July 30, 2025 • 8 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seven. Barton Park was about half a mile from
the cottage. The ladies had passed near it in their
way along the valley, but it was screened from their
view at home by the projection of a hill. The
house was large and handsome, and the Middletons lived in
a style of equal hospitality and elegance. The former was
(00:23):
for Sir John's gratification, the latter for that of his lady.
They were scarcely, ever, without some friends staying with them
in the house, and they kept more company of every
kind than any other family in the neighborhood. It was
necessary to the happiness of both. For, however dissimilar in
temper and outward behavior, they strongly resembled each other in
(00:47):
that total want of talent and taste which confined their
employments unconnected with such as society produced within a very
narrow compass. Sir John was a sportsmen, Lady Middleton a mother.
He hunted and shot, and she humored her children, and
(01:08):
these were their only resources. Lady Middleton had the advantage
of being able to spoil her children all the year round,
while Sir John's independent employments were in existence only half
the time. Continual engagements at home and abroad, however, supplied
all the deficiencies of nature and education, supported the good
(01:31):
spirits of Sir John, and gave exercise to the good
breeding of his wife. Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the
elegance of her table and of all her domestic arrangements,
and from this kind of vanity was her greatest enjoyment
in any of their parties. But Sir John's satisfaction in
(01:52):
society was much more real. He delighted in collecting about
him more young people than his house would hold, and
the noisier they were, the better was he pleased. It
was a blessing to all the juvenile part of the neighborhood.
And in summer he was forever forming parties to eat
cold ham and chicken out of doors, and in winter
(02:15):
his private balls were numerous enough for any young lady
who was not suffering under the unsatiable appetite of fifteen.
The arrival of a new family in the country was
always a matter of joy to him, and in every
point of view he was charmed with the inhabitants he
had now procured for his cottage at Bardon. The miss
(02:37):
Dashwoods were young pretty and unaffected. It was enough to
secure his good opinion, for to be unaffected was all
that a pretty girl could want to make her mind
as captivating as her person. The friendliness of his disposition
made him happy in accommodating those whose situation might be
considered in comparison with the past, unfortunate. In showing kindness
(03:03):
to his cousins, therefore he had the real satisfaction of
a good heart. And in settling a family of females
only in his cottage he had all the satisfaction of
a sportsman. For a sportsman, though he esteems only those
of his sex who are sportsmen. Likewise, is not often
desirous of encouraging their taste by admitting them to a
(03:26):
residence within his own manner. Missus Dashwood and her daughters
were met at the door of the house by Sir John,
who welcomed them to Barton Park with unaffected sincerity, and
as he attended them to the drawing room, repeated to
the young ladies the concern which the same subject had
drawn from him the day before, at being unable to
(03:49):
get any smart young men to meet them, they would see,
he said, only one gentleman there besides himself a particular
friend who was staying at the park, but who was
neither very young nor very gay. He hoped they would
all excuse the smallness of the party and could assure
them it should never happen. So again. He had been
(04:12):
to several families that morning in hopes of procuring some
addition to their number, but it was moonlight and everybody
was full of engagements. Luckily, Lady Middleton's mother had arrived
at Barton within the last hour, and as she was
a very cheerful, agreeable woman, he hoped the young ladies
would not find it so very dull as they might imagine.
(04:34):
The young ladies, as well as their mother, were perfectly
satisfied with having two entire strangers of the party, and
wished for no more. Missus Jennings, Lady Middleton's mother was
a good natured, merry, fat elderly woman who talked a
great deal, seemed very happy and rather vulgar. She was
(04:56):
full of jokes and laughter, and before dinner was over
had said many witty things on the subject of lovers
and husbands. Hoped they had not left their hearts behind
them in Sussex, and pretended to see them blush. Whether
they did or not, mary Anne was vexed at it
for her sister's sake, and turned her eyes towards Eleanor
(05:18):
to see how she bore these attacks with an earnestness,
which gave Eleanor far more pain than could arise from
such commonplace raillery as Missus Jennings. Colonel Brandon, the friend
of Sir John, seemed no more adapted by resemblance of
manner to be his friend than Lady Middleton was to
be his wife, or Missus Jennings to be Lady Middleton's mother.
(05:42):
He was silent and grave. His appearance, however, was not unpleasing,
in spite of his being, in the opinion of mary
Anne and Margaret, an absolute old bachelor, for he was
on the wrong side of five and thirty. But though
his face was not handsome, his count tutenance was sensible,
and his address was particularly gentlemanlike. There was nothing in
(06:07):
any of the party which could recommend them as companions
to the Dashwoods. But the cold insipidity of Lady Middleton
was so particularly repulsive that, in comparison of it, the
gravity of Colonel Brandon, and even the boisterous mirth of
Sir John and his mother in law was interesting. Lady
(06:27):
Middleton seemed to be roused to enjoyment only by the
entrance of her four noisy children after dinner, who pulled
her about, tore her clothes, and put an end to
every kind of discourse except what related to themselves. In
the evening, as Mary Anne was discovered to be musical,
(06:47):
she was invited to play. The instrument was unlocked, everybody
prepared to be charmed, and mary Anne, who sang very
well at their request, went through the chief of the
song which Lady Middleton had brought into the family on
her marriage, and which perhaps had lain ever since in
the same position on the pianoforte. For her ladyship had
(07:10):
celebrated that event by giving up music, although by her
mother's account she had played extremely well and by her
own was very fond of it. Mary Anne's performance was
highly applauded. Sir John was loud in his admiration at
the end of every song, and as loud in his
(07:30):
conversation with the others while every song lasted. Lady Middleton
frequently called him to order, wondered how anyone's attention could
be diverted from music for a moment and asked Marianne
to sing a particular song which mary Anne had just finished.
Colonel Brandon, alone of all the party, heard her, without
(07:53):
being in raptures. He paid her only the compliment of attention,
and she felt a respect for him on the occasion
which the others had reasonably forfeited by their shameless want
of taste. His pleasure in music, though it amounted not
to that ecstatic delight, which alone could sympathize with her own,
(08:15):
was estimable when contrasted against the horrible insensibility of the others,
And she was reasonable enough to allow that a man
of five and thirty might well have outlived all acuteness
of feeling and every exquisite power of enjoyment. She was
perfectly disposed to make every allowance for the colonel's advanced
(08:37):
state of life which humanity required. End of Chapter seven.
Chapter seven. Barton Park was about half a mile from
the cottage. The ladies had passed near it in their
way along the valley, but it was screened from their
view at home by the projection of a hill. The
house was large and handsome, and the Middletons lived in
a style of equal hospitality and elegance. The former was
(00:23):
for Sir John's gratification, the latter for that of his lady.
They were scarcely, ever, without some friends staying with them
in the house, and they kept more company of every
kind than any other family in the neighborhood. It was
necessary to the happiness of both. For, however dissimilar in
temper and outward behavior, they strongly resembled each other in
(00:47):
that total want of talent and taste which confined their
employments unconnected with such as society produced within a very
narrow compass. Sir John was a sportsmen, Lady Middleton a mother.
He hunted and shot, and she humored her children, and
(01:08):
these were their only resources. Lady Middleton had the advantage
of being able to spoil her children all the year round,
while Sir John's independent employments were in existence only half
the time. Continual engagements at home and abroad, however, supplied
all the deficiencies of nature and education, supported the good
(01:31):
spirits of Sir John, and gave exercise to the good
breeding of his wife. Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the
elegance of her table and of all her domestic arrangements,
and from this kind of vanity was her greatest enjoyment
in any of their parties. But Sir John's satisfaction in
(01:52):
society was much more real. He delighted in collecting about
him more young people than his house would hold, and
the noisier they were, the better was he pleased. It
was a blessing to all the juvenile part of the neighborhood.
And in summer he was forever forming parties to eat
cold ham and chicken out of doors, and in winter
(02:15):
his private balls were numerous enough for any young lady
who was not suffering under the unsatiable appetite of fifteen.
The arrival of a new family in the country was
always a matter of joy to him, and in every
point of view he was charmed with the inhabitants he
had now procured for his cottage at Bardon. The miss
(02:37):
Dashwoods were young pretty and unaffected. It was enough to
secure his good opinion, for to be unaffected was all
that a pretty girl could want to make her mind
as captivating as her person. The friendliness of his disposition
made him happy in accommodating those whose situation might be
considered in comparison with the past, unfortunate. In showing kindness
(03:03):
to his cousins, therefore he had the real satisfaction of
a good heart. And in settling a family of females
only in his cottage he had all the satisfaction of
a sportsman. For a sportsman, though he esteems only those
of his sex who are sportsmen. Likewise, is not often
desirous of encouraging their taste by admitting them to a
(03:26):
residence within his own manner. Missus Dashwood and her daughters
were met at the door of the house by Sir John,
who welcomed them to Barton Park with unaffected sincerity, and
as he attended them to the drawing room, repeated to
the young ladies the concern which the same subject had
drawn from him the day before, at being unable to
(03:49):
get any smart young men to meet them, they would see,
he said, only one gentleman there besides himself a particular
friend who was staying at the park, but who was
neither very young nor very gay. He hoped they would
all excuse the smallness of the party and could assure
them it should never happen. So again. He had been
(04:12):
to several families that morning in hopes of procuring some
addition to their number, but it was moonlight and everybody
was full of engagements. Luckily, Lady Middleton's mother had arrived
at Barton within the last hour, and as she was
a very cheerful, agreeable woman, he hoped the young ladies
would not find it so very dull as they might imagine.
(04:34):
The young ladies, as well as their mother, were perfectly
satisfied with having two entire strangers of the party, and
wished for no more. Missus Jennings, Lady Middleton's mother was
a good natured, merry, fat elderly woman who talked a
great deal, seemed very happy and rather vulgar. She was
(04:56):
full of jokes and laughter, and before dinner was over
had said many witty things on the subject of lovers
and husbands. Hoped they had not left their hearts behind
them in Sussex, and pretended to see them blush. Whether
they did or not, mary Anne was vexed at it
for her sister's sake, and turned her eyes towards Eleanor
(05:18):
to see how she bore these attacks with an earnestness,
which gave Eleanor far more pain than could arise from
such commonplace raillery as Missus Jennings. Colonel Brandon, the friend
of Sir John, seemed no more adapted by resemblance of
manner to be his friend than Lady Middleton was to
be his wife, or Missus Jennings to be Lady Middleton's mother.
(05:42):
He was silent and grave. His appearance, however, was not unpleasing,
in spite of his being, in the opinion of mary
Anne and Margaret, an absolute old bachelor, for he was
on the wrong side of five and thirty. But though
his face was not handsome, his count tutenance was sensible,
and his address was particularly gentlemanlike. There was nothing in
(06:07):
any of the party which could recommend them as companions
to the Dashwoods. But the cold insipidity of Lady Middleton
was so particularly repulsive that, in comparison of it, the
gravity of Colonel Brandon, and even the boisterous mirth of
Sir John and his mother in law was interesting. Lady
(06:27):
Middleton seemed to be roused to enjoyment only by the
entrance of her four noisy children after dinner, who pulled
her about, tore her clothes, and put an end to
every kind of discourse except what related to themselves. In
the evening, as Mary Anne was discovered to be musical,
(06:47):
she was invited to play. The instrument was unlocked, everybody
prepared to be charmed, and mary Anne, who sang very
well at their request, went through the chief of the
song which Lady Middleton had brought into the family on
her marriage, and which perhaps had lain ever since in
the same position on the pianoforte. For her ladyship had
(07:10):
celebrated that event by giving up music, although by her
mother's account she had played extremely well and by her
own was very fond of it. Mary Anne's performance was
highly applauded. Sir John was loud in his admiration at
the end of every song, and as loud in his
(07:30):
conversation with the others while every song lasted. Lady Middleton
frequently called him to order, wondered how anyone's attention could
be diverted from music for a moment and asked Marianne
to sing a particular song which mary Anne had just finished.
Colonel Brandon, alone of all the party, heard her, without
(07:53):
being in raptures. He paid her only the compliment of attention,
and she felt a respect for him on the occasion
which the others had reasonably forfeited by their shameless want
of taste. His pleasure in music, though it amounted not
to that ecstatic delight, which alone could sympathize with her own,
(08:15):
was estimable when contrasted against the horrible insensibility of the others,
And she was reasonable enough to allow that a man
of five and thirty might well have outlived all acuteness
of feeling and every exquisite power of enjoyment. She was
perfectly disposed to make every allowance for the colonel's advanced
(08:37):
state of life which humanity required. End of Chapter seven.
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