ent on, and Miss Crawford's
attention was first called from Fanny by Tom Bertram's telling her,
with infinite regret, that he found it absolutely impossible for him to
undertake the part of Anhalt in addition to the Butler: he had been most
anxiously trying to make it out to be feasible, but it would not do;
he must give it up. "But there will not be the smallest difficulty in
filling it," he added. "We have but to speak the word; we may pick and
chuse. I could name, at this moment, at least six young men within six
miles of us, who are wild to be admitted into our company, and there are
one or two that would not disgrace us: I should not be afraid to trust
either of the Olivers or Charles Maddox. Tom Oliver is a very clever
fellow, and Charles Maddox is as gentlemanlike a man as you will see
anywhere, so I will take my horse early to-morrow morning and ride over
to Stoke, and settle with one of them."

While he spoke, Maria was looking apprehensively round at Edmund in full
expectation that he must oppose such an enlargement of the plan as this:
so contrary to all their first protestations; but Edmund said nothing.
After a moment's thought, Miss Crawford calmly replied, "As far as I
am concerned, I can have no objection to anything that you all think
eligible. Have I ever seen either of the gentlemen? Yes, Mr. Charles
Maddox dined at my sister's one day, did not he, Henry? A quiet-looking
young man. I remember him. Let _him_ be applied to, if you please, for
it will be less unpleasant to me than to have a perfect stranger."

Charles Maddox was to be the man. Tom repeated his resolution of going
to him early on the morrow; and though Julia, who had scarcely opened
her lips before, observed, in a sarcastic manner, and with a glance
first at Maria and then at Edmund, that "the Mansfield theatricals would
enliven the whole neighbourhood exceedingly," Edmund still held his
peace, and shewed his feelings only by a determined gravity.

"I am not very sanguine as to our play," said Miss Crawford, in an
undervoice to Fanny, after some consideration; "and I can tell Mr.
Maddox that I shall shorten some of _his_ speeches, and a great many of
_my_ _own_, before we rehearse together. It will be very disagreeable,
and by no means what I expected."

CHAPTER XVI

It was not in Miss Crawford's power to talk Fanny into any real
forgetfulness of what had passed. When the evening was over, she went to
bed full of it, her nerves s