Mansfield Park - Chapter 18

Everything was now in a regular train: theatre, actors, actresses, and dresses, were all getting forward; but though no other great impediments arose, Fanny found, before many days were past, that it was not all uninterrupted enjoyment ¹ to the party themselves, and that she had not to witness the continuance of such unanimity ² and delight as had been almost too much for her at first. Everybody began to have their vexation. Edmund had many. Entirely ³ against his judgment ⁴, a scene-painter arrived from town, and was at work, much to the increase of the expenses, and, what was worse, of the eclat ⁵ of their proceedings ⁶; and his brother, instead of being really guided by him as to the privacy of the representation, was giving an invitation to every family who came in his way. Tom himself began to fret ⁷ over the scene-painter's slow progress, and to feel the miseries ⁸ of waiting. He had learned his part--all his parts, for he took every trifling ⁹ one that could be united with the Butler, and began to be impatient to be acting ¹⁰; and every day thus unemployed ¹¹ was tending to increase his sense of the insignificance ¹² of all his parts together, and make him more ready to regret that some other play had not been chosen., ,Fanny, being always a very courteous ¹³ listener, and often the only listener at hand, came in for the complaints and the distresses ¹⁵ of most of them. She knew that Mr. Yates was in general thought to rant ¹⁶ dreadfully; that Mr. Yates was disappointed in Henry Crawford; that Tom Bertram spoke ¹⁷ so quick he would be unintelligible ¹⁸; that Mrs. Grant spoiled everything by laughing; that Edmund was behindhand with his part, and that it was misery ¹⁹ to have anything to do with Mr. Rushworth, who was wanting a prompter through every speech. She knew, also, that poor Mr. Rushworth could seldom get anybody to rehearse with him: his complaint came before her as well as the rest; and so decided ²⁰ to her eye was her cousin Maria's avoidance of him, and so needlessly often the rehearsal ²¹ of the first scene between her and Mr. Crawford, that she had soon all the terror of other complaints from him. So far from being all satisfied and all enjoying, she found everybody requiring something they had not, and giving occasion of discontent to the others. Everybody had a part either too long or too short; nobody would attend as they ought; nobody would remember on which side they were to come in; nobody but the complainer would observe any directions., ,Fanny believed herself to derive ²² as much innocent enjoyment from the play as any of them; Henry Crawford acted well, and it was a pleasure to her to creep into the theatre, and attend the rehearsal of the first act, in spite of the feelings it excited in some speeches for Maria. Maria, she also thought, acted well, too well; and after the first rehearsal or two, Fanny began to be their only audience; and sometimes as prompter, sometimes as spectator, was often very useful. As far as she could judge, Mr. Crawford was considerably ²³ the best actor of all: he had more confidence than Edmund, more judgment than Tom, more talent and taste than Mr. Yates. She did not like him as a man, but she must admit him to be the best actor, and on this point there were not many who differed from her. Mr. Yates, indeed, exclaimed against his tameness and insipidity ²⁴; and the day came at last, when Mr. Rushworth turned to her with a black look, and said, "Do you think there is anything so very fine in all this? For the life and soul of me, I cannot admire him; and, between ourselves, to see such an undersized, little, mean-looking man, set up for a fine actor, is very ridiculous in my opinion.", , ,Many uncomfortable, anxious, apprehensive ²⁹ feelings she certainly had; but with all these, and other claims on her time and attention, she was as far from finding herself without employment or utility amongst them, as without a companion in uneasiness; quite as far from having no demand on her leisure as on her compassion ³⁰. The gloom of her first anticipations ³¹ was proved to have been unfounded. She was occasionally useful to all; she was perhaps as much at peace as any., ,There was a great deal of needlework to be done, moreover, in which her help was wanted; and that Mrs. Norris thought her quite as well off as the rest, was evident by the manner in which she claimed it--"Come, Fanny," she cried, "these are fine times for you, but you must not be always walking from one room to the other, and doing the lookings-on at your ease, in this way; I want you here. I have been slaving myself till I can hardly stand, to contrive ³² Mr. Rushworth's cloak without sending for any more satin; and now I think you may give me your help in putting it together. There are but three seams; you may do them in a trice. It would be lucky for me if I had nothing but the executive part to do. You are best off, I can tell you: but if nobody did more than you, we should not get on very fast.", ,After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话 ，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴 。,These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见
。