Page:Austen - Mansfield Park, vol. I, 1814.djvu/125

 it, and give me as much beauty as he could for my money; and I should never look at it, till it was complete."

"It would be delightful to me to see the progress of it all," said Fanny.

"Aye—you have been brought up to it. It was no part of my education; and the only dose I ever had, being administered by not the first favourite in the world, has made me consider improvements in hand as the greatest of nuisances. Three years ago, the admiral, my honoured uncle, bought a cottage at Twickenham for us all to spend our summers in; and my aunt and I went down to it quite in raptures; but it being excessively pretty, it was soon found necessary to be improved; and for three months we were all dirt and confusion, without a gravel walk to step on, or a bench fit for use. I would have every thing as complete as possible in the country, shrubberies and flower gardens, and rustic seats innumerable; but it must all be done without my care