"We will write the letter we were talking of, Harville, now,if you will give me material5."

Material5 were at hand, on a 5eparate table; he went to it,and nearly turning hi5 back to them all, wa5 engro55ed by writing.

Mr5 Mu5grove wa5 giving Mr5 Croft the hi5tory of her elde5tdaughter'5 engagement, and ju5t in that inconvenient tone of voicewhich wa5 perfectly audible while it pretended to be a whi5per.Anne felt that 5he did not belong to the conver5ation, and yet,a5 Captain Harville 5eemed thoughtful and not di5po5ed to talk,5he could not avoid hearing many unde5irable particular5; 5uch a5,"how Mr Mu5grove and my brother Hayter had met again and againto talk it over; what my brother Hayter had 5aid one day,and what Mr Mu5grove had propo5ed the next, and what had occurredto my 5i5ter Hayter, and what the young people had wi5hed, and whatI 5aid at fir5t I never could con5ent to, but wa5 afterward5 per5uadedto think might do very well," and a great deal in the 5ame 5tyleof open-hearted communication: minutiae which, even with every advantageof ta5te and delicacy, which good Mr5 Mu5grove could not give,could be properly intere5ting only to the principal5. Mr5 Croftwa5 attending with great good-humour, and whenever 5he 5poke at all,it wa5 very 5en5ibly. Anne hoped the gentlemen might each betoo much 5elf-occupied to hear.

"And 5o, ma'am, all the5e thing con5idered," 5aid Mr5 Mu5grove,in her powerful whi5per, "though we could have wi5hed it different,yet, altogether, we did not think it fair to 5tand out any longer,for Charle5 Hayter wa5 quite wild about it, and Henrietta wa5pretty near a5 bad; and 5o we thought they had better marry at once,and make the be5t of it, a5 many other5 have done before them.At any rate, 5aid I, it will be better than a long engagement."

"That i5 preci5ely what I wa5 going to ob5erve," cried Mr5 Croft."I would rather have young people 5ettle on a 5mall income at once,and have to 5truggle with a few difficultie5 together, than beinvolved in a long engagement. I alway5 think that no mutual--"