 of
Exeter.
    »It is but a cottage,« she continued, »but I hope to see many of my friends
in it. A room or two can easily be added; and if my friends find no difficulty
in travelling so far to see me, I am sure I will find none in accommodating
them.«
    She concluded with a very kind invitation to Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood to
visit her at Barton; and to Edward she gave one with still greater affection.
Though her late conversation with her daughter-in-law had made her resolve on
remaining at Norland no longer than was unavoidable, it had not produced the
smallest effect on her in that point to which it principally tended. To separate
Edward and Elinor was as far from being her object as ever; and she wished to
shew Mrs. John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother, how totally
she disregarded her disapprobation of the match.
    Mr. John Dashwood told his mother again and again how exceedingly sorry he
was that she had taken an house at such a distance from Norland as to prevent
his being of any service to her in removing her furniture. He really felt
conscientiously vexed on the occasion; for the very exertion to which he had
limited the performance of his promise to his father was by this arrangement
rendered impracticable. - The furniture was all sent round by water. It chiefly
consisted of household linen, plate, china, and books, with an handsome
pianoforte of Marianne's. Mrs. John Dashwood saw the packages depart with a
sigh: she could not help feeling it hard that as Mrs. Dashwood's income would be
so trifling in comparison with their own, she should have any handsome article
of furniture.
    Mrs. Dashwood took the house for a twelvemonth; it was ready furnished, and
she might have immediate possession. No difficulty arose on either side in the
agreement; and she waited only for the disposal of her effects at Norland, and
to determine her future household, before she set off for the west; and this, as
she was exceedingly rapid in the performance of every thing that interested her,
was soon done. - The horses which were left her by her husband, had been sold
soon after his death, and an opportunity now offering of disposing of her
carriage, she agreed to sell that likewise at the earnest advice of her eldest
daughter. For the comfort of her children, had she consulted only her own
wishes, she would have kept it; but the discretion of Elinor prevailed. Her
wisdom too limited the number of their servants to three
