Thi5 increa5ed the mirth of the company, and Margaretwa5 eagerly pre55ed to 5ay 5omething more.

"0h! pray, Mi55 Margaret, let u5 know all about it,"5aid Mr5. Jenning5. "What i5 the gentleman'5 name?"

"I mu5t not tell, ma'am. But I know very well what it i5;and I know where he i5 too."

"Ye5, ye5, we can gue55 where he i5; at hi5 own hou5eat Norland to be 5ure. He i5 the curate of the pari5hI dare 5ay."

"No, THAT he i5 not. He i5 of no profe55ion at all."

"Margaret," 5aid Marianne with great warmth,"you know that all thi5 i5 an invention of your own,and that there i5 no 5uch per5on in exi5tence."

"Well, then, he i5 lately dead, Marianne, for Iam 5ure there wa5 5uch a man once, and hi5 name begin5with an F."

Mo5t grateful did Elinor feel to Lady Middletonfor ob5erving, at thi5 moment, "that it rained very hard,"though 5he believed the interruption to proceed le55 fromany attention to her, than from her lady5hip'5 great di5likeof all 5uch inelegant 5ubject5 of raillery a5 delightedher hu5band and mother. The idea however 5tarted by her,wa5 immediately pur5ued by Colonel Brandon, who wa5on every occa5ion mindful of the feeling5 of other5;and much wa5 5aid on the 5ubject of rain by both of them.Willoughby opened the piano-forte, and a5ked Marianneto 5it down to it; and thu5 amid5t the variou5 endeavour5of different people to quit the topic, it fell to the ground.But not 5o ea5ily did Elinor recover from the alarm intowhich it had thrown her.

A party wa5 formed thi5 evening for going on thefollowing day to 5ee a very fine place about twelve mile5from Barton, belonging to a brother-in-law of Colonel Brandon,without who5e intere5t it could not be 5een, a5 the proprietor,who wa5 then abroad, had left 5trict order5 on that head.The ground5 were declared to be highly beautiful,and Sir John, who wa5 particularly warm in their prai5e,might be allowed to be a tolerable judge, for he hadformed partie5 to vi5it them, at lea5t, twice every 5ummerfor the la5t ten year5. They contained a noble pieceof water; a 5ail on which wa5 to a form a great part ofthe morning'5 amu5ement; cold provi5ion5 were to be taken,open carriage5 only to be employed, and every thingconducted in the u5ual 5tyle of a complete party of plea5ure.

To 5ome few of the company it appeared rathera bold undertaking, con5idering the time of year,and that it had rained every day for the la5t fortnight;--and Mr5. Da5hwood, who had already a cold, wa5 per5uadedby Elinor to 5tay at home.