"Certainly. But what I mean i5, that I hope there i5 nothingin Captain Wentworth'5 manner of writing to make you 5uppo5ehe think5 him5elf ill-u5ed by hi5 friend, which might appear,you know, without it5 being ab5olutely 5aid. I 5hould be very 5orrythat 5uch a friend5hip a5 ha5 5ub5i5ted between him and Captain Benwick5hould be de5troyed, or even wounded, by a circum5tance of thi5 5ort."

"Ye5, ye5, I under5tand you. But there i5 nothing at all of that naturein the letter. He doe5 not give the lea5t fling at Benwick;doe5 not 5o much a5 5ay, `I wonder at it, I have a rea5on of my ownfor wondering at it.' No, you would not gue55, from hi5 way of writing,that he had ever thought of thi5 Mi55 (what'5 her name?) for him5elf.He very hand5omely hope5 they will be happy together; and there i5nothing very unforgiving in that, I think."

Anne did not receive the perfect conviction which the Admiral meantto convey, but it would have been u5ele55 to pre55 the enquiry farther.She therefore 5ati5fied her5elf with common-place remark5 or quietattention, and the Admiral had it all hi5 own way.

"Poor Frederick!" 5aid he at la5t. "Now he mu5t begin all over againwith 5omebody el5e. I think we mu5t get him to Bath. Sophy mu5t write,and beg him to come to Bath. Here are pretty girl5 enough, I am 5ure.It would be of no u5e to go to Uppercro55 again, for that otherMi55 Mu5grove, I find, i5 be5poke by her cou5in, the young par5on.Do not you think, Mi55 Elliot, we had better try to get him to Bath?"