CHAPTER 4.
“And whose very snug-looking Place is this?”—said Charlotte, as in a sheltered Dip within 2 miles of the Sea, they passedclose bya moderate-sized house, well fenced & planted, & rich in the Garden,Orchard & Meadowswhich are the best embellishments ofsuch aDwelling. “It seems to have as many comforts about it as Willingden.”—“Ah!—said MrP.—This is myoldHouse—the house of my Forefathers—the house where I & all my Brothers & Sisters were born & bred—& where my own 3 eldest Children were born—where MrsP. & I lived till within the last 2 years—till our newHouse was finished.—I am glad you are pleased with it.—It is an honest old Place—and Hillier keeps it in very good order. I have given it upyou knowto the Man who occupies the cheif of my Land.Hegets a better House by it—& I, a rather better situation!—one otherHillbrings us toSanditon—modern Sanditon—a beautiful Spot.—Our Ancestors, you know always built in a hole.—Here were we, pent down in this little contracted Nook, without Air or Veiw, only one mile & 3 qrsfrom the noblest expanse of Ocean between the South foreland & the Land’s end,& withoutthe smallest advantage from it. You will not think I have made a bad exchange, when we reach Trafalgar House—which by the bye, I almost wish I had not named Trafalgar—for Waterloo is more the thing now. However,Waterloo is in reserve—& if we have encouragement enough this year fora little Crescentto be ventured on—(as I trust we shall) then,we shallbe able to call it Waterloo Crescent—& thenamejoined to theform of the Building, which always takes, will give us the command of Lodgers—.In a good Season weshdhave more applications than we could attend to.”—“It was always a very comfortable House—said MrsParker—lookingat itthrough the back window withsomethinglike the fondness of regret.—And such a nice Garden—such an excellent Garden.” “Yes, my Love, butthatwe may be said to carry with us.—Itsupplies us, as before, with all the fruit & vegetables we want; & we havein factall the comfort of an excellent Kitchen Garden,withoutthe constant Eyesore ofitsformalities;orthe yearly nuisance of itsdecaying vegetation.—Who can endure a Cabbage Bed in October”? “Oh! dear—yes.—Weare quite aswell offfor Gardenstuffas ever we were—for if it is forgot to be brought at any time, we can always buy what we want at Sanditon-House.—The Gardiner there, is glad enough to supply us—. But it was a nice place for the Children to run about in. So shady in Summer!” “My dear, we shall have shade enoughon the Hill& more than enoughin the courseof a very few years;—The Growth of my Plantations is a general astonishment. In the mean while we have the Canvas Awning, which gives us the most complete comfort within doors—& you can get a Parasol at Whitby’s for little Mary at any time, or a large Bonnet at Jebb’s—and as for the Boys, I must say I wdratherthemrun about in the Sunshine than not. I am sure we agree my dear, in wishing our Boys to be as hardy as possible.”—“Yes indeed, I am sure we do—& I will get Mary a little Parasol, which will make heras proud as can be.How Grave she will walk about with it, andfancy herself quite a little Woman.—Oh! I have not the smallest doubt of our being a great deal better off where we are now. If we any of us want tobathe, we have not a qrof a mile to go.—But you know, (still looking back) one loves to look at an old friend, at a place where one has been happy.—The Hilliers did not seem to feel the Storms last Winterat all.—I remember seeing MrsHillier after one ofthosedreadful Nights, whenwehad been literally rocked in our bed, and she did not seem at all aware of the Wind beinganything more than common.” “Yes, yes—that’s likely enough.Wehave all the Grandeur of the Storm, with less real danger, because the Wind meetingwithnothing to oppose or confine it around our House, simply rages & passes on—while down inthis Gutter—nothing is known of the state of the Air, below the Tops of the Trees—and the Inhabitants may be taken totally unawares,by oneof those dreadful Currentswhich do more mischiefin a Valley,when theydoarisethan an open Country everexperiencesin the heaviest Gale.—But my dear Love—as to Gardenstuff;—you were saying that any accidental omission is supplied in a moment by Ly D.’s Gardiner—but it occurs to me that we ought togoelsewhere upon such occasions—& that oldStringer& his son have a higher claim. I encouragedhim to set up—& am afraid he does not do very well—that is, there has not been time enough yet.—Hewilldo very wellbeyond a doubt—but at first it is Uphill work; and therefore we must give him whatHelpwe can—& when any Vegetables or fruit happen to be wanted—& it will not be amiss to have themoften wanted, to have something or other forgotten most days;—Just to have a nominal supply you know, that poor old Andrew may not lose his daily Job—but in fact to buy the cheif of our consumption ofthe Stringers.—” “Very well my Love, that canbe easilydone—& Cook will besatisfied—which will be a great comfort, for she is always complaining of old Andrew now,& sayshe never brings her what she wants.—There—now the old House is quiteleftbehind.—What is it, your Brother Sidney saysabout it’s being a Hospital?” “Oh! my dear Mary, merely a Joke of his.He pretends to advise me to make a Hospital of it. He pretends to laugh at my Improvements. Sidney says any thing you know. He has always said what he choseof & to us, all.Most Families have such a member among them I beleive Miss Heywood.—There is a someone in most families privileged by superior abilities or spirits to say anything.—In ours, it is Sidney; who is avery clever Young Man,—and with great powers of pleasing.—He lives too much in the World to be settled; that is his only fault.—He is here& there & every where. I wish we may get him to Sanditon. I should like to have you acquainted with him.—And it would be afine thing forthe Place!—Such a young Man as Sidney, with his neat equipage & fashionableair,—You & I Mary, know what effect it might have: Many a respectable Family, many a careful Mother, many a pretty Daughter, might it secure us, to the prejudice of E. Bourne & Hastings.”—They were now approaching the Church &neatvillage ofSanditon, which stood at the foot of theHillthey were afterwards to ascend—a Hill, whose side was covered with the Woods & enclosures of Sanditon Houseand whose Height ended inan openDownwhere the new Buildgsmight soon be looked for. A branch only, of the Valley,winding more obliquelytowards the Sea,gavea passage to an inconsiderable Stream, &formedat its mouth, a 3dHabitable Division, in a small cluster of Fisherman’s Houses.—The Village contained little more than Cottages, but the Spirit of the day had been caught, asMrP. observed withdelightto Charlotte, & two or three of the best of them were smartened up with a white Curtain & “Lodgings to let”—, and farther on, in the little Green Court of an old Farm House,two Femalesin elegant white were actually to be seen with their books & camp stools—and in turning the corner of the Baker’s shop, the sound of a Harp might be heardthrough the upperCasement.—Such sights & sounds were highlyBlissfulto MrP.—Not that he had any personal concern in the success of the Village itself; for considering it as too remote from the Beach, he had done nothing there—but it was a most valuable proof of the increasing fashion of the place altogether. If theVillagecould attract, the Hillmightbe nearly full.—He anticipated an amazing Season.—At the same time last year, (latein July) there had not been a single Lodger in the Village!—nor did he remember anyduringthe wholeSummer, excepting one family of children who came from London for sea air after the hooping Cough,andwhose Motherwould not let them benearerthe shorefor fear of their tumbling in.—“Civilization, Civilization indeed!—cried MrP—,delighted—.Look my dear Mary—Look atWilliamHeeley’s windows.—Blue Shoes, & nankin Boots!—Who wdhave expected such a sightat a Shoemaker’sin old Sanditon!—This is new within the Month. There was no blue Shoe when we passed this way a month ago.—Glorious indeed!—Well, I think Ihavedone something in my Day.—Now, for our Hill, our health-breathing Hill.—” In ascending, they passed the Lodge-Gates of Sanditon House, & saw thetop of the House itself among its Groves. It was the last Building offormer Daysin that line of the Parish. A little higher up, the Modern began; & in crossing the Down, a Prospect House, a Bellevue Cottage, & a Denham Place were to be looked at by Charlotte with the calmness of amused Curiosity, &by MrP. with the eager eye which hoped to see scarcely any empty houses.—More Bills at the Window than he hadcalculatedon;—and a smallershew of company on the Hill—Fewer Carriages, fewer Walkers. He had fancied it just the time of day for them to be all returning from their Airings todinner—Butthe Sands& the Terracealways attracted some—.and the Tidemust be flowing—abouthalf-Tide now.—He longed to be on the Sands, the Cliffs,at his ownHouse, & everywhere out of his Houseatonce. His Spirits rose with the very sight of the Sea &he cdalmostfeel his Ancle getting stronger already.—Trafalgar House, on the most elevated spoton the Downwas a lightelegant Building,standing in asmall Lawn witha very young plantation round it,aboutan hundred yards from thebrow ofa steep, but notvery loftyCliff—and the nearest to it, of every Building, excepting oneshortrow of smart-looking Houses, called the Terrace, with a broad walk in front, aspiring to be the Mall of the Place. In this row were the best Milliner’s shop & the Library—a littledetached from it, the Hotel & Billiard Room—Here began the Descent to the Beach, &to the BathingMachines—& this was therefore the favourite spot for Beauty & Fashion.—At Trafalgar House, rising at a little distance behind the Terrace,the Travellers were safely set down, & all was happiness & Joy between Papa & Mama & their Children; while Charlotte having received possession of her apartment, found amusement enough in standing at herample, Venetianwindow, & looking over the miscellaneous foreground of unfinished Buildings, waving Linen, & tops of Houses, to the Sea, dancing & sparkling inSunshine &Freshness.—