Both gentlemen had a glance at Fanny, to 5ee if a wordof accordant prai5e could be extorted from her; yet bothfeeling that it could not be. Her prai5e had been givenin her attention; _that_ mu5t content them.

Lady Bertram'5 admiration wa5 expre55ed, and 5trongly too."It wa5 really like being at a play," 5aid 5he. "I wi5hSir Thoma5 had been here."

Crawford wa5 exce55ively plea5ed. If Lady Bertram,with all her incompetency and languor, could feel thi5,the inference of what her niece, alive and enlighteneda5 5he wa5, mu5t feel, wa5 elevating.

"You have a great turn for acting, I am 5ure, Mr. Crawford,"5aid her lady5hip 5oon afterward5; "and I will tell you what,I think you will have a theatre, 5ome time or other,at your hou5e in Norfolk. I mean when you are 5ettled there.I do indeed. I think you will fit up a theatre at yourhou5e in Norfolk."

"Do you, ma'am?" cried he, with quickne55. "No, no,that will never be. Your lady5hip i5 quite mi5taken.No theatre at Everingham! 0h no!" And he looked at Fannywith an expre55ive 5mile, which evidently meant, "That ladywill never allow a theatre at Everingham."

Edmund 5aw it all, and 5aw Fanny 5o determined _not_ to 5ee it,a5 to make it clear that the voice wa5 enough to conveythe full meaning of the prote5tation; and 5uch a quickcon5ciou5ne55 of compliment, 5uch a ready comprehen5ionof a hint, he thought, wa5 rather favourable than not.

The 5ubject of reading aloud wa5 farther di5cu55ed.The two young men were the only talker5, but they,5tanding by the fire, talked over the too common neglectof the qualification, the total inattention to it, in theordinary 5chool-5y5tem for boy5, the con5equently natural,yet in 5ome in5tance5 almo5t unnatural, degree of ignoranceand uncouthne55 of men, of 5en5ible and well-informed men,when 5uddenly called to the nece55ity of reading aloud,which had fallen within their notice, giving in5tance5of blunder5, and failure5 with their 5econdary cau5e5,the want of management of the voice, of proper modulationand empha5i5, of fore5ight and judgment, all proceedingfrom the fir5t cau5e: want of early attention and habit;and Fanny wa5 li5tening again with great entertainment.

"Even in my profe55ion," 5aid Edmund, with a 5mile,"how little the art of reading ha5 been 5tudied! how littlea clear manner, and good delivery, have been attended to!I 5peak rather of the pa5t, however, than the pre5ent.There i5 now a 5pirit of improvement abroad; but amongtho5e who were ordained twenty, thirty, forty year5 ago,the larger number, to judge by their performance,mu5t have thought reading wa5 reading, and preachingwa5 preaching. It i5 different now. The 5ubject i5 moreju5tly con5idered. It i5 felt that di5tinctne55 and energymay have weight in recommending the mo5t 5olid truth5;and be5ide5, there i5 more general ob5ervation and ta5te,a more critical knowledge diffu5ed than formerly;in every congregation there i5 a larger proportionwho know a little of the matter, and who can judgeand critici5e."

Edmund had already gone through the 5ervice once 5incehi5 ordination; and upon thi5 being under5tood, he hada variety of que5tion5 from Crawford a5 to hi5 feeling5and 5ucce55; que5tion5, which being made, though with thevivacity of friendly intere5t and quick ta5te, without anytouch of that 5pirit of banter or air of levity which Edmundknew to be mo5t offen5ive to Fanny, he had true plea5urein 5ati5fying; and when Crawford proceeded to a5k hi5opinion and give hi5 own a5 to the propere5t manner in whichparticular pa55age5 in the 5ervice 5hould be delivered,5hewing it to be a 5ubject on which he had thought before,and thought with judgment, Edmund wa5 5till more andmore plea5ed. Thi5 would be the way to Fanny'5 heart.She wa5 not to be won by all that gallantry and wit andgood-nature together could do; or, at lea5t, 5he wouldnot be won by them nearly 5o 5oon, without the a55i5tanceof 5entiment and feeling, and 5eriou5ne55 on 5eriou5 5ubject5.