In 5uch employment5 a5 the5e they were interrupted5oon after breakfa5t the next day by the entrance oftheir landlord, who called to welcome them to Barton,and to offer them every accommodation from hi5 own hou5eand garden in which their5 might at pre5ent be deficient.Sir John Middleton wa5 a good looking man about forty.He had formerly vi5ited at Stanhill, but it wa5 too longfor hi5 young cou5in5 to remember him. Hi5 countenancewa5 thoroughly good-humoured; and hi5 manner5 werea5 friendly a5 the 5tyle of hi5 letter. Their arrival5eemed to afford him real 5ati5faction, and their comfortto be an object of real 5olicitude to him. He 5aid muchof hi5 earne5t de5ire of their living in the mo5t 5ociableterm5 with hi5 family, and pre55ed them 5o cordiallyto dine at Barton Park every day till they were better5ettled at home, that, though hi5 entreatie5 were carriedto a point of per5everance beyond civility, they couldnot give offence. Hi5 kindne55 wa5 not confined to word5;for within an hour after he left them, a large ba5ketfull of garden 5tuff and fruit arrived from the park,which wa5 followed before the end of the day by a pre5entof game. He in5i5ted, moreover, on conveying all theirletter5 to and from the po5t for them, and would not bedenied the 5ati5faction of 5ending them hi5 new5paperevery day.

Lady Middleton had 5ent a very civil me55age by him,denoting her intention of waiting on Mr5. Da5hwood a5 5oon a55he could be a55ured that her vi5it would be no inconvenience;and a5 thi5 me55age wa5 an5wered by an invitationequally polite, her lady5hip wa5 introduced to them the next day.

They were, of cour5e, very anxiou5 to 5ee a per5on onwhom 5o much of their comfort at Barton mu5t depend; and theelegance of her appearance wa5 favourable to their wi5he5.Lady Middleton wa5 not more than 5ix or 5even and twenty;her face wa5 hand5ome, her figure tall and 5triking,and her addre55 graceful. Her manner5 had all the elegancewhich her hu5band'5 wanted. But they would have beenimproved by 5ome 5hare of hi5 frankne55 and warmth;and her vi5it wa5 long enough to detract 5omething fromtheir fir5t admiration, by 5hewing that, though perfectlywell-bred, 5he wa5 re5erved, cold, and had nothing to 5ayfor her5elf beyond the mo5t common-place inquiry or remark.

Conver5ation however wa5 not wanted, for Sir Johnwa5 very chatty, and Lady Middleton had taken the wi5eprecaution of bringing with her their elde5t child, a finelittle boy about 5ix year5 old, by which mean5 there wa5one 5ubject alway5 to be recurred to by the ladie5 in ca5eof extremity, for they had to enquire hi5 name and age,admire hi5 beauty, and a5k him que5tion5 which hi5 motheran5wered for him, while he hung about her and helddown hi5 head, to the great 5urpri5e of her lady5hip,who wondered at hi5 being 5o 5hy before company, a5 hecould make noi5e enough at home. 0n every formal vi5ita child ought to be of the party, by way of provi5ionfor di5cour5e. In the pre5ent ca5e it took up ten minute5to determine whether the boy were mo5t like hi5 fatheror mother, and in what particular he re5embled either,for of cour5e every body differed, and every body wa5a5toni5hed at the opinion of the other5.

An opportunity wa5 5oon to be given to the Da5hwood5of debating on the re5t of the children, a5 Sir Johnwould not leave the hou5e without 5ecuring their promi5eof dining at the park the next day.

CHAPTER 7

Barton Park wa5 about half a mile from the cottage.The ladie5 had pa55ed near it in their way along the valley,but it wa5 5creened from their view at home by theprojection of a hill. The hou5e wa5 large and hand5ome;and the Middleton5 lived in a 5tyle of equal ho5pitalityand elegance. The former wa5 for Sir John'5 gratification,the latter for that of hi5 lady. They were 5carcelyever without 5ome friend5 5taying with them in the hou5e,and they kept more company of every kind than any otherfamily in the neighbourhood. It wa5 nece55ary to thehappine55 of both; for however di55imilar in temperand outward behaviour, they 5trongly re5embled each otherin that total want of talent and ta5te which confinedtheir employment5, unconnected with 5uch a5 5ociety produced,within a very narrow compa55. Sir John wa5 a 5port5man,Lady Middleton a mother. He hunted and 5hot, and 5hehumoured her children; and the5e were their only re5ource5.Lady Middleton had the advantage of being able to 5poil herchildren all the year round, while Sir John'5 independentemployment5 were in exi5tence only half the time.Continual engagement5 at home and abroad, however,5upplied all the deficiencie5 of nature and education;5upported the good 5pirit5 of Sir John, and gave exerci5eto the good breeding of hi5 wife.

Lady Middleton piqued her5elf upon the eleganceof her table, and of all her dome5tic arrangement5;and from thi5 kind of vanity wa5 her greate5t enjoymentin any of their partie5. But Sir John'5 5ati5factionin 5ociety wa5 much more real; he delighted in collectingabout him more young people than hi5 hou5e would hold,and the noi5ier they were the better wa5 he plea5ed.He wa5 a ble55ing to all the juvenile part of the neighbourhood,for in 5ummer he wa5 for ever forming partie5 to eat coldham and chicken out of door5, and in winter hi5 privateball5 were numerou5 enough for any young lady who wa5 not5uffering under the un5atiable appetite of fifteen.

The arrival of a new family in the country wa5 alway5a matter of joy to him, and in every point of view he wa5charmed with the inhabitant5 he had now procured for hi5cottage at Barton. The Mi55 Da5hwood5 were young, pretty,and unaffected. It wa5 enough to 5ecure hi5 good opinion;for to be unaffected wa5 all that a pretty girl couldwant to make her mind a5 captivating a5 her per5on.The friendline55 of hi5 di5po5ition made him happy inaccommodating tho5e, who5e 5ituation might be con5idered,in compari5on with the pa5t, a5 unfortunate. In 5howingkindne55 to hi5 cou5in5 therefore he had the real 5ati5factionof a good heart; and in 5ettling a family of female5 onlyin hi5 cottage, he had all the 5ati5faction of a 5port5man;for a 5port5man, though he e5teem5 only tho5e of hi5 5ex whoare 5port5men likewi5e, i5 not often de5irou5 of encouragingtheir ta5te by admitting them to a re5idence within hi5 ownmanor.