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[*****\n\n\nTitle: Pride and Prejudice\n\nAuthor: Jane Austen\n\nRelease Date: Jun, 1998  [EBook #1342]\n[Most recently updated: April 21, 2006]\n\nEdition: 12\n\nLanguage: English\n\nCharacter set encoding: ASCII\n\n*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ***\n\n\n\n\nPride and Prejudice\n\nby Jane Austen\n\n\n\n\nChapter 1\n\n\nIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in\npossession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.]
[However little known the feelings or views of such a man may\nbe on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well\nfixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered\nthe rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.]
[\"My dear Mr. Bennet,\" said his lady to him one day, \"have you\nheard that Netherfield Park is let at last?]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet replied that he had not.]
[\"But it is,\" returned she; \"for Mrs.]
[Long has just been here, and\nshe told me all about it.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet made no answer.]
[\"Do you not want to know who has taken it?]
[\" cried his wife\nimpatiently.]
[\"_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.]
[\"\n\nThis was invitation enough.]
[\"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs.]
[Long says that Netherfield\nis taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of\nEngland; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to\nsee the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed\nwith Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession\nbefore Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the\nhouse by the end of next week.]
[\"\n\n\"What is his name?]
[\"\n\n\"Bingley.]
[\"\n\n\"Is he married or single?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[Single, my dear, to be sure!]
[A single man of large\nfortune; four or five thousand a year.]
[What a fine thing for our\ngirls!]
[\"\n\n\"How so?]
[How can it affect them?]
[\"\n\n\"My dear Mr. Bennet,\" replied his wife, \"how can you be so\ntiresome!]
[You must know that I am thinking of his marrying\none of them.]
[\"\n\n\"Is that his design in settling here?]
[\"\n\n\"Design!]
[Nonsense, how can you talk so!]
[But it is very likely\nthat he _may_ fall in love with one of them, and therefore you\nmust visit him as soon as he comes.]
[\"\n\n\"I see no occasion for that.]
[You and the girls may go, or you\nmay send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still\nbetter, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley\nmay like you the best of the party.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear, you flatter me.]
[I certainly _have_ had my share of\nbeauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now.]
[When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give\nover thinking of her own beauty.]
[\"\n\n\"In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.]
[\"\n\n\"But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when\nhe comes into the neighbourhood.]
[\"\n\n\"It is more than I engage for, I assure you.]
[\"\n\n\"But consider your daughters.]
[Only think what an establishment\nit would be for one of them.]
[Sir William and Lady Lucas are\ndetermined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you\nknow, they visit no newcomers.]
[Indeed you must go, for it will\nbe impossible for _us_ to visit him if you do not.]
[\"\n\n\"You are over-scrupulous, surely.]
[I dare say Mr. Bingley will\nbe very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to\nassure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he\nchooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for\nmy little Lizzy.]
[\"\n\n\"I desire you will do no such thing.]
[Lizzy is not a bit better\nthan the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as\nJane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia.]
[But you are always\ngiving _her_ the preference.]
[\"\n\n\"They have none of them much to recommend them,\" replied he;\n\"they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy\nhas something more of quickness than her sisters.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Bennet, how _can_ you abuse your own children in such a\nway?]
[You take delight in vexing me.]
[You have no compassion\nfor my poor nerves.]
[\"\n\n\"You mistake me, my dear.]
[I have a high respect for your\nnerves.]
[They are my old friends.]
[I have heard you mention\nthem with consideration these last twenty years at least.]
[\"\n\n\"Ah, you do not know what I suffer.]
[\"\n\n\"But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young\nmen of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.]
[\"\n\n\"It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since\nyou will not visit them.]
[\"\n\n\"Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will\nvisit them all.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour,\nreserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty\nyears had been insufficient to make his wife understand his\ncharacter.]
[_Her_ mind was less difficult to develop.]
[She was a\nwoman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain\ntemper.]
[When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous.]
[The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its\nsolace was visiting and news.]
[Chapter 2\n\n\nMr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr.\nBingley.]
[He had always intended to visit him, though to the last\nalways assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the\nevening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it.]
[It was then disclosed in the following manner.]
[Observing his\nsecond daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly\naddressed her with:\n\n\"I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy.]
[\"\n\n\"We are not in a way to know _what_ Mr. Bingley likes,\" said\nher mother resentfully, \"since we are not to visit.]
[\"\n\n\"But you forget, mamma,\" said Elizabeth, \"that we shall meet\nhim at the assemblies, and that Mrs.]
[Long promised to introduce\nhim.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not believe Mrs.]
[Long will do any such thing.]
[She has two\nnieces of her own.]
[She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I\nhave no opinion of her.]
[\"\n\n\"No more have I,\" said Mr. Bennet; \"and I am glad to find that\nyou do not depend on her serving you.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to\ncontain herself, began scolding one of her daughters.]
[\"Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for Heaven's sake!]
[Have a little\ncompassion on my nerves.]
[You tear them to pieces.]
[\"\n\n\"Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,\" said her father; \"she\ntimes them ill.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not cough for my own amusement,\" replied Kitty fretfully.]
[\"When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?]
[\"\n\n\"To-morrow fortnight.]
[\"\n\n\"Aye, so it is,\" cried her mother, \"and Mrs.]
[Long does not come\nback till the day before; so it will be impossible for her to\nintroduce him, for she will not know him herself.]
[\"\n\n\"Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and\nintroduce Mr. Bingley to _her_.]
[\"\n\n\"Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible, when I am not acquainted\nwith him myself; how can you be so teasing?]
[\"\n\n\"I honour your circumspection.]
[A fortnight's acquaintance is\ncertainly very little.]
[One cannot know what a man really is by\nthe end of a fortnight.]
[But if _we_ do not venture somebody else\nwill; and after all, Mrs.]
[Long and her daughters must stand their\nchance; and, therefore, as she will think it an act of kindness,\nif you decline the office, I will take it on myself.]
[\"\n\nThe girls stared at their father.]
[Mrs. Bennet said only,\n\"Nonsense, nonsense!]
[\"\n\n\"What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?]
[\" cried\nhe.]
[\"Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress\nthat is laid on them, as nonsense?]
[I cannot quite agree with\nyou _there_.]
[What say you, Mary?]
[For you are a young lady of\ndeep reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts.]
[\"\n\nMary wished to say something sensible, but knew not how.]
[\"While Mary is adjusting her ideas,\" he continued, \"let us return\nto Mr.]
[Bingley.]
[\"\n\n\"I am sick of Mr. Bingley,\" cried his wife.]
[\"I am sorry to hear _that_; but why did not you tell me that\nbefore?]
[If I had known as much this morning I certainly would\nnot have called on him.]
[It is very unlucky; but as I have\nactually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now.]
[\"\n\nThe astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of\nMrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when the first\ntumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it was what she\nhad expected all the while.]
[\"How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet!]
[But I knew I should\npersuade you at last.]
[I was sure you loved your girls too well\nto neglect such an acquaintance.]
[Well, how pleased I am!]
[and it\nis such a good joke, too, that you should have gone this morning\nand never said a word about it till now.]
[\"\n\n\"Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose,\" said Mr.\nBennet; and, as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the\nraptures of his wife.]
[\"What an excellent father you have, girls!]
[\" said she, when the\ndoor was shut.]
[\"I do not know how you will ever make him\namends for his kindness; or me, either, for that matter.]
[At our\ntime of life it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to be making\nnew acquaintances every day; but for your sakes, we would do\nanything.]
[Lydia, my love, though you _are_ the youngest, I dare\nsay Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next ball.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[\" said Lydia stoutly, \"I am not afraid; for though I _am_ the\nyoungest, I'm the tallest.]
[\"\n\nThe rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he\nwould return Mr. Bennet's visit, and determining when they\nshould ask him to dinner.]
[Chapter 3\n\n\nNot all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her\nfive daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw\nfrom her husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley.]
[They attacked him in various ways--with barefaced questions,\ningenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the\nskill of them all, and they were at last obliged to accept the\nsecond-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas.]
[Her\nreport was highly favourable.]
[Sir William had been delighted\nwith him.]
[He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely\nagreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next\nassembly with a large party.]
[Nothing could be more delightful!]
[To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love;\nand very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.]
[\"If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at\nNetherfield,\" said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, \"and all the\nothers equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.]
[\"\n\nIn a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit, and sat\nabout ten minutes with him in his library.]
[He had entertained\nhopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of\nwhose beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father.]
[The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the\nadvantage of ascertaining from an upper window that he wore\na blue coat, and rode a black horse.]
[An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and\nalready had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do\ncredit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which\ndeferred it all.]
[Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the\nfollowing day, and, consequently, unable to accept the honour\nof their invitation, etc.  Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted.]
[She could not imagine what business he could have in town so\nsoon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear\nthat he might be always flying about from one place to another,\nand never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be.]
[Lady Lucas\nquieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone\nto London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report\nsoon followed that Mr. Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and\nseven gentlemen with him to the assembly.]
[The girls grieved\nover such a number of ladies, but were comforted the day\nbefore the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve he brought\nonly six with him from London--his five sisters and a cousin.]
[And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of\nonly five altogether--Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband\nof the eldest, and another young man.]
[Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant\ncountenance, and easy, unaffected manners.]
[His sisters were fine\nwomen, with an air of decided fashion.]
[His brother-in-law, Mr.\nHurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon\ndrew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome\nfeatures, noble mien, and the report which was in general\ncirculation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having\nten thousand a year.]
[The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine\nfigure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than\nMr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about\nhalf the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned\nthe tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud;\nto be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his\nlarge estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most\nforbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be\ncompared with his friend.]
[Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the\nprincipal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved,\ndanced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early,\nand talked of giving one himself at Netherfield.]
[Such amiable\nqualities must speak for themselves.]
[What a contrast between\nhim and his friend!]
[Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst\nand once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any\nother lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about\nthe room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party.]
[His\ncharacter was decided.]
[He was the proudest, most disagreeable\nman in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come\nthere again.]
[Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs.\nBennet, whose dislike of his general behaviour was sharpened\ninto particular resentment by his having slighted one of her\ndaughters.]
[Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen,\nto sit down for two dances; and during part of that time,\nMr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to hear a\nconversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the\ndance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.]
[\"Come, Darcy,\" said he, \"I must have you dance.]
[I hate to see\nyou standing about by yourself in this stupid manner.]
[You had\nmuch better dance.]
[\"\n\n\"I certainly shall not.]
[You know how I detest it, unless I am\nparticularly acquainted with my partner.]
[At such an assembly as\nthis it would be insupportable.]
[Your sisters are engaged, and\nthere is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a\npunishment to me to stand up with.]
[\"\n\n\"I would not be so fastidious as you are,\" cried Mr. Bingley,\n\"for a kingdom!]
[Upon my honour, I never met with so many\npleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are\nseveral of them you see uncommonly pretty.]
[\"\n\n\"_You_ are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,\"\nsaid Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.]
[\"Oh!]
[She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!]
[But\nthere is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is\nvery pretty, and I dare say very agreeable.]
[Do let me ask my\npartner to introduce you.]
[\"\n\n\"Which do you mean?]
[\" and turning round he looked for a\nmoment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own\nand coldly said: \"She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to\ntempt _me_; I am in no humour at present to give consequence\nto young ladies who are slighted by other men.]
[You had better\nreturn to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting\nyour time with me.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bingley followed his advice.]
[Mr. Darcy walked off; and\nElizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings toward him.]
[She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends;\nfor she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in\nanything ridiculous.]
[The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole\nfamily.]
[Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much\nadmired by the Netherfield party.]
[Mr. Bingley had danced with\nher twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters.]
[Jane\nwas as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in\na quieter way.]
[Elizabeth felt Jane's pleasure.]
[Mary had heard\nherself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished\ngirl in the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been\nfortunate enough never to be without partners, which was all\nthat they had yet learnt to care for at a ball.]
[They returned,\ntherefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they\nlived, and of which they were the principal inhabitants.]
[They\nfound Mr. Bennet still up.]
[With a book he was regardless of\ntime; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of\ncuriosity as to the events of an evening which had raised such\nsplendid expectations.]
[He had rather hoped that his wife's\nviews on the stranger would be disappointed; but he soon\nfound out that he had a different story to hear.]
[\"Oh!]
[my dear Mr. Bennet,\" as she entered the room, \"we have\nhad a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball.]
[I wish you\nhad been there.]
[Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it.]
[Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought\nher quite beautiful, and danced with her twice!]
[Only think of\n_that_, my dear; he actually danced with her twice!]
[and she was\nthe only creature in the room that he asked a second time.]
[First of all, he asked Miss Lucas.]
[I was so vexed to see him\nstand up with her!]
[But, however, he did not admire her at all;\nindeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck with\nJane as she was going down the dance.]
[So he inquired who she\nwas, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next.]
[Then\nthe two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with\nMaria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two\nsixth with Lizzy, and the _Boulanger_--\"\n\n\"If he had had any compassion for _me_,\" cried her husband\nimpatiently, \"he would not have danced half so much!]
[For God's\nsake, say no more of his partners.]
[O that he had sprained\nhis ankle in the first place!]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[my dear, I am quite delighted with him.]
[He is so\nexcessively handsome!]
[And his sisters are charming women.]
[I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses.]
[I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst's gown--\"\n\nHere she was interrupted again.]
[Mr. Bennet protested against\nany description of finery.]
[She was therefore obliged to seek\nanother branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness\nof spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr.\nDarcy.]
[\"But I can assure you,\" she added, \"that Lizzy does not lose\nmuch by not suiting _his_ fancy; for he is a most disagreeable,\nhorrid man, not at all worth pleasing.]
[So high and so conceited\nthat there was no enduring him!]
[He walked here, and he walked\nthere, fancying himself so very great!]
[Not handsome enough to\ndance with!]
[I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given\nhim one of your set-downs.]
[I quite detest the man.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 4\n\n\nWhen Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been\ncautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her\nsister just how very much she admired him.]
[\"He is just what a young man ought to be,\" said she, \"sensible,\ngood-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!--so\nmuch ease, with such perfect good breeding!]
[\"\n\n\"He is also handsome,\" replied Elizabeth, \"which a young man\nought likewise to be, if he possibly can.]
[His character is thereby\ncomplete.]
[\"\n\n\"I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second\ntime.]
[I did not expect such a compliment.]
[\"\n\n\"Did not you?]
[I did for you.]
[But that is one great difference\nbetween us.]
[Compliments always take _you_ by surprise, and\n_me_ never.]
[What could be more natural than his asking you\nagain?]
[He could not help seeing that you were about five times\nas pretty as every other woman in the room.]
[No thanks to his\ngallantry for that.]
[Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I\ngive you leave to like him.]
[You have liked many a stupider\nperson.]
[\"\n\n\"Dear Lizzy!]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in\ngeneral.]
[You never see a fault in anybody.]
[All the world are\ngood and agreeable in your eyes.]
[I never heard you speak ill of\na human being in your life.]
[\"\n\n\"I would not wish to be hasty in censuring anyone; but I always\nspeak what I think.]
[\"\n\n\"I know you do; and it is _that_ which makes the wonder.]
[With _your_\ngood sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense\nof others!]
[Affectation of candour is common enough--one meets\nwith it everywhere.]
[But to be candid without ostentation or\ndesign--to take the good of everybody's character and make it\nstill better, and say nothing of the bad--belongs to you alone.]
[And so you like this man's sisters, too, do you?]
[Their manners\nare not equal to his.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly not--at first.]
[But they are very pleasing women when\nyou converse with them.]
[Miss Bingley is to live with her\nbrother, and keep his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall\nnot find a very charming neighbour in her.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced; their\nbehaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to please in\ngeneral; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy\nof temper than her sister, and with a judgement too unassailed by\nany attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve\nthem.]
[They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good\nhumour when they were pleased, nor in the power of making\nthemselves agreeable when they chose it, but proud and\nconceited.]
[They were rather handsome, had been educated in\none of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of\ntwenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more\nthan they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and\nwere therefore in every respect entitled to think well of\nthemselves, and meanly of others.]
[They were of a respectable\nfamily in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply\nimpressed on their memories than that their brother's fortune\nand their own had been acquired by trade.]
[Mr. Bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly a\nhundred thousand pounds from his father, who had intended to\npurchase an estate, but did not live to do it.]
[Mr. Bingley\nintended it likewise, and sometimes made choice of his county;\nbut as he was now provided with a good house and the liberty of\na manor, it was doubtful to many of those who best knew the\neasiness of his temper, whether he might not spend the\nremainder of his days at Netherfield, and leave the next\ngeneration to purchase.]
[His sisters were anxious for his having an estate of his own; but,\nthough he was now only established as a tenant, Miss Bingley\nwas by no means unwilling to preside at his table--nor was Mrs.\nHurst, who had married a man of more fashion than fortune, less\ndisposed to consider his house as her home when it suited her.]
[Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years, when he was tempted\nby an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House.]
[He did look at it, and into it for half-an-hour--was pleased with\nthe situation and the principal rooms, satisfied with what the\nowner said in its praise, and took it immediately.]
[Between him and Darcy there was a very steady friendship, in\nspite of great opposition of character.]
[Bingley was endeared to\nDarcy by the easiness, openness, and ductility of his temper,\nthough no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own,\nand though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied.]
[On the\nstrength of Darcy's regard, Bingley had the firmest reliance, and\nof his judgement the highest opinion.]
[In understanding, Darcy\nwas the superior.]
[Bingley was by no means deficient, but Darcy\nwas clever.]
[He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and\nfastidious, and his manners, though well-bred, were not inviting.]
[In that respect his friend had greatly the advantage.]
[Bingley was\nsure of being liked wherever he appeared, Darcy was continually\ngiving offense.]
[The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was\nsufficiently characteristic.]
[Bingley had never met with more\npleasant people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been\nmost kind and attentive to him; there had been no formality, no\nstiffness; he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and, as\nto Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful.]
[Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom\nthere was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had\nfelt the smallest interest, and from none received either attention\nor pleasure.]
[Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she\nsmiled too much.]
[Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so--but still they\nadmired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet\ngirl, and one whom they would not object to know more of.]
[Miss Bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl, and their\nbrother felt authorized by such commendation to think of her as\nhe chose.]
[Chapter 5\n\n\nWithin a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom\nthe Bennets were particularly intimate.]
[Sir William Lucas\nhad been formerly in trade in Meryton, where he had made a\ntolerable fortune, and risen to the honour of knighthood by an\naddress to the king during his mayoralty.]
[The distinction had\nperhaps been felt too strongly.]
[It had given him a disgust\nto his business, and to his residence in a small market town;\nand, in quitting them both, he had removed with his family\nto a house about a mile from Meryton, denominated from that\nperiod Lucas Lodge, where he could think with pleasure of his\nown importance, and, unshackled by business, occupy himself\nsolely in being civil to all the world.]
[For, though elated by his\nrank, it did not render him supercilious; on the contrary, he was\nall attention to everybody.]
[By nature inoffensive, friendly, and\nobliging, his presentation at St. James's had made him courteous.]
[Lady Lucas was a very good kind of woman, not too clever to\nbe a valuable neighbour to Mrs. Bennet.]
[They had several\nchildren.]
[The eldest of them, a sensible, intelligent young\nwoman, about twenty-seven, was Elizabeth's intimate friend.]
[That the Miss Lucases and the Miss Bennets should meet to\ntalk over a ball was absolutely necessary; and the morning after\nthe assembly brought the former to Longbourn to hear and to\ncommunicate.]
[\"_You_ began the evening well, Charlotte,\" said Mrs. Bennet with\ncivil self-command to Miss Lucas.]
[\"_You_ were Mr. Bingley's\nfirst choice.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; but he seemed to like his second better.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her\ntwice.]
[To be sure that _did_ seem as if he admired her--indeed\nI rather believe he _did_--I heard something about it--but I\nhardly know what--something about Mr.]
[Robinson.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps you mean what I overheard between him and Mr. Robinson;\ndid not I mention it to you?]
[Mr. Robinson's asking him how he\nliked our Meryton assemblies, and whether he did not think there\nwere a great many pretty women in the room, and _which_ he thought\nthe prettiest?]
[and his answering immediately to the last\nquestion: 'Oh!]
[the eldest Miss Bennet, beyond a doubt; there\ncannot be two opinions on that point.]
['\"\n\n\"Upon my word!]
[Well, that is very decided indeed--that does\nseem as if--but, however, it may all come to nothing, you know.]
[\"\n\n\"_My_ overhearings were more to the purpose than _yours_, Eliza,\"\nsaid Charlotte.]
[\"Mr. Darcy is not so well worth listening to\nas his friend, is he?--poor Eliza!--to be only just _tolerable_.]
[\"\n\n\"I beg you would not put it into Lizzy's head to be vexed by\nhis ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man, that it\nwould be quite a misfortune to be liked by him.]
[Mrs.]
[Long\ntold me last night that he sat close to her for half-an-hour\nwithout once opening his lips.]
[\"\n\n\"Are you quite sure, ma'am?--is not there a little mistake?]
[\"\nsaid Jane.]
[\"I certainly saw Mr. Darcy speaking to her.]
[\"\n\n\"Aye--because she asked him at last how he liked Netherfield,\nand he could not help answering her; but she said he seemed\nquite angry at being spoke to.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Bingley told me,\" said Jane, \"that he never speaks much,\nunless among his intimate acquaintances.]
[With _them_ he is\nremarkably agreeable.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not believe a word of it, my dear.]
[If he had been so very\nagreeable, he would have talked to Mrs.]
[Long.]
[But I can guess\nhow it was; everybody says that he is eat up with pride, and I\ndare say he had heard somehow that Mrs.]
[Long does not keep\na carriage, and had come to the ball in a hack chaise.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not mind his not talking to Mrs.]
[Long,\" said Miss Lucas,\n\"but I wish he had danced with Eliza.]
[\"\n\n\"Another time, Lizzy,\" said her mother, \"I would not dance\nwith _him_, if I were you.]
[\"\n\n\"I believe, ma'am, I may safely promise you _never_ to dance\nwith him.]
[\"\n\n\"His pride,\" said Miss Lucas, \"does not offend _me_ so much as\npride often does, because there is an excuse for it.]
[One cannot\nwonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune,\neverything in his favour, should think highly of himself.]
[If I\nmay so express it, he has a _right_ to be proud.]
[\"\n\n\"That is very true,\" replied Elizabeth, \"and I could easily\nforgive _his_ pride, if he had not mortified _mine_.]
[\"\n\n\"Pride,\" observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity\nof her reflections, \"is a very common failing, I believe.]
[By\nall that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common\nindeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and\nthat there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of\nself-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real\nor imaginary.]
[Vanity and pride are different things, though\nthe words are often used synonymously.]
[A person may be proud\nwithout being vain.]
[Pride relates more to our opinion of\nourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.]
[\"\n\n\"If I were as rich as Mr. Darcy,\" cried a young Lucas, who\ncame with his sisters, \"I should not care how proud I was.]
[I\nwould keep a pack of foxhounds, and drink a bottle of wine a\nday.]
[\"\n\n\"Then you would drink a great deal more than you ought,\" said\nMrs. Bennet; \"and if I were to see you at it, I should take away\nyour bottle directly.]
[\"\n\nThe boy protested that she should not; she continued to declare\nthat she would, and the argument ended only with the visit.]
[Chapter 6\n\n\nThe ladies of Longbourn soon waited on those of Netherfield.]
[The visit was soon returned in due form.]
[Miss Bennet's\npleasing manners grew on the goodwill of Mrs. Hurst and Miss\nBingley; and though the mother was found to be intolerable,\nand the younger sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of\nbeing better acquainted with _them_ was expressed towards\nthe two eldest.]
[By Jane, this attention was received with the\ngreatest pleasure, but Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in\ntheir treatment of everybody, hardly excepting even her sister,\nand could not like them; though their kindness to Jane, such as it\nwas, had a value as arising in all probability from the influence\nof their brother's admiration.]
[It was generally evident\nwhenever they met, that he _did_ admire her and to _her_ it was\nequally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which\nshe had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a\nway to be very much in love; but she considered with pleasure\nthat it was not likely to be discovered by the world in general,\nsince Jane united, with great strength of feeling, a composure\nof temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner which would\nguard her from the suspicions of the impertinent.]
[She\nmentioned this to her friend Miss Lucas.]
[\"It may perhaps be pleasant,\" replied Charlotte, \"to be able to\nimpose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a\ndisadvantage to be so very guarded.]
[If a woman conceals her\naffection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose\nthe opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor\nconsolation to believe the world equally in the dark.]
[There is\nso much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that\nit is not safe to leave any to itself.]
[We can all _begin_ freely--a\nslight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us\nwho have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement.]
[In nine cases out of ten a women had better show _more_ affection\nthan she feels.]
[Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he\nmay never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.]
[\"\n\n\"But she does help him on, as much as her nature will allow.]
[If I can perceive her regard for him, he must be a simpleton,\nindeed, not to discover it too.]
[\"\n\n\"Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane's disposition as\nyou do.]
[\"\n\n\"But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to\nconceal it, he must find it out.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her.]
[But, though\nBingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many\nhours together; and, as they always see each other in large\nmixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be\nemployed in conversing together.]
[Jane should therefore make\nthe most of every half-hour in which she can command his\nattention.]
[When she is secure of him, there will be more leisure\nfor falling in love as much as she chooses.]
[\"\n\n\"Your plan is a good one,\" replied Elizabeth, \"where nothing is\nin question but the desire of being well married, and if I were\ndetermined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I\nshould adopt it.]
[But these are not Jane's feelings; she is not\nacting by design.]
[As yet, she cannot even be certain of the\ndegree of her own regard nor of its reasonableness.]
[She has\nknown him only a fortnight.]
[She danced four dances with him\nat Meryton; she saw him one morning at his own house, and\nhas since dined with him in company four times.]
[This is not\nquite enough to make her understand his character.]
[\"\n\n\"Not as you represent it.]
[Had she merely _dined_ with him, she\nmight only have discovered whether he had a good appetite; but\nyou must remember that four evenings have also been spent\ntogether--and four evenings may do a great deal.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that\nthey both like Vingt-un better than Commerce; but with respect\nto any other leading characteristic, I do not imagine that much\nhas been unfolded.]
[\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Charlotte, \"I wish Jane success with all my heart;\nand if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she\nhad as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying\nhis character for a twelvemonth.]
[Happiness in marriage is\nentirely  a matter of chance.]
[If the dispositions of the parties\nare ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand,\nit does not advance their felicity in the least.]
[They always\ncontinue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their\nshare of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible\nof the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.]
[\"\n\n\"You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound.]
[You know\nit is not sound, and that you would never act in this way\nyourself.]
[\"\n\nOccupied in observing Mr. Bingley's attentions to her sister,\nElizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming\nan object of some interest in the eyes of his friend.]
[Mr. Darcy\nhad at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at\nher without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he\nlooked at her only to criticise.]
[But no sooner had he made it\nclear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature\nin her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly\nintelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes.]
[To this\ndiscovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.]
[Though he\nhad detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect\nsymmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure\nto be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her\nmanners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught\nby their easy playfulness.]
[Of this she was perfectly unaware;\nto her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere,\nand who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.]
[He began to wish to know more of her, and as a step towards\nconversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with\nothers.]
[His doing so drew her notice.]
[It was at Sir William\nLucas's, where a large party were assembled.]
[\"What does Mr. Darcy mean,\" said she to Charlotte, \"by\nlistening to my conversation with Colonel Forster?]
[\"\n\n\"That is a question which Mr. Darcy only can answer.]
[\"\n\n\"But if he does it any more I shall certainly let him know that I\nsee what he is about.]
[He has a very satirical eye, and if I do not\nbegin by being impertinent myself, I shall soon grow afraid of\nhim.]
[\"\n\nOn his approaching them soon afterwards, though without\nseeming to have any intention of speaking, Miss Lucas defied\nher friend to mention such a subject to him; which immediately\nprovoking Elizabeth to do it, she turned to him and said:\n\n\"Did you not think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself\nuncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Forster\nto give us a ball at Meryton?]
[\"\n\n\"With great energy; but it is always a subject which makes a lady\nenergetic.]
[\"\n\n\"You are severe on us.]
[\"\n\n\"It will be _her_ turn soon to be teased,\" said Miss Lucas.]
[\"I\nam going to open the instrument, Eliza, and you know what\nfollows.]
[\"\n\n\"You are a very strange creature by way of a friend!--always\nwanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody!]
[If my vanity had taken a musical turn, you would have been\ninvaluable; but as it is, I would really rather not sit down\nbefore those who must be in the habit of hearing the very best\nperformers.]
[\"  On Miss Lucas's persevering, however, she added,\n\"Very well, if it must be so, it must.]
[\"  And gravely glancing at\nMr. Darcy, \"There is a fine old saying, which everybody here is of\ncourse familiar with: 'Keep your breath to cool your porridge';\nand I shall keep mine to swell my song.]
[\"\n\nHer performance was pleasing, though by no means capital.]
[After a song or two, and before she could reply to the entreaties\nof several that she would sing again, she was eagerly succeeded\nat the instrument by her sister Mary, who having, in consequence\nof being the only plain one in the family, worked hard for\nknowledge and accomplishments, was always impatient for\ndisplay.]
[Mary had neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given\nher application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and\nconceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of\nexcellence than she had reached.]
[Elizabeth, easy and unaffected,\nhad been listened to with much more pleasure, though not\nplaying half so well; and Mary, at the end of a long concerto,\nwas glad to purchase praise and gratitude by Scotch and Irish\nairs, at the request of her younger sisters, who, with some of the\nLucases, and two or three officers, joined eagerly in dancing at\none end of the room.]
[Mr. Darcy stood near them in silent indignation at such a mode\nof passing the evening, to the exclusion of all conversation, and\nwas too much engrossed by his thoughts to perceive that Sir\nWilliam Lucas was his neighbour, till Sir William thus began:\n\n\"What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy!]
[There is nothing like dancing after all.]
[I consider it as one\nof the first refinements of polished society.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue\namongst the less polished societies of the world.]
[Every savage\ncan dance.]
[\"\n\nSir William only smiled.]
[\"Your friend performs delightfully,\" he\ncontinued after a pause, on seeing Bingley join the group; \"and I\ndoubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself, Mr.]
[Darcy.]
[\"\n\n\"You saw me dance at Meryton, I believe, sir.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed, and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the\nsight.]
[Do you often dance at St.]
[James's?]
[\"\n\n\"Never, sir.]
[\"\n\n\"Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the\nplace?]
[\"\n\n\"It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can\navoid it.]
[\"\n\n\"You have a house in town, I conclude?]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy bowed.]
[\"I had once had some thought of fixing in town myself--for I am\nfond of superior society; but I did not feel quite certain that the\nair of London would agree with Lady Lucas.]
[\"\n\nHe paused in hopes of an answer; but his companion was not\ndisposed to make any; and Elizabeth at that instant moving\ntowards them, he was struck with the action of doing a very\ngallant thing, and called out to her:\n\n\"My dear Miss Eliza, why are you not dancing?]
[Mr. Darcy, you\nmust allow me to present this young lady to you as a very\ndesirable partner.]
[You cannot refuse to dance, I am sure when\nso much beauty is before you.]
[\"  And, taking her hand, he would\nhave given it to Mr. Darcy who, though extremely surprised,\nwas not unwilling to receive it, when she instantly drew back,\nand said with some discomposure to Sir William:\n\n\"Indeed, sir, I have not the least intention of dancing.]
[I entreat\nyou not to suppose that I moved this way in order to beg for a\npartner.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy, with grave propriety, requested to be allowed the\nhonour of her hand, but in vain.]
[Elizabeth was determined; nor\ndid Sir William at all shake her purpose by his attempt at\npersuasion.]
[\"You excel so much in the dance, Miss Eliza, that it is cruel to\ndeny me the happiness of seeing you; and though this gentleman\ndislikes the amusement in general, he can have no objection, I\nam sure, to oblige us for one half-hour.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Darcy is all politeness,\" said Elizabeth, smiling.]
[\"He is, indeed; but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss\nEliza, we cannot wonder at his complaisance--for who would\nobject to such a partner?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth looked archly, and turned away.]
[Her resistance had\nnot injured her with the gentleman, and he was thinking of her\nwith some complacency, when thus accosted by Miss Bingley:\n\n\"I can guess the subject of your reverie.]
[\"\n\n\"I should imagine not.]
[\"\n\n\"You are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many\nevenings in this manner--in such society; and indeed I am quite\nof your opinion.]
[I was never more annoyed!]
[The insipidity, and\nyet the noise--the nothingness, and yet the self-importance of all\nthose people!]
[What would I give to hear your strictures on them!]
[\"\n\n\"You conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you.]
[My mind was\nmore agreeably engaged.]
[I have been meditating on the very\ngreat pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty\nwoman can bestow.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired\nhe would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such\nreflections.]
[Mr. Darcy replied with great intrepidity:\n\n\"Miss Elizabeth Bennet.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Elizabeth Bennet!]
[\" repeated Miss Bingley.]
[\"I am all\nastonishment.]
[How long has she been such a favourite?--and\npray, when am I to wish you joy?]
[\"\n\n\"That is exactly the question which I expected you to ask.]
[A\nlady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to\nlove, from love to matrimony, in a moment.]
[I knew you would\nbe wishing me joy.]
[\"\n\n\"Nay, if you are serious about it, I shall consider the matter is\nabsolutely settled.]
[You will be having a charming mother-in-law,\nindeed; and, of course, she will always be at Pemberley with you.]
[\"\n\nHe listened to her with perfect indifference while she chose to\nentertain herself in this manner; and as his composure convinced\nher that all was safe, her wit flowed long.]
[Chapter 7\n\n\nMr. Bennet's property consisted almost entirely in an estate of\ntwo thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was\nentailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation; and their\nmother's fortune, though ample for her situation in life, could\nbut ill supply the deficiency of his.]
[Her father had been an\nattorney in Meryton, and had left her four thousand pounds.]
[She had a sister married to a Mr. Phillips, who had been a clerk\nto their father and succeeded him in the business, and a brother\nsettled in London in a respectable line of trade.]
[The village of Longbourn was only one mile from Meryton; a\nmost convenient distance for the young ladies, who were usually\ntempted thither three or four times a week, to pay their duty to\ntheir aunt and to a milliner's shop just over the way.]
[The two\nyoungest of the family, Catherine and Lydia, were particularly\nfrequent in these attentions; their minds were more vacant than\ntheir sisters', and when nothing better offered, a walk to\nMeryton was necessary to amuse their morning hours and\nfurnish conversation for the evening; and however bare of news\nthe country in general might be, they always contrived to learn\nsome from their aunt.]
[At present, indeed, they were well\nsupplied both with news and happiness by the recent arrival of\na militia regiment in the neighbourhood; it was to remain the\nwhole winter, and Meryton was the headquarters.]
[Their visits to Mrs. Phillips were now productive of the most\ninteresting intelligence.]
[Every day added something to their\nknowledge of the officers' names and connections.]
[Their\nlodgings were not long a secret, and at length they began to\nknow the officers themselves.]
[Mr. Phillips visited them all, and\nthis opened to his nieces a store of felicity unknown before.]
[They could talk of nothing but officers; and Mr. Bingley's large\nfortune, the mention of which gave animation to their mother,\nwas worthless in their eyes when opposed to the regimentals of\nan ensign.]
[After listening one morning to their effusions on this subject, Mr.\nBennet coolly observed:\n\n\"From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must\nbe two of the silliest girls in the country.]
[I have suspected it\nsome time, but I am now convinced.]
[\"\n\nCatherine was disconcerted, and made no answer; but Lydia,\nwith perfect indifference, continued to express her admiration of\nCaptain Carter, and her hope of seeing him in the course of the\nday, as he was going the next morning to London.]
[\"I am astonished, my dear,\" said Mrs. Bennet, \"that you should\nbe so ready to think your own children silly.]
[If I wished to think\nslightingly of anybody's children, it should not be of my own,\nhowever.]
[\"\n\n\"If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes--but as it happens, they are all of them very clever.]
[\"\n\n\"This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not\nagree.]
[I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every\nparticular, but I must so far differ from you as to think our two\nyoungest daughters uncommonly foolish.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have\nthe sense of their father and mother.]
[When they get to our age, I\ndare say they will not think about officers any more than we do.]
[I remember the time when I liked a red coat myself very well--and,\nindeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a smart young colonel,\nwith five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls I\nshall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked\nvery becoming the other night at Sir William's in his regimentals.]
[\"\n\n\"Mamma,\" cried Lydia, \"my aunt says that Colonel Forster and\nCaptain Carter do not go so often to Miss Watson's as they did\nwhen they first came; she sees them now very often standing in\nClarke's library.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the\nfootman with a note for Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield,\nand the servant waited for an answer.]
[Mrs. Bennet's eyes\nsparkled with pleasure, and she was eagerly calling out, while\nher daughter read,\n\n\"Well, Jane, who is it from?]
[What is it about?]
[What does he\nsay?]
[Well, Jane, make haste and tell us; make haste, my love.]
[\"\n\n\"It is from Miss Bingley,\" said Jane, and then read it aloud.]
[\"MY DEAR FRIEND,--\n\n\"If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa\nand me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest\nof our lives, for a whole day's tete-a-tete between two women\ncan never end without a quarrel.]
[Come as soon as you can on\nreceipt of this.]
[My brother and the gentlemen are to dine with\nthe officers.--Yours ever,\n\n\"CAROLINE BINGLEY\"\n\n\"With the officers!]
[\" cried Lydia.]
[\"I wonder my aunt did not tell\nus of _that_.]
[\"\n\n\"Dining out,\" said Mrs. Bennet, \"that is very unlucky.]
[\"\n\n\"Can I have the carriage?]
[\" said Jane.]
[\"No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems\nlikely to rain; and then you must stay all night.]
[\"\n\n\"That would be a good scheme,\" said Elizabeth, \"if you were\nsure that they would not offer to send her home.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[but the gentlemen will have Mr. Bingley's chaise to go to\nMeryton, and the Hursts have no horses to theirs.]
[\"\n\n\"I had much rather go in the coach.]
[\"\n\n\"But, my dear, your father cannot spare the horses, I am sure.]
[They are wanted in the farm, Mr. Bennet, are they not?]
[\"\n\n\"They are wanted in the farm much oftener than I can get them.]
[\"\n\n\"But if you have got them to-day,\" said Elizabeth, \"my mother's\npurpose will be answered.]
[\"\n\nShe did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that\nthe horses were engaged.]
[Jane was therefore obliged to go on\nhorseback, and her mother attended her to the door with many\ncheerful prognostics of a bad day.]
[Her hopes were answered;\nJane had not been gone long before it rained hard.]
[Her sisters\nwere uneasy for her, but her mother was delighted.]
[The rain\ncontinued the whole evening without intermission; Jane certainly\ncould not come back.]
[\"This was a lucky idea of mine, indeed!]
[\" said Mrs. Bennet more\nthan once, as if the credit of making it rain were all her own.]
[Till\nthe next morning, however, she was not aware of all the felicity\nof her contrivance.]
[Breakfast was scarcely over when a servant\nfrom Netherfield brought the following note for Elizabeth:\n\n\"MY DEAREST LIZZY,--\n\n\"I find myself very unwell this morning, which, I suppose, is to\nbe imputed to my getting wet through yesterday.]
[My kind friends\nwill not hear of my returning till I am better.]
[They insist also\non my seeing Mr. Jones--therefore do not be alarmed if you should\nhear of his having been to me--and, excepting a sore throat and\nheadache, there is not much the matter with me.--Yours, etc.\"\n\n\"Well, my dear,\" said Mr. Bennet, when Elizabeth had read the\nnote aloud, \"if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of\nillness--if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it\nwas all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley, and under your orders.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[I am not afraid of her dying.]
[People do not die of little\ntrifling colds.]
[She will be taken good care of.]
[As long as she\nstays there, it is all very well.]
[I would go and see her if I could\nhave the carriage.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth, feeling really anxious, was determined to go to her,\nthough the carriage was not to be had; and as she was no\nhorsewoman, walking was her only alternative.]
[She declared her\nresolution.]
[\"How can you be so silly,\" cried her mother, \"as to think of such\na thing, in all this dirt!]
[You will not be fit to be seen when you\nget there.]
[\"\n\n\"I shall be very fit to see Jane--which is all I want.]
[\"\n\n\"Is this a hint to me, Lizzy,\" said her father, \"to send for\nthe horses?]
[\"\n\n\"No, indeed, I do not wish to avoid the walk.]
[The distance is\nnothing when one has a motive; only three miles.]
[I shall be back\nby dinner.]
[\"\n\n\"I admire the activity of your benevolence,\" observed Mary, \"but\nevery impulse of feeling should be guided by reason; and, in my\nopinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is\nrequired.]
[\"\n\n\"We will go as far as Meryton with you,\" said Catherine and\nLydia.]
[Elizabeth accepted their company, and the three young\nladies set off together.]
[\"If we make haste,\" said Lydia, as they walked along, \"perhaps\nwe may see something of Captain Carter before he goes.]
[\"\n\nIn Meryton they parted; the two youngest repaired to the lodgings of\none of the officers' wives, and Elizabeth continued her walk alone,\ncrossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles\nand springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding\nherself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty\nstockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise.]
[She was shown into the breakfast-parlour, where all but Jane\nwere assembled, and where her appearance created a great deal\nof surprise.]
[That she should have walked three miles so early\nin the day, in such dirty weather, and by herself, was almost\nincredible to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was\nconvinced that they held her in contempt for it.]
[She was\nreceived, however, very politely by them; and in their brother's\nmanners there was something better than politeness; there was\ngood humour and kindness.]
[Mr. Darcy said very little, and Mr.\nHurst nothing at all.]
[The former was divided between admiration\nof the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion,\nand doubt as to the occasion's justifying her coming so far\nalone.]
[The latter was thinking only of his breakfast.]
[Her inquiries after her sister were not very favourably answered.]
[Miss Bennet had slept ill, and though up, was very feverish, and\nnot well enough to leave her room.]
[Elizabeth was glad to be\ntaken to her immediately; and Jane, who had only been withheld\nby the fear of giving alarm or inconvenience from expressing in\nher note how much she longed for such a visit, was delighted at\nher entrance.]
[She was not equal, however, to much conversation,\nand when Miss Bingley left them together, could attempt little\nbesides expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary kindness\nshe was treated with.]
[Elizabeth silently attended her.]
[When breakfast was over they were joined by the sisters; and\nElizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much\naffection and solicitude they showed for Jane.]
[The apothecary\ncame, and having examined his patient, said, as might be\nsupposed, that she had caught a violent cold, and that they must\nendeavour to get the better of it; advised her to return to bed,\nand promised her some draughts.]
[The advice was followed\nreadily, for the feverish symptoms increased, and her head ached\nacutely.]
[Elizabeth did not quit her room for a moment; nor were\nthe other ladies often absent; the gentlemen being out, they had,\nin fact, nothing to do elsewhere.]
[When the clock struck three, Elizabeth felt that she must go, and\nvery unwillingly said so.]
[Miss Bingley offered her the carriage,\nand she only wanted a little pressing to accept it, when Jane\ntestified such concern in parting with her, that Miss Bingley was\nobliged to convert the offer of the chaise to an invitation to\nremain at Netherfield for the present.]
[Elizabeth most thankfully\nconsented, and a servant was dispatched to Longbourn to\nacquaint the family with her stay and bring back a supply of\nclothes.]
[Chapter 8\n\n\nAt five o'clock the two ladies retired to dress, and at half-past\nsix Elizabeth was summoned to dinner.]
[To the civil inquiries\nwhich then poured in, and amongst which she had the pleasure\nof distinguishing the much superior solicitude of Mr. Bingley's,\nshe could not make a very favourable answer.]
[Jane was by no\nmeans better.]
[The sisters, on hearing this, repeated three or four\ntimes how much they were grieved, how shocking it was to have\na bad cold, and how excessively they disliked being ill\nthemselves; and then thought no more of the matter: and their\nindifference towards Jane when not immediately before them\nrestored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her former dislike.]
[Their brother, indeed, was the only one of the party whom she\ncould regard with any complacency.]
[His anxiety for Jane was\nevident, and his attentions to herself most pleasing, and\nthey prevented her feeling herself so much an intruder as she\nbelieved she was considered by the others.]
[She had very little\nnotice from any but him.]
[Miss Bingley was engrossed by Mr.\nDarcy, her sister scarcely less so; and as for Mr. Hurst, by\nwhom Elizabeth sat, he was an indolent man, who lived only to\neat, drink, and play at cards; who, when he found her to prefer\na plain dish to a ragout, had nothing to say to her.]
[When dinner was over, she returned directly to Jane, and Miss\nBingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room.]
[Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture\nof pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no\nbeauty.]
[Mrs. Hurst thought the same, and added:\n\n\"She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an\nexcellent walker.]
[I shall never forget her appearance this\nmorning.]
[She really looked almost wild.]
[\"\n\n\"She did, indeed, Louisa.]
[I could hardly keep my countenance.]
[Very nonsensical to come at all!]
[Why must _she_ be scampering\nabout the country, because her sister had a cold?]
[Her hair, so\nuntidy, so blowsy!]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches\ndeep in mud, I am absolutely certain; and the gown which had\nbeen let down to hide it not doing its office.]
[\"\n\n\"Your picture may be very exact, Louisa,\" said Bingley; \"but\nthis was all lost upon me.]
[I thought Miss Elizabeth Bennet\nlooked remarkably well when she came into the room this\nmorning.]
[Her dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice.]
[\"\n\n\"_You_ observed it, Mr. Darcy, I am sure,\" said Miss Bingley;\n\"and I am inclined to think that you would not wish to see\n_your_ sister make such an exhibition.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly not.]
[\"\n\n\"To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it\nis, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone!]
[What could\nshe mean by it?]
[It seems to me to show an abominable sort of\nconceited independence, a most country-town indifference to\ndecorum.]
[\"\n\n\"It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing,\" said\nBingley.]
[\"I am afraid, Mr. Darcy,\" observed Miss Bingley in a half\nwhisper, \"that this adventure has rather affected your\nadmiration of her fine eyes.]
[\"\n\n\"Not at all,\" he replied; \"they were brightened by the exercise.]
[\"\nA short pause followed this speech, and Mrs. Hurst began again:\n\n\"I have a excessive regard for Miss Jane Bennet, she is really\na very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well\nsettled.]
[But with such a father and mother, and such low\nconnections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.]
[\"\n\n\"I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney on\nMeryton.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside.]
[\"\n\n\"That is capital,\" added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.]
[\"If they had uncles enough to fill _all_ Cheapside,\" cried\nBingley, \"it would not make them one jot less agreeable.]
[\"\n\n\"But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men\nof any consideration in the world,\" replied Darcy.]
[To this speech Bingley made no answer; but his sisters gave it\ntheir hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at the\nexpense of their dear friend's vulgar relations.]
[With a renewal of tenderness, however, they returned to her\nroom on leaving the dining-parlour, and sat with her till\nsummoned to coffee.]
[She was still very poorly, and Elizabeth\nwould not quit her at all, till late in the evening, when she had\nthe comfort of seeing her sleep, and when it seemed to her rather\nright than pleasant that she should go downstairs herself.]
[On\nentering the drawing-room she found the whole party at loo, and\nwas immediately invited to join them; but suspecting them to be\nplaying high she declined it, and making her sister the excuse,\nsaid she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay\nbelow, with a book.]
[Mr. Hurst looked at her with astonishment.]
[\"Do you prefer reading to cards?]
[\" said he; \"that is rather\nsingular.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Eliza Bennet,\" said Miss Bingley, \"despises cards.]
[She is\na great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.]
[\"\n\n\"I deserve neither such praise nor such censure,\" cried Elizabeth;\n\"I am _not_ a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.]
[\"\n\n\"In nursing your sister I am sure you have pleasure,\" said Bingley;\n\"and I hope it will be soon increased by seeing her quite well.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth thanked him from her heart, and then walked towards\nthe table where a few books were lying.]
[He immediately offered\nto fetch her others--all that his library afforded.]
[\"And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my\nown credit; but I am an idle fellow, and though I have not many,\nI have more than I ever looked into.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with\nthose in the room.]
[\"I am astonished,\" said Miss Bingley, \"that my father should\nhave left so small a collection of books.]
[What a delightful library\nyou have at Pemberley, Mr.]
[Darcy!]
[\"\n\n\"It ought to be good,\" he replied, \"it has been the work of many\ngenerations.]
[\"\n\n\"And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are\nalways buying books.]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days\nas these.]
[\"\n\n\"Neglect!]
[I am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the\nbeauties of that noble place.]
[Charles, when you build _your_\nhouse, I wish it may be half as delightful as Pemberley.]
[\"\n\n\"I wish it may.]
[\"\n\n\"But I would really advise you to make your purchase in that\nneighbourhood, and take Pemberley for a kind of model.]
[There\nis not a finer county in England than Derbyshire.]
[\"\n\n\"With all my heart; I will buy Pemberley itself if Darcy will\nsell it.]
[\"\n\n\"I am talking of possibilities, Charles.]
[\"\n\n\"Upon my word, Caroline, I should think it more possible to get\nPemberley by purchase than by imitation.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was so much caught with what passed, as to leave her\nvery little attention for her book; and soon laying it wholly\naside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself\nbetween Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game.]
[\"Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?]
[\" said Miss\nBingley; \"will she be as tall as I am?]
[\"\n\n\"I think she will.]
[She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet's\nheight, or rather taller.]
[\"\n\n\"How I long to see her again!]
[I never met with anybody who\ndelighted me so much.]
[Such a countenance, such manners!]
[And\nso extremely accomplished for her age!]
[Her performance on the\npianoforte is exquisite.]
[\"\n\n\"It is amazing to me,\" said Bingley, \"how young ladies can have\npatience to be so very accomplished as they all are.]
[\"\n\n\"All young ladies accomplished!]
[My dear Charles, what do you mean?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, all of them, I think.]
[They all paint tables, cover screens,\nand net purses.]
[I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this,\nand I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first\ntime, without being informed that she was very accomplished.]
[\"\n\n\"Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,\" said Darcy,\n\"has too much truth.]
[The word is applied to many a woman who\ndeserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering\na screen.]
[But I am very far from agreeing with you in your\nestimation of ladies in general.]
[I cannot boast of knowing\nmore than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance,\nthat are really accomplished.]
[\"\n\n\"Nor I, I am sure,\" said Miss Bingley.]
[\"Then,\" observed Elizabeth, \"you must comprehend a great deal\nin your idea of an accomplished woman.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[certainly,\" cried his faithful assistant, \"no one can be really\nesteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is\nusually met with.]
[A woman must have a thorough knowledge of\nmusic, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to\ndeserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain\nsomething in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her\nvoice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but\nhalf-deserved.]
[\"\n\n\"All this she must possess,\" added Darcy, \"and to all this she\nmust yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of\nher mind by extensive reading.]
[\"\n\n\"I am no longer surprised at your knowing _only_ six accomplished\nwomen.]
[I rather wonder now at your knowing _any_.]
[\"\n\n\"Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility\nof all this?]
[\"\n\n\"I never saw such a woman.]
[I never saw such capacity, and\ntaste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice\nof her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew\nmany women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst\ncalled them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention\nto what was going forward.]
[As all conversation was thereby at\nan end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room.]
[\"Elizabeth Bennet,\" said Miss Bingley, when the door was\nclosed on her, \"is one of those young ladies who seek to\nrecommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their\nown; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds.]
[But, in my\nopinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.]
[\"\n\n\"Undoubtedly,\" replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly\naddressed, \"there is a meanness in _all_ the arts which ladies\nsometimes condescend to employ for captivation.]
[Whatever\nbears affinity to cunning is despicable.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to\ncontinue the subject.]
[Elizabeth joined them again only to say that her sister was worse,\nand that she could not leave her.]
[Bingley urged Mr. Jones being\nsent for immediately; while his sisters, convinced that no country\nadvice could be of any service, recommended an express to town for\none of the most eminent physicians.]
[This she would not hear of;\nbut she was not so unwilling to comply with their brother's\nproposal; and it was settled that Mr. Jones should be sent for\nearly in the morning, if Miss Bennet were not decidedly better.]
[Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared that they\nwere miserable.]
[They solaced their wretchedness, however, by\nduets after supper, while he could find no better relief to his\nfeelings than by giving his housekeeper directions that every\nattention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister.]
[Chapter 9\n\n\nElizabeth passed the chief of the night in her sister's room, and\nin the morning had the pleasure of being able to send a tolerable\nanswer to the inquiries which she very early received from Mr.\nBingley by a housemaid, and some time afterwards from the two\nelegant ladies who waited on his sisters.]
[In spite of this\namendment, however, she requested to have a note sent to Longbourn,\ndesiring her mother to visit Jane, and form her own judgement of\nher situation.]
[The note was immediately dispatched, and its\ncontents as quickly complied with.]
[Mrs. Bennet, accompanied by\nher two youngest girls, reached Netherfield soon after the family\nbreakfast.]
[Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would\nhave been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that\nher illness was not alarming, she had no wish of her recovering\nimmediately, as her restoration to health would probably remove\nher from Netherfield.]
[She would not listen, therefore, to her\ndaughter's proposal of being carried home; neither did the\napothecary, who arrived about the same time, think it at all\nadvisable.]
[After sitting a little while with Jane, on Miss\nBingley's appearance and invitation, the mother and three\ndaughter all attended her into the breakfast parlour.]
[Bingley met\nthem with hopes that Mrs. Bennet had not found Miss Bennet\nworse than she expected.]
[\"Indeed I have, sir,\" was her answer.]
[\"She is a great deal too\nill to be moved.]
[Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her.]
[We must trespass a little longer on your kindness.]
[\"\n\n\"Removed!]
[\" cried Bingley.]
[\"It must not be thought of.]
[My\nsister, I am sure, will not hear of her removal.]
[\"\n\n\"You may depend upon it, Madam,\" said Miss Bingley, with cold\ncivility, \"that Miss Bennet will receive every possible attention\nwhile she remains with us.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet was profuse in her acknowledgments.]
[\"I am sure,\" she added, \"if it was not for such good friends I do\nnot know what would become of her, for she is very ill indeed,\nand suffers a vast deal, though with the greatest patience in the\nworld, which is always the way with her, for she has, without\nexception, the sweetest temper I have ever met with.]
[I often tell\nmy other girls they are nothing to _her_.]
[You have a sweet room\nhere, Mr. Bingley, and a charming prospect over the gravel walk.]
[I do not know a place in the country that is equal to Netherfield.]
[You will not think of quitting it in a hurry, I hope, though you\nhave but a short lease.]
[\"\n\n\"Whatever I do is done in a hurry,\" replied he; \"and therefore if I\nshould resolve to quit Netherfield, I should probably be off in\nfive minutes.]
[At present, however, I consider myself as quite\nfixed here.]
[\"\n\n\"That is exactly what I should have supposed of you,\" said\nElizabeth.]
[\"You begin to comprehend me, do you?]
[\" cried he, turning\ntowards her.]
[\"Oh!]
[yes--I understand you perfectly.]
[\"\n\n\"I wish I might take this for a compliment; but to be so easily\nseen through I am afraid is pitiful.]
[\"\n\n\"That is as it happens.]
[It does not follow that a deep, intricate\ncharacter is more or less estimable than such a one as yours.]
[\"\n\n\"Lizzy,\" cried her mother, \"remember where you are, and do not\nrun on in the wild manner that you are suffered to do at home.]
[\"\n\n\"I did not know before,\" continued Bingley immediately, \"that\nyou were a studier of character.]
[It must be an amusing study.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, but intricate characters are the _most_ amusing.]
[They\nhave at least that advantage.]
[\"\n\n\"The country,\" said Darcy, \"can in general supply but a few\nsubjects for such a study.]
[In a country neighbourhood you move\nin a very confined and unvarying society.]
[\"\n\n\"But people themselves alter so much, that there is something\nnew to be observed in them for ever.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" cried Mrs. Bennet, offended by his manner of\nmentioning a country neighbourhood.]
[\"I assure you there is\nquite as much of _that_ going on in the country as in town.]
[\"\n\nEverybody was surprised, and Darcy, after looking at her for a\nmoment, turned silently away.]
[Mrs. Bennet, who fancied she\nhad gained a complete victory over him, continued her triumph.]
[\"I cannot see that London has any great advantage over the\ncountry, for my part, except the shops and public places.]
[The\ncountry is a vast deal pleasanter, is it not, Mr.]
[Bingley?]
[\"\n\n\"When I am in the country,\" he replied, \"I never wish to leave it;\nand when I am in town it is pretty much the same.]
[They have\neach their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either.]
[\"\n\n\"Aye--that is because you have the right disposition.]
[But that\ngentleman,\" looking at Darcy, \"seemed to think the country was\nnothing at all.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed, Mamma, you are mistaken,\" said Elizabeth, blushing for\nher mother.]
[\"You quite mistook Mr. Darcy.]
[He only meant that\nthere was not such a variety of people to be met with in the\ncountry as in the town, which you must acknowledge to be\ntrue.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly, my dear, nobody said there were; but as to not\nmeeting with many people in this neighbourhood, I believe\nthere are few neighbourhoods larger.]
[I know we dine with\nfour-and-twenty families.]
[\"\n\nNothing but concern for Elizabeth could enable Bingley to keep\nhis countenance.]
[His sister was less delicate, and directed her\neyes towards Mr. Darcy with a very expressive smile.]
[Elizabeth,\nfor the sake of saying something that might turn her mother's\nthoughts, now asked her if Charlotte Lucas had been at\nLongbourn since _her_ coming away.]
[\"Yes, she called yesterday with her father.]
[What an agreeable\nman Sir William is, Mr. Bingley, is not he?]
[So much the man of\nfashion!]
[So genteel and easy!]
[He had always something to say\nto everybody.]
[_That_ is my idea of good breeding; and those\npersons who fancy themselves very important, and never open\ntheir mouths, quite mistake the matter.]
[\"\n\n\"Did Charlotte dine with you?]
[\"\n\n\"No, she would go home.]
[I fancy she was wanted about the\nmince-pies.]
[For my part, Mr. Bingley, I always keep servants\nthat can do their own work; _my_ daughters are brought up very\ndifferently.]
[But everybody is to judge for themselves, and the\nLucases are a very good sort of girls, I assure you.]
[It is a pity\nthey are not handsome!]
[Not that I think Charlotte so _very_\nplain--but then she is our particular friend.]
[\"\n\n\"She seems a very pleasant young woman.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[dear, yes; but you must own she is very plain.]
[Lady Lucas\nherself has often said so, and envied me Jane's beauty.]
[I do not\nlike to boast of my own child, but to be sure, Jane--one does\nnot often see anybody better looking.]
[It is what everybody says.]
[I do not trust my own partiality.]
[When she was only fifteen,\nthere was a man at my brother Gardiner's in town so much in\nlove with her that my sister-in-law was sure he would make her\nan offer before we came away.]
[But, however, he did not.]
[Perhaps he thought her too young.]
[However, he wrote some\nverses on her, and very pretty they were.]
[\"\n\n\"And so ended his affection,\" said Elizabeth impatiently.]
[\"There\nhas been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way.]
[I\nwonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving\naway love!]
[\"\n\n\"I have been used to consider poetry as the _food_ of love,\" said\nDarcy.]
[\"Of  a fine, stout, healthy love it may.]
[Everything nourishes\nwhat is strong already.]
[But if it be only a slight, thin sort of\ninclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it\nentirely away.]
[\"\n\nDarcy only smiled; and the general pause which ensued made\nElizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself\nagain.]
[She longed to speak, but could think of nothing to say;\nand after a short silence Mrs. Bennet began repeating her thanks\nto Mr. Bingley for his kindness to Jane, with an apology for\ntroubling him also with Lizzy.]
[Mr. Bingley was unaffectedly\ncivil in his answer, and forced his younger sister to be civil\nalso, and say what the occasion required.]
[She performed her\npart indeed without much graciousness, but Mrs. Bennet was\nsatisfied, and soon afterwards ordered her carriage.]
[Upon this\nsignal, the youngest of her daughters put herself forward.]
[The\ntwo girls had been whispering to each other during the whole\nvisit, and the result of it was, that the youngest should tax\nMr. Bingley with having promised on his first coming into the\ncountry to give a ball at Netherfield.]
[Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine\ncomplexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her\nmother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early\nage.]
[She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural\nself-consequence, which the attention of the officers, to whom\nher uncle's good dinners, and her own easy manners recommended\nher, had increased into assurance.]
[She was very equal,\ntherefore, to address Mr. Bingley on the subject of the ball, and\nabruptly reminded him of his promise; adding, that it would be\nthe most shameful thing in the world if he did not keep it.]
[His\nanswer to this sudden attack was delightful to their mother's ear:\n\n\"I am perfectly ready, I assure you, to keep my engagement; and\nwhen your sister is recovered, you shall, if you please, name the\nvery day of the ball.]
[But you would not wish to be dancing\nwhen she is ill.]
[\"\n\nLydia declared herself satisfied.]
[\"Oh!]
[yes--it would be much\nbetter to wait till Jane was well, and by that time most likely\nCaptain Carter would be at Meryton again.]
[And when you have\ngiven _your_ ball,\" she added, \"I shall insist on their giving one\nalso.]
[I shall tell Colonel Forster it will be quite a shame if he\ndoes not.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet and her daughters then departed, and Elizabeth\nreturned instantly to Jane, leaving her own and her relations'\nbehaviour to the remarks of the two ladies and Mr. Darcy; the\nlatter of whom, however, could not be prevailed on to join in\ntheir censure of _her_, in spite of all Miss Bingley's witticisms on\n_fine eyes_.]
[Chapter 10\n\n\nThe day passed much as the day before had done.]
[Mrs. Hurst\nand Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the\ninvalid, who continued, though slowly, to mend; and in the\nevening Elizabeth joined their party in the drawing-room.]
[The\nloo-table, however, did not appear.]
[Mr. Darcy was writing, and\nMiss Bingley, seated near him, was watching the progress of his\nletter and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to\nhis sister.]
[Mr. Hurst and Mr. Bingley were at piquet, and Mrs.\nHurst was observing their game.]
[Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently\namused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his\ncompanion.]
[The perpetual commendations of the lady, either on\nhis handwriting, or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length\nof his letter, with the perfect unconcern with which her praises\nwere received, formed a curious dialogue, and was exactly in\nunion with her opinion of each.]
[\"How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!]
[\"\n\nHe made no answer.]
[\"You write uncommonly fast.]
[\"\n\n\"You are mistaken.]
[I write rather slowly.]
[\"\n\n\"How many letters you must have occasion to write in the\ncourse of a year!]
[Letters of business, too!]
[How odious I should\nthink them!]
[\"\n\n\"It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of yours.]
[\"\n\n\"Pray tell your sister that I long to see her.]
[\"\n\n\"I have already told her so once, by your desire.]
[\"\n\n\"I am afraid you do not like your pen.]
[Let me mend it for you.]
[I mend pens remarkably well.]
[\"\n\n\"Thank you--but I always mend my own.]
[\"\n\n\"How can you contrive to write so even?]
[\"\n\nHe was silent.]
[\"Tell your sister I am delighted to hear of her improvement on\nthe harp; and pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with\nher beautiful little design for a table, and I think it infinitely\nsuperior to Miss Grantley's.]
[\"\n\n\"Will you give me leave to defer your raptures till I write again?]
[At present I have not room to do them justice.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[it is of no consequence.]
[I shall see her in January.]
[But do\nyou always write such charming long letters to her, Mr.]
[Darcy?]
[\"\n\n\"They are generally long; but whether always charming it is not\nfor me to determine.]
[\"\n\n\"It is a rule with me, that a person who can write a long letter\nwith ease, cannot write ill.]
[\"\n\n\"That will not do for a compliment to Darcy, Caroline,\" cried\nher brother, \"because he does _not_ write with ease.]
[He studies\ntoo much for words of four syllables.]
[Do not you, Darcy?]
[\"\n\n\"My style of writing is very different from yours.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[\" cried Miss Bingley, \"Charles writes in the most careless\nway imaginable.]
[He leaves out half his words, and blots the\nrest.]
[\"\n\n\"My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express\nthem--by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas\nat all to my correspondents.]
[\"\n\n\"Your humility, Mr. Bingley,\" said Elizabeth, \"must disarm\nreproof.]
[\"\n\n\"Nothing is more deceitful,\" said Darcy, \"than the appearance of\nhumility.]
[It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes\nan indirect boast.]
[\"\n\n\"And which of the two do you call _my_ little recent piece of\nmodesty?]
[\"\n\n\"The indirect boast; for you are really proud of your defects in\nwriting, because you consider them as proceeding from a\nrapidity of thought and carelessness of execution, which, if not\nestimable, you think at least highly interesting.]
[The power of\ndoing anything with quickness is always prized much by the\npossessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of\nthe performance.]
[When you told Mrs. Bennet this morning that\nif you ever resolved upon quitting Netherfield you should be\ngone in five minutes, you meant it to be a sort of panegyric, of\ncompliment to yourself--and yet what is there so very laudable\nin a precipitance which must leave very necessary business\nundone, and can be of no real advantage to yourself or anyone\nelse?]
[\"\n\n\"Nay,\" cried Bingley, \"this is too much, to remember at night all\nthe foolish things that were said in the morning.]
[And yet, upon\nmy honour, I believe what I said of myself to be true, and I\nbelieve it at this moment.]
[At least, therefore, I did not assume\nthe character of needless precipitance merely to show off before\nthe ladies.]
[\"\n\n\"I dare say you believed it; but I am by no means convinced that\nyou would be gone with such celerity.]
[Your conduct would be\nquite as dependent on chance as that of any man I know; and if,\nas you were mounting your horse, a friend were to say,  'Bingley,\nyou had better stay till next week,' you would probably do it,\nyou would probably not go--and at another word, might stay a\nmonth.]
[\"\n\n\"You have only proved by this,\" cried Elizabeth, \"that Mr.\nBingley did not do justice to his own disposition.]
[You have\nshown him off now much more than he did himself.]
[\"\n\n\"I am exceedingly gratified,\" said Bingley, \"by your converting\nwhat my friend says into a compliment on the sweetness of my\ntemper.]
[But I am afraid you are giving it a turn which that\ngentleman did by no means intend; for he would certainly think\nbetter of me, if under such a circumstance I were to give a flat\ndenial, and ride off as fast as I could.]
[\"\n\n\"Would Mr. Darcy then consider the rashness of your original\nintentions as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it?]
[\"\n\n\"Upon my word, I cannot exactly explain the matter; Darcy must\nspeak for himself.]
[\"\n\n\"You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to\ncall mine, but which I have never acknowledged.]
[Allowing the\ncase, however, to stand according to your representation, you\nmust remember, Miss Bennet, that the friend who is supposed to\ndesire his return to the house, and the delay of his plan, has\nmerely desired it, asked it without offering one argument in\nfavour of its propriety.]
[\"\n\n\"To yield readily--easily--to the _persuasion_ of a friend is\nno merit with you.]
[\"\n\n\"To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding\nof either.]
[\"\n\n\"You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the\ninfluence of friendship and affection.]
[A regard for the requester\nwould often make one readily yield to a request, without waiting\nfor arguments to reason one into it.]
[I am not particularly\nspeaking of such a case as you have supposed about Mr.\nBingley.]
[We may as well wait, perhaps, till the circumstance\noccurs before we discuss the discretion of his behaviour\nthereupon.]
[But in general and ordinary cases between friend and\nfriend, where one of them is desired by the other to change a\nresolution of no very great moment, should you think ill of that\nperson for complying with the desire, without waiting to be\nargued into it?]
[\"\n\n\"Will it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject, to\narrange with rather more precision the degree of importance\nwhich is to appertain to this request, as well as the degree of\nintimacy subsisting between the parties?]
[\"\n\n\"By all means,\" cried Bingley; \"let us hear all the particulars,\nnot forgetting their comparative height and size; for that will\nhave more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be\naware of.]
[I assure you, that if Darcy were not such a great tall\nfellow, in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so\nmuch deference.]
[I declare I do not know a more awful object\nthan Darcy, on particular occasions, and in particular places; at\nhis own house especially, and of a Sunday evening, when he has\nnothing to do.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy smiled; but Elizabeth thought she could perceive that\nhe was rather offended, and therefore checked her laugh.]
[Miss\nBingley warmly resented the indignity he had received, in an\nexpostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense.]
[\"I see your design, Bingley,\" said his friend.]
[\"You dislike an\nargument, and want to silence this.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps I do.]
[Arguments are too much like disputes.]
[If you and\nMiss Bennet will defer yours till I am out of the room, I shall\nbe very thankful; and then you may say whatever you like of me.]
[\"\n\n\"What you ask,\" said Elizabeth, \"is no sacrifice on my side; and\nMr. Darcy had much better finish his letter.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy took her advice, and did finish his letter.]
[When that business was over, he applied to Miss Bingley and\nElizabeth for an indulgence of some music.]
[Miss Bingley moved\nwith some alacrity to the pianoforte; and, after a polite request\nthat Elizabeth would lead the way which the other as politely\nand more earnestly negatived, she seated herself.]
[Mrs. Hurst sang with her sister, and while they were thus\nemployed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as she turned\nover some music-books that lay on the instrument, how frequently\nMr. Darcy's eyes were fixed on her.]
[She hardly knew how to\nsuppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a\nman; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her,\nwas still more strange.]
[She could only imagine, however, at last\nthat she drew his notice because there was something more wrong\nand reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any\nother person present.]
[The supposition did not pain her.]
[She\nliked him too little to care for his approbation.]
[After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm\nby a lively Scotch air; and soon afterwards Mr. Darcy, drawing\nnear Elizabeth, said to her:\n\n\"Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such\nan opportunity of dancing a reel?]
[\"\n\nShe smiled, but made no answer.]
[He repeated the question, with\nsome surprise at her silence.]
[\"Oh!]
[\" said she, \"I heard you before, but I could not immediately\ndetermine what to say in reply.]
[You wanted me, I know, to say\n'Yes,' that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste;\nbut I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes,\nand cheating a person of their premeditated contempt.]
[I have,\ntherefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to\ndance a reel at all--and now despise me if you dare.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed I do not dare.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at\nhis gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness\nin her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody;\nand Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he\nwas by her.]
[He really believed, that were it not for the\ninferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.]
[Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be jealous; and her\ngreat anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane received\nsome assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth.]
[She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking her guest, by\ntalking of their supposed marriage, and planning his happiness in\nsuch an alliance.]
[\"I hope,\" said she, as they were walking together in the\nshrubbery the next day, \"you will give your mother-in-law a few\nhints, when this desirable event takes place, as to the advantage\nof holding her tongue; and if you can compass it, do cure the\nyounger girls of running after officers.]
[And, if I may mention so\ndelicate a subject, endeavour to check that little something,\nbordering on conceit and impertinence, which your lady\npossesses.]
[\"\n\n\"Have you anything else to propose for my domestic felicity?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[yes.]
[Do let the portraits of your uncle and aunt Phillips be\nplaced in the gallery at Pemberley.]
[Put them next to your\ngreat-uncle the judge.]
[They are in the same profession, you\nknow, only in different lines.]
[As for your Elizabeth's picture, you\nmust not have it taken, for what painter could do justice to those\nbeautiful eyes?]
[\"\n\n\"It would not be easy, indeed, to catch their expression, but their\ncolour and shape, and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine, might\nbe copied.]
[\"\n\nAt that moment they were met from another walk by Mrs. Hurst\nand Elizabeth herself.]
[\"I did not know that you intended to walk,\" said Miss Bingley,\nin some confusion, lest they had been overheard.]
[\"You used us abominably ill,\" answered Mrs. Hurst, \"running\naway without telling us that you were coming out.]
[\"\n\nThen taking the disengaged arm of Mr. Darcy, she left Elizabeth\nto walk by herself.]
[The path just admitted three.]
[Mr. Darcy felt\ntheir rudeness, and immediately said:\n\n\"This walk is not wide enough for our party.]
[We had better go\ninto the avenue.]
[\"\n\nBut Elizabeth, who had not the least inclination to remain with\nthem, laughingly answered:\n\n\"No, no; stay where you are.]
[You are charmingly grouped, and\nappear to uncommon advantage.]
[The picturesque would be\nspoilt by admitting a fourth.]
[Good-bye.]
[\"\n\nShe then ran gaily off, rejoicing as she rambled about, in the\nhope of being at home again in a day or two.]
[Jane was already\nso much recovered as to intend leaving her room for a couple of\nhours that evening.]
[Chapter 11\n\n\nWhen the ladies removed after dinner, Elizabeth ran up to her\nsister, and seeing her well guarded from cold, attended her into\nthe drawing-room, where she was welcomed by her two friends\nwith many professions of pleasure; and Elizabeth had never seen\nthem so agreeable as they were during the hour which passed\nbefore the gentlemen appeared.]
[Their powers of conversation\nwere considerable.]
[They could describe an entertainment with\naccuracy, relate an anecdote with humour, and laugh at their\nacquaintance with spirit.]
[But when the gentlemen entered, Jane was no longer the first\nobject; Miss Bingley's eyes were instantly turned toward Darcy,\nand she had something to say to him before he had advanced\nmany steps.]
[He addressed himself to Miss Bennet, with a polite\ncongratulation; Mr. Hurst also made her a slight bow, and said\nhe was \"very glad;\" but diffuseness and warmth remained for\nBingley's salutation.]
[He was full of joy and attention.]
[The first\nhalf-hour was spent in piling up the fire, lest she should suffer\nfrom the change of room; and she removed at his desire to the\nother side of the fireplace, that she might be further from the\ndoor.]
[He then sat down by her, and talked scarcely to anyone\nelse.]
[Elizabeth, at work in the opposite corner, saw it all with\ngreat delight.]
[When tea was over, Mr. Hurst reminded his sister-in-law of the\ncard-table--but in vain.]
[She had obtained private intelligence\nthat Mr. Darcy did not wish for cards; and Mr. Hurst soon found\neven his open petition rejected.]
[She assured him that no one\nintended to play, and the silence of the whole party on the\nsubject seemed to justify her.]
[Mr. Hurst had therefore nothing\nto do, but to stretch himself on one of the sofas and go to\nsleep.]
[Darcy took up a book; Miss Bingley did the same; and\nMrs. Hurst, principally occupied in playing with her bracelets\nand rings, joined now and then in her brother's conversation\nwith Miss Bennet.]
[Miss Bingley's attention was quite as much engaged in watching\nMr. Darcy's progress through _his_ book, as in reading her own;\nand she was perpetually either making some inquiry, or looking\nat his page.]
[She could not win him, however, to any conversation;\nhe merely answered her question, and read on.]
[At length, quite\nexhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which\nshe had only chosen because it was the second volume of his,\nshe gave a great yawn and said, \"How pleasant it is to spend an\nevening in this way!]
[I declare after all there is no enjoyment\nlike reading!]
[How much sooner one tires of anything than of a\nbook!]
[When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if\nI have not an excellent library.]
[\"\n\nNo one made any reply.]
[She then yawned again, threw aside her\nbook, and cast her eyes round the room in quest for some\namusement; when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to Miss\nBennet, she turned suddenly towards him and said:\n\n\"By the bye, Charles, are you really serious in meditating a dance\nat Netherfield?]
[I would advise you, before you determine on it,\nto consult the wishes of the present party; I am much mistaken if\nthere are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a\npunishment than a pleasure.]
[\"\n\n\"If you mean Darcy,\" cried her brother, \"he may go to bed, if he\nchooses, before it begins--but as for the ball, it is quite a settled\nthing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough, I\nshall send round my cards.]
[\"\n\n\"I should like balls infinitely better,\" she replied, \"if they\nwere carried on in a different manner; but there is something\ninsufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting.]
[It\nwould surely be much more rational if conversation instead of\ndancing were made the order of the day.]
[\"\n\n\"Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would\nnot be near so much like a ball.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards she got up\nand walked about the room.]
[Her figure was elegant, and she\nwalked well; but Darcy, at whom it was all aimed, was still\ninflexibly studious.]
[In the desperation of her feelings, she\nresolved on one effort more, and, turning to Elizabeth, said:\n\n\"Miss Eliza Bennet, let me persuade you to follow my example,\nand take a turn about the room.]
[I assure you it is very\nrefreshing after sitting so long in one attitude.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was surprised, but agreed to it immediately.]
[Miss\nBingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility;\nMr. Darcy looked up.]
[He was as much awake to the novelty of\nattention in that quarter as Elizabeth herself could be, and\nunconsciously closed his book.]
[He was directly invited to join\ntheir party, but he declined it, observing that he could imagine\nbut two motives for their choosing to walk up and down the\nroom together, with either of which motives his joining them\nwould interfere.]
[\"What could he mean?]
[She was dying to know\nwhat could be his meaning?]
[\"--and asked Elizabeth whether she\ncould at all understand him?]
[\"Not at all,\" was her answer; \"but depend upon it, he means to\nbe severe on us, and our surest way of disappointing him will be\nto ask nothing about it.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bingley, however, was incapable of disappointing Mr.\nDarcy in anything, and persevered therefore in requiring an\nexplanation of his two motives.]
[\"I have not the smallest objection to explaining them,\" said he,\nas soon as she allowed him to speak.]
[\"You either choose this\nmethod of passing the evening because you are in each other's\nconfidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are\nconscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in\nwalking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and if\nthe second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[shocking!]
[\" cried Miss Bingley.]
[\"I never heard anything so\nabominable.]
[How shall we punish him for such a speech?]
[\"\n\n\"Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination,\" said Elizabeth.]
[\"We can all plague and punish one another.]
[Tease him--laugh\nat him.]
[Intimate as you are, you must know how it is to be\ndone.]
[\"\n\n\"But upon my honour, I do _not_.]
[I do assure you that my\nintimacy has not yet taught me _that_.]
[Tease calmness of\nmanner and presence of mind!]
[No, no--feel he may defy us\nthere.]
[And as to laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you\nplease, by attempting to laugh without a subject.]
[Mr. Darcy may\nhug himself.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"That is\nan uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for\nit would be a great loss to _me_ to have many such acquaintances.]
[I dearly love a laugh.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Bingley,\" said he, \"has given me more credit than can be.]
[The wisest and the best of men--nay, the wisest and best of their\nactions--may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first\nobject in life is a joke.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" replied Elizabeth--\"there are such people, but I\nhope I am not one of _them_.]
[I hope I never ridicule what is\nwise and good.]
[Follies and nonsense, whims and\ninconsistencies, _do_ divert me, I own, and I laugh at them\nwhenever I can.]
[But these, I suppose, are precisely what you\nare without.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps that is not possible for anyone.]
[But it has been the\nstudy of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a\nstrong understanding to ridicule.]
[\"\n\n\"Such as vanity and pride.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed.]
[But pride--where there is a\nreal superiority of mind, pride will be always under good\nregulation.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth turned away to hide a smile.]
[\"Your examination of Mr. Darcy is over, I presume,\" said Miss\nBingley; \"and pray what is the result?]
[\"\n\n\"I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect.]
[He owns it himself without disguise.]
[\"\n\n\"No,\" said Darcy, \"I have made no such pretension.]
[I have\nfaults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding.]
[My temper I dare not vouch for.]
[It is, I believe, too little\nyielding--certainly too little for the convenience of the world.]
[I cannot forget the follies and vices of other so soon as I ought,\nnor their offenses against myself.]
[My feelings are not puffed\nabout with every attempt to move them.]
[My temper would perhaps be\ncalled resentful.]
[My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.]
[\"\n\n\"_That_ is a failing indeed!]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"Implacable\nresentment _is_ a shade in a character.]
[But you have chosen your\nfault well.]
[I really cannot _laugh_ at it.]
[You are safe from me.]
[\"\n\n\"There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some\nparticular evil--a natural defect, which not even the best\neducation can overcome.]
[\"\n\n\"And _your_ defect is to hate everybody.]
[\"\n\n\"And yours,\" he replied with a smile, \"is willfully to\nmisunderstand them.]
[\"\n\n\"Do let us have a little music,\" cried Miss Bingley, tired of a\nconversation in which she had no share.]
[\"Louisa, you will not\nmind my waking Mr.]
[Hurst?]
[\"\n\nHer sister had not the smallest objection, and the pianoforte was\nopened; and Darcy, after a few moments' recollection, was not\nsorry for it.]
[He began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too\nmuch attention.]
[Chapter 12\n\n\nIn consequence of an agreement between the sisters, Elizabeth\nwrote the next morning to their mother, to beg that the carriage\nmight be sent for them in the course of the day.]
[But Mrs.\nBennet, who had calculated on her daughters remaining at\nNetherfield till the following Tuesday, which would exactly\nfinish Jane's week, could not bring herself to receive them with\npleasure before.]
[Her answer, therefore, was not propitious, at\nleast not to Elizabeth's wishes, for she was impatient to get\nhome.]
[Mrs. Bennet sent them word that they could not possibly\nhave the carriage before Tuesday; and in her postscript it was\nadded, that if Mr. Bingley and his sister pressed them to stay\nlonger, she could spare them very well.]
[Against staying longer,\nhowever, Elizabeth was positively resolved--nor did she much\nexpect it would be asked; and fearful, on the contrary, as being\nconsidered as intruding themselves needlessly long, she urged\nJane to borrow Mr. Bingley's carriage immediately, and at\nlength it was settled that their original design of leaving\nNetherfield that morning should be mentioned, and the request\nmade.]
[The communication excited many professions of concern; and\nenough was said of wishing them to stay at least till the\nfollowing day to work on Jane; and till the morrow their going\nwas deferred.]
[Miss Bingley was then sorry that she had\nproposed the delay, for her jealousy and dislike of one sister\nmuch exceeded her affection for the other.]
[The master of the house heard with real sorrow that they were\nto go so soon, and repeatedly tried to persuade Miss Bennet that\nit would not be safe for her--that she was not enough recovered;\nbut Jane was firm where she felt herself to be right.]
[To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence--Elizabeth had been\nat Netherfield long enough.]
[She attracted him more than he\nliked--and Miss Bingley was uncivil to _her_, and more teasing\nthan usual to himself.]
[He wisely resolved to be particularly\ncareful that no sign of admiration should _now_ escape him,\nnothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his\nfelicity; sensible that if such an idea had been suggested,\nhis behaviour during the last day must have material weight in\nconfirming or crushing it.]
[Steady to his purpose, he scarcely\nspoke ten words to her through the whole of Saturday, and\nthough they were at one time left by themselves for half-an-hour,\nhe adhered most conscientiously to his book, and would not\neven look at her.]
[On Sunday, after morning service, the separation, so agreeable\nto almost all, took place.]
[Miss Bingley's civility to Elizabeth\nincreased at last very rapidly, as well as her affection for Jane;\nand when they parted, after assuring the latter of the pleasure\nit would always give her to see her either at Longbourn or\nNetherfield, and embracing her most tenderly, she even shook\nhands with the former.]
[Elizabeth took leave of the whole party\nin the liveliest of spirits.]
[They were not welcomed home very cordially by their mother.]
[Mrs. Bennet wondered at their coming, and thought them very\nwrong to give so much trouble, and was sure Jane would have\ncaught cold again.]
[But their father, though very laconic in his\nexpressions of pleasure, was really glad to see them; he had felt\ntheir importance in the family circle.]
[The evening conversation,\nwhen they were all assembled, had lost much of its animation,\nand almost all its sense by the absence of Jane and Elizabeth.]
[They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough-bass\nand human nature; and had some extracts to admire, and some\nnew observations of threadbare morality to listen to.]
[Catherine\nand Lydia had information for them of a different sort.]
[Much\nhad been done and much had been said in the regiment since the\npreceding Wednesday; several of the officers had dined lately\nwith their uncle, a private had been flogged, and it had actually\nbeen hinted that Colonel Forster was going to be married.]
[Chapter 13\n\n\n\"I hope, my dear,\" said Mr. Bennet to his wife, as they were\nat breakfast the next morning, \"that you have ordered a good\ndinner to-day, because I have reason to expect an addition to\nour family party.]
[\"\n\n\"Who do you mean, my dear?]
[I know of nobody that is coming,\nI am sure, unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in--and\nI hope _my_ dinners are good enough for her.]
[I do not believe\nshe often sees such at home.]
[\"\n\n\"The person of whom I speak is a gentleman, and a stranger.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled.]
[\"A gentleman and a stranger!]
[It is\nMr. Bingley, I am sure!]
[Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad\nto see Mr. Bingley.]
[But--good Lord!]
[how unlucky!]
[There is not\na bit of fish to be got to-day.]
[Lydia, my love, ring the bell--I\nmust speak to Hill this moment.]
[\"\n\n\"It is _not_ Mr. Bingley,\" said her husband; \"it is a person whom\nI never saw in the whole course of my life.]
[\"\n\nThis roused a general astonishment; and he had the pleasure of\nbeing eagerly questioned by his wife and his five daughters at\nonce.]
[After amusing himself some time with their curiosity, he thus\nexplained:\n\n\"About a month ago I received this letter; and about a fortnight\nago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy, and\nrequiring early attention.]
[It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who,\nwhen I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he\npleases.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[my dear,\" cried his wife, \"I cannot bear to hear that\nmentioned.]
[Pray do not talk of that odious man.]
[I do think it is\nthe hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be entailed\naway from your own children; and I am sure, if I had been you, I\nshould have tried long ago to do something or other about it.]
[\"\n\nJane and Elizabeth tried to explain to her the nature of an entail.]
[They had often attempted to do it before, but it was a subject\non which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason, and she\ncontinued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an\nestate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man\nwhom nobody cared anything about.]
[\"It certainly is a most iniquitous affair,\" said Mr. Bennet,\n\"and nothing can clear Mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting\nLongbourn.]
[But if you will listen to his letter, you may perhaps\nbe a little softened by his manner of expressing himself.]
[\"\n\n\"No, that I am sure I shall not; and I think it is very impertinent\nof him to write to you at all, and very hypocritical.]
[I hate such\nfalse friends.]
[Why could he not keep on quarreling with you, as\nhis father did before him?]
[\"\n\n\"Why, indeed; he does seem to have had some filial scruples on\nthat head, as you will hear.]
[\"\n\n\"Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent,\n15th October.]
[\"Dear Sir,--\n\n\"The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late\nhonoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I\nhave had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished\nto heal the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own\ndoubts, fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory\nfor me to be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always\npleased him to be at variance.--'There, Mrs.]
[Bennet.]
['--My\nmind, however, is now made up on the subject, for having\nreceived ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to\nbe distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady\nCatherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose\nbounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory\nof this parish, where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean\nmyself with grateful respect towards her ladyship, and be ever\nready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted\nby the Church of England.]
[As a clergyman,  moreover, I feel it\nmy duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all\nfamilies within the reach of my influence; and on these\ngrounds I flatter myself that my present overtures are highly\ncommendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the\nentail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your\nside, and not lead you to reject the offered olive-branch.]
[I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of\ninjuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for\nit, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every\npossible amends--but of this hereafter.]
[If you should have\nno objection to receive me into your house, I propose myself\nthe satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday,\nNovember 18th, by four o'clock, and shall probably trespass on\nyour hospitality till the Saturday se'ennight following, which I\ncan do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from\nobjecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that\nsome other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.--I\nremain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and\ndaughters, your well-wisher and friend,\n\n\"WILLIAM COLLINS\"\n\n\"At four o'clock, therefore, we may expect this peace-making\ngentleman,\" said Mr. Bennet, as he folded up the letter.]
[\"He\nseems to be a most conscientious and polite young man, upon\nmy word, and I doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance,\nespecially if Lady Catherine should be so indulgent as to let\nhim come to us again.]
[\"\n\n\"There is some sense in what he says about the girls, however,\nand if he is disposed to make them any amends, I shall not be\nthe person to discourage him.]
[\"\n\n\"Though it is difficult,\" said Jane, \"to guess in what way he can\nmean to make us the atonement he thinks our due, the wish is\ncertainly to his credit.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was chiefly struck by his extraordinary deference for\nLady Catherine, and his kind intention of christening, marrying,\nand burying his parishioners whenever it were required.]
[\"He must be an oddity, I think,\" said she.]
[\"I cannot make him\nout.--There is something very pompous in his style.--And what\ncan he mean by apologising for being next in the entail?--We\ncannot suppose he would help it if he could.--Could he be a\nsensible man, sir?]
[\"\n\n\"No, my dear, I think not.]
[I have great hopes of finding him\nquite the reverse.]
[There is a mixture of servility and\nself-importance in his letter, which promises well.]
[I am\nimpatient to see him.]
[\"\n\n\"In point of composition,\" said Mary, \"the letter does not seem\ndefective.]
[The idea of the olive-branch perhaps is not wholly\nnew, yet I think it is well expressed.]
[\"\n\nTo Catherine and Lydia, neither the letter nor its writer were\nin any degree interesting.]
[It was next to impossible that their\ncousin should come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some\nweeks since they had received pleasure from the society of a\nman in any other colour.]
[As for their mother, Mr. Collins's\nletter had done away much of her ill-will, and she was preparing\nto see him with a degree of composure which astonished her\nhusband and daughters.]
[Mr. Collins was punctual to his time, and was received with\ngreat politeness by the whole family.]
[Mr. Bennet indeed said\nlittle; but the ladies were ready enough to talk, and Mr. Collins\nseemed neither in need of encouragement, nor inclined to be\nsilent himself.]
[He was a tall, heavy-looking young man of\nfive-and-twenty.]
[His air was grave and stately, and his\nmanners were very formal.]
[He had not been long seated before\nhe complimented Mrs. Bennet on having so fine a family of\ndaughters; said he had heard much of their beauty, but that in\nthis instance fame had fallen short of the truth; and added,\nthat he did not doubt her seeing them all in due time disposed\nof in marriage.]
[This gallantry was not much to the taste of\nsome of his hearers; but Mrs. Bennet, who quarreled with no\ncompliments, answered most readily.]
[\"You are very kind, I am sure; and I wish with all my heart it\nmay prove so, for else they will be destitute enough.]
[Things are\nsettled so oddly.]
[\"\n\n\"You allude, perhaps, to the entail of this estate.]
[\"\n\n\"Ah!]
[sir, I do indeed.]
[It is a grievous affair to my poor girls,\nyou must confess.]
[Not that I mean to find fault with _you_, for\nsuch things I know are all chance in this world.]
[There is no\nknowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed.]
[\"\n\n\"I am very sensible, madam, of the hardship to my fair cousins,\nand could say much on the subject, but that I am cautious of\nappearing forward and precipitate.]
[But I can assure the young\nladies that I come prepared to admire them.]
[At present I will\nnot say more; but, perhaps, when we are better acquainted--\"\n\nHe was interrupted by a summons to dinner; and the girls smiled\non each other.]
[They were not the only objects of Mr. Collins's\nadmiration.]
[The hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture,\nwere examined and praised; and his commendation of everything\nwould have touched Mrs. Bennet's heart, but for the mortifying\nsupposition of his viewing it all as his own future property.]
[The dinner too in its turn was highly admired; and he begged to\nknow to which of his fair cousins the excellency of its cooking\nwas owing.]
[But he was set right there by Mrs. Bennet, who\nassured him with some asperity that they were very well able to\nkeep a good cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in\nthe kitchen.]
[He begged pardon for having displeased her.]
[In a\nsoftened tone she declared herself not at all offended; but he\ncontinued to apologise for about a quarter of an hour.]
[Chapter 14\n\n\nDuring dinner, Mr. Bennet scarcely spoke at all; but when the\nservants were withdrawn, he thought it time to have some\nconversation with his guest, and therefore started a subject in\nwhich he expected him to shine, by observing that he seemed\nvery fortunate in his patroness.]
[Lady Catherine de Bourgh's\nattention to his wishes, and consideration for his comfort,\nappeared very remarkable.]
[Mr. Bennet could not have chosen\nbetter.]
[Mr. Collins was eloquent in her praise.]
[The subject\nelevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner, and with a\nmost important aspect he protested that \"he had never in his life\nwitnessed such behaviour in a person of rank--such affability\nand condescension, as he had himself experienced from Lady\nCatherine.]
[She had been graciously pleased to approve of both\nof the discourses which he had already had the honour of\npreaching before her.]
[She had also asked him twice to dine at\nRosings, and had sent for him only the Saturday before, to make\nup her pool of quadrille in the evening.]
[Lady Catherine was\nreckoned proud by many people he knew, but _he_ had never\nseen anything but affability in her.]
[She had always spoken to\nhim as she would to any other gentleman; she made not the\nsmallest objection to his joining in the society of the\nneighbourhood nor to his leaving the parish occasionally for a\nweek or two, to visit his relations.]
[She had even condescended\nto advise him to marry as soon as he could, provided he chose\nwith discretion; and had once paid him a visit in his humble\nparsonage, where she had perfectly approved all the alterations\nhe had been making, and had even vouchsafed to suggest some\nherself--some shelves in the closet upstairs.]
[\"\n\n\"That is all very proper and civil, I am sure,\" said Mrs. Bennet,\n\"and I dare say she is a very agreeable woman.]
[It is a pity that\ngreat ladies in general are not more like her.]
[Does she live near\nyou, sir?]
[\"\n\n\"The garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only\nby a lane from Rosings Park, her ladyship's residence.]
[\"\n\n\"I think you said she was a widow, sir?]
[Has she any family?]
[\"\n\n\"She has only one daughter, the heiress of Rosings, and of very\nextensive property.]
[\"\n\n\"Ah!]
[\" said Mrs. Bennet, shaking her head, \"then she is better off\nthan many girls.]
[And what sort of young lady is she?]
[Is she\nhandsome?]
[\"\n\n\"She is a most charming young lady indeed.]
[Lady Catherine\nherself says that, in point of true beauty, Miss de Bourgh is far\nsuperior to the handsomest of her sex, because there is that in\nher features which marks the young lady of distinguished birth.]
[She is unfortunately of a sickly constitution, which has prevented\nher from making that progress in many accomplishments which\nshe could not have otherwise failed of, as I am informed by the\nlady who superintended her education, and who still resides with\nthem.]
[But she is perfectly amiable, and often condescends to\ndrive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.]
[\"\n\n\"Has she been presented?]
[I do not remember her name among\nthe ladies at court.]
[\"\n\n\"Her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her being\nin town; and by that means, as I told Lady Catherine one day,\nhas deprived the British court of its brightest ornaments.]
[Her ladyship seemed pleased with the idea; and you may imagine\nthat I am happy on every occasion to offer those little\ndelicate compliments which are always acceptable to ladies.]
[I have more than once observed to Lady Catherine, that her\ncharming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that the\nmost elevated rank, instead of giving her consequence, would\nbe adorned by her.]
[These are the kind of little things which\nplease her ladyship, and it is a sort of attention which I\nconceive myself peculiarly bound to pay.]
[\"\n\n\"You judge very properly,\" said Mr. Bennet, \"and it is happy for\nyou that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy.]
[May I\nask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse\nof the moment, or are the result of previous study?]
[\"\n\n\"They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time, and though\nI sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such\nlittle elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions,\nI always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet's expectations were fully answered.]
[His cousin was\nas absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with the\nkeenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most\nresolute composure of countenance, and, except in an occasional\nglance at Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure.]
[By tea-time, however, the dose had been enough, and Mr.\nBennet was glad to take his guest into the drawing-room again,\nand, when tea was over, glad to invite him to read aloud to the\nladies.]
[Mr. Collins readily assented, and a book was produced;\nbut, on beholding it (for everything announced it to be from a\ncirculating library), he started back, and begging pardon,\nprotested that he never read novels.]
[Kitty stared at him, and\nLydia exclaimed.]
[Other books were produced, and after some\ndeliberation he chose Fordyce's Sermons.]
[Lydia gaped as he\nopened the volume, and before he had, with very monotonous\nsolemnity, read three pages, she interrupted him with:\n\n\"Do you know, mamma, that my uncle Phillips talks of turning\naway Richard; and if he does, Colonel Forster will hire him.]
[My\naunt told me so herself on Saturday.]
[I shall walk to Meryton\nto-morrow to hear more about it, and to ask when Mr. Denny\ncomes back from town.]
[\"\n\nLydia was bid by her two eldest sisters to hold her tongue; but\nMr. Collins, much offended, laid aside his book, and said:\n\n\"I have often observed how little young ladies are interested by\nbooks of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit.]
[It amazes me, I confess; for, certainly, there can be nothing so\nadvantageous to them as instruction.]
[But I will no longer\nimportune my young cousin.]
[\"\n\nThen turning to Mr. Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist\nat backgammon.]
[Mr. Bennet accepted the challenge, observing\nthat he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling\namusements.]
[Mrs. Bennet and her daughters apologised most\ncivilly for Lydia's interruption, and promised that it should not\noccur again, if he would resume his book; but Mr. Collins, after\nassuring them that he bore his young cousin no ill-will, and\nshould never resent her behaviour as any affront, seated himself\nat another table with Mr. Bennet, and prepared for backgammon.]
[Chapter 15\n\n\nMr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature\nhad been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest\npart of his life having been spent under the guidance of an\nilliterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of\nthe universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without\nforming at it any useful acquaintance.]
[The subjection in which\nhis father had brought him up had given him originally great\nhumility of manner; but it was now a good deal counteracted by\nthe self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the\nconsequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity.]
[A\nfortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de\nBourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect\nwhich he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his\npatroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his\nauthority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him\naltogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness,\nself-importance and humility.]
[Having now a good house and a very sufficient income, he\nintended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the\nLongbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose\none of the daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable\nas they were represented by common report.]
[This was his plan\nof amends--of atonement--for inheriting their father's estate;\nand he thought it an excellent one, full of eligibility and\nsuitableness, and excessively generous and disinterested on his\nown part.]
[His plan did not vary on seeing them.]
[Miss Bennet's lovely face\nconfirmed his views, and established all his strictest notions of\nwhat was due to seniority; and for the first evening _she_ was his\nsettled choice.]
[The next morning, however, made an alteration;\nfor in a quarter of an hour's tete-a-tete with Mrs. Bennet before\nbreakfast, a conversation beginning with his parsonage-house,\nand leading naturally to the avowal of his hopes, that a mistress\nmight be found for it at Longbourn, produced from her, amid\nvery complaisant smiles and general encouragement, a caution\nagainst the very Jane he had fixed on.]
[\"As to her _younger_\ndaughters, she could not take upon her to say--she could not\npositively answer--but she did not _know_ of any prepossession;\nher _eldest_ daughter, she must just mention--she felt it\nincumbent on her to hint, was likely to be very soon engaged.]
[\"\n\nMr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth--and it\nwas soon done--done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire.]
[Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded\nher of course.]
[Mrs. Bennet treasured up the hint, and trusted that she might\nsoon have two daughters married; and the man whom she could\nnot bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good\ngraces.]
[Lydia's intention of walking to Meryton was not forgotten;\nevery sister except Mary agreed to go with her; and Mr. Collins\nwas to attend them, at the request of Mr. Bennet, who was most\nanxious to get rid of him, and have his library to himself; for\nthither Mr. Collins had followed him after breakfast; and there he\nwould continue, nominally engaged with one of the largest folios\nin the collection, but really talking to Mr. Bennet, with little\ncessation, of his house and garden at Hunsford.]
[Such doings\ndiscomposed Mr. Bennet exceedingly.]
[In his library he had been\nalways sure of leisure and tranquillity; and though prepared, as\nhe told Elizabeth, to meet with folly and conceit in every other\nroom of the house, he was used to be free from them there; his\ncivility, therefore, was most prompt in inviting Mr. Collins to\njoin his daughters in their walk; and Mr. Collins, being in fact\nmuch better fitted for a walker than a reader, was extremely\npleased to close his large book, and go.]
[In pompous nothings on his side, and civil assents on that of\nhis cousins, their time passed till they entered Meryton.]
[The\nattention of the younger ones was then no longer to be gained by\nhim.]
[Their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street in\nquest of the officers, and nothing less than a very smart bonnet\nindeed, or a really new muslin in a shop window, could recall\nthem.]
[But the attention of every lady was soon caught by a young man,\nwhom they had never seen before, of most gentlemanlike\nappearance, walking with another officer on the other side of the\nway.]
[The officer was the very Mr. Denny concerning whose\nreturn from London Lydia came to inquire, and he bowed as\nthey passed.]
[All were struck with the stranger's air, all\nwondered who he could be; and Kitty and Lydia, determined if\npossible to find out, led the way across the street, under pretense\nof wanting something in an opposite shop, and fortunately had\njust gained the pavement when the two gentlemen, turning back,\nhad reached the same spot.]
[Mr. Denny addressed them directly,\nand entreated permission to introduce his friend, Mr. Wickham,\nwho had returned with him the day before from town, and he\nwas happy to say had accepted a commission in their corps.]
[This was exactly as it should be; for the young man wanted only\nregimentals to make him completely charming.]
[His appearance\nwas greatly in his favour; he had all the best part of beauty, a\nfine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.]
[The\nintroduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of\nconversation--a readiness at the same time perfectly correct and\nunassuming; and the whole party were still standing and talking\ntogether very agreeably, when the sound of horses drew their\nnotice, and Darcy and Bingley were seen riding down the street.]
[On distinguishing the ladies of the group, the two gentlemen\ncame directly towards them, and began the usual civilities.]
[Bingley was the principal spokesman, and Miss Bennet the\nprincipal object.]
[He was then, he said, on his way to Longbourn\non purpose to inquire after her.]
[Mr. Darcy corroborated it with\na bow, and was beginning to determine not to fix his eyes on\nElizabeth, when they were suddenly arrested by the sight of the\nstranger, and Elizabeth happening to see the countenance of\nboth as they looked at each other, was all astonishment at the\neffect of the meeting.]
[Both changed colour, one looked white,\nthe other red.]
[Mr. Wickham, after a few moments, touched his\nhat--a salutation which Mr. Darcy just deigned to return.]
[What\ncould be the meaning of it?]
[It was impossible to imagine; it was\nimpossible not to long to know.]
[In another minute, Mr. Bingley, but without seeming to have\nnoticed what passed, took leave and rode on with his friend.]
[Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham walked with the young ladies to\nthe door of Mr. Phillip's house, and then made their bows, in\nspite of Miss Lydia's pressing entreaties that they should come\nin, and even in spite of Mrs. Phillips's throwing up the parlour\nwindow and loudly seconding the invitation.]
[Mrs. Phillips was always glad to see her nieces; and the two\neldest, from their recent absence, were particularly welcome, and\nshe was eagerly expressing her surprise at their sudden return\nhome, which, as their own carriage had not fetched them, she\nshould have known nothing about, if she had not happened to\nsee Mr. Jones's shop-boy in the street, who had told her that\nthey were not to send any more draughts to Netherfield because\nthe Miss Bennets were come away, when her civility was\nclaimed towards Mr. Collins by Jane's introduction of him.]
[She\nreceived him with her very best politeness, which he returned\nwith as much more, apologising for his intrusion, without any\nprevious acquaintance with her, which he could not help\nflattering himself, however, might be justified by his relationship\nto the young ladies who introduced him to her notice.]
[Mrs.\nPhillips was quite awed by such an excess of good breeding; but\nher contemplation of one stranger was soon put to an end by\nexclamations and inquiries about the other; of whom, however,\nshe could only tell her nieces what they already knew, that Mr.\nDenny had brought him from London, and that he was to have a\nlieutenant's commission in the ----shire.]
[She had been watching\nhim the last hour, she said, as he walked up and down the street,\nand had Mr. Wickham appeared, Kitty and Lydia would certainly\nhave continued the occupation, but unluckily no one passed\nwindows now except a few of the officers, who, in comparison\nwith the stranger, were become \"stupid, disagreeable fellows.]
[\"\nSome of them were to dine with the Phillipses the next day, and\ntheir aunt promised to make her husband call on Mr. Wickham,\nand give him an invitation also, if the family from Longbourn\nwould come in the evening.]
[This was agreed to, and Mrs.\nPhillips protested that they would have a nice comfortable noisy\ngame of lottery tickets, and a little bit of hot supper afterwards.]
[The prospect of such delights was very cheering, and they parted\nin mutual good spirits.]
[Mr. Collins repeated his apologies in\nquitting the room, and was assured with unwearying civility that\nthey were perfectly needless.]
[As they walked home, Elizabeth related to Jane what she had\nseen pass between the two gentlemen; but though Jane would\nhave defended either or both, had they appeared to be in the\nwrong, she could no more explain such behaviour than her sister.]
[Mr. Collins on his return highly gratified Mrs. Bennet by\nadmiring Mrs. Phillips's manners and politeness.]
[He protested\nthat, except Lady Catherine and her daughter, he had never seen\na more elegant woman; for she had not only received him with\nthe utmost civility, but even pointedly included him in her\ninvitation for the next evening, although utterly unknown to her\nbefore.]
[Something, he supposed, might be attributed to his\nconnection with them, but yet he had never met with so much\nattention in the whole course of his life.]
[Chapter 16\n\n\nAs no objection was made to the young people's engagement\nwith their aunt, and all Mr. Collins's scruples of leaving Mr.\nand Mrs. Bennet for a single evening during his visit were most\nsteadily resisted, the coach conveyed him and his five cousins\nat a suitable hour to Meryton; and the girls had the pleasure of\nhearing, as they entered the drawing-room, that Mr. Wickham\nhad accepted their uncle's invitation, and was then in the house.]
[When this information was given, and they had all taken their\nseats, Mr. Collins was at leisure to look around him and admire,\nand he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the\napartment, that he declared he might almost have supposed\nhimself in the small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings; a\ncomparison that did not at first convey much gratification; but\nwhen Mrs. Phillips understood from him what Rosings was, and\nwho was its proprietor--when she had listened to the description\nof only one of Lady Catherine's drawing-rooms, and found that\nthe chimney-piece alone had cost eight hundred pounds, she felt\nall the force of the compliment, and would hardly have resented\na comparison with the housekeeper's room.]
[In describing to her all the grandeur of Lady Catherine and her\nmansion, with occasional digressions in praise of his own humble\nabode, and the improvements it was receiving, he was happily\nemployed until the gentlemen joined them; and he found in\nMrs. Phillips a very attentive listener, whose opinion of\nhis consequence increased with what she heard, and who was\nresolving to retail it all among her neighbours as soon as she\ncould.]
[To the girls, who could not listen to their cousin,\nand who had nothing to do but to wish for an instrument, and\nexamine their own indifferent imitations of china on the\nmantelpiece, the interval of waiting appeared very long.]
[It was\nover at last, however.]
[The gentlemen did approach, and when\nMr. Wickham walked into the room, Elizabeth felt that she had\nneither been seeing him before, nor thinking of him since, with\nthe smallest degree of unreasonable admiration.]
[The officers of\nthe ----shire were in general a very creditable, gentlemanlike\nset, and the best of them were of the present party; but Mr.\nWickham was as far beyond them all in person, countenance, air,\nand walk, as _they_ were superior to the broad-faced, stuffy\nuncle Phillips, breathing port wine, who followed them into\nthe room.]
[Mr. Wickham was the happy man towards whom almost every\nfemale eye was turned, and Elizabeth was the happy woman by\nwhom he finally seated himself; and the agreeable manner in\nwhich he immediately fell into conversation, though it was only\non its being a wet night, made her feel that the commonest,\ndullest, most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by\nthe skill of the speaker.]
[With such rivals for the notice of the fair as Mr. Wickham and\nthe officers, Mr. Collins seemed to sink into insignificance; to\nthe young ladies he certainly was nothing; but he had still at\nintervals a kind listener in Mrs. Phillips, and was by her\nwatchfulness, most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin.]
[When the card-tables were placed, he had the opportunity of\nobliging her in turn, by sitting down to whist.]
[\"I know little of the game at present,\" said he, \"but I shall be\nglad to improve myself, for in my situation in life--\" Mrs. Phillips\nwas very glad for his compliance, but could not wait for his\nreason.]
[Mr. Wickham did not play at whist, and with ready delight was he\nreceived at the other table between Elizabeth and Lydia.]
[At first\nthere seemed danger of Lydia's engrossing him entirely, for she\nwas a most determined talker; but being likewise extremely fond\nof lottery tickets, she soon grew too much interested in the\ngame, too eager in making bets and exclaiming after prizes to\nhave attention for anyone in particular.]
[Allowing for the\ncommon demands of the game, Mr. Wickham was therefore at leisure\nto talk to Elizabeth, and she was very willing to hear him,\nthough what she chiefly wished to hear she could not hope to be\ntold--the history of his acquaintance with Mr. Darcy.]
[She dared\nnot even mention that gentleman.]
[Her curiosity, however, was\nunexpectedly relieved.]
[Mr. Wickham began the subject himself.]
[He inquired how far Netherfield was from Meryton; and, after\nreceiving her answer, asked in a hesitating manner how long\nMr. Darcy had been staying there.]
[\"About a month,\" said Elizabeth; and then, unwilling to let the\nsubject drop, added, \"He is a man of very large property in\nDerbyshire, I understand.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Mr. Wickham; \"his estate there is a noble one.]
[A clear ten thousand per annum.]
[You could not have met with a\nperson more capable of giving you certain information on that\nhead than myself, for I have been connected with his family in\na particular manner from my infancy.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not but look surprised.]
[\"You may well be surprised, Miss Bennet, at such an assertion,\nafter seeing, as you probably might, the very cold manner of our\nmeeting yesterday.]
[Are you much acquainted with Mr.]
[Darcy?]
[\"\n\n\"As much as I ever wish to be,\" cried Elizabeth very warmly.]
[\"I have spent four days in the same house with him, and I think\nhim very disagreeable.]
[\"\n\n\"I have no right to give _my_ opinion,\" said Wickham, \"as to his\nbeing agreeable or otherwise.]
[I am not qualified to form one.]
[I\nhave known him too long and too well to be a fair judge.]
[It is\nimpossible for _me_ to be impartial.]
[But I believe your opinion\nof him would in general astonish--and perhaps you would not\nexpress it quite so strongly anywhere else.]
[Here you are in your\nown family.]
[\"\n\n\"Upon my word, I say no more _here_ than I might say in any\nhouse in the neighbourhood, except Netherfield.]
[He is not at all\nliked in Hertfordshire.]
[Everybody is disgusted with his pride.]
[You will not find him more favourably spoken of by anyone.]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot pretend to be sorry,\" said Wickham, after a short\ninterruption, \"that he or that any man should not be estimated\nbeyond their deserts; but with _him_ I believe it does not often\nhappen.]
[The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence,\nor frightened by his high and imposing manners, and sees him\nonly as he chooses to be seen.]
[\"\n\n\"I should take him, even on _my_ slight acquaintance, to be an\nill-tempered man.]
[\"  Wickham only shook his head.]
[\"I wonder,\" said he, at the next opportunity of speaking,\n\"whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not at all know; but I _heard_ nothing of his going away\nwhen I was at Netherfield.]
[I hope your plans in favour of the\n----shire will not be affected by his being in the neighbourhood.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[no--it is not for _me_ to be driven away by Mr. Darcy.]
[If\n_he_ wishes to avoid seeing _me_, he must go.]
[We are not on\nfriendly terms, and it always gives me pain to meet him, but I\nhave no reason for avoiding _him_ but what I might proclaim\nbefore all the world, a sense of very great ill-usage, and most\npainful regrets at his being what he is.]
[His father, Miss Bennet,\nthe late Mr. Darcy, was one of the best men that ever breathed,\nand the truest friend I ever had; and I can never be in company\nwith this Mr. Darcy without being grieved to the soul by a\nthousand tender recollections.]
[His behaviour to myself has been\nscandalous; but I verily believe I could forgive him anything and\neverything, rather than his disappointing the hopes and\ndisgracing the memory of his father.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth found the interest of the subject increase, and listened\nwith all her heart; but the delicacy of it prevented further inquiry.]
[Mr. Wickham began to speak on more general topics, Meryton,\nthe neighbourhood, the society, appearing highly pleased with all\nthat he had yet seen, and speaking of the latter with gentle but\nvery intelligible gallantry.]
[\"It was the prospect of constant society, and good society,\" he\nadded, \"which was my chief inducement to enter the ----shire.]
[I knew it to be a most respectable, agreeable corps, and my\nfriend Denny tempted me further by his account of their\npresent quarters, and the very great attentions and excellent\nacquaintances Meryton had procured them.]
[Society, I own, is\nnecessary to me.]
[I have been a disappointed man, and my spirits\nwill not bear solitude.]
[I _must_ have employment and society.]
[A military life is not what I was intended for, but circumstances\nhave now made it eligible.]
[The church _ought_ to have been\nmy profession--I was brought up for the church, and I should at\nthis time have been in possession of a most valuable living, had\nit pleased the gentleman we were speaking of just now.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed!]
[\"\n\n\"Yes--the late Mr. Darcy bequeathed me the next presentation\nof the best living in his gift.]
[He was my godfather, and\nexcessively attached to me.]
[I cannot do justice to his kindness.]
[He meant to provide for me amply, and thought he had done it;\nbut when the living fell, it was given elsewhere.]
[\"\n\n\"Good heavens!]
[\" cried Elizabeth; \"but how could _that_ be?]
[How could his will be disregarded?]
[Why did you not seek legal\nredress?]
[\"\n\n\"There was just such an informality in the terms of the bequest\nas to give me no hope from law.]
[A man of honour could not have\ndoubted the intention, but Mr. Darcy chose to doubt it--or to\ntreat it as a merely conditional recommendation, and to assert that\nI had forfeited all claim to it by extravagance, imprudence--in\nshort anything or nothing.]
[Certain it is, that the living became\nvacant two years ago, exactly as I was of an age to hold it, and\nthat it was given to another man; and no less certain is it, that\nI cannot accuse myself of having really done anything to deserve\nto lose it.]
[I have a warm, unguarded temper, and I may have\nspoken my opinion _of_ him, and _to_ him, too freely.]
[I can recall\nnothing worse.]
[But the fact is, that we are very different sort\nof men, and that he hates me.]
[\"\n\n\"This is quite shocking!]
[He deserves to be publicly disgraced.]
[\"\n\n\"Some time or other he _will_ be--but it shall not be by _me_.]
[Till I can forget his father, I can never defy or expose _him_.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth honoured him for such feelings, and thought him\nhandsomer than ever as he expressed them.]
[\"But what,\" said she, after a pause, \"can have been his motive?]
[What can have induced him to behave so cruelly?]
[\"\n\n\"A thorough, determined dislike of me--a dislike which I cannot\nbut attribute in some measure to jealousy.]
[Had the late Mr.\nDarcy liked me less, his son might have borne with me better;\nbut his father's uncommon attachment to me irritated him, I\nbelieve, very early in life.]
[He had not a temper to bear the sort of\ncompetition in which we stood--the sort of preference which\nwas often given me.]
[\"\n\n\"I had not thought Mr. Darcy so bad as this--though I have\nnever liked him.]
[I had not thought so very ill of him.]
[I had\nsupposed him to be despising his fellow-creatures in general, but\ndid not suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge,\nsuch injustice, such inhumanity as this.]
[\"\n\nAfter a few minutes' reflection, however, she continued,\n\"I _do_ remember his boasting one day, at Netherfield, of the\nimplacability of his resentments, of his having an unforgiving\ntemper.]
[His disposition must be dreadful.]
[\"\n\n\"I will not trust myself on the subject,\" replied Wickham; \"I\ncan hardly be just to him.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was again deep in thought, and after a time exclaimed,\n\"To treat in such a manner the godson, the friend, the favourite\nof his father!]
[\"  She could have added, \"A young man, too,\nlike _you_, whose very countenance may vouch for your being\namiable\"--but she contented herself with, \"and one, too, who\nhad probably been his companion from childhood, connected\ntogether, as I think you said, in the closest manner!]
[\"\n\n\"We were born in the same parish, within the same park; the\ngreatest part of our youth was passed together; inmates of the\nsame house, sharing the same amusements, objects of the same\nparental care.]
[_My_ father began life in the profession which\nyour uncle, Mr. Phillips, appears to do so much credit to--but\nhe gave up everything to be of use to the late Mr. Darcy and\ndevoted all his time to the care of the Pemberley property.]
[He was most highly esteemed by Mr. Darcy, a most intimate,\nconfidential friend.]
[Mr. Darcy often acknowledged himself\nto be under the greatest obligations to my father's active\nsuperintendence, and when, immediately before my father's\ndeath, Mr. Darcy gave him a voluntary promise of providing for\nme, I am convinced that he felt it to be as much a debt of\ngratitude to _him_, as of his affection to myself.]
[\"\n\n\"How strange!]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"How abominable!]
[I wonder\nthat the very pride of this Mr. Darcy has not made him just to\nyou!]
[If from no better motive, that he should not have been too\nproud to be dishonest--for dishonesty I must call it.]
[\"\n\n\"It _is_ wonderful,\" replied Wickham, \"for almost all his actions\nmay be traced to pride; and pride had often been his best friend.]
[It has connected him nearer with virtue than with any other\nfeeling.]
[But we are none of us consistent, and in his behaviour\nto me there were stronger impulses even than pride.]
[\"\n\n\"Can such abominable pride as his have ever done him good?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes.]
[It has often led him to be liberal and generous, to give his\nmoney freely, to display hospitality, to assist his tenants, and\nrelieve the poor.]
[Family pride, and _filial_ pride--for he is very\nproud of what his father was--have done this.]
[Not to appear to\ndisgrace his family, to degenerate from the popular qualities, or\nlose the influence of the Pemberley House, is a powerful motive.]
[He has also _brotherly_ pride, which, with _some_ brotherly\naffection, makes him a very kind and careful guardian of his\nsister, and you will hear him generally cried up as the most\nattentive and best of brothers.]
[\"\n\n\"What sort of girl is Miss Darcy?]
[\"\n\nHe shook his head.]
[\"I wish I could call her amiable.]
[It gives\nme pain to speak ill of a Darcy.]
[But she is too much like her\nbrother--very, very proud.]
[As a child, she was affectionate\nand pleasing, and extremely fond of me; and I have devoted hours\nand hours to her amusement.]
[But she is nothing to me now.]
[She is a handsome girl, about fifteen or sixteen, and, I\nunderstand, highly accomplished.]
[Since her father's death,\nher home has been London, where a lady lives with her, and\nsuperintends her education.]
[\"\n\nAfter many pauses and many trials of other subjects, Elizabeth\ncould not help reverting once more to the first, and saying:\n\n\"I am astonished at his intimacy with Mr. Bingley!]
[How can Mr.\nBingley, who seems good humour itself, and is, I really believe,\ntruly amiable, be in friendship with such a man?]
[How can they\nsuit each other?]
[Do you know Mr.]
[Bingley?]
[\"\n\n\"Not at all.]
[\"\n\n\"He is a sweet-tempered, amiable, charming man.]
[He cannot\nknow what Mr. Darcy is.]
[\"\n\n\"Probably not; but Mr. Darcy can please where he chooses.]
[He\ndoes not want abilities.]
[He can be a conversible companion if he\nthinks it worth his while.]
[Among those who are at all his equals\nin consequence, he is a very different man from what he is to the\nless prosperous.]
[His pride never deserts him; but with the rich\nhe is liberal-minded, just, sincere, rational, honourable, and\nperhaps agreeable--allowing something for fortune and figure.]
[\"\n\nThe whist party soon afterwards breaking up, the players\ngathered round the other table and Mr. Collins took his station\nbetween his cousin Elizabeth and Mrs. Phillips.]
[The usual\ninquiries as to his success was made by the latter.]
[It had not\nbeen very great; he had lost every point; but when Mrs. Phillips\nbegan to express her concern thereupon, he assured her with\nmuch earnest gravity that it was not of the least importance, that\nhe considered the money as a mere trifle, and begged that she\nwould not make herself uneasy.]
[\"I know very well, madam,\" said he, \"that when persons sit down\nto a card-table, they must take their chances of these things, and\nhappily I am not in such circumstances as to make five shillings\nany object.]
[There are undoubtedly many who could not say the\nsame, but thanks to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I am removed\nfar beyond the necessity of regarding little matters.]
[\"\n\nMr. Wickham's attention was caught; and after observing Mr.\nCollins for a few moments, he asked Elizabeth in a low voice\nwhether her relation was very intimately acquainted with the\nfamily of de Bourgh.]
[\"Lady Catherine de Bourgh,\" she replied, \"has very lately given\nhim a living.]
[I hardly know how Mr. Collins was first\nintroduced to her notice, but he certainly has not known her\nlong.]
[\"\n\n\"You know of course that Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady\nAnne Darcy were sisters; consequently that she is aunt to the\npresent Mr.]
[Darcy.]
[\"\n\n\"No, indeed, I did not.]
[I knew nothing at all of Lady Catherine's\nconnections.]
[I never heard of her existence till the day before\nyesterday.]
[\"\n\n\"Her daughter, Miss de Bourgh, will have a very large fortune,\nand it is believed that she and her cousin will unite the two\nestates.]
[\"\n\nThis information made Elizabeth smile, as she thought of poor\nMiss Bingley.]
[Vain indeed must be all her attentions, vain and\nuseless her affection for his sister and her praise of himself,\nif he were already self-destined for another.]
[\"Mr. Collins,\" said she, \"speaks highly both of Lady Catherine\nand her daughter; but from some particulars that he has related\nof her ladyship, I suspect his gratitude misleads him, and that in\nspite of her being his patroness, she is an arrogant, conceited\nwoman.]
[\"\n\n\"I believe her to be both in a great degree,\" replied Wickham;\n\"I have not seen her for many years, but I very well remember that\nI never liked her, and that her manners were dictatorial and\ninsolent.]
[She has the reputation of being remarkably sensible\nand clever; but I rather believe she derives part of her abilities\nfrom her rank and fortune, part from her authoritative manner,\nand the rest from the pride for her nephew, who chooses that\neveryone connected with him should have an understanding of\nthe first class.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth allowed that he had given a very rational account of it,\nand they continued talking together, with mutual satisfaction\ntill supper put an end to cards, and gave the rest of the ladies\ntheir share of Mr. Wickham's attentions.]
[There could be no\nconversation in the noise of Mrs. Phillips's supper party, but\nhis manners recommended him to everybody.]
[Whatever he said,\nwas said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully.]
[Elizabeth\nwent away with her head full of him.]
[She could think of nothing\nbut of Mr. Wickham, and of what he had told her, all the way\nhome; but there was not time for her even to mention his name\nas they went, for neither Lydia nor Mr. Collins were once silent.]
[Lydia talked incessantly of lottery tickets, of the fish she had\nlost and the fish she had won; and Mr. Collins in describing the\ncivility of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, protesting that he did not in\nthe least regard his losses at whist, enumerating all the dishes\nat supper, and repeatedly fearing that he crowded his cousins,\nhad more to say than he could well manage before the carriage\nstopped at Longbourn House.]
[Chapter 17\n\n\nElizabeth related to Jane the next day what had passed between\nMr. Wickham and herself.]
[Jane listened with astonishment and\nconcern; she knew not how to believe that Mr. Darcy could be\nso unworthy of Mr. Bingley's regard; and yet, it was not in her\nnature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable\nappearance as Wickham.]
[The possibility of his having endured\nsuch unkindness, was enough to interest all her tender feelings;\nand nothing remained therefore to be done, but to think well of\nthem both, to defend the conduct of each, and throw into the\naccount of accident or mistake whatever could not be otherwise\nexplained.]
[\"They have both,\" said she, \"been deceived, I dare say, in some\nway or other, of which we can form no idea.]
[Interested people\nhave perhaps misrepresented each to the other.]
[It is, in short,\nimpossible for us to conjecture the causes or circumstances\nwhich may have alienated them, without actual blame on either\nside.]
[\"\n\n\"Very true, indeed; and now, my dear Jane, what have you got\nto say on behalf of the interested people who have probably been\nconcerned in the business?]
[Do clear _them_ too, or we shall be\nobliged to think ill of somebody.]
[\"\n\n\"Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of\nmy opinion.]
[My dearest Lizzy, do but consider in what a\ndisgraceful light it places Mr. Darcy, to be treating his father's\nfavourite in such a manner, one whom his father had promised to\nprovide for.]
[It is impossible.]
[No man of common humanity, no\nman who had any value for his character, could be capable of it.]
[Can his most intimate friends be so excessively deceived in him?]
[Oh!]
[no.]
[\"\n\n\"I can much more easily believe Mr. Bingley's being imposed on,\nthan that Mr. Wickham should invent such a history of himself\nas he gave me last night; names, facts, everything mentioned\nwithout ceremony.]
[If it be not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it.]
[Besides, there was truth in his looks.]
[\"\n\n\"It is difficult indeed--it is distressing.]
[One does not know what\nto think.]
[\"\n\n\"I beg your pardon; one knows exactly what to think.]
[\"\n\nBut Jane could think with certainty on only one point--that Mr.\nBingley, if he _had_ been imposed on, would have much to suffer\nwhen the affair became public.]
[The two young ladies were summoned from the shrubbery,\nwhere this conversation passed, by the arrival of the very\npersons of whom they had been speaking; Mr. Bingley and his\nsisters came to give their personal invitation for the\nlong-expected ball at Netherfield, which was fixed for the\nfollowing Tuesday.]
[The two ladies were delighted to see their\ndear friend again, called it an age since they had met, and\nrepeatedly asked what she had been doing with herself since\ntheir separation.]
[To the rest of the family they paid little\nattention; avoiding Mrs. Bennet as much as possible, saying not\nmuch to Elizabeth, and nothing at all to the others.]
[They were\nsoon gone again, rising from their seats with an activity which\ntook their brother by surprise, and hurrying off as if eager to\nescape from Mrs. Bennet's civilities.]
[The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to\nevery female of the family.]
[Mrs. Bennet chose to consider it as\ngiven in compliment to her eldest daughter, and was particularly\nflattered by receiving the invitation from Mr. Bingley himself,\ninstead of a ceremonious card.]
[Jane pictured to herself a happy\nevening in the society of her two friends, and the attentions of\nher brother; and Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a\ngreat deal with Mr. Wickham, and of seeing a confirmation of\neverything in Mr. Darcy's look and behavior.]
[The happiness\nanticipated by Catherine and Lydia depended less on any single\nevent, or any particular person, for though they each, like\nElizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham,\nhe was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them, and\na ball was, at any rate, a ball.]
[And even Mary could assure her\nfamily that she had no disinclination for it.]
[\"While I can have my mornings to myself,\" said she, \"it is\nenough--I think it is no sacrifice to join occasionally in evening\nengagements.]
[Society has claims on us all; and I profess myself\none of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement\nas desirable for everybody.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth's spirits were so high on this occasion, that though she\ndid not often speak unnecessarily to Mr. Collins, she could not\nhelp asking him whether he intended to accept Mr. Bingley's\ninvitation, and if he did, whether he would think it proper to join\nin the evening's amusement; and she was rather surprised to find\nthat he entertained no scruple whatever on that head, and was\nvery far from dreading a rebuke either from the Archbishop, or\nLady Catherine de Bourgh, by venturing to dance.]
[\"I am by no means of the opinion, I assure you,\" said he, \"that\na ball of this kind, given by a young man of character, to\nrespectable people, can have any evil tendency; and I am so\nfar from objecting to dancing myself, that I shall hope to be\nhonoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of\nthe evening; and I take this opportunity of soliciting yours, Miss\nElizabeth, for the two first dances especially, a preference which\nI trust my cousin Jane will attribute to the right cause, and not\nto any disrespect for her.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth felt herself completely taken in.]
[She had fully\nproposed being engaged by Mr. Wickham for those very dances;\nand to have Mr. Collins instead!]
[her liveliness had never been\nworse timed.]
[There was no help for it, however.]
[Mr. Wickham's\nhappiness and her own were perforce delayed a little longer,\nand Mr. Collins's proposal accepted with as good a grace as she\ncould.]
[She was not the better pleased with his gallantry from\nthe idea it suggested of something more.]
[It now first struck\nher, that _she_ was selected from among her sisters as worthy of\nbeing mistress of Hunsford Parsonage, and of assisting to form\na quadrille table at Rosings, in the absence of more eligible\nvisitors.]
[The idea soon reached to conviction, as she observed\nhis increasing civilities toward herself, and heard his\nfrequent attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity; and\nthough more astonished than gratified herself by this effect\nof her charms, it was not long before her mother gave her to\nunderstand that the probability of their marriage was extremely\nagreeable to _her_.]
[Elizabeth, however, did not choose to take\nthe hint, being well aware that a serious dispute must be the\nconsequence of any reply.]
[Mr. Collins might never make the\noffer, and till he did, it was useless to quarrel about him.]
[If there had not been a Netherfield ball to prepare for and talk\nof, the younger Miss Bennets would have been in a very pitiable\nstate at this time, for from the day of the invitation, to the day\nof the ball, there was such a succession of rain as prevented their\nwalking to Meryton once.]
[No aunt, no officers, no news could\nbe sought after--the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were got\nby proxy.]
[Even Elizabeth might have found some trial of her\npatience in weather which totally suspended the improvement of\nher acquaintance with Mr. Wickham; and nothing less than a\ndance on Tuesday, could have made such a Friday, Saturday,\nSunday, and Monday endurable to Kitty and Lydia.]
[Chapter 18\n\n\nTill Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield, and\nlooked in vain for Mr. Wickham among the cluster of red coats\nthere assembled, a doubt of his being present had never occurred\nto her.]
[The certainty of meeting him had not been checked by\nany of those recollections that might not unreasonably have\nalarmed her.]
[She had dressed with more than usual care, and\nprepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that\nremained unsubdued of his heart, trusting that it was not more\nthan might be won in the course of the evening.]
[But in an\ninstant arose the dreadful suspicion of his being purposely\nomitted for Mr. Darcy's pleasure in the Bingleys' invitation\nto the officers; and though this was not exactly the case, the\nabsolute fact of his absence was pronounced by his friend Denny,\nto whom Lydia eagerly applied, and who told them that Wickham\nhad been obliged to go to town on business the day before, and\nwas not yet returned; adding, with a significant smile, \"I do not\nimagine his business would have called him away just now, if he\nhad not wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here.]
[\"\n\nThis part of his intelligence, though unheard by Lydia, was\ncaught by Elizabeth, and, as it assured her that Darcy was not\nless answerable for Wickham's absence than if her first surmise\nhad been just, every feeling of displeasure against the former\nwas so sharpened by immediate disappointment, that she could\nhardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite inquiries\nwhich he directly afterwards approached to make.]
[Attendance,\nforbearance, patience with Darcy, was injury to Wickham.]
[She\nwas resolved against any sort of conversation with him, and\nturned away with a degree of ill-humour which she could not\nwholly surmount even in speaking to Mr. Bingley, whose blind\npartiality provoked her.]
[But Elizabeth was not formed for ill-humour; and though every\nprospect of her own was destroyed for the evening, it could not\ndwell long on her spirits; and having told all her griefs to\nCharlotte Lucas, whom she had not seen for a week, she was\nsoon able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her\ncousin, and to point him out to her particular notice.]
[The first\ntwo dances, however, brought a return of distress; they were\ndances of mortification.]
[Mr. Collins, awkward and solemn,\napologising instead of attending, and often moving wrong\nwithout being aware of it, gave her all the shame and misery\nwhich a disagreeable partner for a couple of dances can give.]
[The moment of her release from him was ecstasy.]
[She danced next with an officer, and had the refreshment of\ntalking of Wickham, and of hearing that he was universally liked.]
[When those dances were over, she returned to Charlotte Lucas,\nand was in conversation with her, when she found herself\nsuddenly addressed by Mr. Darcy who took her so much by surprise\nin his application for her hand, that, without knowing what she\ndid, she accepted him.]
[He walked away again immediately, and\nshe was left to fret over her own want of presence of mind;\nCharlotte tried to console her:\n\n\"I dare say you will find him very agreeable.]
[\"\n\n\"Heaven forbid!]
[_That_ would be the greatest misfortune of all!]
[To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate!]
[Do not\nwish me such an evil.]
[\"\n\nWhen the dancing recommenced, however, and Darcy approached to\nclaim her hand, Charlotte could not help cautioning her in a\nwhisper, not to be a simpleton, and allow her fancy for Wickham\nto make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man ten times his\nconsequence.]
[Elizabeth made no answer, and took her place in\nthe set, amazed at the dignity to which she was arrived in being\nallowed to stand opposite to Mr. Darcy, and reading in her\nneighbours' looks, their equal amazement in beholding it.]
[They\nstood for some time without speaking a word; and she began to\nimagine that their silence was to last through the two dances,\nand at first was resolved not to break it; till suddenly\nfancying that it would be the greater punishment to her partner\nto oblige him to talk, she made some slight observation on the\ndance.]
[He replied, and was again silent.]
[After a pause of\nsome minutes, she addressed him a second time with:--\"It is\n_your_ turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy.]
[I talked about\nthe dance, and _you_ ought to make some sort of remark on the\nsize of the room, or the number of couples.]
[\"\n\nHe smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say\nshould be said.]
[\"Very well.]
[That reply will do for the present.]
[Perhaps by and\nby I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than\npublic ones.]
[But _now_ we may be silent.]
[\"\n\n\"Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?]
[\"\n\n\"Sometimes.]
[One must speak a little, you know.]
[It would look\nodd to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for\nthe advantage of _some_, conversation ought to be so arranged, as\nthat they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.]
[\"\n\n\"Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do\nyou imagine that you are gratifying mine?]
[\"\n\n\"Both,\" replied Elizabeth archly; \"for I have always seen a great\nsimilarity in the turn of our minds.]
[We are each of an unsocial,\ntaciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say\nsomething that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down\nto posterity with all the eclat of a proverb.]
[\"\n\n\"This is no very striking resemblance of your own character,\nI am sure,\" said he.]
[\"How near it may be to _mine_, I cannot\npretend to say.]
[_You_ think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly.]
[\"\n\n\"I must not decide on my own performance.]
[\"\n\nHe made no answer, and they were again silent till they had gone\ndown the dance, when he asked her if she and her sisters did not\nvery often walk to Meryton.]
[She answered in the affirmative,\nand, unable to resist the temptation, added, \"When you met us\nthere the other day, we had just been forming a new acquaintance.]
[\"\n\nThe effect was immediate.]
[A deeper shade of _hauteur_ overspread\nhis features, but he said not a word, and Elizabeth, though\nblaming herself for her own weakness, could not go on.]
[At\nlength Darcy spoke, and in a constrained manner said, \"Mr.\nWickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his\n_making_ friends--whether he may be equally capable of _retaining_\nthem, is less certain.]
[\"\n\n\"He has been so unlucky as to lose _your_ friendship,\" replied\nElizabeth with emphasis, \"and in a manner which he is likely to\nsuffer from all his life.]
[\"\n\nDarcy made no answer, and seemed desirous of changing the\nsubject.]
[At that moment, Sir William Lucas appeared close to\nthem, meaning to pass through the set to the other side of the\nroom; but on perceiving Mr. Darcy, he stopped with a bow of\nsuperior courtesy to compliment him on his dancing and his\npartner.]
[\"I have been most highly gratified indeed, my dear sir.]
[Such\nvery superior dancing is not often seen.]
[It is evident that you\nbelong to the first circles.]
[Allow me to say, however, that your\nfair partner does not disgrace you, and that I must hope to have\nthis pleasure often repeated, especially when a certain desirable\nevent, my dear Eliza (glancing at her sister and Bingley) shall\ntake place.]
[What congratulations will then flow in!]
[I appeal to\nMr. Darcy:--but let me not interrupt you, sir.]
[You will not\nthank me for detaining you from the bewitching converse of that\nyoung lady, whose bright eyes are also upbraiding me.]
[\"\n\nThe latter part of this address was scarcely heard by Darcy;\nbut Sir William's allusion to his friend seemed to strike him\nforcibly, and his eyes were directed with a very serious\nexpression towards Bingley and Jane, who were dancing together.]
[Recovering himself, however, shortly, he turned to his partner,\nand said, \"Sir William's interruption has made me forget what\nwe were talking of.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not think we were speaking at all.]
[Sir William could not\nhave interrupted two people in the room who had less to say for\nthemselves.]
[We have tried two or three subjects already without\nsuccess, and what we are to talk of next I cannot imagine.]
[\"\n\n\"What think you of books?]
[\" said he, smiling.]
[\"Books--oh!]
[no.]
[I am sure we never read the same, or not with\nthe same feelings.]
[\"\n\n\"I am sorry you think so; but if that be the case, there can at\nleast be no want of subject.]
[We may compare our different\nopinions.]
[\"\n\n\"No--I cannot talk of books in a ball-room; my head is always\nfull of something else.]
[\"\n\n\"The _present_ always occupies you in such scenes--does it?]
[\"\nsaid he, with a look of doubt.]
[\"Yes, always,\" she replied, without knowing what she said,\nfor her thoughts had wandered far from the subject, as soon\nafterwards appeared by her suddenly exclaiming, \"I remember\nhearing you once say, Mr. Darcy, that you hardly ever forgave,\nthat your resentment once created was unappeasable.]
[You are\nvery cautious, I suppose, as to its _being created_.]
[\"\n\n\"I am,\" said he, with a firm voice.]
[\"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?]
[\"\n\n\"I hope not.]
[\"\n\n\"It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their\nopinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.]
[\"\n\n\"May I ask to what these questions tend?]
[\"\n\n\"Merely to the illustration of _your_ character,\" said she,\nendeavouring to shake off her gravity.]
[\"I am trying to make\nit out.]
[\"\n\n\"And what is your success?]
[\"\n\nShe shook her head.]
[\"I do not get on at all.]
[I hear such\ndifferent accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.]
[\"\n\n\"I can readily believe,\" answered he gravely, \"that reports may\nvary greatly with respect to me; and I could wish, Miss Bennet,\nthat you were not to sketch my character at the present moment,\nas there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no\ncredit on either.]
[\"\n\n\"But if I do not take your likeness now, I may never have\nanother opportunity.]
[\"\n\n\"I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours,\" he coldly\nreplied.]
[She said no more, and they went down the other dance\nand parted in silence; and on each side dissatisfied, though not\nto an equal degree, for in Darcy's breast there was a tolerable\npowerful feeling towards her, which soon procured her pardon,\nand directed all his anger against another.]
[They had not long separated, when Miss Bingley came towards\nher, and with an expression of civil disdain accosted her:\n\n\"So, Miss Eliza, I hear you are quite delighted with George\nWickham!]
[Your sister has been talking to me about him, and\nasking me a thousand questions; and I find that the young man\nquite forgot to tell you, among his other communication, that\nhe was the son of old Wickham, the late Mr. Darcy's steward.]
[Let me recommend you, however, as a friend, not to give implicit\nconfidence to all his assertions; for as to Mr. Darcy's using\nhim ill, it is perfectly false; for, on the contrary, he has\nalways been remarkably kind to him, though George Wickham has\ntreated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner.]
[I do not know the\nparticulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the\nleast to blame, that he cannot bear to hear George Wickham\nmentioned, and that though my brother thought that he could not\nwell avoid including him in his invitation to the officers, he\nwas excessively glad to find that he had taken himself out of the\nway.]
[His coming into the country at all is a most insolent thing,\nindeed, and I wonder how he could presume to do it.]
[I pity you,\nMiss Eliza, for this discovery of your favourite's guilt; but\nreally, considering his descent, one could not expect much better.]
[\"\n\n\"His guilt and his descent appear by your account to be the\nsame,\" said Elizabeth angrily; \"for I have heard you accuse him\nof nothing worse than of being the son of Mr. Darcy's steward,\nand of _that_, I can assure you, he informed me himself.]
[\"\n\n\"I beg your pardon,\" replied Miss Bingley, turning away with a\nsneer.]
[\"Excuse my interference--it was kindly meant.]
[\"\n\n\"Insolent girl!]
[\" said Elizabeth to herself.]
[\"You are much\nmistaken if you expect to influence me by such a paltry attack\nas this.]
[I see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and\nthe malice of Mr.]
[Darcy.]
[\"  She then sought her eldest sister, who\nhas undertaken to make inquiries on the same subject of Bingley.]
[Jane met her with a smile of such sweet complacency, a glow of\nsuch happy expression, as sufficiently marked how well she was\nsatisfied with the occurrences of the evening.]
[Elizabeth instantly\nread her feelings, and at that moment solicitude for Wickham,\nresentment against his enemies, and everything else, gave way\nbefore the hope of Jane's being in the fairest way for happiness.]
[\"I want to know,\" said she, with a countenance no less smiling\nthan her sister's, \"what you have learnt about Mr. Wickham.]
[But perhaps you have been too pleasantly engaged to think of\nany third person; in which case you may be sure of my pardon.]
[\"\n\n\"No,\" replied Jane, \"I have not forgotten him; but I have nothing\nsatisfactory to tell you.]
[Mr. Bingley does not know the whole of\nhis history, and is quite ignorant of the circumstances which have\nprincipally offended Mr. Darcy; but he will vouch for the good\nconduct, the probity, and honour of his friend, and is perfectly\nconvinced that Mr. Wickham has deserved much less attention\nfrom Mr. Darcy than he has received; and I am sorry to say by\nhis account as well as his sister's, Mr. Wickham is by no means a\nrespectable young man.]
[I am afraid he has been very imprudent,\nand has deserved to lose Mr. Darcy's regard.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Bingley does not know Mr. Wickham himself?]
[\"\n\n\"No; he never saw him till the other morning at Meryton.]
[\"\n\n\"This account then is what he has received from Mr. Darcy.]
[I am satisfied.]
[But what does he say of the living?]
[\"\n\n\"He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has\nheard them from Mr. Darcy more than once, but he believes that\nit was left to him _conditionally_ only.]
[\"\n\n\"I have not a doubt of Mr. Bingley's sincerity,\" said Elizabeth\nwarmly; \"but you must excuse my not being convinced by\nassurances only.]
[Mr. Bingley's defense of his friend was a very\nable one, I dare say; but since he is unacquainted with several\nparts of the story, and has learnt the rest from that friend\nhimself, I shall venture to still think of both gentlemen as I\ndid before.]
[\"\n\nShe then changed the discourse to one more gratifying to each,\nand on which there could be no difference of sentiment.]
[Elizabeth listened with delight to the happy, though modest\nhopes which Jane entertained of Mr. Bingley's regard, and said\nall in her power to heighten her confidence in it.]
[On their being\njoined by Mr. Bingley himself, Elizabeth withdrew to Miss\nLucas; to whose inquiry after the pleasantness of her last partner\nshe had scarcely replied, before Mr. Collins came up to them,\nand told her with great exultation that he had just been so\nfortunate as to make a most important discovery.]
[\"I have found out,\" said he, \"by a singular accident, that there\nis now in the room a near relation of my patroness.]
[I happened\nto overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who\ndoes the honours of the house the names of his cousin Miss de\nBourgh, and of her mother Lady Catherine.]
[How wonderfully these\nsort of things occur!]
[Who would have thought of my meeting with,\nperhaps, a nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in this assembly!]
[I am most thankful that the discovery is made in time for me to\npay my respects to him, which I am now going to do, and trust\nhe will excuse my not having done it before.]
[My total ignorance\nof the connection must plead my apology.]
[\"\n\n\"You are not going to introduce yourself to Mr.]
[Darcy!]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed I am.]
[I shall entreat his pardon for not having done it\nearlier.]
[I believe him to be Lady Catherine's _nephew_.]
[It will\nbe in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well\nyesterday se'nnight.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth tried hard to dissuade him from such a scheme,\nassuring him that Mr. Darcy would consider his addressing him\nwithout introduction as an impertinent freedom, rather than a\ncompliment to his aunt; that it was not in the least necessary\nthere should be any notice on either side; and that if it were,\nit must belong to Mr. Darcy, the superior in consequence, to\nbegin the acquaintance.]
[Mr. Collins listened to her with the\ndetermined air of following his own inclination, and, when she\nceased speaking, replied thus:\n\n\"My dear Miss Elizabeth, I have the highest opinion in the world\nin your excellent judgement in all matters within the scope of\nyour understanding; but permit me to say, that there must be a\nwide difference between the established forms of ceremony amongst\nthe laity, and those which regulate the clergy; for, give me\nleave to observe that I consider the clerical office as equal in\npoint of dignity with the highest rank in the kingdom--provided\nthat a proper humility of behaviour is at the same time\nmaintained.]
[You must therefore allow me to follow the dictates\nof my conscience on this occasion, which leads me to perform what\nI look on as a point of duty.]
[Pardon me for neglecting to profit\nby your advice, which on every other subject shall be my constant\nguide, though in the case before us I consider myself more fitted\nby education and habitual study to decide on what is right than\na young lady like yourself.]
[\"  And with a low bow he left her to\nattack Mr. Darcy, whose reception of his advances she eagerly\nwatched, and whose astonishment at being so addressed was very\nevident.]
[Her cousin prefaced his speech with a solemn bow and\nthough she could not hear a word of it, she felt as if hearing\nit all, and saw in the motion of his lips the words \"apology,\"\n\"Hunsford,\" and \"Lady Catherine de Bourgh.]
[\"  It vexed her to\nsee him expose himself to such a man.]
[Mr. Darcy was eyeing him\nwith unrestrained wonder, and when at last Mr. Collins allowed\nhim time to speak, replied with an air of distant civility.]
[Mr.\nCollins, however, was not discouraged from speaking again, and\nMr. Darcy's contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length\nof his second speech, and at the end of it he only made him a\nslight bow, and moved another way.]
[Mr. Collins then returned\nto Elizabeth.]
[\"I have no reason, I assure you,\" said he, \"to be dissatisfied\nwith my reception.]
[Mr. Darcy seemed much pleased with the\nattention.]
[He answered me with the utmost civility, and even\npaid me the compliment of saying that he was so well convinced\nof Lady Catherine's discernment as to be certain she could never\nbestow a favour unworthily.]
[It was really a very handsome\nthought.]
[Upon the whole, I am much pleased with him.]
[\"\n\nAs Elizabeth had no longer any interest of her own to pursue,\nshe turned her attention almost entirely on her sister and Mr.\nBingley; and the train of agreeable reflections which her\nobservations gave birth to, made her perhaps almost as happy as\nJane.]
[She saw her in idea settled in that very house, in all the\nfelicity which a marriage of true affection could bestow; and she\nfelt capable, under such circumstances, of endeavouring even to\nlike Bingley's two sisters.]
[Her mother's thoughts she plainly\nsaw were bent the same way, and she determined not to venture\nnear her, lest she might hear too much.]
[When they sat down to\nsupper, therefore, she considered it a most unlucky perverseness\nwhich placed them within one of each other; and deeply was she\nvexed to find that her mother was talking to that one person\n(Lady Lucas) freely, openly, and of nothing else but her\nexpectation that Jane would soon be married to Mr. Bingley.]
[It\nwas an animating subject, and Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable of\nfatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match.]
[His\nbeing such a charming young man, and so rich, and living but\nthree miles from them, were the first points of self-gratulation;\nand then it was such a comfort to think how fond the two sisters\nwere of Jane, and to be certain that they must desire the\nconnection as much as she could do.]
[It was, moreover, such a\npromising thing for her younger daughters, as Jane's marrying so\ngreatly must throw them in the way of other rich men; and lastly,\nit was so pleasant at her time of life to be able to consign her\nsingle daughters to the care of their sister, that she might not\nbe obliged to go into company more than she liked.]
[It was\nnecessary to make this circumstance a matter of pleasure,\nbecause on such occasions it is the etiquette; but no one was less\nlikely than Mrs. Bennet to find comfort in staying home at any\nperiod of her life.]
[She concluded with many good wishes that\nLady Lucas might soon be equally fortunate,  though evidently\nand triumphantly believing there was no chance of it.]
[In vain did Elizabeth endeavour to check the rapidity of her\nmother's words, or persuade her to describe her felicity in a\nless audible whisper; for, to her inexpressible vexation, she\ncould perceive that the chief of it was overheard by Mr. Darcy,\nwho sat opposite to them.]
[Her mother only scolded her for\nbeing nonsensical.]
[\"What is Mr. Darcy to me, pray, that I should be afraid of him?]
[I am sure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged\nto say nothing _he_ may not like to hear.]
[\"\n\n\"For heaven's sake, madam, speak lower.]
[What advantage can\nit be for you to offend Mr. Darcy?]
[You will never recommend\nyourself to his friend by so doing!]
[\"\n\nNothing that she could say, however, had any influence.]
[Her\nmother would talk of her views in the same intelligible tone.]
[Elizabeth blushed and blushed again with shame and vexation.]
[She could not help frequently glancing her eye at Mr. Darcy,\nthough every glance convinced her of what she dreaded; for\nthough he was not always looking at her mother, she was\nconvinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her.]
[The expression of his face changed gradually from indignant\ncontempt to a composed and steady gravity.]
[At length, however, Mrs. Bennet had no more to say; and Lady\nLucas, who had been long yawning at the repetition of delights\nwhich she saw no likelihood of sharing, was left to the comforts\nof cold ham and chicken.]
[Elizabeth now began to revive.]
[But\nnot long was the interval of tranquillity; for, when supper was\nover, singing was talked of, and she had the mortification of\nseeing Mary, after very little entreaty, preparing to oblige the\ncompany.]
[By many significant looks and silent entreaties, did\nshe endeavour to prevent such a proof of complaisance, but in\nvain; Mary would not understand them; such an opportunity of\nexhibiting was delightful to her, and she began her song.]
[Elizabeth's eyes were fixed on her with most painful sensations,\nand she watched her progress through the several stanzas with\nan impatience which was very ill rewarded at their close; for\nMary, on receiving, amongst the thanks of the table, the hint of\na hope that she might be prevailed on to favour them again, after\nthe pause of half a minute began another.]
[Mary's powers were\nby no means fitted for such a display; her voice was weak, and\nher manner affected.]
[Elizabeth was in agonies.]
[She looked at\nJane, to see how she bore it; but Jane was very composedly\ntalking to Bingley.]
[She looked at his two sisters, and saw\nthem making signs of derision at each other, and at Darcy, who\ncontinued, however, imperturbably grave.]
[She looked at her\nfather to entreat his interference, lest Mary should be singing all\nnight.]
[He took the hint, and when Mary had finished her second\nsong, said aloud, \"That will do extremely well, child.]
[You have\ndelighted us long enough.]
[Let the other young ladies have time\nto exhibit.]
[\"\n\nMary, though pretending not to hear, was somewhat disconcerted;\nand Elizabeth, sorry for her, and sorry for her father's speech,\nwas afraid her anxiety had done no good.]
[Others of the party\nwere now applied to.]
[\"If I,\" said Mr. Collins, \"were so fortunate as to be able to sing,\nI should have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the company\nwith an air; for I consider music as a very innocent diversion,\nand perfectly compatible with the profession of a clergyman.]
[I do\nnot mean, however, to assert that we can be justified in devoting\ntoo much of our time to music, for there are certainly other things\nto be attended to.]
[The rector of a parish has much to do.]
[In the\nfirst place, he must make such an agreement for tithes as may be\nbeneficial to himself and not offensive to his patron.]
[He must\nwrite his own sermons; and the time that remains will not be too\nmuch for his parish duties, and the care and improvement of his\ndwelling, which he cannot be excused from making as comfortable\nas possible.]
[And I do not think it of light importance that he\nshould have attentive and conciliatory manner towards everybody,\nespecially towards those to whom he owes his preferment.]
[I\ncannot acquit him of that duty; nor could I think well of the\nman who should omit an occasion of testifying his respect\ntowards anybody connected with the family.]
[\"  And with a bow to\nMr. Darcy, he concluded his speech, which had been spoken so\nloud as to be heard by half the room.]
[Many stared--many smiled;\nbut no one looked more amused than Mr. Bennet himself, while\nhis wife seriously commended Mr. Collins for having spoken so\nsensibly, and observed in a half-whisper to Lady Lucas, that he\nwas a remarkably clever, good kind of young man.]
[To Elizabeth it appeared that, had her family made an agreement\nto expose themselves as much as they could during the\nevening, it would have been impossible for them to play their\nparts with more spirit or finer success; and happy did she think\nit for Bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had\nescaped his notice, and that his feelings were not of a sort to\nbe much distressed by the folly which he must have witnessed.]
[That his two sisters and Mr. Darcy, however, should have such\nan opportunity of ridiculing her relations, was bad enough, and\nshe could not determine whether the silent contempt of the\ngentleman, or the insolent smiles of the ladies, were more\nintolerable.]
[The rest of the evening brought her little amusement.]
[She was\nteased by Mr. Collins, who continued most perseveringly by her\nside, and though he could not prevail on her to dance with him\nagain, put it out of her power to dance with others.]
[In vain\ndid she entreat him to stand up with somebody else, and offer to\nintroduce him to any young lady in the room.]
[He assured her,\nthat as to dancing, he was perfectly indifferent to it; that his\nchief object was by delicate attentions to recommend himself to\nher and that he should therefore make a point of remaining close\nto her the whole evening.]
[There was no arguing upon such a\nproject.]
[She owed her greatest relief to her friend Miss Lucas,\nwho often joined them, and good-naturedly engaged Mr. Collins's\nconversation to herself.]
[She was at least free from the offense of Mr. Darcy's further\nnotice; though often standing within a very short distance of her,\nquite disengaged, he never came near enough to speak.]
[She felt\nit to be the probable consequence of her allusions to Mr. Wickham,\nand rejoiced in it.]
[The Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart,\nand, by a manoeuvre of Mrs. Bennet, had to wait for their\ncarriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone,\nwhich gave them time to see how heartily they were wished\naway by some of the family.]
[Mrs. Hurst and her sister scarcely\nopened their mouths, except to complain of fatigue, and were\nevidently impatient to have the house to themselves.]
[They\nrepulsed every attempt of Mrs. Bennet at conversation, and by\nso doing threw a languor over the whole party, which was very\nlittle relieved by the long speeches of Mr. Collins, who was\ncomplimenting Mr. Bingley and his sisters on the elegance of\ntheir entertainment, and the hospitality and politeness which had\nmarked their behaviour to their guests.]
[Darcy said nothing at all.]
[Mr. Bennet, in equal silence, was enjoying the scene.]
[Mr.\nBingley and Jane were standing together, a little detached from\nthe rest, and talked only to each other.]
[Elizabeth preserved as\nsteady a silence as either Mrs. Hurst or Miss Bingley; and even\nLydia was too much fatigued to utter more than the occasional\nexclamation of \"Lord, how tired I am!]
[\" accompanied by a\nviolent yawn.]
[When at length they arose to take leave, Mrs. Bennet was most\npressingly civil in her hope of seeing the whole family soon\nat Longbourn, and addressed herself especially to Mr. Bingley,\nto assure him how happy he would make them by eating a family\ndinner with them at any time, without the ceremony of a formal\ninvitation.]
[Bingley was all grateful pleasure, and he readily\nengaged for taking the earliest opportunity of waiting on her,\nafter his return from London, whither he was obliged to go the\nnext day for a short time.]
[Mrs. Bennet was perfectly satisfied, and quitted the house under\nthe delightful persuasion that, allowing for the necessary\npreparations of settlements, new carriages, and wedding clothes,\nshe should undoubtedly see her daughter settled at Netherfield in\nthe course of three or four months.]
[Of having another daughter\nmarried to Mr. Collins, she thought with equal certainty, and\nwith considerable, though not equal, pleasure.]
[Elizabeth was the\nleast dear to her of all her children; and though the man and the\nmatch were quite good enough for _her_, the worth of each was\neclipsed by Mr. Bingley and Netherfield.]
[Chapter 19\n\n\nThe next day opened a new scene at Longbourn.]
[Mr. Collins\nmade his declaration in form.]
[Having resolved to do it without\nloss of time, as his leave of absence extended only to the\nfollowing Saturday, and having no feelings of diffidence to make\nit distressing to himself even at the moment, he set about it\nin a very orderly manner, with all the observances, which\nhe supposed a regular part of the business.]
[On finding Mrs.\nBennet, Elizabeth, and one of the younger girls together, soon\nafter breakfast, he addressed the mother in these words:\n\n\"May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter\nElizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience\nwith her in the course of this morning?]
[\"\n\nBefore Elizabeth had time for anything but a blush of surprise,\nMrs. Bennet answered instantly, \"Oh dear!--yes--certainly.]
[I\nam sure Lizzy will be very happy--I am sure she can have no\nobjection.]
[Come, Kitty, I want you upstairs.]
[\"  And, gathering\nher work together, she was hastening away, when Elizabeth\ncalled out:\n\n\"Dear madam, do not go.]
[I beg you will not go.]
[Mr. Collins\nmust excuse me.]
[He can have nothing to say to me that anybody\nneed not hear.]
[I am going away myself.]
[\"\n\n\"No, no, nonsense, Lizzy.]
[I desire you to stay where you are.]
[\"\nAnd upon Elizabeth's seeming really, with vexed and embarrassed\nlooks, about to escape, she added: \"Lizzy, I _insist_ upon your\nstaying and hearing Mr.]
[Collins.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth would not oppose such an injunction--and a moment's\nconsideration making her also sensible that it would be wisest to\nget it over as soon and as quietly as possible, she sat down again\nand tried to conceal, by incessant employment the feelings which\nwere divided between distress and diversion.]
[Mrs. Bennet and Kitty\nwalked off, and as soon as they were gone, Mr. Collins began.]
[\"Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far\nfrom doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other\nperfections.]
[You would have been less amiable in my eyes had\nthere _not_ been this little unwillingness; but allow me to assure\nyou, that I have your respected mother's permission for this\naddress.]
[You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse,\nhowever your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble; my\nattentions have been too marked to be mistaken.]
[Almost as soon\nas I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of\nmy future life.]
[But before I am run away with by my feelings on\nthis subject, perhaps it would be advisable for me to state my\nreasons for marrying--and, moreover, for coming into Hertfordshire\nwith the design of selecting a wife, as I certainly did.]
[\"\n\nThe idea of Mr. Collins, with all his solemn composure, being\nrun away with by his feelings, made Elizabeth so near laughing,\nthat she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt\nto stop him further, and he continued:\n\n\"My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right\nthing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to\nset the example of matrimony in his parish; secondly, that I am\nconvinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness; and\nthirdly--which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that\nit is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble\nlady whom I have the honour of calling patroness.]
[Twice has\nshe condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!]
[) on this\nsubject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left\nHunsford--between our pools at quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinson\nwas arranging Miss de Bourgh's footstool, that she said, 'Mr.\nCollins, you must marry.]
[A clergyman like you must marry.]
[Choose properly, choose a gentlewoman for _my_ sake; and for\nyour _own_, let her be an active, useful sort of person, not brought\nup high, but able to make a small income go a good way.]
[This is\nmy advice.]
[Find such a woman as soon as you can, bring her to\nHunsford, and I will visit her.]
['  Allow me, by the way, to\nobserve, my fair cousin, that I do not reckon the notice and\nkindness of Lady Catherine de Bourgh as among the least of the\nadvantages in my power to offer.]
[You will find her manners\nbeyond anything I can describe; and your wit and vivacity, I\nthink, must be acceptable to her, especially when tempered with\nthe silence and respect which her rank will inevitably excite.]
[Thus much for my general intention in favour of matrimony;\nit remains to be told why my views were directed towards\nLongbourn instead of my own neighbourhood, where I can\nassure you there are many amiable young women.]
[But the fact\nis, that being, as I am, to inherit this estate after the death of\nyour honoured father (who, however, may live many years\nlonger), I could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a\nwife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as\nlittle as possible, when the melancholy event takes place--which,\nhowever, as I have already said, may not be for several years.]
[This has been my motive, my fair cousin, and I flatter myself it\nwill not sink me in your esteem.]
[And now nothing remains\nfor me but to assure you in the most animated language of the\nviolence of my affection.]
[To fortune I am perfectly indifferent,\nand shall make no demand of that nature on your father, since I\nam well aware that it could not be complied with; and that one\nthousand pounds in the four per cents, which will not be yours\ntill after your mother's decease, is all that you may ever be\nentitled to.]
[On that head, therefore, I shall be uniformly silent;\nand you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall\never pass my lips when we are married.]
[\"\n\nIt was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now.]
[\"You are too hasty, sir,\" she cried.]
[\"You forget that I have\nmade no answer.]
[Let me do it without further loss of time.]
[Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me.]
[I am\nvery sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is\nimpossible for me to do otherwise than to decline them.]
[\"\n\n\"I am not now to learn,\" replied Mr. Collins, with a formal wave\nof the hand, \"that it is usual with young ladies to reject the\naddresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when\nhe first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal\nis repeated a second, or even a third time.]
[I am therefore by no\nmeans discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to\nlead you to the altar ere long.]
[\"\n\n\"Upon my word, sir,\" cried Elizabeth, \"your hope is a rather\nextraordinary one after my declaration.]
[I do assure you that I\nam not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are)\nwho are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of\nbeing asked a second time.]
[I am perfectly serious in my refusal.]
[You could not make _me_ happy, and I am convinced that I am\nthe last woman in the world who could make you so.]
[Nay, were\nyour friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she\nwould find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation.]
[\"\n\n\"Were it certain that Lady Catherine would think so,\" said Mr.\nCollins very gravely--\"but I cannot imagine that her ladyship\nwould at all disapprove of you.]
[And you may be certain when I\nhave the honour of seeing her again, I shall speak in the very\nhighest terms of your modesty, economy, and other amiable\nqualification.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed, Mr. Collins, all praise of me will be unnecessary.]
[You must give me leave to judge for myself, and pay me the\ncompliment of believing what I say.]
[I wish you very happy and\nvery rich, and by refusing your hand, do all in my power to\nprevent your being otherwise.]
[In making me the offer, you must\nhave satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my\nfamily, and may take possession of Longbourn estate whenever\nit falls, without any self-reproach.]
[This matter may be\nconsidered, therefore, as finally settled.]
[\"  And rising as she\nthus spoke, she would have quitted the room, had Mr. Collins\nnot thus addressed her:\n\n\"When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on the\nsubject, I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than\nyou have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of\ncruelty at present, because I know it to be the established\ncustom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and\nperhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit\nas would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female\ncharacter.]
[\"\n\n\"Really, Mr. Collins,\" cried Elizabeth with some warmth, \"you\npuzzle me exceedingly.]
[If what I have hitherto said can appear\nto you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express\nmy refusal in such a way as to convince you of its being one.]
[\"\n\n\"You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that\nyour refusal of my addresses is merely words of course.]
[My\nreasons for believing it are briefly these: It does not appear\nto me that my hand is unworthy your acceptance, or that the\nestablishment I can offer would be any other than highly\ndesirable.]
[My situation in life, my connections with the family\nof de Bourgh, and my relationship to your own, are circumstances\nhighly in my favour; and you should take it into further\nconsideration, that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is\nby no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be\nmade you.]
[Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in\nall likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable\nqualifications.]
[As I must therefore conclude that you are not\nserious in your rejection of me, I shall choose to attribute it\nto your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the\nusual practice of elegant females.]
[\"\n\n\"I do assure you, sir, that I have no pretensions whatever to that\nkind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man.]
[I would rather be paid the compliment of being believed sincere.]
[I thank you again and again for the honour you have done me in\nyour proposals, but to accept them is absolutely impossible.]
[My\nfeelings in every respect forbid it.]
[Can I speak plainer?]
[Do not\nconsider me now as an elegant female, intending to plague you,\nbut as a rational creature, speaking the truth from her heart.]
[\"\n\n\"You are uniformly charming!]
[\" cried he, with an air of awkward\ngallantry; \"and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the\nexpress authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals\nwill not fail of being acceptable.]
[\"\n\nTo such perseverance in wilful self-deception Elizabeth would\nmake no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew;\ndetermined, if he persisted in considering her repeated\nrefusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father,\nwhose negative might be uttered in such a manner as to be\ndecisive, and whose behavior at least could not be mistaken\nfor the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female.]
[Chapter 20\n\n\nMr. Collins was not left long to the silent contemplation of his\nsuccessful love; for Mrs. Bennet, having dawdled about in the\nvestibule to watch for the end of the conference, no sooner saw\nElizabeth open the door and with quick step pass her towards\nthe staircase, than she entered the breakfast-room, and\ncongratulated both him and herself in warm terms on the happy\nprospect or their nearer connection.]
[Mr. Collins received and\nreturned these felicitations with equal pleasure, and then\nproceeded to relate the particulars of their interview, with the\nresult of which he trusted he had every reason to be satisfied,\nsince the refusal which his cousin had steadfastly given him\nwould naturally flow from her bashful modesty and the genuine\ndelicacy of her character.]
[This information, however, startled Mrs. Bennet; she would\nhave been glad to be equally satisfied that her daughter had\nmeant to encourage him by protesting against his proposals,\nbut she dared not believe it, and could not help saying so.]
[\"But, depend upon it, Mr. Collins,\" she added, \"that Lizzy shall\nbe brought to reason.]
[I will speak to her about it directly.]
[She is a very headstrong, foolish girl, and does not know her\nown interest but I will _make_ her know it.]
[\"\n\n\"Pardon me for interrupting you, madam,\" cried Mr. Collins;\n\"but if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether\nshe would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my\nsituation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage\nstate.]
[If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit,\nperhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me,\nbecause if liable to such defects of temper, she could not\ncontribute much to my felicity.]
[\"\n\n\"Sir, you quite misunderstand me,\" said Mrs. Bennet, alarmed.]
[\"Lizzy is only headstrong in such matters as these.]
[In everything\nelse she is as good-natured a girl as ever lived.]
[I will go\ndirectly to Mr. Bennet, and we shall very soon settle it with her,\nI am sure.]
[\"\n\nShe would not give him time to reply, but hurrying instantly to\nher husband, called out as she entered the library, \"Oh!]
[Mr.\nBennet, you are wanted immediately; we are all in an uproar.]
[You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, for she vows\nshe will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will\nchange his mind and not have _her_.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered, and\nfixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in\nthe least altered by her communication.]
[\"I have not the pleasure of understanding you,\" said he, when\nshe had finished her speech.]
[\"Of what are you talking?]
[\"\n\n\"Of Mr. Collins and Lizzy.]
[Lizzy declares she will not have\nMr. Collins, and Mr. Collins begins to say that he will not\nhave Lizzy.]
[\"\n\n\"And what am I to do on the occasion?]
[It seems an hopeless\nbusiness.]
[\"\n\n\"Speak to Lizzy about it yourself.]
[Tell her that you insist upon\nher marrying him.]
[\"\n\n\"Let her be called down.]
[She shall hear my opinion.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet rang the bell, and Miss Elizabeth was summoned to\nthe library.]
[\"Come here, child,\" cried her father as she appeared.]
[\"I have\nsent for you on an affair of importance.]
[I understand that Mr.\nCollins has made you an offer of marriage.]
[Is it true?]
[\"  Elizabeth\nreplied that it was.]
[\"Very well--and this offer of marriage you\nhave refused?]
[\"\n\n\"I have, sir.]
[\"\n\n\"Very well.]
[We now come to the point.]
[Your mother insists\nupon your accepting it.]
[Is it not so, Mrs.]
[Bennet?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, or I will never see her again.]
[\"\n\n\"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth.]
[From this day\nyou must be a stranger to one of your parents.]
[Your mother will\nnever see you again if you do _not_ marry Mr. Collins, and I will\nnever see you again if you _do_.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not but smile at such a conclusion of such a\nbeginning, but Mrs. Bennet, who had persuaded herself that her\nhusband regarded the affair as she wished, was excessively\ndisappointed.]
[\"What do you mean, Mr. Bennet, in talking this way?]
[You\npromised me to _insist_ upon her marrying him.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear,\" replied her husband, \"I have two small favours to\nrequest.]
[First, that you will allow me the free use of my\nunderstanding on the present occasion; and secondly, of my\nroom.]
[I shall be glad to have the library to myself as soon as\nmay be.]
[\"\n\nNot yet, however, in spite of her disappointment in her husband,\ndid Mrs. Bennet give up the point.]
[She talked to Elizabeth again\nand again; coaxed and threatened her by turns.]
[She endeavoured\nto secure Jane in her interest; but Jane, with all possible\nmildness, declined interfering; and Elizabeth, sometimes with\nreal earnestness, and sometimes with playful gaiety, replied to\nher attacks.]
[Though her manner varied, however, her determination\nnever did.]
[Mr. Collins, meanwhile, was meditating in solitude on what had\npassed.]
[He thought too well of himself to comprehend on what\nmotives his cousin could refuse him; and though his pride was\nhurt, he suffered in no other way.]
[His regard for her was quite\nimaginary; and the possibility of her deserving her mother's\nreproach prevented his feeling any regret.]
[While the family were in this confusion, Charlotte Lucas came to\nspend the day with them.]
[She was met in the vestibule by Lydia,\nwho, flying to her, cried in a half whisper, \"I am glad you are\ncome, for there is such fun here!]
[What do you think has\nhappened this morning?]
[Mr. Collins has made an offer to Lizzy,\nand she will not have him.]
[\"\n\nCharlotte hardly had time to answer, before they were joined by\nKitty, who came to tell the same news; and no sooner had they\nentered the breakfast-room, where Mrs. Bennet was alone, than\nshe likewise began on the subject, calling on Miss Lucas for her\ncompassion, and entreating her to persuade her friend Lizzy to\ncomply with the wishes of all her family.]
[\"Pray do, my dear\nMiss Lucas,\" she added in a melancholy tone, \"for nobody is on\nmy side, nobody takes part with me.]
[I am cruelly used, nobody\nfeels for my poor nerves.]
[\"\n\nCharlotte's reply was spared by the entrance of Jane and\nElizabeth.]
[\"Aye, there she comes,\" continued Mrs. Bennet, \"looking as\nunconcerned as may be, and caring no more for us than if we\nwere at York, provided she can have her own way.]
[But I tell\nyou, Miss Lizzy--if you take it into your head to go on refusing\nevery offer of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband\nat all--and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you\nwhen your father is dead.]
[I shall not be able to keep you--and\nso I warn you.]
[I have done with you from this very day.]
[I told\nyou in the library, you know, that I should never speak to you\nagain, and you will find me as good as my word.]
[I have no\npleasure in talking to undutiful children.]
[Not that I have much\npleasure, indeed, in talking to anybody.]
[People who suffer as\nI do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for\ntalking.]
[Nobody can tell what I suffer!]
[But it is always so.]
[Those who do not complain are never pitied.]
[\"\n\nHer daughters listened in silence to this effusion, sensible\nthat any attempt to reason with her or soothe her would only\nincrease the irritation.]
[She talked on, therefore, without\ninterruption from any of them, till they were joined by Mr.\nCollins, who entered the room with an air more stately than\nusual, and on perceiving whom, she said to the girls, \"Now, I do\ninsist upon it, that you, all of you, hold your tongues, and\nlet me and Mr. Collins have a little conversation together.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth passed quietly out of the room, Jane and Kitty\nfollowed, but Lydia stood her ground, determined to hear all she\ncould; and Charlotte, detained first by the civility of Mr. Collins,\nwhose inquiries after herself and all her family were very minute,\nand then by a little curiosity, satisfied herself with walking to\nthe window and pretending not to hear.]
[In a doleful voice Mrs.\nBennet began the projected conversation: \"Oh!]
[Mr.]
[Collins!]
[\"\n\n\"My dear madam,\" replied he, \"let us be for ever silent on this\npoint.]
[Far be it from me,\" he presently continued, in a voice that\nmarked his displeasure, \"to resent the behaviour of your daughter.]
[Resignation to inevitable evils is the evil duty of us all; the\npeculiar duty of a young man who has been so fortunate as I\nhave been in early preferment; and I trust I am resigned.]
[Perhaps not the less so from feeling a doubt of my positive\nhappiness had my fair cousin honoured me with her hand; for I\nhave often observed that resignation is never so perfect as when\nthe blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value in our\nestimation.]
[You will not, I hope, consider me as showing any\ndisrespect to your family, my dear madam, by thus withdrawing\nmy pretensions to your daughter's favour, without having paid\nyourself and Mr. Bennet the compliment of requesting you to\ninterpose your authority in my behalf.]
[My conduct may, I fear,\nbe objectionable in having accepted my dismission from your\ndaughter's lips instead of your own.]
[But we are all liable to\nerror.]
[I have certainly meant well through the whole affair.]
[My\nobject has been to secure an amiable companion for myself, with\ndue consideration for the advantage of all your family, and if\nmy _manner_ has been at all reprehensible, I here beg leave to\napologise.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 21\n\n\nThe discussion of Mr. Collins's offer was now nearly at an end,\nand Elizabeth had only to suffer from the uncomfortable feelings\nnecessarily attending it, and occasionally from some peevish\nallusions of her mother.]
[As for the gentleman himself, _his_\nfeelings were chiefly expressed, not by embarrassment or\ndejection, or by trying to avoid her, but by stiffness of manner\nand resentful silence.]
[He scarcely ever spoke to her, and the\nassiduous attentions which he had been so sensible of himself\nwere transferred for the rest of the day to Miss Lucas, whose\ncivility in listening to him was a seasonable relief to them all,\nand especially to her friend.]
[The morrow produced no abatement of Mrs. Bennet's ill-humour\nor ill health.]
[Mr. Collins was also in the same state of angry\npride.]
[Elizabeth had hoped that his resentment might shorten his\nvisit, but his plan did not appear in the least affected by it.]
[He was always to have gone on Saturday, and to Saturday he meant\nto stay.]
[After breakfast, the girls walked to Meryton to inquire if Mr.\nWickham were returned, and to lament over his absence from\nthe Netherfield ball.]
[He joined them on their entering the town,\nand attended them to their aunt's where his regret and vexation,\nand the concern of everybody, was well talked over.]
[To\nElizabeth, however, he voluntarily acknowledged that the\nnecessity of his absence _had_ been self-imposed.]
[\"I found,\" said he, \"as the time drew near that I had better not\nmeet Mr. Darcy; that to be in the same room, the same party\nwith him for so many hours together, might be more than I could\nbear, and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than\nmyself.]
[\"\n\nShe highly approved his forbearance, and they had leisure for a\nfull discussion of it, and for all the commendation which they\ncivilly bestowed on each other, as Wickham and another officer\nwalked back with them to Longbourn, and during the walk he\nparticularly attended to her.]
[His accompanying them was a\ndouble advantage; she felt all the compliment it offered to\nherself, and it was most acceptable as an occasion of introducing\nhim to her father and mother.]
[Soon after their return, a letter was delivered to Miss Bennet;\nit came from Netherfield.]
[The envelope contained a sheet of\nelegant, little, hot-pressed paper, well covered with a lady's fair,\nflowing hand; and Elizabeth saw her sister's countenance change\nas she read it, and saw her dwelling intently on some particular\npassages.]
[Jane recollected herself soon, and putting the letter\naway, tried to join with her usual cheerfulness in the general\nconversation; but Elizabeth felt an anxiety on the subject which\ndrew off her attention even from Wickham; and no sooner had\nhe and his companion taken leave, than a glance from Jane\ninvited her to follow her upstairs.]
[When they had gained their\nown room, Jane, taking out the letter, said:\n\n\"This is from Caroline Bingley; what it contains has surprised me\na good deal.]
[The whole party have left Netherfield by this time,\nand are on their way to town--and without any intention of coming\nback again.]
[You shall hear what she says.]
[\"\n\nShe then read the first sentence aloud, which comprised the\ninformation of their having just resolved to follow their brother\nto town directly, and of their meaning to dine in Grosvenor\nStreet, where Mr. Hurst had a house.]
[The next was in these\nwords: \"I do not pretend to regret anything I shall leave in\nHertfordshire, except your society, my dearest friend; but we\nwill hope, at some future period, to enjoy many returns of that\ndelightful intercourse we have known, and in the meanwhile may\nlessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most\nunreserved correspondence.]
[I depend on you for that.]
[\"  To\nthese highflown expressions Elizabeth listened with all the\ninsensibility of distrust; and though the suddenness of their\nremoval surprised her, she saw nothing in it really to lament;\nit was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield\nwould prevent Mr. Bingley's being there; and as to the loss of\ntheir society, she was persuaded that Jane must cease to regard\nit, in the enjoyment of his.]
[\"It is unlucky,\" said she, after a short pause, \"that you should\nnot be able to see your friends before they leave the country.]
[But may we not hope that the period of future happiness to\nwhich Miss Bingley looks forward may arrive earlier than she is\naware, and that the delightful intercourse you have known as\nfriends will be renewed with yet greater satisfaction as sisters?]
[Mr. Bingley will not be detained in London by them.]
[\"\n\n\"Caroline decidedly says that none of the party will return into\nHertfordshire this winter.]
[I will read it to you:\"\n\n\"When my brother left us yesterday, he imagined that the\nbusiness which took him to London might be concluded in three\nor four days; but as we are certain it cannot be so, and at the\nsame time convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be\nin no hurry to leave it again, we have determined on following\nhim thither, that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours\nin a comfortless hotel.]
[Many of my acquaintances are already\nthere for the winter; I wish that I could hear that you, my dearest\nfriend, had any intention of making one of the crowd--but of\nthat I despair.]
[I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire\nmay abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings,\nand that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your\nfeeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.]
[\"\n\n\"It is evident by this,\" added Jane, \"that he comes back no more\nthis winter.]
[\"\n\n\"It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean that he\n_should_.]
[\"\n\n\"Why will you think so?]
[It must be his own doing.]
[He is his\nown master.]
[But you do not know _all_.]
[I _will_ read you the\npassage which particularly hurts me.]
[I will have no reserves\nfrom _you_.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister; and, to confess the\ntruth, _we_ are scarcely less eager to meet her again.]
[I really do\nnot think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance,\nand accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa\nand myself is heightened into something still more interesting,\nfrom the hope we dare entertain of her being hereafter our\nsister.]
[I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you\nmy feelings on this subject; but I will not leave the country\nwithout confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them\nunreasonable.]
[My brother admires her greatly already; he will\nhave frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most\nintimate footing; her relations all wish the connection as much as\nhis own; and a sister's partiality is not misleading me, I think,\nwhen I call Charles most capable of engaging any woman's\nheart.]
[With all these circumstances to favour an attachment, and\nnothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging\nthe hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many?]
[\"\n\n\"What do you think of _this_ sentence, my dear Lizzy?]
[\" said\nJane as she finished it.]
[\"Is it not clear enough?]
[Does it not\nexpressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to\nbe her sister; that she is perfectly convinced of her brother's\nindifference; and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings\nfor him, she means (most kindly!]
[) to put me on my guard?]
[Can\nthere be any other opinion on the subject?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, there can; for mine is totally different.]
[Will you hear it?]
[\"\n\n\"Most willingly.]
[\"\n\n\"You shall have it in a few words.]
[Miss Bingley sees that her\nbrother is in love with you, and wants him to marry Miss Darcy.]
[She follows him to town in hope of keeping him there, and tries\nto persuade you that he does not care about you.]
[\"\n\nJane shook her head.]
[\"Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe me.]
[No one who has ever\nseen you together can doubt his affection.]
[Miss Bingley, I am\nsure, cannot.]
[She is not such a simpleton.]
[Could she have seen\nhalf as much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have\nordered her wedding clothes.]
[But the case is this: We are not\nrich enough or grand enough for them; and she is the more\nanxious to get Miss Darcy for her brother, from the notion that\nwhen there has been _one_ intermarriage, she may have less\ntrouble in achieving a second; in which there is certainly some\ningenuity, and I dare say it would succeed, if Miss de Bourgh\nwere out of the way.]
[But, my dearest Jane, you cannot seriously\nimagine that because Miss Bingley tells you her brother greatly\nadmires Miss Darcy, he is in the smallest degree less sensible\nof _your_ merit than when he took leave of you on Tuesday, or\nthat it will be in her power to persuade him that, instead of\nbeing in love with you, he is very much in love with her friend.]
[\"\n\n\"If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,\" replied Jane, \"your\nrepresentation of all this might make me quite easy.]
[But I know\nthe foundation is unjust.]
[Caroline is incapable of wilfully\ndeceiving anyone; and all that I can hope in this case is that\nshe is deceiving herself.]
[\"\n\n\"That is right.]
[You could not have started a more happy idea,\nsince you will not take comfort in mine.]
[Believe her to be\ndeceived, by all means.]
[You have now done your duty by her,\nand must fret no longer.]
[\"\n\n\"But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in\naccepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to\nmarry elsewhere?]
[\"\n\n\"You must decide for yourself,\" said Elizabeth; \"and if, upon\nmature deliberation, you find that the misery of disobliging his\ntwo sisters is more than equivalent to the happiness of being his\nwife, I advise you by all means to refuse him.]
[\"\n\n\"How can you talk so?]
[\" said Jane, faintly smiling.]
[\"You must\nknow that though I should be exceedingly grieved at their\ndisapprobation, I could not hesitate.]
[\"\n\n\"I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot\nconsider your situation with much compassion.]
[\"\n\n\"But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be\nrequired.]
[A thousand things may arise in six months!]
[\"\n\nThe idea of his returning no more Elizabeth treated with the\nutmost contempt.]
[It appeared to her merely the suggestion of\nCaroline's interested wishes, and she could not for a moment\nsuppose that those wishes, however openly or artfully spoken,\ncould influence a young man so totally independent of everyone.]
[She represented to her sister as forcibly as possible what she\nfelt on the subject, and had soon the pleasure of seeing its\nhappy effect.]
[Jane's temper was not desponding, and she was\ngradually led to hope, though the diffidence of affection\nsometimes overcame the hope, that Bingley would return to\nNetherfield and answer every wish of her heart.]
[They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear of the departure\nof the family, without being alarmed on the score of the\ngentleman's conduct; but even this partial communication gave\nher a great deal of concern, and she bewailed it as exceedingly\nunlucky that the ladies should happen to go away just as they\nwere all getting so intimate together.]
[After lamenting it,\nhowever, at some length, she had the consolation that Mr.\nBingley would be soon down again and soon dining at Longbourn,\nand the conclusion of all was the comfortable declaration,\nthat though he had been invited only to a family dinner, she\nwould take care to have two full courses.]
[Chapter 22\n\n\nThe Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases and again\nduring the chief of the day was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen\nto Mr. Collins.]
[Elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her.]
[\"It keeps him in good humour,\" said she, \"and I am more obliged\nto you than I can express.]
[\"  Charlotte assured her friend of\nher satisfaction in being useful, and that it amply repaid her\nfor the little sacrifice of her time.]
[This was very amiable,\nbut Charlotte's kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had\nany conception of; its object was nothing else than to secure\nher from any return of Mr. Collins's addresses, by engaging\nthem towards herself.]
[Such was Miss Lucas's scheme; and\nappearances were so favourable, that when they parted at night,\nshe would have felt almost secure of success if he had not been\nto leave Hertfordshire so very soon.]
[But here she did injustice\nto the fire and independence of his character, for it led\nhim to escape out of Longbourn House the next morning with\nadmirable slyness, and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw himself\nat her feet.]
[He was anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins,\nfrom a conviction that if they saw him depart, they could not\nfail to conjecture his design, and he was not willing to have\nthe attempt known till its success might be known likewise; for\nthough feeling almost secure, and with reason, for Charlotte had\nbeen tolerably encouraging, he was comparatively diffident since\nthe adventure of Wednesday.]
[His reception, however, was of\nthe most flattering kind.]
[Miss Lucas perceived him from an\nupper window as he walked towards the house, and instantly set\nout to meet him accidentally in the lane.]
[But little had she\ndared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there.]
[In as short a time as Mr. Collins's long speeches would allow,\neverything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both;\nand as they entered the house he earnestly entreated her to name\nthe day that was to make him the happiest of men; and though\nsuch a solicitation must be waived for the present, the lady felt\nno inclination to trifle with his happiness.]
[The stupidity with\nwhich he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from\nany charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance;\nand Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and\ndisinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon\nthat establishment were gained.]
[Sir William and Lady Lucas were speedily applied to for their\nconsent; and it was bestowed with a most joyful alacrity.]
[Mr.\nCollins's present circumstances made it a most eligible match for\ntheir daughter, to whom they could give little fortune; and his\nprospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair.]
[Lady Lucas\nbegan directly to calculate, with more interest than the\nmatter had ever excited before, how many years longer Mr.\nBennet was likely to live; and Sir William gave it as his decided\nopinion, that whenever Mr. Collins should be in possession of the\nLongbourn estate, it would be highly expedient that both he and\nhis wife should make their appearance at St. James's.]
[The whole\nfamily, in short, were properly overjoyed on the occasion.]
[The younger girls formed hopes of _coming out_ a year or two\nsooner than they might otherwise have done; and the boys were\nrelieved from their apprehension of Charlotte's dying an old\nmaid.]
[Charlotte herself was tolerably composed.]
[She had\ngained her point, and had time to consider of it.]
[Her reflections\nwere in general satisfactory.]
[Mr. Collins, to be sure, was\nneither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his\nattachment to her must be imaginary.]
[But still he would be her\nhusband.]
[Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony,\nmarriage had always been her object; it was the only provision\nfor well-educated young women of small fortune, and however\nuncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest\npreservative from want.]
[This preservative she had now\nobtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever\nbeen handsome, she felt all the good luck of it.]
[The least\nagreeable circumstance in the business was the surprise it must\noccasion to Elizabeth Bennet, whose friendship she valued\nbeyond that of any other person.]
[Elizabeth would wonder, and\nprobably would blame her; and though her resolution was not to\nbe shaken, her feelings must be hurt by such a disapprobation.]
[She resolved to give her the information herself, and therefore\ncharged Mr. Collins, when he returned to Longbourn to dinner,\nto drop no hint of what had passed before any of the family.]
[A\npromise of secrecy was of course very dutifully given, but it\ncould not be kept without difficulty; for the curiosity excited\nby his long absence burst forth in such very direct questions on\nhis return as required some ingenuity to evade, and he was at the\nsame time exercising great self-denial, for he was longing to\npublish his prosperous love.]
[As he was to begin his journey too early on the morrow to see\nany of the family, the ceremony of leave-taking was performed\nwhen the ladies moved for the night; and Mrs. Bennet, with\ngreat politeness and cordiality, said how happy they should be\nto see him at Longbourn again, whenever his engagements might\nallow him to visit them.]
[\"My dear madam,\" he replied, \"this invitation is particularly\ngratifying, because it is what I have been hoping to receive; and\nyou may be very certain that I shall avail myself of it as soon\nas possible.]
[\"\n\nThey were all astonished; and Mr. Bennet, who could by no\nmeans wish for so speedy a return, immediately said:\n\n\"But is there not danger of Lady Catherine's disapprobation\nhere, my good sir?]
[You had better neglect your relations than\nrun the risk of offending your patroness.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear sir,\" replied Mr. Collins, \"I am particularly obliged\nto you for this friendly caution, and you may depend upon my not\ntaking so material a step without her ladyship's concurrence.]
[\"\n\n\"You cannot be too much upon your guard.]
[Risk anything\nrather than her displeasure; and if you find it likely to be raised\nby your coming to us again, which I should think exceedingly\nprobable, stay quietly at home, and be satisfied that _we_ shall\ntake no offence.]
[\"\n\n\"Believe me, my dear sir, my gratitude is warmly excited by\nsuch affectionate attention; and depend upon it, you will speedily\nreceive from me a letter of thanks for this, and for every other\nmark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire.]
[As for my\nfair cousins, though my absence may not be long enough to\nrender it necessary, I shall now take the liberty of wishing them\nhealth and happiness, not excepting my cousin Elizabeth.]
[\"\n\nWith proper civilities the ladies then withdrew; all of them\nequally surprised that he meditated a quick return.]
[Mrs. Bennet\nwished to understand by it that he thought of paying his\naddresses to one of her younger girls, and Mary might have been\nprevailed on to accept him.]
[She rated his abilities much higher\nthan any of the others; there was a solidity in his reflections\nwhich often struck her, and though by no means so clever as\nherself, she thought that if encouraged to read and improve\nhimself by such an example as hers, he might become a very\nagreeable companion.]
[But on the following morning, every\nhope of this kind was done away.]
[Miss Lucas called soon after\nbreakfast, and in a private conference with Elizabeth related the\nevent of the day before.]
[The possibility of Mr. Collins's fancying himself in love with her\nfriend had once occurred to Elizabeth within the last day or two;\nbut that Charlotte could encourage him seemed almost as far\nfrom possibility as she could encourage him herself, and her\nastonishment was consequently so great as to overcome at first\nthe bounds of decorum, and she could not help crying out:\n\n\"Engaged to Mr. Collins!]
[My dear Charlotte--impossible!]
[\"\n\nThe steady countenance which Miss Lucas had commanded in\ntelling her story, gave way to a momentary confusion here on\nreceiving so direct a reproach; though, as it was no more than\nshe expected, she soon regained her composure, and calmly\nreplied:\n\n\"Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza?]
[Do you think it\nincredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any\nwoman's good opinion, because he was not so happy as to\nsucceed with you?]
[\"\n\nBut Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong\neffort for it, was able to assure with tolerable firmness that the\nprospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and\nthat she wished her all imaginable happiness.]
[\"I see what you are feeling,\" replied Charlotte.]
[\"You must be\nsurprised, very much surprised--so lately as Mr. Collins was\nwishing to marry you.]
[But when you have had time to think it\nover, I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done.]
[I am\nnot romantic, you know; I never was.]
[I ask only a comfortable\nhome; and considering Mr. Collins's character, connection, and\nsituation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness\nwith him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the\nmarriage state.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth quietly answered \"Undoubtedly;\" and after an\nawkward pause, they returned to the rest of the family.]
[Charlotte did not stay much longer, and Elizabeth was then left\nto reflect on what she had heard.]
[It was a long time before she\nbecame at all reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match.]
[The strangeness of Mr. Collins's making two offers of marriage\nwithin three days was nothing in comparison of his being now\naccepted.]
[She had always felt that Charlotte's opinion of\nmatrimony was not exactly like her own, but she had not\nsupposed it to be possible that, when called into action, she\nwould have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage.]
[Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins was a most humiliating picture!]
[And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her\nesteem, was added the distressing conviction that it was\nimpossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot\nshe had chosen.]
[Chapter 23\n\n\nElizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters, reflecting on\nwhat she had heard, and doubting whether she was authorised to\nmention it, when Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his\ndaughter, to announce her engagement to the family.]
[With many\ncompliments to them, and much self-gratulation on the prospect\nof a connection between the houses, he unfolded the matter--to\nan audience not merely wondering, but incredulous; for Mrs.\nBennet, with more perseverance than politeness, protested he\nmust be entirely mistaken; and Lydia, always unguarded and\noften uncivil, boisterously exclaimed:\n\n\"Good Lord!]
[Sir William, how can you tell such a story?]
[Do not\nyou know that Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzy?]
[\"\n\nNothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have\nborne without anger such treatment; but Sir William's good\nbreeding carried him through it all; and though he begged leave\nto be positive as to the truth of his information, he listened\nto all their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy.]
[Elizabeth, feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so\nunpleasant a situation, now put herself forward to confirm his\naccount, by mentioning her prior knowledge of it from Charlotte\nherself; and endeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her\nmother and sisters by the earnestness of her congratulations to\nSir William, in which she was readily joined by Jane, and by\nmaking a variety of remarks on the happiness that might be\nexpected from the match, the excellent character of Mr. Collins,\nand the convenient distance of Hunsford from London.]
[Mrs. Bennet was in fact too much overpowered to say a great\ndeal while Sir William remained; but no sooner had he left them\nthan her feelings found a rapid vent.]
[In the first place, she\npersisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter; secondly, she\nwas very sure that Mr. Collins had been taken in; thirdly, she\ntrusted that they would never be happy together; and fourthly,\nthat the match might be broken off.]
[Two inferences, however,\nwere plainly deduced from the whole: one, that Elizabeth was\nthe real cause of the mischief; and the other that she herself had\nbeen barbarously misused by them all; and on these two points\nshe principally dwelt during the rest of the day.]
[Nothing could\nconsole and nothing could appease her.]
[Nor did that day wear\nout her resentment.]
[A week elapsed before she could see\nElizabeth without scolding her, a month passed away before she\ncould speak to Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude,\nand many months were gone before she could at all forgive their\ndaughter.]
[Mr. Bennet's emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion,\nand such as he did experience he pronounced to be of a most\nagreeable sort; for it gratified him, he said, to discover that\nCharlotte Lucas, whom he had been used to think tolerably\nsensible, was as foolish as his wife, and more foolish than his\ndaughter!]
[Jane confessed herself a little surprised at the match; but she\nsaid less of her astonishment than of her earnest desire for their\nhappiness; nor could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it as\nimprobable.]
[Kitty and Lydia were far from envying Miss Lucas,\nfor Mr. Collins was only a clergyman; and it affected them in no\nother way than as a piece of news to spread at Meryton.]
[Lady Lucas could not be insensible of triumph on being able to\nretort on Mrs. Bennet the comfort of having a daughter well\nmarried; and she called at Longbourn rather oftener than usual\nto say how happy she was, though Mrs. Bennet's sour looks and\nill-natured remarks might have been enough to drive happiness\naway.]
[Between Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which\nkept them mutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt\npersuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between\nthem again.]
[Her disappointment in Charlotte made her turn with\nfonder regard to her sister, of whose rectitude and delicacy\nshe was sure her opinion could never be shaken, and for whose\nhappiness she grew daily more anxious, as Bingley had now been\ngone a week and nothing more was heard of his return.]
[Jane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and was\ncounting the days till she might reasonably hope to hear again.]
[The promised letter of thanks from Mr. Collins arrived on\nTuesday, addressed to their father, and written with all the\nsolemnity of gratitude which a twelvemonth's abode in the\nfamily might have prompted.]
[After discharging his conscience\non that head, he proceeded to inform them, with many rapturous\nexpressions, of his happiness in having obtained the affection of\ntheir amiable neighbour, Miss Lucas, and then explained that it\nwas merely with the view of enjoying her society that he had\nbeen so ready to close with their kind wish of seeing him again\nat Longbourn, whither he hoped to be able to return on Monday\nfortnight; for Lady Catherine, he added, so heartily approved\nhis marriage, that she wished it to take place as soon as possible,\nwhich he trusted would be an unanswerable argument with his\namiable Charlotte to name an early day for making him the\nhappiest of men.]
[Mr. Collins's return into Hertfordshire was no longer a matter\nof pleasure to Mrs. Bennet.]
[On the contrary, she was as much\ndisposed to complain of it as her husband.]
[It was very strange\nthat he should come to Longbourn instead of to Lucas Lodge; it\nwas also very inconvenient and exceedingly troublesome.]
[She\nhated having visitors in the house while her health was so\nindifferent, and lovers were of all people the most disagreeable.]
[Such were the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet, and they gave way\nonly to the greater distress of Mr. Bingley's continued absence.]
[Neither Jane nor Elizabeth were comfortable on this subject.]
[Day after day passed away without bringing any other tidings of\nhim than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton of his\ncoming no more to Netherfield the whole winter; a report which\nhighly incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never failed to\ncontradict as a most scandalous falsehood.]
[Even Elizabeth began to fear--not that Bingley was indifferent--but\nthat his sisters would be successful in keeping him away.]
[Unwilling as she was to admit an idea so destructive of Jane's\nhappiness, and so dishonorable to the stability of her lover, she\ncould not prevent its frequently occurring.]
[The united efforts of\nhis two unfeeling sisters and of his overpowering friend, assisted\nby the attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements of London\nmight be too much, she feared, for the strength of his attachment.]
[As for Jane, _her_ anxiety under this suspense was, of course,\nmore painful than Elizabeth's, but whatever she felt she was\ndesirous of concealing, and between herself and Elizabeth,\ntherefore, the subject was never alluded to.]
[But as no such\ndelicacy restrained her mother, an hour seldom passed in which\nshe did not talk of Bingley, express her impatience for his arrival,\nor even require Jane to confess that if he did not come back she\nwould think herself very ill used.]
[It needed all Jane's steady\nmildness to bear these attacks with tolerable tranquillity.]
[Mr. Collins returned most punctually on Monday fortnight, but\nhis reception at Longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had\nbeen on his first introduction.]
[He was too happy, however, to\nneed much attention; and luckily for the others, the business\nof love-making relieved them from a great deal of his company.]
[The chief of every day was spent by him at Lucas Lodge, and he\nsometimes returned to Longbourn only in time to make an\napology for his absence before the family went to bed.]
[Mrs. Bennet was really in a most pitiable state.]
[The very\nmention of anything concerning the match threw her into an\nagony of ill-humour, and wherever she went she was sure of\nhearing it talked of.]
[The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to\nher.]
[As her successor in that house, she regarded her with\njealous abhorrence.]
[Whenever Charlotte came to see them,\nshe concluded her to be anticipating the hour of possession;\nand whenever she spoke in a low voice to Mr. Collins, was\nconvinced that they were talking of the Longbourn estate, and\nresolving to turn herself and her daughters out of the house,\nas soon as Mr. Bennet were dead.]
[She complained bitterly of\nall this to her husband.]
[\"Indeed, Mr. Bennet,\" said she, \"it is very hard to think that\nCharlotte Lucas should ever be mistress of this house, that I\nshould be forced to make way for _her_, and live to see her take\nher place in it!]
[\"\n\n\"My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts.]
[Let us\nhope for better things.]
[Let us flatter ourselves that I may be\nthe survivor.]
[\"\n\nThis was not very consoling to Mrs. Bennet, and therefore, instead\nof making any answer, she went on as before.]
[\"I cannot bear to think that they should have all this estate.]
[If it was not for the entail, I should not mind it.]
[\"\n\n\"What should not you mind?]
[\"\n\n\"I should not mind anything at all.]
[\"\n\n\"Let us be thankful that you are preserved from a state of such\ninsensibility.]
[\"\n\n\"I never can be thankful, Mr. Bennet, for anything about the\nentail.]
[How anyone could have the conscience to entail away an\nestate from one's own daughters, I cannot understand; and all\nfor the sake of Mr. Collins too!]
[Why should _he_ have it more\nthan anybody else?]
[\"\n\n\"I leave it to yourself to determine,\" said Mr. Bennet.]
[Chapter 24\n\n\nMiss Bingley's letter arrived, and put an end to doubt.]
[The very\nfirst sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled\nin London for the winter, and concluded with her brother's regret\nat not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in\nHertfordshire before he left the country.]
[Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the\nrest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection\nof the writer, that could give her any comfort.]
[Miss Darcy's\npraise occupied the chief of it.]
[Her many attractions were again\ndwelt on, and Caroline boasted joyfully of their increasing\nintimacy, and ventured to predict the accomplishment of the\nwishes which had been unfolded in her former letter.]
[She wrote\nalso with great pleasure of her brother's being an inmate of Mr.\nDarcy's house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of the\nlatter with regard to new furniture.]
[Elizabeth, to whom Jane very soon communicated the chief of\nall this, heard it in silent indignation.]
[Her heart was divided\nbetween concern for her sister, and resentment against all others.]
[To Caroline's assertion of her brother's being partial to Miss\nDarcy she paid no credit.]
[That he was really fond of Jane, she\ndoubted no more than she had ever done; and much as she had\nalways been disposed to like him, she could not think without\nanger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that\nwant of proper resolution, which now made him the slave of his\ndesigning friends, and led him to sacrifice of his own happiness\nto the caprice of their inclination.]
[Had his own happiness,\nhowever, been the only sacrifice, he might have been allowed to\nsport with it in whatever manner he thought best, but her sister's\nwas involved in it, as she thought he must be sensible himself.]
[It was a subject, in short, on which reflection would be long\nindulged, and must be unavailing.]
[She could think of nothing\nelse; and yet whether Bingley's regard had really died away, or\nwere suppressed by his friends' interference; whether he had\nbeen aware of Jane's attachment, or whether it had escaped his\nobservation; whatever were the case, though her opinion of him\nmust be materially affected by the difference, her sister's\nsituation remained the same, her peace equally wounded.]
[A day or two passed before Jane had courage to speak of her\nfeelings to Elizabeth; but at last, on Mrs. Bennet's leaving them\ntogether, after a longer irritation than usual about Netherfield\nand its master, she could not help saying:\n\n\"Oh, that my dear mother had more command over herself!]
[She\ncan have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual\nreflections on him.]
[But I will not repine.]
[It cannot last long.]
[He will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude, but\nsaid nothing.]
[\"You doubt me,\" cried Jane, slightly colouring; \"indeed, you\nhave no reason.]
[He may live in my memory as the most amiable\nman of my acquaintance, but that is all.]
[I have nothing either\nto hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with.]
[Thank God!]
[I\nhave not _that_ pain.]
[A little time, therefore--I shall certainly\ntry to get the better.]
[\"\n\nWith a stronger voice she soon added, \"I have this comfort\nimmediately, that it has not been more than an error of fancy on\nmy side, and that it has done no harm to anyone but myself.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear Jane!]
[\" exclaimed Elizabeth, \"you are too good.]
[Your\nsweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic; I do not know\nwhat to say to you.]
[I feel as if I had never done you justice, or\nloved you as you deserve.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit, and\nthrew back the praise on her sister's warm affection.]
[\"Nay,\" said Elizabeth, \"this is not fair.]
[_You_ wish to think all\nthe world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of anybody.]
[I\nonly want to think _you_ perfect, and you set yourself against it.]
[Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching\non your privilege of universal good-will.]
[You need not.]
[There\nare few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think\nwell.]
[The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied\nwith it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of\nall human characters, and of the little dependence that can be\nplaced on the appearance of merit or sense.]
[I have met with two\ninstances lately, one I will not mention; the other is Charlotte's\nmarriage.]
[It is unaccountable!]
[In every view it is unaccountable!]
[\"\n\n\"My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these.]
[They\nwill ruin your happiness.]
[You do not make allowance enough\nfor difference of situation and temper.]
[Consider Mr. Collins's\nrespectability, and Charlotte's steady, prudent character.]
[Remember that she is one of a large family; that as to fortune,\nit is a most eligible match; and be ready to believe, for\neverybody's sake, that she may feel something like regard and\nesteem for our cousin.]
[\"\n\n\"To oblige you, I would try to believe almost anything, but no\none else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were I\npersuaded that Charlotte had any regard for him, I should only\nthink worse of her understanding than I now do of her heart.]
[My dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded,\nsilly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel,\nas well as I do, that the woman who married him cannot have a\nproper way of thinking.]
[You shall not defend her, though it is\nCharlotte Lucas.]
[You shall not, for the sake of one individual,\nchange the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to\npersuade yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and\ninsensibility of danger security for happiness.]
[\"\n\n\"I must think your language too strong in speaking of both,\"\nreplied Jane; \"and I hope you will be convinced of it by seeing\nthem happy together.]
[But enough of this.]
[You alluded to\nsomething else.]
[You mentioned _two_ instances.]
[I cannot\nmisunderstand you, but I entreat you, dear Lizzy, not to pain\nme by thinking _that person_ to blame, and saying your opinion\nof him is sunk.]
[We must not be so ready to fancy ourselves\nintentionally injured.]
[We must not expect a lively young man to\nbe always so guarded and circumspect.]
[It is very often nothing\nbut our own vanity that deceives us.]
[Women fancy admiration\nmeans more than it does.]
[\"\n\n\"And men take care that they should.]
[\"\n\n\"If it is designedly done, they cannot be justified; but I have no\nidea of there being so much design in the world as some persons\nimagine.]
[\"\n\n\"I am far from attributing any part of Mr. Bingley's conduct to\ndesign,\" said Elizabeth; \"but without scheming to do wrong, or\nto make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be\nmisery.]
[Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people's\nfeelings, and want of resolution, will do the business.]
[\"\n\n\"And do you impute it to either of those?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; to the last.]
[But if I go on, I shall displease you by saying\nwhat I think of persons you esteem.]
[Stop me whilst you can.]
[\"\n\n\"You persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, in conjunction with his friend.]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot believe it.]
[Why should they try to influence him?]
[They can only wish his happiness; and if he is attached to me,\nno other woman can secure it.]
[\"\n\n\"Your first position is false.]
[They may wish many things besides\nhis happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and\nconsequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the\nimportance of money, great connections, and pride.]
[\"\n\n\"Beyond a doubt, they _do_ wish him to choose Miss Darcy,\"\nreplied Jane; \"but this may be from better feelings than you are\nsupposing.]
[They have known her much longer than they have\nknown me; no wonder if they love her better.]
[But, whatever\nmay be their own wishes, it is very unlikely they should have\nopposed their brother's.]
[What sister would think herself at\nliberty to do it, unless there were something very objectionable?]
[If they believed him attached to me, they would not try to part\nus; if he were so, they could not succeed.]
[By supposing such\nan affection, you make everybody acting unnaturally and wrong,\nand me most unhappy.]
[Do not distress me by the idea.]
[I am not\nashamed of having been mistaken--or, at least, it is light, it\nis nothing in comparison of what I should feel in thinking ill\nof him or his sisters.]
[Let me take it in the best light, in\nthe light in which it may be understood.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not oppose such a wish; and from this time\nMr. Bingley's name was scarcely ever mentioned between them.]
[Mrs. Bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning\nno more, and though a day seldom passed in which Elizabeth did\nnot account for it clearly, there was little chance of her ever\nconsidering it with less perplexity.]
[Her daughter endeavoured\nto convince her of what she did not believe herself, that his\nattentions to Jane had been merely the effect of a common and\ntransient liking, which ceased when he saw her no more; but\nthough the probability of the statement was admitted at the time,\nshe had the same story to repeat every day.]
[Mrs. Bennet's best\ncomfort was that Mr. Bingley must be down again in the\nsummer.]
[Mr. Bennet treated the matter differently.]
[\"So, Lizzy,\" said he\none day, \"your sister is crossed in love, I find.]
[I congratulate\nher.]
[Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little in\nlove now and then.]
[It is something to think of, and it gives her a\nsort of distinction among her companions.]
[When is your turn to\ncome?]
[You will hardly bear to be long outdone by Jane.]
[Now is\nyour time.]
[Here are officers enough in Meryton to disappoint all\nthe young ladies in the country.]
[Let Wickham be _your_ man.]
[He\nis a pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably.]
[\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir, but a less agreeable man would satisfy me.]
[We\nmust not all expect Jane's good fortune.]
[\"\n\n\"True,\" said Mr. Bennet, \"but it is a comfort to think that\nwhatever of that kind may befall you, you have an affectionate\nmother who will make the most of it.]
[\"\n\nMr. Wickham's society was of material service in dispelling the\ngloom which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many\nof the Longbourn family.]
[They saw him often, and to his other\nrecommendations was now added that of general unreserve.]
[The whole of what Elizabeth had already heard, his claims on\nMr. Darcy, and all that he had suffered from him, was now\nopenly acknowledged and publicly canvassed; and everybody\nwas pleased to know how much they had always disliked Mr.\nDarcy before they had known anything of the matter.]
[Miss Bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might\nbe any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the\nsociety of Hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always\npleaded for allowances, and urged the possibility of mistakes--but\nby everybody else Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of men.]
[Chapter 25\n\n\nAfter a week spent in professions of love and schemes of felicity,\nMr. Collins was called from his amiable Charlotte by the arrival\nof Saturday.]
[The pain of separation, however, might be\nalleviated on his side, by preparations for the reception of his\nbride; as he had reason to hope, that shortly after his return into\nHertfordshire, the day would be fixed that was to make him the\nhappiest of men.]
[He took leave of his relations at Longbourn\nwith as much solemnity as before; wished his fair cousins health\nand happiness again, and promised their father another letter of\nthanks.]
[On the following Monday, Mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of\nreceiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend\nthe Christmas at Longbourn.]
[Mr. Gardiner was a sensible,\ngentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister, as well by\nnature as education.]
[The Netherfield ladies would have had\ndifficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade, and within\nview of his own warehouses, could have been so well-bred and\nagreeable.]
[Mrs. Gardiner, who was several years younger than\nMrs. Bennet and Mrs. Phillips, was an amiable, intelligent,\nelegant woman, and a great favourite with all her Longbourn\nnieces.]
[Between the two eldest and herself especially, there\nsubsisted a particular regard.]
[They had frequently been staying\nwith her in town.]
[The first part of Mrs. Gardiner's business on her arrival was to\ndistribute her presents and describe the newest fashions.]
[When\nthis was done she had a less active part to play.]
[It became her\nturn to listen.]
[Mrs. Bennet had many grievances to relate, and\nmuch to complain of.]
[They had all been very ill-used since she\nlast saw her sister.]
[Two of her girls had been upon the point of\nmarriage, and after all there was nothing in it.]
[\"I do not blame Jane,\" she continued, \"for Jane would have got\nMr. Bingley if she could.]
[But Lizzy!]
[Oh, sister!]
[It is very hard\nto think that she might have been Mr. Collins's wife by this time,\nhad it not been for her own perverseness.]
[He made her an offer\nin this very room, and she refused him.]
[The consequence of it is,\nthat Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before I have, and\nthat the Longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever.]
[The\nLucases are very artful people indeed, sister.]
[They are all for\nwhat they can get.]
[I am sorry to say it of them, but so it is.]
[It makes me very nervous and poorly, to be thwarted so in my own\nfamily, and to have neighbours who think of themselves before\nanybody else.]
[However, your coming just at this time is the\ngreatest of comforts, and I am very glad to hear what you tell us,\nof long sleeves.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Gardiner, to whom the chief of this news had been given\nbefore, in the course of Jane and Elizabeth's correspondence\nwith her, made her sister a slight answer, and, in compassion to\nher nieces, turned the conversation.]
[When alone with Elizabeth afterwards, she spoke more on the\nsubject.]
[\"It seems likely to have been a desirable match for\nJane,\" said she.]
[\"I am sorry it went off.]
[But these things\nhappen so often!]
[A young man, such as you describe Mr. Bingley,\nso easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and\nwhen accident separates them, so easily forgets her, that these\nsort of inconsistencies are very frequent.]
[\"\n\n\"An excellent consolation in its way,\" said Elizabeth, \"but it will\nnot do for _us_.]
[We do not suffer by _accident_.]
[It does not often\nhappen that the interference of friends will persuade a young\nman of independent fortune to think no more of a girl whom he\nwas violently in love with only a few days before.]
[\"\n\n\"But that expression of 'violently in love' is so hackneyed,\nso doubtful, so indefinite, that it gives me very little idea.]
[It is as often applied to feelings which arise from a half-hour's\nacquaintance, as to a real, strong attachment.]
[Pray, how\n_violent was_ Mr. Bingley's love?]
[\"\n\n\"I never saw a more promising inclination; he was growing quite\ninattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her.]
[Every\ntime they met, it was more decided and remarkable.]
[At his own\nball he offended two or three young ladies, by not asking them to\ndance; and I spoke to him twice myself, without receiving an answer.]
[Could there be finer symptoms?]
[Is not general incivility the very\nessence of love?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, yes!--of that kind of love which I suppose him to have felt.]
[Poor Jane!]
[I am sorry for her, because, with her disposition, she\nmay not get over it immediately.]
[It had better have happened to\n_you_, Lizzy; you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner.]
[But do you think she would be prevailed upon to go back with\nus?]
[Change of scene might be of service--and perhaps a little\nrelief from home may be as useful as anything.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal, and felt\npersuaded of her sister's ready acquiescence.]
[\"I hope,\" added Mrs. Gardiner, \"that no consideration with\nregard to this young man will influence her.]
[We live in so\ndifferent a part of town, all our connections are so different, and,\nas you well know, we go out so little, that it is very improbable\nthat they should meet at all, unless he really comes to see her.]
[\"\n\n\"And _that_ is quite impossible; for he is now in the custody of\nhis friend, and Mr. Darcy would no more suffer him to call on\nJane in such a part of London!]
[My dear aunt, how could you\nthink of it?]
[Mr. Darcy may perhaps have _heard_ of such a\nplace as Gracechurch Street, but he would hardly think a\nmonth's ablution enough to cleanse him from its impurities, were\nhe once to enter it; and depend upon it, Mr. Bingley never stirs\nwithout him.]
[\"\n\n\"So much the better.]
[I hope they will not meet at all.]
[But does\nnot Jane correspond with his sister?]
[_She_ will not be able to\nhelp calling.]
[\"\n\n\"She will drop the acquaintance entirely.]
[\"\n\nBut in spite of the certainty in which Elizabeth affected to place\nthis point, as well as the still more interesting one of Bingley's\nbeing withheld from seeing Jane, she felt a solicitude on the\nsubject which convinced her, on examination, that she did not\nconsider it entirely hopeless.]
[It was possible, and sometimes she\nthought it probable, that his affection might be reanimated, and\nthe influence of his friends successfully combated by the more\nnatural influence of Jane's attractions.]
[Miss Bennet accepted her aunt's invitation with pleasure; and\nthe Bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the same time,\nthan as she hoped by Caroline's not living in the same house\nwith her brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with\nher, without any danger of seeing him.]
[The Gardiners stayed a week at Longbourn; and what with the\nPhillipses, the Lucases, and the officers, there was not a day\nwithout its engagement.]
[Mrs. Bennet had so carefully provided\nfor the entertainment of her brother and sister, that they did\nnot once sit down to a family dinner.]
[When the engagement was\nfor home, some of the officers always made part of it--of\nwhich officers Mr. Wickham was sure to be one; and on these\noccasion, Mrs. Gardiner, rendered suspicious by Elizabeth's\nwarm commendation, narrowly observed them both.]
[Without\nsupposing them, from what she saw, to be very seriously in love,\ntheir preference of each other was plain enough to make her a\nlittle uneasy; and she resolved to speak to Elizabeth on the\nsubject before she left Hertfordshire, and represent to her the\nimprudence of encouraging such an attachment.]
[To Mrs. Gardiner, Wickham had one means of affording pleasure,\nunconnected with his general powers.]
[About ten or a dozen years\nago, before her marriage, she had spent a considerable time in\nthat very part of Derbyshire to which he belonged.]
[They had,\ntherefore, many acquaintances in common; and though Wickham had\nbeen little there since the death of Darcy's father, it was yet\nin his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former\nfriends than she had been in the way of procuring.]
[Mrs. Gardiner had seen Pemberley, and known the late Mr. Darcy\nby character perfectly well.]
[Here consequently was an\ninexhaustible subject of discourse.]
[In comparing her recollection\nof Pemberley with the minute description which Wickham could\ngive, and in bestowing her tribute of praise on the character of\nits late possessor, she was delighting both him and herself.]
[On\nbeing made acquainted with the present Mr. Darcy's treatment\nof him, she tried to remember some of that gentleman's reputed\ndisposition when quite a lad which might agree with it, and was\nconfident at last that she recollected having heard Mr.\nFitzwilliam Darcy formerly spoken of as a very proud, ill-natured\nboy.]
[Chapter 26\n\n\nMrs. Gardiner's caution to Elizabeth was punctually and kindly\ngiven on the first favourable opportunity of speaking to her\nalone; after honestly telling her what she thought, she thus went\non:\n\n\"You are too sensible a girl, Lizzy, to fall in love merely because\nyou are warned against it; and, therefore, I am not afraid of\nspeaking openly.]
[Seriously, I would have you be on your guard.]
[Do not involve yourself or endeavour to involve him in an\naffection which the want of fortune would make so very\nimprudent.]
[I have nothing to say against _him_; he is a most\ninteresting young man; and if he had the fortune he ought to\nhave, I should think you could not do better.]
[But as it is, you\nmust not let your fancy run away with you.]
[You have sense, and\nwe all expect you to use it.]
[Your father would depend on\n_your_ resolution and good conduct, I am sure.]
[You must not\ndisappoint your father.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear aunt, this is being serious indeed.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, and I hope to engage you to be serious likewise.]
[\"\n\n\"Well, then, you need not be under any alarm.]
[I will take care\nof myself, and of Mr. Wickham too.]
[He shall not be in love with\nme, if I can prevent it.]
[\"\n\n\"Elizabeth, you are not serious now.]
[\"\n\n\"I beg your pardon, I will try again.]
[At present I am not in\nlove with Mr. Wickham; no, I certainly am not.]
[But he is, beyond\nall comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw--and if he\nbecomes really attached to me--I believe it will be better that\nhe should not.]
[I see the imprudence of it.]
[Oh!]
[_that_ abominable\nMr. Darcy!]
[My father's opinion of me does me the greatest\nhonour, and I should be miserable to forfeit it.]
[My father,\nhowever, is partial to Mr. Wickham.]
[In short, my dear aunt,\nI should be very sorry to be the means of making any of you\nunhappy; but since we see every day that where there is\naffection, young people are seldom withheld by immediate want\nof fortune from entering into engagements with each other, how\ncan I promise to be wiser than so many of my fellow-creatures\nif I am tempted, or how am I even to know that it would be\nwisdom  to resist?]
[All that I can promise you, therefore, is not\nto be in a hurry.]
[I will not be in a hurry to believe myself his\nfirst object.]
[When I am in company with him, I will not be\nwishing.]
[In short, I will do my best.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps it will be as well if you discourage his coming here so\nvery often.]
[At least, you should not _remind_ your mother of\ninviting him.]
[\"\n\n\"As I did the other day,\" said Elizabeth with a conscious smile:\n\"very true, it will be wise in me to refrain from _that_.]
[But do\nnot imagine that he is always here so often.]
[It is on your\naccount that he has been so frequently invited this week.]
[You\nknow my mother's ideas as to the necessity of constant company\nfor her friends.]
[But really, and upon my honour, I will try to do\nwhat I think to be the wisest; and now I hope you are satisfied.]
[\"\n\nHer aunt assured her that she was, and Elizabeth having thanked\nher for the kindness of her hints, they parted; a wonderful\ninstance of advice being given on such a point, without being\nresented.]
[Mr. Collins returned into Hertfordshire soon after it had been\nquitted by the Gardiners and Jane; but as he took up his abode\nwith the Lucases, his arrival was no great inconvenience to Mrs.\nBennet.]
[His marriage was now fast approaching, and she was at\nlength so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and even\nrepeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she \"_wished_ they\nmight be happy.]
[\"  Thursday was to be the wedding day, and on\nWednesday Miss Lucas paid her farewell visit; and when she\nrose to take leave, Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother's\nungracious and reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affected\nherself, accompanied her out of the room.]
[As they went\ndownstairs together, Charlotte said:\n\n\"I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.]
[\"\n\n\"_That_ you certainly shall.]
[\"\n\n\"And I have another favour to ask you.]
[Will you come and see\nme?]
[\"\n\n\"We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.]
[\"\n\n\"I am not likely to leave Kent for some time.]
[Promise me,\ntherefore, to come to Hunsford.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not refuse, though she foresaw little pleasure\nin the visit.]
[\"My father and Maria are coming to me in March,\" added\nCharlotte, \"and I hope you will consent to be of the party.]
[Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome as either of them.]
[\"\n\nThe wedding took place; the bride and bridegroom set off for\nKent from the church door, and everybody had as much to say,\nor to hear, on the subject as usual.]
[Elizabeth soon heard from\nher friend; and their correspondence was as regular and frequent\nas it had ever been; that it should be equally unreserved was\nimpossible.]
[Elizabeth could never address her without feeling\nthat all the comfort of intimacy was over, and though determined\nnot to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of what\nhad been, rather than what was.]
[Charlotte's first letters were\nreceived with a good deal of eagerness; there could not but be\ncuriosity to know how she would speak of her new home, how\nshe would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would dare\npronounce herself to be; though, when the letters were read,\nElizabeth felt that Charlotte expressed herself on every point\nexactly as she might have foreseen.]
[She wrote cheerfully,\nseemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing which\nshe could not praise.]
[The house, furniture, neighbourhood, and\nroads, were all to her taste, and Lady Catherine's behaviour\nwas most friendly and obliging.]
[It was Mr. Collins's picture\nof Hunsford and Rosings rationally softened; and Elizabeth\nperceived that she must wait for her own visit there to know the\nrest.]
[Jane had already written a few lines to her sister to announce\ntheir safe arrival in London; and when she wrote again, Elizabeth\nhoped it would be in her power to say something of the\nBingleys.]
[Her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded as\nimpatience generally is.]
[Jane had been a week in town without\neither seeing or hearing from Caroline.]
[She accounted for it,\nhowever, by supposing that her last letter to her friend from\nLongbourn had by some accident been lost.]
[\"My aunt,\" she continued, \"is going to-morrow into that part of\nthe town, and I shall take the opportunity of calling in Grosvenor\nStreet.]
[\"\n\nShe wrote again when the visit was paid, and she had seen Miss\nBingley.]
[\"I did not think Caroline in spirits,\" were her words,\n\"but she was very glad to see me, and reproached me for giving\nher no notice of my coming to London.]
[I was right, therefore,\nmy last letter had never reached her.]
[I inquired after their\nbrother, of course.]
[He was well, but so much engaged with Mr.\nDarcy that they scarcely ever saw him.]
[I found that Miss Darcy\nwas expected to dinner.]
[I wish I could see her.]
[My visit was\nnot long, as Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out.]
[I dare say\nI shall see them soon here.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth shook her head over this letter.]
[It convinced her that\naccident only could discover to Mr. Bingley her sister's being in\ntown.]
[Four weeks passed away, and Jane saw nothing of him.]
[She\nendeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it; but\nshe could no longer be blind to Miss Bingley's inattention.]
[After\nwaiting at home every morning for a fortnight, and inventing\nevery evening a fresh excuse for her, the visitor did at last\nappear; but the shortness of her stay, and yet more, the alteration\nof her manner would allow Jane to deceive herself no longer.]
[The letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister will\nprove what she felt.]
[\"My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure, be incapable of triumphing in\nher better judgement, at my expense, when I confess myself to\nhave been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley's regard for me.]
[But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do\nnot think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what\nher behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion.]
[I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate\nwith me; but if the same circumstances were to happen again, I\nam sure I should be deceived again.]
[Caroline did not return my\nvisit till yesterday; and not a note, not a line, did I receive\nin the meantime.]
[When she did come, it was very evident that she\nhad no pleasure in it; she made a slight, formal apology, for not\ncalling before, said not a word of wishing to see me again, and\nwas in every respect so altered a creature, that when she went\naway I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no\nlonger.]
[I pity, though I cannot help blaming her.]
[She was very\nwrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say that every\nadvance to intimacy began on her side.]
[But I pity her, because\nshe must feel that she has been acting wrong, and because I am\nvery sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it.]
[I need\nnot explain myself farther; and though _we_ know this anxiety to\nbe quite needless, yet if she feels it, it will easily account\nfor her behaviour to me; and so deservedly dear as he is to his\nsister, whatever anxiety she must feel on his behalf is natural\nand amiable.]
[I cannot but wonder, however, at her having any\nsuch fears now, because, if he had at all cared about me, we\nmust have met, long ago.]
[He knows of my being in town, I am\ncertain, from something she said herself; and yet it would seem,\nby her manner of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herself\nthat he is really partial to Miss Darcy.]
[I cannot understand it.]
[If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost\ntempted to say that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in\nall this.]
[But I will endeavour to banish every painful thought,\nand think only of what will make me happy--your affection, and\nthe invariable kindness of my dear uncle and aunt.]
[Let me hear\nfrom you very soon.]
[Miss Bingley said something of his never\nreturning to Netherfield again, of giving up the house, but not\nwith any certainty.]
[We had better not mention it.]
[I am extremely\nglad that you have such pleasant accounts from our friends at\nHunsford.]
[Pray go to see them, with Sir William and Maria.]
[I am\nsure you will be very comfortable there.--Yours, etc.\"\n\nThis letter gave Elizabeth some pain; but her spirits returned as\nshe considered that Jane would no longer be duped, by the sister\nat least.]
[All expectation from the brother was now absolutely\nover.]
[She would not even wish for a renewal of his attentions.]
[His character sunk on every review of it; and as a punishment for\nhim, as well as a possible advantage to Jane, she seriously hoped\nhe might really soon marry Mr. Darcy's sister, as by Wickham's\naccount, she would make him abundantly regret what he had\nthrown away.]
[Mrs. Gardiner about this time reminded Elizabeth of her promise\nconcerning that gentleman, and required information; and\nElizabeth had such to send as might rather give contentment to\nher aunt than to herself.]
[His apparent partiality had subsided,\nhis attentions were over, he was the admirer of some one else.]
[Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it\nand write of it without material pain.]
[Her heart had been but\nslightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing that\n_she_ would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it.]
[The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most\nremarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering\nhimself agreeable; but Elizabeth, less clear-sighted perhaps in\nthis case than in Charlotte's, did not quarrel with him for his\nwish of independence.]
[Nothing, on the contrary, could be more\nnatural; and while able to suppose that it cost him a few struggles\nto relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise and desirable\nmeasure for both, and could very sincerely wish him happy.]
[All this was acknowledged to Mrs. Gardiner; and after relating\nthe circumstances, she thus went on: \"I am now convinced, my\ndear aunt, that I have never been much in love; for had I really\nexperienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present\ndetest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil.]
[But my\nfeelings are not only cordial towards _him_; they are even\nimpartial towards Miss King.]
[I cannot find out that I hate her at\nall, or that I am in the least unwilling to think her a very good\nsort of girl.]
[There can be no love in all this.]
[My watchfulness\nhas been effectual; and though I certainly should be a more\ninteresting object to all my acquaintances were I distractedly\nin love with him, I cannot say that I regret my comparative\ninsignificance.]
[Importance may sometimes be purchased too\ndearly.]
[Kitty and Lydia take his defection much more to heart\nthan I do.]
[They are young in the ways of the world, and not\nyet open to the mortifying conviction that handsome young men\nmust have something to live on as well as the plain.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 27\n\n\nWith no greater events than these in the Longbourn family, and\notherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to Meryton,\nsometimes dirty and sometimes cold, did January and February\npass away.]
[March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford.]
[She had\nnot at first thought very seriously of going thither; but Charlotte,\nshe soon found, was depending on the plan and she gradually\nlearned to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as\ngreater certainty.]
[Absence had increased her desire of seeing\nCharlotte again, and weakened her disgust of Mr. Collins.]
[There\nwas novelty in the scheme, and as, with such a mother and such\nuncompanionable sisters, home could not be faultless, a little\nchange was not unwelcome for its own sake.]
[The journey\nwould moreover give her a peep at Jane; and, in short, as the\ntime drew near, she would have been very sorry for any delay.]
[Everything, however, went on smoothly, and was finally settled\naccording to Charlotte's first sketch.]
[She was to accompany Sir\nWilliam and his second daughter.]
[The improvement of spending\na night in London was added in time, and the plan became\nperfect as plan could be.]
[The only pain was in leaving her father, who would certainly\nmiss her, and who, when it came to the point, so little liked her\ngoing, that he told her to write to him, and almost promised to\nanswer her letter.]
[The farewell between herself and Mr. Wickham was perfectly\nfriendly; on his side even more.]
[His present pursuit could not\nmake him forget that Elizabeth had been the first to excite and to\ndeserve his attention, the first to listen and to pity, the first\nto be admired; and in his manner of bidding her adieu, wishing\nher every enjoyment, reminding her of what she was to expect in\nLady Catherine de Bourgh, and trusting their opinion of her--their\nopinion of everybody--would always coincide, there was a solicitude,\nan interest which she felt must ever attach her to him with a most\nsincere regard; and she parted from him convinced that, whether\nmarried or single, he must always be her model of the amiable and\npleasing.]
[Her fellow-travellers the next day were not of a kind to make her\nthink him less agreeable.]
[Sir William Lucas, and his daughter\nMaria, a good-humoured girl, but as empty-headed as himself,\nhad nothing to say that could be worth hearing, and were\nlistened to with about as much delight as the rattle of the chaise.]
[Elizabeth loved absurdities, but she had known Sir William's too\nlong.]
[He could tell her nothing new of the wonders of his\npresentation and knighthood; and his civilities were worn out,\nlike his information.]
[It was a journey of only twenty-four miles, and they began it so\nearly as to be in Gracechurch Street by noon.]
[As they drove\nto Mr. Gardiner's door, Jane was at a drawing-room window\nwatching their arrival; when they entered the passage she was\nthere to welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her\nface, was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever.]
[On the\nstairs were a troop of little boys and girls, whose eagerness for\ntheir cousin's appearance would not allow them to wait in the\ndrawing-room, and whose shyness, as they had not seen her for\na twelvemonth, prevented their coming lower.]
[All was joy and\nkindness.]
[The day passed most pleasantly away; the morning in\nbustle and shopping, and the evening at one of the theatres.]
[Elizabeth then contrived to sit by her aunt.]
[Their first object was\nher sister; and she was more grieved than astonished to hear, in\nreply to her minute inquiries, that though Jane always struggled\nto support her spirits, there were periods of dejection.]
[It was\nreasonable, however, to hope that they would not continue long.]
[Mrs. Gardiner gave her the particulars also of Miss Bingley's\nvisit in Gracechurch Street, and repeated conversations\noccurring at different times between Jane and herself, which\nproved that the former had, from her heart, given up the\nacquaintance.]
[Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on  Wickham's desertion,\nand complimented her on bearing it so well.]
[\"But my dear Elizabeth,\" she added, \"what sort of girl is Miss\nKing?]
[I should be sorry to think our friend mercenary.]
[\"\n\n\"Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial\naffairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive?]
[Where\ndoes discretion end, and avarice begin?]
[Last Christmas you\nwere afraid of his marrying me, because it would be imprudent;\nand now, because he is trying to get a girl with only ten\nthousand pounds, you want to find out that he is mercenary.]
[\"\n\n\"If you will only tell me what sort of girl Miss King is, I shall\nknow what to think.]
[\"\n\n\"She is a very good kind of girl, I believe.]
[I know no harm of\nher.]
[\"\n\n\"But he paid her not the smallest attention till her grandfather's\ndeath made her mistress of this fortune.]
[\"\n\n\"No--what should he?]
[If it were not allowable for him to gain\n_my_ affections because I had no money, what occasion could\nthere be for making love to a girl whom he did not care about,\nand who was equally poor?]
[\"\n\n\"But there seems an indelicacy in directing his attentions\ntowards her so soon after this event.]
[\"\n\n\"A man in distressed circumstances has not time for all those\nelegant decorums which other people may observe.]
[If _she_ does\nnot object to it, why should _we_?]
[\"\n\n\"_Her_ not objecting does not justify _him_.]
[It only shows her\nbeing deficient in something herself--sense or feeling.]
[\"\n\n\"Well,\" cried Elizabeth, \"have it as you choose.]
[_He_ shall be\nmercenary, and _she_ shall be foolish.]
[\"\n\n\"No, Lizzy, that is what I do _not_ choose.]
[I should be sorry,\nyou know, to think ill of a young man who has lived so long in\nDerbyshire.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[if that is all, I have a very poor opinion of young men\nwho live in Derbyshire; and their intimate friends who live\nin Hertfordshire are not much better.]
[I am sick of them all.]
[Thank Heaven!]
[I am going to-morrow where I shall find a man\nwho has not one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor\nsense to recommend him.]
[Stupid men are the only ones worth\nknowing, after all.]
[\"\n\n\"Take care, Lizzy; that speech savours strongly of disappointment.]
[\"\n\nBefore they were separated by the conclusion of the play, she\nhad the unexpected happiness of an invitation to accompany her\nuncle and aunt in a tour of pleasure which they proposed taking\nin the summer.]
[\"We have not determined how far it shall carry us,\" said Mrs.\nGardiner, \"but, perhaps, to the Lakes.]
[\"\n\nNo scheme could have been more agreeable to Elizabeth, and\nher acceptance of the invitation was most ready and grateful.]
[\"Oh, my dear, dear aunt,\" she rapturously cried, \"what delight!]
[what felicity!]
[You give me fresh life and vigour.]
[Adieu to\ndisappointment and spleen.]
[What are young men to rocks and\nmountains?]
[Oh!]
[what hours of transport we shall spend!]
[And\nwhen we _do_ return, it shall not be like other travellers,\nwithout being able to give one accurate idea of anything.]
[We\n_will_ know where we have gone--we _will_ recollect what we have\nseen.]
[Lakes, mountains, and rivers shall not be jumbled together\nin our imaginations; nor when we attempt to describe any\nparticular scene, will we begin quarreling about its relative\nsituation.]
[Let _our_ first effusions be less insupportable than\nthose of the generality of travellers.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 28\n\n\nEvery object in the next day's journey was new and interesting\nto Elizabeth; and her spirits were in a state of enjoyment; for\nshe had seen her sister looking so well as to banish all fear for\nher health, and the prospect of her northern tour was a constant\nsource of delight.]
[When they left the high road for the lane to Hunsford, every eye\nwas in search of the Parsonage, and every turning expected to\nbring it in view.]
[The palings of Rosings Park was their boundary\non one side.]
[Elizabeth smiled at the recollection of all that she\nhad heard of its inhabitants.]
[At length the Parsonage was discernible.]
[The garden sloping to\nthe road, the house standing in it, the green pales, and the laurel\nhedge, everything declared they were arriving.]
[Mr. Collins and\nCharlotte appeared at the door, and the carriage stopped at the\nsmall gate which led by a short gravel walk to the house, amidst\nthe nods and smiles of the whole party.]
[In a moment they were\nall out of the chaise, rejoicing at the sight of each other.]
[Mrs. Collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure,\nand Elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming when she\nfound herself so affectionately received.]
[She saw instantly that\nher cousin's manners were not altered by his marriage; his formal\ncivility was just what it had been, and he detained her some\nminutes at the gate to hear and satisfy his inquiries after\nall her family.]
[They were then, with no other delay than his\npointing out the neatness of the entrance, taken into the house;\nand as soon as they were in the parlour, he welcomed them a\nsecond time, with ostentatious formality to his humble abode,\nand punctually repeated all his wife's offers of refreshment.]
[Elizabeth was prepared to see him in his glory; and she could\nnot help in fancying that in displaying the good proportion of\nthe room, its aspect and its furniture, he addressed himself\nparticularly to her, as if wishing to make her feel what she\nhad lost in refusing him.]
[But though everything seemed neat\nand comfortable, she was not able to gratify him by any sigh of\nrepentance, and rather looked with wonder at her friend that\nshe could have so cheerful an air with such a companion.]
[When\nMr. Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be\nashamed, which certainly was not unseldom, she involuntarily\nturned her eye on Charlotte.]
[Once or twice she could discern\na faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear.]
[After sitting long enough to admire every article of furniture in\nthe room, from the sideboard to the fender, to give an account\nof their journey, and of all that had happened in London, Mr.\nCollins invited them to take a stroll in the garden, which was\nlarge and well laid out, and to the cultivation of which he\nattended himself.]
[To work in this garden was one of his most\nrespectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the command of\ncountenance with which Charlotte talked of the healthfulness of\nthe exercise, and owned she encouraged it as much as possible.]
[Here, leading the way through every walk and cross walk, and\nscarcely allowing them an interval to utter the praises he asked\nfor, every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left\nbeauty entirely behind.]
[He could number the fields in every\ndirection, and could tell how many tress there were in the most\ndistant clump.]
[But of all the views which his garden, or which\nthe country or kingdom could boast, none were to be compared\nwith the prospect of Rosings, afforded by an opening in the trees\nthat bordered the park nearly opposite the front of his house.]
[It\nwas a handsome modern building, well situated on rising ground.]
[From his garden, Mr. Collins would have led them round his two\nmeadows; but the ladies, not having shoes to encounter the\nremains of a white frost, turned back; and while Sir William\naccompanied him, Charlotte took her sister and friend over the\nhouse, extremely well pleased, probably, to have the opportunity\nof showing it without her husband's help.]
[It was rather small,\nbut well built and convenient; and everything was fitted up and\narranged with a neatness and consistency of which Elizabeth\ngave Charlotte all the credit.]
[When Mr. Collins could be\nforgotten, there was really an air of great comfort throughout,\nand by Charlotte's evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed\nhe must be often forgotten.]
[She had already learnt that Lady Catherine was still in the\ncountry.]
[It was spoken of again while they were at dinner,\nwhen Mr. Collins joining in, observed:\n\n\"Yes, Miss Elizabeth, you will have the honour of seeing Lady\nCatherine de Bourgh on the ensuing Sunday at church, and I\nneed not say you will be delighted with her.]
[She is all affability\nand condescension, and I doubt not but you will be honoured\nwith some portion of her notice when service is over.]
[I have\nscarcely any hesitation in saying she will include you and my\nsister Maria in every invitation with which she honours us during\nyour stay here.]
[Her behaviour to my dear Charlotte is charming.]
[We dine at Rosings twice every week, and are never allowed to\nwalk home.]
[Her ladyship's carriage is regularly ordered for us.]
[I _should_ say, one of her ladyship's carriages, for she has\nseveral.]
[\"\n\n\"Lady Catherine is a very respectable, sensible woman indeed,\"\nadded Charlotte, \"and a most attentive neighbour.]
[\"\n\n\"Very true, my dear, that is exactly what I say.]
[She is the sort\nof woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.]
[\"\n\nThe evening was  spent chiefly in talking over Hertfordshire\nnews, and telling again what had already been written; and when\nit closed, Elizabeth, in the solitude of her chamber, had to\nmeditate upon Charlotte's degree of contentment, to understand\nher address in guiding, and composure in bearing with, her\nhusband, and to acknowledge that it was all done very well.]
[She\nhad also to anticipate how her visit would pass, the quiet tenor\nof their usual employments, the vexatious interruptions of Mr.\nCollins, and the gaieties of their intercourse with Rosings.]
[A lively imagination soon settled it all.]
[About the middle of the next day, as she was in her room getting\nready for a walk, a sudden noise below seemed to speak the\nwhole house in confusion; and, after listening a moment, she\nheard somebody running upstairs in a violent hurry, and calling\nloudly after her.]
[She opened the door and met Maria in the\nlanding place, who, breathless with agitation, cried out--\n\n\"Oh, my dear Eliza!]
[pray make haste and come into the dining-room,\nfor there is such a sight to be seen!]
[I will not tell you what\nit is.]
[Make haste, and come down this moment.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth asked questions in vain; Maria would tell her nothing\nmore, and down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted\nthe lane, in quest of this wonder; It was two ladies stopping in\na low phaeton at the garden gate.]
[\"And is this all?]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"I expected at least that the\npigs were got into the garden, and here is nothing but Lady\nCatherine and her daughter.]
[\"\n\n\"La!]
[my dear,\" said Maria, quite shocked at the mistake, \"it is\nnot Lady Catherine.]
[The old lady is Mrs. Jenkinson, who lives\nwith them; the other is Miss de Bourgh.]
[Only look at her.]
[She\nis quite a little creature.]
[Who would have thought that she could\nbe so thin and small?]
[\"\n\n\"She is abominably rude to keep Charlotte out of doors in all this\nwind.]
[Why does she not come in?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, Charlotte says she hardly ever does.]
[It is the greatest of\nfavours when Miss de Bourgh comes in.]
[\"\n\n\"I like her appearance,\" said Elizabeth, struck with other ideas.]
[\"She looks sickly and cross.]
[Yes, she will do for him very well.]
[She will make him a very proper wife.]
[\"\n\nMr. Collins and Charlotte were both standing at the gate in\nconversation with the ladies; and Sir William, to Elizabeth's\nhigh diversion, was stationed in the doorway, in earnest\ncontemplation of the greatness before him, and constantly\nbowing whenever Miss de Bourgh looked that way.]
[At length there was nothing more to be said; the ladies drove on,\nand the others returned into the house.]
[Mr. Collins no sooner\nsaw the two girls than he began to congratulate them on their\ngood fortune, which Charlotte explained by letting them know\nthat the whole party was asked to dine at Rosings the next day.]
[Chapter 29\n\n\nMr. Collins's triumph, in consequence of this invitation, was\ncomplete.]
[The power of displaying the grandeur of his patroness\nto his wondering visitors, and of letting them see her civility\ntowards himself and his wife, was exactly what he had wished\nfor; and that an opportunity of doing it should be given so soon,\nwas such an instance of Lady Catherine's condescension, as he\nknew not how to admire enough.]
[\"I confess,\" said he, \"that I should not have been at all surprised\nby her ladyship's asking us on Sunday to drink tea and spend the\nevening at Rosings.]
[I rather expected, from my knowledge of\nher affability, that it would happen.]
[But who could have\nforeseen such an attention as this?]
[Who could have imagined\nthat we should receive an invitation to dine there (an invitation,\nmoreover, including the whole party) so immediately after your\narrival!]
[\"\n\n\"I am the less surprised at what has happened,\" replied Sir\nWilliam, \"from that knowledge of what the manners of the great\nreally are, which my situation in life has allowed me to acquire.]
[About the court, such instances of elegant breeding are not\nuncommon.]
[\"\n\nScarcely anything was talked of the whole day or next morning\nbut their visit to Rosings.]
[Mr. Collins was carefully instructing\nthem in what they were to expect, that the sight of such rooms,\nso many servants, and so splendid a dinner, might not wholly\noverpower them.]
[When the ladies were separating for the toilette, he said to\nElizabeth--\n\n\"Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your\napparel.]
[Lady Catherine is far from requiring that elegance of\ndress in us which becomes herself and her daughter.]
[I would\nadvise you merely to put on whatever of your clothes is superior\nto the rest--there is no occasion for anything more.]
[Lady\nCatherine will not think the worse of you for being simply\ndressed.]
[She likes to have the distinction of rank preserved.]
[\"\n\nWhile they were dressing, he came two or three times to their\ndifferent doors, to recommend their being quick, as Lady\nCatherine very much objected to be kept waiting for her dinner.]
[Such formidable accounts of her ladyship, and her manner of\nliving, quite frightened Maria Lucas who had been little used to\ncompany, and she looked forward to her introduction at Rosings\nwith as much apprehension as her father had done to his\npresentation at St. James's.]
[As the weather was fine, they had a pleasant walk of about half\na mile across the park.]
[Every park has its beauty and its\nprospects; and Elizabeth saw much to be pleased with, though\nshe could not be in such raptures as Mr. Collins expected the\nscene to inspire, and was but slightly affected by his enumeration\nof the windows in front of the house, and his relation of what the\nglazing altogether had originally cost Sir Lewis de Bourgh.]
[When they ascended the steps to the hall, Maria's alarm was\nevery moment increasing, and even Sir William did not look\nperfectly calm.]
[Elizabeth's courage did not fail her.]
[She had\nheard nothing of Lady Catherine that spoke her awful from any\nextraordinary talents or miraculous virtue, and the mere\nstateliness of money or rank she thought she could witness\nwithout trepidation.]
[From the entrance-hall, of which Mr. Collins pointed out, with a\nrapturous air, the fine proportion and the finished ornaments,\nthey followed the servants through an ante-chamber, to the room\nwhere Lady Catherine, her daughter, and Mrs. Jenkinson were\nsitting.]
[Her ladyship, with great condescension, arose to receive\nthem; and as Mrs. Collins had settled it with her husband that the\noffice of introduction should be hers, it was performed in a\nproper manner, without any of those apologies and thanks which\nhe would have thought necessary.]
[In spite of having been at St. James's Sir William was so\ncompletely awed by the grandeur surrounding him, that he had\nbut just courage enough to make a very low bow, and take his\nseat without saying a word; and his daughter, frightened almost\nout of her senses, sat on the edge of her chair, not knowing\nwhich way to look.]
[Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the\nscene, and could observe the three ladies before her composedly.]
[Lady Catherine was a tall, large woman, with strongly-marked\nfeatures, which might once have been handsome.]
[Her air was\nnot conciliating, nor was her manner of receiving them such as\nto make her visitors forget their inferior rank.]
[She was not\nrendered formidable by silence; but whatever she said was\nspoken in so authoritative a tone, as marked her self-importance,\nand brought Mr. Wickham immediately to Elizabeth's mind; and\nfrom the observation of the day altogether, she believed Lady\nCatherine to be exactly what he represented.]
[When, after examining the mother, in whose countenance and\ndeportment she soon found some resemblance of Mr. Darcy, she\nturned her eyes on the daughter, she could almost have joined\nin Maria's astonishment at her being so thin and so small.]
[There\nwas neither in figure nor face any likeness between the ladies.]
[Miss de Bourgh was pale and sickly; her features, though not\nplain, were insignificant; and she spoke very little, except in\na low voice, to Mrs. Jenkinson, in whose appearance there was\nnothing remarkable, and who was entirely engaged in listening to\nwhat she said, and placing a screen in the proper direction before\nher eyes.]
[After sitting a few minutes, they were all sent to one of the\nwindows to admire the view, Mr. Collins attending them to\npoint out its beauties, and Lady Catherine kindly informing\nthem that it was much better worth looking at in the summer.]
[The dinner was exceedingly handsome, and there were all the\nservants and all the articles of plate which Mr. Collins had\npromised; and, as he had likewise foretold, he took his seat at\nthe bottom of the table, by her ladyship's desire, and looked as\nif he felt that life could furnish nothing greater.]
[He carved,\nand ate, and praised with delighted alacrity; and every dish was\ncommended, first by him and then by Sir William, who was now\nenough recovered to echo whatever his son-in-law said, in a\nmanner which Elizabeth wondered Lady Catherine could bear.]
[But Lady Catherine seemed gratified by their excessive admiration,\nand gave most gracious smiles, especially when any dish on the\ntable proved a novelty to them.]
[The party did not supply much\nconversation.]
[Elizabeth was ready to speak whenever there was\nan opening, but she was seated between Charlotte and Miss de\nBourgh--the former of whom was engaged in listening to Lady\nCatherine, and the latter said not a word to her all dinner-time.]
[Mrs. Jenkinson was chiefly employed in watching how little Miss\nde Bourgh ate, pressing her to try some other dish, and fearing\nshe was indisposed.]
[Maria thought speaking out of the question,\nand the gentlemen did nothing but eat and admire.]
[When the ladies returned to the drawing-room, there was little\nto be done but to hear Lady Catherine talk, which she did\nwithout any intermission till coffee came in, delivering her\nopinion on every subject in so decisive a manner, as proved\nthat she was not used to have her judgement controverted.]
[She\ninquired into Charlotte's domestic concerns familiarly and\nminutely, gave her a great deal of advice as to the management\nof them all; told her how everything ought to be regulated in so\nsmall a family as hers, and instructed her as to the care of her\ncows and her poultry.]
[Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath\nthis great lady's attention, which could furnish her with an\noccasion of dictating to others.]
[In the intervals of her discourse\nwith Mrs. Collins, she addressed a variety of questions to Maria\nand Elizabeth, but especially to the latter, of whose connections\nshe knew the least, and who she observed to Mrs. Collins was a\nvery genteel, pretty kind of girl.]
[She asked her, at different\ntimes, how many sisters she had, whether they were older or\nyounger than herself, whether any of them were likely to be\nmarried, whether they were handsome, where they had been\neducated, what carriage her father kept, and what had been her\nmother's maiden name?]
[Elizabeth felt all the impertinence of her\nquestions but answered them very composedly.]
[Lady Catherine\nthen observed,\n\n\"Your father's estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think.]
[For\nyour sake,\" turning to Charlotte, \"I am glad of it; but otherwise I\nsee no occasion for entailing estates from the female line.]
[It was\nnot thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh's family.]
[Do you\nplay and sing, Miss Bennet?]
[\"\n\n\"A little.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[then--some time or other we shall be happy to hear you.]
[Our instrument is a capital one, probably superior to----You\nshall try it some day.]
[Do your sisters play and sing?]
[\"\n\n\"One of them does.]
[\"\n\n\"Why did not you all learn?]
[You ought all to have learned.]
[The\nMiss Webbs all play, and their father has not so good an income\nas yours.]
[Do you draw?]
[\"\n\n\"No, not at all.]
[\"\n\n\"What, none of you?]
[\"\n\n\"Not one.]
[\"\n\n\"That is very strange.]
[But I suppose you had no opportunity.]
[Your mother should have taken you to town every spring for the\nbenefit of masters.]
[\"\n\n\"My mother would have had no objection, but my father hates\nLondon.]
[\"\n\n\"Has your governess left you?]
[\"\n\n\"We never had any governess.]
[\"\n\n\"No governess!]
[How was that possible?]
[Five daughters brought\nup at home without a governess!]
[I never heard of such a thing.]
[Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that had\nnot been the case.]
[\"Then, who taught you?]
[who attended to you?]
[Without a\ngoverness, you must have been neglected.]
[\"\n\n\"Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us\nas wished to learn never wanted the means.]
[We were always\nencouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary.]
[Those who chose to be idle, certainly might.]
[\"\n\n\"Aye, no doubt; but that is what a governess will prevent, and\nif I had known your mother, I should have advised her most\nstrenuously to engage one.]
[I always say that nothing is to be\ndone in education without steady and regular instruction, and\nnobody but a governess can give it.]
[It is wonderful how many\nfamilies I have been the means of supplying in that way.]
[I am\nalways glad to get a young person well placed out.]
[Four nieces\nof Mrs. Jenkinson are most delightfully situated through my\nmeans; and it was but the other day that I recommended another\nyoung person, who was merely accidentally mentioned to me,\nand the family are quite delighted with her.]
[Mrs. Collins, did I\ntell you of Lady Metcalf's calling yesterday to thank me?]
[She\nfinds Miss Pope a treasure.]
['Lady Catherine,' said she, 'you\nhave given me a treasure.]
['  Are any of your younger sisters out,\nMiss Bennet?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, ma'am, all.]
[\"\n\n\"All!]
[What, all five out at once?]
[Very odd!]
[And you only\nthe second.]
[The younger ones out before the elder ones are\nmarried!]
[Your younger sisters must be very young?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, my youngest is not sixteen.]
[Perhaps _she_ is full young to\nbe much in company.]
[But really, ma'am, I think it would be\nvery hard upon younger sisters, that they should not have their\nshare of society and amusement, because the elder may not have\nthe means or inclination to marry early.]
[The last-born has as\ngood a right to the pleasures of youth at the first.]
[And to be\nkept back on _such_ a motive!]
[I think it would not be very likely\nto promote sisterly affection or delicacy of mind.]
[\"\n\n\"Upon my word,\" said her ladyship, \"you give your opinion very\ndecidedly for so young a person.]
[Pray, what is your age?]
[\"\n\n\"With three younger sisters grown up,\" replied Elizabeth,\nsmiling, \"your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it.]
[\"\n\nLady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct\nanswer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature\nwho had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence.]
[\"You cannot be more than twenty, I am sure, therefore you need\nnot conceal your age.]
[\"\n\n\"I am not one-and-twenty.]
[\"\n\nWhen the gentlemen had joined them, and tea was over, the\ncard-tables were placed.]
[Lady Catherine, Sir William, and Mr.\nand Mrs. Collins sat down to quadrille; and as Miss de Bourgh\nchose to play at cassino, the two girls had the honour of\nassisting Mrs. Jenkinson to make up her party.]
[Their table was\nsuperlatively stupid.]
[Scarcely a syllable was uttered that did\nnot relate to the game, except when Mrs. Jenkinson expressed her\nfears of Miss de Bourgh's being too hot or too cold, or having\ntoo much or too little light.]
[A great deal more passed at the\nother table.]
[Lady Catherine was generally speaking--stating\nthe mistakes of the three others, or relating some anecdote of\nherself.]
[Mr. Collins was employed in agreeing to everything\nher ladyship said, thanking her for every fish he won, and\napologising if he thought he won too many.]
[Sir William did not\nsay much.]
[He was storing his memory with anecdotes and noble\nnames.]
[When Lady Catherine and her daughter had played as long as\nthey chose, the tables were broken up, the carriage was offered\nto Mrs. Collins, gratefully accepted and immediately ordered.]
[The party then gathered round the fire to hear Lady Catherine\ndetermine what weather they were to have on the morrow.]
[From\nthese instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the\ncoach; and with many speeches of thankfulness on Mr. Collins's\nside and as many bows on Sir William's they departed.]
[As soon\nas they had driven from the door, Elizabeth was called on by her\ncousin to give her opinion of all that she had seen at Rosings,\nwhich, for Charlotte's sake, she made more favourable than it\nreally was.]
[But her commendation, though costing her some\ntrouble, could by no means satisfy Mr. Collins, and he was very\nsoon obliged to take her ladyship's praise into his own hands.]
[Chapter 30\n\n\nSir William stayed only a week at Hunsford, but his visit was\nlong enough to convince him of his daughter's being most\ncomfortably settled, and of her possessing such a husband and\nsuch a neighbour as were not often met with.]
[While Sir William\nwas with them, Mr. Collins devoted his morning to driving him\nout in his gig, and showing him the country; but when he went\naway, the whole family returned to their usual employments, and\nElizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of\nher cousin by the alteration, for the chief of the time between\nbreakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in\nthe garden or in reading and writing, and looking out of the\nwindow in his own book-room, which fronted the road.]
[The\nroom in which the ladies sat was backwards.]
[Elizabeth had at\nfirst rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the\ndining-parlour for common use; it was a better sized room, and\nhad a more pleasant aspect; but she soon saw that her friend\nhad an excellent reason for what she did, for Mr. Collins would\nundoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment, had they\nsat in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for\nthe arrangement.]
[From the drawing-room they could distinguish nothing in the\nlane, and were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge of\nwhat carriages went along, and how often especially Miss de\nBourgh drove by in her phaeton, which he never failed coming\nto inform them of, though it happened almost every day.]
[She\nnot unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a few\nminutes' conversation with Charlotte, but was scarcely ever\nprevailed upon to get out.]
[Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to\nRosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it\nnecessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that\nthere might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could\nnot understand the sacrifice of so many hours.]
[Now and then\nthey were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing\nescaped her observation that was passing in the room during\nthese visits.]
[She examined into their employments, looked at\ntheir work, and advised them to do it differently; found fault\nwith the arrangement of the furniture; or detected the housemaid\nin negligence; and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to do\nit only for the sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins's joints of\nmeat were too large for her family.]
[Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in\ncommission of the peace of the county, she was a most active\nmagistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which\nwere carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the\ncottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or\ntoo poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their\ndifferences, silence their complaints, and scold them into\nharmony and plenty.]
[The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twice\na week; and, allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there being\nonly one card-table in the evening, every such entertainment was\nthe counterpart of the first.]
[Their other engagements were few,\nas the style of living in the neighbourhood in general was beyond\nMr. Collins's reach.]
[This, however, was no evil to Elizabeth,\nand upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough;\nthere were half-hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte,\nand the weather was so fine for the time of year that she had\noften great enjoyment out of doors.]
[Her favourite walk, and\nwhere she frequently went while the others were calling on Lady\nCatherine, was along the open grove which edged that side of\nthe park, where there was a nice sheltered path, which no one\nseemed to value but herself, and where she felt beyond the reach\nof Lady Catherine's curiosity.]
[In this quiet way, the first fortnight of her visit soon passed\naway.]
[Easter was approaching, and the week preceding it was\nto bring an addition to the family at Rosings, which in so small\na circle must be important.]
[Elizabeth had heard soon after her\narrival that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a few\nweeks, and though there were not many of her acquaintances whom\nshe did not prefer, his coming would furnish one comparatively\nnew to look at in their Rosings parties, and she might be amused\nin seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley's designs on him were, by\nhis behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined\nby Lady Catherine, who talked of his coming with the greatest\nsatisfaction, spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration,\nand seemed almost angry to find that he had already been\nfrequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.]
[His arrival was soon known at the Parsonage; for Mr. Collins\nwas walking the whole morning within view of the lodges\nopening into Hunsford Lane, in order to have the earliest\nassurance of it, and after making his bow as the carriage turned\ninto the Park, hurried home with the great intelligence.]
[On the\nfollowing morning he hastened to Rosings to pay his respects.]
[There were two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, for\nMr. Darcy had brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, the\nyounger son of his uncle Lord ----, and, to the great surprise\nof all the party, when Mr. Collins returned, the gentleman\naccompanied him.]
[Charlotte had seen them from her husband's\nroom, crossing the road, and immediately running into the other,\ntold the girls what an honour they might expect, adding:\n\n\"I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility.]
[Mr. Darcy\nwould never have come so soon to wait upon me.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the\ncompliment, before their approach was announced by the\ndoor-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered\nthe room.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was about\nthirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the\ngentleman.]
[Mr. Darcy looked just as he had been used to look\nin Hertfordshire--paid his compliments, with his usual reserve,\nto Mrs. Collins, and whatever might be his feelings toward her\nfriend, met her with every appearance of composure.]
[Elizabeth\nmerely curtseyed to him without saying a word.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly with\nthe readiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked very\npleasantly; but his cousin, after having addressed a slight\nobservation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins, sat for\nsome time without speaking to anybody.]
[At length, however,\nhis civility was so far awakened as to inquire of Elizabeth after\nthe health of her family.]
[She answered him in the usual way,\nand after a moment's pause, added:\n\n\"My eldest sister has been in town these three months.]
[Have\nyou never happened to see her there?]
[\"\n\nShe was perfectly sensible that he never had; but she wished\nto see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had\npassed between the Bingleys and Jane, and she thought he\nlooked a little confused as he answered that he had never been\nso fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet.]
[The subject was pursued\nno farther, and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away.]
[Chapter 31\n\n\nColonel Fitzwilliam's manners were very much admired at the\nParsonage, and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably\nto the pleasures of their engagements at Rosings.]
[It was some\ndays, however, before they received any invitation thither--for\nwhile there were visitors in the house, they could not be\nnecessary; and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after the\ngentlemen's arrival, that they were honoured by such an\nattention, and then they were merely asked on leaving church to\ncome there in the evening.]
[For the last week they had seen very\nlittle of Lady Catherine or her daughter.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam had\ncalled at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr.\nDarcy they had seen only at church.]
[The invitation was accepted of course, and at a proper hour they\njoined the party in Lady Catherine's drawing-room.]
[Her ladyship\nreceived them civilly, but it was plain that their company was by\nno means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else; and\nshe was, in fact, almost engrossed by her nephews, speaking to\nthem, especially to Darcy, much more than to any other person\nin the room.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them; anything\nwas a welcome relief to him at Rosings; and Mrs. Collins's\npretty friend had moreover caught his fancy very much.]
[He now\nseated himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent and\nHertfordshire, of travelling and staying at home, of new books\nand music, that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertained\nin that room before; and they conversed with so much spirit and\nflow, as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself, as well\nas of Mr. Darcy.]
[_His_ eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned\ntowards them with a look of curiosity; and that her ladyship,\nafter a while, shared the feeling, was more openly acknowledged,\nfor she did not scruple to call out:\n\n\"What is that you are saying, Fitzwilliam?]
[What is it you are\ntalking of?]
[What are you telling Miss Bennet?]
[Let me hear\nwhat it is.]
[\"\n\n\"We are speaking of music, madam,\" said he, when no longer\nable to avoid a reply.]
[\"Of music!]
[Then pray speak aloud.]
[It is of all subjects my\ndelight.]
[I must have my share in the conversation if you are\nspeaking of music.]
[There are few people in England, I suppose,\nwho have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better\nnatural taste.]
[If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great\nproficient.]
[And so would Anne, if her health had allowed her to\napply.]
[I am confident that she would have performed delightfully.]
[How does Georgiana get on, Darcy?]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sister's\nproficiency.]
[\"I am very glad to hear such a good account of her,\" said Lady\nCatherine; \"and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect to\nexcel if she does not practice a good deal.]
[\"\n\n\"I assure you, madam,\" he replied, \"that she does not need such\nadvice.]
[She practises very constantly.]
[\"\n\n\"So much the better.]
[It cannot be done too much; and when I\nnext write to her, I shall charge her not to neglect it on any\naccount.]
[I often tell young ladies that no excellence in music\nis to be acquired without constant practice.]
[I have told Miss\nBennet several times, that she will never play really well unless\nshe practises more; and though Mrs. Collins has no instrument,\nshe is very welcome, as I have often told her, to come to Rosings\nevery day, and play on the pianoforte in Mrs. Jenkinson's room.]
[She would be in nobody's way, you know, in that part of the house.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt's ill-breeding, and\nmade no answer.]
[When coffee was over, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth\nof having promised to play to him; and she sat down directly to\nthe instrument.]
[He drew a chair near her.]
[Lady Catherine\nlistened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other\nnephew; till the latter walked away from her, and making with\nhis usual deliberation towards the pianoforte stationed himself\nso as to command a full view of the fair performer's countenance.]
[Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient\npause, turned to him with an arch smile, and said:\n\n\"You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state\nto hear me?]
[I will not be alarmed though your sister _does_ play\nso well.]
[There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to\nbe frightened at the will of others.]
[My courage always rises at\nevery attempt to intimidate me.]
[\"\n\n\"I shall not say you are mistaken,\" he replied, \"because you\ncould not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming\nyou; and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long\nenough to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionally\nprofessing opinions which in fact are not your own.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said to\nColonel Fitzwilliam, \"Your cousin will give you a very pretty\nnotion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say.]
[I am\nparticularly unlucky in meeting with a person so able to expose\nmy real character, in a part of the world where I had hoped to\npass myself off with some degree of credit.]
[Indeed, Mr. Darcy,\nit is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my\ndisadvantage in Hertfordshire--and, give me leave to say, very\nimpolitic too--for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such\nthings may come out as will shock your relations to hear.]
[\"\n\n\"I am not afraid of you,\" said he, smilingly.]
[\"Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,\" cried\nColonel Fitzwilliam.]
[\"I should like to know how he behaves\namong strangers.]
[\"\n\n\"You shall hear then--but prepare yourself for something very\ndreadful.]
[The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire,\nyou must know, was at a ball--and at this ball, what do you\nthink he did?]
[He danced only four dances, though gentlemen\nwere scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one\nyoung lady was sitting down in want of a partner.]
[Mr. Darcy,\nyou cannot deny the fact.]
[\"\n\n\"I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the\nassembly beyond my own party.]
[\"\n\n\"True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room.]
[Well,\nColonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next?]
[My fingers wait your\norders.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps,\" said Darcy, \"I should have judged better, had I\nsought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend\nmyself to strangers.]
[\"\n\n\"Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?]
[\" said Elizabeth,\nstill addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam.]
[\"Shall we ask him why a\nman of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is\nill qualified to recommend himself to strangers?]
[\"\n\n\"I can answer your question,\" said Fitzwilliam, \"without\napplying to him.]
[It is because he will not give himself the\ntrouble.]
[\"\n\n\"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,\" said\nDarcy, \"of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.]
[I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested\nin their concerns, as I often see done.]
[\"\n\n\"My fingers,\" said Elizabeth, \"do not move over this instrument\nin the masterly manner which I see so many women's do.]
[They\nhave not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the\nsame expression.]
[But then I have always supposed it to be my\nown fault--because I will not take the trouble of practising.]
[It is not that I do not believe _my_ fingers as capable as any\nother woman's of superior execution.]
[\"\n\nDarcy smiled and said, \"You are perfectly right.]
[You have\nemployed your time much better.]
[No one admitted to the\nprivilege of hearing you can think anything wanting.]
[We neither\nof us perform to strangers.]
[\"\n\nHere they were interrupted by Lady Catherine, who called out to\nknow what they were talking of.]
[Elizabeth immediately began\nplaying again.]
[Lady Catherine approached, and, after listening\nfor a few minutes, said to Darcy:\n\n\"Miss Bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more,\nand could have the advantage of a London master.]
[She has a\nvery good notion of fingering, though her taste is not equal to\nAnne's.]
[Anne would have been a delightful performer, had her\nhealth allowed her to learn.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth looked at Darcy to see how cordially he assented to\nhis cousin's praise; but neither at that moment nor at any other\ncould she discern any symptom of love; and from the whole of\nhis behaviour to Miss de Bourgh she derived this comfort for\nMiss Bingley, that he might have been just as likely to marry\n_her_, had she been his relation.]
[Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth's performance,\nmixing with them many instructions on execution and taste.]
[Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility,\nand, at the request of the gentlemen, remained at the instrument\ntill her ladyship's carriage was ready to take them all home.]
[Chapter 32\n\n\nElizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to\nJane while Mrs. Collins and Maria were gone on business into\nthe village, when she was startled by a ring at the door, the\ncertain signal of a visitor.]
[As she had heard no carriage, she\nthought it not unlikely to be Lady Catherine, and under that\napprehension was putting away her half-finished letter that she\nmight escape all impertinent questions, when the door opened,\nand, to her very great surprise, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only,\nentered the room.]
[He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologised\nfor his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all\nthe ladies were to be within.]
[They then sat down, and when her inquiries after Rosings were\nmade, seemed in danger of sinking into total silence.]
[It was\nabsolutely necessary, therefore, to think of something, and in\nthis emergence recollecting _when_ she had seen him last in\nHertfordshire, and feeling curious to know what he would say\non the subject of their hasty departure, she observed:\n\n\"How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last November,\nMr. Darcy!]
[It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr.\nBingley to see you all after him so soon; for, if I recollect right,\nhe went but the day before.]
[He and his sisters were well, I hope,\nwhen you left London?]
[\"\n\n\"Perfectly so, I thank you.]
[\"\n\nShe found that she was to receive no other answer, and, after a\nshort pause added:\n\n\"I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of\never returning to Netherfield again?]
[\"\n\n\"I have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may\nspend very little of his time there in the future.]
[He has many\nfriends, and is at a time of life when friends and engagements are\ncontinually increasing.]
[\"\n\n\"If he means to be but little at Netherfield, it would be better for\nthe neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely, for\nthen we might possibly get a settled family there.]
[But, perhaps,\nMr. Bingley did not take the house so much for the convenience\nof the neighbourhood as for his own, and we must expect him to\nkeep it or quit it on the same principle.]
[\"\n\n\"I should not be surprised,\" said Darcy, \"if he were to give it up\nas soon as any eligible purchase offers.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth made no answer.]
[She was afraid of talking longer of\nhis friend; and, having nothing else to say, was now determined\nto leave the trouble of finding a subject to him.]
[He took the hint, and soon began with, \"This seems a very\ncomfortable house.]
[Lady Catherine, I believe, did a great deal to\nit when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford.]
[\"\n\n\"I believe she did--and I am sure she could not have bestowed\nher kindness on a more grateful object.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr. Collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a wife.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed, his friends may well rejoice in his having met with\none of the very few sensible women who would have accepted\nhim, or have made him happy if they had.]
[My friend has an\nexcellent understanding--though I am not certain that I consider\nher marrying Mr. Collins as the wisest thing she ever did.]
[She\nseems perfectly happy, however, and in a prudential light it is\ncertainly a very good match for her.]
[\"\n\n\"It must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a\ndistance of her own family and friends.]
[\"\n\n\"An easy distance, do you call it?]
[It is nearly fifty miles.]
[\"\n\n\"And what is fifty miles of good road?]
[Little more than half a\nday's journey.]
[Yes, I call it a _very_ easy distance.]
[\"\n\n\"I should never have considered the distance as one of the\n_advantages_ of the match,\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"I should never\nhave said Mrs. Collins was settled _near_ her family.]
[\"\n\n\"It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire.]
[Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I\nsuppose, would appear far.]
[\"\n\nAs he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied\nshe understood; he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane\nand Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered:\n\n\"I do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near\nher family.]
[The far and the near must be relative, and depend on\nmany varying circumstances.]
[Where there is fortune to make the\nexpenses of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil.]
[But that is not the case _here_.]
[Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a\ncomfortable income, but not such a one as will allow of frequent\njourneys--and I am persuaded my friend would not call herself\n_near_ her family under less than _half_ the present distance.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, \"_You_\ncannot have a right to such very strong local attachment.]
[_You_ cannot have been always at Longbourn.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth looked surprised.]
[The gentleman experienced some\nchange of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper\nfrom the table, and glancing over it, said, in a colder voice:\n\n\"Are you pleased with Kent?]
[\"\n\nA short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued, on either\nside calm and concise--and soon put an end to by the entrance\nof Charlotte and her sister, just returned from her walk.]
[The\ntete-a-tete surprised them.]
[Mr. Darcy related the mistake which\nhad occasioned his intruding on Miss Bennet, and after sitting a\nfew minutes longer without saying much to anybody, went away.]
[\"What can be the meaning of this?]
[\" said Charlotte, as soon as he\nwas gone.]
[\"My dear, Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he\nwould never have called us in this familiar way.]
[\"\n\nBut when Elizabeth told of his silence; it did not seem very\nlikely, even to Charlotte's wishes, to be the case; and after\nvarious conjectures, they could at last only suppose his visit to\nproceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do, which was\nthe more probable from the time of year.]
[All field sports were\nover.]
[Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a\nbilliard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be within doors; and\nin the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness of the walk\nto it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins found a\ntemptation from this period of walking thither almost every day.]
[They called at various times of the morning, sometimes\nseparately, sometimes together, and now and then accompanied\nby their aunt.]
[It was plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam\ncame because he had pleasure in their society, a persuasion\nwhich of course recommended him still more; and Elizabeth was\nreminded by her own satisfaction in being with him, as well as by\nhis evident admiration of her, of her former favourite George\nWickham; and though, in comparing them, she saw there was\nless captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners, she\nbelieved he might have the best informed mind.]
[But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage, it was more\ndifficult to understand.]
[It could not be for society, as he\nfrequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his\nlips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity\nrather than of choice--a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure\nto himself.]
[He seldom appeared really animated.]
[Mrs. Collins\nknew not what to make of him.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam's occasionally\nlaughing at his stupidity, proved that he was generally different,\nwhich her own knowledge of him could not have told her; and as\nshe would liked to have believed this change the effect of love,\nand the object of that love her friend Eliza, she set herself\nseriously to work to find it out.]
[She watched him whenever they\nwere at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford; but without\nmuch success.]
[He certainly looked at her friend a great deal,\nbut the expression of that look was disputable.]
[It was an\nearnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there\nwere much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but\nabsence of mind.]
[She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of\nhis being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea;\nand Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the subject, from\nthe danger of raising expectations which might only end in\ndisappointment; for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt,\nthat all her friend's dislike would vanish, if she could suppose\nhim to be in her power.]
[In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her\nmarrying Colonel Fitzwilliam.]
[He was beyond comparison the\nmost pleasant man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in\nlife was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages,\nMr. Darcy had considerable patronage in the church, and his\ncousin could have none at all.]
[Chapter 33\n\n\nMore than once did Elizabeth, in her ramble within the park,\nunexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy.]
[She felt all the perverseness of\nthe mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought,\nand, to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him\nat first that it was a favourite haunt of hers.]
[How it could occur\na second time, therefore, was very odd!]
[Yet it did, and even a\nthird.]
[It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance,\nfor on these occasions it was not merely a few formal inquiries\nand an awkward pause and then away, but he actually thought it\nnecessary to turn back and walk with her.]
[He never said a great\ndeal, nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of\nlistening much; but it struck her in the course of their third\nrencontre that he was asking some odd unconnected questions--about\nher pleasure in being at Hunsford, her love of solitary walks, and\nher opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Collins's happiness; and that in\nspeaking of Rosings and her not perfectly understanding the house,\nhe seemed to expect that whenever she came into Kent again she\nwould be staying _there_ too.]
[His words seemed to imply it.]
[Could\nhe have Colonel Fitzwilliam in his thoughts?]
[She supposed, if he\nmeant anything, he must mean an allusion to what might arise in\nthat quarter.]
[It distressed her a little, and she was quite glad\nto find herself at the gate in the pales opposite the Parsonage.]
[She was engaged one day as she walked, in perusing Jane's last\nletter, and dwelling on some passages which proved that Jane\nhad not written in spirits, when, instead of being again surprised\nby Mr. Darcy, she saw on looking up that Colonel Fitzwilliam\nwas meeting her.]
[Putting away the letter immediately and\nforcing a smile, she said:\n\n\"I did not know before that you ever walked this way.]
[\"\n\n\"I have been making the tour of the park,\" he replied, \"as I\ngenerally do every year, and intend to close it with a call at the\nParsonage.]
[Are you going much farther?]
[\"\n\n\"No, I should have turned in a moment.]
[\"\n\nAnd accordingly she did turn, and they walked towards the\nParsonage together.]
[\"Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?]
[\" said she.]
[\"Yes--if Darcy does not put it off again.]
[But I am at his\ndisposal.]
[He arranges the business just as he pleases.]
[\"\n\n\"And if not able to please himself in the arrangement, he has\nat least pleasure in the great power of choice.]
[I do not know\nanybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he\nlikes than Mr.]
[Darcy.]
[\"\n\n\"He likes to have his own way very well,\" replied Colonel\nFitzwilliam.]
[\"But so we all do.]
[It is only that he has better\nmeans of having it than many others, because he is rich, and\nmany others are poor.]
[I speak feelingly.]
[A younger son, you\nknow, must be inured to self-denial and dependence.]
[\"\n\n\"In my opinion, the younger son of an earl can know very\nlittle of either.]
[Now seriously, what have you ever known of\nself-denial and dependence?]
[When have you been prevented by\nwant of money from going wherever you chose, or procuring\nanything you had a fancy for?]
[\"\n\n\"These are home questions--and perhaps I cannot say that I\nhave experienced many hardships of that nature.]
[But in matters\nof greater weight, I may suffer from want of money.]
[Younger\nsons cannot marry where they like.]
[\"\n\n\"Unless where they like women of fortune, which I think they\nvery often do.]
[\"\n\n\"Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not\nmany in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some\nattention to money.]
[\"\n\n\"Is this,\" thought Elizabeth, \"meant for me?]
[\" and she coloured\nat the idea; but, recovering herself, said in a lively tone, \"And\npray, what is the usual price of an earl's younger son?]
[Unless\nthe elder brother is very sickly, I suppose you would not ask\nabove fifty thousand pounds.]
[\"\n\nHe answered her in the same style, and the subject dropped.]
[To\ninterrupt a silence which might make him fancy her affected with\nwhat had passed, she soon afterwards said:\n\n\"I imagine your cousin brought you down with him chiefly for\nthe sake of  having someone at his disposal.]
[I wonder he does\nnot marry, to secure a lasting convenience of that kind.]
[But,\nperhaps, his sister does as well for the present, and, as she is\nunder his sole care, he may do what he likes with her.]
[\"\n\n\"No,\" said Colonel Fitzwilliam, \"that is an advantage which he\nmust divide with me.]
[I am joined with him in the guardianship\nof Miss Darcy.]
[\"\n\n\"Are you indeed?]
[And pray what sort of guardians do you\nmake?]
[Does your charge give you much trouble?]
[Young ladies\nof her age are sometimes a little difficult to manage, and if she\nhas the true Darcy spirit, she may like to have her own way.]
[\"\n\nAs she spoke she observed him looking at her earnestly; and\nthe manner in which he immediately asked her why she supposed\nMiss Darcy likely to give them any uneasiness, convinced her\nthat she had somehow or other got pretty near the truth.]
[She\ndirectly replied:\n\n\"You need not be frightened.]
[I never heard any harm of her; and\nI dare say she is one of the most tractable creatures in the world.]
[She is a very great favourite with some ladies of my acquaintance,\nMrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley.]
[I think I have heard you say that\nyou know them.]
[\"\n\n\"I know them a little.]
[Their brother is a pleasant gentlemanlike\nman--he is a great friend of Darcy's.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[yes,\" said Elizabeth drily; \"Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind\nto Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigious deal of care of him.]
[\"\n\n\"Care of him!]
[Yes, I really believe Darcy _does_ take care of\nhim in those points where he most wants care.]
[From something\nthat he told me in our journey hither, I have reason to think\nBingley very much indebted to him.]
[But I ought to beg his\npardon, for I have no right to suppose that Bingley was the\nperson meant.]
[It was all conjecture.]
[\"\n\n\"What is it you mean?]
[\"\n\n\"It is a circumstance which Darcy could not wish to be generally\nknown, because if it were to get round to the lady's family, it\nwould be an unpleasant thing.]
[\"\n\n\"You may depend upon my not mentioning it.]
[\"\n\n\"And remember that I have not much reason for supposing it\nto be Bingley.]
[What he told me was merely this: that he\ncongratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from\nthe inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage, but without\nmentioning names or any other particulars, and I only suspected\nit to be Bingley from believing him the kind of young man to get\ninto a scrape of that sort, and from knowing them to have been\ntogether the whole of last summer.]
[\"\n\n\"Did Mr. Darcy give you reasons for this interference?]
[\"\n\n\"I understood that there were some very strong objections\nagainst the lady.]
[\"\n\n\"And what arts did he use to separate them?]
[\"\n\n\"He did not talk to me of his own arts,\" said Fitzwilliam, smiling.]
[\"He only told me what I have now told you.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth made no answer, and walked on, her heart swelling\nwith indignation.]
[After watching her a little, Fitzwilliam asked\nher why she was so thoughtful.]
[\"I am thinking of what you have been telling me,\" said she.]
[\"Your cousin's conduct does not suit my feelings.]
[Why was he\nto be the judge?]
[\"\n\n\"You are rather disposed to call his interference officious?]
[\"\n\n\"I do not see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide on the\npropriety of his friend's inclination, or why, upon his own\njudgement alone, he was to determine and direct in what manner\nhis friend was to be happy.]
[But,\" she continued, recollecting\nherself, \"as we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to\ncondemn him.]
[It is not to be supposed that there was much\naffection in the case.]
[\"\n\n\"That is not an unnatural surmise,\" said Fitzwilliam, \"but it is a\nlessening of the honour of my cousin's triumph very sadly.]
[\"\n\nThis was spoken jestingly; but it appeared to her so just a picture\nof Mr. Darcy, that she would not trust herself with an answer,\nand therefore, abruptly changing the conversation talked on\nindifferent matters until they reached the Parsonage.]
[There, shut\ninto her own room, as soon as their visitor left them, she could\nthink without interruption of all that she had heard.]
[It was not\nto be supposed that any other people could be meant than those\nwith whom she was connected.]
[There could not exist in the\nworld _two_ men over whom Mr. Darcy could have such boundless\ninfluence.]
[That he had been concerned in the measures taken to\nseparate Bingley and Jane she had never doubted; but she had\nalways attributed to Miss Bingley the principal design and\narrangement of them.]
[If his own vanity, however, did not mislead\nhim, _he_ was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause, of\nall that Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer.]
[He\nhad ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most\naffectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say\nhow lasting an evil he might have inflicted.]
[\"There were some very strong objections against the lady,\"\nwere Colonel Fitzwilliam's words; and those strong objections\nprobably were, her having one uncle who was a country attorney,\nand another who was in business in London.]
[\"To Jane herself,\" she exclaimed, \"there could be no possibility\nof objection; all loveliness and goodness as she is!--her\nunderstanding excellent, her mind improved, and her manners\ncaptivating.]
[Neither could anything be urged against my father,\nwho, though with some peculiarities, has abilities Mr. Darcy\nhimself need not disdain, and respectability which he will\nprobably never each.]
[\"  When she thought of her mother, her\nconfidence gave way a little; but she would not allow that any\nobjections _there_ had material weight with Mr. Darcy, whose\npride, she was convinced, would receive a deeper wound from\nthe want of importance in his friend's connections, than from\ntheir want of sense; and she was quite decided, at last, that he\nhad been partly governed by this worst kind of pride, and partly\nby the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister.]
[The agitation and tears which the subject occasioned, brought on\na headache; and it grew so much worse towards the evening,\nthat, added to her unwillingness to see Mr. Darcy, it determined\nher not to attend her cousins to Rosings, where they were\nengaged to drink tea.]
[Mrs. Collins, seeing that she was really\nunwell, did not press her to go and as much as possible\nprevented her husband from pressing her; but Mr. Collins could\nnot conceal his apprehension of Lady Catherine's being rather\ndispleased by her staying at home.]
[Chapter 34\n\n\nWhen they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate\nherself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her\nemployment the examination of all the letters which Jane had\nwritten to her since her being in Kent.]
[They contained no actual\ncomplaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any\ncommunication of present suffering.]
[But in all, and in almost\nevery line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which\nhad been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding\nfrom the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly\ndisposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded.]
[Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness,\nwith an attention which it had hardly received on the first\nperusal.]
[Mr. Darcy's shameful boast of what misery he had been\nable to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister's\nsufferings.]
[It was some consolation to think that his visit\nto Rosings was to end on the day after the next--and, a still\ngreater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with\nJane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her\nspirits, by all that affection could do.]
[She could not think of Darcy's leaving Kent without remembering\nthat his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had\nmade it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable\nas he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him.]
[While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound\nof the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the\nidea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once\nbefore called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire\nparticularly after her.]
[But this idea was soon banished, and\nher spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter\namazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room.]
[In an\nhurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health,\nimputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better.]
[She answered him with cold civility.]
[He sat down for a few\nmoments, and then getting up, walked about the room.]
[Elizabeth\nwas surprised, but said not a word.]
[After a silence of\nseveral minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner,\nand thus began:\n\n\"In vain I have struggled.]
[It will not do.]
[My feelings will not\nbe repressed.]
[You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire\nand love you.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression.]
[She stared,\ncoloured, doubted, and was silent.]
[This he considered sufficient\nencouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long\nfelt for her, immediately followed.]
[He spoke well; but there\nwere feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he\nwas not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride.]
[His sense of her inferiority--of its being a degradation--of the\nfamily obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were\ndwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he\nwas wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.]
[In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible\nto the compliment of such a man's affection, and though her\nintentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for\nthe pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his\nsubsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger.]
[She\ntried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience,\nwhen he should have done.]
[He concluded with representing to\nher the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his\nendeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with\nexpressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her\nacceptance of his hand.]
[As he said this, she could easily\nsee that he had no doubt of a favourable answer.]
[He _spoke_ of\napprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real\nsecurity.]
[Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther,\nand, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she\nsaid:\n\n\"In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode\nto express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed,\nhowever unequally they may be returned.]
[It is natural that\nobligation should be felt, and if I could _feel_ gratitude, I would\nnow thank you.]
[But I cannot--I have never desired your good\nopinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly.]
[I\nam sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone.]
[It has been most\nunconsciously done, however, and I hope will be of short\nduration.]
[The feelings which, you tell me, have long prevented\nthe acknowledgment of your regard, can have little difficulty in\novercoming it after this explanation.]
[\"\n\nMr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his\neyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less\nresentment than surprise.]
[His complexion became pale with\nanger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every\nfeature.]
[He was struggling for the appearance of composure,\nand would not open his lips till he believed himself to have\nattained it.]
[The pause was to Elizabeth's feelings dreadful.]
[At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said:\n\n\"And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of\nexpecting!]
[I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so\nlittle _endeavour_ at civility, I am thus rejected.]
[But it is of\nsmall importance.]
[\"\n\n\"I might as well inquire,\" replied she, \"why with so evident a\ndesire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that\nyou liked me against your will, against your reason, and even\nagainst your character?]
[Was not this some excuse for incivility,\nif I _was_ uncivil?]
[But I have other provocations.]
[You know I\nhave.]
[Had not my feelings decided against you--had they been\nindifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that\nany consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has\nbeen the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a\nmost beloved sister?]
[\"\n\nAs she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but\nthe emotion was short, and he listened without attempting\nto interrupt her while she continued:\n\n\"I have every reason in the world to think ill of you.]
[No motive\ncan excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted _there_.]
[You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal,\nif not the only means of dividing them from each other--of\nexposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and\ninstability, and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes,\nand involving them both in misery of the acutest kind.]
[\"\n\nShe paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was\nlistening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any\nfeeling of remorse.]
[He even looked at her with a smile of\naffected incredulity.]
[\"Can you deny that you have done it?]
[\" she repeated.]
[With assumed tranquillity he then replied: \"I have no wish of\ndenying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend\nfrom your sister, or that I rejoice in my success.]
[Towards _him_\nI have been kinder than towards myself.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil\nreflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to\nconciliate her.]
[\"But it is not merely this affair,\" she continued, \"on which my\ndislike is founded.]
[Long before it had taken place my opinion\nof you was decided.]
[Your character was unfolded in the recital\nwhich I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham.]
[On this\nsubject, what can you have to say?]
[In what imaginary act\nof friendship can you here defend yourself?]
[or under what\nmisrepresentation can you here impose upon others?]
[\"\n\n\"You take an eager interest in that gentleman's concerns,\" said\nDarcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour.]
[\"Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help\nfeeling an interest in him?]
[\"\n\n\"His misfortunes!]
[\" repeated Darcy contemptuously; \"yes, his\nmisfortunes have been great indeed.]
[\"\n\n\"And of your infliction,\" cried Elizabeth with energy.]
[\"You\nhave reduced him to his present state of poverty--comparative\npoverty.]
[You have withheld the advantages which you must\nknow to have been designed for him.]
[You have deprived the\nbest years of his life of that independence which was no less his\ndue than his desert.]
[You have done all this!]
[and yet you can\ntreat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule.]
[\"\n\n\"And this,\" cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across\nthe room, \"is your opinion of me!]
[This is the estimation in\nwhich you hold me!]
[I thank you for explaining it so fully.]
[My\nfaults, according to this calculation, are heavy indeed!]
[But\nperhaps,\" added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards\nher, \"these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your\npride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had\nlong prevented my forming any serious design.]
[These bitter\naccusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater\npolicy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief\nof my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by\nreason, by reflection, by everything.]
[But disguise of every sort\nis my abhorrence.]
[Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related.]
[They were natural and just.]
[Could you expect me to rejoice in\nthe inferiority of your connections?--to congratulate myself on\nthe hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly\nbeneath my own?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she\ntried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said:\n\n\"You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of\nyour declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared\nthe concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you\nbehaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.]
[\"\n\nShe saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued:\n\n\"You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible\nway that would have tempted me to accept it.]
[\"\n\nAgain his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with\nan expression of mingled incredulity and mortification.]
[She went\non:\n\n\"From the very beginning--from the first moment, I may almost\nsay--of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me\nwith the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your\nselfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the\ngroundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have\nbuilt so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month\nbefore I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I\ncould ever be prevailed on to marry.]
[\"\n\n\"You have said quite enough, madam.]
[I perfectly comprehend\nyour feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own\nhave been.]
[Forgive me for having taken up so much of your\ntime, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.]
[\"\n\nAnd with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth\nheard him the next moment open the front door and quit the\nhouse.]
[The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great.]
[She knew not\nhow to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and\ncried for half-an-hour.]
[Her astonishment, as she reflected on\nwhat had passed, was increased by every review of it.]
[That she\nshould receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy!]
[That he\nshould have been in love with her for so many months!]
[So much\nin love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections\nwhich had made him prevent his friend's marrying her sister,\nand which must appear at least with equal force in his own\ncase--was almost incredible!]
[It was gratifying to have inspired\nunconsciously so strong an affection.]
[But his pride, his\nabominable pride--his shameless avowal of what he had done with\nrespect to Jane--his unpardonable assurance in acknowledging,\nthough he could not justify it, and the unfeeling manner in\nwhich he had mentioned Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom\nhe had not attempted to deny, soon overcame the pity which the\nconsideration of his attachment had for a moment excited.]
[She\ncontinued in very agitated reflections till the sound of Lady\nCatherine's carriage made her feel how unequal she was to\nencounter Charlotte's observation, and hurried her away to\nher room.]
[Chapter 35\n\n\nElizabeth awoke the next morning to the same thoughts and\nmeditations which had at length closed her eyes.]
[She could\nnot yet recover from the surprise of what had happened; it was\nimpossible to think of anything else; and, totally indisposed\nfor employment, she resolved, soon after breakfast, to indulge\nherself in air and exercise.]
[She was proceeding directly to her\nfavourite walk, when the recollection of Mr. Darcy's sometimes\ncoming there stopped her, and instead of entering the park, she\nturned up the lane, which led farther from the turnpike-road.]
[The park paling was still the boundary on one side, and she\nsoon passed one of the gates into the ground.]
[After walking two or three times along that part of the lane, she\nwas tempted, by the pleasantness of the morning, to stop at the\ngates and look into the park.]
[The five weeks which she had now\npassed in Kent had made a great difference in the country, and\nevery day was adding to the verdure of the early trees.]
[She was\non the point of continuing her walk, when she caught a glimpse\nof a gentleman within the sort of grove which edged the park;\nhe was moving that way; and, fearful of its being Mr. Darcy,\nshe was directly retreating.]
[But the person who advanced was\nnow near enough to see her, and stepping forward with eagerness,\npronounced her name.]
[She had turned away; but on hearing\nherself called, though in a voice which proved it to be Mr.\nDarcy, she moved again towards the gate.]
[He had by that time\nreached it also, and, holding out a letter, which she instinctively\ntook, said, with a look of haughty composure, \"I have been\nwalking in the grove some time in the hope of meeting you.]
[Will\nyou do me the honour of reading that letter?]
[\"  And then, with a\nslight bow, turned again into the plantation, and was soon out of\nsight.]
[With no expectation of pleasure, but with the strongest curiosity,\nElizabeth opened the letter, and, to her still increasing wonder,\nperceived an envelope containing two sheets of letter-paper,\nwritten quite through, in a very close hand.]
[The envelope itself\nwas likewise full.]
[Pursuing her way along the lane, she then\nbegan it.]
[It was dated from Rosings, at eight o'clock in the\nmorning, and was as follows:--\n\n\"Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the\napprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments\nor renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to\nyou.]
[I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling\nmyself, by dwelling on wishes which, for the happiness of both,\ncannot be too soon forgotten; and the effort which the formation\nand the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been\nspared, had not my character required it to be written and read.]
[You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand\nyour attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly,\nbut I demand it of your justice.]
[\"Two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of\nequal magnitude, you last night laid to my charge.]
[The first\nmentioned was, that, regardless of the sentiments of either, I had\ndetached Mr. Bingley from your sister, and the other, that I had,\nin defiance of various claims, in defiance of honour and\nhumanity, ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the\nprospects of Mr. Wickham.]
[Wilfully and wantonly to have\nthrown off the companion of my youth, the acknowledged\nfavourite of my father, a young man who had scarcely any other\ndependence than on our patronage, and who had been brought\nup to expect its exertion, would be a depravity, to which the\nseparation of two young persons, whose affection could be the\ngrowth of only a few weeks, could bear no comparison.]
[But\nfrom the severity of that blame which was last night so liberally\nbestowed, respecting each circumstance, I shall hope to be in the\nfuture secured, when the following account of my actions and\ntheir motives has been read.]
[If, in the explanation of them,\nwhich is due to myself, I am under the necessity of relating\nfeelings which may be offensive to yours, I can only say that I\nam sorry.]
[The necessity must be obeyed, and further apology\nwould be absurd.]
[\"I had not been long in Hertfordshire, before I saw, in common\nwith others, that Bingley preferred your elder sister to any other\nyoung woman in the country.]
[But it was not till the evening of\nthe dance at Netherfield that I had any apprehension of his\nfeeling a serious attachment.]
[I had often seen him in love before.]
[At that ball, while I had the honour of dancing with you, I was\nfirst made acquainted, by Sir William Lucas's accidental\ninformation, that Bingley's attentions to your sister had given\nrise to a general expectation of their marriage.]
[He spoke of it\nas a certain event, of which the time alone could be undecided.]
[From that moment I observed my friend's behaviour attentively;\nand I could then perceive that his partiality for Miss Bennet\nwas beyond what I had ever witnessed in him.]
[Your sister I\nalso watched.]
[Her look and manners were open, cheerful, and\nengaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard,\nand I remained convinced from the evening's scrutiny, that\nthough she received his attentions with pleasure, she did not\ninvite them by any participation of sentiment.]
[If _you_ have not\nbeen mistaken here, _I_ must have been in error.]
[Your superior\nknowledge of your sister must make the latter probable.]
[If it be\nso, if I have been misled by such error to inflict pain on her,\nyour resentment has not been unreasonable.]
[But I shall not scruple\nto assert, that the serenity of your sister's countenance and air\nwas such as might have given the most acute observer a conviction\nthat, however amiable her temper, her heart was not likely to be\neasily touched.]
[That I was desirous of believing her indifferent\nis certain--but I will venture to say that my investigation and\ndecisions are not usually influenced by my hopes or fears.]
[I did\nnot believe her to be indifferent because I wished it; I believed\nit on impartial conviction, as truly as I wished it in reason.]
[My objections to the marriage were not merely those which I last\nnight acknowledged to have the utmost force of passion to put\naside, in my own case; the want of connection could not be so\ngreat an evil to my friend as to me.]
[But there were other causes\nof repugnance; causes which, though still existing, and existing\nto an equal degree in both instances, I had myself endeavoured\nto forget, because they were not immediately before me.]
[These\ncauses must be stated, though briefly.]
[The situation of\nyour mother's family, though objectionable, was nothing in\ncomparison to that total want of propriety so frequently, so\nalmost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger\nsisters, and occasionally even by your father.]
[Pardon me.]
[It\npains me to offend you.]
[But amidst your concern for the defects\nof  your nearest relations, and your displeasure at this\nrepresentation of them, let it give you consolation to consider\nthat, to have conducted yourselves so as to avoid any share of\nthe like censure, is praise no less generally bestowed on you and\nyour elder sister, than it is honourable to the sense and\ndisposition of both.]
[I will only say farther that from what passed\nthat evening, my opinion of all parties was confirmed, and every\ninducement heightened which could have led me before, to\npreserve my friend from what I esteemed a most unhappy\nconnection.]
[He left Netherfield for London, on the day\nfollowing, as you, I am certain, remember, with the design of\nsoon returning.]
[\"The part which I acted is now to be explained.]
[His sisters'\nuneasiness had been equally excited with my own; our coincidence\nof feeling was soon discovered, and, alike sensible that no time\nwas to be lost in detaching their brother, we shortly resolved\non joining him directly in London.]
[We accordingly went--and\nthere I readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my\nfriend the certain evils of such a choice.]
[I described, and\nenforced them earnestly.]
[But, however this remonstrance might\nhave staggered or delayed his determination, I do not suppose\nthat it would ultimately have prevented the marriage, had it not\nbeen seconded by the assurance that I hesitated not in giving, of\nyour sister's indifference.]
[He had before believed her to return\nhis affection with sincere, if not with equal regard.]
[But Bingley\nhas great natural modesty, with a stronger dependence on my\njudgement than on his own.]
[To convince him, therefore, that he\nhad deceived himself, was no very difficult point.]
[To persuade\nhim against returning into Hertfordshire, when that conviction\nhad been given, was scarcely the work of a moment.]
[I cannot\nblame myself for having done thus much.]
[There is but one part\nof my conduct in the whole affair on which I do not reflect with\nsatisfaction; it is that I condescended to adopt the measures of\nart so far as to conceal from him your sister's being in town.]
[I\nknew it myself, as it was known to Miss Bingley; but her brother\nis even yet ignorant of it.]
[That they might have met without ill\nconsequence is perhaps probable; but his regard did not appear\nto me enough extinguished for him to see her without some danger.]
[Perhaps this concealment, this disguise was beneath me; it is\ndone, however, and it was done for the best.]
[On this subject\nI have nothing more to say, no other apology to offer.]
[If I\nhave wounded your sister's feelings, it was unknowingly done and\nthough the motives which governed me may to you very naturally\nappear insufficient, I have not yet learnt to condemn them.]
[\"With respect to that other, more weighty accusation, of having\ninjured Mr. Wickham, I can only refute it by laying before you\nthe whole of his connection with my family.]
[Of what he has\n_particularly_ accused me I am ignorant; but of the truth of\nwhat I shall relate, I can summon more than one witness of\nundoubted veracity.]
[\"Mr. Wickham is the son of a very respectable man, who had for\nmany years the management of all the Pemberley estates, and\nwhose good conduct in the discharge of his trust naturally\ninclined my father to be of service to him; and on George\nWickham, who was his godson, his kindness was therefore\nliberally bestowed.]
[My father supported him at school, and\nafterwards at Cambridge--most important assistance, as his own\nfather, always poor from the extravagance of his wife, would\nhave been unable to give him a gentleman's education.]
[My\nfather was not only fond of this young man's society, whose\nmanner were always engaging; he had also the highest opinion of\nhim, and hoping the church would be his profession, intended to\nprovide for him in it.]
[As for myself, it is many, many years since\nI first began to think of him in a very different manner.]
[The\nvicious propensities--the want of principle, which he was careful\nto guard from the knowledge of his best friend, could not escape\nthe observation of a young man of nearly the same age with\nhimself, and who had opportunities of seeing him in unguarded\nmoments, which Mr. Darcy could not have.]
[Here again I shall\ngive you pain--to what degree you only can tell.]
[But whatever\nmay be the sentiments which Mr. Wickham has created, a\nsuspicion of their nature shall not prevent me from unfolding\nhis real character--it adds even another motive.]
[\"My excellent father died about five years ago; and his attachment\nto Mr. Wickham was to the last so steady, that in his will he\nparticularly recommended it to me, to promote his advancement in\nthe best manner that his profession might allow--and if he took\norders, desired that a valuable family living might be his as soon\nas it became vacant.]
[There was also a legacy of one thousand\npounds.]
[His own father did not long survive mine, and within half\na year from these events, Mr. Wickham wrote to inform me that,\nhaving finally resolved against taking orders, he hoped I should\nnot think it unreasonable for him to expect some more immediate\npecuniary advantage, in lieu of the preferment, by which he could\nnot be benefited.]
[He had some intention, he added, of studying\nlaw, and I must be aware that the interest of one thousand pounds\nwould be a very insufficient support therein.]
[I rather wished,\nthan believed him to be sincere; but, at any rate, was perfectly\nready to accede to his proposal.]
[I knew that Mr. Wickham\nought not to be a clergyman; the business was therefore soon\nsettled--he resigned all claim to assistance in the church, were\nit possible that he could ever be in a situation to receive it,\nand accepted in return three thousand pounds.]
[All connection\nbetween us seemed now dissolved.]
[I thought too ill of him to\ninvite him to Pemberley, or admit his society in town.]
[In town\nI believe he chiefly lived, but his studying the law was a mere\npretence, and being now free from all restraint, his life was a\nlife of idleness and dissipation.]
[For about three years I heard\nlittle of him; but on the decease of the incumbent of the living\nwhich had been designed for him, he applied to me again by letter\nfor the presentation.]
[His circumstances, he assured me, and I\nhad no difficulty in believing it, were exceedingly bad.]
[He had\nfound the law a most unprofitable study, and was now absolutely\nresolved on being ordained, if I would present him to the living\nin question--of which he trusted there could be little doubt, as\nhe was well assured that I had no other person to provide for,\nand I could not have forgotten my revered father's intentions.]
[You will hardly blame me for refusing to comply with this entreaty,\nor for resisting every repetition to it.]
[His resentment was in\nproportion to the distress of his circumstances--and he was\ndoubtless as violent in his abuse of me to others as in his\nreproaches to myself.]
[After this period every appearance of\nacquaintance was dropped.]
[How he lived I know not.]
[But last\nsummer he was again most painfully obtruded on my notice.]
[\"I must now mention a circumstance which I would wish to\nforget myself, and which no obligation less than the present\nshould induce me to unfold to any human being.]
[Having said\nthus much, I feel no doubt of your secrecy.]
[My sister, who is\nmore than ten years my junior, was left to the guardianship of\nmy mother's nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and myself.]
[About a\nyear ago, she was taken from school, and an establishment\nformed for her in London; and last summer she went with the\nlady who presided over it, to Ramsgate; and thither also went\nMr. Wickham, undoubtedly by design; for there proved to have\nbeen a prior acquaintance between him and Mrs. Younge, in\nwhose character we were most unhappily deceived; and by\nher connivance and aid, he so far recommended himself to\nGeorgiana, whose affectionate heart retained a strong impression\nof his kindness to her as a child, that she was persuaded to\nbelieve herself in love, and to consent to an elopement.]
[She was\nthen but fifteen, which must be her excuse; and after stating her\nimprudence, I am happy to add, that I owed the knowledge of it\nto herself.]
[I joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the\nintended elopement, and then Georgiana, unable to support the\nidea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost\nlooked up to as a father, acknowledged the whole to me.]
[You\nmay imagine what I felt and how I acted.]
[Regard for my sister's\ncredit and feelings prevented any public exposure; but I wrote\nto Mr. Wickham, who left the place immediately, and Mrs. Younge\nwas of course removed from her charge.]
[Mr. Wickham's chief\nobject was unquestionably my sister's fortune, which is thirty\nthousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hope of\nrevenging himself on me was a strong inducement.]
[His revenge\nwould have been complete indeed.]
[\"This, madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which\nwe have been concerned together; and if you do not absolutely\nreject it as false, you will, I hope, acquit me henceforth\nof cruelty towards Mr. Wickham.]
[I know not in what manner,\nunder what form of falsehood he had imposed on you; but his\nsuccess is not perhaps to be wondered at.]
[Ignorant as you\npreviously were of everything concerning either, detection\ncould not be in your power, and suspicion certainly not in\nyour inclination.]
[\"You may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last\nnight; but I was not then master enough of myself to know what\ncould or ought to be revealed.]
[For the truth of everything here\nrelated, I can appeal more particularly to the testimony of\nColonel Fitzwilliam, who, from our near relationship and\nconstant intimacy, and, still more, as one of the executors of\nmy father's will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every\nparticular of these transactions.]
[If your abhorrence of _me_\nshould make _my_ assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented\nby the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there\nmay be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to\nfind some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in\nthe course of the morning.]
[I will only add, God bless you.]
[\"FITZWILLIAM DARCY\"\n\n\n\nChapter 36\n\n\nIf Elizabeth, when Mr. Darcy gave her the letter, did not expect\nit to contain a renewal of his offers, she had formed no\nexpectation at all of its contents.]
[But such as they were, it\nmay well be supposed how eagerly she went through them, and what\na contrariety of emotion they excited.]
[Her feelings as she\nread were scarcely to be defined.]
[With amazement did she first\nunderstand that he believed any apology to be in his power; and\nsteadfastly was she persuaded, that he could have no explanation\nto give, which a just sense of shame would not conceal.]
[With a\nstrong prejudice against everything he might say, she began his\naccount of what had happened at Netherfield.]
[She read with an\neagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension, and\nfrom impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring,\nwas incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her\neyes.]
[His belief of her sister's insensibility she instantly\nresolved to be false; and his account of the real, the worst\nobjections to the match, made her too angry to have any wish of\ndoing him justice.]
[He expressed no regret for what he had done\nwhich satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty.]
[It was all pride and insolence.]
[But when this subject was succeeded by his account of Mr.\nWickham--when she read with somewhat clearer attention a\nrelation of events which, if true, must overthrow every cherished\nopinion of his worth, and which bore so alarming an affinity to\nhis own history of himself--her feelings were yet more acutely\npainful and more difficult of definition.]
[Astonishment,\napprehension, and even horror, oppressed her.]
[She wished to\ndiscredit it entirely, repeatedly exclaiming, \"This must be false!]
[This cannot be!]
[This must be the grossest falsehood!]
[\"--and\nwhen she had gone through the whole letter, though scarcely\nknowing anything of the last page or two, put it hastily away,\nprotesting that she would not regard it, that she would never\nlook in it again.]
[In this perturbed state of mind, with thoughts that could rest on\nnothing, she walked on; but it would not do; in half a minute the\nletter was unfolded again, and collecting herself as well as she\ncould, she again began the mortifying perusal of all that related\nto Wickham, and commanded herself so far as to examine the\nmeaning of every sentence.]
[The account of his connection with\nthe Pemberley family was exactly what he had related himself;\nand the kindness of the late Mr. Darcy, though she had not\nbefore known its extent, agreed equally well with his own\nwords.]
[So far each recital confirmed the other; but when she\ncame to the will, the difference was great.]
[What Wickham had\nsaid of the living was fresh in her memory, and as she recalled\nhis very words, it was impossible not to feel that there was gross\nduplicity on one side or the other; and, for a few moments, she\nflattered herself that her wishes did not err.]
[But when she\nread and re-read with the closest attention, the particulars\nimmediately following of Wickham's resigning all pretensions to\nthe living, of his receiving in lieu so considerable a sum as\nthree thousand pounds, again was she forced to hesitate.]
[She\nput down the letter, weighed every circumstance with what she\nmeant to be impartiality--deliberated on the probability of each\nstatement--but with little success.]
[On both sides it was only\nassertion.]
[Again she read on; but every line proved more clearly\nthat the affair, which she had believed it impossible that any\ncontrivance could so represent as to render Mr. Darcy's conduct\nin it less than infamous, was capable of a turn which must make\nhim entirely blameless throughout the whole.]
[The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not\nto lay at Mr. Wickham's charge, exceedingly shocked her; the\nmore so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice.]
[She had\nnever heard of him before his entrance into the ----shire Militia,\nin which he had engaged at the persuasion of the young man\nwho, on meeting him accidentally in town, had there renewed a\nslight acquaintance.]
[Of his former way of life nothing had been\nknown in Hertfordshire but what he told himself.]
[As to his real\ncharacter, had information been in her power, she had never felt\na wish of inquiring.]
[His countenance, voice, and manner had\nestablished him at once in the possession of every virtue.]
[She\ntried to recollect some instance of goodness, some distinguished\ntrait of integrity or benevolence, that might rescue him from the\nattacks of Mr. Darcy; or at least, by the predominance of virtue,\natone for those casual errors under which she would endeavour\nto class what Mr. Darcy had described as the idleness and vice\nof many years' continuance.]
[But no such recollection befriended\nher.]
[She could see him instantly before her, in every charm of\nair and address; but she could remember no more substantial\ngood than the general approbation of the neighbourhood, and\nthe regard which his social powers had gained him in the mess.]
[After pausing on this point a considerable while, she once more\ncontinued to read.]
[But, alas!]
[the story which followed, of his\ndesigns on Miss Darcy, received some confirmation from what\nhad passed between Colonel Fitzwilliam and herself only the\nmorning before; and at last she was referred for the truth of\nevery particular to Colonel Fitzwilliam himself--from whom she\nhad previously received the information of his near concern in\nall his cousin's affairs, and whose character she had no reason\nto question.]
[At one time she had almost resolved on applying\nto him, but the idea was checked by the awkwardness of the\napplication, and at length wholly banished by the conviction\nthat Mr. Darcy would never have hazarded such a proposal, if\nhe had not been well assured of his cousin's corroboration.]
[She perfectly remembered everything that had passed in\nconversation between Wickham and herself, in their first evening\nat Mr. Phillips's.]
[Many of his expressions were still fresh in\nher memory.]
[She was _now_ struck with the impropriety of such\ncommunications to a stranger, and wondered it had escaped her\nbefore.]
[She saw the indelicacy of putting himself forward as\nhe had done, and the inconsistency of his professions with his\nconduct.]
[She remembered that he had boasted of having no fear\nof seeing Mr. Darcy--that Mr. Darcy might leave the country,\nbut that _he_ should stand his ground; yet he had avoided the\nNetherfield ball the very next week.]
[She remembered also that,\ntill the Netherfield family had quitted the country, he had told\nhis story to no one but herself; but that after their removal it\nhad been everywhere discussed; that he had then no reserves, no\nscruples in sinking Mr. Darcy's character, though he had assured\nher that respect for the father would always prevent his exposing\nthe son.]
[How differently did everything now appear in which he was\nconcerned!]
[His attentions to Miss King were now the consequence\nof views solely and hatefully mercenary; and the mediocrity of\nher fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes, but\nhis eagerness to grasp at anything.]
[His behaviour to herself\ncould now have had no tolerable motive; he had either been\ndeceived with regard to her fortune, or had been gratifying his\nvanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had\nmost incautiously shown.]
[Every lingering struggle in his favour\ngrew fainter and fainter; and in farther justification of Mr.\nDarcy, she could not but allow Mr. Bingley, when questioned\nby Jane, had long ago asserted his blamelessness in the affair;\nthat proud and repulsive as were his manners, she had never, in\nthe whole course of their acquaintance--an acquaintance which\nhad latterly brought them much together, and given her a sort of\nintimacy with his ways--seen anything that betrayed him to be\nunprincipled or unjust--anything that spoke him of irreligious\nor immoral habits; that among his own connections he was\nesteemed and valued--that even Wickham had allowed him\nmerit as a brother, and that she had often heard him speak so\naffectionately of his sister as to prove him capable of _some_\namiable feeling; that had his actions been what Mr. Wickham\nrepresented them, so gross a violation of everything right could\nhardly have been concealed from the world; and that friendship\nbetween a person capable of it, and such an amiable man as Mr.\nBingley, was incomprehensible.]
[She grew absolutely ashamed of herself.]
[Of neither Darcy nor\nWickham could she think without feeling she had been blind,\npartial, prejudiced, absurd.]
[\"How despicably I have acted!]
[\" she cried; \"I, who have prided\nmyself on my discernment!]
[I, who have valued myself on my\nabilities!]
[who have often disdained the generous candour of my\nsister, and gratified my vanity in useless or blameable mistrust!]
[How humiliating is this discovery!]
[Yet, how just a humiliation!]
[Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind!]
[But vanity, not love, has been my folly.]
[Pleased with the\npreference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other,\non the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted\nprepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where\neither were concerned.]
[Till this moment I never knew myself.]
[\"\n\nFrom herself to Jane--from Jane to Bingley, her thoughts were\nin a line which soon brought to her recollection that Mr. Darcy's\nexplanation _there_ had appeared very insufficient, and she read\nit again.]
[Widely different was the effect of a second perusal.]
[How could she deny that credit to his assertions in one instance,\nwhich she had been obliged to give in the other?]
[He declared\nhimself to be totally unsuspicious of her sister's attachment;\nand she could not help remembering what Charlotte's opinion\nhad always been.]
[Neither could she deny the justice of his\ndescription of Jane.]
[She felt that Jane's feelings, though fervent,\nwere little displayed, and that there was a constant complacency\nin her air and manner not often united with great sensibility.]
[When she came to that part of the letter in which her family were\nmentioned in terms of such mortifying, yet merited reproach, her\nsense of shame was severe.]
[The justice of the charge struck her\ntoo forcibly for denial, and the circumstances to which he\nparticularly alluded as having passed at the Netherfield ball,\nand as confirming all his first disapprobation, could not have\nmade a stronger impression on his mind than on hers.]
[The compliment to herself and her sister was not unfelt.]
[It\nsoothed, but it could not console her for the contempt which had\nthus been self-attracted by the rest of her family; and as she\nconsidered that Jane's disappointment had in fact been the work\nof her nearest relations, and reflected how materially the credit\nof both must be hurt by such impropriety of conduct, she felt\ndepressed beyond anything she had ever known before.]
[After wandering along the lane for two hours, giving way to\nevery variety of thought--re-considering events, determining\nprobabilities, and reconciling herself, as well as she could, to\na change so sudden and so important, fatigue, and a recollection\nof her long absence, made her at length return home; and she\nentered the house with the wish of appearing cheerful as usual,\nand the resolution of repressing such reflections as must make\nher unfit for conversation.]
[She was immediately told that the two gentlemen from Rosings\nhad each called during her absence; Mr. Darcy, only for a few\nminutes, to take leave--but that Colonel Fitzwilliam had been\nsitting with them at least an hour, hoping for her return, and\nalmost resolving to walk after her till she could be found.]
[Elizabeth could but just _affect_ concern in missing him; she\nreally rejoiced at it.]
[Colonel Fitzwilliam was no longer an\nobject; she could think only of her letter.]
[Chapter 37\n\n\nThe two gentlemen left Rosings the next morning, and Mr.\nCollins having been in waiting near the lodges, to make them\nhis parting obeisance, was able to bring home the pleasing\nintelligence, of their appearing in very good health, and in as\ntolerable spirits as could be expected, after the melancholy scene\nso lately gone through at Rosings.]
[To Rosings he then hastened,\nto console Lady Catherine and her daughter; and on his return\nbrought back, with great satisfaction, a message from her\nladyship, importing that she felt herself so dull as to make\nher very desirous of having them all to dine with her.]
[Elizabeth could not see Lady Catherine without recollecting that,\nhad she chosen it, she might by this time have been presented to\nher as her future niece; nor could she think, without a smile, of\nwhat her ladyship's indignation would have been.]
[\"What would\nshe have said?]
[how would she have behaved?]
[\" were questions with\nwhich she amused herself.]
[Their first subject was the diminution of the Rosings party.]
[\"I assure you, I feel it exceedingly,\" said Lady Catherine; \"I\nbelieve no one feels the loss of friends so much as I do.]
[But\nI am particularly attached to these young men, and know them to\nbe so much attached to me!]
[They were excessively sorry to go!]
[But so they always are.]
[The dear Colonel rallied his spirits\ntolerably till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most\nacutely, more, I think, than last year.]
[His attachment to\nRosings certainly increases.]
[\"\n\nMr. Collins had a compliment, and an allusion to throw in here,\nwhich were kindly smiled on by the mother and daughter.]
[Lady Catherine observed, after dinner, that Miss Bennet seemed\nout of spirits, and immediately accounting for it by herself,\nby supposing that she did not like to go home again so soon,\nshe added:\n\n\"But if that is the case, you must write to your mother and beg\nthat you may stay a little longer.]
[Mrs. Collins will be very glad\nof your company, I am sure.]
[\"\n\n\"I am much obliged to your ladyship for your kind invitation,\"\nreplied Elizabeth, \"but it is not in my power to accept it.]
[I must be in town next Saturday.]
[\"\n\n\"Why, at that rate, you will have been here only six weeks.]
[I\nexpected you to stay two months.]
[I told Mrs. Collins so before\nyou came.]
[There can be no occasion for your going so soon.]
[Mrs. Bennet could certainly spare you for another fortnight.]
[\"\n\n\"But my father cannot.]
[He wrote last week to hurry my return.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[your father of course may spare you, if your mother can.]
[Daughters are never of so much consequence to a father.]
[And if\nyou will stay another _month_ complete, it will be in my power\nto take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early\nin June, for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the\nbarouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you--and\nindeed, if the weather should happen to be cool, I should not\nobject to taking you both, as you are neither of you large.]
[\"\n\n\"You are all kindness, madam; but I believe we must abide by\nour original plan.]
[\"\n\nLady Catherine seemed resigned.]
[\"Mrs. Collins, you must send\na servant with them.]
[You know I always speak my mind, and I\ncannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by\nthemselves.]
[It is highly improper.]
[You must contrive to send\nsomebody.]
[I have the greatest dislike in the world to that sort\nof thing.]
[Young women should always be properly guarded and\nattended, according to their situation in life.]
[When my niece\nGeorgiana went to Ramsgate last summer, I made a point of her\nhaving two men-servants go with her.]
[Miss Darcy, the daughter\nof Mr. Darcy, of Pemberley, and Lady Anne, could not have\nappeared with propriety in a different manner.]
[I am excessively\nattentive to all those things.]
[You must send John with the young\nladies, Mrs. Collins.]
[I am glad it occurred to me to mention it;\nfor it would really be discreditable to _you_ to let them go\nalone.]
[\"\n\n\"My uncle is to send a servant for us.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[Your uncle!]
[He keeps a man-servant, does he?]
[I am very\nglad you have somebody who thinks of these things.]
[Where\nshall you change horses?]
[Oh!]
[Bromley, of course.]
[If you\nmention my name at the Bell, you will be attended to.]
[\"\n\nLady Catherine had many other questions to ask respecting their\njourney, and as she did not answer them all herself, attention was\nnecessary, which Elizabeth believed to be lucky for her; or, with\na mind so occupied, she might have forgotten where she was.]
[Reflection must be reserved for solitary hours; whenever she\nwas alone, she gave way to it as the greatest relief; and not a\nday went by without a solitary walk, in which she might indulge\nin all the delight of unpleasant recollections.]
[Mr. Darcy's letter she was in a fair way of soon knowing by\nheart.]
[She studied every sentence; and her feelings towards its\nwriter were at times widely different.]
[When she remembered the\nstyle of his address, she was still full of indignation; but when\nshe considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him,\nher anger was turned against herself; and his disappointed\nfeelings became the object of compassion.]
[His attachment\nexcited gratitude, his general character respect; but she could\nnot approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal,\nor feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again.]
[In\nher own past behaviour, there was a constant source of vexation\nand regret; and in the unhappy defects of her family, a subject\nof yet heavier chagrin.]
[They were hopeless of remedy.]
[Her father,\ncontented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to\nrestrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters; and her\nmother, with manners so far from right herself, was entirely\ninsensible of the evil.]
[Elizabeth had frequently united with Jane\nin an endeavour to check the imprudence of Catherine and Lydia;\nbut while they were supported by their mother's indulgence, what\nchance could there be of improvement?]
[Catherine, weak-spirited,\nirritable, and completely under Lydia's guidance, had been always\naffronted by their advice; and Lydia, self-willed and careless,\nwould scarcely give them a hearing.]
[They were ignorant, idle, and\nvain.]
[While there was an officer in Meryton, they would flirt\nwith him; and while Meryton was within a walk of Longbourn, they\nwould be going there forever.]
[Anxiety on Jane's behalf was another prevailing concern; and\nMr. Darcy's explanation, by restoring Bingley to all her former\ngood opinion, heightened the sense of what Jane had lost.]
[His\naffection was proved to have been sincere, and his conduct\ncleared of all blame, unless any could attach to the implicitness\nof his confidence in his friend.]
[How grievous then was the\nthought that, of a situation so desirable in every respect, so\nreplete with advantage, so promising for happiness, Jane had\nbeen deprived, by the folly and indecorum of her own family!]
[When to these recollections was added the development of Wickham's\ncharacter, it may be easily believed that the happy spirits which\nhad seldom been depressed before, were now so much affected as to\nmake it almost impossible for her to appear tolerably cheerful.]
[Their engagements at Rosings were as frequent during the last\nweek of her stay as they had been at first.]
[The very last evening\nwas spent there; and her ladyship again inquired minutely into\nthe particulars of their journey, gave them directions as to the\nbest method of packing, and was so urgent on the necessity of\nplacing gowns in the only right way, that Maria thought herself\nobliged, on her return, to undo all the work of the morning, and\npack her trunk afresh.]
[When they parted, Lady Catherine, with great condescension,\nwished them a good journey, and invited them to come to\nHunsford again next year; and Miss de Bourgh exerted herself\nso far as to curtsey and hold out her hand to both.]
[Chapter 38\n\n\nOn Saturday morning Elizabeth and Mr. Collins met for breakfast\na few minutes before the others appeared; and he took the\nopportunity of paying the parting civilities which he deemed\nindispensably necessary.]
[\"I know not, Miss Elizabeth,\" said he, \"whether Mrs. Collins has\nyet expressed her sense of your kindness in coming to us; but I\nam very certain you will not leave the house without receiving\nher thanks for it.]
[The favor of your company has been much\nfelt, I assure you.]
[We know how little there is to tempt anyone\nto our humble abode.]
[Our plain manner of living, our small\nrooms and few domestics, and the little we see of the world,\nmust make Hunsford extremely dull to a young lady like\nyourself; but I hope you will believe us grateful for the\ncondescension, and that we have done everything in our power\nto prevent your spending your time unpleasantly.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was eager with her thanks and assurances of happiness.]
[She had spent six weeks with great enjoyment; and the pleasure\nof being with Charlotte, and the kind attentions she had received,\nmust make _her_ feel the obliged.]
[Mr. Collins was gratified, and\nwith a more smiling solemnity replied:\n\n\"It gives me great pleasure to hear that you have passed your\ntime not disagreeably.]
[We have certainly done our best; and\nmost fortunately having it in our power to introduce you to very\nsuperior society, and, from our connection with Rosings, the\nfrequent means of varying the humble home scene, I think we\nmay flatter ourselves that your Hunsford visit cannot have been\nentirely irksome.]
[Our situation with regard to Lady Catherine's\nfamily is indeed the sort of extraordinary advantage and blessing\nwhich few can boast.]
[You see on what a footing we are.]
[You\nsee how continually we are engaged there.]
[In truth I must\nacknowledge that, with all the disadvantages of this humble\nparsonage, I should not think anyone abiding in it an object of\ncompassion, while they are sharers of our intimacy at Rosings.]
[\"\n\nWords were insufficient for the elevation of his feelings; and\nhe was obliged to walk about the room, while Elizabeth tried to\nunite civility and truth in a few short sentences.]
[\"You may, in fact, carry a very favourable report of us into\nHertfordshire, my dear cousin.]
[I flatter myself at least that you\nwill be able to do so.]
[Lady Catherine's great attentions to Mrs.\nCollins you have been a daily witness of; and altogether I trust\nit does not appear that your friend has drawn an unfortunate--but\non this point it will be as well to be silent.]
[Only let me\nassure you, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that I can from my heart most\ncordially wish you equal felicity in marriage.]
[My dear Charlotte\nand I have but one mind and one way of thinking.]
[There is in\neverything a most remarkable resemblance of character and ideas\nbetween us.]
[We seem to have been designed for each other.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could safely say that it was a great happiness where\nthat was the case, and with equal sincerity could add, that she\nfirmly believed and rejoiced in his domestic comforts.]
[She was\nnot sorry, however, to have the recital of them interrupted by\nthe lady from whom they sprang.]
[Poor Charlotte!]
[it was\nmelancholy to leave her to such society!]
[But she had chosen it\nwith her eyes open; and though evidently regretting that her\nvisitors were to go, she did not seem to ask for compassion.]
[Her home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, and\nall their dependent concerns, had not yet lost their charms.]
[At length the chaise arrived, the trunks were fastened on, the\nparcels placed within, and it was pronounced to be ready.]
[After\nan affectionate parting between the friends, Elizabeth was\nattended to the carriage by Mr. Collins, and as they walked\ndown the garden he was commissioning her with his best\nrespects to all her family, not forgetting his thanks for the\nkindness he had received at Longbourn in the winter, and his\ncompliments to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, though unknown.]
[He\nthen handed her in, Maria followed, and the door was on the\npoint of being closed, when he suddenly reminded them, with\nsome consternation, that they had hitherto forgotten to leave\nany message for the ladies at Rosings.]
[\"But,\" he added, \"you will of course wish to have your humble\nrespects delivered to them, with your grateful thanks for their\nkindness to you while you have been here.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth made no objection; the door was then allowed to be\nshut, and the carriage drove off.]
[\"Good gracious!]
[\" cried Maria, after a few minutes' silence, \"it\nseems but a day or two since we first came!]
[and yet how many\nthings have happened!]
[\"\n\n\"A great many indeed,\" said her companion with a sigh.]
[\"We have dined nine times at Rosings, besides drinking tea there\ntwice!]
[How much I shall have to tell!]
[\"\n\nElizabeth added privately, \"And how much I shall have to conceal!]
[\"\n\nTheir journey was performed without much conversation, or any\nalarm; and within four hours of their leaving Hunsford they\nreached Mr. Gardiner's house, where they were to remain a few\ndays.]
[Jane looked well, and Elizabeth had little opportunity of\nstudying her spirits, amidst the various engagements which the\nkindness of her aunt had reserved for them.]
[But Jane was to go\nhome with her, and at Longbourn there would be leisure enough\nfor observation.]
[It was not without an effort, meanwhile, that she could wait\neven for Longbourn, before she told her sister of Mr. Darcy's\nproposals.]
[To know that she had the power of revealing what\nwould so exceedingly astonish Jane, and must, at the same time,\nso highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet\nbeen able to reason away, was such a temptation to openness\nas nothing could have conquered but the state of indecision\nin which she remained as to the extent of what she should\ncommunicate; and her fear, if she once entered on the subject,\nof being hurried into repeating something of Bingley which\nmight only grieve her sister further.]
[Chapter 39\n\n\nIt was the second week in May, in which the three young ladies\nset out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of ----,\nin Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where\nMr. Bennet's carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived,\nin token of the coachman's punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia\nlooking out of a dining-room upstairs.]
[These two girls had been\nabove an hour in the place, happily employed in visiting an\nopposite milliner, watching the sentinel on guard, and dressing a\nsalad and cucumber.]
[After welcoming their sisters, they triumphantly displayed a table\nset out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords,\nexclaiming, \"Is not this nice?]
[Is not this an agreeable surprise?]
[\"\n\n\"And we mean to treat you all,\" added Lydia, \"but you must lend\nus the money, for we have just spent ours at the shop out there.]
[\"\nThen, showing her purchases--\"Look here, I have bought this bonnet.]
[I do not think it is very pretty; but I thought I might as well\nbuy it as not.]
[I shall pull it to pieces as soon as I get home,\nand see if I can make it up any better.]
[\"\n\nAnd when her sisters abused it as ugly, she added, with perfect\nunconcern, \"Oh!]
[but there were two or three much uglier in the\nshop; and when I have bought some prettier-coloured satin to\ntrim it with fresh, I think it will be very tolerable.]
[Besides,\nit will not much signify what one wears this summer, after the\n----shire have left Meryton, and they are going in a fortnight.]
[\"\n\n\"Are they indeed!]
[\" cried Elizabeth, with the greatest satisfaction.]
[\"They are going to be encamped near Brighton; and I do so\nwant papa to take us all there for the summer!]
[It would be such\na delicious scheme; and I dare say would hardly cost anything at\nall.]
[Mamma would like to go too of all things!]
[Only think what\na miserable summer else we shall have!]
[\"\n\n\"Yes,\" thought Elizabeth, \"_that_ would be a delightful scheme\nindeed, and completely do for us at once.]
[Good Heaven!]
[Brighton, and a whole campful of soldiers, to us, who have been\noverset already by one poor regiment of militia, and the monthly\nballs of Meryton!]
[\"\n\n\"Now I have got some news for you,\" said Lydia, as they sat down\nat table.]
[\"What do you think?]
[It is excellent news--capital\nnews--and about a certain person we all like!]
[\"\n\nJane and Elizabeth looked at each other, and the waiter was told\nhe need not stay.]
[Lydia laughed, and said:\n\n\"Aye, that is just like your formality and discretion.]
[You\nthought the waiter must not hear, as if he cared!]
[I dare say he\noften hears worse things said than I am going to say.]
[But he is\nan ugly fellow!]
[I am glad he is gone.]
[I never saw such a long\nchin in my life.]
[Well, but now for my news; it is about dear\nWickham; too good for the waiter, is it not?]
[There is no danger\nof Wickham's marrying Mary King.]
[There's for you!]
[She is gone\ndown to her uncle at Liverpool: gone to stay.]
[Wickham is safe.]
[\"\n\n\"And Mary King is safe!]
[\" added Elizabeth; \"safe from a\nconnection imprudent as to fortune.]
[\"\n\n\"She is a great fool for going away, if she liked him.]
[\"\n\n\"But I hope there is no strong attachment on either side,\"\nsaid Jane.]
[\"I am sure there is not on _his_.]
[I will answer for it, he never\ncared three straws about her--who could about such a nasty\nlittle freckled thing?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was shocked to think that, however incapable of\nsuch coarseness of _expression_ herself, the coarseness of the\n_sentiment_ was little other than her own breast had harboured\nand fancied liberal!]
[As soon as all had ate, and the elder ones paid, the carriage was\nordered; and after some contrivance, the whole party, with all\ntheir boxes, work-bags, and parcels, and the unwelcome addition\nof Kitty's and Lydia's purchases, were seated in it.]
[\"How nicely we are all crammed in,\" cried Lydia.]
[\"I am glad I\nbought my bonnet, if it is only for the fun of having another\nbandbox!]
[Well, now let us be quite comfortable and snug, and\ntalk and laugh all the way home.]
[And in the first place, let\nus hear what has happened to you all since you went away.]
[Have\nyou seen any pleasant men?]
[Have you had any flirting?]
[I was\nin great hopes that one of you would have got a husband before\nyou came back.]
[Jane will be quite an old maid soon, I declare.]
[She is almost three-and-twenty!]
[Lord, how ashamed I should be of\nnot being married before three-and-twenty!]
[My aunt Phillips wants\nyou so to get husbands, you can't think.]
[She says Lizzy had\nbetter have taken Mr. Collins; but _I_ do not think there would\nhave been any fun in it.]
[Lord!]
[how I should like to be married\nbefore any of you; and then I would chaperon you about to all\nthe balls.]
[Dear me!]
[we had such a good piece of fun the other\nday at Colonel Forster's.]
[Kitty and me were to spend the day\nthere, and Mrs. Forster promised to have a little dance in the\nevening; (by the bye, Mrs. Forster and me are _such_ friends!]
[) and\nso she asked the two Harringtons to come, but Harriet was ill,\nand so Pen was forced to come by herself; and then, what do you\nthink we did?]
[We dressed up Chamberlayne in woman's clothes on\npurpose to pass for a lady, only think what fun!]
[Not a soul\nknew of it, but Colonel and Mrs. Forster, and Kitty and me,\nexcept my aunt, for we were forced to borrow one of her gowns;\nand you cannot imagine how well he looked!]
[When Denny, and\nWickham, and Pratt, and two or three more of the men came in,\nthey did not know him in the least.]
[Lord!]
[how I laughed!]
[and\nso did Mrs. Forster.]
[I thought I should have died.]
[And _that_\nmade the men suspect something, and then they soon found out\nwhat was the matter.]
[\"\n\nWith such kinds of histories of their parties and good jokes, did\nLydia, assisted by Kitty's hints and additions, endeavour to\namuse her companions all the way to Longbourn.]
[Elizabeth\nlistened as little as she could, but there was no escaping the\nfrequent mention of Wickham's name.]
[Their reception at home was most kind.]
[Mrs. Bennet rejoiced to\nsee Jane in undiminished beauty; and more than once during\ndinner did Mr. Bennet say voluntarily to Elizabeth:\n\n\"I am glad you are come back, Lizzy.]
[\"\n\nTheir party in the dining-room was large, for almost all the\nLucases came to meet Maria and hear the news; and various\nwere the subjects that occupied them: Lady Lucas was inquiring\nof Maria, after the welfare and poultry of her eldest daughter;\nMrs. Bennet was doubly engaged, on one hand collecting an\naccount of the present fashions from Jane, who sat some way\nbelow her, and, on the other, retailing them all to the younger\nLucases; and Lydia, in a voice rather louder than any other\nperson's, was enumerating the various pleasures of the morning\nto anybody who would hear her.]
[\"Oh!]
[Mary,\" said she, \"I wish you had gone with us, for we had\nsuch fun!]
[As we went along, Kitty and I drew up the blinds,\nand pretended there was nobody in the coach; and I should have\ngone so all the way, if Kitty had not been sick; and when we got\nto the George, I do think we behaved very handsomely, for we\ntreated the other three with the nicest cold luncheon in the\nworld, and if you would have gone, we would have treated you\ntoo.]
[And then when we came away it was such fun!]
[I thought\nwe never should have got into the coach.]
[I was ready to die\nof laughter.]
[And then we were so merry all the way home!]
[we\ntalked and laughed so loud, that anybody might have heard us\nten miles off!]
[\"\n\nTo this Mary very gravely replied, \"Far be it from me, my dear\nsister, to depreciate such pleasures!]
[They would doubtless be\ncongenial with the generality of female minds.]
[But I confess\nthey would have no charms for _me_--I should infinitely prefer a\nbook.]
[\"\n\nBut of this answer Lydia heard not a word.]
[She seldom listened\nto anybody for more than half a minute, and never attended to\nMary at all.]
[In the afternoon Lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls\nto walk to Meryton, and to see how everybody went on; but\nElizabeth steadily opposed the scheme.]
[It should not be said\nthat the Miss Bennets could not be at home half a day before\nthey were in pursuit of the officers.]
[There was another reason\ntoo for her opposition.]
[She dreaded seeing Mr. Wickham again,\nand was resolved to avoid it as long as possible.]
[The comfort\nto _her_ of the regiment's approaching removal was indeed beyond\nexpression.]
[In a fortnight they were to go--and once gone, she\nhoped there could be nothing more to plague her on his account.]
[She had not been many hours at home before she found that the\nBrighton scheme, of which Lydia had given them a hint at the inn,\nwas under frequent discussion between her parents.]
[Elizabeth\nsaw directly that her father had not the smallest intention of\nyielding; but his answers were at the same time so vague and\nequivocal, that her mother, though often disheartened, had never\nyet despaired of succeeding at last.]
[Chapter 40\n\n\nElizabeth's impatience to acquaint Jane with what had happened\ncould no longer be overcome; and at length, resolving to\nsuppress every particular in which her sister was concerned,\nand preparing her to be surprised, she related to her the next\nmorning the chief of the scene between Mr. Darcy and herself.]
[Miss Bennet's astonishment was soon lessened by the strong\nsisterly partiality which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear\nperfectly natural; and all surprise was shortly lost in other\nfeelings.]
[She was sorry that Mr. Darcy should have delivered his\nsentiments in a manner so little suited to recommend them; but\nstill more was she grieved for the unhappiness which her sister's\nrefusal must have given him.]
[\"His being so sure of succeeding was wrong,\" said she, \"and\ncertainly ought not to have appeared; but consider how much it\nmust increase his disappointment!]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" replied Elizabeth, \"I am heartily sorry for him; but he\nhas other feelings, which will probably soon drive away his\nregard for me.]
[You do not blame me, however, for refusing him?]
[\"\n\n\"Blame you!]
[Oh, no.]
[\"\n\n\"But you blame me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?]
[\"\n\n\"No--I do not know that you were wrong in saying what you\ndid.]
[\"\n\n\"But you _will_ know it, when I tell you what happened the very\nnext day.]
[\"\n\nShe then spoke of the letter, repeating the whole of its contents\nas far as they concerned George Wickham.]
[What a stroke was\nthis for poor Jane!]
[who would willingly have gone through the\nworld without believing that so much wickedness existed in the\nwhole race of mankind, as was here collected in one individual.]
[Nor was Darcy's vindication, though grateful to her feelings,\ncapable of consoling her for such discovery.]
[Most earnestly did\nshe labour to prove the probability of error, and seek to clear the\none without involving the other.]
[\"This will not do,\" said Elizabeth; \"you never will be able to\nmake both of them good for anything.]
[Take your choice, but\nyou must be satisfied with only one.]
[There is but such a quantity\nof merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of\nman; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much.]
[For my\npart, I am inclined to believe it all Darcy's; but you shall do\nas you choose.]
[\"\n\nIt was some time, however, before a smile could be extorted\nfrom Jane.]
[\"I do not know when I have been more shocked,\" said she.]
[\"Wickham so very bad!]
[It is almost past belief.]
[And poor Mr.\nDarcy!]
[Dear Lizzy, only consider what he must have suffered.]
[Such a disappointment!]
[and with the knowledge of your ill\nopinion, too!]
[and having to relate such a thing of his sister!]
[It is really too distressing.]
[I am sure you must feel it so.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[no, my regret and compassion are all done away by seeing\nyou so full of both.]
[I know you will do him such ample justice,\nthat I am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent.]
[Your profusion makes me saving; and if you lament over him much\nlonger, my heart will be as light as a feather.]
[\"\n\n\"Poor Wickham!]
[there is such an expression of goodness in his\ncountenance!]
[such an openness and gentleness in his manner!]
[\"\n\n\"There certainly was some great mismanagement in the education\nof those two young men.]
[One has got all the goodness, and the\nother all the appearance of it.]
[\"\n\n\"I never thought Mr. Darcy so deficient in the _appearance_\nof it as you used to do.]
[\"\n\n\"And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided\na dislike to him, without any reason.]
[It is such a spur to one's\ngenius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind.]
[One may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but\none cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then\nstumbling on something witty.]
[\"\n\n\"Lizzy, when you first read that letter, I am sure you could not\ntreat the matter as you do now.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed, I could not.]
[I was uncomfortable enough, I may say\nunhappy.]
[And with no one to speak to about what I felt, no\nJane to comfort me and say that I had not been so very weak and\nvain and nonsensical as I knew I had!]
[Oh!]
[how I wanted you!]
[\"\n\n\"How unfortunate that you should have used such very strong\nexpressions in speaking of Wickham to Mr. Darcy, for now they\n_do_ appear wholly undeserved.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly.]
[But the misfortune of speaking with bitterness\nis a most natural consequence of the prejudices I had been\nencouraging.]
[There is one point on which I want your advice.]
[I want to be told whether I ought, or ought not, to make our\nacquaintances in general understand Wickham's character.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bennet paused a little, and then replied, \"Surely there can\nbe no occasion for exposing him so dreadfully.]
[What is your\nopinion?]
[\"\n\n\"That it ought not to be attempted.]
[Mr. Darcy has not\nauthorised me to make his communication public.]
[On the\ncontrary, every particular relative to his sister was meant to\nbe kept as much as possible to myself; and if I endeavour to\nundeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe\nme?]
[The general prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so violent, that\nit would be the death of half the good people in Meryton to\nattempt to place him in an amiable light.]
[I am not equal to it.]
[Wickham will soon be gone; and therefore it will not signify to\nanyone here what he really is.]
[Some time hence it will be all\nfound out, and then we may laugh at their stupidity in not\nknowing it before.]
[At present I will say nothing about it.]
[\"\n\n\"You are quite right.]
[To have his errors made public might ruin\nhim for ever.]
[He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done,\nand anxious to re-establish a character.]
[We must not make him\ndesperate.]
[\"\n\nThe tumult of Elizabeth's mind was allayed by this conversation.]
[She had got rid of two of the secrets which had weighed on her\nfor a fortnight, and was certain of a willing listener in Jane,\nwhenever she might wish to talk again of either.]
[But there was\nstill something lurking behind, of which prudence forbade the\ndisclosure.]
[She dared not relate the other half of Mr. Darcy's\nletter, nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been\nvalued by her friend.]
[Here was knowledge in which no one\ncould partake; and she was sensible that nothing less than a\nperfect understanding between the parties could justify her in\nthrowing off this last encumbrance of mystery.]
[\"And then,\" said\nshe, \"if that very improbable event should ever take place, I\nshall merely be able to tell what Bingley may tell in a much more\nagreeable manner himself.]
[The liberty of communication cannot\nbe mine till it has lost all its value!]
[\"\n\nShe was now, on being settled at home, at leisure to observe the\nreal state of her sister's spirits.]
[Jane was not happy.]
[She still\ncherished a very tender affection for Bingley.]
[Having never even\nfancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of\nfirst attachment, and, from her age and disposition, greater\nsteadiness than most first attachments often boast; and so\nfervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every\nother man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the\nfeelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of\nthose regrets which must have been injurious to her own health\nand their tranquillity.]
[\"Well, Lizzy,\" said Mrs. Bennet one day, \"what is your opinion\n_now_ of this sad business of Jane's?]
[For my part, I am\ndetermined never to speak of it again to anybody.]
[I told my\nsister Phillips so the other day.]
[But I cannot find out that Jane\nsaw anything of him in London.]
[Well, he is a very undeserving\nyoung man--and I do not suppose there's the least chance in the\nworld of her ever getting him now.]
[There is no talk of his\ncoming to Netherfield again in the summer; and I have inquired\nof everybody, too, who is likely to know.]
[\"\n\n\"I do not believe he will ever live at Netherfield any more.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh well!]
[it is just as he chooses.]
[Nobody wants him to come.]
[Though I shall always say he used my daughter extremely ill; and\nif I was her, I would not have put up with it.]
[Well, my comfort\nis, I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart; and then he will\nbe sorry for what he has done.]
[\"\n\nBut as Elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such\nexpectation, she made no answer.]
[\"Well, Lizzy,\" continued her mother, soon afterwards, \"and so\nthe Collinses live very comfortable, do they?]
[Well, well, I only\nhope it will last.]
[And what sort of table do they keep?]
[Charlotte\nis an excellent manager, I dare say.]
[If she is half as sharp as\nher mother, she is saving enough.]
[There is nothing extravagant in\n_their_ housekeeping, I dare say.]
[\"\n\n\"No, nothing at all.]
[\"\n\n\"A great deal of good management, depend upon it.]
[Yes, yes.]
[_they_ will take care not to outrun their income.]
[_They_ will\nnever be distressed for money.]
[Well, much good may it do\nthem!]
[And so, I suppose, they often talk of having Longbourn\nwhen your father is dead.]
[They look upon it as quite their own,\nI dare say, whenever that happens.]
[\"\n\n\"It was a subject which they could not mention before me.]
[\"\n\n\"No; it would have been strange if they had; but I make no\ndoubt they often talk of it between themselves.]
[Well, if they\ncan be easy with an estate that is not lawfully their own, so\nmuch the better.]
[I should be ashamed of having one that was\nonly entailed on me.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 41\n\n\nThe first week of their return was soon gone.]
[The second began.]
[It was the last of the regiment's stay in Meryton, and all the\nyoung ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace.]
[The\ndejection was almost universal.]
[The elder Miss Bennets alone\nwere still able to eat, drink, and sleep, and pursue the usual\ncourse of their employments.]
[Very frequently were they\nreproached for this insensibility by Kitty and Lydia, whose\nown misery was extreme, and who could not comprehend such\nhard-heartedness in any of the family.]
[\"Good Heaven!]
[what is to become of us?]
[What are we to do?]
[\"\nwould they often exclaim in the bitterness of woe.  \"How can\nyou be smiling so, Lizzy?]
[\"\n\nTheir affectionate mother shared all their grief; she remembered\nwhat she had herself endured on a similar occasion, five-and-twenty\nyears ago.]
[\"I am sure,\" said she, \"I cried for two days together when\nColonel Miller's regiment went away.]
[I thought I should have\nbroken my heart.]
[\"\n\n\"I am sure I shall break _mine_,\" said Lydia.]
[\"If one could but go to Brighton!]
[\" observed Mrs. Bennet.]
[\"Oh, yes!--if one could but go to Brighton!]
[But papa is so\ndisagreeable.]
[\"\n\n\"A little sea-bathing would set me up forever.]
[\"\n\n\"And my aunt Phillips is sure it would do _me_ a great deal of\ngood,\" added Kitty.]
[Such were the kind of lamentations resounding perpetually\nthrough Longbourn House.]
[Elizabeth tried to be diverted by\nthem; but all sense of pleasure was lost in shame.]
[She felt anew\nthe justice of Mr. Darcy's objections; and never had she been so\nmuch disposed to pardon his interference in the views of his\nfriend.]
[But the gloom of Lydia's prospect was shortly cleared away; for\nshe received an invitation from Mrs. Forster, the wife of the\ncolonel of the regiment, to accompany her to Brighton.]
[This\ninvaluable friend was a very young woman, and very lately\nmarried.]
[A resemblance in good humour and good spirits had\nrecommended her and Lydia to each other, and out of their\n_three_ months' acquaintance they had been intimate _two_.]
[The rapture of Lydia on this occasion, her adoration of Mrs.\nForster, the delight of Mrs. Bennet, and the mortification of\nKitty, are scarcely to be described.]
[Wholly inattentive to her\nsister's feelings, Lydia flew about the house in restless ecstasy,\ncalling for everyone's congratulations, and laughing and talking\nwith more violence than ever; whilst the luckless Kitty continued\nin the parlour repined at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her\naccent was peevish.]
[\"I cannot see why Mrs. Forster should not ask _me_ as well as\nLydia,\" said she, \"Though I am _not_ her particular friend.]
[I\nhave just as much right to be asked as she has, and more too,\nfor I am two years older.]
[\"\n\nIn vain did Elizabeth attempt to make her reasonable, and Jane\nto make her resigned.]
[As for Elizabeth herself, this invitation\nwas so far from exciting in her the same feelings as in her mother\nand Lydia, that she considered it as the death warrant of all\npossibility of common sense for the latter; and detestable as such\na step must make her were it known, she could not help secretly\nadvising her father not to let her go.]
[She represented to him all\nthe improprieties of Lydia's general behaviour, the little\nadvantage she could derive from the friendship of such a woman\nas Mrs. Forster, and the probability of her being yet more\nimprudent with such a companion at Brighton, where the\ntemptations must be greater than at home.]
[He heard her\nattentively, and then said:\n\n\"Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some\npublic place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with\nso little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the\npresent circumstances.]
[\"\n\n\"If you were aware,\" said Elizabeth, \"of the very great\ndisadvantage to us all which must arise from the public notice\nof Lydia's unguarded and imprudent manner--nay, which has\nalready arisen from it, I am sure you would judge differently in\nthe affair.]
[\"\n\n\"Already arisen?]
[\" repeated Mr. Bennet.]
[\"What, has she\nfrightened away some of your lovers?]
[Poor little Lizzy!]
[But do\nnot be cast down.]
[Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be\nconnected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.]
[Come,\nlet me see the list of pitiful fellows who have been kept aloof\nby Lydia's folly.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed you are mistaken.]
[I have no such injuries to resent.]
[It is not of particular, but of general evils, which I am now\ncomplaining.]
[Our importance, our respectability in the world must\nbe affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of\nall restraint which mark Lydia's character.]
[Excuse me, for I must\nspeak plainly.]
[If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble\nof checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her\npresent pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will\nsoon be beyond the reach of amendment.]
[Her character will be\nfixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that\never made herself or her family ridiculous; a flirt, too, in the\nworst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any attraction\nbeyond youth and a tolerable person; and, from the ignorance and\nemptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off any portion of\nthat universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite.]
[In this danger Kitty also is comprehended.]
[She will follow wherever\nLydia leads.]
[Vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled!]
[Oh!]
[my dear father, can you suppose it possible that they will not\nbe censured and despised wherever they are known, and that their\nsisters will not be often involved in the disgrace?]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet saw that her whole heart was in the subject, and\naffectionately taking her hand said in reply:\n\n\"Do not make yourself uneasy, my love.]
[Wherever you and Jane\nare known you must be respected and valued; and you will not\nappear to less advantage for having a couple of--or I may say,\nthree--very silly sisters.]
[We shall have no peace at Longbourn\nif Lydia does not go to Brighton.]
[Let her go, then.]
[Colonel\nForster is a sensible man, and will keep her out of any real\nmischief; and she is luckily too poor to be an object of prey\nto anybody.]
[At Brighton she will be of less importance even as\na common flirt than she has been here.]
[The officers will find\nwomen better worth their notice.]
[Let us hope, therefore, that\nher being there may teach her her own insignificance.]
[At any\nrate, she cannot grow many degrees worse, without authorising\nus to lock her up for the rest of her life.]
[\"\n\nWith this answer Elizabeth was forced to be content; but her\nown opinion continued the same, and she left him disappointed\nand sorry.]
[It was not in her nature, however, to increase her\nvexations by dwelling on them.]
[She was confident of having\nperformed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or\naugment them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition.]
[Had Lydia and her mother known the substance of her conference\nwith her father, their indignation would hardly have found\nexpression in their united volubility.]
[In Lydia's imagination,\na visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly\nhappiness.]
[She saw, with the creative eye of fancy, the streets\nof that gay bathing-place covered with officers.]
[She saw\nherself the object of attention, to tens and to scores of them\nat present unknown.]
[She saw all the glories of the camp--its\ntents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded\nwith the young and the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to\ncomplete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly\nflirting with at least six officers at once.]
[Had she known her sister sought to tear her from such prospects\nand such realities as these, what would have been her sensations?]
[They could have been understood only by her mother, who might\nhave felt nearly the same.]
[Lydia's going to Brighton was all\nthat consoled her for her melancholy conviction of her husband's\nnever intending to go there himself.]
[But they were entirely ignorant of what had passed; and their\nraptures continued, with little intermission, to the very day of\nLydia's leaving home.]
[Elizabeth was now to see Mr. Wickham for the last time.]
[Having been frequently in company with him since her return,\nagitation was pretty well over; the agitations of formal partiality\nentirely so.]
[She had even learnt to detect, in the very gentleness\nwhich had first delighted her, an affectation and a sameness to\ndisgust and weary.]
[In his present behaviour to herself,\nmoreover, she had a fresh source of displeasure, for the\ninclination he soon testified of renewing those intentions which\nhad marked the early part of their acquaintance could only serve,\nafter what had since passed, to provoke her.]
[She lost all concern\nfor him in finding herself thus selected as the object of such idle\nand frivolous gallantry; and while she steadily repressed it, could\nnot but feel the reproof contained in his believing, that however\nlong, and for whatever cause, his attentions had been withdrawn,\nher vanity would be gratified, and her preference secured at any\ntime by their renewal.]
[On the very last day of the regiment's remaining at Meryton, he\ndined, with other of the officers, at Longbourn; and so little\nwas Elizabeth disposed to part from him in good humour, that on\nhis making some inquiry as to the manner in which her time had\npassed at Hunsford, she mentioned Colonel Fitzwilliam's and\nMr. Darcy's having both spent three weeks at Rosings, and\nasked him, if he was acquainted with the former.]
[He looked surprised, displeased, alarmed; but with a moment's\nrecollection and a returning smile, replied, that he had formerly\nseen him often; and, after observing that he was a very\ngentlemanlike man, asked her how she had liked him.]
[Her\nanswer was warmly in his favour.]
[With an air of indifference he\nsoon afterwards added:\n\n\"How long did you say he was at Rosings?]
[\"\n\n\"Nearly three weeks.]
[\"\n\n\"And you saw him frequently?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, almost every day.]
[\"\n\n\"His manners are very different from his cousin's.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, very different.]
[But I think Mr. Darcy improves upon\nacquaintance.]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed!]
[\" cried Mr. Wickham with a look which did not escape\nher.]
[\"And pray, may I ask?--\"  But checking himself, he added,\nin a gayer tone, \"Is it in address that he improves?]
[Has he\ndeigned to add aught of civility to his ordinary style?--for I\ndare not hope,\" he continued in a lower and more serious tone,\n\"that he is improved in essentials.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, no!]
[\" said Elizabeth.]
[\"In essentials, I believe, he is very\nmuch what he ever was.]
[\"\n\nWhile she spoke, Wickham looked as if scarcely knowing\nwhether to rejoice over her words, or to distrust their meaning.]
[There was a something in her countenance which made him listen\nwith an apprehensive and anxious attention, while she added:\n\n\"When I said that he improved on acquaintance, I did not mean\nthat his mind or his manners were in a state of improvement, but\nthat, from knowing him better, his disposition was better\nunderstood.]
[\"\n\nWickham's alarm now appeared in a heightened complexion and\nagitated look; for a few minutes he was silent, till, shaking\noff his embarrassment, he turned to her again, and said in the\ngentlest of accents:\n\n\"You, who so well know my feeling towards Mr. Darcy, will\nreadily comprehend how sincerely I must rejoice that he is\nwise enough to assume even the _appearance_ of what is right.]
[His pride, in that direction, may be of service, if not to himself,\nto many others, for it must only deter him from such foul\nmisconduct as I have suffered by.]
[I only fear that the sort of\ncautiousness to which you, I imagine, have been alluding, is\nmerely adopted on his visits to his aunt, of whose good opinion\nand judgement he stands much in awe.]
[His fear of her has\nalways operated, I know, when they were together; and a good\ndeal is to be imputed to his wish of forwarding the match with\nMiss de Bourgh, which I am certain he has very much at heart.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not repress a smile at this, but she answered only\nby a slight inclination of the head.]
[She saw that he wanted to\nengage her on the old subject of his grievances, and she was in\nno humour to indulge him.]
[The rest of the evening passed with\nthe _appearance_, on his side, of usual cheerfulness, but with\nno further attempt to distinguish Elizabeth; and they parted at\nlast with mutual civility, and possibly a mutual desire of never\nmeeting again.]
[When the party broke up, Lydia returned with Mrs. Forster to\nMeryton, from whence they were to set out early the next\nmorning.]
[The separation between her and her family was rather\nnoisy than pathetic.]
[Kitty was the only one who shed tears; but\nshe did weep from vexation and envy.]
[Mrs. Bennet was diffuse\nin her good wishes for the felicity of her daughter, and\nimpressive in her injunctions that she should not miss the\nopportunity of enjoying herself as much as possible--advice\nwhich there was every reason to believe would be well attended\nto; and in the clamorous happiness of Lydia herself in bidding\nfarewell, the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered\nwithout being heard.]
[Chapter 42\n\n\nHad Elizabeth's opinion been all drawn from her own family,\nshe could not have formed a very pleasing opinion of conjugal\nfelicity or domestic comfort.]
[Her father, captivated by youth\nand beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth\nand beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak\nunderstanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage\nput an end to all real affection for her.]
[Respect, esteem, and\nconfidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic\nhappiness were overthrown.]
[But Mr. Bennet was not of a\ndisposition to seek comfort for the disappointment which his\nown imprudence had brought on, in any of those pleasures which\ntoo often console the unfortunate for their folly or their vice.]
[He was fond of the country and of books; and from these tastes had\narisen his principal enjoyments.]
[To his wife he was very little\notherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had\ncontributed to his amusement.]
[This is not the sort of happiness\nwhich a man would in general wish to owe to his wife; but\nwhere other powers of entertainment are wanting, the true\nphilosopher will derive benefit from such as are given.]
[Elizabeth, however, had never been blind to the impropriety of\nher father's behaviour as a husband.]
[She had always seen it with\npain; but respecting his abilities, and grateful for his affectionate\ntreatment of herself, she endeavoured to forget what she could\nnot overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that continual\nbreach of conjugal obligation and decorum which, in exposing\nhis wife to the contempt of her own children, was so highly\nreprehensible.]
[But she had never felt so strongly as now the\ndisadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a\nmarriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising from\nso ill-judged a direction of talents; talents, which, rightly used,\nmight at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters,\neven if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife.]
[When Elizabeth had rejoiced over Wickham's departure she\nfound little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of the\nregiment.]
[Their parties abroad were less varied than before, and\nat home she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings at\nthe dullness of everything around them threw a real gloom over\ntheir domestic circle; and, though Kitty might in time regain her\nnatural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain were\nremoved, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evil\nmight be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her\nfolly and assurance by a situation of such double danger as a\nwatering-place and a camp.]
[Upon the whole, therefore, she\nfound, what has been sometimes found before, that an event\nto which she had been looking with impatient desire did not,\nin taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promised\nherself.]
[It was consequently necessary to name some other\nperiod for the commencement of actual felicity--to have some\nother point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed, and\nby again enjoying the pleasure of anticipation, console herself for\nthe present, and prepare for another disappointment.]
[Her tour\nto the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts; it was\nher best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours which the\ndiscontentedness of her mother and Kitty made inevitable; and\ncould she have included Jane in the scheme, every part of it\nwould have been perfect.]
[\"But it is fortunate,\" thought she, \"that I have something to wish\nfor.]
[Were the whole arrangement complete, my disappointment\nwould be certain.]
[But here, by carrying with me one ceaseless\nsource of regret in my sister's absence, I may reasonably hope to\nhave all my expectations of pleasure realised.]
[A scheme of\nwhich every part promises delight can never be successful; and\ngeneral disappointment is only warded off by the defence of\nsome little peculiar vexation.]
[\"\n\nWhen Lydia went away she promised to write very often and\nvery minutely to her mother and Kitty; but her letters were\nalways long expected, and always very short.]
[Those to her\nmother contained little else than that they were just returned\nfrom the library, where such and such officers had attended\nthem, and where she had seen such beautiful ornaments as made\nher quite wild; that she had a new gown, or a new parasol, which\nshe would have described more fully, but was obliged to leave\noff in a violent hurry, as Mrs. Forster called her, and they were\ngoing off to the camp; and from her correspondence with her\nsister,  there was still less to be learnt--for her letters to\nKitty, though rather longer, were much too full of lines under the\nwords to be made public.]
[After the first fortnight or three weeks of her absence, health,\ngood humour, and cheerfulness began to reappear at Longbourn.]
[Everything wore a happier aspect.]
[The families who had been in\ntown for the winter came back again, and summer finery and\nsummer engagements arose.]
[Mrs. Bennet was restored to her\nusual querulous serenity; and, by the middle of June, Kitty was\nso much recovered as to be able to enter Meryton without tears;\nan event of such happy promise as to make Elizabeth hope that\nby the following Christmas she might be so tolerably reasonable\nas not to mention an officer above once a day, unless, by some\ncruel and malicious arrangement at the War Office, another\nregiment should be quartered in Meryton.]
[The time fixed for the beginning of their northern tour was now\nfast approaching, and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when\na letter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed its\ncommencement and curtailed its extent.]
[Mr. Gardiner would be\nprevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in\nJuly, and must be in London again within a month, and as that\nleft too short a period for them to go so far, and see so much\nas they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure and\ncomfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up the\nLakes, and substitute a more contracted tour, and, according\nto the present plan, were to go no farther northwards than\nDerbyshire.]
[In that county there was enough to be seen to\noccupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it\nhad a peculiarly strong attraction.]
[The town where she had\nformerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now\nto spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her\ncuriosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth,\nDovedale, or the Peak.]
[Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on\nseeing the Lakes, and still thought there might have been time\nenough.]
[But it was her business to be satisfied--and certainly\nher temper to be happy; and all was soon right again.]
[With the mention of Derbyshire there were many ideas connected.]
[It was impossible for her to see the word without thinking of\nPemberley and its owner.]
[\"But surely,\" said she, \"I may enter\nhis county without impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars\nwithout his perceiving me.]
[\"\n\nThe period of expectation was now doubled.]
[Four weeks were to\npass away before her uncle and aunt's arrival.]
[But they did pass\naway, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, with their four children, did\nat length appear at Longbourn.]
[The children, two girls of six\nand eight years old, and two younger boys, were to be left under\nthe particular care of their cousin Jane, who was the general\nfavourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly\nadapted her for attending to them in every way--teaching them,\nplaying with them, and loving them.]
[The Gardiners stayed only one night at Longbourn, and set off\nthe next morning with Elizabeth in pursuit of novelty and\namusement.]
[One enjoyment was certain--that of suitableness\nof companions; a suitableness which comprehended health and\ntemper to bear inconveniences--cheerfulness to enhance every\npleasure--and affection and intelligence, which might supply\nit among themselves if there were disappointments abroad.]
[It is not the object of this work to give a description of\nDerbyshire, nor of any of the remarkable places through which\ntheir route thither lay; Oxford, Blenheim, Warwick, Kenilworth,\nBirmingham, etc. are sufficiently known.]
[A small part of\nDerbyshire is all the present concern.]
[To the little town of\nLambton, the scene of Mrs. Gardiner's former residence, and\nwhere she had lately learned some acquaintance still remained,\nthey bent their steps, after having seen all the principal wonders\nof the country; and within five miles of Lambton, Elizabeth\nfound from her aunt that Pemberley was situated.]
[It was not in\ntheir direct road, nor more than a mile or two out of it.]
[In\ntalking over their route the evening before, Mrs. Gardiner\nexpressed an inclination to see the place again.]
[Mr. Gardiner\ndeclared his willingness, and Elizabeth was applied to for her\napprobation.]
[\"My love, should not you like to see a place of which you have\nheard so much?]
[\" said her aunt; \"a place, too, with which so\nmany of your acquaintances are connected.]
[Wickham passed all\nhis youth there, you know.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was distressed.]
[She felt that she had no business at\nPemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing\nit.]
[She must own that she was tired of seeing great houses; after\ngoing over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets or\nsatin curtains.]
[Mrs. Gardiner abused her stupidity.]
[\"If it were merely a fine\nhouse richly furnished,\" said she, \"I should not care about it\nmyself; but the grounds are delightful.]
[They have some of the\nfinest woods in the country.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth said no more--but her mind could not acquiesce.]
[The possibility of meeting Mr. Darcy, while viewing the place,\ninstantly occurred.]
[It would be dreadful!]
[She blushed at the\nvery idea, and thought it would be better to speak openly to\nher aunt than to run such a risk.]
[But against this there were\nobjections; and she finally resolved that it could be the last\nresource, if her private inquiries to the absence of the family\nwere unfavourably answered.]
[Accordingly, when she retired at night, she asked the chambermaid\nwhether Pemberley were not a very fine place?]
[what was the name\nof its proprietor?]
[and, with no little alarm, whether the family\nwere down for the summer?]
[A most welcome negative followed the\nlast question--and her alarms now being removed, she was at\nleisure to feel a great deal of curiosity to see the house herself;\nand when the subject was revived the next morning, and she was\nagain applied to, could readily answer, and with a proper air of\nindifference, that she had not really any dislike to the scheme.]
[To Pemberley, therefore, they were to go.]
[Chapter 43\n\n\nElizabeth, as they drove along, watched for the first appearance\nof Pemberley Woods with some perturbation; and when at\nlength they turned in at the lodge, her spirits were in a high\nflutter.]
[The park was very large, and contained great variety of ground.]
[They entered it in one of its lowest points, and drove for some\ntime through a beautiful wood stretching over a wide extent.]
[Elizabeth's mind was too full for conversation, but she saw and\nadmired every remarkable spot and point of view.]
[They\ngradually ascended for half-a-mile, and then found themselves\nat the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased,\nand the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated\non the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some\nabruptness wound.]
[It was a large, handsome stone building,\nstanding well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high\nwoody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance\nwas swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance.]
[Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned.]
[Elizabeth\nwas delighted.]
[She had never seen a place for which nature\nhad done more, or where natural beauty had been so little\ncounteracted by an awkward taste.]
[They were all of them warm\nin their admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be\nmistress of Pemberley might be something!]
[They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the\ndoor; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all\nher apprehension of meeting its owner returned.]
[She dreaded\nlest the chambermaid had been mistaken.]
[On applying to see\nthe place, they were admitted into the hall; and Elizabeth, as\nthey waited for the housekeeper, had leisure to wonder at her\nbeing where she was.]
[The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking elderly woman,\nmuch less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of\nfinding her.]
[They followed her into the dining-parlour.]
[It was a large, well proportioned room, handsomely fitted up.]
[Elizabeth, after slightly surveying it, went to a window to enjoy\nits prospect.]
[The hill, crowned with wood, which they had\ndescended, receiving increased abruptness from the distance,\nwas a beautiful object.]
[Every disposition of the ground was\ngood; and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees\nscattered on its banks and the winding of the valley, as far as\nshe could trace it, with delight.]
[As they passed into other\nrooms these objects were taking different positions; but from\nevery window there were beauties to be seen.]
[The rooms were\nlofty and handsome, and their furniture suitable to the fortune\nof its proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste,\nthat it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine; with less of\nsplendour, and more real elegance, than the furniture of Rosings.]
[\"And of this place,\" thought she, \"I might have been mistress!]
[With these rooms I might now have been familiarly acquainted!]
[Instead of viewing them as a stranger, I might have rejoiced\nin them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle\nand aunt.]
[But no,\"--recollecting herself--\"that could never\nbe; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not\nhave been allowed to invite them.]
[\"\n\nThis was a lucky recollection--it saved her from something\nvery like regret.]
[She longed to inquire of the housekeeper whether her master\nwas really absent, but had not the courage for it.]
[At length\nhowever, the question was asked by her uncle; and she turned\naway with alarm, while Mrs. Reynolds replied that he was,\nadding, \"But we expect him to-morrow, with a large party of\nfriends.]
[\"  How rejoiced was Elizabeth that their own journey\nhad not by any circumstance been delayed a day!]
[Her aunt now called her to look at a picture.]
[She approached\nand saw the likeness of Mr. Wickham, suspended, amongst\nseveral other miniatures, over the mantelpiece.]
[Her aunt asked\nher, smilingly, how she liked it.]
[The housekeeper came forward,\nand told them it was a picture of a young gentleman, the son of\nher late master's steward, who had been brought up by him at\nhis own expense.]
[\"He is now gone into the army,\" she added;\n\"but I am afraid he has turned out very wild.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Gardiner looked at her niece with a smile, but Elizabeth\ncould not return it.]
[\"And that,\" said Mrs. Reynolds, pointing to another of the\nminiatures, \"is my master--and very like him.]
[It was drawn at\nthe same time as the other--about eight years ago.]
[\"\n\n\"I have heard much of your master's fine person,\" said Mrs.\nGardiner, looking at the picture; \"it is a handsome face.]
[But, Lizzy, you can tell us whether it is like or not.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Reynolds respect for Elizabeth seemed to increase on this\nintimation of her knowing her master.]
[\"Does that young lady know Mr.]
[Darcy?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth coloured, and said: \"A little.]
[\"\n\n\"And do not you think him a very handsome gentleman, ma'am?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, very handsome.]
[\"\n\n\"I am sure I know none so handsome; but in the gallery\nupstairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this.]
[This room was my late master's favourite room, and these\nminiatures are just as they used to be then.]
[He was very fond\nof them.]
[\"\n\nThis accounted to Elizabeth for Mr. Wickham's being among them.]
[Mrs. Reynolds then directed their attention to one of Miss Darcy,\ndrawn when she was only eight years old.]
[\"And is Miss Darcy as handsome as her brother?]
[\" said Mrs. Gardiner.]
[\"Oh!]
[yes--the handsomest young lady that ever was seen; and\nso accomplished!--She plays and sings all day long.]
[In the next\nroom is a new instrument just come down for her--a present\nfrom my master; she comes here to-morrow with him.]
[\"\n\nMr. Gardiner, whose manners were very easy and pleasant,\nencouraged her communicativeness by his questions and remarks;\nMrs. Reynolds, either by pride or attachment, had evidently\ngreat pleasure in talking of her master and his sister.]
[\"Is your master much at Pemberley in the course of the year?]
[\"\n\n\"Not so much as I could wish, sir; but I dare say he may spend\nhalf his time here; and Miss Darcy is always down for the\nsummer months.]
[\"\n\n\"Except,\" thought Elizabeth, \"when she goes to Ramsgate.]
[\"\n\n\"If your master would marry, you might see more of him.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, sir; but I do not know when _that_ will be.]
[I do not\nknow who is good enough for him.]
[\"\n\nMr. and Mrs. Gardiner smiled.]
[Elizabeth could not help saying,\n\"It is very much to his credit, I am sure, that you should think\nso.]
[\"\n\n\"I say no more than the truth, and everybody will say that\nknows him,\" replied the other.]
[Elizabeth thought this was\ngoing pretty far; and she listened with increasing astonishment\nas the housekeeper added, \"I have never known a cross word\nfrom him in my life, and I have known him ever since he was\nfour years old.]
[\"\n\nThis was praise, of all others most extraordinary, most opposite\nto her ideas.]
[That he was not a good-tempered man had been\nher firmest opinion.]
[Her keenest attention was awakened; she\nlonged to hear more, and was grateful to her uncle for saying:\n\n\"There are very few people of whom so much can be said.]
[You\nare lucky in having such a master.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, sir, I know I am.]
[If I were to go through the world, I\ncould not meet with a better.]
[But I have always observed, that\nthey who are good-natured when children, are good-natured\nwhen they grow up; and he was always the sweetest-tempered,\nmost generous-hearted boy in the world.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth almost stared at her.]
[\"Can this be Mr.]
[Darcy?]
[\"\nthought she.]
[\"His father was an excellent man,\" said Mrs. Gardiner.]
[\"Yes, ma'am, that he was indeed; and his son will be just like\nhim--just as affable to the poor.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth listened, wondered, doubted, and was impatient for\nmore.]
[Mrs. Reynolds could interest her on no other point.]
[She\nrelated the subjects of the pictures, the dimensions of the rooms,\nand the price of the furniture, in vain, Mr. Gardiner, highly\namused by the kind of family prejudice to which he attributed\nher excessive commendation of her master, soon led again to\nthe subject; and she dwelt with energy on his many merits as\nthey proceeded together up the great staircase.]
[\"He is the best landlord, and the best master,\" said she, \"that\never lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who think of\nnothing but themselves.]
[There is not one of his tenants or\nservants but will give him a good name.]
[Some people call him\nproud; but I am sure I never saw anything of it.]
[To my fancy, it\nis only because he does not rattle away like other young men.]
[\"\n\n\"In what an amiable light does this place him!]
[\" thought\nElizabeth.]
[\"This fine account of him,\" whispered her aunt as they walked,\n\"is not quite consistent with his behaviour to our poor friend.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps we might be deceived.]
[\"\n\n\"That is not very likely; our authority was too good.]
[\"\n\nOn reaching the spacious lobby above they were shown into a\nvery pretty sitting-room, lately fitted up with greater elegance\nand lightness than the apartments below; and were informed that\nit was but just done to give pleasure to Miss Darcy, who had\ntaken a liking to the room when last at Pemberley.]
[\"He is certainly a good brother,\" said Elizabeth, as she walked\ntowards one of the windows.]
[Mrs. Reynolds anticipated Miss Darcy's delight, when she\nshould enter the room.]
[\"And this is always the way with him,\"\nshe added.]
[\"Whatever can give his sister any pleasure is sure\nto be done in a moment.]
[There is nothing he would not do for\nher.]
[\"\n\nThe picture-gallery, and two or three of the principal bedrooms,\nwere all that remained to be shown.]
[In the former were many\ngood paintings; but Elizabeth knew nothing of the art; and from\nsuch as had been already visible below, she had willingly turned\nto look at some drawings of Miss Darcy's, in crayons, whose\nsubjects were usually more interesting, and also more intelligible.]
[In the gallery there were many family portraits, but they could\nhave little to fix the attention of a stranger.]
[Elizabeth walked\nin quest of the only face whose features would be known to her.]
[At last it arrested her--and she beheld a striking resemblance\nto Mr. Darcy, with such a smile over the face as she remembered\nto have sometimes seen when he looked at her.]
[She stood\nseveral minutes before the picture, in earnest contemplation,\nand returned to it again before they quitted the gallery.]
[Mrs.\nReynolds informed them that it had been taken in his father's\nlifetime.]
[There was certainly at this moment, in Elizabeth's mind, a more\ngentle sensation towards the original than she had ever felt at\nthe height of their acquaintance.]
[The commendation bestowed\non him by Mrs. Reynolds was of no trifling nature.]
[What praise\nis more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant?]
[As a\nbrother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people's\nhappiness were in his guardianship!--how much of pleasure or\npain was it in his power to bestow!--how much of good or evil\nmust be done by him!]
[Every idea that had been brought forward\nby the housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she\nstood before the canvas on which he was represented, and fixed\nhis eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper\nsentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before; she\nremembered its warmth, and softened its impropriety of\nexpression.]
[When all of the house that was open to general inspection had\nbeen seen, they returned downstairs, and, taking leave of the\nhousekeeper, were consigned over to the gardener, who met\nthem at the hall-door.]
[As they walked across the hall towards the river, Elizabeth\nturned back to look again; her uncle and aunt stopped also, and\nwhile the former was conjecturing as to the date of the building,\nthe owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road,\nwhich led behind it to the stables.]
[They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was\nhis appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight.]
[Their\neyes instantly met, and the cheeks of both were overspread with\nthe deepest blush.]
[He absolutely started, and for a moment\nseemed immovable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself,\nadvanced towards the party, and spoke to Elizabeth, if not in\nterms of perfect composure, at least of perfect civility.]
[She had instinctively turned away; but stopping on his approach,\nreceived his compliments with an embarrassment impossible to\nbe overcome.]
[Had his first appearance, or his resemblance to\nthe picture they had just been examining, been insufficient\nto assure the other two that they now saw Mr. Darcy, the\ngardener's expression of surprise, on beholding his master,\nmust immediately have told it.]
[They stood a little aloof while\nhe was talking to their niece, who, astonished and confused,\nscarcely dared lift her eyes to his face, and knew not what\nanswer she returned to his civil inquiries after her family.]
[Amazed at the alteration of his manner since they last parted,\nevery sentence that he uttered was increasing her embarrassment;\nand every idea of the impropriety of her being found there\nrecurring to her mind, the few minutes in which they continued\nwere some of the most uncomfortable in her life.]
[Nor did he\nseem much more at ease; when he spoke, his accent had none of\nits usual sedateness; and he repeated his inquiries as to the\ntime of her having left Longbourn, and of her having stayed in\nDerbyshire, so often, and in so hurried a way, as plainly spoke\nthe distraction of his thoughts.]
[At length every idea seemed to fail him; and, after standing a\nfew moments without saying a word, he suddenly recollected\nhimself, and took leave.]
[The others then joined her, and expressed admiration of his\nfigure; but Elizabeth heard not a word, and wholly engrossed\nby her own feelings, followed them in silence.]
[She was\noverpowered by shame and vexation.]
[Her coming there was\nthe most unfortunate, the most ill-judged thing in the world!]
[How strange it must appear to him!]
[In what a disgraceful light\nmight it not strike so vain a man!]
[It might seem as if she\nhad purposely thrown herself in his way again!]
[Oh!]
[why did she\ncome?]
[Or, why did he thus come a day before he was expected?]
[Had they been only ten minutes sooner, they should have been\nbeyond the reach of his discrimination; for it was plain that\nhe was that moment arrived--that moment alighted from his\nhorse or his carriage.]
[She blushed again and again over the\nperverseness of the meeting.]
[And his behaviour, so strikingly\naltered--what could it mean?]
[That he should even speak to her\nwas amazing!--but to speak with such civility, to inquire after\nher family!]
[Never in her life had she seen his manners so little\ndignified, never had he spoken with such gentleness as on this\nunexpected meeting.]
[What a contrast did it offer to his last\naddress in Rosings Park, when he put his letter into her hand!]
[She  knew not what to think, or how to account for it.]
[They had now entered a beautiful walk by the side of the water,\nand every step was bringing forward a nobler fall of ground, or\na finer reach of the woods to which they were approaching; but\nit was some time before Elizabeth was sensible of any of it;\nand, though she answered mechanically to the repeated appeals\nof her uncle and aunt, and seemed to direct her eyes to such\nobjects as they pointed out, she distinguished no part of\nthe scene.]
[Her thoughts were all fixed on that one spot of\nPemberley House, whichever it might be, where Mr. Darcy then\nwas.]
[She longed to know what at the moment was passing in\nhis mind--in what manner he thought of her, and whether, in\ndefiance of everything, she was still dear to him.]
[Perhaps he\nhad been civil only because he felt himself at ease; yet there\nhad been _that_ in his voice which was not like ease.]
[Whether he\nhad felt more of pain or of pleasure in seeing her she could\nnot tell, but he certainly had not seen her with composure.]
[At length, however, the remarks of her companions on her\nabsence of mind aroused her, and she felt the necessity of\nappearing more like herself.]
[They entered the woods, and bidding adieu to the river for a\nwhile, ascended some of the higher grounds; when, in spots where\nthe opening of the trees gave the eye power to wander, were many\ncharming views of the valley, the opposite hills, with the long\nrange of woods overspreading many, and occasionally part of the\nstream.]
[Mr. Gardiner expressed a wish of going round the whole\npark, but feared it might be beyond a walk.]
[With a triumphant\nsmile they were told that it was ten miles round.]
[It settled the\nmatter; and they pursued the accustomed circuit; which brought\nthem again, after some time, in a descent among hanging woods,\nto the edge of the water, and one of its narrowest parts.]
[They\ncrossed it by a simple bridge, in character with the general air\nof the scene; it was a spot less adorned than any they had yet\nvisited; and the valley, here contracted into a glen, allowed\nroom only for the stream, and a narrow walk amidst the rough\ncoppice-wood which bordered it.]
[Elizabeth longed to explore its\nwindings; but when they had crossed the bridge, and perceived\ntheir distance from the house, Mrs. Gardiner, who was not a\ngreat walker, could go no farther, and thought only of returning\nto the carriage as quickly as possible.]
[Her niece was, therefore,\nobliged to submit, and they took their way towards the house on\nthe opposite side of the river, in the nearest direction; but\ntheir progress was slow, for Mr. Gardiner, though seldom able to\nindulge the taste, was very fond of fishing, and was so much\nengaged in watching the occasional appearance of some trout in\nthe water, and talking to the man about them, that he advanced\nbut little.]
[Whilst wandering on in this slow manner, they were\nagain surprised, and Elizabeth's astonishment was quite equal to\nwhat it had been at first, by the sight of Mr. Darcy approaching\nthem, and at no great distance.]
[The walk here being here less\nsheltered than on the other side, allowed them to see him before\nthey met.]
[Elizabeth, however astonished, was at least more\nprepared for an interview than before, and resolved to appear\nand to speak with calmness, if he really intended to meet them.]
[For a few moments, indeed, she felt that he would probably strike\ninto some other path.]
[The idea lasted while a turning in the\nwalk concealed him from their view; the turning past, he was\nimmediately before them.]
[With a glance, she saw that he had lost\nnone of his recent civility; and, to imitate his politeness, she\nbegan, as they met, to admire the beauty of the place; but she\nhad not got beyond the words \"delightful,\" and \"charming,\" when\nsome unlucky recollections obtruded, and she fancied that praise\nof Pemberley from her might be mischievously construed.]
[Her\ncolour changed, and she said no more.]
[Mrs. Gardiner was standing a little behind; and on her pausing,\nhe asked her if she would do him the honour of introducing him\nto her friends.]
[This was a stroke of civility for which she\nwas quite unprepared; and she could hardly suppress a smile at\nhis being now seeking the acquaintance of some of those very\npeople against whom his pride had revolted in his offer to\nherself.]
[\"What will be his surprise,\" thought she, \"when he\nknows who they are?]
[He takes them now for people of fashion.]
[\"\n\nThe introduction, however, was immediately made; and as she\nnamed their relationship to herself, she stole a sly look at\nhim, to see how he bore it, and was not without the expectation\nof his decamping as fast as he could from such disgraceful\ncompanions.]
[That he was _surprised_ by the connection was\nevident; he sustained it, however, with fortitude, and so far\nfrom going away, turned his back with them, and entered into\nconversation with Mr. Gardiner.]
[Elizabeth could not but be\npleased, could not but triumph.]
[It was consoling that he should\nknow she had some relations for whom there was no need to\nblush.]
[She listened most attentively to all that passed between\nthem, and gloried in every expression, every sentence of her\nuncle, which marked his intelligence, his taste, or his good\nmanners.]
[The conversation soon turned upon fishing; and she heard Mr.\nDarcy invite him, with the greatest civility, to fish there as often\nas he chose while he continued in the neighbourhood, offering\nat the same time to supply him with fishing tackle, and pointing\nout those parts of the stream where there was usually most\nsport.]
[Mrs. Gardiner, who was walking arm-in-arm with\nElizabeth, gave her a look expressive of wonder.]
[Elizabeth\nsaid nothing, but it gratified her exceedingly; the compliment\nmust be all for herself.]
[Her astonishment, however, was\nextreme, and continually was she repeating, \"Why is he so\naltered?]
[From what can it proceed?]
[It cannot be for _me_--it\ncannot be for _my_ sake that his manners are thus softened.]
[My\nreproofs at Hunsford could not work such a change as this.]
[It is impossible that he should still love me.]
[\"\n\nAfter walking some time in this way, the two ladies in front,\nthe two gentlemen behind, on resuming their places, after\ndescending to the brink of the river for the better inspection of\nsome curious water-plant, there chanced to be a little alteration.]
[It originated in Mrs. Gardiner, who, fatigued by the exercise of\nthe morning, found Elizabeth's arm inadequate to her support, and\nconsequently preferred her husband's.]
[Mr. Darcy took her place\nby her niece, and they walked on together.]
[After a short silence,\nthe lady first spoke.]
[She wished him to know that she had\nbeen assured of his absence before she came to the place, and\naccordingly began by observing, that his arrival had been very\nunexpected--\"for your housekeeper,\" she added, \"informed us that\nyou would certainly not be here till to-morrow; and indeed, before\nwe left Bakewell, we understood that you were not immediately\nexpected in the country.]
[\"  He acknowledged the truth of it all,\nand said that business with his steward had occasioned his coming\nforward a few hours before the rest of the party with whom he\nhad been travelling.]
[\"They will join me early to-morrow,\" he\ncontinued, \"and among them are some who will claim an acquaintance\nwith you--Mr. Bingley and his sisters.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth answered only by a slight bow.]
[Her thoughts were\ninstantly driven back to the time when Mr. Bingley's name had\nbeen the last mentioned between them; and, if she might judge\nby his complexion, _his_ mind was not very differently engaged.]
[\"There is also one other person in the party,\" he continued after\na pause, \"who more particularly wishes to be known to you.]
[Will you allow me, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister\nto your acquaintance during your stay at Lambton?]
[\"\n\nThe surprise of such an application was great indeed; it was too\ngreat for her to know in what manner she acceded to it.]
[She\nimmediately felt that whatever desire Miss Darcy might have of\nbeing acquainted with her must be the work of her brother, and,\nwithout looking farther, it was satisfactory; it was gratifying to\nknow that his resentment had not made him think really ill of her.]
[They now walked on in silence, each of them deep in thought.]
[Elizabeth was not comfortable; that was impossible; but she was\nflattered and pleased.]
[His wish of introducing his sister to her\nwas a compliment of the highest kind.]
[They soon outstripped the\nothers, and when they had reached the carriage, Mr. and Mrs.\nGardiner were half a quarter of a mile behind.]
[He then asked her to walk into the house--but she declared\nherself not tired, and they stood together on the lawn.]
[At\nsuch a time much might have been said, and silence was very\nawkward.]
[She wanted to talk, but there seemed to be an\nembargo on every subject.]
[At last she recollected that she had\nbeen travelling, and they talked of Matlock and Dove Dale with\ngreat perseverance.]
[Yet time and her aunt moved slowly--and\nher patience and her ideas were nearly worn our before the\ntete-a-tete was over.]
[On Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner's coming up\nthey were all pressed to go into the house and take some\nrefreshment; but this was declined, and they parted on each\nside with utmost politeness.]
[Mr. Darcy handed the ladies into\nthe carriage; and when it drove off, Elizabeth saw him walking\nslowly towards the house.]
[The observations of her uncle and aunt now began; and each of\nthem pronounced him to be infinitely superior to anything they\nhad expected.]
[\"He is perfectly well behaved, polite, and\nunassuming,\" said her uncle.]
[\"There _is_ something a little stately in him, to be sure,\" replied\nher aunt, \"but it is confined to his air, and is not unbecoming.]
[I can now say with the housekeeper, that though some people may\ncall him proud, I have seen nothing of it.]
[\"\n\n\"I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us.]
[It was\nmore than civil; it was really attentive; and there was no\nnecessity for such attention.]
[His acquaintance with Elizabeth\nwas very trifling.]
[\"\n\n\"To be sure, Lizzy,\" said her aunt, \"he is not so handsome as\nWickham; or, rather, he has not Wickham's countenance, for\nhis features are perfectly good.]
[But how came you to tell me\nthat he was so disagreeable?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth excused herself as well as she could; said that she had\nliked him better when they had met in Kent than before, and that\nshe had never seen him so pleasant as this morning.]
[\"But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities,\"\nreplied her uncle.]
[\"Your great men often are; and therefore I\nshall not take him at his word, as he might change his mind\nanother day, and warn me off his grounds.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth felt that they had entirely misunderstood his character,\nbut said nothing.]
[\"From what we have seen of him,\" continued Mrs. Gardiner, \"I\nreally should not have thought that he could have behaved in so\ncruel a way by anybody as he has done by poor Wickham.]
[He\nhas not an ill-natured look.]
[On the contrary, there is something\npleasing about his mouth when he speaks.]
[And there is something\nof dignity in his countenance that would not give one an\nunfavourable idea of his heart.]
[But, to be sure, the good lady\nwho showed us his house did give him a most flaming character!]
[I could hardly help laughing aloud sometimes.]
[But he is a\nliberal master, I suppose, and _that_ in the eye of a servant\ncomprehends every virtue.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in\nvindication of his behaviour to Wickham; and therefore gave\nthem to understand, in as guarded a manner as she could, that\nby what she had heard from his relations in Kent, his actions\nwere capable of a very different construction; and that his\ncharacter was by no means so faulty, nor Wickham's so amiable,\nas they had been considered in Hertfordshire.]
[In confirmation\nof this, she related the particulars of all the pecuniary\ntransactions in which they had been connected, without actually\nnaming her authority, but stating it to be such as might be\nrelied on.]
[Mrs. Gardiner was surprised and concerned; but as they were\nnow approaching the scene of her former pleasures, every idea\ngave way to the charm of recollection; and she was too much\nengaged in pointing out to her husband all the interesting spots\nin its environs to think of anything else.]
[Fatigued as she had\nbeen by the morning's walk they had no sooner dined than she\nset off again in quest of her former acquaintance, and the\nevening was spent in the satisfactions of a intercourse renewed\nafter many years' discontinuance.]
[The occurrences of the day were too full of interest to leave\nElizabeth much attention for any of these new friends; and she\ncould do nothing but think, and think with wonder, of Mr.\nDarcy's civility, and, above all, of his wishing her to be\nacquainted with his sister.]
[Chapter 44\n\n\nElizabeth had settled it that Mr. Darcy would bring his sister\nto visit her the very day after her reaching Pemberley; and was\nconsequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole\nof that morning.]
[But her conclusion was false; for on the very\nmorning after their arrival at Lambton, these visitors came.]
[They had been walking about the place with some of their new\nfriends, and were just returning to the inn to dress themselves\nfor dining with the same family, when the sound of a carriage\ndrew them to a window, and they saw a gentleman and a lady\nin a curricle driving up the street.]
[Elizabeth immediately\nrecognizing the livery, guessed what it meant, and imparted no\nsmall degree of her surprise to her relations by acquainting\nthem with the honour which she expected.]
[Her uncle and aunt\nwere all amazement; and the embarrassment of her manner as\nshe spoke, joined to the circumstance itself, and many of the\ncircumstances of the preceding day, opened to them a new idea\non the business.]
[Nothing had ever suggested it before, but they\nfelt that there was no other way of accounting for such attentions\nfrom such a quarter than by supposing a partiality for their\nniece.]
[While these newly-born notions were passing in their heads,\nthe perturbation of Elizabeth's feelings was at every moment\nincreasing.]
[She was quite amazed at her own discomposure; but\namongst other causes of disquiet, she dreaded lest the partiality\nof the brother should have said too much in her favour; and, more\nthan commonly anxious to please, she naturally suspected that\nevery power of pleasing would fail her.]
[She retreated from the window, fearful of being seen; and as\nshe walked up and down the room, endeavouring to compose\nherself, saw such looks of inquiring surprise in her uncle and\naunt as made everything worse.]
[Miss Darcy and her brother appeared, and this formidable\nintroduction took place.]
[With astonishment did Elizabeth see\nthat her new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as\nherself.]
[Since her being at Lambton, she had heard that Miss\nDarcy was exceedingly proud; but the observation of a very few\nminutes convinced her that she was only exceedingly shy.]
[She\nfound it difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a\nmonosyllable.]
[Miss Darcy was tall, and on a larger scale than Elizabeth;\nand, though little more than sixteen, her figure was formed,\nand her appearance womanly and graceful.]
[She was less handsome\nthan her brother; but there was sense and good humour in her\nface, and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle.]
[Elizabeth, who had expected to find in her as acute and\nunembarrassed an observer as ever Mr. Darcy had been, was\nmuch relieved by discerning such different feelings.]
[They had not long been together before Mr. Darcy told her that\nBingley was also coming to wait on her; and she had barely time\nto express her satisfaction, and prepare for such a visitor, when\nBingley's quick step was heard on the stairs, and in a moment he\nentered the room.]
[All Elizabeth's anger against him had been\nlong done away; but had she still felt any, it could hardly have\nstood its ground against the unaffected cordiality with which he\nexpressed himself on seeing her again.]
[He inquired in a friendly,\nthough general way, after her family, and looked and spoke with\nthe same good-humoured ease that he had ever done.]
[To Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner he was scarcely a less interesting\npersonage than to herself.]
[They had long wished to see him.]
[The whole party before them, indeed, excited a lively attention.]
[The suspicions which had just arisen of Mr. Darcy and their niece\ndirected their observation towards each with an earnest though\nguarded inquiry; and they soon drew from those inquiries the full\nconviction that one of them at least knew what it was to love.]
[Of the lady's sensations they remained a little in doubt; but that\nthe gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evident enough.]
[Elizabeth, on her side, had much to do.]
[She wanted to\nascertain the feelings of each of her visitors; she wanted to\ncompose her own, and to make herself agreeable to all; and in\nthe latter object, where she feared most to fail, she was most\nsure of success, for those to whom she endeavoured to give\npleasure were prepossessed in her favour.]
[Bingley was ready,\nGeorgiana was eager, and Darcy determined, to be pleased.]
[In seeing Bingley, her thoughts naturally flew to her sister;\nand, oh!]
[how ardently did she long to know whether any of his were\ndirected in a like manner.]
[Sometimes she could fancy that he\ntalked less than on former occasions, and once or twice pleased\nherself with the notion that, as he looked at her, he was trying\nto trace a resemblance.]
[But, though this might be imaginary,\nshe could not be deceived as to his behaviour to Miss Darcy, who\nhad been set up as a rival to Jane.]
[No look appeared on either\nside that spoke particular regard.]
[Nothing occurred between\nthem that could justify the hopes of his sister.]
[On this point\nshe was soon satisfied; and two or three little circumstances\noccurred ere they parted, which, in her anxious interpretation,\ndenoted a recollection of Jane not untinctured by tenderness,\nand a wish of saying more that might lead to the mention of her,\nhad he dared.]
[He observed to her, at a moment when the others\nwere talking together, and in a tone which had something of real\nregret, that it \"was a very long time since he had had the\npleasure of seeing her;\" and, before she could reply, he added,\n\"It is above eight months.]
[We have not met since the 26th of\nNovember, when we were all dancing together at Netherfield.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was pleased to find his memory so exact; and he\nafterwards took occasion to ask her, when unattended to by\nany of the rest, whether _all_ her sisters were at Longbourn.]
[There was not much in the question, nor in the preceding\nremark; but there was a look and a manner which gave them\nmeaning.]
[It was not often that she could turn her eyes on Mr. Darcy\nhimself; but, whenever she did catch a glimpse, she saw an\nexpression of general complaisance, and in all that he said\nshe heard an accent so removed from _hauteur_ or disdain of his\ncompanions, as convinced her that the improvement of manners\nwhich she had yesterday witnessed however temporary its\nexistence might prove, had at least outlived one day.]
[When she\nsaw him thus seeking the acquaintance and courting the good\nopinion of people with whom any intercourse a few months ago\nwould have been a disgrace--when she saw him thus civil, not\nonly to herself, but to the very relations whom he had openly\ndisdained, and recollected their last lively scene in Hunsford\nParsonage--the difference, the change was so great, and struck\nso forcibly on her mind, that she could hardly restrain her\nastonishment from being visible.]
[Never, even in the company\nof his dear friends at Netherfield, or his dignified relations\nat Rosings, had she seen him so desirous to please, so free\nfrom self-consequence or unbending reserve, as now, when no\nimportance could result from the success of his endeavours, and\nwhen even the acquaintance of those to whom his attentions\nwere addressed would draw down the ridicule and censure of\nthe ladies both of Netherfield and Rosings.]
[Their visitors stayed with them above half-an-hour; and when\nthey arose to depart, Mr. Darcy called on his sister to join him\nin expressing their wish of seeing Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, and\nMiss Bennet, to dinner at Pemberley, before they left the\ncountry.]
[Miss Darcy, though with a diffidence which marked\nher little in the habit of giving invitations, readily obeyed.]
[Mrs. Gardiner looked at her niece, desirous of knowing how _she_,\nwhom the invitation most concerned, felt disposed as to its\nacceptance, but Elizabeth had turned away her head.]
[Presuming\nhowever, that this studied avoidance spoke rather a momentary\nembarrassment than any dislike of the proposal, and seeing in\nher husband, who was fond of society, a perfect willingness to\naccept it, she ventured to engage for her attendance, and the\nday after the next was fixed on.]
[Bingley expressed great pleasure in the certainty of seeing\nElizabeth again, having still a great deal to say to her, and many\ninquiries to make after all their Hertfordshire friends.]
[Elizabeth,\nconstruing all this into a wish of hearing her speak of her sister,\nwas pleased, and on this account, as well as some others, found\nherself, when their visitors left them, capable of considering\nthe last half-hour with some satisfaction, though while it was\npassing, the enjoyment of it had been little.]
[Eager to be alone,\nand fearful of inquiries or hints from her uncle and aunt, she\nstayed with them only long enough to hear their favourable\nopinion of Bingley, and then hurried away to dress.]
[But she had no reason to fear Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner's curiosity;\nit was not their wish to force her communication.]
[It was evident\nthat she was much better acquainted with Mr. Darcy than they\nhad before any idea of; it was evident that he was very much in\nlove with her.]
[They saw much to interest, but nothing to justify\ninquiry.]
[Of Mr. Darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well; and,\nas far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault to find.]
[They could not be untouched by his politeness; and had they\ndrawn his character from their own feelings and his servant's\nreport, without any reference to any other account, the circle\nin Hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized\nit for Mr. Darcy.]
[There was now an interest, however, in\nbelieving the housekeeper; and they soon became sensible that\nthe authority of a servant who had known him since he was four\nyears old, and whose own manners indicated respectability, was\nnot to be hastily rejected.]
[Neither had anything occurred in\nthe intelligence of their Lambton friends that could materially\nlessen its weight.]
[They had nothing to accuse him of but pride;\npride he probably had, and if not, it would certainly be imputed\nby the inhabitants of a small market-town where the family did\nnot visit.]
[It was acknowledged, however, that he was a liberal\nman, and did much good among the poor.]
[With respect to Wickham, the travellers soon found that he was\nnot held there in much estimation; for though the chief of his\nconcerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood,\nit was yet a well-known fact that, on his quitting Derbyshire,\nhe had left many debts behind him, which Mr. Darcy afterwards\ndischarged.]
[As for Elizabeth, her thoughts were at Pemberley this evening\nmore than the last; and the evening, though as it passed it\nseemed long, was not long enough to determine her feelings\ntowards _one_ in that mansion; and she lay awake two whole\nhours endeavouring to make them out.]
[She certainly did not\nhate him.]
[No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had\nalmost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against\nhim, that could be so called.]
[The respect created by the\nconviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly\nadmitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her\nfeeling; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier\nnature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing\nforward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday\nhad produced.]
[But above all, above respect and esteem, there\nwas  a motive within her of goodwill which could not be\noverlooked.]
[It was gratitude; gratitude, not merely for having\nonce loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive\nall the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and\nall the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection.]
[He who,\nshe had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy,\nseemed, on this accidental meeting, most eager to preserve the\nacquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or\nany peculiarity of manner, where their two selves only were\nconcerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends,\nand bent on making her known to his sister.]
[Such a change\nin a man of so much pride exciting not only astonishment but\ngratitude--for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed; and\nas such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged, as\nby no means unpleasing, though it could not be exactly defined.]
[She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt\na real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how\nfar she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far\nit would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the\npower, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing\non her the renewal of his addresses.]
[It had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the\nniece, that such a striking civility as Miss Darcy's in coming to\nsee them on the very day of her arrival at Pemberley, for she\nhad reached it only to a late breakfast, ought to be imitated,\nthough it could not be equalled, by some exertion of politeness\non their side; and, consequently, that it would be highly\nexpedient to wait on her at Pemberley the following morning.]
[They were, therefore, to go.]
[Elizabeth was pleased; though\nwhen she asked herself the reason, she had very little to say in\nreply.]
[Mr. Gardiner left them soon after breakfast.]
[The fishing scheme\nhad been renewed the day before, and a positive engagement\nmade of his meeting some of the gentlemen at Pemberley before\nnoon.]
[Chapter 45\n\n\nConvinced as Elizabeth now was that Miss Bingley's dislike of\nher had originated in jealousy, she could not help feeling how\nunwelcome her appearance at Pemberley must be to her, and\nwas curious to know with how much civility on that lady's side\nthe acquaintance would now be renewed.]
[On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into\nthe saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for\nsummer.]
[Its windows opening to the ground, admitted a most\nrefreshing view of the high woody hills behind the house,\nand of the beautiful oaks and Spanish chestnuts which were\nscattered over the intermediate lawn.]
[In this house they were received by Miss Darcy, who was\nsitting there with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, and the lady\nwith whom she lived in London.]
[Georgiana's reception of them\nwas very civil, but attended with all the embarrassment which,\nthough proceeding from shyness and the fear of doing wrong,\nwould easily give to those who felt themselves inferior the\nbelief of her being proud and reserved.]
[Mrs. Gardiner and her\nniece, however, did her justice, and pitied her.]
[By Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley they were noticed only by a\ncurtsey; and, on their being seated, a pause, awkward as such\npauses must always be, succeeded for a few moments.]
[It was\nfirst broken by Mrs. Annesley, a genteel, agreeable-looking\nwoman, whose endeavour to introduce some kind of discourse\nproved her to be more truly well-bred than either of the others;\nand between her and Mrs. Gardiner, with occasional help from\nElizabeth, the conversation was carried on.]
[Miss Darcy looked\nas if she wished for courage enough to join in it; and sometimes\ndid venture a short sentence when there was least danger of its\nbeing heard.]
[Elizabeth soon saw that she was herself closely watched by Miss\nBingley, and that she could not speak a word, especially to Miss\nDarcy, without calling her attention.]
[This observation would not\nhave prevented her from trying to talk to the latter, had they\nnot been seated at an inconvenient distance; but she was not sorry\nto be spared the necessity of saying much.]
[Her own thoughts\nwere employing her.]
[She expected every moment that some of the\ngentlemen would enter the room.]
[She wished, she feared that\nthe master of the house might be amongst them; and whether\nshe wished or feared it most, she could scarcely determine.]
[After sitting in this manner a quarter of an hour without hearing\nMiss Bingley's voice, Elizabeth was roused by receiving from\nher a cold inquiry after the health of her family.]
[She answered\nwith equal indifference and brevity, and the others said no more.]
[The next variation which their visit afforded was produced by\nthe entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and a variety of\nall the finest fruits in season; but this did not take place till\nafter many a significant look and smile from Mrs. Annesley to\nMiss Darcy had been given, to remind her of her post.]
[There was\nnow employment for the whole party--for though they could not all\ntalk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes,\nnectarines, and peaches soon collected them round the table.]
[While thus engaged, Elizabeth had a fair opportunity of deciding\nwhether she most feared or wished for the appearance of Mr.\nDarcy, by the feelings which prevailed on his entering the room;\nand then, though but a moment before she had believed her\nwishes to predominate, she began to regret that he came.]
[He had been some time with Mr. Gardiner, who, with two or\nthree other gentlemen from the house, was engaged by the river,\nand had left him only on learning that the ladies of the family\nintended a visit to Georgiana that morning.]
[No sooner did he\nappear than Elizabeth wisely resolved to be perfectly easy and\nunembarrassed; a resolution the more necessary to be made, but\nperhaps not the more easily kept, because she saw that the\nsuspicions of the whole party were awakened against them, and\nthat there was scarcely an eye which did not watch his\nbehaviour when he first came into the room.]
[In no countenance\nwas attentive curiosity so strongly marked as in Miss Bingley's,\nin spite of the smiles which overspread her face whenever she\nspoke to one of its objects; for jealousy had not yet made her\ndesperate, and her attentions to Mr. Darcy were by no means\nover.]
[Miss Darcy, on her brother's entrance, exerted herself\nmuch more to talk, and Elizabeth saw that he was anxious for\nhis sister and herself to get acquainted, and forwarded as much\nas possible, every attempt at conversation on either side.]
[Miss\nBingley saw all this likewise; and, in the imprudence of anger,\ntook the first opportunity of saying, with sneering civility:\n\n\"Pray, Miss Eliza, are not the ----shire Militia removed from\nMeryton?]
[They must be a great loss to _your_ family.]
[\"\n\nIn Darcy's presence she dared not mention Wickham's name;\nbut Elizabeth instantly comprehended that he was uppermost in\nher thoughts; and the various recollections connected with him\ngave her a moment's distress; but exerting herself vigorously to\nrepel the ill-natured attack, she presently answered the question\nin a tolerably detached tone.]
[While she spoke, an involuntary\nglance showed her Darcy, with a heightened complexion,\nearnestly looking at her, and his sister overcome with confusion,\nand unable to lift up her eyes.]
[Had Miss Bingley known what\npain she was then giving her beloved friend, she undoubtedly\nwould have refrained from the hint; but she had merely intended\nto discompose Elizabeth by bringing forward the idea of a man\nto whom she believed her partial, to make her betray a sensibility\nwhich might injure her in Darcy's opinion, and, perhaps, to\nremind the latter of all the follies and absurdities by which\nsome part of her family were connected with that corps.]
[Not a\nsyllable had ever reached her of Miss Darcy's meditated\nelopement.]
[To no creature had it been revealed, where secrecy\nwas possible, except to Elizabeth; and from all Bingley's\nconnections her brother was particularly anxious to conceal it,\nfrom the very wish which Elizabeth had long ago attributed to\nhim, of their becoming hereafter her own.]
[He had certainly\nformed such a plan, and without meaning that it should effect\nhis endeavour to separate him from Miss Bennet, it is probable\nthat it might add something to his lively concern for the welfare\nof his friend.]
[Elizabeth's collected behaviour, however, soon quieted his\nemotion; and as Miss Bingley, vexed and disappointed, dared\nnot approach nearer to Wickham, Georgiana also recovered in\ntime, though not enough to be able to speak any more.]
[Her\nbrother, whose eye she feared to meet, scarcely recollected her\ninterest in the affair, and the very circumstance which had\nbeen designed to turn his thoughts from Elizabeth seemed to\nhave fixed them on her more and more cheerfully.]
[Their visit did not continue long after the question and answer\nabove mentioned; and while Mr. Darcy was attending them to\ntheir carriage Miss Bingley was venting her feelings in criticisms\non Elizabeth's person, behaviour, and dress.]
[But Georgiana\nwould not join her.]
[Her brother's recommendation was enough\nto ensure her favour; his judgement could not err.  And he had\nspoken in such terms of Elizabeth as to leave Georgiana without\nthe power of finding her otherwise than lovely and amiable.]
[When Darcy returned to the saloon, Miss Bingley could not help\nrepeating to him some part of what she had been saying to his\nsister.]
[\"How very ill Miss Eliza Bennet looks this morning, Mr. Darcy,\"\nshe cried; \"I never in my life saw anyone so much altered as she\nis since the winter.]
[She is grown so brown and coarse!]
[Louisa\nand I were agreeing that we should not have known her again.]
[\"\n\nHowever little Mr. Darcy might have liked such an address, he\ncontented himself with coolly replying that he perceived no\nother alteration than her being rather tanned, no miraculous\nconsequence of travelling in the summer.]
[\"For my own part,\" she rejoined, \"I must confess that I never\ncould see any beauty in her.]
[Her face is too thin; her\ncomplexion has no brilliancy; and her features are not at all\nhandsome.]
[Her nose wants character--there is nothing marked\nin its lines.]
[Her teeth are tolerable, but not out of the common\nway; and as for her eyes, which have sometimes been called so\nfine, I could never see anything extraordinary in them.]
[They\nhave a sharp, shrewish look, which I do not like at all; and in her\nair altogether there is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which\nis intolerable.]
[\"\n\nPersuaded as Miss Bingley was that Darcy admired Elizabeth,\nthis was not the best method of recommending herself; but\nangry people are not always wise; and in seeing him at last look\nsomewhat nettled, she had all the success she expected.]
[He was\nresolutely silent, however, and, from a determination of making\nhim speak, she continued:\n\n\"I remember, when we first knew her in Hertfordshire, how\namazed we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty; and I\nparticularly recollect your saying one night, after they had been\ndining at Netherfield, '_She_ a beauty!--I should as soon call her\nmother a wit.]
['  But afterwards she seemed to improve on you,\nand I believe you thought her rather pretty at one time.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer,\n\"but _that_ was only when I first saw her, for it is many months\nsince I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of\nmy acquaintance.]
[\"\n\nHe then went away, and Miss Bingley was left to all the\nsatisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any\npain but herself.]
[Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth talked of all that had occurred during\ntheir visit, as they returned, except what had particularly\ninterested them both.]
[The look and behaviour of everybody they\nhad seen were discussed, except of the person who had mostly\nengaged their attention.]
[They talked of his sister, his friends,\nhis house, his fruit--of everything but himself; yet Elizabeth\nwas longing to know what Mrs. Gardiner thought of him, and Mrs.\nGardiner would have been highly gratified by her niece's beginning\nthe subject.]
[Chapter 46\n\n\nElizabeth had been a good deal disappointed in not finding a\nletter from Jane on their first arrival at Lambton; and this\ndisappointment had been renewed on each of the mornings that\nhad now been spent there; but on the third her repining was\nover, and her sister justified, by the receipt of two letters\nfrom her at once, on one of which was marked that it had been\nmissent elsewhere.]
[Elizabeth was not surprised at it, as Jane\nhad written the direction remarkably ill.]
[They had just been preparing to walk as the letters came in;\nand her uncle and aunt, leaving her to enjoy them in quiet, set\noff by themselves.]
[The one missent must first be attended to;\nit had been written five days ago.]
[The beginning contained an\naccount of all their little parties and engagements, with such\nnews as the country afforded; but the latter half, which was\ndated a day later, and written in evident agitation, gave more\nimportant intelligence.]
[It was to this effect:\n\n\"Since writing the above, dearest Lizzy, something has occurred\nof a most unexpected and serious nature; but I am afraid of\nalarming you--be assured that we are all well.]
[What I have to\nsay relates to poor Lydia.]
[An express came at twelve last night,\njust as we were all gone to bed, from Colonel Forster, to\ninform us that she was gone off to Scotland with one of his\nofficers; to own the truth, with Wickham!]
[Imagine our surprise.]
[To Kitty, however, it does not seem so wholly unexpected.]
[I\nam very, very sorry.]
[So imprudent a match on both sides!]
[But\nI am willing to hope the best, and that his character has been\nmisunderstood.]
[Thoughtless and indiscreet I can easily believe\nhim, but this step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad\nat heart.]
[His choice is disinterested at least, for he must know\nmy father can give her nothing.]
[Our poor mother is sadly\ngrieved.]
[My father bears it better.]
[How thankful am I that we\nnever let them know what has been said against him; we must\nforget it ourselves.]
[They were off Saturday night about twelve,\nas is conjectured, but were not missed till yesterday morning at\neight.]
[The express was sent off directly.]
[My dear Lizzy, they\nmust have passed within ten miles of us.]
[Colonel Forster gives\nus reason to expect him here soon.]
[Lydia left a few lines for\nhis wife, informing her of their intention.]
[I must conclude, for\nI cannot be long from my poor mother.]
[I am afraid you will not\nbe able to make it out, but I hardly know what I have written.]
[\"\n\nWithout allowing herself time for consideration, and scarcely\nknowing what she felt, Elizabeth on finishing this letter instantly\nseized the other, and opening it with the utmost impatience, read\nas follows: it had been written a day later than the conclusion of\nthe first.]
[\"By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried\nletter; I wish this may be more intelligible, but though not\nconfined for time, my head is so bewildered that I cannot answer\nfor being coherent.]
[Dearest Lizzy, I hardly know what I would\nwrite, but I have bad news for you, and it cannot be delayed.]
[Imprudent as the marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor\nLydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken\nplace, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone\nto Scotland.]
[Colonel Forster came yesterday, having left\nBrighton the day before, not many hours after the express.]
[Though Lydia's short letter to Mrs. F. gave them to understand\nthat they were going to Gretna Green, something was dropped\nby Denny expressing his belief that W. never intended to go\nthere, or to marry Lydia at all, which was repeated to Colonel\nF., who, instantly taking the alarm, set off from B. intending to\ntrace their route.]
[He did trace them easily to Clapham, but no\nfurther; for on entering that place, they removed into a hackney\ncoach, and dismissed the chaise that brought them from Epsom.]
[All that is known after this is, that they were seen to continue\nthe London road.]
[I know not what to think.]
[After making every\npossible inquiry on that side London, Colonel F. came on into\nHertfordshire, anxiously renewing them at all the turnpikes, and\nat the inns in Barnet and Hatfield, but without any success--no\nsuch people had been seen to pass through.]
[With the kindest\nconcern he came on to Longbourn, and broke his apprehensions\nto us in a manner most creditable to his heart.]
[I am sincerely\ngrieved for him and Mrs. F., but no one can throw any blame\non them.]
[Our distress, my dear Lizzy, is very great.]
[My father\nand mother believe the worst, but I cannot think so ill of him.]
[Many circumstances might make it more eligible for them to be\nmarried privately in town than to pursue their first plan;\nand even if _he_ could form such a design against a young woman\nof Lydia's connections, which is not likely, can I suppose her\nso lost to everything?]
[Impossible!]
[I grieve to find, however,\nthat Colonel F. is not disposed to depend upon their marriage;\nhe shook his head when I expressed my hopes, and said he feared\nW. was not a man to be trusted.]
[My poor mother is really ill,\nand keeps her room.]
[Could she exert herself, it would be better;\nbut this is not to be expected.]
[And as to my father, I never in\nmy life saw him so affected.]
[Poor Kitty has anger for having\nconcealed their attachment; but as it was a matter of confidence,\none cannot wonder.]
[I am truly glad, dearest Lizzy, that you\nhave been spared something of these distressing scenes; but\nnow, as the first shock is over, shall I own that I long for\nyour return?]
[I am not so selfish, however, as to press for it,\nif inconvenient.]
[Adieu!]
[I take up my pen again to do what I\nhave just told you I would not; but circumstances are such that\nI cannot help earnestly begging you all to come here as soon as\npossible.]
[I know my dear uncle and aunt so well, that I am not\nafraid of requesting it, though I have still something more to\nask of the former.]
[My father is going to London with Colonel\nForster instantly, to try to discover her.]
[What he means to do\nI am sure I know not; but his excessive distress will not allow\nhim to pursue any measure in the best and safest way, and\nColonel Forster is obliged to be at Brighton again to-morrow\nevening.]
[In such an exigence, my uncle's advice and assistance\nwould be everything in the world; he will immediately comprehend\nwhat I must feel, and I rely upon his goodness.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[where, where is my uncle?]
[\" cried Elizabeth, darting from\nher seat as she finished the letter, in eagerness to follow him,\nwithout losing a moment of the time so precious; but as she\nreached the door it was opened by a servant, and Mr. Darcy\nappeared.]
[Her pale face and impetuous manner made him start,\nand before he could recover himself to speak, she, in whose\nmind every idea was superseded by Lydia's situation, hastily\nexclaimed, \"I beg your pardon, but I must leave you.]
[I must\nfind Mr. Gardiner this moment, on business that cannot be\ndelayed; I have not an instant to lose.]
[\"\n\n\"Good God!]
[what is the matter?]
[\" cried he, with more feeling\nthan politeness; then recollecting himself, \"I will not detain you\na minute; but let me, or let the servant go after Mr. and Mrs.\nGardiner.]
[You are not well enough; you cannot go yourself.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth hesitated, but her knees trembled under her and she\nfelt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them.]
[Calling back the servant, therefore, she commissioned him,\nthough in so breathless an accent as made her almost unintelligible,\nto fetch his master and mistress home instantly.]
[On his quitting the room she sat down, unable to support\nherself, and looking so miserably ill, that it was impossible\nfor Darcy to leave her, or to refrain from saying, in a tone\nof gentleness and commiseration, \"Let me call your maid.]
[Is\nthere nothing you could take to give you present relief?]
[A\nglass of wine; shall I get you one?]
[You are very ill.]
[\"\n\n\"No, I thank you,\" she replied, endeavouring to recover herself.]
[\"There is nothing the matter with me.]
[I am quite well; I am\nonly distressed by some dreadful news which I have just\nreceived from Longbourn.]
[\"\n\nShe burst into tears as she alluded to it, and for a few minutes\ncould not speak another word.]
[Darcy, in wretched suspense,\ncould only say something indistinctly of his concern, and\nobserve her in compassionate silence.]
[At length she spoke\nagain.]
[\"I have just had a letter from Jane, with such dreadful\nnews.]
[It cannot be concealed from anyone.]
[My younger sister\nhas left all her friends--has eloped; has thrown herself into\nthe power of--of Mr. Wickham.]
[They are gone off together from\nBrighton.]
[_You_ know him too well to doubt the rest.]
[She has\nno money, no connections, nothing that can tempt him to--she\nis lost for ever.]
[\"\n\nDarcy was fixed in astonishment.]
[\"When I consider,\" she added\nin a yet more agitated voice, \"that I might have prevented it!]
[I, who knew what he was.]
[Had I but explained some part of\nit only--some part of what I learnt, to my own family!]
[Had his\ncharacter been known, this could not have happened.]
[But it is\nall--all too late now.]
[\"\n\n\"I am grieved indeed,\" cried Darcy; \"grieved--shocked.]
[But is\nit certain--absolutely certain?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, yes!]
[They left Brighton together on Sunday night, and\nwere traced almost to London, but not beyond; they are\ncertainly not gone to Scotland.]
[\"\n\n\"And what has been done, what has been attempted, to recover\nher?]
[\"\n\n\"My father is gone to London, and Jane has written to beg my\nuncle's immediate assistance; and we shall be off, I hope, in\nhalf-an-hour.]
[But nothing can be done--I know very well that\nnothing can be done.]
[How is such a man to be worked on?]
[How\nare they even to be discovered?]
[I have not the smallest hope.]
[It is every way horrible!]
[\"\n\nDarcy shook his head in silent acquiescence.]
[\"When _my_ eyes were opened to his real character--Oh!]
[had I\nknown what I ought, what I dared to do!]
[But I knew not--I\nwas afraid of doing too much.]
[Wretched, wretched mistake!]
[\"\n\nDarcy made no answer.]
[He seemed scarcely to hear her, and\nwas walking up and down the room in earnest meditation, his\nbrow contracted, his air gloomy.]
[Elizabeth soon observed, and\ninstantly understood it.]
[Her power was sinking; everything\n_must_ sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an\nassurance of the deepest disgrace.]
[She could neither wonder\nnor condemn, but the belief of his self-conquest brought nothing\nconsolatory to her bosom, afforded no palliation of her\ndistress.]
[It was, on the contrary, exactly calculated to make\nher understand her own wishes; and never had she so honestly felt\nthat she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain.]
[But self, though it would intrude, could not engross her.]
[Lydia--the humiliation, the misery she was bringing on them all,\nsoon swallowed up every private care; and covering her face with\nher handkerchief, Elizabeth was soon lost to everything else;\nand, after a pause of several minutes, was only recalled to a\nsense of her situation by the voice of her companion, who, in a\nmanner which, though it spoke compassion, spoke likewise restraint,\nsaid, \"I am afraid you have been long desiring my absence, nor\nhave I anything to plead in excuse of my stay, but real, though\nunavailing concern.]
[Would to Heaven that anything could be\neither said or done on my part that might offer consolation to\nsuch distress!]
[But I will not torment you with vain wishes, which\nmay seem purposely to ask for your thanks.]
[This unfortunate\naffair will, I fear, prevent my sister's having the pleasure of\nseeing you at Pemberley to-day.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, yes.]
[Be so kind as to apologise for us to Miss Darcy.]
[Say\nthat urgent business calls us home immediately.]
[Conceal the\nunhappy truth as long as it is possible, I know it cannot be long.]
[\"\n\nHe readily assured her of his secrecy; again expressed his sorrow\nfor her distress, wished it a happier conclusion than there was\nat present reason to hope, and leaving his compliments for her\nrelations, with only one serious, parting look, went away.]
[As he quitted the room, Elizabeth felt how improbable it was\nthat they should ever see each other again on such terms of\ncordiality as had marked their several meetings in Derbyshire;\nand as she threw a retrospective glance over the whole of their\nacquaintance, so full of contradictions and varieties, sighed\nat the perverseness of those feelings which would now have\npromoted its continuance, and would formerly have rejoiced in\nits termination.]
[If gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection,\nElizabeth's change of sentiment will be neither improbable nor\nfaulty.]
[But if otherwise--if regard springing from such sources\nis unreasonable or unnatural, in comparison of what is so often\ndescribed as arising on a first interview with its object, and even\nbefore two words have been exchanged, nothing can be said in\nher defence, except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the\nlatter method in her partiality for Wickham, and that its ill\nsuccess might, perhaps, authorise her to seek the other less\ninteresting mode of attachment.]
[Be that as it may, she saw him\ngo with regret; and in this early example of what Lydia's infamy\nmust produce, found additional anguish as she reflected on that\nwretched business.]
[Never, since reading Jane's second letter,\nhad she entertained a hope of Wickham's meaning to marry her.]
[No one but Jane, she thought, could flatter herself with such an\nexpectation.]
[Surprise was the least of her feelings on this\ndevelopment.]
[While the contents of the first letter remained in\nher mind, she was all surprise--all astonishment that Wickham\nshould marry a girl whom it was impossible he could marry\nfor money; and how Lydia could ever have attached him had\nappeared incomprehensible.]
[But now it was all too natural.]
[For\nsuch an attachment as this she might have sufficient charms; and\nthough she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in\nan elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no\ndifficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her\nunderstanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey.]
[She had never perceived, while the regiment was in Hertfordshire,\nthat Lydia had any partiality for him; but she was convinced that\nLydia wanted only encouragement to attach herself to anybody.]
[Sometimes one officer, sometimes another, had been her favourite,\nas their attentions raised them in her opinion.]
[Her affections\nhad continually been fluctuating but never without an object.]
[The mischief of neglect and mistaken indulgence towards such a\ngirl--oh!]
[how acutely did she now feel it!]
[She was wild to be at home--to hear, to see, to be upon the\nspot to share with Jane in the cares that must now fall wholly\nupon her, in a family so deranged, a father absent, a mother\nincapable of exertion, and requiring constant attendance; and\nthough almost persuaded that nothing could be done for Lydia,\nher uncle's interference seemed of the utmost importance, and\ntill he entered the room her impatience was severe.]
[Mr. and\nMrs. Gardiner had hurried back in alarm, supposing by the\nservant's account that their niece was taken suddenly ill; but\nsatisfying them instantly on that head, she eagerly communicated\nthe cause of their summons, reading the two letters aloud, and\ndwelling on the postscript of the last with trembling energy,\nthough Lydia had never been a favourite with them, Mr. and\nMrs. Gardiner could not but be deeply afflicted.]
[Not Lydia\nonly, but all were concerned in it; and after the first\nexclamations of surprise and horror, Mr. Gardiner promised\nevery assistance in his power.]
[Elizabeth, though expecting no\nless, thanked him with tears of gratitude; and all three being\nactuated by one spirit, everything relating to their journey was\nspeedily settled.]
[They were to be off as soon as possible.]
[\"But\nwhat is to be done about Pemberley?]
[\" cried Mrs. Gardiner.]
[\"John told us Mr. Darcy was here when you sent for us; was it\nso?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; and I told him we should not be able to keep our\nengagement.]
[_That_ is all settled.]
[\"\n\n\"What is all settled?]
[\" repeated the other, as she ran into her\nroom to prepare.]
[\"And are they upon such terms as for her to\ndisclose the real truth?]
[Oh, that I knew how it was!]
[\"\n\nBut wishes were vain, or at least could only serve to amuse her\nin the hurry and confusion of the following hour.]
[Had Elizabeth\nbeen at leisure to be idle, she would have remained certain that\nall employment was impossible to one so wretched as herself;\nbut she had her share of business as well as her aunt, and\namongst the rest there were notes to be written to all their\nfriends at Lambton, with false excuses for their sudden\ndeparture.]
[An hour, however, saw the whole completed; and\nMr. Gardiner meanwhile having settled his account at the inn,\nnothing remained to be done but to go; and Elizabeth, after all\nthe misery of the morning, found herself, in a shorter space of\ntime than she could have supposed, seated in the carriage, and\non the road to Longbourn.]
[Chapter 47\n\n\n\"I have been thinking it over again, Elizabeth,\" said her uncle,\nas they drove from the town; \"and really, upon serious\nconsideration, I am much more inclined than I was to judge as\nyour eldest sister does on the matter.]
[It appears to me so very\nunlikely that any young man should form such a design against\na girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless, and who\nwas actually staying in his colonel's family, that I am strongly\ninclined to hope the best.]
[Could he expect that her friends\nwould not step forward?]
[Could he expect to be noticed again\nby the regiment, after such an affront to Colonel Forster?]
[His\ntemptation is not adequate to the risk!]
[\"\n\n\"Do you really think so?]
[\" cried Elizabeth, brightening up for a\nmoment.]
[\"Upon my word,\" said Mrs. Gardiner, \"I begin to be of your\nuncle's opinion.]
[It is really too great a violation of decency,\nhonour, and interest, for him to be guilty of.]
[I cannot think\nso very ill of Wickham.]
[Can you yourself, Lizzy, so wholly give\nhim up, as to believe him capable of it?]
[\"\n\n\"Not, perhaps, of neglecting his own interest; but of every other\nneglect I can believe him capable.]
[If, indeed, it should be so!]
[But I dare not hope it.]
[Why should they not go on to Scotland\nif that had been the case?]
[\"\n\n\"In the first place,\" replied Mr. Gardiner, \"there is no absolute\nproof that they are not gone to Scotland.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[but their removing from the chaise into a hackney coach is\nsuch a presumption!]
[And, besides, no traces of them were to be\nfound on the Barnet road.]
[\"\n\n\"Well, then--supposing them to be in London.]
[They may be there,\nthough for the purpose of concealment, for no more exceptional\npurpose.]
[It is not likely that money should be very abundant on\neither side; and it might strike them that they could be more\neconomically, though less expeditiously, married in London\nthan in Scotland.]
[\"\n\n\"But why all this secrecy?]
[Why any fear of detection?]
[Why must\ntheir marriage be private?]
[Oh, no, no--this is not likely.]
[His most particular friend, you see by Jane's account, was\npersuaded of his never intending to marry her.]
[Wickham will\nnever marry a woman without some money.]
[He cannot afford\nit.]
[And what claims has Lydia--what attraction has she beyond\nyouth, health, and good humour that could make him, for her\nsake, forego every chance of benefiting himself by marrying\nwell?]
[As to what restraint the apprehensions of disgrace in the\ncorps might throw on a dishonourable elopement with her, I am\nnot able to judge; for I know nothing of the effects that such a\nstep might produce.]
[But as to your other objection, I am afraid\nit will hardly hold good.]
[Lydia has no brothers to step forward;\nand he might imagine, from my father's behaviour, from his\nindolence and the little attention he has ever seemed to give\nto what was going forward in his family, that _he_ would do as\nlittle, and think as little about it, as any father could do,\nin such a matter.]
[\"\n\n\"But can you think that Lydia is so lost to everything but love\nof him as to consent to live with him on any terms other than\nmarriage?]
[\"\n\n\"It does seem, and it is most shocking indeed,\" replied Elizabeth,\nwith tears in her eyes, \"that a sister's sense of decency and\nvirtue in such a point should admit of doubt.]
[But, really,\nI know not what to say.]
[Perhaps I am not doing her justice.]
[But she is very young; she has never been taught to think\non serious subjects; and for the last half-year, nay, for a\ntwelvemonth--she has been given up to nothing but amusement\nand vanity.]
[She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the\nmost idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that\ncame in her way.]
[Since the ----shire were first quartered in\nMeryton, nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been\nin her head.]
[She has been doing everything in her power by\nthinking and talking on the subject, to give greater--what shall\nI call it?]
[susceptibility to her feelings; which are naturally\nlively enough.]
[And we all know that Wickham has every charm of\nperson and address that can captivate a woman.]
[\"\n\n\"But you see that Jane,\" said her aunt, \"does not think so very\nill of Wickham as to believe him capable of the attempt.]
[\"\n\n\"Of whom does Jane ever think ill?]
[And who is there, whatever\nmight be their former conduct, that she would think capable of\nsuch an attempt, till it were proved against them?]
[But Jane\nknows, as well as I do, what Wickham really is.]
[We both know\nthat he has been profligate in every sense of the word; that he\nhas neither integrity nor honour; that he is as false and\ndeceitful as he is insinuating.]
[\"\n\n\"And do you really know all this?]
[\" cried Mrs. Gardiner, whose\ncuriosity as to the mode of her intelligence was all alive.]
[\"I do indeed,\" replied Elizabeth, colouring.]
[\"I told you, the\nother day, of his infamous behaviour to Mr. Darcy; and you\nyourself, when last at Longbourn, heard in what manner he\nspoke of the man who had behaved with such forbearance and\nliberality towards him.]
[And there are other circumstances which\nI am not at liberty--which it is not worth while to relate; but\nhis lies about the whole Pemberley family are endless.]
[From what\nhe said of Miss Darcy I was thoroughly prepared to see a proud,\nreserved, disagreeable girl.]
[Yet he knew to the contrary himself.]
[He must know that she was as amiable and unpretending as we\nhave found her.]
[\"\n\n\"But does Lydia know nothing of this?]
[can she be ignorant of\nwhat you and Jane seem so well to understand?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, yes!--that, that is the worst of all.]
[Till I was in Kent,\nand saw so much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel\nFitzwilliam, I was ignorant of the truth myself.]
[And when I\nreturned home, the ----shire was to leave Meryton in a week or\nfortnight's time.]
[As that was the case, neither Jane, to whom\nI related the whole, nor I, thought it necessary to make our\nknowledge public; for of what use could it apparently be to any\none, that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of\nhim should then be overthrown?]
[And even when it was settled\nthat Lydia should go with Mrs. Forster, the necessity of opening\nher eyes to his character never occurred to me.]
[That _she_ could\nbe in any danger from the deception never entered my head.]
[That such a consequence as _this_ could ensue, you may easily\nbelieve, was far enough from my thoughts.]
[\"\n\n\"When they all removed to Brighton, therefore, you had no\nreason, I suppose, to believe them fond of each other?]
[\"\n\n\"Not the slightest.]
[I can remember no symptom of affection on\neither side; and had anything of the kind been perceptible, you\nmust be aware that ours is not a family on which it could be\nthrown away.]
[When first he entered the corps, she was ready\nenough to admire him; but so we all were.]
[Every girl in or\nnear Meryton was out of her senses about him for the first\ntwo months; but he never distinguished _her_ by any particular\nattention; and, consequently, after a moderate period of\nextravagant and wild admiration, her fancy for him gave\nway, and others of the regiment, who treated her with more\ndistinction, again became her favourites.]
[\"\n\n                          * * * * *\n\nIt may be easily believed, that however little of novelty could be\nadded to their fears, hopes, and conjectures, on this interesting\nsubject, by its repeated discussion, no other could detain them\nfrom it long, during the whole of the journey.]
[From Elizabeth's\nthoughts it was never absent.]
[Fixed there by the keenest of all\nanguish, self-reproach, she could find no interval of ease or\nforgetfulness.]
[They travelled as expeditiously as possible, and, sleeping one\nnight on the road, reached Longbourn by dinner time the next\nday.]
[It was a comfort to Elizabeth to consider that Jane could\nnot have been wearied by long expectations.]
[The little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were\nstanding on the steps of the house as they entered the paddock;\nand, when the carriage drove up to the door, the joyful surprise\nthat lighted up their faces, and displayed itself over their whole\nbodies, in a variety of capers and frisks, was the first pleasing\nearnest of their welcome.]
[Elizabeth jumped out; and, after giving each of them a hasty\nkiss, hurried into the vestibule, where Jane, who came running\ndown from her mother's apartment, immediately met her.]
[Elizabeth, as she affectionately embraced her, whilst tears filled\nthe eyes of both, lost not a moment in asking whether anything\nhad been heard of the fugitives.]
[\"Not yet,\" replied Jane.]
[\"But now that my dear uncle is come,\nI hope everything will be well.]
[\"\n\n\"Is my father in town?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, he went on Tuesday, as I wrote you word.]
[\"\n\n\"And have you heard from him often?]
[\"\n\n\"We have heard only twice.]
[He wrote me a few lines on\nWednesday to say that he had arrived in safety, and to give me\nhis directions, which I particularly begged him to do.]
[He merely\nadded that he should not write again till he had something of\nimportance to mention.]
[\"\n\n\"And my mother--how is she?]
[How are you all?]
[\"\n\n\"My mother is tolerably well, I trust; though her spirits are\ngreatly shaken.]
[She is upstairs and will have great satisfaction\nin seeing you all.]
[She does not yet leave her dressing-room.]
[Mary and Kitty, thank Heaven, are quite well.]
[\"\n\n\"But you--how are you?]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"You look pale.]
[How much you must have gone through!]
[\"\n\nHer sister, however, assured her of her being perfectly well;\nand their conversation, which had been passing while Mr. and\nMrs. Gardiner were engaged with their children, was now put an\nend to by the approach of the whole party.]
[Jane ran to her uncle\nand aunt, and welcomed and thanked them both, with alternate\nsmiles and tears.]
[When they were all in the drawing-room, the questions which\nElizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the\nothers, and they soon found that Jane had no intelligence\nto give.]
[The sanguine hope of good, however, which the\nbenevolence of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her;\nshe still expected that it would all end well, and that every\nmorning would bring some letter, either from Lydia or her\nfather, to explain their proceedings, and, perhaps, announce\ntheir marriage.]
[Mrs. Bennet, to whose apartment they all repaired, after a few\nminutes' conversation together, received them exactly as might\nbe expected; with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives\nagainst the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of\nher own sufferings and ill-usage; blaming everybody but the\nperson to whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her\ndaughter must principally be owing.]
[\"If I had been able,\" said she, \"to carry my point in going to\nBrighton, with all my family, _this_ would not have happened;\nbut poor dear Lydia had nobody to take care of her.]
[Why did\nthe Forsters ever let her go out of their sight?]
[I am sure there\nwas some great neglect or other on their side, for she is not the\nkind of girl to do such a thing if she had been well looked after.]
[I always thought they were very unfit to have the charge of her;\nbut I was overruled, as I always am.]
[Poor dear child!]
[And\nnow here's Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight\nWickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and\nwhat is to become of us all?]
[The Collinses will turn us out\nbefore he is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us,\nbrother, I do not know what we shall do.]
[\"\n\nThey all exclaimed against such terrific ideas; and Mr. Gardiner,\nafter general assurances of his affection for her and all her\nfamily, told her that he meant to be in London the very next day,\nand would assist Mr. Bennet in every endeavour for recovering\nLydia.]
[\"Do not give way to useless alarm,\" added he; \"though it is\nright to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look\non it as certain.]
[It is not quite a week since they left Brighton.]
[In a few days more we may gain some news of them; and till we\nknow that they are not married, and have no design of marrying,\ndo not let us give the matter over as lost.]
[As soon as I get to\ntown I shall go to my brother, and make him come home with\nme to Gracechurch Street; and then we may consult together as\nto what is to be done.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[my dear brother,\" replied Mrs. Bennet, \"that is exactly\nwhat I could most wish for.]
[And now do, when you get to\ntown, find them out, wherever they may be; and if they are\nnot married already, _make_ them marry.]
[And as for wedding\nclothes, do not let them wait for that, but tell Lydia she\nshall have as much money as she chooses to buy them, after they\nare married.]
[And, above all, keep Mr. Bennet from fighting.]
[Tell him what a dreadful state I am in, that I am frighted out\nof my wits--and have such tremblings, such flutterings, all\nover me--such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and\nsuch beatings at heart, that I can get no rest by night nor by\nday.]
[And tell my dear Lydia not to give any directions about\nher clothes till she has seen me, for she does not know which\nare the best warehouses.]
[Oh, brother, how kind you are!]
[I\nknow you will contrive it all.]
[\"\n\nBut Mr. Gardiner, though he assured her again of his earnest\nendeavours in the cause, could not avoid recommending moderation\nto her, as well in her hopes as her fear; and after talking with\nher in this manner till dinner was on the table, they all left\nher to vent all her feelings on the housekeeper, who attended\nin the absence of her daughters.]
[Though her brother and sister were persuaded that there was no\nreal occasion for such a seclusion from the family, they did not\nattempt to oppose it, for they knew that she had not prudence\nenough to hold her tongue before the servants, while they\nwaited at table, and judged it better that _one_ only of the\nhousehold, and the one whom they could most trust should\ncomprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject.]
[In the dining-room they were soon joined by Mary and Kitty,\nwho had been  too busily engaged in their separate apartments\nto make their appearance before.]
[One came from her books,\nand the other from her toilette.]
[The faces of both, however,\nwere tolerably calm; and no change was visible in either, except\nthat the loss of her favourite sister, or the anger which she had\nherself incurred in this business, had given more of fretfulness\nthan usual to the accents of Kitty.]
[As for Mary, she was\nmistress enough of herself to whisper to Elizabeth, with a\ncountenance of grave reflection, soon after they were seated\nat table:\n\n\"This is a most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much\ntalked of.]
[But we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into\nthe wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation.]
[\"\n\nThen, perceiving in Elizabeth no inclination of replying, she\nadded, \"Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw\nfrom it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is\nirretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin;\nthat her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and\nthat she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the\nundeserving of the other sex.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement, but was too much\noppressed to make any reply.]
[Mary, however, continued to\nconsole herself with such kind of moral extractions from the\nevil before them.]
[In the afternoon, the two elder Miss Bennets were able to be\nfor half-an-hour by themselves; and Elizabeth instantly availed\nherself of the opportunity of making any inquiries, which Jane\nwas equally eager to satisfy.]
[After joining in general\nlamentations over the dreadful sequel of this event, which\nElizabeth considered as all but certain, and Miss Bennet could\nnot assert to be wholly impossible, the former continued the\nsubject, by saying, \"But tell me all and everything about it\nwhich I have not already heard.]
[Give me further particulars.]
[What did Colonel Forster say?]
[Had they no apprehension of\nanything before the elopement took place?]
[They must have seen\nthem together for ever.]
[\"\n\n\"Colonel Forster did own that he had often suspected some\npartiality, especially on Lydia's side, but nothing to give him any\nalarm.]
[I am so grieved for him!]
[His behaviour was attentive and\nkind to the utmost.]
[He _was_ coming to us, in order to assure us\nof his concern, before he had any idea of their not being gone to\nScotland: when that apprehension first got abroad, it hastened\nhis journey.]
[\"\n\n\"And was Denny convinced that Wickham would not marry?]
[Did\nhe know of their intending to go off?]
[Had Colonel Forster\nseen Denny himself?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; but, when questioned by _him_, Denny denied knowing\nanything of their plans, and would not give his real opinion\nabout it.]
[He did not repeat his persuasion of their not\nmarrying--and from _that_, I am inclined to hope, he might\nhave been misunderstood before.]
[\"\n\n\"And till Colonel Forster came himself, not one of you\nentertained a doubt, I suppose, of their being really married?]
[\"\n\n\"How was it possible that such an idea should enter our brains?]
[I felt a little uneasy--a little fearful of my sister's happiness\nwith him in marriage, because I knew that his conduct had not been\nalways quite right.]
[My father and mother knew nothing of that;\nthey only felt how imprudent a match it must be.]
[Kitty then\nowned, with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the\nrest of us, that in Lydia's last letter she had prepared her for\nsuch a step.]
[She had known, it seems, of their being in love with\neach other, many weeks.]
[\"\n\n\"But not before they went to Brighton?]
[\"\n\n\"No, I believe not.]
[\"\n\n\"And did Colonel Forster appear to think well of Wickham\nhimself?]
[Does he know his real character?]
[\"\n\n\"I must confess that he did not speak so well of Wickham as he\nformerly did.]
[He believed him to be imprudent and extravagant.]
[And since this sad affair has taken place, it is said that he\nleft Meryton greatly in debt; but I hope this may be false.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, Jane, had we been less secret, had we told what we knew\nof him, this could not have happened!]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps it would have been better,\" replied her sister.]
[\"But to\nexpose the former faults of any person without knowing what\ntheir present feelings were, seemed unjustifiable.]
[We acted with\nthe best intentions.]
[\"\n\n\"Could Colonel Forster repeat the particulars of Lydia's note to\nhis wife?]
[\"\n\n\"He brought it with him for us to see.]
[\"\n\nJane then took it from her pocket-book, and gave it to Elizabeth.]
[These were the contents:\n\n\"MY DEAR HARRIET,\n\n\"You will laugh when you know where I am gone, and I cannot\nhelp laughing myself at your surprise to-morrow morning, as\nsoon as I am missed.]
[I am going to Gretna Green, and if you\ncannot guess with who, I shall think you a simpleton, for there\nis but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel.]
[I should\nnever be happy without him, so think it no harm to be off.]
[You\nneed not send them word at Longbourn of my going, if you do\nnot like it, for it will make the surprise the greater, when I\nwrite to them and sign my name 'Lydia Wickham.]
['  What a good\njoke it will be!]
[I can hardly write for laughing.]
[Pray make\nmy excuses to Pratt for not keeping my engagement, and dancing\nwith him to-night.]
[Tell him I hope he will excuse me when he\nknows all; and tell him I will dance with him at the next ball\nwe meet, with great pleasure.]
[I shall send for my clothes when\nI get to Longbourn; but I wish you would tell Sally to mend a\ngreat slit in my worked muslin gown before they are packed up.]
[Good-bye.]
[Give my love to Colonel Forster.]
[I hope you will\ndrink to our good journey.]
[\"Your affectionate friend,\n\n\"LYDIA BENNET.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia!]
[\" cried Elizabeth when she\nhad finished it.]
[\"What a letter is this, to be written at such\na moment!]
[But at least it shows that _she_ was serious on the\nsubject of their journey.]
[Whatever he might afterwards\npersuade her to, it was not on her side a _scheme_ of infamy.]
[My poor father!]
[how he must have felt it!]
[\"\n\n\"I never saw anyone so shocked.]
[He could not speak a word\nfor full ten minutes.]
[My mother was taken ill immediately,\nand the whole house in such confusion!]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[Jane,\" cried Elizabeth, \"was there a servant belonging to it\nwho did not know the whole story before the end of the day?]
[\"\n\n\"I do not know.]
[I hope there was.]
[But to be guarded at such a\ntime is very difficult.]
[My mother was in hysterics, and though\nI endeavoured to give her every assistance in my power, I am\nafraid I did not do so much as I might have done!]
[But the\nhorror of what might possibly happen almost took from me\nmy faculties.]
[\"\n\n\"Your attendance upon her has been too much for you.]
[You do\nnot look well.]
[Oh that I had been with you!]
[you have had\nevery care and anxiety upon yourself alone.]
[\"\n\n\"Mary and Kitty have been very kind, and would have shared in\nevery fatigue, I am sure; but I did not think it right for either\nof them.]
[Kitty is slight and delicate; and Mary studies so much,\nthat her hours of repose should not be broken in on.]
[My aunt\nPhillips came to Longbourn on Tuesday, after my father went\naway; and was so good as to stay till Thursday with me.]
[She\nwas of great use and comfort to us all.]
[And Lady Lucas has\nbeen very kind; she walked here on Wednesday morning to\ncondole with us, and offered her services, or any of her\ndaughters', if they should be of use to us.]
[\"\n\n\"She had better have stayed at home,\" cried Elizabeth; \"perhaps\nshe _meant_ well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one\ncannot see too little of one's neighbours.]
[Assistance is\nimpossible; condolence insufferable.]
[Let them triumph over us\nat a distance, and be satisfied.]
[\"\n\nShe then proceeded to inquire into the measures which her\nfather had intended to pursue, while in town, for the recovery\nof his daughter.]
[\"He meant I believe,\" replied Jane, \"to go to Epsom, the place\nwhere they last changed horses, see the postilions and try if\nanything could be made out from them.]
[His principal object\nmust be to discover the number of the hackney coach which\ntook them from Clapham.]
[It had come with a fare from London;\nand as he thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and lady's\nremoving from one carriage into another might be remarked he\nmeant to make inquiries at Clapham.]
[If he could anyhow discover\nat what house the coachman had before set down his fare, he\ndetermined to make inquiries there, and hoped it might not be\nimpossible to find out the stand and number of the coach.]
[I do\nnot know of any other designs that he had formed; but he was in\nsuch a hurry to be gone, and his spirits so greatly discomposed,\nthat I had difficulty in finding out even so much as this.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 48\n\n\nThe whole party were in hopes of a letter from Mr. Bennet the\nnext morning, but the post came in without bringing a single line\nfrom him.]
[His family knew him to be, on all common occasions,\na most negligent and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time\nthey had hoped for exertion.]
[They were forced to conclude that\nhe had no pleasing intelligence to send; but even of _that_ they\nwould have been glad to be certain.]
[Mr. Gardiner had waited\nonly for the letters before he set off.]
[When he was gone, they were certain at least of receiving\nconstant information of what was going on, and their uncle\npromised, at parting, to prevail on Mr. Bennet to return to\nLongbourn, as soon as he could, to the great consolation of his\nsister, who considered it as the only security for her husband's\nnot being killed in a duel.]
[Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in Hertfordshire\na few days longer, as the former thought her presence might be\nserviceable to her nieces.]
[She shared in their attendance on\nMrs. Bennet, and was a great comfort to them in their hours of\nfreedom.]
[Their other aunt also visited them frequently, and\nalways, as she said, with the design of cheering and heartening\nthem up--though, as she never came without reporting some\nfresh instance of Wickham's extravagance or irregularity, she\nseldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than\nshe found them.]
[All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three\nmonths before, had been almost an angel of light.]
[He was\ndeclared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his\nintrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction, had been\nextended into every tradesman's family.]
[Everybody declared\nthat he was the wickedest young man in the world; and everybody\nbegan to find out that they had always distrusted the appearance\nof his goodness.]
[Elizabeth, though she did not credit above\nhalf of what was said, believed enough to make her former\nassurance of her sister's ruin more certain; and even Jane,\nwho believed still less of it, became almost hopeless, more\nespecially as the time was now come when, if they had gone to\nScotland, which she had never before entirely despaired of,\nthey must in all probability have gained some news of them.]
[Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday; on Tuesday his wife\nreceived a letter from him; it told them that, on his arrival,\nhe had immediately found out his brother, and persuaded him to\ncome to Gracechurch Street; that Mr. Bennet had been to\nEpsom and Clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining\nany satisfactory information; and that he was now determined\nto inquire at all the principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet\nthought it possible they might have gone to one of them, on\ntheir first coming to London, before they procured lodgings.]
[Mr. Gardiner himself did not expect any success from this\nmeasure, but as his brother was eager in it, he meant to assist\nhim in pursuing it.]
[He added that Mr. Bennet seemed wholly\ndisinclined at present to leave London and promised to write\nagain very soon.]
[There was also a postscript to this effect:\n\n\"I have written to Colonel Forster to desire him to find out,\nif possible, from some of the young man's intimates in the\nregiment, whether Wickham has any relations or connections\nwho would be likely to know in what part of town he has now\nconcealed himself.]
[If there were anyone that one could apply\nto with a probability of gaining such a clue as that, it might be\nof essential consequence.]
[At present we have nothing to guide\nus.]
[Colonel Forster will, I dare say, do everything in his power\nto satisfy us on this head.]
[But, on second thoughts, perhaps,\nLizzy could tell us what relations he has now living, better than\nany other person.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was at no loss to understand from whence this\ndeference to her authority proceeded; but it was not in her\npower to give any information of so satisfactory a nature as the\ncompliment deserved.]
[She had never heard of his having had\nany relations, except a father and mother, both of whom had\nbeen dead many years.]
[It was possible, however, that some of\nhis companions in the ----shire might be able to give more\ninformation; and though she was not very sanguine in expecting\nit, the application was a something to look forward to.]
[Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety; but the most\nanxious part of each was when the post was expected.]
[The\narrival of letters was the grand object of every morning's\nimpatience.]
[Through letters, whatever of good or bad was to\nbe told would be communicated, and every succeeding day was\nexpected to bring some news of importance.]
[But before they heard again from Mr. Gardiner, a letter arrived\nfor their father, from a different quarter, from Mr. Collins;\nwhich, as Jane had received directions to open all that came for\nhim in his absence, she accordingly read; and Elizabeth, who\nknew what curiosities his letters always were, looked over her,\nand read it likewise.]
[It was as follows:\n\n\"MY DEAR SIR,\n\n\"I feel myself called upon, by our relationship, and my situation\nin life, to condole with you on the grievous affliction you are now\nsuffering under, of which we were yesterday informed by a letter\nfrom Hertfordshire.]
[Be assured, my dear sir, that Mrs. Collins\nand myself sincerely sympathise with you and all your respectable\nfamily, in your present distress, which must be of the bitterest\nkind, because proceeding from a cause which no time can remove.]
[No arguments shall be wanting on my part that can alleviate so\nsevere a misfortune--or that may comfort you, under a circumstance\nthat must be of all others the most afflicting to a parent's mind.]
[The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison\nof this.]
[And it is the more to be lamented, because there is\nreason to suppose as my dear Charlotte informs me, that this\nlicentiousness of behaviour in your daughter has proceeded from\na faulty degree of indulgence; though, at the same time, for the\nconsolation of yourself and Mrs. Bennet, I am inclined to think\nthat her own disposition must be naturally bad, or she could not\nbe guilty of such an enormity, at so early an age.]
[Howsoever that\nmay be, you are grievously to be pitied; in which opinion I am not\nonly joined by Mrs. Collins, but likewise by Lady Catherine and\nher daughter, to whom I have related the affair.]
[They agree with\nme in apprehending that this false step in one daughter will be\ninjurious to the fortunes of all the others; for who, as Lady\nCatherine herself condescendingly says, will connect themselves\nwith such a family?]
[And this consideration leads me moreover\nto reflect, with augmented satisfaction, on a certain event\nof last November; for had it been otherwise, I must have been\ninvolved in all your sorrow and disgrace.]
[Let me then advise you,\ndear sir, to console yourself as much as possible, to throw off\nyour unworthy child from your affection for ever, and leave her\nto reap the fruits of her own heinous offense.]
[\"I am, dear sir, etc., etc.\"\n\nMr. Gardiner did not write again till he had received an answer\nfrom Colonel Forster; and then he had nothing of a pleasant\nnature to send.]
[It was not known that Wickham had a single\nrelationship with whom he kept up any connection, and it\nwas certain that he had no near one living.]
[His former\nacquaintances had been numerous; but since he had been in the\nmilitia, it did not appear that he was on terms of particular\nfriendship with any of them.]
[There was no one, therefore, who\ncould be pointed out as likely to give any news of him.]
[And\nin the wretched state of his own finances, there was a very\npowerful motive for secrecy, in addition to his fear of discovery\nby Lydia's relations, for it had just transpired that he had\nleft gaming debts behind him to a very considerable amount.]
[Colonel Forster believed that more than a thousand pounds\nwould be necessary to clear his expenses at Brighton.]
[He owed\na good deal in town, but his debts of honour were still more\nformidable.]
[Mr. Gardiner did not attempt to conceal these\nparticulars from the Longbourn family.]
[Jane heard them with\nhorror.]
[\"A gamester!]
[\" she cried.]
[\"This is wholly unexpected.]
[I had not an idea of it.]
[\"\n\nMr. Gardiner added in his letter, that they might expect to see\ntheir father at home on the following day, which was Saturday.]
[Rendered spiritless by the ill-success of all their endeavours, he\nhad yielded to his brother-in-law's entreaty that he would return\nto his family, and leave it to him to do whatever occasion might\nsuggest to be advisable for continuing their pursuit.]
[When Mrs.\nBennet was told of this, she did not express so much satisfaction\nas her children expected, considering what her anxiety for his\nlife had been before.]
[\"What, is he coming home, and without poor Lydia?]
[\" she cried.]
[\"Sure he will not leave London before he has found them.]
[Who\nis to fight Wickham, and make him marry her, if he comes away?]
[\"\n\nAs Mrs. Gardiner began to wish to be at home, it was settled\nthat she and the children should go to London, at the same time\nthat Mr. Bennet came from it.]
[The coach, therefore, took them\nthe first stage of their journey, and brought its master back\nto Longbourn.]
[Mrs. Gardiner went away in all the perplexity about Elizabeth\nand her Derbyshire friend that had attended her from that part\nof the world.]
[His name had never been voluntarily mentioned\nbefore them by her niece; and the kind of half-expectation which\nMrs. Gardiner had formed, of their being followed by a letter\nfrom him, had ended in nothing.]
[Elizabeth had received none\nsince her return that could come from Pemberley.]
[The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other\nexcuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing,\ntherefore, could be fairly conjectured from _that_, though\nElizabeth, who was by this time tolerably well acquainted with\nher own feelings, was perfectly aware that, had she known\nnothing of Darcy, she could have borne the dread of Lydia's\ninfamy somewhat better.]
[It would have spared her, she thought,\none sleepless night out of two.]
[When Mr. Bennet arrived, he had all the appearance of his usual\nphilosophic composure.]
[He said as little as he had ever been in\nthe habit of saying; made no mention of the business that had\ntaken him away, and it was some time before his daughters had\ncourage to speak of it.]
[It was not till the afternoon, when he had joined them at tea,\nthat Elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on\nher briefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have\nendured, he replied, \"Say nothing of that.]
[Who should suffer\nbut myself?]
[It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it.]
[\"\n\n\"You must not be too severe upon yourself,\" replied Elizabeth.]
[\"You may well warn me against such an evil.]
[Human nature is\nso prone to fall into it!]
[No, Lizzy, let me once in my life\nfeel how much I have been to blame.]
[I am not afraid of being\noverpowered by the impression.]
[It will pass away soon enough.]
[\"\n\n\"Do you suppose them to be in London?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; where else can they be so well concealed?]
[\"\n\n\"And Lydia used to want to go to London,\" added Kitty.]
[\"She is happy then,\" said her father drily; \"and her residence\nthere will probably be of some duration.]
[\"\n\nThen after a short silence he continued:\n\n\"Lizzy, I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice\nto me last May, which, considering the event, shows some\ngreatness of mind.]
[\"\n\nThey were interrupted by Miss Bennet, who came to fetch her\nmother's tea.]
[\"This is a parade,\" he cried, \"which does one good; it gives such\nan elegance to misfortune!]
[Another day I will do the same; I\nwill sit in my library, in my nightcap and powdering gown, and\ngive as much trouble as I can; or, perhaps, I may defer it till\nKitty runs away.]
[\"\n\n\"I am not going to run away, papa,\" said Kitty fretfully.]
[\"If I\nshould ever go to Brighton, I would behave better than Lydia.]
[\"\n\n\"_You_ go to Brighton.]
[I would not trust you so near it as\nEastbourne for fifty pounds!]
[No, Kitty, I have at last learnt to\nbe cautious, and you will feel the effects of it.]
[No officer is ever\nto enter into my house again, nor even to pass through the\nvillage.]
[Balls will be absolutely prohibited, unless you stand up\nwith one of your sisters.]
[And you are never to stir out of doors\ntill you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day\nin a rational manner.]
[\"\n\nKitty, who took all these threats in a serious light, began to cry.\n\n\"Well, well,\" said he, \"do not make yourself unhappy.]
[If you\nare a good girl for the next ten years, I will take you to a review\nat the end of them.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 49\n\n\nTwo days after Mr. Bennet's return, as Jane and Elizabeth were\nwalking together in the shrubbery behind the house, they saw\nthe housekeeper coming towards them, and, concluding that she\ncame to call them to their mother, went forward to meet her;\nbut, instead of the expected summons, when they approached\nher, she said to Miss Bennet, \"I beg your pardon, madam, for\ninterrupting you, but I was in hopes you might have got some\ngood news from town, so I took the liberty of coming to ask.]
[\"\n\n\"What do you mean, Hill?]
[We have heard nothing from town.]
[\"\n\n\"Dear madam,\" cried Mrs. Hill, in great astonishment, \"don't\nyou know there is an express come for master from Mr. Gardiner?]
[He has been here this half-hour, and master has had a letter.]
[\"\n\nAway ran the girls, too eager to get in to have time for speech.]
[They ran through the vestibule into the breakfast-room; from\nthence to the library; their father was in neither; and they\nwere on the point of seeking him upstairs with their mother,\nwhen they were met by the butler, who said:\n\n\"If you are looking for my master, ma'am, he is walking\ntowards the little copse.]
[\"\n\nUpon this information, they instantly passed through the hall\nonce more, and ran across the lawn after their father, who was\ndeliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side\nof the paddock.]
[Jane, who was not so light nor so much in the habit of running\nas Elizabeth, soon lagged behind, while her sister, panting for\nbreath, came up with him, and eagerly cried out:\n\n\"Oh, papa, what news--what news?]
[Have you heard from my\nuncle?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes I have had a letter from him by express.]
[\"\n\n\"Well, and what news does it bring--good or bad?]
[\"\n\n\"What is there of good to be expected?]
[\" said he, taking the\nletter from his pocket.]
[\"But perhaps you would like to read it.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand.]
[Jane now came up.]
[\"Read it aloud,\" said their father, \"for I hardly know myself what\nit is about.]
[\"\n\n\"Gracechurch Street, Monday,\nAugust 2.]
[\"MY DEAR BROTHER,\n\n\"At last I am able to send you some tidings of my niece, and\nsuch as, upon the whole, I hope it will give you satisfaction.]
[Soon after you left me on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to\nfind out in what part of London they were.]
[The particulars I\nreserve till we meet; it is enough to know they are discovered.]
[I have seen them both--\"\n\n\"Then it is as I always hoped,\" cried Jane; \"they are married!]
[\"\n\nElizabeth read on:\n\n\"I have seen them both.]
[They are not married, nor can I find\nthere was any intention of being so; but if you are willing to\nperform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your\nside, I hope it will not be long before they are.]
[All that is\nrequired of you is, to assure to your daughter, by settlement,\nher equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among your\nchildren after the decease of yourself and my sister; and,\nmoreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during\nyour life, one hundred pounds per annum.]
[These are conditions\nwhich, considering everything, I had no hesitation in complying\nwith, as far as I thought myself privileged, for you.]
[I shall\nsend this by express, that no time may be lost in bringing me\nyour answer.]
[You will easily comprehend, from these particulars,\nthat Mr. Wickham's circumstances are not so hopeless as they\nare generally believed to be.]
[The world has been deceived in\nthat respect; and I am happy to say there will be some little\nmoney, even when all his debts are discharged, to settle on my\nniece, in addition to her own fortune.]
[If, as I conclude will\nbe the case, you send me full powers to act in your name\nthroughout the whole of this business, I will immediately give\ndirections to Haggerston for preparing a proper settlement.]
[There will not be the smallest occasion for your coming to town\nagain; therefore stay quiet at Longbourn, and depend on my\ndiligence and care.]
[Send back your answer as fast as you can,\nand be careful to write explicitly.]
[We have judged it best that\nmy niece should be married from this house, of which I hope\nyou will approve.]
[She comes to us to-day.]
[I shall write again\nas soon as anything more is determined on.]
[Yours, etc.,\n\n\"EDW.]
[GARDINER.]
[\"\n\n\"Is it possible?]
[\" cried Elizabeth, when she had finished.]
[\"Can it\nbe possible that he will marry her?]
[\"\n\n\"Wickham is not so undeserving, then, as we thought him,\" said\nher sister.]
[\"My dear father, I congratulate you.]
[\"\n\n\"And have you answered the letter?]
[\" cried Elizabeth.]
[\"No; but it must be done soon.]
[\"\n\nMost earnestly did she then entreaty him to lose no more time\nbefore he wrote.]
[\"Oh!]
[my dear father,\" she cried, \"come back and write immediately.]
[Consider how important every moment is in such a case.]
[\"\n\n\"Let me write for you,\" said Jane, \"if you dislike the trouble\nyourself.]
[\"\n\n\"I dislike it very much,\" he replied; \"but it must be done.]
[\"\n\nAnd so saying, he turned back with them, and walked towards\nthe house.]
[\"And may I ask--\" said Elizabeth; \"but the terms, I suppose,\nmust be complied with.]
[\"\n\n\"Complied with!]
[I am only ashamed of his asking so little.]
[\"\n\n\"And they _must_ marry!]
[Yet he is _such_ a man!]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, they must marry.]
[There is nothing else to be done.]
[But there are two things that I want very much to know; one is,\nhow much money your uncle has laid down to bring it about;\nand the other, how am I ever to pay him.]
[\"\n\n\"Money!]
[My uncle!]
[\" cried Jane, \"what do you mean, sir?]
[\"\n\n\"I mean, that no man in his senses would marry Lydia on so\nslight a temptation as one hundred a year during my life, and\nfifty after I am gone.]
[\"\n\n\"That is very true,\" said Elizabeth; \"though it had not occurred\nto me before.]
[His debts to be discharged, and something still\nto remain!]
[Oh!]
[it must be my uncle's doings!]
[Generous, good\nman, I am afraid he has distressed himself.]
[A small sum could\nnot do all this.]
[\"\n\n\"No,\" said her father; \"Wickham's a fool if he takes her with a\nfarthing less than ten thousand pounds.]
[I should be sorry to\nthink so ill of him, in the very beginning of our relationship.]
[\"\n\n\"Ten thousand pounds!]
[Heaven forbid!]
[How is half such a\nsum to be repaid?]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet made no answer, and each of them, deep in thought,\ncontinued silent till they reached the house.]
[Their father then\nwent on to the library to write, and the girls walked into the\nbreakfast-room.]
[\"And they are really to be married!]
[\" cried Elizabeth, as soon\nas they were by themselves.]
[\"How strange this is!]
[And for\n_this_ we are to be thankful.]
[That they should marry, small as\nis their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character,\nwe are forced to rejoice.]
[Oh, Lydia!]
[\"\n\n\"I comfort myself with thinking,\" replied Jane, \"that he certainly\nwould not marry Lydia if he had not a real regard for her.]
[Though our kind uncle has done something towards clearing\nhim, I cannot believe that ten thousand pounds, or anything like\nit, has been advanced.]
[He has children of his own, and may\nhave more.]
[How could he spare half ten thousand pounds?]
[\"\n\n\"If he were ever able to learn what Wickham's debts have been,\"\nsaid Elizabeth, \"and how much is settled on his side on our\nsister, we shall exactly know what Mr. Gardiner has done for\nthem, because Wickham has not sixpence of his own.]
[The\nkindness of my uncle and aunt can never be requited.]
[Their\ntaking her home, and affording her their personal protection\nand countenance, is such a sacrifice to her advantage as years\nof gratitude cannot enough acknowledge.]
[By this time she\nis actually with them!]
[If such goodness does not make her\nmiserable now, she will never deserve to be happy!]
[What a\nmeeting for her, when she first sees my aunt!]
[\"\n\n\"We must endeavour to forget all that has passed on either side,\"\nsaid Jane: \"I hope and trust they will yet be happy.]
[His\nconsenting to marry her is a proof, I will believe, that he is\ncome to a right way of thinking.]
[Their mutual affection will\nsteady them; and I flatter myself they will settle so quietly,\nand live in so rational a manner, as may in time make their\npast imprudence forgotten.]
[\"\n\n\"Their conduct has been such,\" replied Elizabeth, \"as neither\nyou, nor I, nor anybody can ever forget.]
[It is useless to talk\nof it.]
[\"\n\nIt now occurred to the girls that their mother was in all\nlikelihood perfectly ignorant of what had happened.]
[They went\nto the library, therefore, and asked their father whether he\nwould not wish them to make it known to her.]
[He was writing\nand, without raising his head, coolly replied:\n\n\"Just as you please.]
[\"\n\n\"May we take my uncle's letter to read to her?]
[\"\n\n\"Take whatever you like, and get away.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth took the letter from his writing-table, and they went\nupstairs together.]
[Mary and Kitty were both with Mrs. Bennet:\none communication would, therefore, do for all.]
[After a slight\npreparation for good news, the letter was read aloud.]
[Mrs.\nBennet could hardly contain herself.]
[As soon as Jane had read\nMr. Gardiner's hope of Lydia's  being soon married, her joy\nburst forth, and every following sentence added to its\nexuberance.]
[She was now in an irritation as violent from\ndelight, as she had ever been fidgety from alarm and vexation.]
[To know that her daughter would be married was enough.]
[She\nwas disturbed by no fear for her felicity, nor humbled by any\nremembrance of her misconduct.]
[\"My dear, dear Lydia!]
[\" she cried.]
[\"This is delightful indeed!]
[She will be married!]
[I shall see her again!]
[She will be married\nat sixteen!]
[My good, kind brother!]
[I knew how it would be.]
[I\nknew he would manage everything!]
[How I long to see her!]
[and\nto see dear Wickham too!]
[But the clothes, the wedding clothes!]
[I will write to my sister Gardiner about them directly.]
[Lizzy,\nmy dear, run down to your father, and ask him how much he will\ngive her.]
[Stay, stay, I will go myself.]
[Ring the bell, Kitty, for\nHill.]
[I will put on my things in a moment.]
[My dear, dear Lydia!]
[How merry we shall be together when we meet!]
[\"\n\nHer eldest daughter endeavoured to give some relief to the\nviolence of these transports, by leading her thoughts to the\nobligations which Mr. Gardiner's behaviour laid them all under.]
[\"For we must attribute this happy conclusion,\" she added, \"in a\ngreat measure to his kindness.]
[We are persuaded that he has\npledged himself to assist Mr. Wickham with money.]
[\"\n\n\"Well,\" cried her mother, \"it is all very right; who should do it\nbut her own uncle?]
[If he had not had a family of his own, I and\nmy children must have had all his money, you know; and it is the\nfirst time we have ever had anything from him, except a few\npresents.]
[Well!]
[I am so happy!]
[In a short time I shall have\na daughter married.]
[Mrs. Wickham!]
[How well it sounds!]
[And\nshe was only sixteen last June.]
[My dear Jane, I am in such a\nflutter, that I am sure I can't write; so I will dictate, and you\nwrite for me.]
[We will settle with your father about the money\nafterwards; but the things should be ordered immediately.]
[\"\n\nShe was then proceeding to all the particulars of calico,\nmuslin, and cambric, and would shortly have dictated some very\nplentiful orders, had not Jane, though with some difficulty,\npersuaded her to wait till her father was at leisure to be\nconsulted.]
[One day's delay, she observed, would be of small\nimportance; and her mother was too happy to be quite so\nobstinate as usual.]
[Other schemes, too, came into her head.]
[\"I will go to Meryton,\" said she, \"as soon as I am dressed, and\ntell the good, good news to my sister Philips.]
[And as I come\nback, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs.]
[Long.]
[Kitty, run down\nand order the carriage.]
[An airing would do me a great deal of\ngood, I am sure.]
[Girls, can I do anything for you in Meryton?]
[Oh!]
[Here comes Hill!]
[My dear Hill, have you heard the good\nnews?]
[Miss Lydia is going to be married; and you shall all have\na bowl of punch to make merry at her wedding.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Hill began instantly to express her joy.]
[Elizabeth received\nher congratulations amongst the rest, and then, sick of this folly,\ntook refuge in her own room, that she might think with freedom.]
[Poor Lydia's situation must, at best, be bad enough; but that\nit was no worse, she had need to be thankful.]
[She felt it so;\nand though, in looking forward, neither rational happiness nor\nworldly prosperity could be justly expected for her sister, in\nlooking back to what they had feared, only two hours ago, she\nfelt all the advantages of what they had gained.]
[Chapter 50\n\n\nMr. Bennet had very often wished before this period of his life\nthat, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an\nannual sum for the better provision of his children, and of his\nwife, if she survived him.]
[He now wished it more than ever.]
[Had he done his duty in that respect, Lydia need not have been\nindebted to her uncle for whatever of honour or credit could\nnow be purchased for her.]
[The satisfaction of prevailing on\none of the most worthless young men in Great Britain to be her\nhusband might then have rested in its proper place.]
[He was seriously concerned that a cause of so little advantage\nto anyone should be forwarded at the sole expense of his\nbrother-in-law, and he was determined, if possible, to find out\nthe extent of his assistance, and to discharge the obligation\nas soon as he could.]
[When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be\nperfectly useless, for, of course, they were to have a son.]
[The\nson was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should\nbe of age, and the widow and younger children would by that\nmeans be provided for.]
[Five daughters successively entered the\nworld, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many\nyears after Lydia's birth, had been certain that he would.]
[This\nevent had at last been despaired of, but it was then too late to\nbe saving.]
[Mrs. Bennet had no turn for economy, and her\nhusband's love of independence had alone prevented their\nexceeding their income.]
[Five thousand pounds was settled by marriage articles on Mrs.\nBennet and the children.]
[But in what proportions it should be\ndivided amongst the latter depended on the will of the parents.]
[This was one point, with regard to Lydia, at least, which was\nnow to be settled, and Mr. Bennet could have no hesitation in\nacceding to the proposal before him.]
[In terms of grateful\nacknowledgment for the kindness of his brother, though\nexpressed most concisely, he then delivered on paper his perfect\napprobation of all that was done, and his willingness to fulfil\nthe engagements that had been made for him.]
[He had never before\nsupposed that, could Wickham be prevailed on to marry his\ndaughter, it would be done with so little inconvenience to\nhimself as by the present arrangement.]
[He would scarcely be\nten pounds a year the loser by the hundred that was to be paid\nthem; for, what with her board and pocket allowance, and the\ncontinual presents in money which passed to her through her\nmother's hands, Lydia's expenses had been very little within\nthat sum.]
[That it would be done with such trifling exertion on his side,\ntoo, was another very welcome surprise; for his wish at present\nwas to have as little trouble in the business as possible.]
[When\nthe first transports of rage which had produced his activity in\nseeking her were over, he naturally returned to all his former\nindolence.]
[His letter was soon dispatched; for, though dilatory\nin undertaking business, he was quick in its execution.]
[He\nbegged to know further particulars of what he was indebted to\nhis brother, but was too angry with Lydia to send any message\nto her.]
[The good news spread quickly through the house, and with\nproportionate speed through the neighbourhood.]
[It was borne\nin the latter with decent philosophy.]
[To be sure, it would\nhave been more for the advantage of conversation had Miss Lydia\nBennet come upon the town; or, as the happiest alternative,\nbeen secluded from the world, in some distant farmhouse.]
[But there was much to be talked of in marrying her; and the\ngood-natured wishes for her well-doing which had proceeded\nbefore from all the spiteful old ladies in Meryton lost but a\nlittle of their spirit in this change of circumstances, because\nwith such an husband her misery was considered certain.]
[It was a fortnight since Mrs. Bennet had been downstairs; but on\nthis happy day she again took her seat at the head of her table,\nand in spirits oppressively high.]
[No sentiment of shame gave\na damp to her triumph.]
[The marriage of a daughter, which had\nbeen the first object of her wishes since Jane was sixteen, was\nnow on the point of accomplishment, and her thoughts and her\nwords ran wholly on those attendants of elegant nuptials, fine\nmuslins, new carriages, and servants.]
[She was busily searching\nthrough the neighbourhood for a proper situation for her\ndaughter, and, without knowing or considering what their\nincome might be, rejected many as deficient in size and\nimportance.]
[\"Haye Park might do,\" said she, \"if the Gouldings could quit it--or\nthe great house at Stoke, if the drawing-room were larger;  but\nAshworth is too far off!]
[I could not bear to have her ten miles\nfrom me; and as for Pulvis Lodge, the attics are dreadful.]
[\"\n\nHer husband allowed her to talk on without interruption while\nthe servants remained.]
[But when they had withdrawn, he said\nto her: \"Mrs. Bennet, before you take any or all of these houses\nfor your son and daughter, let us come to a right understanding.]
[Into _one_ house in this neighbourhood they shall never have\nadmittance.]
[I will not encourage the impudence of either,\nby receiving them at Longbourn.]
[\"\n\nA long dispute followed this declaration; but Mr. Bennet was\nfirm.]
[It soon led to another; and Mrs. Bennet found, with\namazement and horror, that her husband would not advance a\nguinea to buy clothes for his daughter.]
[He protested that she\nshould receive from him no mark of affection whatever on the\noccasion.]
[Mrs. Bennet could hardly comprehend it.]
[That his\nanger could be carried to such a point of inconceivable\nresentment as to refuse his daughter a privilege without which\nher marriage would scarcely seem valid, exceeded all she could\nbelieve possible.]
[She was more alive to the disgrace which her\nwant of new clothes must reflect on her daughter's nuptials, than\nto any sense of shame at her eloping and living with Wickham a\nfortnight before they took place.]
[Elizabeth was now most heartily sorry that she had, from the\ndistress of the moment, been led to make Mr. Darcy acquainted\nwith their fears for her sister; for since her marriage would\nso shortly give the proper termination to the elopement, they\nmight hope to conceal its unfavourable beginning from all those\nwho were not immediately on the spot.]
[She had no fear of its spreading farther through his means.]
[There were few people on whose secrecy she would have more\nconfidently depended; but, at the same time, there was no one\nwhose knowledge of a sister's frailty would have mortified her\nso much--not, however, from any fear of disadvantage from it\nindividually to herself, for, at any rate, there seemed a gulf\nimpassable between them.]
[Had Lydia's marriage been concluded\non the most honourable terms, it was not to be supposed that\nMr. Darcy would connect himself with a family where, to every\nother objection, would now be added an alliance and relationship\nof the nearest kind with a man whom he so justly scorned.]
[From such a connection she could not wonder that he would shrink.]
[The wish of procuring her regard, which she had assured herself\nof his feeling in Derbyshire, could not in rational expectation\nsurvive such a blow as this.]
[She was humbled, she was grieved;\nshe repented, though she hardly knew of what.]
[She became jealous\nof his esteem, when she could no longer hope to be benefited by it.]
[She wanted to hear of him, when there seemed the least chance of\ngaining intelligence.]
[She was convinced that she could have been\nhappy with him, when it was no longer likely they should meet.]
[What a triumph for him, as she often thought, could he know\nthat the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four\nmonths ago, would now have been most gladly and gratefully\nreceived!]
[He was as generous, she doubted not, as the most\ngenerous of his sex; but while he was mortal, there must be a\ntriumph.]
[She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man\nwho, in disposition and talents, would most suit her.]
[His\nunderstanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have\nanswered all her wishes.]
[It was an union that must have been\nto the advantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind\nmight have been softened, his manners improved; and from his\njudgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must\nhave received benefit of greater importance.]
[But no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring\nmultitude what connubial felicity really was.]
[An union of a\ndifferent tendency, and precluding the possibility of the\nother, was soon to be formed in their family.]
[How Wickham and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable\nindependence, she could not imagine.]
[But how little of\npermanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only\nbrought together because their passions were stronger than\ntheir virtue, she could easily conjecture.]
[* * * * *\n\nMr. Gardiner soon wrote again to his brother.]
[To Mr. Bennet's\nacknowledgments he briefly replied, with assurance of his\neagerness to promote the welfare of any of his family; and\nconcluded with entreaties that the subject might never be\nmentioned to him again.]
[The principal purport of his letter was\nto inform them that Mr. Wickham had resolved on quitting the\nmilitia.]
[\"It was greatly my wish that he should do so,\" he added, \"as\nsoon as his marriage was fixed on.]
[And I think you will agree\nwith me, in considering the removal from that corps as highly\nadvisable, both on his account and my niece's.]
[It is Mr. Wickham's\nintention to go into the regulars; and among his former friends,\nthere are still some who are able and willing to assist him in\nthe army.]
[He has the promise of an ensigncy in General ----'s\nregiment, now quartered in the North.]
[It is an advantage to have\nit so far from this part of the kingdom.]
[He promises fairly; and\nI hope among different people, where they may each have a character\nto preserve, they will both be more prudent.]
[I have written to\nColonel Forster, to inform him of our present arrangements, and to\nrequest that he will satisfy the various creditors of Mr. Wickham\nin and near Brighton, with assurances of speedy payment, for which\nI have pledged myself.]
[And will you give yourself the trouble of\ncarrying similar assurances to his creditors in Meryton, of whom\nI shall subjoin a list according to his information?]
[He has\ngiven in all his debts; I hope at least he has not deceived us.]
[Haggerston has our directions, and all will be completed in a week.]
[They will then join his regiment, unless they are first invited to\nLongbourn; and I understand from Mrs. Gardiner, that my niece is\nvery desirous of seeing you all before she leaves the South.]
[She\nis well, and begs to be dutifully remembered to you and your\nmother.--Yours, etc.,\n\n\"E.]
[GARDINER.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bennet and his daughters saw all the advantages of Wickham's\nremoval from the ----shire as clearly as Mr. Gardiner could do.]
[But Mrs. Bennet was not so well pleased with it.]
[Lydia's being\nsettled in the North, just when she had expected most pleasure and\npride in her company, for she had by no means given up her plan\nof their residing in Hertfordshire, was a severe disappointment;\nand, besides, it was such a pity that Lydia should be taken from\na regiment where she was acquainted with everybody, and had so\nmany favourites.]
[\"She is so fond of Mrs. Forster,\" said she, \"it will be quite\nshocking to send her away!]
[And there are several of the young\nmen, too, that she likes very much.]
[The officers may not be so\npleasant in General----'s regiment.]
[\"\n\nHis daughter's request, for such it might be considered, of being\nadmitted into her family again before she set off for the North,\nreceived at first an absolute negative.]
[But Jane and Elizabeth,\nwho agreed in wishing, for the sake of their sister's feelings and\nconsequence, that she should be noticed on her marriage by her\nparents, urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so mildly,\nto receive her and her husband at Longbourn, as soon as they\nwere married, that he was prevailed on to think as they thought,\nand act as they wished.]
[And their mother had the satisfaction\nof knowing that she would be able to show her married daughter\nin the neighbourhood before she was banished to the North.]
[When\nMr. Bennet wrote again to his brother, therefore, he sent his\npermission for them to come; and it was settled, that as soon\nas the ceremony was over, they should proceed to Longbourn.]
[Elizabeth was surprised, however, that Wickham should consent\nto such a scheme, and had she consulted only her own inclination,\nany meeting with him would have been the last object of her wishes.]
[Chapter 51\n\n\nTheir sister's wedding day arrived; and Jane and Elizabeth felt\nfor her probably more than she felt for herself.]
[The carriage\nwas sent to meet them at ----, and they were to return in it\nby dinner-time.]
[Their arrival was dreaded by the elder Miss\nBennets, and Jane more especially, who gave Lydia the feelings\nwhich would have attended herself, had she been the culprit,\nand was wretched in the thought of what her sister must endure.]
[They came.]
[The family were assembled in the breakfast room to\nreceive them.]
[Smiles decked the face of Mrs. Bennet as the\ncarriage drove up to the door; her husband looked impenetrably\ngrave; her daughters, alarmed, anxious, uneasy.]
[Lydia's voice was heard in the vestibule; the door was thrown\nopen, and she ran into the room.]
[Her mother stepped forwards,\nembraced her, and welcomed her with rapture; gave her hand,\nwith an affectionate smile, to Wickham, who followed his lady;\nand wished them both joy with an alacrity which shewed no doubt\nof their happiness.]
[Their reception from Mr. Bennet, to whom they then turned, was\nnot quite so cordial.]
[His countenance rather gained in austerity;\nand he scarcely opened his lips.]
[The easy assurance of the\nyoung couple, indeed, was enough to provoke him.]
[Elizabeth was\ndisgusted, and even Miss Bennet was shocked.]
[Lydia was Lydia\nstill; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless.]
[She turned\nfrom sister to sister, demanding their congratulations; and when\nat length they all sat down, looked eagerly round the room, took\nnotice of some little alteration in it, and observed, with a\nlaugh, that it was a great while since she had been there.]
[Wickham was not at all more distressed than herself, but his\nmanners were always so pleasing, that had his character and his\nmarriage been exactly what they ought, his smiles and his easy\naddress, while he claimed their relationship, would have\ndelighted them all.]
[Elizabeth had not before believed him\nquite equal to such assurance; but she sat down, resolving\nwithin herself to draw no limits in future to the impudence of\nan impudent man.]
[She blushed, and Jane blushed; but the\ncheeks of the two who caused their confusion suffered no\nvariation of colour.]
[There was no want of discourse.]
[The bride and her mother could\nneither of them talk fast enough; and Wickham, who happened to\nsit near Elizabeth, began inquiring after his acquaintance in\nthat neighbourhood, with a good humoured ease which she felt\nvery unable to equal in her replies.]
[They seemed each of them\nto have the happiest memories in the world.]
[Nothing of the\npast was recollected with pain; and Lydia led voluntarily to\nsubjects which her sisters would not have alluded to for the\nworld.]
[\"Only think of its being three months,\" she cried, \"since I\nwent away; it seems but a fortnight I declare; and yet there\nhave been things enough happened in the time.]
[Good gracious!]
[when I went away, I am sure I had no more idea of being married\ntill I came back again!]
[though I thought it would be very good\nfun if I was.]
[\"\n\nHer father lifted up his eyes.]
[Jane was distressed.]
[Elizabeth\nlooked expressively at Lydia; but she, who never heard nor saw\nanything of which she chose to be insensible, gaily continued,\n\"Oh!]
[mamma, do the people hereabouts know I am married\nto-day?]
[I was afraid they might not; and we overtook William\nGoulding in his curricle, so I was determined he should know\nit, and so I let down the side-glass next to him, and took off\nmy glove, and let my hand just rest upon the window frame, so\nthat he might see the ring, and then I bowed and smiled like\nanything.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could bear it no longer.]
[She got up, and ran out of\nthe room; and returned no more, till she heard them passing\nthrough the hall to the dining parlour.]
[She then joined them\nsoon enough to see Lydia, with anxious parade, walk up to her\nmother's right hand, and hear her say to her eldest sister,\n\"Ah!]
[Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower,\nbecause I am a married woman.]
[\"\n\nIt was not to be supposed that time would give Lydia that\nembarrassment from which she had been so wholly free at first.]
[Her ease and good spirits increased.]
[She longed to see Mrs.\nPhillips, the Lucases, and all their other neighbours, and to\nhear herself called \"Mrs. Wickham\" by each of them; and in the\nmean time, she went after dinner to show her ring, and boast\nof being married, to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids.]
[\"Well, mamma,\" said she, when they were all returned to the\nbreakfast room, \"and what do you think of my husband?]
[Is not\nhe a charming man?]
[I am sure my sisters must all envy me.]
[I\nonly hope they may have half my good luck.]
[They must all go to\nBrighton.]
[That is the place to get husbands.]
[What a pity it\nis, mamma, we did not all go.]
[\"\n\n\"Very true; and if I had my will, we should.]
[But my dear\nLydia, I don't at all like your going such a way off.]
[Must\nit be so?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, lord!]
[yes;--there is nothing in that.]
[I shall like it\nof all things.]
[You and papa, and my sisters, must come down\nand see us.]
[We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I\ndare say there will be some balls, and I will take care to get\ngood partners for them all.]
[\"\n\n\"I should like it beyond anything!]
[\" said her mother.]
[\"And then when you go away, you may leave one or two of my\nsisters behind you; and I dare say I shall get husbands for\nthem before the winter is over.]
[\"\n\n\"I thank you for my share of the favour,\" said Elizabeth;\n\"but I do not particularly like your way of getting husbands.]
[\"\n\nTheir visitors were not to remain above ten days with them.]
[Mr. Wickham had received his commission before he left London,\nand he was to join his regiment at the end of a fortnight.]
[No one but Mrs. Bennet regretted that their stay would be so\nshort; and she made the most of the time by visiting about with\nher daughter, and having very frequent parties at home.]
[These\nparties were acceptable to all; to avoid a family circle was\neven more desirable to such as did think, than such as did not.]
[Wickham's affection for Lydia was just what Elizabeth had\nexpected to find it; not equal to Lydia's for him.]
[She had\nscarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied, from\nthe reason of things, that their elopement had been brought on\nby the strength of her love, rather than by his; and she would\nhave wondered why, without violently caring for her, he chose\nto elope with her at all, had she not felt certain that his\nflight was rendered necessary by distress of circumstances;\nand if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist\nan opportunity of having a companion.]
[Lydia was exceedingly fond of him.]
[He was her dear Wickham on\nevery occasion; no one was to be put in competition with him.]
[He did every thing best in the world; and she was sure he would\nkill more birds on the first of September, than any body else\nin the country.]
[One morning, soon after their arrival, as she was sitting with\nher two elder sisters, she said to Elizabeth:\n\n\"Lizzy, I never gave _you_ an account of my wedding, I believe.]
[You were not by, when I told mamma and the others all about it.]
[Are not you curious to hear how it was managed?]
[\"\n\n\"No really,\" replied Elizabeth; \"I think there cannot be too\nlittle said on the subject.]
[\"\n\n\"La!]
[You are so strange!]
[But I must tell you how it went off.]
[We were married, you know, at St. Clement's, because Wickham's\nlodgings were in that parish.]
[And it was settled that we\nshould all be there by eleven o'clock.]
[My uncle and aunt and\nI were to go together; and the others were to meet us at the\nchurch.]
[Well, Monday morning came, and I was in such a fuss!]
[I was so afraid, you know, that something would happen to put\nit off, and then I should have gone quite distracted.]
[And\nthere was my aunt, all the time I was dressing, preaching and\ntalking away just as if she was reading a sermon.]
[However, I\ndid not hear above one word in ten, for I was thinking, you may\nsuppose, of my dear Wickham.]
[I longed to know whether he would\nbe married in his blue coat.]
[\"\n\n\"Well, and so we breakfasted at ten as usual; I thought it\nwould never be over; for, by the bye, you are to understand,\nthat my uncle and aunt were horrid unpleasant all the time I\nwas with them.]
[If you'll believe me, I did not once put my\nfoot out of doors, though I was there a fortnight.]
[Not one\nparty, or scheme, or anything.]
[To be sure London was rather\nthin, but, however, the Little Theatre was open.]
[Well, and so\njust as the carriage came to the door, my uncle was called away\nupon business to that horrid man Mr.]
[Stone.]
[And then, you\nknow, when once they get together, there is no end of it.]
[Well, I was so frightened I did not know what to do, for my\nuncle was to give me away; and if we were beyond the hour, we\ncould not be married all day.]
[But, luckily, he came back again\nin ten minutes' time, and then we all set out.]
[However, I\nrecollected afterwards that if he had been prevented going,\nthe wedding need not be put off, for Mr. Darcy might have done\nas well.]
[\"\n\n\"Mr.]
[Darcy!]
[\" repeated Elizabeth, in utter amazement.]
[\"Oh, yes!--he was to come there with Wickham, you know.]
[But\ngracious me!]
[I quite forgot!]
[I ought not to have said a word\nabout it.]
[I promised them so faithfully!]
[What will Wickham\nsay?]
[It was to be such a secret!]
[\"\n\n\"If it was to be secret,\" said Jane, \"say not another word on\nthe subject.]
[You may depend upon my seeking no further.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[certainly,\" said Elizabeth, though burning with curiosity;\n\"we will ask you no questions.]
[\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" said Lydia, \"for if you did, I should certainly\ntell you all, and then Wickham would be angry.]
[\"\n\nOn such encouragement to ask, Elizabeth was forced to put it\nout of her power, by running away.]
[But to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible; or at\nleast it was impossible not to try for information.]
[Mr. Darcy\nhad been at her sister's wedding.]
[It was exactly a scene, and\nexactly among people, where he had apparently least to do, and\nleast temptation to go.]
[Conjectures as to the meaning of it,\nrapid and wild, hurried into her brain; but she was satisfied\nwith none.]
[Those that best pleased her, as placing his conduct\nin the noblest light, seemed most improbable.]
[She could not\nbear such suspense; and hastily seizing a sheet of paper, wrote\na short letter to her aunt, to request an explanation of what\nLydia had dropt, if it were compatible with the secrecy which\nhad been intended.]
[\"You may readily comprehend,\" she added, \"what my curiosity\nmust be to know how a person unconnected with any of us, and\n(comparatively speaking) a stranger to our family, should have\nbeen amongst you at such a time.]
[Pray write instantly, and\nlet me understand it--unless it is, for very cogent reasons,\nto remain in the secrecy which Lydia seems to think necessary;\nand then I must endeavour to be satisfied with ignorance.]
[\"\n\n\"Not that I _shall_, though,\" she added to herself, as she\nfinished the letter; \"and my dear aunt, if you do not tell me\nin an honourable manner, I shall certainly be reduced to tricks\nand stratagems to find it out.]
[\"\n\nJane's delicate sense of honour would not allow her to speak to\nElizabeth privately of what Lydia had let fall; Elizabeth was\nglad of it;--till it appeared whether her inquiries would\nreceive any satisfaction, she had rather be without a confidante.]
[Chapter 52\n\n\nElizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her\nletter as soon as she possibly could.]
[She was no sooner in\npossession of it than, hurrying into the little copse, where\nshe was least likely to be interrupted, she sat down on one of\nthe benches and prepared to be happy; for the length of the\nletter convinced her that it did not contain a denial.]
[\"Gracechurch street, Sept.]
[6.]
[\"MY DEAR NIECE,\n\n\"I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole\nmorning to answering it, as I foresee that a _little_ writing\nwill not comprise what I have to tell you.]
[I must confess\nmyself surprised by your application; I did not expect it from\n_you_.]
[Don't think me angry, however, for I only mean to let\nyou know that I had not imagined such inquiries to be necessary\non _your_ side.]
[If you do not choose to understand me, forgive\nmy impertinence.]
[Your uncle is as much surprised as I am--and\nnothing but the belief of your being a party concerned would\nhave allowed him to act as he has done.]
[But if you are really\ninnocent and ignorant, I must be more explicit.]
[\"On the very day of my coming home from Longbourn, your uncle had a\nmost unexpected visitor.]
[Mr. Darcy called, and was shut up with him\nseveral hours.]
[It was all over before I arrived; so my curiosity was\nnot so dreadfully racked as _your's_ seems to have been.]
[He came to\ntell Mr. Gardiner that he had found out where your sister and\nMr. Wickham were, and that he had seen and talked with them both;\nWickham repeatedly, Lydia once.]
[From what I can collect, he left\nDerbyshire only one day after ourselves, and came to town with the\nresolution of hunting for them.]
[The motive professed was his\nconviction of its being owing to himself that Wickham's worthlessness\nhad not been so well known as to make it impossible for any young\nwoman of character to love or confide in him.]
[He generously imputed\nthe whole to his mistaken pride, and confessed that he had before\nthought it beneath him to lay his private actions open to the world.]
[His character was to speak for itself.]
[He called it, therefore, his\nduty to step forward, and endeavour to remedy an evil which had been\nbrought on by himself.]
[If he _had another_ motive, I am sure it would\nnever disgrace him.]
[He had been some days in town, before he was able\nto discover them; but he had something to direct his search, which was\nmore than _we_ had; and the consciousness of this was another reason for\nhis resolving to follow us.]
[\"There is a lady, it seems, a Mrs. Younge, who was some time ago\ngoverness to Miss Darcy, and was dismissed from her charge on some\ncause of disapprobation, though he did not say what.]
[She then took a\nlarge house in Edward-street, and has since maintained herself by\nletting lodgings.]
[This Mrs. Younge was, he knew, intimately\nacquainted with Wickham; and he went to her for intelligence of him as\nsoon as he got to town.]
[But it was two or three days before he could\nget from her what he wanted.]
[She would not betray her trust, I\nsuppose, without bribery and corruption, for she really did know where\nher friend was to be found.]
[Wickham indeed had gone to her on their\nfirst arrival in London, and had she been able to receive them into\nher house, they would have taken up their abode with her.]
[At length,\nhowever, our kind friend procured the wished-for direction.]
[They were\nin ---- street.]
[He saw Wickham, and afterwards insisted on seeing\nLydia.]
[His first object with her, he acknowledged, had been to\npersuade her to quit her present disgraceful situation, and return to\nher friends as soon as they could be prevailed on to receive her,\noffering his assistance, as far as it would go.]
[But he found Lydia\nabsolutely resolved on remaining where she was.]
[She cared for none of\nher friends; she wanted no help of his; she would not hear of leaving\nWickham.]
[She was sure they should be married some time or other, and\nit did not much signify when.]
[Since such were her feelings, it only\nremained, he thought, to secure and expedite a marriage, which, in his\nvery first conversation with Wickham, he easily learnt had never been\n_his_ design.]
[He confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment, on\naccount of some debts of honour, which were very pressing; and\nscrupled not to lay all the ill-consequences of Lydia's flight on her\nown folly alone.]
[He meant to resign his commission immediately; and\nas to his future situation, he could conjecture very little about it.]
[He must go somewhere, but he did not know where, and he knew he should\nhave nothing to live on.]
[\"Mr. Darcy asked him why he had not married your sister at once.]
[Though Mr. Bennet was not imagined to be very rich, he would have been\nable to do something for him, and his situation must have been\nbenefited by marriage.]
[But he found, in reply to this question, that\nWickham still cherished the hope of more effectually making his\nfortune by marriage in some other country.]
[Under such circumstances,\nhowever, he was not likely to be proof against the temptation of\nimmediate relief.]
[\"They met several times, for there was much to be discussed.]
[Wickham of course wanted more than he could get; but at length\nwas reduced to be reasonable.]
[\"Every thing being settled between _them_, Mr. Darcy's next step was to\nmake your uncle acquainted with it, and he first called in Gracechurch\nstreet the evening before I came home.]
[But Mr. Gardiner could not be\nseen, and Mr. Darcy found, on further inquiry, that your father was\nstill with him, but would quit town the next morning.]
[He did not\njudge your father to be a person whom he could so properly consult as\nyour uncle, and therefore readily postponed seeing him till after the\ndeparture of the former.]
[He did not leave his name, and till the next\nday it was only known that a gentleman had called on business.]
[\"On Saturday he came again.]
[Your father was gone, your uncle at home,\nand, as I said before, they had a great deal of talk together.]
[\"They met again on Sunday, and then _I_ saw him too.]
[It was not all\nsettled before Monday: as soon as it was, the express was sent off to\nLongbourn.]
[But our visitor was very obstinate.]
[I fancy, Lizzy, that\nobstinacy is the real defect of his character, after all.]
[He has been\naccused of many faults at different times, but _this_ is the true one.]
[Nothing was to be done that he did not do himself; though I am sure\n(and I do not speak it to be thanked, therefore say nothing about it),\nyour uncle would most readily have settled the whole.]
[\"They battled it together for a long time, which was more than either\nthe gentleman or lady concerned in it deserved.]
[But at last your\nuncle was forced to yield, and instead of being allowed to be of use\nto his niece, was forced to put up with only having the probable\ncredit of it, which went sorely against the grain; and I really\nbelieve your letter this morning gave him great pleasure, because it\nrequired an explanation that would rob him of his borrowed feathers,\nand give the praise where it was due.]
[But, Lizzy, this must go no\nfarther than yourself, or Jane at most.]
[\"You know pretty well, I suppose, what has been done for the young\npeople.]
[His debts are to be paid, amounting, I believe, to\nconsiderably more than a thousand pounds, another thousand in addition\nto her own settled upon _her_, and his commission purchased.]
[The reason\nwhy all this was to be done by him alone, was such as I have given\nabove.]
[It was owing to him, to his reserve and want of proper\nconsideration, that Wickham's character had been so misunderstood, and\nconsequently that he had been received and noticed as he was.]
[Perhaps\nthere was some truth in _this_; though I doubt whether _his_ reserve, or\n_anybody's_ reserve, can be answerable for the event.]
[But in spite of\nall this fine talking, my dear Lizzy, you may rest perfectly assured\nthat your uncle would never have yielded, if we had not given him\ncredit for _another interest_ in the affair.]
[\"When all this was resolved on, he returned again to his friends, who\nwere still staying at Pemberley; but it was agreed that he should be\nin London once more when the wedding took place, and all money matters\nwere then to receive the last finish.]
[\"I believe I have now told you every thing.]
[It is a relation which you\ntell me is to give you great surprise; I hope at least it will not\nafford you any displeasure.]
[Lydia came to us; and Wickham had\nconstant admission to the house.]
[_He_ was exactly what he had been,\nwhen I knew him in Hertfordshire; but I would not tell you how little\nI was satisfied with her behaviour while she staid with us, if I had\nnot perceived, by Jane's letter last Wednesday, that her conduct on\ncoming home was exactly of a piece with it, and therefore what I now\ntell you can give you no fresh pain.]
[I talked to her repeatedly in\nthe most serious manner, representing to her all the wickedness of\nwhat she had done, and all the unhappiness she had brought on her\nfamily.]
[If she heard me, it was by good luck, for I am sure she did\nnot listen.]
[I was sometimes quite provoked, but then I recollected my\ndear Elizabeth and Jane, and for their sakes had patience with her.]
[\"Mr. Darcy was punctual in his return, and as Lydia informed you,\nattended the wedding.]
[He dined with us the next day, and was to leave\ntown again on Wednesday or Thursday.]
[Will you be very angry with me,\nmy dear Lizzy, if I take this opportunity of saying (what I was never\nbold enough to say before) how much I like him.]
[His behaviour to us\nhas, in every respect, been as pleasing as when we were in Derbyshire.]
[His understanding and opinions all please me; he wants nothing but a\nlittle more liveliness, and _that_, if he marry _prudently_, his wife\nmay teach him.]
[I thought him very sly;--he hardly ever mentioned your\nname.]
[But slyness seems the fashion.]
[\"Pray forgive me if I have been very presuming, or at least do not\npunish me so far as to exclude me from P.  I shall never be quite\nhappy till I have been all round the park.]
[A low phaeton, with a nice\nlittle pair of ponies, would be the very thing.]
[\"But I must write no more.]
[The children have been wanting me this half\nhour.]
[\"Yours, very sincerely,\n\n\"M.]
[GARDINER.]
[\"\n\nThe contents of this letter threw Elizabeth into a flutter\nof spirits, in which it was difficult to determine whether\npleasure or pain bore the greatest share.]
[The vague and\nunsettled suspicions which uncertainty had produced of what\nMr. Darcy might have been doing to forward her sister's match,\nwhich she had feared to encourage as an exertion of goodness\ntoo great to be probable, and at the same time dreaded to be\njust, from the pain of obligation, were proved beyond their\ngreatest extent to be true!]
[He had followed them purposely to\ntown, he had taken on himself all the trouble and mortification\nattendant on such a research; in which supplication had been\nnecessary to a woman whom he must abominate and despise, and\nwhere he was reduced to meet, frequently meet, reason with,\npersuade, and finally bribe, the man whom he always most wished\nto avoid, and whose very name it was punishment to him to\npronounce.]
[He had done all this for a girl whom he could\nneither regard nor esteem.]
[Her heart did whisper that he had\ndone it for her.]
[But it was a hope shortly checked by other\nconsiderations, and she soon felt that even her vanity was\ninsufficient, when required to depend on his affection for her\n--for a woman who had already refused him--as able to overcome\na sentiment so natural as abhorrence against relationship with\nWickham.]
[Brother-in-law of Wickham!]
[Every kind of pride must\nrevolt from the connection.]
[He had, to be sure, done much.]
[She was ashamed to think how much.]
[But he had given a reason\nfor his interference, which asked no extraordinary stretch of\nbelief.]
[It was reasonable that he should feel he had been wrong;\nhe had liberality, and he had the means of exercising it; and\nthough she would not place herself as his principal inducement,\nshe could, perhaps, believe that remaining partiality for her\nmight assist his endeavours in a cause where her peace of mind\nmust be materially concerned.]
[It was painful, exceedingly\npainful, to know that they were under obligations to a person\nwho could never receive a return.]
[They owed the restoration of\nLydia, her character, every thing, to him.]
[Oh!]
[how heartily\ndid she grieve over every ungracious sensation she had ever\nencouraged, every saucy speech she had ever directed towards him.]
[For herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him.]
[Proud\nthat in a cause of compassion and honour, he had been able to get\nthe better of himself.]
[She read over her aunt's commendation\nof him again and again.]
[It was hardly enough; but it pleased\nher.]
[She was even sensible of some pleasure, though mixed with\nregret, on finding how steadfastly both she and her uncle had\nbeen persuaded that affection and confidence subsisted between\nMr. Darcy and herself.]
[She was roused from her seat, and her reflections, by some\none's approach; and before she could strike into another path,\nshe was overtaken by Wickham.]
[\"I am afraid I interrupt your solitary ramble, my dear sister?]
[\"\nsaid he, as he joined her.]
[\"You certainly do,\" she replied with a smile; \"but it does not\nfollow that the interruption must be unwelcome.]
[\"\n\n\"I should be sorry indeed, if it were.]
[We were always good\nfriends; and now we are better.]
[\"\n\n\"True.]
[Are the others coming out?]
[\"\n\n\"I do not know.]
[Mrs. Bennet and Lydia are going in the\ncarriage to Meryton.]
[And so, my dear sister, I find, from\nour uncle and aunt, that you have actually seen Pemberley.]
[\"\n\nShe replied in the affirmative.]
[\"I almost envy you the pleasure, and yet I believe it would\nbe too much for me, or else I could take it in my way to\nNewcastle.]
[And you saw the old housekeeper, I suppose?]
[Poor\nReynolds, she was always very fond of me.]
[But of course she\ndid not mention my name to you.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, she did.]
[\"\n\n\"And what did she say?]
[\"\n\n\"That you were gone into the army, and she was afraid had\n--not turned out well.]
[At such a distance as _that_, you\nknow, things are strangely misrepresented.]
[\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" he replied, biting his lips.]
[Elizabeth hoped she\nhad silenced him; but he soon afterwards said:\n\n\"I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month.]
[We passed\neach other several times.]
[I wonder what he can be doing\nthere.]
[\"\n\n\"Perhaps preparing for his marriage with Miss de Bourgh,\" said\nElizabeth.]
[\"It must be something particular, to take him there\nat this time of year.]
[\"\n\n\"Undoubtedly.]
[Did you see him while you were at Lambton?]
[I thought I understood from the Gardiners that you had.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes; he introduced us to his sister.]
[\"\n\n\"And do you like her?]
[\"\n\n\"Very much.]
[\"\n\n\"I have heard, indeed, that she is uncommonly improved within\nthis year or two.]
[When I last saw her, she was not very\npromising.]
[I am very glad you liked her.]
[I hope she will turn\nout well.]
[\"\n\n\"I dare say she will; she has got over the most trying age.]
[\"\n\n\"Did you go by the village of Kympton?]
[\"\n\n\"I do not recollect that we did.]
[\"\n\n\"I mention it, because it is the living which I ought to have\nhad.]
[A most delightful place!--Excellent Parsonage House!]
[It would have suited me in every respect.]
[\"\n\n\"How should you have liked making sermons?]
[\"\n\n\"Exceedingly well.]
[I should have considered it as part of my\nduty, and the exertion would soon have been nothing.]
[One ought\nnot to repine;--but, to be sure, it would have been such a\nthing for me!]
[The quiet, the retirement of such a life would\nhave answered all my ideas of happiness!]
[But it was not to be.]
[Did you ever hear Darcy mention the circumstance, when you were\nin Kent?]
[\"\n\n\"I have heard from authority, which I thought _as good_,\nthat it was left you conditionally only, and at the will of the\npresent patron.]
[\"\n\n\"You have.]
[Yes, there was something in _that_; I told you so\nfrom the first, you may remember.]
[\"\n\n\"I _did_ hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making\nwas not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that\nyou actually declared your resolution of never taking orders,\nand that the business had been compromised accordingly.]
[\"\n\n\"You did!]
[and it was not wholly without foundation.]
[You may\nremember what I told you on that point, when first we talked\nof it.]
[\"\n\nThey were now almost at the door of the house, for she\nhad walked fast to get rid of him; and unwilling, for her\nsister's sake, to provoke him, she only said in reply, with\na good-humoured smile:\n\n\"Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know.]
[Do not let us quarrel about the past.]
[In future, I hope we\nshall be always of one mind.]
[\"\n\nShe held out her hand; he kissed it with affectionate gallantry,\nthough he hardly knew how to look, and they entered the house.]
[Chapter 53\n\n\nMr. Wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation\nthat he never again distressed himself, or provoked his dear\nsister Elizabeth, by introducing the subject of it; and she was\npleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet.]
[The day of his and Lydia's departure soon came, and Mrs. Bennet\nwas forced to submit to a separation, which, as her husband by\nno means entered into her scheme of their all going to\nNewcastle, was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth.]
[\"Oh!]
[my dear Lydia,\" she cried, \"when shall we meet again?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, lord!]
[I don't know.]
[Not these two or three years,\nperhaps.]
[\"\n\n\"Write to me very often, my dear.]
[\"\n\n\"As often as I can.]
[But you know married women have never much\ntime for writing.]
[My sisters may write to _me_.]
[They will\nhave nothing else to do.]
[\"\n\nMr. Wickham's adieus were much more affectionate than his\nwife's.]
[He smiled, looked handsome, and said many pretty\nthings.]
[\"He is as fine a fellow,\" said Mr. Bennet, as soon as they were\nout of the house, \"as ever I saw.]
[He simpers, and smirks, and\nmakes love to us all.]
[I am prodigiously proud of him.]
[I defy\neven Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable\nson-in-law.]
[\"\n\nThe loss of her daughter made Mrs. Bennet very dull for\nseveral days.]
[\"I often think,\" said she, \"that there is nothing so bad as\nparting with one's friends.]
[One seems so forlorn without\nthem.]
[\"\n\n\"This is the consequence, you see, Madam, of marrying a daughter,\"\nsaid Elizabeth.]
[\"It must make you better satisfied that your\nother four are single.]
[\"\n\n\"It is no such thing.]
[Lydia does not leave me because she is\nmarried, but only because her husband's regiment happens to be\nso far off.]
[If that had been nearer, she would not have gone\nso soon.]
[\"\n\nBut the spiritless condition which this event threw her into\nwas shortly relieved, and her mind opened again to the\nagitation of hope, by an article of news which then began to be\nin circulation.]
[The housekeeper at Netherfield had received\norders to prepare for the arrival of her master, who was coming\ndown in a day or two, to shoot there for several weeks.]
[Mrs. Bennet was quite in the fidgets.]
[She looked at Jane, and\nsmiled and shook her head by turns.]
[\"Well, well, and so Mr. Bingley is coming down, sister,\"\n(for Mrs. Phillips first brought her the news).]
[\"Well, so\nmuch the better.]
[Not that I care about it, though.]
[He is\nnothing to us, you know, and I am sure _I_ never want to\nsee him again.]
[But, however, he is very welcome to come\nto Netherfield, if he likes it.]
[And who knows what _may_\nhappen?]
[But that is nothing to us.]
[You know, sister, we\nagreed long ago never to mention a word about it.]
[And so,\nis it quite certain he is coming?]
[\"\n\n\"You may depend on it,\" replied the other, \"for Mrs. Nicholls\nwas in Meryton last night; I saw her passing by, and went out\nmyself on purpose to know the truth of it; and she told me that\nit was certain true.]
[He comes down on Thursday at the latest,\nvery likely on Wednesday.]
[She was going to the butcher's, she\ntold me, on purpose to order in some meat on Wednesday, and she\nhas got three couple of ducks just fit to be killed.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without\nchanging colour.]
[It was many months since she had mentioned\nhis name to Elizabeth; but now, as soon as they were alone\ntogether, she said:\n\n\"I saw you look at me to-day, Lizzy, when my aunt told us of\nthe present report; and I know I appeared distressed.]
[But\ndon't imagine it was from any silly cause.]
[I was only confused\nfor the moment, because I felt that I _should_ be looked at.]
[I do assure you that the news does not affect me either with\npleasure or pain.]
[I am glad of one thing, that he comes alone;\nbecause we shall see the less of him.]
[Not that I am afraid of\n_myself_, but I dread other people's remarks.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth did not know what to make of it.]
[Had she not seen\nhim in Derbyshire, she might have supposed him capable of\ncoming there with no other view than what was acknowledged; but\nshe still thought him partial to Jane, and she wavered as to\nthe greater probability of his coming there _with_ his friend's\npermission, or being bold enough to come without it.]
[\"Yet it is hard,\" she sometimes thought, \"that this poor man\ncannot come to a house which he has legally hired, without\nraising all this speculation!]
[I _will_ leave him to himself.]
[\"\n\nIn spite of what her sister declared, and really believed to be\nher feelings in the expectation of his arrival, Elizabeth could\neasily perceive that her spirits were affected by it.]
[They\nwere more disturbed, more unequal, than she had often seen them.]
[The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their\nparents, about a twelvemonth ago, was now brought forward\nagain.]
[\"As soon as ever Mr. Bingley comes, my dear,\" said Mrs. Bennet,\n\"you will wait on him of course.]
[\"\n\n\"No, no.]
[You forced me into visiting him last year, and\npromised, if I went to see him, he should marry one of my\ndaughters.]
[But it ended in nothing, and I will not be sent on\na fool's errand again.]
[\"\n\nHis wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an\nattention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen, on his\nreturning to Netherfield.]
[\"'Tis an etiquette I despise,\" said he.]
[\"If he wants our\nsociety, let him seek it.]
[He knows where we live.]
[I will not\nspend my hours in running after my neighbours every time they\ngo away and come back again.]
[\"\n\n\"Well, all I know is, that it will be abominably rude if you do\nnot wait on him.]
[But, however, that shan't prevent my asking\nhim to dine here, I am determined.]
[We must have Mrs.]
[Long and\nthe Gouldings soon.]
[That will make thirteen with ourselves, so\nthere will be just room at table for him.]
[\"\n\nConsoled by this resolution, she was the better able to bear\nher husband's incivility; though it was very mortifying to know\nthat her neighbours might all see Mr. Bingley, in consequence\nof it, before _they_ did.]
[As the day of his arrival drew near:\n\n\"I begin to be sorry that he comes at all,\" said Jane to her\nsister.]
[\"It would be nothing; I could see him with perfect\nindifference, but I can hardly bear to hear it thus perpetually\ntalked of.]
[My mother means well; but she does not know, no one\ncan know, how much I suffer from what she says.]
[Happy shall I\nbe, when his stay at Netherfield is over!]
[\"\n\n\"I wish I could say anything to comfort you,\" replied Elizabeth;\n\"but it is wholly out of my power.]
[You must feel it; and the\nusual satisfaction of preaching patience to a sufferer is denied\nme, because you have always so much.]
[\"\n\nMr. Bingley arrived.]
[Mrs. Bennet, through the assistance of\nservants, contrived to have the earliest tidings of it, that\nthe period of anxiety and fretfulness on her side might be as\nlong as it could.]
[She counted the days that must intervene\nbefore their invitation could be sent; hopeless of seeing\nhim before.]
[But on the third morning after his arrival in\nHertfordshire, she saw him, from her dressing-room window,\nenter the paddock and ride towards the house.]
[Her daughters were eagerly called to partake of her joy.]
[Jane\nresolutely kept her place at the table; but Elizabeth, to\nsatisfy her mother, went to the window--she looked,--she\nsaw Mr. Darcy with him, and sat down again by her sister.]
[\"There is a gentleman with him, mamma,\" said Kitty; \"who can it be?]
[\"\n\n\"Some acquaintance or other, my dear, I suppose; I am sure I\ndo not know.]
[\"\n\n\"La!]
[\" replied Kitty, \"it looks just like that man that used to\nbe with him before.]
[Mr. what's-his-name.]
[That tall, proud\nman.]
[\"\n\n\"Good gracious!]
[Mr.]
[Darcy!--and so it does, I vow.  Well,\nany friend of Mr. Bingley's will always be welcome here, to be\nsure; but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him.]
[\"\n\nJane looked at Elizabeth with surprise and concern.]
[She knew\nbut little of their meeting in Derbyshire, and therefore felt\nfor the awkwardness which must attend her sister, in seeing him\nalmost for the first time after receiving his explanatory\nletter.]
[Both sisters were uncomfortable enough.]
[Each felt\nfor the other, and of course for themselves; and their mother\ntalked on, of her dislike of Mr. Darcy, and her resolution\nto be civil to him only as Mr. Bingley's friend, without\nbeing heard by either of them.]
[But Elizabeth had sources of\nuneasiness which could not be suspected by Jane, to whom she\nhad never yet had courage to shew Mrs. Gardiner's letter, or\nto relate her own change of sentiment towards him.]
[To Jane,\nhe could be only a man whose proposals she had refused, and\nwhose merit she had undervalued; but to her own more extensive\ninformation, he was the person to whom the whole family were\nindebted for the first of benefits, and whom she regarded\nherself with an interest, if not quite so tender, at least\nas reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley.]
[Her\nastonishment at his coming--at his coming to Netherfield, to\nLongbourn, and voluntarily seeking her again, was almost equal\nto what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour\nin Derbyshire.]
[The colour which had been driven from her face, returned for\nhalf a minute with an additional glow, and a smile of delight\nadded lustre to her eyes, as she thought for that space of time\nthat his affection and wishes must still be unshaken.]
[But she\nwould not be secure.]
[\"Let me first see how he behaves,\" said she; \"it will then be\nearly enough for expectation.]
[\"\n\nShe sat intently at work, striving to be composed, and without\ndaring to lift up her eyes, till anxious curiosity carried them\nto the face of her sister as the servant was approaching the\ndoor.]
[Jane looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate\nthan Elizabeth had expected.]
[On the gentlemen's appearing, her\ncolour increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease,\nand with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom\nof resentment or any unnecessary complaisance.]
[Elizabeth said as little to either as civility would allow, and\nsat down again to her work, with an eagerness which it did not\noften command.]
[She had ventured only one glance at Darcy.]
[He\nlooked serious, as usual; and, she thought, more as he had been\nused to look in Hertfordshire, than as she had seen him at\nPemberley.]
[But, perhaps he could not in her mother's presence\nbe what he was before her uncle and aunt.]
[It was a painful,\nbut not an improbable, conjecture.]
[Bingley, she had likewise seen for an instant, and in that\nshort period saw him looking both pleased and embarrassed.]
[He\nwas received by Mrs. Bennet with a degree of civility which\nmade her two daughters ashamed, especially when contrasted with\nthe cold and ceremonious politeness of her curtsey and address\nto his friend.]
[Elizabeth, particularly, who knew that her mother owed to the\nlatter the preservation of her favourite daughter from\nirremediable infamy, was hurt and distressed to a most painful\ndegree by a distinction so ill applied.]
[Darcy, after inquiring of her how Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did, a\nquestion which she could not answer without confusion, said\nscarcely anything.]
[He was not seated by her; perhaps that\nwas the reason of his silence; but it had not been so in\nDerbyshire.]
[There he had talked to her friends, when he could\nnot to herself.]
[But now several minutes elapsed without\nbringing the sound of his voice; and when occasionally, unable\nto resist the impulse of curiosity, she raised he eyes to his\nface, she as often found him looking at Jane as at herself, and\nfrequently on no object but the ground.]
[More thoughtfulness\nand less anxiety to please, than when they last met, were\nplainly expressed.]
[She was disappointed, and angry with\nherself for being so.]
[\"Could I expect it to be otherwise!]
[\" said she.]
[\"Yet why did\nhe come?]
[\"\n\nShe was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself;\nand to him she had hardly courage to speak.]
[She inquired after his sister, but could do no more.]
[\"It is a long time, Mr. Bingley, since you went away,\" said\nMrs. Bennet.]
[He readily agreed to it.]
[\"I began to be afraid you would never come back again.]
[People\n_did_ say you meant to quit the place entirely at Michaelmas;\nbut, however, I hope it is not true.]
[A great many changes have\nhappened in the neighbourhood, since you went away.]
[Miss Lucas\nis married and settled.]
[And one of my own daughters.]
[I suppose\nyou have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the\npapers.]
[It was in The Times and The Courier, I know; though\nit was not put in as it ought to be.]
[It was only said, 'Lately,\nGeorge Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet,' without there being\na syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or\nanything.]
[It was my brother Gardiner's drawing up too, and I\nwonder how he came to make such an awkward business of it.]
[Did\nyou see it?]
[\"\n\nBingley replied that he did, and made his congratulations.]
[Elizabeth dared not lift up her eyes.]
[How Mr. Darcy looked,\ntherefore, she could not tell.]
[\"It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter\nwell married,\" continued her mother, \"but at the same time,\nMr. Bingley, it is very hard to have her taken such a way from\nme.]
[They are gone down to Newcastle, a place quite northward,\nit seems, and there they are to stay I do not know how long.]
[His regiment is there; for I suppose you have heard of his\nleaving the ----shire, and of his being gone into the regulars.]
[Thank Heaven!]
[he has _some_ friends, though perhaps not so\nmany as he deserves.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth, who knew this to be levelled at Mr. Darcy, was\nin such misery of shame, that she could hardly keep her seat.]
[It drew from her, however, the exertion of speaking, which\nnothing else had so effectually done before; and she asked\nBingley whether he meant to make any stay in the country at\npresent.]
[A few weeks, he believed.]
[\"When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley,\"\nsaid her mother, \"I beg you will come here, and shoot as\nmany as you please on Mr. Bennet's manor.]
[I am sure he\nwill be vastly happy to oblige you, and will save all the\nbest of the covies for you.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such\nofficious attention!]
[Were the same fair prospect to arise at\npresent as had flattered them a year ago, every thing, she was\npersuaded, would be hastening to the same vexatious conclusion.]
[At that instant, she felt that years of happiness could not\nmake Jane or herself amends for moments of such painful\nconfusion.]
[\"The first wish of my heart,\" said she to herself, \"is never\nmore to be in company with either of them.]
[Their society can\nafford no pleasure that will atone for such wretchedness as\nthis!]
[Let me never see either one or the other again!]
[\"\n\nYet the misery, for which years of happiness were to offer no\ncompensation, received soon afterwards material relief, from\nobserving how much the beauty of her sister re-kindled the\nadmiration of her former lover.]
[When first he came in, he had\nspoken to her but little; but every five minutes seemed to be\ngiving her more of his attention.]
[He found her as handsome as\nshe had been last year; as good natured, and as unaffected,\nthough not quite so chatty.]
[Jane was anxious that no difference\nshould be perceived in her at all, and was really persuaded that\nshe talked as much as ever.]
[But her mind was so busily engaged,\nthat she did not always know when she was silent.]
[When the gentlemen rose to go away, Mrs. Bennet was mindful of\nher intended civility, and they were invited and engaged to\ndine at Longbourn in a few days time.]
[\"You are quite a visit in my debt, Mr. Bingley,\" she added,\n\"for when you went to town last winter, you promised to take\na family dinner with us, as soon as you returned.]
[I have not\nforgot, you see; and I assure you, I was very much disappointed\nthat you did not come back and keep your engagement.]
[\"\n\nBingley looked a little silly at this reflection, and said\nsomething of his concern at having been prevented by business.]
[They then went away.]
[Mrs. Bennet had been strongly inclined to ask them to stay and\ndine there that day; but, though she always kept a very good\ntable, she did not think anything less than two courses could\nbe good enough for a man on whom she had such anxious designs,\nor satisfy the appetite and pride of one who had ten thousand a\nyear.]
[Chapter 54\n\n\nAs soon as they were gone, Elizabeth walked out to recover\nher spirits; or in other words, to dwell without interruption\non those subjects that must deaden them more.]
[Mr. Darcy's\nbehaviour astonished and vexed her.]
[\"Why, if he came only to be silent, grave, and indifferent,\"\nsaid she, \"did he come at all?]
[\"\n\nShe could settle it in no way that gave her pleasure.]
[\"He could be still amiable, still pleasing, to my uncle and\naunt, when he was in town; and why not to me?]
[If he fears me,\nwhy come hither?]
[If he no longer cares for me, why silent?]
[Teasing, teasing, man!]
[I will think no more about him.]
[\"\n\nHer resolution was for a short time involuntarily kept by\nthe approach of her sister, who joined her with a cheerful\nlook, which showed her better satisfied with their visitors,\nthan Elizabeth.]
[\"Now,\" said she, \"that this first meeting is over, I feel\nperfectly easy.]
[I know my own strength, and I shall never be\nembarrassed again by his coming.]
[I am glad he dines here on\nTuesday.]
[It will then be publicly seen that, on both sides,\nwe meet only as common and indifferent acquaintance.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, very indifferent indeed,\" said Elizabeth, laughingly.]
[\"Oh, Jane, take care.]
[\"\n\n\"My dear Lizzy, you cannot think me so weak, as to be in danger\nnow?]
[\"\n\n\"I think you are in very great danger of making him as much\nin love with you as ever.]
[\"\n\n                          * * * * *\n\nThey did not see the gentlemen again till Tuesday; and\nMrs. Bennet, in the meanwhile, was giving way to all the\nhappy schemes, which the good humour and common politeness\nof Bingley, in half an hour's visit, had revived.]
[On Tuesday there was a large party assembled at Longbourn;\nand the two who were most anxiously expected, to the credit of\ntheir punctuality as sportsmen, were in very good time.]
[When\nthey repaired to the dining-room, Elizabeth eagerly watched to\nsee whether Bingley would take the place, which, in all their\nformer parties, had belonged to him, by her sister.]
[Her\nprudent mother, occupied by the same ideas, forbore to invite\nhim to sit by herself.]
[On entering the room, he seemed to\nhesitate; but Jane happened to look round, and happened to\nsmile: it was decided.]
[He placed himself by her.]
[Elizabeth, with a triumphant sensation, looked towards his\nfriend.]
[He bore it with noble indifference, and she would have\nimagined that Bingley had received his sanction to be happy,\nhad she not seen his eyes likewise turned towards Mr. Darcy,\nwith an expression of half-laughing alarm.]
[His behaviour to her sister was such, during dinner time, as\nshowed an admiration of her, which, though more guarded than\nformerly, persuaded Elizabeth, that if left wholly to himself,\nJane's happiness, and his own, would be speedily secured.]
[Though she dared not depend upon the consequence, she yet\nreceived pleasure from observing his behaviour.]
[It gave her\nall the animation that her spirits could boast; for she was in\nno cheerful humour.]
[Mr. Darcy was almost as far from her as\nthe table could divide them.]
[He was on one side of her mother.]
[She knew how little such a situation would give pleasure to\neither, or make either appear to advantage.]
[She was not near\nenough to hear any of their discourse, but she could see how\nseldom they spoke to each other, and how formal and cold was\ntheir manner whenever they did.]
[Her mother's ungraciousness,\nmade the sense of what they owed him more painful to Elizabeth's\nmind; and she would, at times, have given anything to be\nprivileged to tell him that his kindness was neither unknown\nnor unfelt by the whole of the family.]
[She was in hopes that the evening would afford some opportunity\nof bringing them together; that the whole of the visit would\nnot pass away without enabling them to enter into something\nmore of conversation than the mere ceremonious salutation\nattending his entrance.]
[Anxious and uneasy, the period which\npassed in the drawing-room, before the gentlemen came, was\nwearisome and dull to a degree that almost made her uncivil.]
[She looked forward to their entrance as the point on which all\nher chance of pleasure for the evening must depend.]
[\"If he does not come to me, _then_,\" said she, \"I shall give\nhim up for ever.]
[\"\n\nThe gentlemen came; and she thought he looked as if he would\nhave answered her hopes; but, alas!]
[the ladies had crowded\nround the table, where Miss Bennet was making tea, and\nElizabeth pouring out the coffee, in so close a confederacy\nthat there was not a single vacancy near her which would admit\nof a chair.]
[And on the gentlemen's approaching, one of the\ngirls moved closer to her than ever, and said, in a whisper:\n\n\"The men shan't come and part us, I am determined.]
[We want\nnone of them; do we?]
[\"\n\nDarcy had walked away to another part of the room.]
[She\nfollowed him with her eyes, envied everyone to whom he spoke,\nhad scarcely patience enough to help anybody to coffee; and\nthen was enraged against herself for being so silly!]
[\"A man who has once been refused!]
[How could I ever be foolish\nenough to expect a renewal of his love?]
[Is there one among the\nsex, who would not protest against such a weakness as a second\nproposal to the same woman?]
[There is no indignity so abhorrent\nto their feelings!]
[\"\n\nShe was a little revived, however, by his bringing back his\ncoffee cup himself; and she seized the opportunity of saying:\n\n\"Is your sister at Pemberley still?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, she will remain there till Christmas.]
[\"\n\n\"And quite alone?]
[Have all her friends left her?]
[\"\n\n\"Mrs. Annesley is with her.]
[The others have been gone on to\nScarborough, these three weeks.]
[\"\n\nShe could think of nothing more to say; but if he wished to\nconverse with her, he might have better success.]
[He stood by\nher, however, for some minutes, in silence; and, at last, on\nthe young lady's whispering to Elizabeth again, he walked away.]
[When the tea-things were removed, and the card-tables placed,\nthe ladies all rose, and Elizabeth was then hoping to be soon\njoined by him, when all her views were overthrown by seeing him\nfall a victim to her mother's rapacity for whist players, and\nin a few moments after seated with the rest of the party.]
[She\nnow lost every expectation of pleasure.]
[They were confined for\nthe evening at different tables, and she had nothing to hope,\nbut that his eyes were so often turned towards her side of the\nroom, as to make him play as unsuccessfully as herself.]
[Mrs. Bennet had designed to keep the two Netherfield gentlemen\nto supper; but their carriage was unluckily ordered before any\nof the others, and she had no opportunity of detaining them.]
[\"Well girls,\" said she, as soon as they were left to themselves,\n\"What say you to the day?]
[I think every thing has passed off\nuncommonly well, I assure you.]
[The dinner was as well dressed\nas any I ever saw.]
[The venison was roasted to a turn--and\neverybody said they never saw so fat a haunch.]
[The soup was\nfifty times better than what we had at the Lucases' last week;\nand even Mr. Darcy acknowledged, that the partridges were\nremarkably well done; and I suppose he has two or three French\ncooks at least.]
[And, my dear Jane, I never saw you look in\ngreater beauty.]
[Mrs.]
[Long said so too, for I asked her whether\nyou did not.]
[And what do you think she said besides?]
['Ah!]
[Mrs.\nBennet, we shall have her at Netherfield at last.]
['  She did\nindeed.]
[I do think Mrs.]
[Long is as good a creature as ever\nlived--and her nieces are very pretty behaved girls, and not\nat all handsome: I like them prodigiously.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet, in short, was in very great spirits; she had seen\nenough of Bingley's behaviour to Jane, to be convinced that she\nwould get him at last; and her expectations of advantage to her\nfamily, when in a happy humour, were so far beyond reason, that\nshe was quite disappointed at not seeing him there again the\nnext day, to make his proposals.]
[\"It has been a very agreeable day,\" said Miss Bennet to\nElizabeth.]
[\"The party seemed so well selected, so suitable\none with the other.]
[I hope we may often meet again.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth smiled.]
[\"Lizzy, you must not do so.]
[You must not suspect me.]
[It\nmortifies me.]
[I assure you that I have now learnt to enjoy\nhis conversation as an agreeable and sensible young man,\nwithout having a wish beyond it.]
[I am perfectly satisfied,\nfrom what his manners now are, that he never had any design\nof engaging my affection.]
[It is only that he is blessed\nwith greater sweetness of address, and a stronger desire of\ngenerally pleasing, than any other man.]
[\"\n\n\"You are very cruel,\" said her sister, \"you will not let me\nsmile, and are provoking me to it every moment.]
[\"\n\n\"How hard it is in some cases to be believed!]
[\"\n\n\"And how impossible in others!]
[\"\n\n\"But why should you wish to persuade me that I feel more than I\nacknowledge?]
[\"\n\n\"That is a question which I hardly know how to answer.]
[We all\nlove to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth\nknowing.]
[Forgive me; and if you persist in indifference, do\nnot make me your confidante.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 55\n\n\nA few days after this visit, Mr. Bingley called again, and\nalone.]
[His friend had left him that morning for London, but\nwas to return home in ten days time.]
[He sat with them above an\nhour, and was in remarkably good spirits.]
[Mrs. Bennet invited\nhim to dine with them; but, with many expressions of concern,\nhe confessed himself engaged elsewhere.]
[\"Next time you call,\" said she, \"I hope we shall be more\nlucky.]
[\"\n\nHe should be particularly happy at any time, etc. etc.; and if\nshe would give him leave, would take an early opportunity of\nwaiting on them.]
[\"Can you come to-morrow?]
[\"\n\nYes, he had no engagement at all for to-morrow; and her\ninvitation was accepted with alacrity.]
[He came, and in such very good time that the ladies were none\nof them dressed.]
[In ran Mrs. Bennet to her daughter's room, in\nher dressing gown, and with her hair half finished, crying out:\n\n\"My dear Jane, make haste and hurry down.]
[He is come--Mr.\nBingley is come.]
[He is, indeed.]
[Make haste, make haste.]
[Here, Sarah, come to Miss Bennet this moment, and help her\non with her gown.]
[Never mind Miss Lizzy's hair.]
[\"\n\n\"We will be down as soon as we can,\" said Jane; \"but I dare say\nKitty is forwarder than either of us, for she went up stairs\nhalf an hour ago.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[hang Kitty!]
[what has she to do with it?]
[Come be quick,\nbe quick!]
[Where is your sash, my dear?]
[\"\n\nBut when her mother was gone, Jane would not be prevailed on to\ngo down without one of her sisters.]
[The same anxiety to get them by themselves was visible again\nin the evening.]
[After tea, Mr. Bennet retired to the library,\nas was his custom, and Mary went up stairs to her instrument.]
[Two obstacles of the five being thus removed, Mrs. Bennet\nsat looking and winking at Elizabeth and Catherine for a\nconsiderable time, without making any impression on them.]
[Elizabeth would not observe her; and when at last Kitty did,\nshe very innocently said, \"What is the matter mamma?]
[What do\nyou keep winking at me for?]
[What am I to do?]
[\"\n\n\"Nothing child, nothing.]
[I did not wink at you.]
[\"  She then sat\nstill five minutes longer; but unable to waste such a precious\noccasion, she suddenly got up, and saying to Kitty, \"Come here,\nmy love, I want to speak to you,\" took her out of the room.]
[Jane instantly gave a look at Elizabeth which spoke her\ndistress at such premeditation, and her entreaty that _she_\nwould not give in to it.]
[In a few minutes, Mrs. Bennet\nhalf-opened the door and called out:\n\n\"Lizzy, my dear, I want to speak with you.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was forced to go.]
[\"We may as well leave them by themselves you know;\" said her\nmother, as soon as she was in the hall.]
[\"Kitty and I are going\nupstairs to sit in my dressing-room.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth made no attempt to reason with her mother, but\nremained quietly in the hall, till she and Kitty were out of\nsight, then returned into the drawing-room.]
[Mrs. Bennet's schemes for this day were ineffectual.]
[Bingley\nwas every thing that was charming, except the professed lover\nof her daughter.]
[His ease and cheerfulness rendered him a\nmost agreeable addition to their evening party; and he bore\nwith the ill-judged officiousness of the mother, and heard all\nher silly remarks with a forbearance and command of countenance\nparticularly grateful to the daughter.]
[He scarcely needed an invitation to stay supper; and before he\nwent away, an engagement was formed, chiefly through his own\nand Mrs. Bennet's means, for his coming next morning to shoot\nwith her husband.]
[After this day, Jane said no more of her indifference.]
[Not a word passed between the sisters concerning Bingley;\nbut Elizabeth went to bed in the happy belief that all must\nspeedily be concluded, unless Mr. Darcy returned within the\nstated time.]
[Seriously, however, she felt tolerably persuaded\nthat all this must have taken place with that gentleman's\nconcurrence.]
[Bingley was punctual to his appointment; and he and Mr. Bennet\nspent the morning together, as had been agreed on.]
[The latter\nwas much more agreeable than his companion expected.]
[There was\nnothing of presumption or folly in Bingley that could provoke\nhis ridicule, or disgust him into silence; and he was more\ncommunicative, and less eccentric, than the other had ever seen\nhim.]
[Bingley of course returned with him to dinner; and in the\nevening Mrs. Bennet's invention was again at work to get every\nbody away from him and her daughter.]
[Elizabeth, who had a\nletter to write, went into the breakfast room for that purpose\nsoon after tea; for as the others were all going to sit down to\ncards, she could not be wanted to counteract her mother's\nschemes.]
[But on returning to the drawing-room, when her letter was\nfinished, she saw, to her infinite surprise, there was\nreason to fear that her mother had been too ingenious for\nher.]
[On opening the door, she perceived her sister and\nBingley standing together over the hearth, as if engaged in\nearnest conversation; and had this led to no suspicion, the\nfaces of both, as they hastily turned round and moved away\nfrom each other, would have told it all.]
[Their situation\nwas awkward enough; but _her's_ she thought was still worse.]
[Not a syllable was uttered by either; and Elizabeth was on\nthe point of going away again, when Bingley, who as well as\nthe other had sat down, suddenly rose, and whispering a few\nwords to her sister, ran out of the room.]
[Jane could have no reserves from Elizabeth, where confidence\nwould give pleasure; and instantly embracing her, acknowledged,\nwith the liveliest emotion, that she was the happiest creature\nin the world.]
[\"'Tis too much!]
[\" she added, \"by far too much.]
[I do not\ndeserve it.]
[Oh!]
[why is not everybody as happy?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth's congratulations were given with a sincerity, a\nwarmth, a delight, which words could but poorly express.]
[Every\nsentence of kindness was a fresh source of happiness to Jane.]
[But she would not allow herself to stay with her sister, or say\nhalf that remained to be said for the present.]
[\"I must go instantly to my mother;\" she cried.]
[\"I would not on\nany account trifle with her affectionate solicitude; or allow\nher to hear it from anyone but myself.]
[He is gone to my\nfather already.]
[Oh!]
[Lizzy, to know that what I have to relate\nwill give such pleasure to all my dear family!]
[how shall I\nbear so much happiness!]
[\"\n\nShe then hastened away to her mother, who had purposely broken\nup the card party, and was sitting up stairs with Kitty.]
[Elizabeth, who was left by herself, now smiled at the rapidity\nand ease with which an affair was finally settled, that had\ngiven them so many previous months of suspense and vexation.]
[\"And this,\" said she, \"is the end of all his friend's anxious\ncircumspection!]
[of all his sister's falsehood and contrivance!]
[the happiest, wisest, most reasonable end!]
[\"\n\nIn a few minutes she was joined by Bingley, whose conference\nwith her father had been short and to the purpose.]
[\"Where is your sister?]
[\" said he hastily, as he opened the door.]
[\"With my mother up stairs.]
[She will be down in a moment,\nI dare say.]
[\"\n\nHe then shut the door, and, coming up to her, claimed the good\nwishes and affection of a sister.]
[Elizabeth honestly and\nheartily expressed her delight in the prospect of their\nrelationship.]
[They shook hands with great cordiality; and\nthen, till her sister came down, she had to listen to all he\nhad to say of his own happiness, and of Jane's perfections;\nand in spite of his being a lover, Elizabeth really believed\nall his expectations of felicity to be rationally founded,\nbecause they had for basis the excellent understanding, and\nsuper-excellent disposition of Jane, and a general similarity\nof feeling and taste between her and himself.]
[It was an evening of no common delight to them all; the\nsatisfaction of Miss Bennet's mind gave a glow of such sweet\nanimation to her face, as made her look handsomer than ever.]
[Kitty simpered and smiled, and hoped her turn was coming soon.]
[Mrs. Bennet could not give her consent or speak her approbation\nin terms warm enough to satisfy her feelings, though she talked\nto Bingley of nothing else for half an hour; and when Mr.\nBennet joined them at supper, his voice and manner plainly\nshowed how really happy he was.]
[Not a word, however, passed his lips in allusion to it, till\ntheir visitor took his leave for the night; but as soon as he\nwas gone, he turned to his daughter, and said:\n\n\"Jane, I congratulate you.]
[You will be a very happy woman.]
[\"\n\nJane went to him instantly, kissed him, and thanked him for his\ngoodness.]
[\"You are a good girl;\" he replied, \"and I have great pleasure\nin thinking you will be so happily settled.]
[I have not a doubt\nof your doing very well together.]
[Your tempers are by no means\nunlike.]
[You are each of you so complying, that nothing will\never be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat\nyou; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income.]
[\"\n\n\"I hope not so.]
[Imprudence or thoughtlessness in money matters\nwould be unpardonable in me.]
[\"\n\n\"Exceed their income!]
[My dear Mr. Bennet,\" cried his wife,\n\"what are you talking of?]
[Why, he has four or five thousand a\nyear, and very likely more.]
[\"  Then addressing her daughter,\n\"Oh!]
[my dear, dear Jane, I am so happy!]
[I am sure I shan't\nget a wink of sleep all night.]
[I knew how it would be.]
[I\nalways said it must be so, at last.]
[I was sure you could not\nbe so beautiful for nothing!]
[I remember, as soon as ever I saw\nhim, when he first came into Hertfordshire last year, I thought\nhow likely it was that you should come together.]
[Oh!]
[he is\nthe handsomest young man that ever was seen!]
[\"\n\nWickham, Lydia, were all forgotten.]
[Jane was beyond competition\nher favourite child.]
[At that moment, she cared for no other.]
[Her\nyounger sisters soon began to make interest with her for objects\nof happiness which she might in future be able to dispense.]
[Mary petitioned for the use of the library at Netherfield; and\nKitty begged very hard for a few balls there every winter.]
[Bingley, from this time, was of course a daily visitor at\nLongbourn; coming frequently before breakfast, and always\nremaining till after supper; unless when some barbarous\nneighbour, who could not be enough detested, had given him\nan invitation to dinner which he thought himself obliged to\naccept.]
[Elizabeth had now but little time for conversation with her\nsister; for while he was present, Jane had no attention to\nbestow on anyone else; but she found herself considerably\nuseful to both of them in those hours of separation that must\nsometimes occur.]
[In the absence of Jane, he always attached\nhimself to Elizabeth, for the pleasure of talking of her; and\nwhen Bingley was gone, Jane constantly sought the same means\nof relief.]
[\"He has made me so happy,\" said she, one evening, \"by telling\nme that he was totally ignorant of my being in town last\nspring!]
[I had not believed it possible.]
[\"\n\n\"I suspected as much,\" replied Elizabeth.]
[\"But how did he\naccount for it?]
[\"\n\n\"It must have been his sister's doing.]
[They were certainly no\nfriends to his acquaintance with me, which I cannot wonder at,\nsince he might have chosen so much more advantageously in many\nrespects.]
[But when they see, as I trust they will, that their\nbrother is happy with me, they will learn to be contented, and\nwe shall be on good terms again; though we can never be what we\nonce were to each other.]
[\"\n\n\"That is the most unforgiving speech,\" said Elizabeth, \"that\nI ever heard you utter.]
[Good girl!]
[It would vex me, indeed,\nto see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley's pretended regard.]
[\"\n\n\"Would you believe it, Lizzy, that when he went to town last\nNovember, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion of\n_my_ being indifferent would have prevented his coming down\nagain!]
[\"\n\n\"He made a little mistake to be sure; but it is to the credit\nof his modesty.]
[\"\n\nThis naturally introduced a panegyric from Jane on his\ndiffidence, and the little value he put on his own good\nqualities.]
[Elizabeth was pleased to find that he had not\nbetrayed the interference of his friend; for, though Jane had\nthe most generous and forgiving heart in the world, she knew\nit was a circumstance which must prejudice her against him.]
[\"I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed!]
[\"\ncried Jane.]
[\"Oh!]
[Lizzy, why am I thus singled from my family,\nand blessed above them all!]
[If I could but see _you_ as happy!]
[If there _were_ but such another man for you!]
[\"\n\n\"If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so\nhappy as you.]
[Till I have your disposition, your goodness,\nI never can have your happiness.]
[No, no, let me shift for\nmyself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet\nwith another Mr. Collins in time.]
[\"\n\nThe situation of affairs in the Longbourn family could not be\nlong a secret.]
[Mrs. Bennet was privileged to whisper it to\nMrs. Phillips, and she ventured, without any permission, to do\nthe same by all her neighbours in Meryton.]
[The Bennets were speedily pronounced to be the luckiest family\nin the world, though only a few weeks before, when Lydia had\nfirst run away, they had been generally proved to be marked out\nfor misfortune.]
[Chapter 56\n\n\nOne morning, about a week after Bingley's engagement with\nJane had been formed, as he and the females of the family\nwere sitting together in the dining-room, their attention\nwas suddenly drawn to the window, by the sound of a carriage;\nand they perceived a chaise and four driving up the lawn.]
[It was too early in the morning for visitors, and besides, the\nequipage did not answer to that of any of their neighbours.]
[The horses were post; and neither the carriage, nor the livery\nof the servant who preceded it, were familiar to them.]
[As it\nwas certain, however, that somebody was coming, Bingley\ninstantly prevailed on Miss Bennet to avoid the confinement of\nsuch an intrusion, and walk away with him into the shrubbery.]
[They both set off, and the conjectures of the remaining three\ncontinued, though with little satisfaction, till the door was\nthrown open and their visitor entered.]
[It was Lady Catherine\nde Bourgh.]
[They were of course all intending to be surprised; but their\nastonishment was beyond their expectation; and on the part of\nMrs. Bennet and Kitty, though she was perfectly unknown to\nthem, even inferior to what Elizabeth felt.]
[She entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious,\nmade no other reply to Elizabeth's salutation than a slight\ninclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word.]
[Elizabeth had mentioned her name to her mother on her ladyship's\nentrance, though no request of introduction had been made.]
[Mrs. Bennet, all amazement, though flattered by having a\nguest of such high importance, received her with the utmost\npoliteness.]
[After sitting for a moment in silence, she said\nvery stiffly to Elizabeth,\n\n\"I hope you are well, Miss Bennet.]
[That lady, I suppose,\nis your mother.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth replied very concisely that she was.]
[\"And _that_ I suppose is one of your sisters.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, madam,\" said Mrs. Bennet, delighted to speak to a Lady\nCatherine.]
[\"She is my youngest girl but one.]
[My youngest of\nall is lately married, and my eldest is somewhere about the\ngrounds, walking with a young man who, I believe, will soon\nbecome a part of the family.]
[\"\n\n\"You have a very small park here,\" returned Lady Catherine\nafter a short silence.]
[\"It is nothing in comparison of Rosings, my lady, I dare say;\nbut I assure you it is much larger than Sir William Lucas's.]
[\"\n\n\"This must be a most inconvenient sitting room for the evening,\nin summer; the windows are full west.]
[\"\n\nMrs. Bennet assured her that they never sat there after dinner,\nand then added:\n\n\"May I take the liberty of asking your ladyship whether you\nleft Mr. and Mrs. Collins well.]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, very well.]
[I saw them the night before last.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth now expected that she would produce a letter for\nher from Charlotte, as it seemed the only probable motive for\nher calling.]
[But no letter appeared, and she was completely\npuzzled.]
[Mrs. Bennet, with great civility, begged her ladyship to take\nsome refreshment; but Lady Catherine very resolutely, and not\nvery politely, declined eating anything; and then, rising up,\nsaid to Elizabeth,\n\n\"Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little\nwilderness on one side of your lawn.]
[I should be glad to take\na turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.]
[\"\n\n\"Go, my dear,\" cried her mother, \"and show her ladyship about\nthe different walks.]
[I think she will be pleased with the\nhermitage.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth obeyed, and running into her own room for her\nparasol, attended her noble guest downstairs.]
[As they passed\nthrough the hall, Lady Catherine opened the doors into the\ndining-parlour and drawing-room, and pronouncing them, after\na short survey, to be decent looking rooms, walked on.]
[Her carriage remained at the door, and Elizabeth saw that her\nwaiting-woman was in it.]
[They proceeded in silence along the\ngravel walk that led to the copse; Elizabeth was determined to\nmake no effort for conversation with a woman who was now more\nthan usually insolent and disagreeable.]
[\"How could I ever think her like her nephew?]
[\" said she, as she\nlooked in her face.]
[As soon as they entered the copse, Lady Catherine began in the\nfollowing manner:--\n\n\"You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason\nof my journey hither.]
[Your own heart, your own conscience,\nmust tell you why I come.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth looked with unaffected astonishment.]
[\"Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam.]
[I have not been at all able\nto account for the honour of seeing you here.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Bennet,\" replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, \"you\nought to know, that I am not to be trifled with.]
[But however\ninsincere _you_ may choose to be, you shall not find _me_ so.]
[My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and\nfrankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall\ncertainly not depart from it.]
[A report of a most alarming\nnature reached me two days ago.]
[I was told that not only your\nsister was on the point of being most advantageously married,\nbut that you, that Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would, in all\nlikelihood, be soon afterwards united to my nephew, my own\nnephew, Mr. Darcy.]
[Though I _know_ it must be a scandalous\nfalsehood, though I would not injure him so much as to suppose\nthe truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off\nfor this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you.]
[\"\n\n\"If you believed it impossible to be true,\" said Elizabeth,\ncolouring with astonishment and disdain, \"I wonder you took the\ntrouble of coming so far.]
[What could your ladyship propose by\nit?]
[\"\n\n\"At once to insist upon having such a report universally\ncontradicted.]
[\"\n\n\"Your coming to Longbourn, to see me and my family,\" said\nElizabeth coolly, \"will be rather a confirmation of it; if,\nindeed, such a report is in existence.]
[\"\n\n\"If!]
[Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it?]
[Has it not\nbeen industriously circulated by yourselves?]
[Do you not know\nthat such a report is spread abroad?]
[\"\n\n\"I never heard that it was.]
[\"\n\n\"And can you likewise declare, that there is no foundation\nfor it?]
[\"\n\n\"I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship.]
[You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer.]
[\"\n\n\"This is not to be borne.]
[Miss Bennet, I insist on being\nsatisfied.]
[Has he, has my nephew, made you an offer of\nmarriage?]
[\"\n\n\"Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible.]
[\"\n\n\"It ought to be so; it must be so, while he retains the use of\nhis reason.]
[But your arts and allurements may, in a moment\nof infatuation, have made him forget what he owes to himself\nand to all his family.]
[You may have drawn him in.]
[\"\n\n\"If I have, I shall be the last person to confess it.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Bennet, do you know who I am?]
[I have not been accustomed\nto such language as this.]
[I am almost the nearest relation he has\nin the world, and am entitled to know all his dearest concerns.]
[\"\n\n\"But you are not entitled to know mine; nor will such behaviour\nas this, ever induce me to be explicit.]
[\"\n\n\"Let me be rightly understood.]
[This match, to which you have\nthe presumption to aspire, can never take place.]
[No, never.]
[Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter.]
[Now what have you to say?]
[\"\n\n\"Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose\nhe will make an offer to me.]
[\"\n\nLady Catherine hesitated for a moment, and then replied:\n\n\"The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind.]
[From their\ninfancy, they have been intended for each other.]
[It was the\nfavourite wish of _his_ mother, as well as of her's.]
[While in\ntheir cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment\nwhen the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished in their\nmarriage, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth,\nof no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the\nfamily!]
[Do you pay no regard to the wishes of his friends?]
[To his tacit engagement with Miss de Bourgh?]
[Are you lost to\nevery feeling of propriety and delicacy?]
[Have you not heard\nme say that from his earliest hours he was destined for his\ncousin?]
[\"\n\n\"Yes, and I had heard it before.]
[But what is that to me?]
[If\nthere is no other objection to my marrying your nephew, I shall\ncertainly not be kept from it by knowing that his mother and\naunt wished him to marry Miss de Bourgh.]
[You both did as much\nas you could in planning the marriage.]
[Its completion depended\non others.]
[If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination\nconfined to his cousin, why is not he to make another choice?]
[And if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?]
[\"\n\n\"Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it.]
[Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed\nby his family or friends, if you wilfully act against the\ninclinations of all.]
[You will be censured, slighted, and\ndespised, by everyone connected with him.]
[Your alliance will\nbe a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any\nof us.]
[\"\n\n\"These are heavy misfortunes,\" replied Elizabeth.]
[\"But the\nwife of Mr. Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of\nhappiness necessarily attached to her situation, that she\ncould, upon the whole, have no cause to repine.]
[\"\n\n\"Obstinate, headstrong girl!]
[I am ashamed of you!]
[Is this\nyour gratitude for my attentions to you last spring?]
[Is\nnothing due to me on that score?]
[Let us sit down.]
[You are to\nunderstand, Miss Bennet, that I came here with the determined\nresolution of carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded\nfrom it.]
[I have not been used to submit to any person's whims.]
[I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment.]
[\"\n\n\"_That_ will make your ladyship's situation at present more\npitiable; but it will have no effect on me.]
[\"\n\n\"I will not be interrupted.]
[Hear me in silence.]
[My daughter\nand my nephew are formed for each other.]
[They are descended,\non the maternal side, from the same noble line; and, on the\nfather's, from respectable, honourable, and ancient--though\nuntitled--families.]
[Their fortune on both sides is splendid.]
[They are destined for each other by the voice of every member\nof their respective houses; and what is to divide them?]
[The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family,\nconnections, or fortune.]
[Is this to be endured!]
[But it\nmust not, shall not be.]
[If you were sensible of your own\ngood, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you\nhave been brought up.]
[\"\n\n\"In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as\nquitting that sphere.]
[He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's\ndaughter; so far we are equal.]
[\"\n\n\"True.]
[You _are_ a gentleman's daughter.]
[But who was your\nmother?]
[Who are your uncles and aunts?]
[Do not imagine me\nignorant of their condition.]
[\"\n\n\"Whatever my connections may be,\" said Elizabeth, \"if your\nnephew does not object to them, they can be nothing to _you_.]
[\"\n\n\"Tell me once for all, are you engaged to him?]
[\"\n\nThough Elizabeth would not, for the mere purpose of obliging\nLady Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but\nsay, after a moment's deliberation:\n\n\"I am not.]
[\"\n\nLady Catherine seemed pleased.]
[\"And will you promise me, never to enter into such an engagement?]
[\"\n\n\"I will make no promise of the kind.]
[\"\n\n\"Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished.]
[I expected to find a\nmore reasonable young woman.]
[But do not deceive yourself into\na belief that I will ever recede.]
[I shall not go away till you\nhave given me the assurance I require.]
[\"\n\n\"And I certainly _never_ shall give it.]
[I am not to be intimidated\ninto anything so wholly unreasonable.]
[Your ladyship wants\nMr. Darcy to marry your daughter; but would my giving you the\nwished-for promise make their marriage at all more probable?]
[Supposing him to be attached to me, would my refusing to accept\nhis hand make him wish to bestow it on his cousin?]
[Allow me to\nsay, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have\nsupported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous\nas the application was ill-judged.]
[You have widely mistaken my\ncharacter, if you think I can be worked on by such persuasions\nas these.]
[How far your nephew might approve of your interference\nin his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right\nto concern yourself in mine.]
[I must beg, therefore, to be\nimportuned no farther on the subject.]
[\"\n\n\"Not so hasty, if you please.]
[I have by no means done.]
[To all the objections I have already urged, I have still\nanother to add.]
[I am no stranger to the particulars of your\nyoungest sister's infamous elopement.]
[I know it all; that\nthe young man's marrying her was a patched-up business, at the\nexpence of your father and uncles.]
[And is such a girl to be\nmy nephew's sister?]
[Is her husband, is the son of his late\nfather's steward, to be his brother?]
[Heaven and earth!--of\nwhat are you thinking?]
[Are the shades of Pemberley to be\nthus polluted?]
[\"\n\n\"You can now have nothing further to say,\" she resentfully\nanswered.]
[\"You have insulted me in every possible method.]
[I must beg to return to the house.]
[\"\n\nAnd she rose as she spoke.]
[Lady Catherine rose also, and they\nturned back.]
[Her ladyship was highly incensed.]
[\"You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my\nnephew!]
[Unfeeling, selfish girl!]
[Do you not consider that\na connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of\neverybody?]
[\"\n\n\"Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say.]
[You know my\nsentiments.]
[\"\n\n\"You are then resolved to have him?]
[\"\n\n\"I have said no such thing.]
[I am only resolved to act in that\nmanner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness,\nwithout reference to _you_, or to any person so wholly unconnected\nwith me.]
[\"\n\n\"It is well.]
[You refuse, then, to oblige me.]
[You refuse to\nobey the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude.]
[You are\ndetermined to ruin him in the opinion of all his friends,\nand make him the contempt of the world.]
[\"\n\n\"Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude,\" replied Elizabeth,\n\"have any possible claim on me, in the present instance.]
[No\nprinciple of either would be violated by my marriage with\nMr. Darcy.]
[And with regard to the resentment of his family, or\nthe indignation of the world, if the former _were_ excited by his\nmarrying me, it would not give me one moment's concern--and\nthe world in general would have too much sense to join in the\nscorn.]
[\"\n\n\"And this is your real opinion!]
[This is your final resolve!]
[Very well.]
[I shall now know how to act.]
[Do not imagine, Miss\nBennet, that your ambition will ever be gratified.]
[I came to\ntry you.]
[I hoped to find you reasonable; but, depend upon it,\nI will carry my point.]
[\"\n\nIn this manner Lady Catherine talked on, till they were at the\ndoor of the carriage, when, turning hastily round, she added,\n\"I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet.]
[I send no compliments to\nyour mother.]
[You deserve no such attention.]
[I am most\nseriously displeased.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth made no answer; and without attempting to persuade\nher ladyship to return into the house, walked quietly into it\nherself.]
[She heard the carriage drive away as she proceeded\nup stairs.]
[Her mother impatiently met her at the door of the\ndressing-room, to ask why Lady Catherine would not come in\nagain and rest herself.]
[\"She did not choose it,\" said her daughter, \"she would go.]
[\"\n\n\"She is a very fine-looking woman!]
[and her calling here was\nprodigiously civil!]
[for she only came, I suppose, to tell us\nthe Collinses were well.]
[She is on her road somewhere, I dare\nsay, and so, passing through Meryton, thought she might as well\ncall on you.]
[I suppose she had nothing particular to say to\nyou, Lizzy?]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was forced to give into a little falsehood here;\nfor to acknowledge the substance of their conversation was\nimpossible.]
[Chapter 57\n\n\nThe discomposure of spirits which this extraordinary visit\nthrew Elizabeth into, could not be easily overcome; nor\ncould she, for many hours, learn to think of it less than\nincessantly.]
[Lady Catherine, it appeared, had actually taken\nthe trouble of this journey from Rosings, for the sole purpose\nof breaking off her supposed engagement with Mr. Darcy.]
[It was\na rational scheme, to be sure!]
[but from what the report of\ntheir engagement could originate, Elizabeth was at a loss to\nimagine; till she recollected that _his_ being the intimate\nfriend of Bingley, and _her_ being the sister of Jane, was\nenough, at a time when the expectation of one wedding made\neverybody eager for another, to supply the idea.]
[She had not\nherself forgotten to feel that the marriage of her sister must\nbring them more frequently together.]
[And her neighbours at\nLucas Lodge, therefore (for through their communication with\nthe Collinses, the report, she concluded, had reached lady\nCatherine), had only set that down as almost certain and\nimmediate, which she had looked forward to as possible at\nsome future time.]
[In revolving Lady Catherine's expressions, however, she could\nnot help feeling some uneasiness as to the possible consequence\nof her persisting in this interference.]
[From what she had said\nof her resolution to prevent their marriage, it occurred to\nElizabeth that she must meditate an application to her nephew;\nand how _he_ might take a similar representation of the evils\nattached to a connection with her, she dared not pronounce.]
[She knew not the exact degree of his affection for his aunt, or\nhis dependence on her judgment, but it was natural to suppose\nthat he thought much higher of her ladyship than _she_ could\ndo; and it was certain that, in enumerating the miseries of a\nmarriage with _one_, whose immediate connections were so unequal\nto his own, his aunt would address him on his weakest side.]
[With his notions of dignity, he would probably feel that the\narguments, which to Elizabeth had appeared weak and ridiculous,\ncontained much good sense and solid reasoning.]
[If he had been wavering before as to what he should do, which\nhad often seemed likely, the advice and entreaty of so near a\nrelation might settle every doubt, and determine him at once to\nbe as happy as dignity unblemished could make him.]
[In that\ncase he would return no more.]
[Lady Catherine might see him in\nher way through town; and his engagement to Bingley of coming\nagain to Netherfield must give way.]
[\"If, therefore, an excuse for not keeping his promise should\ncome to his friend within a few days,\" she added, \"I shall\nknow how to understand it.]
[I shall then give over every\nexpectation, every wish of his constancy.]
[If he is satisfied\nwith only regretting me, when he might have obtained my\naffections and hand, I shall soon cease to regret him at all.]
[\"\n\n                          * * * * *\n\nThe surprise of the rest of the family, on hearing who their\nvisitor had been, was very great; but they obligingly satisfied\nit, with the same kind of supposition which had appeased\nMrs. Bennet's curiosity; and Elizabeth was spared from much\nteasing on the subject.]
[The next morning, as she was going downstairs, she was met by\nher father, who came out of his library with a letter in his\nhand.]
[\"Lizzy,\" said he, \"I was going to look for you; come into my\nroom.]
[\"\n\nShe followed him thither; and her curiosity to know what he\nhad to tell her was heightened by the supposition of its being\nin some manner connected with the letter he held.]
[It suddenly\nstruck her that it might be from Lady Catherine; and she\nanticipated with dismay all the consequent explanations.]
[She followed her father to the fire place, and they both sat\ndown.]
[He then said,\n\n\"I have received a letter this morning that has astonished me\nexceedingly.]
[As it principally concerns yourself, you ought\nto know its contents.]
[I did not know before, that I had two\ndaughters on the brink of matrimony.]
[Let me congratulate you\non a very important conquest.]
[\"\n\nThe colour now rushed into Elizabeth's cheeks in the instantaneous\nconviction of its being a letter from the nephew, instead of the\naunt; and she was undetermined whether most to be pleased that\nhe explained himself at all, or offended that his letter was not\nrather addressed to herself; when her father continued:\n\n\"You look conscious.]
[Young ladies have great penetration in\nsuch matters as these; but I think I may defy even _your_\nsagacity, to discover the name of your admirer.]
[This letter\nis from Mr.]
[Collins.]
[\"\n\n\"From Mr. Collins!]
[and what can _he_ have to say?]
[\"\n\n\"Something very much to the purpose of course.]
[He begins with\ncongratulations on the approaching nuptials of my eldest daughter,\nof which, it seems, he has been told by some of the good-natured,\ngossiping Lucases.]
[I shall not sport with your impatience, by\nreading what he says on that point.]
[What relates to yourself, is\nas follows:  'Having thus offered you the sincere congratulations\nof Mrs. Collins and myself on this happy event, let me now add\na short hint on the subject of another; of which we have been\nadvertised by the same authority.]
[Your daughter Elizabeth, it is\npresumed, will not long bear the name of Bennet, after her elder\nsister has resigned it, and the chosen partner of her fate may be\nreasonably looked up to as one of the most illustrious personages\nin this land.]
['\n\n\"Can you possibly guess, Lizzy, who is meant by this?]
[\"  'This\nyoung gentleman is blessed, in a peculiar way, with every thing\nthe heart of mortal can most desire,--splendid property,\nnoble kindred, and extensive patronage.]
[Yet in spite of all\nthese temptations, let me warn my cousin Elizabeth, and\nyourself, of what evils you may incur by a precipitate closure\nwith this gentleman's proposals, which, of course, you will be\ninclined to take immediate advantage of.]
['\n\n\"Have you any idea, Lizzy, who this gentleman is?]
[But now it\ncomes out:\n\n\"'My motive for cautioning you is as follows.]
[We have reason to\nimagine that his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, does not look\non the match with a friendly eye.]
['\n\n\"_Mr. Darcy_, you see, is the man!]
[Now, Lizzy, I think I\n_have_ surprised you.]
[Could he, or the Lucases, have pitched\non any man within the circle of our acquaintance, whose name\nwould have given the lie more effectually to what they related?]
[Mr. Darcy, who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish,\nand who probably never looked at you in his life!]
[It is\nadmirable!]
[\"\n\nElizabeth tried to join in her father's pleasantry, but could\nonly force one most reluctant smile.]
[Never had his wit been\ndirected in a manner so little agreeable to her.]
[\"Are you not diverted?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[yes.]
[Pray read on.]
[\"\n\n\"'After mentioning the likelihood of this marriage to her ladyship\nlast night, she immediately, with her usual condescension,\nexpressed what she felt on the occasion; when it became apparent,\nthat on the score of some family objections on the part of my\ncousin, she would never give her consent to what she termed so\ndisgraceful a match.]
[I thought it my duty to give the speediest\nintelligence of this to my cousin, that she and her noble\nadmirer may be aware of what they are about, and not run\nhastily into a marriage which has not been properly sanctioned.]
['\nMr. Collins moreover adds, 'I am truly rejoiced that my cousin\nLydia's sad business has been so well hushed up, and am only\nconcerned that their living together before the marriage took\nplace should be so generally known.]
[I must not, however,\nneglect the duties of my station, or refrain from declaring my\namazement at hearing that you received the young couple into\nyour house as soon as they were married.]
[It was an encouragement\nof vice; and had I been the rector of Longbourn, I should very\nstrenuously have opposed it.]
[You ought certainly to forgive them,\nas a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow\ntheir names to be mentioned in your hearing.]
['  That is his notion\nof Christian forgiveness!]
[The rest of his letter is only about\nhis dear Charlotte's situation, and his expectation of a young\nolive-branch.]
[But, Lizzy, you look as if you did not enjoy it.]
[You are not going to be _missish_, I hope, and pretend to be\naffronted at an idle report.]
[For what do we live, but to make\nsport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[\" cried Elizabeth, \"I am excessively diverted.]
[But it is\nso strange!]
[\"\n\n\"Yes--_that_ is what makes it amusing.]
[Had they fixed on any other\nman it would have been nothing; but _his_ perfect indifference,\nand _your_ pointed dislike, make it so delightfully absurd!]
[Much\nas I abominate writing, I would not give up Mr. Collins's\ncorrespondence for any consideration.]
[Nay, when I read a letter\nof his, I cannot help giving him the preference even over Wickham,\nmuch as I value the impudence and hypocrisy of my son-in-law.]
[And pray, Lizzy, what said Lady Catherine about this report?]
[Did she call to refuse her consent?]
[\"\n\nTo this question his daughter replied only with a laugh; and\nas it had been asked without the least suspicion, she was not\ndistressed by his repeating it.]
[Elizabeth had never been\nmore at a loss to make her feelings appear what they were not.]
[It was necessary to laugh, when she would rather have cried.]
[Her father had most cruelly mortified her, by what he said of\nMr. Darcy's indifference, and she could do nothing but wonder\nat such a want of penetration, or fear that perhaps, instead\nof his seeing too little, she might have fancied too much.]
[Chapter 58\n\n\nInstead of receiving any such letter of excuse from his friend,\nas Elizabeth half expected Mr. Bingley to do, he was able to\nbring Darcy with him to Longbourn before many days had passed\nafter Lady Catherine's visit.]
[The gentlemen arrived early;\nand, before Mrs. Bennet had time to tell him of their having\nseen his aunt, of which her daughter sat in momentary dread,\nBingley, who wanted to be alone with Jane, proposed their\nall walking out.]
[It was agreed to.]
[Mrs. Bennet was not in\nthe habit of walking; Mary could never spare time; but the\nremaining five set off together.]
[Bingley and Jane, however,\nsoon allowed the others to outstrip them.]
[They lagged behind,\nwhile Elizabeth, Kitty, and Darcy were to entertain each other.]
[Very little was said by either; Kitty was too much afraid of\nhim to talk; Elizabeth was secretly forming a desperate\nresolution; and perhaps he might be doing the same.]
[They walked towards the Lucases, because Kitty wished to call\nupon Maria; and as Elizabeth saw no occasion for making it a\ngeneral concern, when Kitty left them she went boldly on with\nhim alone.]
[Now was the moment for her resolution to be\nexecuted, and, while her courage was high, she immediately\nsaid:\n\n\"Mr. Darcy, I am a very selfish creature; and, for the sake of\ngiving relief to my own feelings, care not how much I may be\nwounding your's.]
[I can no longer help thanking you for your\nunexampled kindness to my poor sister.]
[Ever since I have\nknown it, I have been most anxious to acknowledge to you how\ngratefully I feel it.]
[Were it known to the rest of my family,\nI should not have merely my own gratitude to express.]
[\"\n\n\"I am sorry, exceedingly sorry,\" replied Darcy, in a tone of\nsurprise and emotion, \"that you have ever been informed of what\nmay, in a mistaken light, have given you uneasiness.]
[I did not\nthink Mrs. Gardiner was so little to be trusted.]
[\"\n\n\"You must not blame my aunt.]
[Lydia's thoughtlessness first\nbetrayed to me that you had been concerned in the matter; and,\nof course, I could not rest till I knew the particulars.]
[Let\nme thank you again and again, in the name of all my family,\nfor that generous compassion which induced you to take so much\ntrouble, and bear so many mortifications, for the sake of\ndiscovering them.]
[\"\n\n\"If you _will_ thank me,\" he replied, \"let it be for yourself\nalone.]
[That the wish of giving happiness to you might add\nforce to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not\nattempt to deny.]
[But your _family_ owe me nothing.]
[Much as\nI respect them, I believe I thought only of _you_.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth was too much embarrassed to say a word.]
[After a\nshort pause, her companion added, \"You are too generous to\ntrifle with me.]
[If your feelings are still what they were\nlast April, tell me so at once.]
[_My_ affections and wishes\nare unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this\nsubject for ever.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth, feeling all the more than common awkwardness and\nanxiety of his situation, now forced herself to speak; and\nimmediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand\nthat her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since\nthe period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with\ngratitude and pleasure his present assurances.]
[The happiness\nwhich this reply produced, was such as he had probably never\nfelt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as\nsensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be\nsupposed to do.]
[Had Elizabeth been able to encounter his\neye, she might have seen how well the expression of heartfelt\ndelight, diffused over his face, became him; but, though she\ncould not look, she could listen, and he told her of feelings,\nwhich, in proving of what importance she was to him, made his\naffection every moment more valuable.]
[They walked on, without knowing in what direction.]
[There was\ntoo much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to\nany other objects.]
[She soon learnt that they were indebted\nfor their present good understanding to the efforts of his\naunt, who did call on him in her return through London,\nand there relate her journey to Longbourn, its motive, and\nthe substance of her conversation with Elizabeth; dwelling\nemphatically on every expression of the latter which, in her\nladyship's apprehension, peculiarly denoted her perverseness\nand assurance; in the belief that such a relation must assist\nher endeavours to obtain that promise from her nephew which\nshe had refused to give.]
[But, unluckily for her ladyship,\nits effect had been exactly contrariwise.]
[\"It taught me to hope,\" said he, \"as I had scarcely ever allowed\nmyself to hope before.]
[I knew enough of your disposition to\nbe certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided\nagainst me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine,\nfrankly and openly.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth coloured and laughed as she replied, \"Yes, you know\nenough of my frankness to believe me capable of _that_.]
[After abusing you so abominably to your face, I could have no\nscruple in abusing you to all your relations.]
[\"\n\n\"What did you say of me, that I did not deserve?]
[For, though\nyour accusations were ill-founded, formed on mistaken premises,\nmy behaviour to you at the time had merited the severest\nreproof.]
[It was unpardonable.]
[I cannot think of it without\nabhorrence.]
[\"\n\n\"We will not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to\nthat evening,\" said Elizabeth.]
[\"The conduct of neither, if\nstrictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we\nhave both, I hope, improved in civility.]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot be so easily reconciled to myself.]
[The recollection\nof what I then said, of my conduct, my manners, my expressions\nduring the whole of it, is now, and has been many months,\ninexpressibly painful to me.]
[Your reproof, so well applied, I\nshall never forget: 'had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike\nmanner.]
[' Those were your words.]
[You know not, you can\nscarcely conceive, how they have tortured me;--though it was\nsome time, I confess, before I was reasonable enough to allow\ntheir justice.]
[\"\n\n\"I was certainly very far from expecting them to make so strong\nan impression.]
[I had not the smallest idea of their being ever\nfelt in such a way.]
[\"\n\n\"I can easily believe it.]
[You thought me then devoid of\nevery proper feeling, I am sure you did.]
[The turn of your\ncountenance I shall never forget, as you said that I could\nnot have addressed you in any possible way that would induce\nyou to accept me.]
[\"\n\n\"Oh!]
[do not repeat what I then said.]
[These recollections\nwill not do at all.]
[I assure you that I have long been most\nheartily ashamed of it.]
[\"\n\nDarcy mentioned his letter.]
[\"Did it,\" said he, \"did it soon\nmake you think better of me?]
[Did you, on reading it, give any\ncredit to its contents?]
[\"\n\nShe explained what its effect on her had been, and how gradually\nall her former prejudices had been removed.]
[\"I knew,\" said he, \"that what I wrote must give you pain,\nbut it was necessary.]
[I hope you have destroyed the letter.]
[There was one part especially, the opening of it, which I\nshould dread your having the power of reading again.]
[I can\nremember some expressions which might justly make you hate me.]
[\"\n\n\"The letter shall certainly be burnt, if you believe it\nessential to the preservation of my regard; but, though we have\nboth reason to think my opinions not entirely unalterable, they\nare not, I hope, quite so easily changed as that implies.]
[\"\n\n\"When I wrote that letter,\" replied Darcy, \"I believed myself\nperfectly calm and cool, but I am since convinced that it was\nwritten in a dreadful bitterness of spirit.]
[\"\n\n\"The letter, perhaps, began in bitterness, but it did not end\nso.]
[The adieu is charity itself.]
[But think no more of the\nletter.]
[The feelings of the person who wrote, and the person\nwho received it, are now so widely different from what they\nwere then, that every unpleasant circumstance attending it\nought to be forgotten.]
[You must learn some of my philosophy.]
[Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot give you credit for any philosophy of the kind.]
[Your retrospections must be so totally void of reproach, that\nthe contentment arising from them is not of philosophy, but,\nwhat is much better, of innocence.]
[But with me, it is not\nso.]
[Painful recollections will intrude which cannot, which\nought not, to be repelled.]
[I have been a selfish being all my\nlife, in practice, though not in principle.]
[As a child I was\ntaught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my\ntemper.]
[I was given good principles, but left to follow them\nin pride and conceit.]
[Unfortunately an only son (for many\nyears an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though\ngood themselves (my father, particularly, all that was\nbenevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me\nto be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own\nfamily circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world;\nto wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth\ncompared with my own.]
[Such I was, from eight to eight and\ntwenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest,\nloveliest Elizabeth!]
[What do I not owe you!]
[You taught me a\nlesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous.]
[By you,\nI was properly humbled.]
[I came to you without a doubt of my\nreception.]
[You showed me how insufficient were all my\npretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.]
[\"\n\n\"Had you then persuaded yourself that I should?]
[\"\n\n\"Indeed I had.]
[What will you think of my vanity?]
[I believed\nyou to be wishing, expecting my addresses.]
[\"\n\n\"My manners must have been in fault, but not intentionally,\nI assure you.]
[I never meant to deceive you, but my spirits\nmight often lead me wrong.]
[How you must have hated me after\n_that_ evening?]
[\"\n\n\"Hate you!]
[I was angry perhaps at first, but my anger soon\nbegan to take a proper direction.]
[\"\n\n\"I am almost afraid of asking what you thought of me, when we\nmet at Pemberley.]
[You blamed me for coming?]
[\"\n\n\"No indeed; I felt nothing but surprise.]
[\"\n\n\"Your surprise could not be greater than _mine_ in being\nnoticed by you.]
[My conscience told me that I deserved no\nextraordinary politeness, and I confess that I did not expect\nto receive _more_ than my due.]
[\"\n\n\"My object then,\" replied Darcy, \"was to show you, by every\ncivility in my power, that I was not so mean as to resent the\npast; and I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your\nill opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been\nattended to.]
[How soon any other wishes introduced themselves\nI can hardly tell, but I believe in about half an hour after\nI had seen you.]
[\"\n\nHe then told her of Georgiana's delight in her acquaintance,\nand of her disappointment at its sudden interruption; which\nnaturally leading to the cause of that interruption, she soon\nlearnt that his resolution of following her from Derbyshire in\nquest of her sister had been formed before he quitted the inn,\nand that his gravity and thoughtfulness there had arisen from\nno other struggles than what such a purpose must comprehend.]
[She expressed her gratitude again, but it was too painful a\nsubject to each, to be dwelt on farther.]
[After walking several miles in a leisurely manner, and too busy\nto know anything about it, they found at last, on examining\ntheir watches, that it was time to be at home.]
[\"What could become of Mr. Bingley and Jane!]
[\" was a wonder\nwhich introduced the discussion of their affairs.]
[Darcy\nwas delighted with their engagement; his friend had given\nhim the earliest information of it.]
[\"I must ask whether you were surprised?]
[\" said Elizabeth.]
[\"Not at all.]
[When I went away, I felt that it would soon\nhappen.]
[\"\n\n\"That is to say, you had given your permission.]
[I guessed as\nmuch.]
[\"  And though he exclaimed at the term, she found that it\nhad been pretty much the case.]
[\"On the evening before my going to London,\" said he, \"I made a\nconfession to him, which I believe I ought to have made long\nago.]
[I told him of all that had occurred to make my former\ninterference in his affairs absurd and impertinent.]
[His\nsurprise was great.]
[He had never had the slightest suspicion.]
[I told him, moreover, that I believed myself mistaken in\nsupposing, as I had done, that your sister was indifferent to\nhim; and as I could easily perceive that his attachment to her\nwas unabated, I felt no doubt of their happiness together.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could not help smiling at his easy manner of\ndirecting his friend.]
[\"Did you speak from your own observation,\" said she, \"when\nyou told him that my sister loved him, or merely from my\ninformation last spring?]
[\"\n\n\"From the former.]
[I had narrowly observed her during the two\nvisits which I had lately made here; and I was convinced of her\naffection.]
[\"\n\n\"And your assurance of it, I suppose, carried immediate\nconviction to him.]
[\"\n\n\"It did.]
[Bingley is most unaffectedly modest.]
[His diffidence\nhad prevented his depending on his own judgment in so anxious\na case, but his reliance on mine made every thing easy.]
[I\nwas obliged to confess one thing, which for a time, and not\nunjustly, offended him.]
[I could not allow myself to conceal\nthat your sister had been in town three months last winter,\nthat I had known it, and purposely kept it from him.]
[He was\nangry.]
[But his anger, I am persuaded, lasted no longer than\nhe remained in any doubt of your sister's sentiments.]
[He has\nheartily forgiven me now.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth longed to observe that Mr. Bingley had been a most\ndelightful friend; so easily guided that his worth was\ninvaluable; but she checked herself.]
[She remembered that he\nhad yet to learn to be laughed at, and it was rather too early\nto begin.]
[In anticipating the happiness of Bingley, which of\ncourse was to be inferior only to his own, he continued the\nconversation till they reached the house.]
[In the hall they\nparted.]
[Chapter 59\n\n\n\"My dear Lizzy, where can you have been walking to?]
[\" was a\nquestion which Elizabeth received from Jane as soon as she\nentered their room, and from all the others when they sat down\nto table.]
[She had only to say in reply, that they had wandered\nabout, till she was beyond her own knowledge.]
[She coloured as\nshe spoke; but neither that, nor anything else, awakened a\nsuspicion of the truth.]
[The evening passed quietly, unmarked by anything extraordinary.]
[The acknowledged lovers talked and laughed, the unacknowledged\nwere silent.]
[Darcy was not of a disposition in which happiness\noverflows in mirth; and Elizabeth, agitated and confused, rather\n_knew_ that she was happy than _felt_ herself to be so; for, besides\nthe immediate embarrassment, there were other evils before her.]
[She anticipated what would be felt in the family when her\nsituation became known; she was aware that no one liked him but\nJane; and even feared that with the others it was a dislike\nwhich not all his fortune and consequence might do away.]
[At night she opened her heart to Jane.]
[Though suspicion was\nvery far from Miss Bennet's general habits, she was absolutely\nincredulous here.]
[\"You are joking, Lizzy.]
[This cannot be!--engaged to Mr. Darcy!]
[No, no, you shall not deceive me.]
[I know it to be impossible.]
[\"\n\n\"This is a wretched beginning indeed!]
[My sole dependence was\non you; and I am sure nobody else will believe me, if you do\nnot.]
[Yet, indeed, I am in earnest.]
[I speak nothing but the\ntruth.]
[He still loves me, and we are engaged.]
[\"\n\nJane looked at her doubtingly.]
[\"Oh, Lizzy!]
[it cannot be.]
[I know how much you dislike him.]
[\"\n\n\"You know nothing of the matter.]
[_That_ is all to be forgot.]
[Perhaps I did not always love him so well as I do now.]
[But in\nsuch cases as these, a good memory is unpardonable.]
[This is\nthe last time I shall ever remember it myself.]
[\"\n\nMiss Bennet still looked all amazement.]
[Elizabeth again, and\nmore seriously assured her of its truth.]
[\"Good Heaven!]
[can it be really so!]
[Yet now I must believe\nyou,\" cried Jane.]
[\"My dear, dear Lizzy, I would--I do\ncongratulate you--but are you certain?]
[forgive the question\n--are you quite certain that you can be happy with him?]
[\"\n\n\"There can be no doubt of that.]
[It is settled between us\nalready, that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.]
[But are you pleased, Jane?]
[Shall you like to have such a\nbrother?]
[\"\n\n\"Very, very much.]
[Nothing could give either Bingley or\nmyself more delight.]
[But we considered it, we talked of it as\nimpossible.]
[And do you really love him quite well enough?]
[Oh, Lizzy!]
[do anything rather than marry without affection.]
[Are you quite sure that you feel what you ought to do?]
[\"\n\n\"Oh, yes!]
[You will only think I feel _more_ than I ought to\ndo, when I tell you all.]
[\"\n\n\"What do you mean?]
[\"\n\n\"Why, I must confess that I love him better than I do Bingley.]
[I am afraid you will be angry.]
[\"\n\n\"My dearest sister, now _be_ serious.]
[I want to talk very\nseriously.]
[Let me know every thing that I am to know, without\ndelay.]
[Will you tell me how long you have loved him?]
[\"\n\n\"It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it\nbegan.]
[But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his\nbeautiful grounds at Pemberley.]
[\"\n\nAnother entreaty that she would be serious, however, produced\nthe desired effect; and she soon satisfied Jane by her solemn\nassurances of attachment.]
[When convinced on that article, Miss\nBennet had nothing further to wish.]
[\"Now I am quite happy,\" said she, \"for you will be as happy as\nmyself.]
[I always had a value for him.]
[Were it for nothing but\nhis love of you, I must always have esteemed him; but now, as\nBingley's friend and your husband, there can be only Bingley\nand yourself more dear to me.]
[But Lizzy, you have been very\nsly, very reserved with me.]
[How little did you tell me of what\npassed at Pemberley and Lambton!]
[I owe all that I know of it\nto another, not to you.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth told her the motives of her secrecy.]
[She had been\nunwilling to mention Bingley; and the unsettled state of her\nown feelings had made her equally avoid the name of his friend.]
[But now she would no longer conceal from her his share in\nLydia's marriage.]
[All was acknowledged, and half the night\nspent in conversation.]
[* * * * *\n\n\"Good gracious!]
[\" cried Mrs. Bennet, as she stood at a window\nthe next morning, \"if that disagreeable Mr. Darcy is not coming\nhere again with our dear Bingley!]
[What can he mean by being so\ntiresome as to be always coming here?]
[I had no notion but he\nwould go a-shooting, or something or other, and not disturb us\nwith his company.]
[What shall we do with him?]
[Lizzy, you must\nwalk out with him again, that he may not be in Bingley's way.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth could hardly help laughing at so convenient a\nproposal; yet was really vexed that her mother should be\nalways giving him such an epithet.]
[As soon as they entered, Bingley looked at her so expressively,\nand shook hands with such warmth, as left no doubt of his good\ninformation; and he soon afterwards said aloud, \"Mrs. Bennet,\nhave you no more lanes hereabouts in which Lizzy may lose her\nway again to-day?]
[\"\n\n\"I advise Mr. Darcy, and Lizzy, and Kitty,\" said Mrs. Bennet,\n\"to walk to Oakham Mount this morning.]
[It is a nice long walk,\nand Mr. Darcy has never seen the view.]
[\"\n\n\"It may do very well for the others,\" replied Mr. Bingley; \"but\nI am sure it will be too much for Kitty.]
[Won't it, Kitty?]
[\"\nKitty owned that she had rather stay at home.]
[Darcy professed\na great curiosity to see the view from the Mount, and Elizabeth\nsilently consented.]
[As she went up stairs to get ready,\nMrs. Bennet followed her, saying:\n\n\"I am quite sorry, Lizzy, that you should be forced to have\nthat disagreeable man all to yourself.]
[But I hope you will not\nmind it: it is all for Jane's sake, you know; and there is no\noccasion for talking to him, except just now and then.]
[So, do\nnot put yourself to inconvenience.]
[\"\n\nDuring their walk, it was resolved that Mr. Bennet's consent\nshould be asked in the course of the evening.]
[Elizabeth\nreserved to herself the application for her mother's.]
[She\ncould not determine how her mother would take it; sometimes\ndoubting whether all his wealth and grandeur would be enough\nto overcome her abhorrence of the man.]
[But whether she were\nviolently set against the match, or violently delighted with\nit, it was certain that her manner would be equally ill adapted\nto do credit to her sense; and she could no more bear that\nMr. Darcy should hear the first raptures of her joy, than the\nfirst vehemence of her disapprobation.]
[* * * * *\n\nIn the evening, soon after Mr. Bennet withdrew to the library,\nshe saw Mr. Darcy rise also and follow him, and her agitation\non seeing it was extreme.]
[She did not fear her father's\nopposition, but he was going to be made unhappy; and that it\nshould be through her means--that _she_, his favourite child,\nshould be distressing him by her choice, should be filling him\nwith fears and regrets in disposing of her--was a wretched\nreflection, and she sat in misery till Mr. Darcy appeared\nagain, when, looking at him, she was a little relieved by his\nsmile.]
[In a few minutes he approached the table where she was\nsitting with Kitty; and, while pretending to admire her work\nsaid in a whisper, \"Go to your father, he wants you in the\nlibrary.]
[\"  She was gone directly.]
[Her father was walking about the room, looking grave and\nanxious.]
[\"Lizzy,\" said he, \"what are you doing?]
[Are you out\nof your senses, to be accepting this man?]
[Have not you always\nhated him?]
[\"\n\nHow earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had\nbeen more reasonable, her expressions more moderate!]
[It would\nhave spared her from explanations and professions which it was\nexceedingly awkward to give; but they were now necessary, and\nshe assured him, with some confusion, of her attachment to\nMr. Darcy.]
[\"Or, in other words, you are determined to have him.]
[He is\nrich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine\ncarriages than Jane.]
[But will they make you happy?]
[\"\n\n\"Have you any other objection,\" said Elizabeth, \"than your\nbelief of my indifference?]
[\"\n\n\"None at all.]
[We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort\nof man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him.]
[\"\n\n\"I do, I do like him,\" she replied, with tears in her eyes,\n\"I love him.]
[Indeed he has no improper pride.]
[He is perfectly\namiable.]
[You do not know what he really is; then pray do not\npain me by speaking of him in such terms.]
[\"\n\n\"Lizzy,\" said her father, \"I have given him my consent.]
[He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare\nrefuse anything, which he condescended to ask.]
[I now give it\nto _you_, if you are resolved on having him.]
[But let me advise\nyou to think better of it.]
[I know your disposition, Lizzy.]
[I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless\nyou truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him\nas a superior.]
[Your lively talents would place you in the\ngreatest danger in an unequal marriage.]
[You could scarcely\nescape discredit and misery.]
[My child, let me not have the\ngrief of seeing _you_ unable to respect your partner in life.]
[You know not what you are about.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth, still more affected, was earnest and solemn in her\nreply; and at length, by repeated assurances that Mr. Darcy was\nreally the object of her choice, by explaining the gradual\nchange which her estimation of him had undergone, relating her\nabsolute certainty that his affection was not the work of a\nday, but had stood the test of many months' suspense, and\nenumerating with energy all his good qualities, she did conquer\nher father's incredulity, and reconcile him to the match.]
[\"Well, my dear,\" said he, when she ceased speaking, \"I have no\nmore to say.]
[If this be the case, he deserves you.]
[I could\nnot have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy.]
[\"\n\nTo complete the favourable impression, she then told him what\nMr. Darcy had voluntarily done for Lydia.]
[He heard her with\nastonishment.]
[\"This is an evening of wonders, indeed!]
[And so, Darcy did\nevery thing; made up the match, gave the money, paid the\nfellow's debts, and got him his commission!]
[So much the\nbetter.]
[It will save me a world of trouble and economy.]
[Had it been your uncle's doing, I must and _would_ have paid\nhim; but these violent young lovers carry every thing their\nown way.]
[I shall offer to pay him to-morrow; he will rant\nand storm about his love for you, and there will be an end\nof the matter.]
[\"\n\nHe then recollected her embarrassment a few days before, on his\nreading Mr. Collins's letter; and after laughing at her some\ntime, allowed her at last to go--saying, as she quitted the\nroom, \"If any young men come for Mary or Kitty, send them in,\nfor I am quite at leisure.]
[\"\n\nElizabeth's mind was now relieved from a very heavy weight;\nand, after half an hour's quiet reflection in her own room,\nshe was able to join the others with tolerable composure.]
[Every thing was too recent for gaiety, but the evening passed\ntranquilly away; there was no longer anything material to\nbe dreaded, and the comfort of ease and familiarity would\ncome in time.]
[When her mother went up to her dressing-room at night, she\nfollowed her, and made the important communication.]
[Its effect\nwas most extraordinary; for on first hearing it, Mrs. Bennet\nsat quite still, and unable to utter a syllable.]
[Nor was it\nunder many, many minutes that she could comprehend what she\nheard; though not in general backward to credit what was for\nthe advantage of her family, or that came in the shape of a\nlover to any of them.]
[She began at length to recover, to\nfidget about in her chair, get up, sit down again, wonder,\nand bless herself.]
[\"Good gracious!]
[Lord bless me!]
[only think!]
[dear me!]
[Mr. Darcy!]
[Who would have thought it!]
[And is it really true?]
[Oh!]
[my sweetest Lizzy!]
[how rich and how great you will be!]
[What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have!]
[Jane's is nothing to it--nothing at all.]
[I am so pleased--so\nhappy.]
[Such a charming man!--so handsome!]
[so tall!--Oh, my\ndear Lizzy!]
[pray apologise for my having disliked him so much\nbefore.]
[I hope he will overlook it.]
[Dear, dear Lizzy.]
[A house\nin town!]
[Every thing that is charming!]
[Three daughters\nmarried!]
[Ten thousand a year!]
[Oh, Lord!]
[What will become of\nme.]
[I shall go distracted.]
[\"\n\nThis was enough to prove that her approbation need not be\ndoubted: and Elizabeth, rejoicing that such an effusion was\nheard only by herself, soon went away.]
[But before she had\nbeen three minutes in her own room, her mother followed her.]
[\"My dearest child,\" she cried, \"I can think of nothing else!]
[Ten thousand a year, and very likely more!]
['Tis as good as a\nLord!]
[And a special licence.]
[You must and shall be married\nby a special licence.]
[But my dearest love, tell me what dish\nMr. Darcy is particularly fond of, that I may have it to-morrow.]
[\"\n\nThis was a sad omen of what her mother's behaviour to the\ngentleman himself might be; and Elizabeth found that, though in\nthe certain possession of his warmest affection, and secure of\nher relations' consent, there was still something to be wished\nfor.]
[But the morrow passed off much better than she expected;\nfor Mrs. Bennet luckily stood in such awe of her intended\nson-in-law that she ventured not to speak to him, unless it was\nin her power to offer him any attention, or mark her deference\nfor his opinion.]
[Elizabeth had the satisfaction of seeing her father taking\npains to get acquainted with him; and Mr. Bennet soon assured\nher that he was rising every hour in his esteem.]
[\"I admire all my three sons-in-law highly,\" said he.]
[\"Wickham,\nperhaps, is my favourite; but I think I shall like _your_ husband\nquite as well as Jane's.]
[\"\n\n\n\nChapter 60\n\n\nElizabeth's spirits soon rising to playfulness again, she\nwanted Mr. Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love\nwith her.]
[\"How could you begin?]
[\" said she.]
[\"I can comprehend\nyour going on charmingly, when you had once made a beginning;\nbut what could set you off in the first place?]
[\"\n\n\"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the\nwords, which laid the foundation.]
[It is too long ago.]
[I was\nin the middle before I knew that I _had_ begun.]
[\"\n\n\"My beauty you had early withstood, and as for my manners--my\nbehaviour to _you_ was at least always bordering on the uncivil,\nand I never spoke to you without rather wishing to give you pain\nthan not.]
[Now be sincere; did you admire me for my impertinence?]
[\"\n\n\"For the liveliness of your mind, I did.]
[\"\n\n\"You may as well call it impertinence at once.]
[It was very\nlittle less.]
[The fact is, that you were sick of civility, of\ndeference, of officious attention.]
[You were disgusted with\nthe women who were always speaking, and looking, and thinking\nfor _your_ approbation alone.]
[I roused, and interested you,\nbecause I was so unlike _them_.]
[Had you not been really\namiable, you would have hated me for it; but in spite of the\npains you took to disguise yourself, your feelings were always\nnoble and just; and in your heart, you thoroughly despised the\npersons who so assiduously courted you.]
[There--I have saved\nyou the trouble of accounting for it; and really, all things\nconsidered, I begin to think it perfectly reasonable.]
[To be\nsure, you knew no actual good of me--but nobody thinks of\n_that_ when they fall in love.]
[\"\n\n\"Was there no good in your affectionate behaviour to Jane while\nshe was ill at Netherfield?]
[\"\n\n\"Dearest Jane!]
[who could have done less for her?]
[But make a\nvirtue of it by all means.]
[My good qualities are under your\nprotection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible;\nand, in return, it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing\nand quarrelling with you as often as may be; and I shall begin\ndirectly by asking you what made you so unwilling to come to\nthe point at last.]
[What made you so shy of me, when you first\ncalled, and afterwards dined here?]
[Why, especially, when you\ncalled, did you look as if you did not care about me?]
[\"\n\n\"Because you were grave and silent, and gave me no encouragement.]
[\"\n\n\"But I was embarrassed.]
[\"\n\n\"And so was I.]
[\"\n\n\"You might have talked to me more when you came to dinner.]
[\"\n\n\"A man who had felt less, might.]
[\"\n\n\"How unlucky that you should have a reasonable answer to give,\nand that I should be so reasonable as to admit it!]
[But I\nwonder how long you _would_ have gone on, if you had been left\nto yourself.]
[I wonder when you _would_ have spoken, if I\nhad not asked you!]
[My resolution of thanking you for your\nkindness to Lydia had certainly great effect.]
[_Too much_, I am\nafraid; for what becomes of the moral, if our comfort springs\nfrom a breach of promise?]
[for I ought not to have mentioned\nthe subject.]
[This will never do.]
[\"\n\n\"You need not distress yourself.]
[The moral will be perfectly\nfair.]
[Lady Catherine's unjustifiable endeavours to separate us\nwere the means of removing all my doubts.]
[I am not indebted\nfor my present happiness to your eager desire of expressing\nyour gratitude.]
[I was not in a humour to wait for any opening\nof your's.]
[My aunt's intelligence had given me hope, and I was\ndetermined at once to know every thing.]
[\"\n\n\"Lady Catherine has been of infinite use, which ought to make\nher happy, for she loves to be of use.]
[But tell me, what did\nyou come down to Netherfield for?]
[Was it merely to ride to\nLongbourn and be embarrassed?]
[or had you intended any more\nserious consequence?]
[\"\n\n\"My real purpose was to see _you_, and to judge, if I could,\nwhether I might ever hope to make you love me.]
[My avowed one,\nor what I avowed to myself, was to see whether your sister were\nstill partial to Bingley, and if she were, to make the\nconfession to him which I have since made.]
[\"\n\n\"Shall you ever have courage to announce to Lady Catherine\nwhat is to befall her?]
[\"\n\n\"I am more likely to want more time than courage, Elizabeth.]
[But it ought to be done, and if you will give me a sheet of paper,\nit shall be done directly.]
[\"\n\n\"And if I had not a letter to write myself, I might sit by you\nand admire the evenness of your writing, as another young lady\nonce did.]
[But I have an aunt, too, who must not be longer\nneglected.]
[\"\n\nFrom an unwillingness to confess how much her intimacy with\nMr. Darcy had been over-rated, Elizabeth had never yet\nanswered Mrs. Gardiner's long letter; but now, having _that_\nto communicate which she knew would be most welcome, she was\nalmost ashamed to find that her uncle and aunt had already lost\nthree days of happiness, and immediately wrote as follows:\n\n\"I would have thanked you before, my dear aunt, as I ought\nto have done, for your long, kind, satisfactory, detail of\nparticulars; but to say the truth, I was too cross to write.]
[You supposed more than really existed.]
[But _now_ suppose as\nmuch as you choose; give a loose rein to your fancy, indulge your\nimagination in every possible flight which the subject will\nafford, and unless you believe me actually married, you cannot\ngreatly err.  You must write again very soon, and praise him a\ngreat deal more than you did in your last.]
[I thank you, again\nand again, for not going to the Lakes.]
[How could I be so silly\nas to wish it!]
[Your idea of the ponies is delightful.]
[We will\ngo round the Park every day.]
[I am the happiest creature in the\nworld.]
[Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one\nwith such justice.]
[I am happier even than Jane; she only\nsmiles, I laugh.]
[Mr. Darcy sends you all the love in the world\nthat he can spare from me.]
[You are all to come to Pemberley at\nChristmas.]
[Yours, etc.\"\n\nMr. Darcy's letter to Lady Catherine was in a different style;\nand still different from either was what Mr. Bennet sent to\nMr. Collins, in reply to his last.]
[\"DEAR SIR,\n\n\"I must trouble you once more for congratulations.]
[Elizabeth\nwill soon be the wife of Mr. Darcy.]
[Console Lady Catherine\nas well as you can.]
[But, if I were you, I would stand by the\nnephew.]
[He has more to give.]
[\"Yours sincerely, etc.\"\n\nMiss Bingley's congratulations to her brother, on his approaching\nmarriage, were all that was affectionate and insincere.]
[She\nwrote even to Jane on the occasion, to express her delight, and\nrepeat all her former professions of regard.]
[Jane was not\ndeceived, but she was affected; and though feeling no reliance\non her, could not help writing her a much kinder answer than\nshe knew was deserved.]
[The joy which Miss Darcy expressed on receiving similar\ninformation, was as sincere as her brother's in sending it.]
[Four sides of paper were insufficient to contain all her\ndelight, and all her earnest desire of being loved by her\nsister.]
[Before any answer could arrive from Mr. Collins, or any\ncongratulations to Elizabeth from his wife, the Longbourn\nfamily heard that the Collinses were come themselves to Lucas\nLodge.]
[The reason of this sudden removal was soon evident.]
[Lady Catherine had been rendered so exceedingly angry by\nthe contents of her nephew's letter, that Charlotte, really\nrejoicing in the match, was anxious to get away till the\nstorm was blown over.]
[At such a moment, the arrival of\nher friend was a sincere pleasure to Elizabeth, though in\nthe course of their meetings she must sometimes think the\npleasure dearly bought, when she saw Mr. Darcy exposed to all\nthe parading and obsequious civility of her husband.]
[He bore\nit, however, with admirable calmness.]
[He could even listen to\nSir William Lucas, when he complimented him on carrying away\nthe brightest jewel of the country, and expressed his hopes of\ntheir all meeting frequently at St. James's, with very decent\ncomposure.]
[If he did shrug his shoulders, it was not till Sir\nWilliam was out of sight.]
[Mrs. Phillips's vulgarity was another, and perhaps a greater,\ntax on his forbearance; and though Mrs. Phillips, as well as\nher sister, stood in too much awe of him to speak with the\nfamiliarity which Bingley's good humour encouraged, yet,\nwhenever she _did_ speak, she must be vulgar.]
[Nor was her\nrespect for him, though it made her more quiet, at all likely\nto make her more elegant.]
[Elizabeth did all she could to\nshield him from the frequent notice of either, and was ever\nanxious to keep him to herself, and to those of her family with\nwhom he might converse without mortification; and though the\nuncomfortable feelings arising from all this took from the\nseason of courtship much of its pleasure, it added to the hope\nof the future; and she looked forward with delight to the time\nwhen they should be removed from society so little pleasing to\neither, to all the comfort and elegance of their family party\nat Pemberley.]
[Chapter 61\n\n\nHappy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which\nMrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters.]
[With what delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs. Bingley,\nand talked of Mrs. Darcy, may be guessed.]
[I wish I could say,\nfor the sake of her family, that the accomplishment of her\nearnest desire in the establishment of so many of her children\nproduced so happy an effect as to make her a sensible, amiable,\nwell-informed woman for the rest of her life; though perhaps it\nwas lucky for her husband, who might not have relished domestic\nfelicity in so unusual a form, that she still was occasionally\nnervous and invariably silly.]
[Mr. Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; his\naffection for her drew him oftener from home than anything\nelse could do.]
[He delighted in going to Pemberley, especially\nwhen he was least expected.]
[Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only a twelvemonth.]
[So near a vicinity to her mother and Meryton relations was not\ndesirable even to _his_ easy temper, or _her_ affectionate heart.]
[The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified; he bought\nan estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire, and Jane and\nElizabeth, in addition to every other source of happiness, were\nwithin thirty miles of each other.]
[Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her\ntime with her two elder sisters.]
[In society so superior to\nwhat she had generally known, her improvement was great.]
[She\nwas not of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia; and, removed from\nthe influence of Lydia's example, she became, by proper\nattention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and\nless insipid.]
[From the further disadvantage of Lydia's society\nshe was of course carefully kept, and though Mrs. Wickham\nfrequently invited her to come and stay with her, with the\npromise of balls and young men, her father would never consent\nto her going.]
[Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was\nnecessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by\nMrs. Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone.]
[Mary was\nobliged to mix more with the world, but she could still\nmoralize over every morning visit; and as she was no longer\nmortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her\nown, it was suspected by her father that she submitted to\nthe change without much reluctance.]
[As for Wickham and Lydia, their characters suffered no\nrevolution from the marriage of her sisters.]
[He bore with\nphilosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now become\nacquainted with whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood\nhad before been unknown to her; and in spite of every thing,\nwas not wholly without hope that Darcy might yet be prevailed\non to make his fortune.]
[The congratulatory letter which\nElizabeth received from Lydia on her marriage, explained to\nher that, by his wife at least, if not by himself, such a\nhope was cherished.]
[The letter was to this effect:\n\n\"MY DEAR LIZZY,\n\n\"I wish you joy.]
[If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my\ndear Wickham, you must be very happy.]
[It is a great comfort to\nhave you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope\nyou will think of us.]
[I am sure Wickham would like a place at\ncourt very much, and I do not think we shall have quite money\nenough to live upon without some help.]
[Any place would do, of\nabout three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speak\nto Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather not.]
[\"Yours, etc.\"\n\nAs it happened that Elizabeth had _much_ rather not, she\nendeavoured in her answer to put an end to every entreaty\nand expectation of the kind.]
[Such relief, however, as it\nwas in her power to afford, by the practice of what might be\ncalled economy in her own private expences, she frequently\nsent them.]
[It had always been evident to her that such an\nincome as theirs, under the direction of two persons so\nextravagant in their wants, and heedless of the future, must\nbe very insufficient to their support; and whenever they\nchanged their quarters, either Jane or herself were sure of\nbeing applied to for some little assistance towards discharging\ntheir bills.]
[Their manner of living, even when the restoration\nof peace dismissed them to a home, was unsettled in the\nextreme.]
[They were always moving from place to place in quest\nof a cheap situation, and always spending more than they ought.]
[His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; her's lasted\na little longer; and in spite of her youth and her manners, she\nretained all the claims to reputation which her marriage had\ngiven her.]
[Though Darcy could never receive _him_ at Pemberley, yet, for\nElizabeth's sake, he assisted him further in his profession.]
[Lydia was occasionally a visitor there, when her husband was\ngone to enjoy himself in London or Bath; and with the Bingleys\nthey both of them frequently staid so long, that even Bingley's\ngood humour was overcome, and he proceeded so far as to talk\nof giving them a hint to be gone.]
[Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; but\nas she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at\nPemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever\nof Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and\npaid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.]
[Pemberley was now Georgiana's home; and the attachment of the\nsisters was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see.]
[They were able\nto love each other even as well as they intended.]
[Georgiana had\nthe highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth; though at first\nshe often listened with an astonishment bordering on alarm at\nher lively, sportive, manner of talking to her brother.]
[He, who\nhad always inspired in herself a respect which almost overcame\nher affection, she now saw the object of open pleasantry.]
[Her\nmind received knowledge which had never before fallen in her way.]
[By Elizabeth's instructions, she began to comprehend that a woman\nmay take liberties with her husband which a brother will not\nalways allow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself.]
[Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of her\nnephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of her\ncharacter in her reply to the letter which announced its\narrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especially\nof Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end.]
[But at length, by Elizabeth's persuasion, he was prevailed on\nto overlook the offence, and seek a reconciliation; and, after\na little further resistance on the part of his aunt, her\nresentment gave way, either to her affection for him, or her\ncuriosity to see how his wife conducted herself; and she\ncondescended to wait on them at Pemberley, in spite of that\npollution which its woods had received, not merely from the\npresence of such a mistress, but the visits of her uncle and\naunt from the city.]
[With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate\nterms.]
[Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and\nthey were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards\nthe persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the\nmeans of uniting them.]
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