and the service was read by dr grant 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 the church door to was the same chaise which mr had used for a before in everything else the etiquette of the day might stand the investigation it was done and they were gone sir thomas felt as an anxious father must feel and was indeed much of the agitation which his wife had apprehensive of for herself but had fortunately escaped mrs most happy to assist in the duties of the day by spending it at the park to support her sister s spirits and drinking the health of mr and mrs in a glass or two was all joyous delight for she had made the match she had done i and no one would have supposed from 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 under 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 uie novelty of amusement there was over would be time for the wider range of london was to go with them to since between the sisters had ceased they had been io of good aid were at w l b ci c to each of to be with tbe at a tune some other i an r was of the to his lady and was quite as eager for and pleasure as she mi not hare ed to obtain and could better bear a their made another material change at a which some time to fill the became greatly and the miss had added to its g y they not but be missed even their mother missed them and how more their tender hearted cousin who wandered about the house and thought of them and for them with a degree of affectionate regret which they had never done much to deserve y s consequence increased on the departure of her cousins becoming as she then did the only young woman in the drawing room the only of that interesting division of a 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 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 be park came a welcome an guest and in the gloom and dirt of a november day most acceptable to mary her visits there by chance were continued by mrs grant really to get any change for her sister could by the easiest self deceit persuade herself that she was doing the kindest thing 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 her aunt was overtaken by a heavy shower close to the and being from one of the windows to find shelter 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 dr 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 chance of seeing a single beyond themselves for the next twenty four hours the sound of a little bustle at the front door and the sight of miss 