 of a
good income; and he trusted that she would be the wiser and happier woman all
her life, for the experiment he had devised.
    Had Fanny been at all addicted to raptures, she must have had a strong
attack of them, when she first understood what was intended, when her uncle
first made her the offer of visiting the parents and brothers, and sisters, from
whom she had been divided, almost half her life, of returning for a couple of
months to the scenes of her infancy, with William for the protector and
companion of her journey; and the certainty of continuing to see William to the
last hour of his remaining on land. Had she ever given way to bursts of delight,
it must have been then, for she was delighted, but her happiness was of a quiet,
deep, heart-swelling sort; and though never a great talker, she was always more
inclined to silence when feeling most strongly. At the moment she could only
thank and accept. Afterwards, when familiarized with the visions of enjoyment so
suddenly opened, she could speak more largely to William and Edmund of what she
felt; but still there were emotions of tenderness that could not be clothed in
words - The remembrance of all her earliest pleasures, and of what she had
suffered in being torn from them, came over her with renewed strength, and it
seemed as if to be at home again, would heal every pain that had since grown out
of the separation. To be in the centre of such a circle, loved by so many, and
more loved by all than she had ever been before, to feel affection without fear
or restraint, to feel herself the equal of those who surrounded her, to be at
peace from all mention of the Crawfords, safe from every look which could be
fancied a reproach on their account! - This was a prospect to be dwelt on with a
fondness that could be but half acknowledged.
    Edmund too - to be two months from him, (and perhaps, she might be allowed
to make her absence three) must do her good. At a distance unassailed by his
looks or his kindness, and safe from the perpetual irritation of knowing his
heart, and striving to avoid his confidence, she should be able to reason
herself into a properer state; she should be able to think of him as in London,
and arranging every thing there, without wretchedness. - What might have been
hard to bear at Mansfield, was to become a slight evil at Portsmouth.
    The only drawback was the doubt of her Aunt Bertram's being
