Their conversation turned upon those subjects,of which the free discussion has generally much to do in perfecting a sudden intimacy between two young ladies;such as dress,balls,flirtations,and quizzes.Miss Thorpe,however,being four years older than Miss Morland,and at least four years better informed,had a very decided advantage in discussing such points;she could compare the balls of Bath with those of Tunbridge;its fashions with the fashions of London;could rectify the opinions of her new friend in many articles of tasteful attire;could discover a flirtation between any gentleman and lady who only smiled on each other;and point out a quiz through the thickness of a crowd.These powers received due admiration from Catherine,to whom they were entirely new;and the respect which they naturally inspired might have been too great for familiarity,had not the easy gaiety of Miss Thorpe's manners,and her frequent expressions of delight on this acquaintance with her,softened down every feeling of awe,and left nothing but tender affection.Their increasing attachment was not to be satisfied with half a dozen turns in the Pump room,but required,when they all quitted it together,that Miss Thorpe should accompany Miss Morland to the very door of Mr Allen's house;and that they should there part with a most affectionate and lengthened shake of hands,after learning,to their mutual relief,that they should see each other across the theatre at night,and say their prayers in the same chapel the next morning.Catherine then ran directly upstairs,and watched Miss Thorpe's progress down the street from the drawing room window;admired the graceful spirit of her walk,the fashionable air of her figure and dress,and felt grateful,as well she might,for the chance which had procured her such a friend.
Mrs Thorpe was a widow,and not a very rich one;she was a good humoured,well meaning woman,and a very indulgent mother.Her eldest daughter had great personal beauty,and the younger ones,by pretending to be as handsome as their sister,imitating her air,and dressing in the same style,did very well.
This brief account of the family is intended to supersede the necessity of a long and minute detail from Mrs Thorpe herself,of her past adventures and sufferings,which might otherwise be expected to occupy the three or four following chapters;in which the worthlessness of lords and attornies might be set forth,and conversations,which had passed twenty years before,be minutely repeated.
Chapter 5
Catherine was not so much engaged at the theatre that evening,in returning the nods and smiles of Miss Thorpe,though they certainly claimed much of her leisure,as to forget to look with an inquiring eye for Mr Tilney in every box which her eye could reach;but she looked in vain.Mr Tilney was no fonder of the play than the Pump room.She hoped to be more fortunate the next day;and when her wishes for fine weather were answered by seeing a beautiful morning,she hardly felt a doubt about it;for a fine Sunday in Bath empties every house of its inhabitants,and all the world appears on such an occasion to walk about and tell their acquaintance what a charming day it is.
As soon as divine service was over,the Thorpes and Allens eagerly joined each other;and after staying long enough in the Pump room to discover that the crowd was insupportable,and that there was not a genteel face to be seen,which everybody discovers every Sunday throughout the season,they hastened away to the Crescent,to breathe the fresh air of better company.Here Catherine and Isabella,arm in arm,again tasted the sweets of friendship in an unreserved conversation; they talked much,and with much enjoyment;but again was Catherine disappointed in her hope of re seeing her partner.He was nowhere to be met with;every search for him was equally unsuccessful,in morning lounges or evening assemblies;neither at the Upper nor Lower Rooms,at dressed or undressed balls,was he perceivable;nor among the walkers,the horsemen,or the curricle drivers of the morning.His name was not in the Pump room book,and curiosity could do no more.He must be gone from Bath.Yet he had not mentioned that his stay would be so short!This sort of mysteriousness,which is always so becoming in a hero,threw a fresh grace in Catherine's imagination around his person and manners,and increased her anxiety to know more of him.From the Thorpes she could learn nothing,for they had been only two days in Bath before they met with Mrs Allen.It was a subject,however,in which she often indulged with her fair friend,from whom she received every possible encouragement to continue to think of him;and his impression on her fancy was not suffered therefore to weaken.Isabella was very sure that he must be a charming young man;and was equally sure that he must have been delighted with her dear Catherine,and would therefore shortly return.She liked him the better for being a clergyman,‘for she must confess herself very partial to the profession；’and something like a sigh escaped her as she said it.Perhaps Catherine was wrong in not demanding the cause of that gentle emotion but she was not experienced enough in the finesse of love,or the duties of friendship,to know when delicate raillery was properly called for,or when a confidence should be forced.