26 Northanger Abbey - Read By Stephanie Poppins
Northanger Abbey is the coming-of-age story of a young woman named Catherine Morland. Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen follows Catherine Morland, a young woman with a passion for Gothic novels, as she navigates the social world of Bath and later Northanger Abbey. Her romantic imagination, fueled by her love for these novels, leads her to misinterpret the people and events around her, particularly at the Tilney family's estate. In this episode, Catherine is seeing things.
Transcript
Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,
Your go-to podcast that offers you a calm and relaxing transition into a great night's sleep.
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Happy listening.
Chapter 22 The housemaid's folding back her window shutters at eight o'clock the next day was the sound which first roused Catherine and she opened her eyes wondering that they could ever have been closed on objects of cheerfulness.
Her fire was already burning and a bright morning had succeeded the tempest of the night.
Instantaneously with a consciousness of existence returned her recollection of the manuscript and springing from the bed in the very moment of the maids going away she eagerly collected every scattered sheet which had burst from the roll on its falling to the ground and flew back to enjoy the luxury of their perusal on her manuscript of equal length with the generality of what she had shuttered over in books for the roll seeming to consist entirely of small disjointed sheets was altogether but of trifling size and much less than she'd supposed it to be at first.
Her greedy eye glanced rapidly over a page.
She started at this import.
Could it be possible or did not her senses play her false?
An infantry of linen in coarse and modern characters seemed all that was before her.
If the evidence of sight might be trusted she held a washing bill in her hand.
She seized another sheet and saw the same articles with little variation.
A third,
A fourth and a fifth presented nothing new.
Shirts,
Stockings,
Cravats and waistcoats faced her in each.
Two others penned by the same hand marked an expenditure scarcely more interesting in letters,
Hair powder,
Shoestring and breeches ball and the larger sheet which had enclosed the rest seemed by its first cramp line to poultice chestnut mare a farrier's bill.
Such was the collection of papers which had filled her expectation and alarm and robbed her of half her night's rest.
She felt humble to the dust.
Could not the adventure of the chest have taught her wisdom?
Corner of it catching her eye as she lay seemed to rise up in judgment against her.
Nothing could now be clearer than the absurdity of her recent fancies.
To suppose a manuscript of many generations back could have remained undiscovered in a such as that,
So modern,
So habitable,
Or that she should be the first to possess the skill of unlocking a cabinet,
The key of which was open to all.
How could she have so imposed on herself?
Heaven forbid that Henry Tilney should ever know her folly.
And it was in a great measure his own doing,
For had not the cabinet appeared so exactly to agree with his description of her adventures,
She should never have felt the smallest curiosity about it.
This was the only comfort that occurred.
Impatient to get rid of those hateful evidences of her folly,
Those detestable papers then scattered over the bed,
She rose directly,
And folding them up as neatly as possible in the same shape as before,
Returned them to the same spot within the cabinet,
With a very hearty wish that no one toward accident might ever bring them forward again to disgrace her even with herself.
Why the locks should have been so difficult to open,
However,
Was still something remarkable,
For she could now manage them with perfect ease.
In this there was surely something mysterious,
And she indulged in the flattering suggestion for half a minute,
Till the possibility of the doors having been at first unlocked,
And of being herself its fastener darted into her head,
And cost her another blush.
She got away as fast as she could from a room in which her conduct produced such unpleasant reflections,
And found her way with all speed to the breakfast parlour as it had been pointed out to her by Miss Tilney the night before.
Henry was alone in it,
And his immediate hope of her having been undisturbed by the tempest,
With an arch reference to the character of the building they inhabited,
Was rather distressing.
For the world would she not have her weakness suspected,
And yet,
Unequal to an absolute falsehood,
Was constrained to acknowledge the wind had kept her awake a little bit.
But we have a charming morning after it,
She added,
Desiring to get rid of the subject,
And storms and sleeplessness are nothing when they're over.
What beautiful hyacinths!
I've just learned to love a hyacinth.
And how might you learn?
By accident,
Or argument.
Your sister taught me,
I cannot tell how.
Mrs Allen used to take pains year after year to make me like them,
But I never could,
Till I saw them the other day in Milsom Street.
I'm naturally indifferent about flowers.
But now you love a hyacinth,
So much the better.
You've gained a new source of enjoyment,
And it is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible.
Besides,
A taste for flowers is always desirable in your sex,
As a means of getting you out of doors,
And tempting you to more frequent exercise than you would otherwise take.
And though the love of a hyacinth may be rather domestic,
Who can tell?
The sentiment once raised.
But you may in time come to love a rose.
I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors,
Said Catherine.
The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me,
And in fine weather I'm out more than half my time.
The mast says I'm never within.
At any rate,
However,
I'm pleased you have learned to love a hyacinth.
The mere habit of learning to love is the thing,
And a teachableness of disposition in a young lady is a great blessing.
Has my sister a pleasant mode of instruction?
Catherine was saved the embarrassment of attempting an answer by the entrance of the General,
Whose smiling compliments announced a happy state of mind,
But whose gentle hint of sympathetic early rising did not advance her composure.
The elegance of the breakfast set forced itself on Catherine's notice when they were seated at a table,
And luckily it had been the General's choice.
He was enchanted by her approbation of his taste,
Confessed it to be neat and simple,
Thought it right to encourage the manufacturer of his country,
And for his part,
To his uncritical palate,
The tea was as well favoured from the clay of Staffordshire as from that of Dresden or Sevres.
But this was quite an old set purchased two years ago.
The manufacturer was much improved since that time.
He had seen some beautiful specimens when last in town,
And had he not been perfectly without vanity of that kind,
Might have been tempted to order a new set.
He trusted,
However,
An opportunity might ere long occur of selecting one,
Though not for himself.
Catherine was probably the only one of the party who did not understand him.
Shortly after breakfast,
Henry left them for Woodstone,
Where business required and would keep him two or three days.
They all attended in the hall to see him mount his horse,
And immediately on re-entering the breakfast room,
Catherine walked to a window in the hope of catching another glimpse of his figure.
"'This is somewhat heavy call upon your brother's fortitude,
' observed the General to Eleanor.
"'Woodstone will make but a sombre appearance today.
' "'Is it a pretty place?
' asked Catherine.
"'What do you say,
Eleanor?
Speak your opinion,
For ladies can best tell the taste of ladies in regard to places as well as men.
' "'I think it would be acknowledged by the most impartial eye to have many recommendations.
"'The house stands among fine meadows facing the southeast,
With an excellent kitchen garden in the same aspect,
The walls surrounding which I built and stocked myself about ten years ago,
For the benefit of my son.
"'It is a family living,
Miss Morland,
And the property in the place being chiefly my own,
You may believe I take care it shall not be a bad one.
"'Did Henry's income depend solely on this living,
He would not be ill-provided for.
"'Perhaps it may seem odd,
That with only two younger children I should think any profession necessary,
And certainly there are moments when we could all wish him disengaged from every tie of business.
"'But though I may not exactly make converts of you young ladies,
I am sure your father,
Miss Morland,
Would agree with me in thinking expedient to give every young man some employment.
"'The money is nothing.
"'It is not an object,
But employment is the thing.
"'Even Frederick,
My eldest son,
You see,
Who will perhaps inherit as considerable a land and property as any private man in the country,
Has his profession.
' "'The imposing effect of this last argument was equal to his wishes.
"'The silence of the lady proved it to be unanswerable.
"'Something had been said the evening before of her being shown over the house,
"'and he now offered himself as her conductor.
"'And though Catherine had hoped to exploit accompanied only by his daughter,
"'it was a proposal of too much happiness in itself,
"'under any circumstances,
Not to be gladly accepted,
"'for she had been already eighteen hours in the abbey,
"'and had seen only a few of its rooms.
"'The netting-box,
Just leisurely drawn forth,
"'was closed with joyful haste,
"'and she was ready to attend him in a moment.
"'And when they had gone over the house,
"'he promised himself,
Moreover,
"'the pleasure of accompanying her into the shrubberies and garden.
"'She curtsied her acquiescence,
"'but perhaps it might be more agreeable to her to make those her first object.
"'The weather was at present favourable,
"'and at this time of the year,
"'the uncertainty was very great of it continuing so.
"'Which would she prefer?
"'He was equally at her service.
"'Which did his daughter think would most accord with her fair friend's wishes?
"'But he thought she could discern.
"'Yes,
The general certainly read in Miss Morland's eyes "'a judicious desire of making use of the present smiling weather.
"'But when did she judge amiss?
"'The abbey would be safe and dry.
"'He yielded implicitly and would fetch his hat and attend them in a moment.
"'He left the room and Catherine,
With a disappointed,
Anxious face,
"'began to speak of her unwillingness he should be taking them "'out of doors against his own inclination,
"'under a mistaken idea of pleasing her.
"'But she was stopped by Miss Tilney,
Saying with a little confusion,
"'I believe it will be wisest to take the morning while it's so fine.
"'And do not be uneasy on my father's account.
"'He always walks out at this time of the day.
"'Catherine did not exactly know how this was to be understood.
"'Why was Miss Tilney embarrassed?
"'Could there be any unwillingness on the general's side to show her over the abbey?
"'The proposer was his own.
"'And was it not odd he should always take his walk so early?
"'Neither her father nor Mr.
Allan did so.
"'It certainly was very provoking.
"'She was all impatient to see the house,
"'but she had scarcely any curiosity about the grounds.
"'If only Henry had been with them.
"'But now she should not know what was picturesque when she saw it.
"'Such were her thoughts.
"'But she kept them to herself and put on her bonnet,
"'impatient discontent.
'"
