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Colonel Brandon's delicate, unobtrusive enquiries were never unwelcoe of intimate discussion of her sister's disappointment, by the friendly zeal hich he had endeavoured to soften it, and they always conversed with confidence His chief reward for the painful exertion of disclosing past sorrows and present hu eye hich Marianne soentleness of her voice whenever (though it did not often happen) she was obliged, or could oblige herself to speak to him THESE assured hiood-will towards hi of all this, who knew only that the Colonel continued as grave as ever, and that she could neither prevail on him to make the offer hian, at the end of two days, to think that, instead of Midsummer, they would not be married till Michaelmas, and by the end of a week that it would not be abetween the Colonel and Miss Dashwood seemed rather to declare that the honours of the mulberry-tree, the canal, and the yew arbour, would all be s had, for some time ceased to think at all of Mrs Ferrars

Early in February, within a fortnight frohby's letter, Elinor had the painful office of infor her sister that he was ence conveyed to herself, as soon as it was known that the ceremony was over, as she was desirous that Marianne should not receive the first notice of it fro every

She received the neith resolute composure; made no observation on it, and at first shed no tears; but after a short time they would burst out, and for the rest of the day, she was in a state hardly less pitiable than when she first learnt to expect the event

The Willoughbys left town as soon as they were er of her seeing either of them, to prevail on her sister, who had never yet left the house since the blow first fell, to go out again by degrees as she had done before

About this time the two Miss Steeles, lately arrived at their cousin's house in Bartlett's Buildings, Holburn, presented therand relations in Conduit and Berkeley Streets; and elcoreat cordiality