-
-
-
-- * All effective step definition class should extend this class so that tests can be developed quickly and efficiently. - */ -abstract class AbstractStepDefinitions { - - /** - * JSON utility. - */ - protected static final ObjectMapper JSON_MAPPER = new ObjectMapper(); - - /** - * JAX-RS resource path for uploading file. - */ - protected static final String FILE_UPLOAD_PATH = "/file/upload"; - - /** - * JAX-RS resource path for downloading file. - */ - protected static final String FILE_DOWNLOAD_PATH = "/file/download"; - - /** - * GraphQL resource path for querying file metadata. - */ - protected static final String METADATA_ENDPOINT_PATH = "/metadata/graphql"; - - /** - * Loads a resource file, under "payload" resource directory, as a {@code String} object given that resource file - * name. - * - * @param resourceName The specified resource file name - * - * @return the resource file content as a single {@code String} - * - * @throws NullPointerException if {@code resourceName} is {@code null} - * @throws IllegalStateException if an I/O error occurs reading from the resource file stream - * @throws IllegalArgumentException if resource path is not formatted strictly according to RFC2396 and cannot be - * converted to a URI. - */ - @NotNull - protected String payload(final @NotNull String resourceName) { - return resource("payload", resourceName); - } - - /** - * Loads a resource file, under "path-param" resource directory, as a {@code String} object given that resource file - * name. - * - * @param resourceName The specified resource file name - * - * @return the resource file content as a single {@code String} - * - * @throws NullPointerException if {@code resourceName} is {@code null} - * @throws IllegalStateException if an I/O error occurs reading from the resource file stream - * @throws IllegalArgumentException if resource path is not formatted strictly according to RFC2396 and cannot be - * converted to a URI. - */ - @NotNull - protected String pathParam(final @NotNull String resourceName) { - return resource("path-param", resourceName); - } - - /** - * Loads a resource file, under "file" resource directory, as a {@code String} object given that resource file - * name. - * - * @param resourceName The specified resource file name - * - * @return the resource file content as a single {@code String} - * - * @throws NullPointerException if {@code resourceName} is {@code null} - * @throws IllegalStateException if an I/O error occurs reading from the resource file stream - * @throws IllegalArgumentException if resource path is not formatted strictly according to RFC2396 and cannot be - * converted to a URI. - */ - @NotNull - protected String file(final @NotNull String resourceName) { - return resource("file", resourceName); - } - - /** - * Loads a resource file content as a {@code String} object according to a provided resource path. - *
- * The resource path is defined by two components: - *
- * This methods adds the following default headers so that callers do not need to specify them - *
- * src/ - * ├─ test/ - * │ ├─ java/ - * │ ├─ resources/ - * │ │ ├─ payload/ - * │ │ │ ├─ create-new-user.json - *- * To post the {@code create-new-user.json} using this method, the {@code payloadFile} should be - * {@code payload/create-new-user.json}. {@code payloadFile} cannot be null - * @param extraHeaders a mapping of extra header name to header values not mentioned above; cannot be null - * - * @return the response entity - * - * @throws NullPointerException if any argument is {@code null} - * @throws IllegalStateException if there was a HTTP error - * @throws URISyntaxException if the {@code payloadFile} does not form a valid resource path - * - * @deprecated Please use RestAssured framework instead - */ - @NotNull - @Deprecated - @SuppressWarnings({"ConstantConditions", "JavaDoc"}) - protected JsonNode httpPost( - final @NotNull String url, - final @NotNull String payloadFile, - final @NotNull Map
- * All init logics are defined in {@link #beforeAll()}
- */
-@SuppressWarnings("unused")
-public class InitStepDefinitions {
-
- /**
- * BDD initialization definition.
- */
- @BeforeAll
- public static void beforeAll() {
- initRestAssured();
- }
-
- /**
- * Defines the endpoint resource location used during acceptance test.
- */
- private static void initRestAssured() {
- RestAssured.baseURI = "http://localhost";
- RestAssured.port = 8080;
- RestAssured.basePath = "/v1";
- }
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/MetadataStepDefinitions.java b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/MetadataStepDefinitions.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 6b13e3a72..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/MetadataStepDefinitions.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright Jiaqi Liu
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package com.paiondata.athena.test.acceptance;
-
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
-
-import io.cucumber.java.en.Given;
-import io.cucumber.java.en.Then;
-import io.cucumber.java.en.When;
-import io.restassured.RestAssured;
-import io.restassured.http.ContentType;
-import io.restassured.path.json.JsonPath;
-import io.restassured.response.Response;
-import io.restassured.specification.RequestSpecification;
-
-/**
- * BDD step definition for file metadata read & write business logic.
- */
-public class MetadataStepDefinitions extends AbstractStepDefinitions {
-
- private static final String QUERY = "query";
-
- private static final String SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_JSON = "single-field-metadata-request.json";
- private static final String MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_JSON = "multiple-fields-metadata-request.json";
- private static final String SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON = "single-field-metadata-response.json";
- private static final String MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON = "multiple-fields-metadata-response.json";
- private static final String SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_GRAPHQL = "single-field-metadata-request.graphql";
- private static final String MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_GRAPHQL = "multiple-fields-metadata-request.graphql";
-
- private Response getResponse;
- private Response postResponse;
- private RequestSpecification getRequest;
- private RequestSpecification postRequest;
-
- /**
- * Step definition.
- */
- @When("^the query is executed$")
- public void executeQuery() {
- getResponse = getRequest.when().get(METADATA_ENDPOINT_PATH);
- postResponse = postRequest.when().post(METADATA_ENDPOINT_PATH);
- }
-
- /**
- * Step definition.
- */
- @Given("^the query is asking for file name only$")
- public void fileNameOnly() {
- getRequest = RestAssured.given()
- .queryParam(QUERY, pathParam(SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_GRAPHQL));
- postRequest = RestAssured.given()
- .contentType(ContentType.JSON)
- .body(payload(SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_JSON));
- }
-
- /**
- * Step definition.
- */
- @Then("^response contains only one field, which is file name$")
- public void responseContainsFileNameFieldOnly() {
- getResponse.then()
- .statusCode(200)
- .body("", equalTo(new JsonPath(payload(SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON)).get()));
- postResponse.then()
- .statusCode(200)
- .body("", equalTo(new JsonPath(payload(SINGLE_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON)).get()));
- }
-
- /**
- * Step definition.
- */
- @Given("^the query is asking for multiple metadata fields$")
- public void multipleFields() {
- getRequest = RestAssured.given()
- .queryParam(QUERY, pathParam(MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_GRAPHQL));
- postRequest = RestAssured.given()
- .contentType(ContentType.JSON)
- .body(payload(MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_REQUEST_JSON));
- }
-
- /**
- * Step definition.
- */
- @Then("^response contains all requested fields$")
- public void responseContainsAllRequestedFields() {
- getResponse.then()
- .statusCode(200)
- .body("", equalTo(new JsonPath(payload(MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON)).get()));
- postResponse.then()
- .statusCode(200)
- .body("", equalTo(new JsonPath(payload(MULTI_FIELD_METADATA_RESPONSE_JSON)).get()));
- }
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/RunCucumberTest.java b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/RunCucumberTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 2f62dee3c..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/java/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/RunCucumberTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright Jiaqi Liu
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package com.paiondata.athena.test.acceptance;
-
-import static io.cucumber.junit.platform.engine.Constants.PLUGIN_PROPERTY_NAME;
-
-import org.junit.platform.suite.api.ConfigurationParameter;
-import org.junit.platform.suite.api.IncludeEngines;
-import org.junit.platform.suite.api.SelectClasspathResource;
-import org.junit.platform.suite.api.Suite;
-
-/**
- * Cucumber test suite configs.
- */
-@Suite
-@IncludeEngines("cucumber")
-@SelectClasspathResource("com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/")
-@ConfigurationParameter(key = PLUGIN_PROPERTY_NAME, value = "pretty")
-public class RunCucumberTest {
-
- // intentionally left blank
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/file.feature b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/file.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index bb05edb19..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/file.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-Feature: File
-
- Scenario: A file can be uploaded and a file ID is returned
- When a text file is uploaded
- Then the ID of that file is returned and the file metadata is generated
- When the file ID of an existing text file is provided to download
- Then the text can be properly downloaded
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/metadata.feature b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/metadata.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index fa7d54fbc..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/com/paiondata/athena/test/acceptance/metadata.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-Feature: MetaData can be read via GraphQL GET and POST endpoints as specified by GraphQL HEEP spec
-
- Scenario: MetaData gets returned
- Given the query is asking for file name only
- When the query is executed
- Then response contains only one field, which is file name
-
- Scenario:
- Given the query is asking for multiple metadata fields
- When the query is executed
- Then response contains all requested fields
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/file/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen.txt b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/file/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index c3c09628a..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/file/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14579 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Pride and Prejudice
-
-Author: Jane Austen
-
-Release Date: June, 1998 [eBook #1342]
-[Most recently updated: August 23, 2021]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Anonymous Volunteers and David Widger
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ***
-
-
-
-
-THERE IS AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOK
-[# 42671 ]
-
-cover
-
-
-
-
-Pride and Prejudice
-
-By Jane Austen
-
-CONTENTS
-
- Chapter 1
-
- Chapter 2
-
- Chapter 3
-
- Chapter 4
-
- Chapter 5
-
- Chapter 6
-
- Chapter 7
-
- Chapter 8
-
- Chapter 9
-
- Chapter 10
-
- Chapter 11
-
- Chapter 12
-
- Chapter 13
-
- Chapter 14
-
- Chapter 15
-
- Chapter 16
-
- Chapter 17
-
- Chapter 18
-
- Chapter 19
-
- Chapter 20
-
- Chapter 21
-
- Chapter 22
-
- Chapter 23
-
- Chapter 24
-
- Chapter 25
-
- Chapter 26
-
- Chapter 27
-
- Chapter 28
-
- Chapter 29
-
- Chapter 30
-
- Chapter 31
-
- Chapter 32
-
- Chapter 33
-
- Chapter 34
-
- Chapter 35
-
- Chapter 36
-
- Chapter 37
-
- Chapter 38
-
- Chapter 39
-
- Chapter 40
-
- Chapter 41
-
- Chapter 42
-
- Chapter 43
-
- Chapter 44
-
- Chapter 45
-
- Chapter 46
-
- Chapter 47
-
- Chapter 48
-
- Chapter 49
-
- Chapter 50
-
- Chapter 51
-
- Chapter 52
-
- Chapter 53
-
- Chapter 54
-
- Chapter 55
-
- Chapter 56
-
- Chapter 57
-
- Chapter 58
-
- Chapter 59
-
- Chapter 60
-
- Chapter 61
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 1
-
- It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
- possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
-
- However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be
- on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well
- fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is
- considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their
- daughters.
-
- “My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you
- heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”
-
- Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
-
- “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and
- she told me all about it.”
-
- Mr. Bennet made no answer.
-
- “Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife
- impatiently.
-
- “_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”
-
- This was invitation enough.
-
- “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is
- taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England;
- that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the
- place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr.
- Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before
- Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by
- the end of next week.”
-
- “What is his name?”
-
- “Bingley.”
-
- “Is he married or single?”
-
- “Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune;
- four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”
-
- “How so? how can it affect them?”
-
- “My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so
- tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of
- them.”
-
- “Is that his design in settling here?”
-
- “Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely
- that he _may_ fall in love with one of them, and therefore you
- must visit him as soon as he comes.”
-
- “I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may
- send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for
- as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you
- the best of the party.”
-
- “My dear, you flatter me. I certainly _have_ had my share of
- beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now.
- When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over
- thinking of her own beauty.”
-
- “In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.”
-
- “But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he
- comes into the neighbourhood.”
-
- “It is more than I engage for, I assure you.”
-
- “But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it
- would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are
- determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you
- know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be
- impossible for _us_ to visit him, if you do not.”
-
- “You are over scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be
- very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to
- assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he
- chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for my
- little Lizzy.”
-
- “I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better
- than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as
- Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia. But you are always
- giving _her_ the preference.”
-
- “They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he;
- “they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has
- something more of quickness than her sisters.”
-
- “Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way?
- You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor
- nerves.”
-
- “You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves.
- They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with
- consideration these twenty years at least.”
-
- “Ah, you do not know what I suffer.”
-
- “But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men
- of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.”
-
- “It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you
- will not visit them.”
-
- “Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will
- visit them all.”
-
- Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour,
- reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty
- years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his
- character. _Her_ mind was less difficult to develop. She was a
- woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain
- temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous.
- The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its
- solace was visiting and news.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 2
-
- Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr.
- Bingley. He had always intended to visit him, though to the last
- always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the
- evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it. It
- was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second
- daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed her
- with,
-
- “I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy.”
-
- “We are not in a way to know _what_ Mr. Bingley likes,” said her
- mother resentfully, “since we are not to visit.”
-
- “But you forget, mamma,” said Elizabeth, “that we shall meet him
- at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long has promised to introduce him.”
-
- “I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two
- nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I
- have no opinion of her.”
-
- “No more have I,” said Mr. Bennet; “and I am glad to find that
- you do not depend on her serving you.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply; but, unable to contain
- herself, began scolding one of her daughters.
-
- “Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty, for heaven’s sake! Have a little
- compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.”
-
- “Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,” said her father; “she
- times them ill.”
-
- “I do not cough for my own amusement,” replied Kitty fretfully.
- “When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?”
-
- “To-morrow fortnight.”
-
- “Aye, so it is,” cried her mother, “and Mrs. Long does not come
- back till the day before; so, it will be impossible for her to
- introduce him, for she will not know him herself.”
-
- “Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and
- introduce Mr. Bingley to _her_.”
-
- “Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible, when I am not acquainted
- with him myself; how can you be so teasing?”
-
- “I honour your circumspection. A fortnight’s acquaintance is
- certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is by
- the end of a fortnight. But if _we_ do not venture somebody else
- will; and after all, Mrs. Long and her nieces must stand their
- chance; and, therefore, as she will think it an act of kindness,
- if you decline the office, I will take it on myself.”
-
- The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet said only,
- “Nonsense, nonsense!”
-
- “What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?” cried he.
- “Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress that
- is laid on them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree with you
- _there_. What say you, Mary? for you are a young lady of deep
- reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts.”
-
- Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.
-
- “While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return
- to Mr. Bingley.”
-
- “I am sick of Mr. Bingley,” cried his wife.
-
- “I am sorry to hear _that_; but why did not you tell me so
- before? If I had known as much this morning, I certainly would not
- have called on him. It is very unlucky; but as I have actually
- paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now.”
-
- The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of
- Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though when the first
- tumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it was what she
- had expected all the while.
-
- “How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet! But I knew I should
- persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to
- neglect such an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is
- such a good joke, too, that you should have gone this morning, and
- never said a word about it till now.”
-
- “Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose,” said Mr.
- Bennet; and, as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the
- raptures of his wife.
-
- “What an excellent father you have, girls,” said she, when the
- door was shut. “I do not know how you will ever make him amends
- for his kindness; or me either, for that matter. At our time of
- life, it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to be making new
- acquaintance every day; but for your sakes, we would do
- anything. Lydia, my love, though you _are_ the youngest, I dare
- say Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next ball.”
-
- “Oh!” said Lydia stoutly, “I am not afraid; for though I _am_ the
- youngest, I’m the tallest.”
-
- The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he
- would return Mr. Bennet’s visit, and determining when they should
- ask him to dinner.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 3
-
- Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her
- five daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw
- from her husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley.
- They attacked him in various ways; with barefaced questions,
- ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the
- skill of them all; and they were at last obliged to accept the
- second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her
- report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with
- him. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely
- agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next
- assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To
- be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love;
- and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley’s heart were entertained.
-
- “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at
- Netherfield,” said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, “and all the
- others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.”
-
- In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet’s visit, and sat
- about ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained
- hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose
- beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father. The ladies
- were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantage of
- ascertaining from an upper window, that he wore a blue coat and
- rode a black horse.
-
- An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and
- already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do
- credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred
- it all. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day,
- and consequently unable to accept the honour of their
- invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted. She could
- not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his
- arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that he might be
- always flying about from one place to another, and never settled
- at Netherfield as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted her fears a
- little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to
- get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that
- Mr. Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with
- him to the assembly. The girls grieved over such a number of
- ladies; but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing,
- that instead of twelve, he had brought only six with him from
- London, his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered
- the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether; Mr.
- Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another
- young man.
-
- Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant
- countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine
- women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr.
- Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon
- drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome
- features, noble mien, and the report which was in general
- circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having
- ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine
- figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than
- Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about
- half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned
- the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to
- be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his
- large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most
- forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be
- compared with his friend.
-
- Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the
- principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved,
- danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and
- talked of giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable
- qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between him
- and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and
- once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other
- lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the
- room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His
- character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man
- in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there
- again. Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet,
- whose dislike of his general behaviour was sharpened into
- particular resentment by his having slighted one of her
- daughters.
-
- Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen,
- to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Mr.
- Darcy had been standing near enough for her to overhear a
- conversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the dance
- for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.
-
- “Come, Darcy,” said he, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you
- standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much
- better dance.”
-
- “I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am
- particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as
- this, it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and
- there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a
- punishment to me to stand up with.”
-
- “I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Bingley,
- “for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant
- girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of
- them you see uncommonly pretty.”
-
- “_You_ are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said
- Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.
-
- “Oh! she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there
- is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very
- pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner
- to introduce you.”
-
- “Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at
- Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly
- said, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt _me_; and I
- am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies
- who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your
- partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with
- me.”
-
- Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and
- Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him. She
- told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for
- she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in
- anything ridiculous.
-
- The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family.
- Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the
- Netherfield party. Mr. Bingley had danced with her twice, and she
- had been distinguished by his sisters. Jane was as much gratified
- by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way.
- Elizabeth felt Jane’s pleasure. Mary had heard herself mentioned
- to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the
- neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough
- to be never without partners, which was all that they had yet
- learnt to care for at a ball. They returned, therefore, in good
- spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived, and of which
- they were the principal inhabitants. They found Mr. Bennet still
- up. With a book he was regardless of time; and on the present
- occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the event of an
- evening which had raised such splendid expectations. He had
- rather hoped that all his wife’s views on the stranger would be
- disappointed; but he soon found that he had a very different story
- to hear.
-
- “Oh, my dear Mr. Bennet,” as she entered the room, “we have had a
- most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had
- been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it.
- Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her
- quite beautiful, and danced with her twice. Only think of _that_,
- my dear; he actually danced with her twice; and she was the 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 stand up with her;
- but, however, he did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can,
- you know; and he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going
- down the dance. So he enquired who she was, and got introduced,
- and asked her for the two next. Then, the two third he danced with
- Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth
- with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the
- _Boulanger_—”
-
- “If he had had any compassion for _me_,” cried her husband
- impatiently, “he would not have danced half so much! For God’s
- sake, say no more of his partners. Oh that he had sprained his
- ankle in the first dance!”
-
- “Oh! my dear,” continued Mrs. Bennet, “I am quite delighted with him. He is so excessively
- 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—”
-
- Here she was interrupted again. Mr. Bennet protested against any
- description of finery. She was therefore obliged to seek another
- branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness of
- spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr. Darcy.
-
- “But I can assure you,” she added, “that Lizzy does not lose much
- by not suiting _his_ fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid
- man, not at all worth pleasing. So high and so conceited that
- there was no enduring him! He walked here, and he walked there,
- fancying himself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance
- with! I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given him one
- of your set-downs. I quite detest the man.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 4
-
- When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been
- cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her
- sister how very much she admired him.
-
- “He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she, “sensible,
- good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!—so
- much ease, with such perfect good breeding!”
-
- “He is also handsome,” replied Elizabeth, “which a young man
- ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is
- thereby complete.”
-
- “I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second
- time. I did not expect such a compliment.”
-
- “Did not you? _I_ did for you. But that is one great difference
- between us. Compliments always take _you_ by surprise, and _me_
- never. What could be more natural than his asking you again? He
- could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as
- every other woman in the room. No thanks to his gallantry for
- that. Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave
- to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.”
-
- “Dear Lizzy!”
-
- “Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in
- general. You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good
- and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a
- human being in my life.”
-
- “I would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one; but I always
- speak what I think.”
-
- “I know you do; and it is _that_ which makes the wonder. With
- _your_ good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and
- nonsense of others! Affectation of candour is common enough;—one
- meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or
- design—to take the good of everybody’s character and make it
- still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.
- And so, you like this man’s sisters, too, do you? Their manners
- are not equal to his.”
-
- “Certainly not; at first. But they are very pleasing women when
- you converse with them. Miss Bingley is to live with her brother,
- and keep his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a
- very charming neighbour in her.”
-
- Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced; their
- behaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to please in
- general; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy
- of temper than her sister, and with a judgment too unassailed by
- any attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve
- them. They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good
- humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of
- being agreeable where they chose it; but proud and conceited.
- They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first
- private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand
- pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and
- of associating with people of rank; and were therefore in every
- respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of
- others. They were of a respectable family in the north of
- England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories
- than that their brother’s fortune and their own had been acquired
- by trade.
-
- Mr. Bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly a hundred
- thousand pounds from his father, who had intended to purchase an
- estate, but did not live to do it. Mr. Bingley intended it
- likewise, and sometimes made choice of his county; but as he was
- now provided with a good house and the liberty of a manor, it was
- doubtful to many of those who best knew the easiness of his
- temper, whether he might not spend the remainder of his days at
- Netherfield, and leave the next generation to purchase.
-
- His sisters were very anxious for his having an estate of his own;
- but though he was now established only as a tenant, Miss Bingley
- was by no means unwilling to preside at his table, nor was Mrs.
- Hurst, who had married a man of more fashion than fortune, less
- disposed to consider his house as her home when it suited her.
- Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years, when he was tempted by
- an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House. He did
- look at it, and into it for half an hour, was pleased with the
- situation and the principal rooms, satisfied with what the owner
- said in its praise, and took it immediately.
-
- Between him and Darcy there was a very steady friendship, in
- spite of great opposition of character. Bingley was endeared to
- Darcy by the easiness, openness, and ductility of his temper,
- though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own,
- and though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied. On the
- strength of Darcy’s regard Bingley had the firmest reliance, and
- of his judgment the highest opinion. In understanding, Darcy was
- the superior. Bingley was by no means deficient, but Darcy was
- clever. He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and
- fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting.
- In that respect his friend had greatly the advantage. Bingley was
- sure of being liked wherever he appeared, Darcy was continually
- giving offence.
-
- The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was
- sufficiently characteristic. Bingley had never met with
- pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been
- most kind and attentive to him; there had been no formality, no
- stiffness; he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and as
- to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful.
- Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom
- there was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had
- felt the smallest interest, and from none received either
- attention or pleasure. Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty,
- but she smiled too much.
-
- Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so—but still they
- admired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet girl,
- and one whom they should not object to know more of. Miss Bennet
- was therefore established as a sweet girl, and their brother felt
- authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 5
-
- Within a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the
- Bennets were particularly intimate. Sir William Lucas had been
- formerly in trade in Meryton, where he had made a tolerable
- fortune, and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to
- the king during his mayoralty. The distinction had perhaps been
- felt too strongly. It had given him a disgust to his business
- and to his residence in a small market town; and, quitting
- them both, he had removed with his family to a house about a mile
- from Meryton, denominated from that period Lucas Lodge, where he
- could think with pleasure of his own importance, and, unshackled
- by business, occupy himself solely in being civil to all the
- world. For, though elated by his rank, it did not render him
- supercilious; on the contrary, he was all attention to everybody.
- By nature inoffensive, friendly, and obliging, his presentation
- at St. James’s had made him courteous.
-
- Lady Lucas was a very good kind of woman, not too clever to be a
- valuable neighbour to Mrs. Bennet. They had several children. The
- eldest of them, a sensible, intelligent young woman, about
- twenty-seven, was Elizabeth’s intimate friend.
-
- That the Miss Lucases and the Miss Bennets should meet to talk
- over a ball was absolutely necessary; and the morning after the
- assembly brought the former to Longbourn to hear and to
- communicate.
-
- “_You_ began the evening well, Charlotte,” said Mrs. Bennet with
- civil self-command to Miss Lucas. “_You_ were Mr. Bingley’s first
- choice.”
-
- “Yes; but he seemed to like his second better.”
-
- “Oh! you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her twice.
- To be sure that _did_ seem as if he admired her—indeed I rather
- believe he _did_—I heard something about it—but I hardly know
- what—something about Mr. Robinson.”
-
- “Perhaps you mean what I overheard between him and Mr. Robinson;
- did not I mention it to you? Mr. Robinson’s asking him how he
- liked our Meryton assemblies, and whether he did not think there
- were a great many pretty women in the room, and _which_ he
- thought the prettiest? and his answering immediately to the last
- question—‘Oh! the eldest Miss Bennet, beyond a doubt, there
- cannot be two opinions on that point.’”
-
- “Upon my word! Well, that was very decided indeed—that does seem
- as if—but, however, it may all come to nothing, you know.”
-
- “_My_ overhearings were more to the purpose than _yours_, Eliza,”
- said Charlotte. “Mr. Darcy is not so well worth listening to as
- his friend, is he?—Poor Eliza!—to be only just _tolerable_.”
-
- “I beg you would not put it into Lizzy’s head to be vexed by his
- ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man that it would
- be quite a misfortune to be liked by him. Mrs. Long told me last
- night that he sat close to her for half an hour without once
- opening his lips.”
-
- “Are you quite sure, ma’am?—is not there a little mistake?” said
- Jane. “I certainly saw Mr. Darcy speaking to her.”
-
- “Aye—because she asked him at last how he liked Netherfield, and
- he could not help answering her; but she said he seemed very
- angry at being spoke to.”
-
- “Miss Bingley told me,” said Jane, “that he never speaks much
- unless among his intimate acquaintance. With _them_ he is
- remarkably agreeable.”
-
- “I do not believe a word of it, my dear. If he had been so very
- agreeable, he would have talked to Mrs. Long. But I can guess how
- it was; everybody says that he is eat up with pride, and I dare
- say he had heard somehow that Mrs. Long does not keep a carriage,
- and had come to the ball in a hack chaise.”
-
- “I do not mind his not talking to Mrs. Long,” said Miss Lucas,
- “but I wish he had danced with Eliza.”
-
- “Another time, Lizzy,” said her mother, “I would not dance with
- _him_, if I were you.”
-
- “I believe, ma’am, I may safely promise you _never_ to dance with
- him.”
-
- “His pride,” said Miss Lucas, “does not offend _me_ so much as
- pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot
- wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune,
- everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I
- may so express it, he has a _right_ to be proud.”
-
- “That is very true,” replied Elizabeth, “and I could easily
- forgive _his_ pride, if he had not mortified _mine_.”
-
- “Pride,” observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of
- her reflections, “is a very common failing, I believe. By all
- that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common
- indeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that
- there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of
- self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or
- imaginary. Vanity and pride are different things, though the
- words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without
- being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves,
- vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
-
- “If I were as rich as Mr. Darcy,” cried a young Lucas, who came
- with his sisters, “I should not care how proud I was. I would
- keep a pack of foxhounds, and drink a bottle of wine every day.”
-
- “Then you would drink a great deal more than you ought,” said
- Mrs. Bennet; “and if I were to see you at it, I should take away
- your bottle directly.”
-
- The boy protested that she should not; she continued to declare
- that she would, and the argument ended only with the visit.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 6
-
- The ladies of Longbourn soon waited on those of Netherfield. The
- visit was returned in due form. Miss Bennet’s pleasing
- manners grew on the goodwill of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and
- though the mother was found to be intolerable, and the younger
- sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of being better acquainted
- with _them_ was expressed towards the two eldest. By Jane this
- attention was received with the greatest pleasure; but Elizabeth
- still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody,
- hardly excepting even her sister, and could not like them; though
- their kindness to Jane, such as it was, had a value as arising in
- all probability from the influence of their brother’s admiration.
- It was generally evident whenever they met, that he _did_ admire
- her; and to _her_ it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to
- the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the
- first, and was in a way to be very much in love; but she
- considered with pleasure that it was not likely to be discovered
- by the world in general, since Jane united with great strength
- of feeling, a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of
- manner which would guard her from the suspicions of the
- impertinent. She mentioned this to her friend Miss Lucas.
-
- “It may perhaps be pleasant,” replied Charlotte, “to be able to
- impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a
- disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her
- affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose
- the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor
- consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so
- much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it
- is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all _begin_ freely—a
- slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us
- who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement.
- In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show _more_ affection
- than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may
- never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.”
-
- “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
- indeed not to discover it too.”
-
- “Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane’s disposition as you
- do.”
-
- “But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to
- conceal it, he must find it out.”
-
- “Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her. But though Bingley
- and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours
- together; and as they always see each other in large mixed
- parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in
- conversing together. Jane should therefore make the most of every
- half-hour in which she can command his attention. When she is
- secure of him, there will be leisure for falling in love as
- much as she chooses.”
-
- “Your plan is a good one,” replied Elizabeth, “where nothing is
- in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were
- determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I
- should adopt it. But these are not Jane’s feelings; she is not
- acting by design. As yet, she cannot even be certain of the
- degree of her own regard, nor of its reasonableness. She has known
- him only a fortnight. She danced four dances with him at Meryton;
- she saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined
- in company with him four times. This is not quite enough to make
- her understand his character.”
-
- “Not as you represent it. Had she merely _dined_ with him, she
- might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite; but
- you must remember that four evenings have been also spent
- together—and four evenings may do a great deal.”
-
- “Yes; these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that
- they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce; but with respect to
- any other leading characteristic, I do not imagine that much has
- been unfolded.”
-
- “Well,” said Charlotte, “I wish Jane success with all my heart;
- and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had
- as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his
- character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a
- matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so
- well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does
- not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to
- grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of
- vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the
- defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.”
-
- “You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it
- is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself.”
-
- Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to her sister,
- Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming
- an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy
- had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at
- her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he
- looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it
- clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good
- feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered
- uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark
- eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.
- Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure
- of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her
- figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting
- that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was
- caught by their easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly
- unaware;—to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable
- nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance
- with.
-
- He began to wish to know more of her, and as a step towards
- conversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with
- others. His doing so drew her notice. It was at Sir William
- Lucas’s, where a large party were assembled.
-
- “What does Mr. Darcy mean,” said she to Charlotte, “by listening
- to my conversation with Colonel Forster?”
-
- “That is a question which Mr. Darcy only can answer.”
-
- “But if he does it any more I shall certainly let him know that I
- see what he is about. He has a very satirical eye, and if I do
- not begin by being impertinent myself, I shall soon grow afraid
- of him.”
-
- On his approaching them soon afterwards, though without seeming
- to have any intention of speaking, Miss Lucas defied her friend
- to mention such a subject to him, which immediately provoking
- Elizabeth to do it, she turned to him and said,
-
- “Did not you think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly
- well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Forster to give us a
- ball at Meryton?”
-
- “With great energy; but it is a subject which always makes a lady
- energetic.”
-
- “You are severe on us.”
-
- “It will be _her_ turn soon to be teased,” said Miss Lucas. “I am
- going to open the instrument, Eliza, and you know what follows.”
-
- “You are a very strange creature by way of a friend!—always
- wanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody! If my
- vanity had taken a musical turn, you would have been invaluable;
- but as it is, I would really rather not sit down before those who
- must be in the habit of hearing the very best performers.” On
- Miss Lucas’s persevering, however, she added, “Very well; if it
- must be so, it must.” And gravely glancing at Mr. Darcy, “There
- is a fine old saying, which everybody here is of course familiar
- with—‘Keep your breath to cool your porridge,’—and I shall keep
- mine to swell my song.”
-
- Her performance was pleasing, though by no means capital. After a
- song or two, and before she could reply to the entreaties of
- several that she would sing again, she was eagerly succeeded at
- the instrument by her sister Mary, who having, in consequence of
- being the only plain one in the family, worked hard for knowledge
- and accomplishments, was always impatient for display.
-
- Mary had neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given
- her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and
- conceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of
- excellence than she had reached. Elizabeth, easy and unaffected,
- had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing
- half so well; and Mary, at the end of a long concerto, was glad
- to purchase praise and gratitude by Scotch and Irish airs, at the
- request of her younger sisters, who with some of the Lucases,
- and two or three officers, joined eagerly in dancing at one end
- of the room.
-
- Mr. Darcy stood near them in silent indignation at such a mode of
- passing the evening, to the exclusion of all conversation, and
- was too much engrossed by his own thoughts to perceive that Sir
- William Lucas was his neighbour, till Sir William thus began.
-
- “What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy!
- There is nothing like dancing after all. I consider it as one of
- the first refinements of polished societies.”
-
- “Certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue
- amongst the less polished societies of the world.—Every savage
- can dance.”
-
- Sir William only smiled. “Your friend performs delightfully,” he
- continued after a pause, on seeing Bingley join the group; “and I
- doubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself, Mr.
- Darcy.”
-
- “You saw me dance at Meryton, I believe, sir.”
-
- “Yes, indeed, and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the
- sight. Do you often dance at St. James’s?”
-
- “Never, sir.”
-
- “Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place?”
-
- “It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can avoid
- it.”
-
- “You have a house in town, I conclude?”
-
- Mr. Darcy bowed.
-
- “I had once some thoughts of fixing in town myself—for I am
- fond of superior society; but I did not feel quite certain that
- the air of London would agree with Lady Lucas.”
-
- He paused in hopes of an answer; but his companion was not
- disposed to make any; and Elizabeth at that instant moving
- towards them, he was struck with the notion of doing a very
- gallant thing, and called out to her,
-
- “My dear Miss Eliza, why are not you dancing? Mr. Darcy, you must
- allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable
- partner. You cannot refuse to dance, I am sure, when so much
- beauty is before you.” And, taking her hand, he would have given
- it to Mr. Darcy, who, though extremely surprised, was not
- unwilling to receive it, when she instantly drew back, and said
- with some discomposure to Sir William,
-
- “Indeed, sir, I have not the least intention of dancing. I
- entreat you not to suppose that I moved this way in order to beg
- for a partner.”
-
- Mr. Darcy, with grave propriety, requested to be allowed the
- honour of her hand, but in vain. Elizabeth was determined; nor
- did Sir William at all shake her purpose by his attempt at
- persuasion.
-
- “You excel so much in the dance, Miss Eliza, that it is cruel to
- deny me the happiness of seeing you; and though this gentleman
- dislikes the amusement in general, he can have no objection, I am
- sure, to oblige us for one half-hour.”
-
- “Mr. Darcy is all politeness,” said Elizabeth, smiling.
-
- “He is, indeed—but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss
- Eliza, we cannot wonder at his complaisance; for who would object
- to such a partner?”
-
- Elizabeth looked archly, and turned away. Her resistance had not
- injured her with the gentleman, and he was thinking of her with
- some complacency, when thus accosted by Miss Bingley,
-
- “I can guess the subject of your reverie.”
-
- “I should imagine not.”
-
- “You are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many
- evenings in this manner—in such society; and indeed I am quite of
- your opinion. I was never more annoyed! The insipidity, and yet
- the noise; the nothingness, and yet the self-importance of all
- these people! What would I give to hear your strictures on them!”
-
- “Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was more
- agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great
- pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman
- can bestow.”
-
- Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired
- he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such
- reflections. Mr. Darcy replied with great intrepidity,
-
- “Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
-
- “Miss Elizabeth Bennet!” repeated Miss Bingley. “I am all
- astonishment. How long has she been such a favourite?—and pray
- when am I to wish you joy?”
-
- “That is exactly the question which I expected you to ask. A
- lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to
- love, from love to matrimony, in a moment. I knew you would be
- wishing me joy.”
-
- “Nay, if you are so serious about it, I shall consider the matter as
- absolutely settled. You will have a charming mother-in-law,
- indeed, and of course she will be always at Pemberley with
- you.”
-
- He listened to her with perfect indifference, while she chose to
- entertain herself in this manner; and as his composure convinced
- her that all was safe, her wit flowed long.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 7
-
- Mr. Bennet’s property consisted almost entirely in an estate of
- two thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was
- entailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation; and
- their mother’s fortune, though ample for her situation in life,
- could but ill supply the deficiency of his. Her father had been
- an attorney in Meryton, and had left her four thousand pounds.
-
- She had a sister married to a Mr. Phillips, who had been a clerk
- to their father, and succeeded him in the business, and a brother
- settled in London in a respectable line of trade.
-
- The village of Longbourn was only one mile from Meryton; a most
- convenient distance for the young ladies, who were usually
- tempted thither three or four times a week, to pay their duty to
- their aunt and to a milliner’s shop just over the way. The two
- youngest of the family, Catherine and Lydia, were particularly
- frequent in these attentions; their minds were more vacant than
- their sisters’, and when nothing better offered, a walk to
- Meryton was necessary to amuse their morning hours and furnish
- conversation for the evening; and however bare of news the
- country in general might be, they always contrived to learn some
- from their aunt. At present, indeed, they were well supplied both
- with news and happiness by the recent arrival of a militia
- regiment in the neighbourhood; it was to remain the whole winter,
- and Meryton was the headquarters.
-
- Their visits to Mrs. Philips were now productive of the most
- interesting intelligence. Every day added something to their
- knowledge of the officers’ names and connections. Their lodgings
- were not long a secret, and at length they began to know the
- officers themselves. Mr. Philips visited them all, and this
- opened to his nieces a source of felicity unknown before. They
- could talk of nothing but officers; and Mr. Bingley’s large
- fortune, the mention of which gave animation to their mother, was
- worthless in their eyes when opposed to the regimentals of an
- ensign.
-
- After listening one morning to their effusions on this subject,
- Mr. Bennet coolly observed,
-
- “From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must
- be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it
- some time, but I am now convinced.”
-
- Catherine was disconcerted, and made no answer; but Lydia, with
- perfect indifference, continued to express her admiration of
- Captain Carter, and her hope of seeing him in the course of the
- day, as he was going the next morning to London.
-
- “I am astonished, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that you should be
- so ready to think your own children silly. If I wished to think
- slightingly of anybody’s children, it should not be of my own,
- however.”
-
- “If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of
- it.”
-
- “Yes—but as it happens, they are all of them very clever.”
-
- “This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not
- agree. I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every
- particular, but I must so far differ from you as to think our two
- youngest daughters uncommonly foolish.”
-
- “My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have the
- sense of their father and mother. When they get to our age, I
- dare 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,
- indeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a smart young colonel,
- with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls, I
- shall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked
- very becoming the other night at Sir William’s in his
- regimentals.”
-
- “Mamma,” cried Lydia, “my aunt says that Colonel Forster and
- Captain Carter do not go so often to Miss Watson’s as they did
- when they first came; she sees them now very often standing in
- Clarke’s library.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the footman
- with a note for Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield, and the
- servant waited for an answer. Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled with
- pleasure, and she was eagerly calling out, while her daughter
- read,
-
- “Well, Jane, who is it from? What is it about? What does he say?
- Well, Jane, make haste and tell us; make haste, my love.”
-
- “It is from Miss Bingley,” said Jane, and then read it aloud.
-
- “MY DEAR FRIEND,—
- “If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa
- and me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest
- of our lives, for a whole day’s _tête-à-tête_ between two women
- can never end without a quarrel. Come as soon as you can on the
- receipt of this. My brother and the gentlemen are to dine with
- the officers.—Yours ever,
-
- “CAROLINE BINGLEY”
-
- “With the officers!” cried Lydia. “I wonder my aunt did not tell
- us of _that_.”
-
- “Dining out,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that is very unlucky.”
-
- “Can I have the carriage?” said Jane.
-
- “No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems
- likely to rain; and then you must stay all night.”
-
- “That would be a good scheme,” said Elizabeth, “if you were sure
- that they would not offer to send her home.”
-
- “Oh! but the gentlemen will have Mr. Bingley’s chaise to go to
- Meryton; and the Hursts have no horses to theirs.”
-
- “I had much rather go in the coach.”
-
- “But, my dear, your father cannot spare the horses, I am sure.
- They are wanted in the farm, Mr. Bennet, are not they?”
-
- “They are wanted in the farm much oftener than I can get them.”
-
- “But if you have got them to-day,” said Elizabeth, “my mother’s
- purpose will be answered.”
-
- She did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that the
- horses were engaged. Jane was therefore obliged to go on
- horseback, and her mother attended her to the door with many
- cheerful prognostics of a bad day. Her hopes were answered; Jane
- had not been gone long before it rained hard. Her sisters were
- uneasy for her, but her mother was delighted. The rain continued
- the whole evening without intermission; Jane certainly could not
- come back.
-
- “This was a lucky idea of mine, indeed!” said Mrs. Bennet, more
- than once, as if the credit of making it rain were all her own.
- Till the next morning, however, she was not aware of all the
- felicity of her contrivance. Breakfast was scarcely over when a
- servant from Netherfield brought the following note for
- Elizabeth:
-
- “MY DEAREST LIZZY,—
- “I find myself very unwell this morning, which, I suppose, is to
- be imputed to my getting wet through yesterday. My kind friends
- will not hear of my returning home till I am better. They insist also
- on my seeing Mr. Jones—therefore do not be alarmed if you should
- hear of his having been to me—and, excepting a sore throat and
- headache, there is not much the matter with me.—Yours, &c.”
-
- “Well, my dear,” said Mr. Bennet, when Elizabeth had read the
- note aloud, “if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of
- illness—if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it
- was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley, and under your orders.”
-
- “Oh! I am not at all afraid of her dying. People do not die of little
- trifling colds. She will be taken good care of. As long as she
- stays there, it is all very well. I would go and see her if I
- could have the carriage.”
-
- Elizabeth, feeling really anxious, was determined to go to her,
- though the carriage was not to be had; and as she was no
- horsewoman, walking was her only alternative. She declared her
- resolution.
-
- “How can you be so silly,” cried her mother, “as to think of such
- a thing, in all this dirt! You will not be fit to be seen when
- you get there.”
-
- “I shall be very fit to see Jane—which is all I want.”
-
- “Is this a hint to me, Lizzy,” said her father, “to send for the
- horses?”
-
- “No, indeed. I do not wish to avoid the walk. The distance is
- nothing, when one has a motive; only three miles. I shall be back
- by dinner.”
-
- “I admire the activity of your benevolence,” observed Mary, “but
- every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason; and, in my
- opinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is
- required.”
-
- “We will go as far as Meryton with you,” said Catherine and
- Lydia. Elizabeth accepted their company, and the three young
- ladies set off together.
-
- “If we make haste,” said Lydia, as they walked along, “perhaps we
- may see something of Captain Carter before he goes.”
-
- In Meryton they parted; the two youngest repaired to the lodgings
- of one of the officers’ wives, and Elizabeth continued her walk
- alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over
- stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and
- finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary
- ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of
- exercise.
-
- She was shown into the breakfast-parlour, where all but Jane were
- assembled, and where her appearance created a great deal of
- surprise. That she should have walked three miles so early in the
- day, in such dirty weather, and by herself, was almost incredible
- to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was convinced that
- they held her in contempt for it. She was received, however, very
- politely by them; and in their brother’s manners there was
- something better than politeness; there was good humour and
- kindness. Mr. Darcy said very little, and Mr. Hurst nothing at
- all. The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy
- which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the
- occasion’s justifying her coming so far alone. The latter was
- thinking only of his breakfast.
-
- Her enquiries after her sister were not very favourably answered.
- Miss Bennet had slept ill, and though up, was very feverish, and
- not well enough to leave her room. Elizabeth was glad to be taken
- to her immediately; and Jane, who had only been withheld by the
- fear of giving alarm or inconvenience, from expressing in her note
- how much she longed for such a visit, was delighted at her
- entrance. She was not equal, however, to much conversation, and
- when Miss Bingley left them together, could attempt little
- beside expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary kindness
- she was treated with. Elizabeth silently attended her.
-
- When breakfast was over, they were joined by the sisters; and
- Elizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much
- affection and solicitude they showed for Jane. The apothecary
- came, and having examined his patient, said, as might be
- supposed, that she had caught a violent cold, and that they must
- endeavour to get the better of it; advised her to return to bed,
- and promised her some draughts. The advice was followed readily,
- for the feverish symptoms increased, and her head ached acutely.
- Elizabeth did not quit her room for a moment, nor were the other
- ladies often absent; the gentlemen being out, they had in fact
- nothing to do elsewhere.
-
- When the clock struck three, Elizabeth felt that she must go, and
- very unwillingly said so. Miss Bingley offered her the carriage,
- and she only wanted a little pressing to accept it, when Jane
- testified such concern in parting with her, that Miss Bingley was
- obliged to convert the offer of the chaise to an invitation to
- remain at Netherfield for the present. Elizabeth most thankfully
- consented, and a servant was dispatched to Longbourn to acquaint
- the family with her stay, and bring back a supply of clothes.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 8
-
- At five o’clock the two ladies retired to dress, and at half-past
- six Elizabeth was summoned to dinner. To the civil enquiries
- which then poured in, and amongst which she had the pleasure of
- distinguishing the much superior solicitude of Mr. Bingley’s, she
- could not make a very favourable answer. Jane was by no means
- better. The sisters, on hearing this, repeated three or four
- times how much they were grieved, how shocking it was to have a
- bad cold, and how excessively they disliked being ill themselves;
- and then thought no more of the matter: and their indifference
- towards Jane when not immediately before them, restored Elizabeth
- to the enjoyment of all her original dislike.
-
- Their brother, indeed, was the only one of the party whom she
- could regard with any complacency. His anxiety for Jane was
- evident, and his attentions to herself most pleasing, and they
- prevented her feeling herself so much an intruder as she believed
- she was considered by the others. She had very little notice from
- any but him. Miss Bingley was engrossed by Mr. Darcy, her sister
- scarcely less so; and as for Mr. Hurst, by whom Elizabeth sat, he
- was an indolent man, who lived only to eat, drink, and play at
- cards; who, when he found her prefer a plain dish to a ragout,
- had nothing to say to her.
-
- When dinner was over, she returned directly to Jane, and Miss
- Bingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room. Her
- manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride
- and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no taste, no beauty.
- Mrs. Hurst thought the same, and added,
-
- “She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an
- excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this
- morning. She really looked almost wild.”
-
- “She did, indeed, Louisa. I could hardly keep my countenance.
- Very nonsensical to come at all! Why must _she_ be scampering
- about the country, because her sister had a cold? Her hair so
- untidy, so blowsy!”
-
- “Yes, and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches
- deep in mud, I am absolutely certain; and the gown which had been
- let down to hide it not doing its office.”
-
- “Your picture may be very exact, Louisa,” said Bingley; “but this
- was all lost upon me. I thought Miss Elizabeth Bennet looked
- remarkably well when she came into the room this morning. Her
- dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice.”
-
- “_You_ observed it, Mr. Darcy, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley;
- “and I am inclined to think that you would not wish to see _your
- sister_ make such an exhibition.”
-
- “Certainly not.”
-
- “To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever
- it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what
- could she mean by it? It seems to me to show an abominable sort
- of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to
- decorum.”
-
- “It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing,”
- said Bingley.
-
- “I am afraid, Mr. Darcy,” observed Miss Bingley, in a half
- whisper, “that this adventure has rather affected your admiration
- of her fine eyes.”
-
- “Not at all,” he replied; “they were brightened by the exercise.”
- A short pause followed this speech, and Mrs. Hurst began again.
-
- “I have an excessive regard for Miss Jane Bennet, she is really a
- very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well
- settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low
- connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.”
-
- “I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in
- Meryton.”
-
- “Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside.”
-
- “That is capital,” added her sister, and they both laughed
- heartily.
-
- “If they had uncles enough to fill _all_ Cheapside,” cried
- Bingley, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable.”
-
- “But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men
- of any consideration in the world,” replied Darcy.
-
- To this speech Bingley made no answer; but his sisters gave it
- their hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at
- the expense of their dear friend’s vulgar relations.
-
- With a renewal of tenderness, however, they repaired to her room
- on leaving the dining-parlour, and sat with her till summoned to
- coffee. She was still very poorly, and Elizabeth would not quit
- her at all, till late in the evening, when she had the comfort of
- seeing her asleep, and when it appeared to her rather right than
- pleasant that she should go downstairs herself. On entering the
- drawing-room she found the whole party at loo, and was
- immediately invited to join them; but suspecting them to be
- playing high she declined it, and making her sister the excuse,
- said she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay
- below, with a book. Mr. Hurst looked at her with astonishment.
-
- “Do you prefer reading to cards?” said he; “that is rather
- singular.”
-
- “Miss Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, “despises cards. She is a
- great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.”
-
- “I deserve neither such praise nor such censure,” cried
- Elizabeth; “I am _not_ a great reader, and I have pleasure in
- many things.”
-
- “In nursing your sister I am sure you have pleasure,” said
- Bingley; “and I hope it will soon be increased by seeing her
- quite well.”
-
- Elizabeth thanked him from her heart, and then walked towards a
- table where a few books were lying. He immediately offered to
- fetch her others; all that his library afforded.
-
- “And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own
- credit; but I am an idle fellow, and though I have not many, I
- have more than I ever looked into.”
-
- Elizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with
- those in the room.
-
- “I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have
- left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library
- you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”
-
- “It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many
- generations.”
-
- “And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always
- buying books.”
-
- “I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days
- as these.”
-
- “Neglect! I am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the
- beauties of that noble place. Charles, when you build _your_
- house, I wish it may be half as delightful as Pemberley.”
-
- “I wish it may.”
-
- “But I would really advise you to make your purchase in that
- neighbourhood, and take Pemberley for a kind of model. There is
- not a finer county in England than Derbyshire.”
-
- “With all my heart; I will buy Pemberley itself if Darcy will
- sell it.”
-
- “I am talking of possibilities, Charles.”
-
- “Upon my word, Caroline, I should think it more possible to get
- Pemberley by purchase than by imitation.”
-
- Elizabeth was so much caught by what passed, as to leave her
- very little attention for her book; and soon laying it wholly
- aside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself
- between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game.
-
- “Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?” said Miss Bingley;
- “will she be as tall as I am?”
-
- “I think she will. She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s
- height, or rather taller.”
-
- “How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who
- delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners!—and so
- extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the
- pianoforte is exquisite.”
-
- “It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have
- patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”
-
- “All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you
- mean?”
-
- “Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens,
- and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this,
- and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first
- time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”
-
- “Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy,
- “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who
- deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a
- screen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your
- estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more
- than half a dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that
- are really accomplished.”
-
- “Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley.
-
- “Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in
- your idea of an accomplished woman.”
-
- “Yes; I do comprehend a great deal in it.”
-
- “Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be
- really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is
- usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of
- music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to
- deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a
- certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of
- her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but
- half deserved.”
-
- “All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she
- must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of
- her mind by extensive reading.”
-
- “I am no longer surprised at your knowing _only_ six accomplished
- women. I rather wonder now at your knowing _any_.”
-
- “Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility
- of all this?”
-
- “_I_ never saw such a woman. _I_ never saw such capacity, and
- taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.”
-
- Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice
- of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew
- many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called
- them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to
- what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an
- end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room.
-
- “Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed
- on her, “is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend
- themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with
- many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a
- paltry device, a very mean art.”
-
- “Undoubtedly,” replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly
- addressed, “there is meanness in _all_ the arts which ladies
- sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears
- affinity to cunning is despicable.”
-
- Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to
- continue the subject.
-
- Elizabeth joined them again only to say that her sister was
- worse, and that she could not leave her. Bingley urged Mr. Jones’s
- being sent for immediately; while his sisters, convinced that no
- country advice could be of any service, recommended an express to
- town for one of the most eminent physicians. This she would not
- hear of; but she was not so unwilling to comply with their
- brother’s proposal; and it was settled that Mr. Jones should be
- sent for early in the morning, if Miss Bennet were not decidedly
- better. Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared
- that they were miserable. They solaced their wretchedness,
- however, by duets after supper, while he could find no better
- relief to his feelings than by giving his housekeeper directions
- that every possible attention might be paid to the sick lady and her
- sister.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 9
-
- Elizabeth passed the chief of the night in her sister’s room, and
- in the morning had the pleasure of being able to send a tolerable
- answer to the enquiries which she very early received from Mr.
- Bingley by a housemaid, and some time afterwards from the two
- elegant ladies who waited on his sisters. In spite of this
- amendment, however, she requested to have a note sent to
- Longbourn, desiring her mother to visit Jane, and form her own
- judgment of her situation. The note was immediately dispatched,
- and its contents as quickly complied with. Mrs. Bennet,
- accompanied by her two youngest girls, reached Netherfield soon
- after the family breakfast.
-
- Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have
- been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her
- illness was not alarming, she had no wish of her recovering
- immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remove
- her from Netherfield. She would not listen, therefore, to her
- daughter’s proposal of being carried home; neither did the
- apothecary, who arrived about the same time, think it at all
- advisable. After sitting a little while with Jane, on Miss
- Bingley’s appearance and invitation, the mother and three
- daughters all attended her into the breakfast parlour. Bingley
- met them with hopes that Mrs. Bennet had not found Miss Bennet
- worse than she expected.
-
- “Indeed I have, sir,” was her answer. “She is a great deal too
- ill to be moved. Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her.
- We must trespass a little longer on your kindness.”
-
- “Removed!” cried Bingley. “It must not be thought of. My sister,
- I am sure, will not hear of her removal.”
-
- “You may depend upon it, Madam,” said Miss Bingley, with cold
- civility, “that Miss Bennet shall receive every possible attention
- while she remains with us.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet was profuse in her acknowledgments.
-
- “I am sure,” she added, “if it was not for such good friends I do
- not know what would become of her, for she is very ill indeed,
- and suffers a vast deal, though with the greatest patience in the
- world, which is always the way with her, for she has, without
- exception, the sweetest temper I ever met with. I often tell
- my other girls they are nothing to _her_. You have a sweet room
- here, Mr. Bingley, and a charming prospect over that 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 have but a short lease.”
-
- “Whatever I do is done in a hurry,” replied he; “and therefore if
- I should resolve to quit Netherfield, I should probably be off in
- five minutes. At present, however, I consider myself as quite
- fixed here.”
-
- “That is exactly what I should have supposed of you,” said
- Elizabeth.
-
- “You begin to comprehend me, do you?” cried he, turning towards
- her.
-
- “Oh! yes—I understand you perfectly.”
-
- “I wish I might take this for a compliment; but to be so easily
- seen through I am afraid is pitiful.”
-
- “That is as it happens. It does not necessarily follow that a deep, intricate
- character is more or less estimable than such a one as yours.”
-
- “Lizzy,” cried her mother, “remember where you are, and do not
- run on in the wild manner that you are suffered to do at home.”
-
- “I did not know before,” continued Bingley immediately, “that you
- were a studier of character. It must be an amusing study.”
-
- “Yes; but intricate characters are the _most_ amusing. They have
- at least that advantage.”
-
- “The country,” said Darcy, “can in general supply but few
- subjects for such a study. In a country neighbourhood you move in
- a very confined and unvarying society.”
-
- “But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new
- to be observed in them for ever.”
-
- “Yes, indeed,” cried Mrs. Bennet, offended by his manner of
- mentioning a country neighbourhood. “I assure you there is quite
- as much of _that_ going on in the country as in town.”
-
- Everybody was surprised; and Darcy, after looking at her for a
- moment, turned silently away. Mrs. Bennet, who fancied she had
- gained a complete victory over him, continued her triumph.
-
- “I cannot see that London has any great advantage over the
- country, for my part, except the shops and public places. The
- country is a vast deal pleasanter, is not it, Mr. Bingley?”
-
- “When I am in the country,” he replied, “I never wish to leave
- it; and when I am in town it is pretty much the same. They have
- each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either.”
-
- “Aye—that is because you have the right disposition. But that
- gentleman,” looking at Darcy, “seemed to think the country was
- nothing at all.”
-
- “Indeed, Mama, you are mistaken,” said Elizabeth, blushing for
- her mother. “You quite mistook Mr. Darcy. He only meant that
- there was not such a variety of people to be met with in the
- country as in town, which you must acknowledge to be true.”
-
- “Certainly, my dear, nobody said there were; but as to not
- meeting with many people in this neighbourhood, I believe there
- are few neighbourhoods larger. I know we dine with
- four-and-twenty families.”
-
- Nothing but concern for Elizabeth could enable Bingley to keep
- his countenance. His sister was less delicate, and directed her
- eye towards Mr. Darcy with a very expressive smile. Elizabeth,
- for the sake of saying something that might turn her mother’s
- thoughts, now asked her if Charlotte Lucas had been at Longbourn
- since _her_ coming away.
-
- “Yes, she called yesterday with her father. What an agreeable man
- Sir William is, Mr. Bingley—is not he? so much the man of
- fashion! So genteel and so easy! He has always something to say to
- everybody. _That_ is my idea of good breeding; and those persons
- who fancy themselves very important and never open their mouths,
- quite mistake the matter.”
-
- “Did Charlotte dine with you?”
-
- “No, she would go home. I fancy she was wanted about the
- mince-pies. For my part, Mr. Bingley, _I_ always keep servants
- that can do their own work; _my_ daughters are brought up
- differently. But everybody is to judge for themselves, and the
- Lucases are a very good sort of girls, I assure you. It is a pity
- they are not handsome! Not that _I_ think Charlotte so _very_
- plain—but then she is our particular friend.”
-
- “She seems a very pleasant young woman,” said Bingley.
-
- “Oh! dear, yes; but you must own she is very plain. Lady Lucas
- herself has often said so, and envied me Jane’s beauty. I do not
- like to boast of my own child, but to be sure, Jane—one does not
- often see anybody better looking. It is what everybody says. I do
- not trust my own partiality. When she was only fifteen, there was
- a gentleman at my brother Gardiner’s in town so much in love with her,
- that my sister-in-law was sure he would make her an offer before
- we came away. But, however, he did not. Perhaps he thought her
- too young. However, he wrote some verses on her, and very pretty
- they were.”
-
- “And so ended his affection,” said Elizabeth impatiently. “There
- has been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way. I wonder
- who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away
- love!”
-
- “I have been used to consider poetry as the _food_ of love,” said
- Darcy.
-
- “Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what
- is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of
- inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it
- entirely away.”
-
- Darcy only smiled; and the general pause which ensued made
- Elizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself
- again. She longed to speak, but could think of nothing to say;
- and after a short silence Mrs. Bennet began repeating her thanks
- to Mr. Bingley for his kindness to Jane, with an apology for
- troubling him also with Lizzy. Mr. Bingley was unaffectedly civil
- in his answer, and forced his younger sister to be civil also,
- and say what the occasion required. She performed her part indeed
- without much graciousness, but Mrs. Bennet was satisfied, and
- soon afterwards ordered her carriage. Upon this signal, the
- youngest of her daughters put herself forward. The two girls had
- been whispering to each other during the whole visit, and the
- result of it was, that the youngest should tax Mr. Bingley with
- having promised on his first coming into the country to give a
- ball at Netherfield.
-
- Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine
- complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her
- mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early
- age. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural
- self-consequence, which the attentions of the officers, to whom
- her uncle’s good dinners and her own easy manners recommended
- her, had increased into assurance. She was very equal, therefore,
- to address Mr. Bingley on the subject of the ball, and abruptly
- reminded him of his promise; adding, that it would be the most
- shameful thing in the world if he did not keep it. His answer to
- this sudden attack was delightful to their mother’s ear.
-
- “I am perfectly ready, I assure you, to keep my engagement; and
- when your sister is recovered, you shall, if you please, name the
- very day of the ball. But you would not wish to be dancing while
- she is ill.”
-
- Lydia declared herself satisfied. “Oh! yes—it would be much
- better to wait till Jane was well, and by that time most likely
- Captain Carter would be at Meryton again. And when you have given
- _your_ ball,” she added, “I shall insist on their giving one
- also. I shall tell Colonel Forster it will be quite a shame if he
- does not.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet and her daughters then departed, and Elizabeth
- returned instantly to Jane, leaving her own and her relations’
- behaviour to the remarks of the two ladies and Mr. Darcy; the
- latter of whom, however, could not be prevailed on to join in
- their censure of _her_, in spite of all Miss Bingley’s witticisms
- on _fine eyes_.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 10
-
- The day passed much as the day before had done. Mrs. Hurst and
- Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the
- invalid, who continued, though slowly, to mend; and in the
- evening Elizabeth joined their party in the drawing-room. The
- loo table, however, did not appear. Mr. Darcy was writing, and
- Miss Bingley, seated near him, was watching the progress of his
- letter, and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to
- his sister. Mr. Hurst and Mr. Bingley were at piquet, and Mrs.
- Hurst was observing their game.
-
- Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in
- attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion. The
- perpetual commendations of the lady either on his handwriting,
- or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length of his letter,
- with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received,
- formed a curious dialogue, and was exactly in unison with her
- opinion of each.
-
- “How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!”
-
- He made no answer.
-
- “You write uncommonly fast.”
-
- “You are mistaken. I write rather slowly.”
-
- “How many letters you must have occasion to write in the course
- of a year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think
- them!”
-
- “It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of to
- yours.”
-
- “Pray tell your sister that I long to see her.”
-
- “I have already told her so once, by your desire.”
-
- “I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I
- mend pens remarkably well.”
-
- “Thank you—but I always mend my own.”
-
- “How can you contrive to write so even?”
-
- He was silent.
-
- “Tell your sister I am delighted to hear of her improvement on
- the harp, and pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with
- her beautiful little design for a table, and I think it
- infinitely superior to Miss Grantley’s.”
-
- “Will you give me leave to defer your raptures till I write
- again? At present I have not room to do them justice.”
-
- “Oh! it is of no consequence. I shall see her in January. But do
- you always write such charming long letters to her, Mr. Darcy?”
-
- “They are generally long; but whether always charming, it is not
- for me to determine.”
-
- “It is a rule with me, that a person who can write a long letter
- with ease, cannot write ill.”
-
- “That will not do for a compliment to Darcy, Caroline,” cried her
- brother, “because he does _not_ write with ease. He studies too
- much for words of four syllables. Do not you, Darcy?”
-
- “My style of writing is very different from yours.”
-
- “Oh!” cried Miss Bingley, “Charles writes in the most careless
- way imaginable. He leaves out half his words, and blots the
- rest.”
-
- “My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them—by
- which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my
- correspondents.”
-
- “Your humility, Mr. Bingley,” said Elizabeth, “must disarm
- reproof.”
-
- “Nothing is more deceitful,” said Darcy, “than the appearance of
- humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes
- an indirect boast.”
-
- “And which of the two do you call _my_ little recent piece of
- modesty?”
-
- “The indirect boast; for you are really proud of your defects in
- writing, because you consider them as proceeding from a rapidity
- of thought and carelessness of execution, which, if not
- estimable, you think at least highly interesting. The power of
- doing anything with quickness is always much prized by the
- possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of
- the performance. When you told Mrs. Bennet this morning that if
- you ever resolved on quitting Netherfield you should be gone in
- five minutes, you meant it to be a sort of panegyric, of
- compliment to yourself—and yet what is there so very laudable in
- a precipitance which must leave very necessary business undone,
- and can be of no real advantage to yourself or any one else?”
-
- “Nay,” cried Bingley, “this is too much, to remember at night all
- the foolish things that were said in the morning. And yet, upon
- my honour, I believed what I said of myself to be true, and I
- believe it at this moment. At least, therefore, I did not assume
- the character of needless precipitance merely to show off before
- the ladies.”
-
- “I dare say you believed it; but I am by no means convinced that
- you would be gone with such celerity. Your conduct would be quite
- as dependent on chance as that of any man I know; and if, as you
- were mounting your horse, a friend were to say, ‘Bingley, you had
- better stay till next week,’ you would probably do it, you would
- probably not go—and, at another word, might stay a month.”
-
- “You have only proved by this,” cried Elizabeth, “that Mr.
- Bingley did not do justice to his own disposition. You have shown
- him off now much more than he did himself.”
-
- “I am exceedingly gratified,” said Bingley, “by your converting
- what my friend says into a compliment on the sweetness of my
- temper. But I am afraid you are giving it a turn which that
- gentleman did by no means intend; for he would certainly think
- the better of me, if under such a circumstance I were to give a flat
- denial, and ride off as fast as I could.”
-
- “Would Mr. Darcy then consider the rashness of your original
- intention as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it?”
-
- “Upon my word, I cannot exactly explain the matter, Darcy must
- speak for himself.”
-
- “You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call
- mine, but which I have never acknowledged. Allowing the case,
- however, to stand according to your representation, you must
- remember, Miss Bennet, that the friend who is supposed to desire
- his return to the house, and the delay of his plan, has merely
- desired it, asked it without offering one argument in favour of
- its propriety.”
-
- “To yield readily—easily—to the _persuasion_ of a friend is no
- merit with you.”
-
- “To yield without conviction is no compliment to the
- understanding of either.”
-
- “You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence
- of friendship and affection. A regard for the requester would
- often make one readily yield to a request, without waiting for
- arguments to reason one into it. I am not particularly speaking
- of such a case as you have supposed about Mr. Bingley. We may as
- well wait, perhaps, till the circumstance occurs, before we
- discuss the discretion of his behaviour thereupon. But in general
- and ordinary cases between friend and friend, where one of them
- is desired by the other to change a resolution of no very great
- moment, should you think ill of that person for complying with
- the desire, without waiting to be argued into it?”
-
- “Will it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject, to
- arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance which
- is to appertain to this request, as well as the degree of
- intimacy subsisting between the parties?”
-
- “By all means,” cried Bingley; “let us hear all the particulars,
- not forgetting their comparative height and size; for that will
- have more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be
- aware of. I assure you that if Darcy were not such a great tall
- fellow, in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so
- much deference. I declare I do not know a more awful object than
- Darcy, on particular occasions, and in particular places; at his
- own house especially, and of a Sunday evening, when he has
- nothing to do.”
-
- Mr. Darcy smiled; but Elizabeth thought she could perceive that
- he was rather offended, and therefore checked her laugh. Miss
- Bingley warmly resented the indignity he had received, in an
- expostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense.
-
- “I see your design, Bingley,” said his friend. “You dislike an
- argument, and want to silence this.”
-
- “Perhaps I do. Arguments are too much like disputes. If you and
- Miss Bennet will defer yours till I am out of the room, I shall
- be very thankful; and then you may say whatever you like of me.”
-
- “What you ask,” said Elizabeth, “is no sacrifice on my side; and
- Mr. Darcy had much better finish his letter.”
-
- Mr. Darcy took her advice, and did finish his letter.
-
- When that business was over, he applied to Miss Bingley and
- Elizabeth for the indulgence of some music. Miss Bingley moved
- with alacrity to the pianoforte, and after a polite request
- that Elizabeth would lead the way, which the other as politely and
- more earnestly negatived, she seated herself.
-
- Mrs. Hurst sang with her sister, and while they were thus
- employed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as she turned over
- some music-books that lay on the instrument, how frequently Mr.
- Darcy’s eyes were fixed on her. She hardly knew how to suppose
- that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man; and
- yet that he should look at her because he disliked her, was still
- more strange. She could only imagine, however, at last, that she
- drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and
- reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other
- person present. The supposition did not pain her. She liked him
- too little to care for his approbation.
-
- After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm
- by a lively Scotch air; and soon afterwards Mr. Darcy, drawing
- near Elizabeth, said to her—
-
- “Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such
- an opportunity of dancing a reel?”
-
- She smiled, but made no answer. He repeated the question, with
- some surprise at her silence.
-
- “Oh!” said she, “I heard you before; but I could not immediately
- determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say
- ‘Yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste;
- but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and
- cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have,
- therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to
- dance a reel at all—and now despise me if you dare.”
-
- “Indeed I do not dare.”
-
- Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at
- his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness
- in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody;
- and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by
- her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of
- her connections, he should be in some danger.
-
- Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be jealous; and her
- great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane received
- some assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth.
-
- She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking her guest, by
- talking of their supposed marriage, and planning his happiness in
- such an alliance.
-
- “I hope,” said she, as they were walking together in the
- shrubbery the next day, “you will give your mother-in-law a few
- hints, when this desirable event takes place, as to the advantage
- of holding her tongue; and if you can compass it, do cure the
- younger girls of running after the officers. And, if I may mention so
- delicate a subject, endeavour to check that little something,
- bordering on conceit and impertinence, which your lady
- possesses.”
-
- “Have you anything else to propose for my domestic felicity?”
-
- “Oh! yes. Do let the portraits of your uncle and aunt Philips be
- placed in the gallery at Pemberley. Put them next to your
- great uncle the judge. They are in the same profession, you know,
- only in different lines. As for your Elizabeth’s picture, you
- must not attempt to have it taken, for what painter could do justice to
- those beautiful eyes?”
-
- “It would not be easy, indeed, to catch their expression, but
- their colour and shape, and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine,
- might be copied.”
-
- At that moment they were met from another walk by Mrs. Hurst and
- Elizabeth herself.
-
- “I did not know that you intended to walk,” said Miss Bingley, in
- some confusion, lest they had been overheard.
-
- “You used us abominably ill,” answered Mrs. Hurst, “running away
- without telling us that you were coming out.”
-
- Then taking the disengaged arm of Mr. Darcy, she left Elizabeth
- to walk by herself. The path just admitted three. Mr. Darcy felt
- their rudeness, and immediately said,—
-
- “This walk is not wide enough for our party. We had better go
- into the avenue.”
-
- But Elizabeth, who had not the least inclination to remain with
- them, laughingly answered,
-
- “No, no; stay where you are. You are charmingly grouped, and
- appear to uncommon advantage. The picturesque would be spoilt by
- admitting a fourth. Good-bye.”
-
- She then ran gaily off, rejoicing as she rambled about, in the
- hope of being at home again in a day or two. Jane was already so
- much recovered as to intend leaving her room for a couple of
- hours that evening.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 11
-
- When the ladies removed after dinner, Elizabeth ran up to her
- sister, and seeing her well guarded from cold, attended her into
- the drawing-room, where she was welcomed by her two friends with
- many professions of pleasure; and Elizabeth had never seen them
- so agreeable as they were during the hour which passed before the
- gentlemen appeared. Their powers of conversation were
- considerable. They could describe an entertainment with accuracy,
- relate an anecdote with humour, and laugh at their acquaintance
- with spirit.
-
- But when the gentlemen entered, Jane was no longer the first
- object; Miss Bingley’s eyes were instantly turned toward Darcy,
- and she had something to say to him before he had advanced many
- steps. He addressed himself to Miss Bennet, with a polite
- congratulation; Mr. Hurst also made her a slight bow, and said he
- was “very glad;” but diffuseness and warmth remained for
- Bingley’s salutation. He was full of joy and attention. The first
- half-hour was spent in piling up the fire, lest she should suffer
- from the change of room; and she removed at his desire to the
- other side of the fireplace, that she might be further from the
- door. He then sat down by her, and talked scarcely to anyone
- else. Elizabeth, at work in the opposite corner, saw it all with
- great delight.
-
- When tea was over, Mr. Hurst reminded his sister-in-law of the
- card-table—but in vain. She had obtained private intelligence
- that Mr. Darcy did not wish for cards; and Mr. Hurst soon found
- even his open petition rejected. She assured him that no one
- intended to play, and the silence of the whole party on the
- subject seemed to justify her. Mr. Hurst had therefore nothing to
- do, but to stretch himself on one of the sofas and go to sleep.
- Darcy took up a book; Miss Bingley did the same; and Mrs. Hurst,
- principally occupied in playing with her bracelets and rings,
- joined now and then in her brother’s conversation with Miss
- Bennet.
-
- Miss Bingley’s attention was quite as much engaged in watching
- Mr. Darcy’s progress through _his_ book, as in reading her own;
- and she was perpetually either making some enquiry, or looking at
- his page. She could not win him, however, to any conversation; he
- merely answered her question, and read on. At length, quite
- exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which
- she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his, she
- gave a great yawn and said, “How pleasant it is to spend an
- evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment
- like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a
- book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I
- have not an excellent library.”
-
- No one made any reply. She then yawned again, threw aside her
- book, and cast her eyes round the room in quest for some
- amusement; when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to Miss
- Bennet, she turned suddenly towards him and said:
-
- “By the bye, Charles, are you really serious in meditating a
- dance at Netherfield? I would advise you, before you determine on
- it, to consult the wishes of the present party; I am much
- mistaken if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be
- rather a punishment than a pleasure.”
-
- “If you mean Darcy,” cried her brother, “he may go to bed, if he
- chooses, before it begins—but as for the ball, it is quite a
- settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup
- enough, I shall send round my cards.”
-
- “I should like balls infinitely better,” she replied, “if they
- were carried on in a different manner; but there is something
- insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It
- would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of
- dancing were made the order of the day.”
-
- “Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would
- not be near so much like a ball.”
-
- Miss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards she got up and
- walked about the room. Her figure was elegant, and she walked
- well; but Darcy, at whom it was all aimed, was still inflexibly
- studious. In the desperation of her feelings, she resolved on one
- effort more, and, turning to Elizabeth, said:
-
- “Miss Eliza Bennet, let me persuade you to follow my example, and
- take a turn about the room. I assure you it is very refreshing
- after sitting so long in one attitude.”
-
- Elizabeth was surprised, but agreed to it immediately. Miss
- Bingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility; Mr.
- Darcy looked up. He was as much awake to the novelty of attention
- in that quarter as Elizabeth herself could be, and unconsciously
- closed his book. He was directly invited to join their party, but
- he declined it, observing that he could imagine but two motives
- for their choosing to walk up and down the room together, with
- either of which motives his joining them would interfere. “What
- could he mean? She was dying to know what could be his
- meaning?”—and asked Elizabeth whether she could at all understand
- him?
-
- “Not at all,” was her answer; “but depend upon it, he means to be
- severe on us, and our surest way of disappointing him will be to
- ask nothing about it.”
-
- Miss Bingley, however, was incapable of disappointing Mr. Darcy
- in anything, and persevered therefore in requiring an explanation
- of his two motives.
-
- “I have not the smallest objection to explaining them,” said he,
- as soon as she allowed him to speak. “You either choose this
- method of passing the evening because you are in each other’s
- confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you
- are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage
- in walking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and
- if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the
- fire.”
-
- “Oh! shocking!” cried Miss Bingley. “I never heard anything so
- abominable. How shall we punish him for such a speech?”
-
- “Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination,” said
- Elizabeth. “We can all plague and punish one another. Tease
- him—laugh at him. Intimate as you are, you must know how it is to
- be done.”
-
- “But upon my honour, I do _not_. I do assure you that my intimacy
- has not yet taught me _that_. Tease calmness of manner and
- presence of mind! No, no; I feel he may defy us there. And as to
- laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by
- attempting to laugh without a subject. Mr. Darcy may hug
- himself.”
-
- “Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!” cried Elizabeth. “That is an
- uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it
- would be a great loss to _me_ to have many such acquaintances. I
- dearly love a laugh.”
-
- “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
- actions—may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object
- in life is a joke.”
-
- “Certainly,” replied Elizabeth—“there are such people, but I hope
- I am not one of _them_. I hope I never ridicule what is wise and
- good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, _do_
- divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. But these,
- I suppose, are precisely what you are without.”
-
- “Perhaps that is not possible for anyone. But it has been the
- study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a
- strong understanding to ridicule.”
-
- “Such as vanity and pride.”
-
- “Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride—where there is a
- real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good
- regulation.”
-
- Elizabeth turned away to hide a smile.
-
- “Your examination of Mr. Darcy is over, I presume,” said Miss
- Bingley; “and pray what is the result?”
-
- “I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He
- owns it himself without disguise.”
-
- “No,” said Darcy, “I have made no such pretension. I have faults
- enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I
- dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little
- yielding—certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I
- cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought,
- nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed
- about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be
- called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.”
-
- “_That_ is a failing indeed!” cried Elizabeth. “Implacable
- resentment _is_ a shade in a character. But you have chosen your
- fault well. I really cannot _laugh_ at it. You are safe from me.”
-
- “There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some
- particular evil—a natural defect, which not even the best
- education can overcome.”
-
- “And _your_ defect is to hate everybody.”
-
- “And yours,” he replied with a smile, “is willfully to
- misunderstand them.”
-
- “Do let us have a little music,” cried Miss Bingley, tired of a
- conversation in which she had no share. “Louisa, you will not
- mind my waking Mr. Hurst?”
-
- Her sister had not the smallest objection, and the pianoforte was
- opened; and Darcy, after a few moments’ recollection, was not
- sorry for it. He began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too
- much attention.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 12
-
- In consequence of an agreement between the sisters, Elizabeth
- wrote the next morning to their mother, to beg that the carriage
- might be sent for them in the course of the day. But Mrs. Bennet,
- who had calculated on her daughters remaining at Netherfield till
- the following Tuesday, which would exactly finish Jane’s week,
- could not bring herself to receive them with pleasure before. Her
- answer, therefore, was not propitious, at least not to
- Elizabeth’s wishes, for she was impatient to get home. Mrs.
- Bennet sent them word that they could not possibly have the
- carriage before Tuesday; and in her postscript it was added, that
- if Mr. Bingley and his sister pressed them to stay longer, she
- could spare them very well. Against staying longer, however,
- Elizabeth was positively resolved—nor did she much expect it
- would be asked; and fearful, on the contrary, as being considered
- as intruding themselves needlessly long, she urged Jane to borrow
- Mr. Bingley’s carriage immediately, and at length it was settled
- that their original design of leaving Netherfield that morning
- should be mentioned, and the request made.
-
- The communication excited many professions of concern; and enough
- was said of wishing them to stay at least till the following day
- to work on Jane; and till the morrow their going was deferred.
- Miss Bingley was then sorry that she had proposed the delay, for
- her jealousy and dislike of one sister much exceeded her
- affection for the other.
-
- The master of the house heard with real sorrow that they were to
- go so soon, and repeatedly tried to persuade Miss Bennet that it
- would not be safe for her—that she was not enough recovered; but
- Jane was firm where she felt herself to be right.
-
- To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence—Elizabeth had been at
- Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked—and
- Miss Bingley was uncivil to _her_, and more teasing than usual to
- himself. He wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no
- sign of admiration should _now_ escape him, nothing that could
- elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity; sensible
- that if such an idea had been suggested, his behaviour during the
- last day must have material weight in confirming or crushing it.
- Steady to his purpose, he scarcely spoke ten words to her through
- the whole of Saturday, and though they were at one time left by
- themselves for half-an-hour, he adhered most conscientiously to
- his book, and would not even look at her.
-
- On Sunday, after morning service, the separation, so agreeable to
- almost all, took place. Miss Bingley’s civility to Elizabeth
- increased at last very rapidly, as well as her affection for
- Jane; and when they parted, after assuring the latter of the
- pleasure it would always give her to see her either at Longbourn
- or Netherfield, and embracing her most tenderly, she even shook
- hands with the former. Elizabeth took leave of the whole party in
- the liveliest of spirits.
-
- They were not welcomed home very cordially by their mother. Mrs.
- Bennet wondered at their coming, and thought them very wrong to
- give so much trouble, and was sure Jane would have caught cold
- again. But their father, though very laconic in his expressions
- of pleasure, was really glad to see them; he had felt their
- importance in the family circle. The evening conversation, when
- they were all assembled, had lost much of its animation, and
- almost all its sense by the absence of Jane and Elizabeth.
-
- They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough-bass and
- human nature; and had some extracts to admire, and some new
- observations of threadbare morality to listen to. Catherine and
- Lydia had information for them of a different sort. Much had been
- done and much had been said in the regiment since the preceding
- Wednesday; several of the officers had dined lately with their
- uncle, a private had been flogged, and it had actually been
- hinted that Colonel Forster was going to be married.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 13
-
- “I hope, my dear,” said Mr. Bennet to his wife, as they were at
- breakfast the next morning, “that you have ordered a good dinner
- to-day, because I have reason to expect an addition to our family
- party.”
-
- “Who do you mean, my dear? I know of nobody that is coming, I am
- sure, unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in—and I hope
- _my_ dinners are good enough for her. I do not believe she often
- sees such at home.”
-
- “The person of whom I speak is a gentleman, and a stranger.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled. “A gentleman and a stranger! It is
- Mr. Bingley, I am sure! Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad
- to see Mr. Bingley. But—good Lord! how unlucky! There is not a
- bit of fish to be got to-day. Lydia, my love, ring the bell—I
- must speak to Hill this moment.”
-
- “It is _not_ Mr. Bingley,” said her husband; “it is a person whom
- I never saw in the whole course of my life.”
-
- This roused a general astonishment; and he had the pleasure of
- being eagerly questioned by his wife and his five daughters at
- once.
-
- After amusing himself some time with their curiosity, he thus
- explained:
-
- “About a month ago I received this letter; and about a fortnight
- ago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy, and
- requiring early attention. It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins,
- who, when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon
- as he pleases.”
-
- “Oh! my dear,” cried his wife, “I cannot bear to hear that
- mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is
- the hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be
- entailed away from your own children; and I am sure, if I had
- been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other
- about it.”
-
- Jane 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 on which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason, and
- she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an
- estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man
- whom nobody cared anything about.
-
- “It certainly is a most iniquitous affair,” said Mr. Bennet, “and
- nothing can clear Mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting
- Longbourn. But if you will listen to his letter, you may perhaps
- be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself.”
-
- “No, that I am sure I shall not; and I think it is very
- impertinent of him to write to you at all, and very hypocritical.
- I hate such false friends. Why could he not keep on quarreling
- with you, as his father did before him?”
-
- “Why, indeed; he does seem to have had some filial scruples on
- that head, as you will hear.”
-
- “Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent, 15_th October_.
-
- “Dear Sir,—
- “The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late
- honoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have
- had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished to heal
- the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts,
- fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to
- be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always pleased him
- to be at variance.—‘There, Mrs. Bennet.’—My mind, however, is now
- made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter,
- I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage
- of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir
- Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to
- the valuable rectory of this parish, where it shall be my earnest
- endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her
- ladyship, and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies
- which are instituted by the Church of England. As a clergyman,
- moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing
- of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on
- these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures are
- highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in
- the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your
- side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive-branch. I
- cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring
- your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for it, as
- well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible
- amends—but of this hereafter. If you should have no objection to
- receive me into your house, I propose myself the satisfaction of
- waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four
- o’clock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the
- Saturday se’ennight following, which I can do without any
- inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my
- occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other
- clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.—I remain, dear
- sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your
- well-wisher and friend,
-
- “WILLIAM COLLINS”
-
- “At four o’clock, therefore, we may expect this peace-making
- gentleman,” said Mr. Bennet, as he folded up the letter. “He
- seems to be a most conscientious and polite young man, upon my
- word, and I doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance,
- especially if Lady Catherine should be so indulgent as to let him
- come to us again.”
-
- “There is some sense in what he says about the girls, however,
- and if he is disposed to make them any amends, I shall not be the
- person to discourage him.”
-
- “Though it is difficult,” said Jane, “to guess in what way he can
- mean to make us the atonement he thinks our due, the wish is
- certainly to his credit.”
-
- Elizabeth was chiefly struck by his extraordinary deference for
- Lady Catherine, and his kind intention of christening, marrying,
- and burying his parishioners whenever it were required.
-
- “He must be an oddity, I think,” said she. “I cannot make him
- out.—There is something very pompous in his style.—And what can
- he mean by apologising for being next in the entail?—We cannot
- suppose he would help it if he could.—Could he be a sensible man,
- sir?”
-
- “No, my dear, I think not. I have great hopes of finding him
- quite the reverse. There is a mixture of servility and
- self-importance in his letter, which promises well. I am
- impatient to see him.”
-
- “In point of composition,” said Mary, “the letter does not seem
- defective. The idea of the olive-branch perhaps is not wholly
- new, yet I think it is well expressed.”
-
- To Catherine and Lydia, neither the letter nor its writer were in
- any degree interesting. It was next to impossible that their
- cousin should come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some weeks
- since they had received pleasure from the society of a man in any
- other colour. As for their mother, Mr. Collins’s letter had done
- away much of her ill-will, and she was preparing to see him with
- a degree of composure which astonished her husband and daughters.
-
- Mr. Collins was punctual to his time, and was received with great
- politeness by the whole family. Mr. Bennet indeed said little;
- but the ladies were ready enough to talk, and Mr. Collins seemed
- neither in need of encouragement, nor inclined to be silent
- himself. He was a tall, heavy-looking young man of
- five-and-twenty. His air was grave and stately, and his manners
- were very formal. He had not been long seated before he
- complimented Mrs. Bennet on having so fine a family of daughters;
- said he had heard much of their beauty, but that in this instance
- fame had fallen short of the truth; and added, that he did not
- doubt her seeing them all in due time disposed of in marriage.
- This gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers;
- but Mrs. Bennet, who quarreled with no compliments, answered most
- readily.
-
- “You are very kind, I am sure; and I wish with all my heart it
- may prove so, for else they will be destitute enough. Things are
- settled so oddly.”
-
- “You allude, perhaps, to the entail of this estate.”
-
- “Ah! sir, I do indeed. It is a grievous affair to my poor girls,
- you must confess. Not that I mean to find fault with _you_, for
- such things I know are all chance in this world. There is no
- knowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed.”
-
- “I am very sensible, madam, of the hardship to my fair cousins,
- and could say much on the subject, but that I am cautious of
- appearing forward and precipitate. But I can assure the young
- ladies that I come prepared to admire them. At present I will not
- say more; but, perhaps, when we are better acquainted—”
-
- He was interrupted by a summons to dinner; and the girls smiled
- on each other. They were not the only objects of Mr. Collins’s
- admiration. The hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture,
- were examined and praised; and his commendation of everything
- would have touched Mrs. Bennet’s heart, but for the mortifying
- supposition of his viewing it all as his own future property. The
- dinner too in its turn was highly admired; and he begged to know
- to which of his fair cousins the excellency of its cooking was
- owing. But he was set right there by Mrs. Bennet, who assured him
- with some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good
- cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen. He
- begged pardon for having displeased her. In a softened tone she
- declared herself not at all offended; but he continued to
- apologise for about a quarter of an hour.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 14
-
- During dinner, Mr. Bennet scarcely spoke at all; but when the
- servants were withdrawn, he thought it time to have some
- conversation with his guest, and therefore started a subject in
- which he expected him to shine, by observing that he seemed very
- fortunate in his patroness. Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s attention
- to his wishes, and consideration for his comfort, appeared very
- remarkable. Mr. Bennet could not have chosen better. Mr. Collins
- was eloquent in her praise. The subject elevated him to more than
- usual solemnity of manner, and with a most important aspect he
- protested that “he had never in his life witnessed such behaviour
- in a person of rank—such affability and condescension, as he had
- himself experienced from Lady Catherine. She had been graciously
- pleased to approve of both of the discourses which he had already
- had the honour of preaching before her. She had also asked him
- twice to dine at Rosings, and had sent for him only the Saturday
- before, to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening. Lady
- Catherine was reckoned proud by many people he knew, but _he_ had
- never seen anything but affability in her. She had always spoken
- to him as she would to any other gentleman; she made not the
- smallest objection to his joining in the society of the
- neighbourhood nor to his leaving the parish occasionally for a
- week or two, to visit his relations. She had even condescended to
- advise him to marry as soon as he could, provided he chose with
- discretion; and had once paid him a visit in his humble
- parsonage, where she had perfectly approved all the alterations
- he had been making, and had even vouchsafed to suggest some
- herself—some shelves in the closet up stairs.”
-
- “That is all very proper and civil, I am sure,” said Mrs. Bennet,
- “and I dare say she is a very agreeable woman. It is a pity that
- great ladies in general are not more like her. Does she live near
- you, sir?”
-
- “The garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only by
- a lane from Rosings Park, her ladyship’s residence.”
-
- “I think you said she was a widow, sir? Has she any family?”
-
- “She has only one daughter, the heiress of Rosings, and of very
- extensive property.”
-
- “Ah!” said Mrs. Bennet, shaking her head, “then she is better off
- than many girls. And what sort of young lady is she? Is she
- handsome?”
-
- “She is a most charming young lady indeed. Lady Catherine herself
- says that, in point of true beauty, Miss de Bourgh is far
- superior to the handsomest of her sex, because there is that in
- her features which marks the young lady of distinguished birth.
- She is unfortunately of a sickly constitution, which has
- prevented her from making that progress in many accomplishments
- which she could not have otherwise failed of, as I am informed by
- the lady who superintended her education, and who still resides
- with them. But she is perfectly amiable, and often condescends to
- drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.”
-
- “Has she been presented? I do not remember her name among the
- ladies at court.”
-
- “Her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her being in
- town; and by that means, as I told Lady Catherine one day, has
- deprived the British court of its brightest ornament. Her
- ladyship seemed pleased with the idea; and you may imagine that I
- am happy on every occasion to offer those little delicate
- compliments which are always acceptable to ladies. I have more
- than once observed to Lady Catherine, that her charming daughter
- seemed born to be a duchess, and that the most elevated rank,
- instead of giving her consequence, would be adorned by her. These
- are the kind of little things which please her ladyship, and it
- is a sort of attention which I conceive myself peculiarly bound
- to pay.”
-
- “You judge very properly,” said Mr. Bennet, “and it is happy for
- you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May
- I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse
- of the moment, or are the result of previous study?”
-
- “They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time, and though
- I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such
- little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary
- occasions, I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as
- possible.”
-
- Mr. Bennet’s expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as
- absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with the keenest
- enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute
- composure of countenance, and, except in an occasional glance at
- Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure.
-
- By tea-time, however, the dose had been enough, and Mr. Bennet
- was glad to take his guest into the drawing-room again, and, when
- tea was over, glad to invite him to read aloud to the ladies. Mr.
- Collins readily assented, and a book was produced; but, on
- beholding it (for everything announced it to be from a
- circulating library), he started back, and begging pardon,
- protested that he never read novels. Kitty stared at him, and
- Lydia exclaimed. Other books were produced, and after some
- deliberation he chose Fordyce’s Sermons. Lydia gaped as he opened
- the volume, and before he had, with very monotonous solemnity,
- read three pages, she interrupted him with:
-
- “Do you know, mamma, that my uncle Phillips talks of turning away
- Richard; and if he does, Colonel Forster will hire him. My aunt
- told me so herself on Saturday. I shall walk to Meryton to-morrow
- to hear more about it, and to ask when Mr. Denny comes back from
- town.”
-
- Lydia was bid by her two eldest sisters to hold her tongue; but
- Mr. Collins, much offended, laid aside his book, and said:
-
- “I have often observed how little young ladies are interested by
- books of a serious stamp, though written solely for their
- benefit. It amazes me, I confess; for, certainly, there can be
- nothing so advantageous to them as instruction. But I will no
- longer importune my young cousin.”
-
- Then turning to Mr. Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist
- at backgammon. Mr. Bennet accepted the challenge, observing that
- he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling
- amusements. Mrs. Bennet and her daughters apologised most civilly
- for Lydia’s interruption, and promised that it should not occur
- again, if he would resume his book; but Mr. Collins, after
- assuring them that he bore his young cousin no ill-will, and
- should never resent her behaviour as any affront, seated himself
- at another table with Mr. Bennet, and prepared for backgammon.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 15
-
- Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature
- had been but little assisted by education or society; the
- greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of
- an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one
- of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms,
- without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection in
- which his father had brought him up had given him originally
- great humility of manner; but it was now a good deal counteracted
- by the self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the
- consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity. A
- fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh
- when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he
- felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his
- patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his
- authority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him
- altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance
- and humility.
-
- Having now a good house and a very sufficient income, he intended
- to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn
- family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose one of the
- daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were
- represented by common report. This was his plan of amends—of
- atonement—for inheriting their father’s estate; and he thought it
- an excellent one, full of eligibility and suitableness, and
- excessively generous and disinterested on his own part.
-
- His plan did not vary on seeing them. Miss Bennet’s lovely face
- confirmed his views, and established all his strictest notions of
- what was due to seniority; and for the first evening _she_ was
- his settled choice. The next morning, however, made an
- alteration; for in a quarter of an hour’s _tête-à-tête_ with Mrs.
- Bennet before breakfast, a conversation beginning with his
- parsonage-house, and leading naturally to the avowal of his
- hopes, that a mistress might be found for it at Longbourn,
- produced from her, amid very complaisant smiles and general
- encouragement, a caution against the very Jane he had fixed on.
- “As to her _younger_ daughters, she could not take upon her to
- say—she could not positively answer—but she did not _know_ of any
- prepossession; her _eldest_ daughter, she must just mention—she
- felt it incumbent on her to hint, was likely to be very soon
- engaged.”
-
- Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth—and it was
- soon done—done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire.
- Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded
- her of course.
-
- Mrs. Bennet treasured up the hint, and trusted that she might
- soon have two daughters married; and the man whom she could not
- bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good graces.
-
- Lydia’s intention of walking to Meryton was not forgotten; every
- sister except Mary agreed to go with her; and Mr. Collins was to
- attend them, at the request of Mr. Bennet, who was most anxious
- to get rid of him, and have his library to himself; for thither
- Mr. Collins had followed him after breakfast; and there he would
- continue, nominally engaged with one of the largest folios in the
- collection, but really talking to Mr. Bennet, with little
- cessation, of his house and garden at Hunsford. Such doings
- discomposed Mr. Bennet exceedingly. In his library he had been
- always sure of leisure and tranquillity; and though prepared, as
- he told Elizabeth, to meet with folly and conceit in every other
- room of the house, he was used to be free from them there; his
- civility, therefore, was most prompt in inviting Mr. Collins to
- join his daughters in their walk; and Mr. Collins, being in fact
- much better fitted for a walker than a reader, was extremely
- pleased to close his large book, and go.
-
- In pompous nothings on his side, and civil assents on that of his
- cousins, their time passed till they entered Meryton. The
- attention of the younger ones was then no longer to be gained by
- _him_. Their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street in
- quest of the officers, and nothing less than a very smart bonnet
- indeed, or a really new muslin in a shop window, could recall
- them.
-
- But the attention of every lady was soon caught by a young man,
- whom they had never seen before, of most gentlemanlike
- appearance, walking with another officer on the other side of the
- way. The officer was the very Mr. Denny concerning whose return
- from London Lydia came to enquire, and he bowed as they passed.
- All were struck with the stranger’s air, all wondered who he
- could be; and Kitty and Lydia, determined if possible to find
- out, led the way across the street, under pretense of wanting
- something in an opposite shop, and fortunately had just gained
- the pavement when the two gentlemen, turning back, had reached
- the same spot. Mr. Denny addressed them directly, and entreated
- permission to introduce his friend, Mr. Wickham, who had returned
- with him the day before from town, and he was happy to say had
- accepted a commission in their corps. This was exactly as it
- should be; for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him
- completely charming. His appearance was greatly in his favour; he
- had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good
- figure, and very pleasing address. The introduction was followed
- up on his side by a happy readiness of conversation—a readiness
- at the same time perfectly correct and unassuming; and the whole
- party were still standing and talking together very agreeably,
- when the sound of horses drew their notice, and Darcy and Bingley
- were seen riding down the street. On distinguishing the ladies of
- the group, the two gentlemen came directly towards them, and
- began the usual civilities. Bingley was the principal spokesman,
- and Miss Bennet the principal object. He was then, he said, on
- his way to Longbourn on purpose to enquire after her. Mr. Darcy
- corroborated it with a bow, and was beginning to determine not to
- fix his eyes on Elizabeth, when they were suddenly arrested by
- the sight of the stranger, and Elizabeth happening to see the
- countenance of both as they looked at each other, was all
- astonishment at the effect of the meeting. Both changed colour,
- one looked white, the other red. Mr. Wickham, after a few
- moments, touched his hat—a salutation which Mr. Darcy just
- deigned to return. What could be the meaning of it? It was
- impossible to imagine; it was impossible not to long to know.
-
- In another minute, Mr. Bingley, but without seeming to have
- noticed what passed, took leave and rode on with his friend.
-
- Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham walked with the young ladies to the
- door of Mr. Phillip’s house, and then made their bows, in spite
- of Miss Lydia’s pressing entreaties that they should come in, and
- even in spite of Mrs. Phillips’s throwing up the parlour window
- and loudly seconding the invitation.
-
- Mrs. Phillips was always glad to see her nieces; and the two
- eldest, from their recent absence, were particularly welcome, and
- she was eagerly expressing her surprise at their sudden return
- home, which, as their own carriage had not fetched them, she
- should have known nothing about, if she had not happened to see
- Mr. Jones’s shop-boy in the street, who had told her that they
- were not to send any more draughts to Netherfield because the
- Miss Bennets were come away, when her civility was claimed
- towards Mr. Collins by Jane’s introduction of him. She received
- him with her very best politeness, which he returned with as much
- more, apologising for his intrusion, without any previous
- acquaintance with her, which he could not help flattering
- himself, however, might be justified by his relationship to the
- young ladies who introduced him to her notice. Mrs. Phillips was
- quite awed by such an excess of good breeding; but her
- contemplation of one stranger was soon put to an end by
- exclamations and enquiries about the other; of whom, however, she
- could only tell her nieces what they already knew, that Mr. Denny
- had brought him from London, and that he was to have a
- lieutenant’s commission in the ——shire. She had been watching him
- the last hour, she said, as he walked up and down the street, and
- had Mr. Wickham appeared, Kitty and Lydia would certainly have
- continued the occupation, but unluckily no one passed windows now
- except a few of the officers, who, in comparison with the
- stranger, were become “stupid, disagreeable fellows.” Some of
- them were to dine with the Phillipses the next day, and their
- aunt promised to make her husband call on Mr. Wickham, and give
- him an invitation also, if the family from Longbourn would come
- in the evening. This was agreed to, and Mrs. Phillips protested
- that they would have a nice comfortable noisy game of lottery
- tickets, and a little bit of hot supper afterwards. The prospect
- of such delights was very cheering, and they parted in mutual
- good spirits. Mr. Collins repeated his apologies in quitting the
- room, and was assured with unwearying civility that they were
- perfectly needless.
-
- As they walked home, Elizabeth related to Jane what she had seen
- pass between the two gentlemen; but though Jane would have
- defended either or both, had they appeared to be in the wrong,
- she could no more explain such behaviour than her sister.
-
- Mr. Collins on his return highly gratified Mrs. Bennet by
- admiring Mrs. Phillips’s manners and politeness. He protested
- that, except Lady Catherine and her daughter, he had never seen a
- more elegant woman; for she had not only received him with the
- utmost civility, but even pointedly included him in her
- invitation for the next evening, although utterly unknown to her
- before. Something, he supposed, might be attributed to his
- connection with them, but yet he had never met with so much
- attention in the whole course of his life.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 16
-
- As no objection was made to the young people’s engagement with
- their aunt, and all Mr. Collins’s scruples of leaving Mr. and
- Mrs. Bennet for a single evening during his visit were most
- steadily resisted, the coach conveyed him and his five cousins at
- a suitable hour to Meryton; and the girls had the pleasure of
- hearing, as they entered the drawing-room, that Mr. Wickham had
- accepted their uncle’s invitation, and was then in the house.
-
- When this information was given, and they had all taken their
- seats, Mr. Collins was at leisure to look around him and admire,
- and he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the
- apartment, that he declared he might almost have supposed himself
- in the small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings; a comparison
- that did not at first convey much gratification; but when Mrs.
- Phillips understood from him what Rosings was, and who was its
- proprietor—when she had listened to the description of only one
- of Lady Catherine’s drawing-rooms, and found that the
- chimney-piece alone had cost eight hundred pounds, she felt all
- the force of the compliment, and would hardly have resented a
- comparison with the housekeeper’s room.
-
- In describing to her all the grandeur of Lady Catherine and her
- mansion, with occasional digressions in praise of his own humble
- abode, and the improvements it was receiving, he was happily
- employed until the gentlemen joined them; and he found in Mrs.
- Phillips a very attentive listener, whose opinion of his
- consequence increased with what she heard, and who was resolving
- to retail it all among her neighbours as soon as she could. To
- the girls, who could not listen to their cousin, and who had
- nothing to do but to wish for an instrument, and examine their
- own indifferent imitations of china on the mantelpiece, the
- interval of waiting appeared very long. It was over at last,
- however. The gentlemen did approach, and when Mr. Wickham walked
- into the room, Elizabeth felt that she had neither been seeing
- him before, nor thinking of him since, with the smallest degree
- of unreasonable admiration. The officers of the ——shire were in
- general a very creditable, gentlemanlike set, and the best of
- them were of the present party; but Mr. Wickham was as far beyond
- them all in person, countenance, air, and walk, as _they_ were
- superior to the broad-faced, stuffy uncle Phillips, breathing
- port wine, who followed them into the room.
-
- Mr. Wickham was the happy man towards whom almost every female
- eye was turned, and Elizabeth was the happy woman by whom he
- finally seated himself; and the agreeable manner in which he
- immediately fell into conversation, though it was only on its
- being a wet night, made her feel that the commonest, dullest,
- most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill
- of the speaker.
-
- With such rivals for the notice of the fair as Mr. Wickham and
- the officers, Mr. Collins seemed to sink into insignificance; to
- the young ladies he certainly was nothing; but he had still at
- intervals a kind listener in Mrs. Phillips, and was by her
- watchfulness, most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin.
- When the card-tables were placed, he had the opportunity of
- obliging her in turn, by sitting down to whist.
-
- “I know little of the game at present,” said he, “but I shall be
- glad to improve myself, for in my situation in life—” Mrs.
- Phillips was very glad for his compliance, but could not wait for
- his reason.
-
- Mr. Wickham did not play at whist, and with ready delight was he
- received at the other table between Elizabeth and Lydia. At first
- there seemed danger of Lydia’s engrossing him entirely, for she
- was a most determined talker; but being likewise extremely fond
- of lottery tickets, she soon grew too much interested in the
- game, too eager in making bets and exclaiming after prizes to
- have attention for anyone in particular. Allowing for the common
- demands of the game, Mr. Wickham was therefore at leisure to talk
- to Elizabeth, and she was very willing to hear him, though what
- she chiefly wished to hear she could not hope to be told—the
- history of his acquaintance with Mr. Darcy. She dared not even
- mention that gentleman. Her curiosity, however, was unexpectedly
- relieved. Mr. Wickham began the subject himself. He enquired how
- far Netherfield was from Meryton; and, after receiving her
- answer, asked in a hesitating manner how long Mr. Darcy had been
- staying there.
-
- “About a month,” said Elizabeth; and then, unwilling to let the
- subject drop, added, “He is a man of very large property in
- Derbyshire, I understand.”
-
- “Yes,” replied Mr. Wickham; “his estate there is a noble one. A
- clear ten thousand per annum. You could not have met with a
- person more capable of giving you certain information on that
- head than myself, for I have been connected with his family in a
- particular manner from my infancy.”
-
- Elizabeth could not but look surprised.
-
- “You may well be surprised, Miss Bennet, at such an assertion,
- after seeing, as you probably might, the very cold manner of our
- meeting yesterday. Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?”
-
- “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 him
- very disagreeable.”
-
- “I have no right to give _my_ opinion,” said Wickham, “as to his
- being agreeable or otherwise. I am not qualified to form one. I
- have known him too long and too well to be a fair judge. It is
- impossible for _me_ to be impartial. But I believe your opinion
- of him would in general astonish—and perhaps you would not
- express it quite so strongly anywhere else. Here you are in your
- own family.”
-
- “Upon my word, I say no more _here_ than I might say in any house
- in the neighbourhood, except Netherfield. He is not at all liked
- in Hertfordshire. Everybody is disgusted with his pride. You will
- not find him more favourably spoken of by anyone.”
-
- “I cannot pretend to be sorry,” said Wickham, after a short
- interruption, “that he or that any man should not be estimated
- beyond their deserts; but with _him_ I believe it does not often
- happen. The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence, or
- frightened by his high and imposing manners, and sees him only as
- he chooses to be seen.”
-
- “I should take him, even on _my_ slight acquaintance, to be an
- ill-tempered man.” Wickham only shook his head.
-
- “I wonder,” said he, at the next opportunity of speaking,
- “whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.”
-
- “I do not at all know; but I _heard_ nothing of his going away
- when I was at Netherfield. I hope your plans in favour of the
- ——shire will not be affected by his being in the neighbourhood.”
-
- “Oh! no—it is not for _me_ to be driven away by Mr. Darcy. If
- _he_ wishes to avoid seeing _me_, he must go. We are not on
- friendly terms, and it always gives me pain to meet him, but I
- have no reason for avoiding _him_ but what I might proclaim
- before all the world, a sense of very great ill-usage, and most
- painful regrets at his being what he is. His father, Miss Bennet,
- the late Mr. Darcy, was one of the best men that ever breathed,
- and the truest friend I ever had; and I can never be in company
- with this Mr. Darcy without being grieved to the soul by a
- thousand tender recollections. His behaviour to myself has been
- scandalous; but I verily believe I could forgive him anything and
- everything, rather than his disappointing the hopes and
- disgracing the memory of his father.”
-
- Elizabeth found the interest of the subject increase, and
- listened with all her heart; but the delicacy of it prevented
- further enquiry.
-
- Mr. Wickham began to speak on more general topics, Meryton, the
- neighbourhood, the society, appearing highly pleased with all
- that he had yet seen, and speaking of the latter with gentle but
- very intelligible gallantry.
-
- “It was the prospect of constant society, and good society,” he
- added, “which was my chief inducement to enter the ——shire. I
- knew it to be a most respectable, agreeable corps, and my friend
- Denny tempted me further by his account of their present
- quarters, and the very great attentions and excellent
- acquaintances Meryton had procured them. Society, I own, is
- necessary to me. I have been a disappointed man, and my spirits
- will not bear solitude. I _must_ have employment and society. A
- military life is not what I was intended for, but circumstances
- have now made it eligible. The church _ought_ to have been my
- profession—I was brought up for the church, and I should at this
- time have been in possession of a most valuable living, had it
- pleased the gentleman we were speaking of just now.”
-
- “Indeed!”
-
- “Yes—the late Mr. Darcy bequeathed me the next presentation of
- the best living in his gift. He was my godfather, and excessively
- attached to me. I cannot do justice to his kindness. He meant to
- provide for me amply, and thought he had done it; but when the
- living fell, it was given elsewhere.”
-
- “Good heavens!” cried Elizabeth; “but how could _that_ be? How
- could his will be disregarded? Why did you not seek legal
- redress?”
-
- “There was just such an informality in the terms of the bequest
- as to give me no hope from law. A man of honour could not have
- doubted the intention, but Mr. Darcy chose to doubt it—or to
- treat it as a merely conditional recommendation, and to assert
- that I had forfeited all claim to it by extravagance,
- imprudence—in short anything or nothing. Certain it is, that the
- living became vacant two years ago, exactly as I was of an age to
- hold it, and that it was given to another man; and no less
- certain is it, that I cannot accuse myself of having really done
- anything to deserve to lose it. I have a warm, unguarded temper,
- and I may have spoken my opinion _of_ him, and _to_ him, too
- freely. I can recall nothing worse. But the fact is, that we are
- very different sort of men, and that he hates me.”
-
- “This is quite shocking! He deserves to be publicly disgraced.”
-
- “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_.”
-
- Elizabeth honoured him for such feelings, and thought him
- handsomer 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?”
-
- “A thorough, determined dislike of me—a dislike which I cannot
- but attribute in some measure to jealousy. Had the late Mr. Darcy
- liked me less, his son might have borne with me better; but his
- father’s uncommon attachment to me irritated him, I believe, very
- early in life. He had not a temper to bear the sort of
- competition in which we stood—the sort of preference which was
- often given me.”
-
- “I had not thought Mr. Darcy so bad as this—though I have never
- liked him. I had not thought so very ill of him. I had supposed
- him to be despising his fellow-creatures in general, but did not
- suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge, such
- injustice, such inhumanity as this.”
-
- After a few minutes’ reflection, however, she continued, “I _do_
- remember his boasting one day, at Netherfield, of the
- implacability of his resentments, of his having an unforgiving
- temper. His disposition must be dreadful.”
-
- “I will not trust myself on the subject,” replied Wickham; “_I_
- can hardly be just to him.”
-
- Elizabeth was again deep in thought, and after a time exclaimed,
- “To treat in such a manner the godson, the friend, the favourite
- of his father!” She could have added, “A young man, too, like
- _you_, whose very countenance may vouch for your being
- amiable”—but she contented herself with, “and one, too, who had
- probably been his companion from childhood, connected together,
- as I think you said, in the closest manner!”
-
- “We were born in the same parish, within the same park; the
- greatest part of our youth was passed together; inmates of the
- same house, sharing the same amusements, objects of the same
- parental care. _My_ father began life in the profession which
- your uncle, Mr. Phillips, appears to do so much credit to—but he
- gave up everything to be of use to the late Mr. Darcy and devoted
- all his time to the care of the Pemberley property. He was most
- highly esteemed by Mr. Darcy, a most intimate, confidential
- friend. Mr. Darcy often acknowledged himself to be under the
- greatest obligations to my father’s active superintendence, and
- when, immediately before my father’s death, Mr. Darcy gave him a
- voluntary promise of providing for me, I am convinced that he
- felt it to be as much a debt of gratitude to _him_, as of his
- affection to myself.”
-
- “How strange!” cried Elizabeth. “How abominable! I wonder that
- the very pride of this Mr. Darcy has not made him just to you! If
- from no better motive, that he should not have been too proud to
- be dishonest—for dishonesty I must call it.”
-
- “It _is_ wonderful,” replied Wickham, “for almost all his actions
- may be traced to pride; and pride had often been his best friend.
- It has connected him nearer with virtue than with any other
- feeling. But we are none of us consistent, and in his behaviour
- to me there were stronger impulses even than pride.”
-
- “Can such abominable pride as his have ever done him good?”
-
- “Yes. It has often led him to be liberal and generous, to give
- his money freely, to display hospitality, to assist his tenants,
- and relieve the poor. Family pride, and _filial_ pride—for he is
- very proud of what his father was—have done this. Not to appear
- to disgrace his family, to degenerate from the popular qualities,
- or lose the influence of the Pemberley House, is a powerful
- motive. He has also _brotherly_ pride, which, with _some_
- brotherly affection, makes him a very kind and careful guardian
- of his sister, and you will hear him generally cried up as the
- most attentive and best of brothers.”
-
- “What sort of girl is Miss Darcy?”
-
- He shook his head. “I wish I could call her amiable. It gives me
- pain to speak ill of a Darcy. But she is too much like her
- brother—very, very proud. As a child, she was affectionate and
- pleasing, and extremely fond of me; and I have devoted hours and
- hours to her amusement. But she is nothing to me now. She is a
- handsome girl, about fifteen or sixteen, and, I understand,
- highly accomplished. Since her father’s death, her home has been
- London, where a lady lives with her, and superintends her
- education.”
-
- After many pauses and many trials of other subjects, Elizabeth
- could not help reverting once more to the first, and saying:
-
- “I am astonished at his intimacy with Mr. Bingley! How can Mr.
- Bingley, who seems good humour itself, and is, I really believe,
- truly amiable, be in friendship with such a man? How can they
- suit each other? Do you know Mr. Bingley?”
-
- “Not at all.”
-
- “He is a sweet-tempered, amiable, charming man. He cannot know
- what Mr. Darcy is.”
-
- “Probably not; but Mr. Darcy can please where he chooses. He does
- not want abilities. He can be a conversible companion if he
- thinks it worth his while. Among those who are at all his equals
- in consequence, he is a very different man from what he is to the
- less prosperous. His pride never deserts him; but with the rich
- he is liberal-minded, just, sincere, rational, honourable, and
- perhaps agreeable—allowing something for fortune and figure.”
-
- The whist party soon afterwards breaking up, the players gathered
- round the other table and Mr. Collins took his station between
- his cousin Elizabeth and Mrs. Phillips. The usual enquiries as to
- his success were made by the latter. It had not been very great;
- he had lost every point; but when Mrs. Phillips began to express
- her concern thereupon, he assured her with much earnest gravity
- that it was not of the least importance, that he considered the
- money as a mere trifle, and begged that she would not make
- herself uneasy.
-
- “I know very well, madam,” said he, “that when persons sit down
- to a card-table, they must take their chances of these things,
- and happily I am not in such circumstances as to make five
- shillings any object. There are undoubtedly many who could not
- say the same, but thanks to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I am
- removed far beyond the necessity of regarding little matters.”
-
- Mr. Wickham’s attention was caught; and after observing Mr.
- Collins for a few moments, he asked Elizabeth in a low voice
- whether her relation was very intimately acquainted with the
- family of de Bourgh.
-
- “Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” she replied, “has very lately given
- him a living. I hardly know how Mr. Collins was first introduced
- to her notice, but he certainly has not known her long.”
-
- “You know of course that Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady Anne
- Darcy were sisters; consequently that she is aunt to the present
- Mr. Darcy.”
-
- “No, indeed, I did not. I knew nothing at all of Lady Catherine’s
- connections. I never heard of her existence till the day before
- yesterday.”
-
- “Her daughter, Miss de Bourgh, will have a very large fortune,
- and it is believed that she and her cousin will unite the two
- estates.”
-
- This information made Elizabeth smile, as she thought of poor
- Miss Bingley. Vain indeed must be all her attentions, vain and
- useless her affection for his sister and her praise of himself,
- if he were already self-destined for another.
-
- “Mr. Collins,” said she, “speaks highly both of Lady Catherine
- and her daughter; but from some particulars that he has related
- of her ladyship, I suspect his gratitude misleads him, and that
- in spite of her being his patroness, she is an arrogant,
- conceited woman.”
-
- “I believe her to be both in a great degree,” replied Wickham; “I
- have not seen her for many years, but I very well remember that I
- never liked her, and that her manners were dictatorial and
- insolent. She has the reputation of being remarkably sensible and
- clever; but I rather believe she derives part of her abilities
- from her rank and fortune, part from her authoritative manner,
- and the rest from the pride of her nephew, who chooses that
- everyone connected with him should have an understanding of the
- first class.”
-
- Elizabeth allowed that he had given a very rational account of
- it, and they continued talking together, with mutual satisfaction
- till supper put an end to cards, and gave the rest of the ladies
- their share of Mr. Wickham’s attentions. There could be no
- conversation in the noise of Mrs. Phillips’s supper party, but
- his manners recommended him to everybody. Whatever he said, was
- said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully. Elizabeth went
- away with her head full of him. She could think of nothing but of
- Mr. Wickham, and of what he had told her, all the way home; but
- there was not time for her even to mention his name as they went,
- for neither Lydia nor Mr. Collins were once silent. Lydia talked
- incessantly of lottery tickets, of the fish she had lost and the
- fish she had won; and Mr. Collins in describing the civility of
- Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, protesting that he did not in the least
- regard his losses at whist, enumerating all the dishes at supper,
- and repeatedly fearing that he crowded his cousins, had more to
- say than he could well manage before the carriage stopped at
- Longbourn House.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 17
-
- Elizabeth related to Jane the next day what had passed between
- Mr. Wickham and herself. Jane listened with astonishment and
- concern; she knew not how to believe that Mr. Darcy could be so
- unworthy of Mr. Bingley’s regard; and yet, it was not in her
- nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable
- appearance as Wickham. The possibility of his having endured such
- unkindness, was enough to interest all her tender feelings; and
- nothing remained therefore to be done, but to think well of them
- both, to defend the conduct of each, and throw into the account
- of accident or mistake whatever could not be otherwise explained.
-
- “They have both,” said she, “been deceived, I dare say, in some
- way or other, of which we can form no idea. Interested people
- have perhaps misrepresented each to the other. It is, in short,
- impossible for us to conjecture the causes or circumstances which
- may have alienated them, without actual blame on either side.”
-
- “Very true, indeed; and now, my dear Jane, what have you got to
- say on behalf of the interested people who have probably been
- concerned in the business? Do clear _them_ too, or we shall be
- obliged to think ill of somebody.”
-
- “Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my
- opinion. My dearest Lizzy, do but consider in what a disgraceful
- light it places Mr. Darcy, to be treating his father’s favourite
- in such a manner, one whom his father had promised to provide
- for. It is impossible. No man of common humanity, no man 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.”
-
- “I can much more easily believe Mr. Bingley’s being imposed on,
- than that Mr. Wickham should invent such a history of himself as
- he gave me last night; names, facts, everything mentioned without
- ceremony. If it be not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it. Besides,
- there was truth in his looks.”
-
- “It is difficult indeed—it is distressing. One does not know what
- to think.”
-
- “I beg your pardon; one knows exactly what to think.”
-
- But Jane could think with certainty on only one point—that Mr.
- Bingley, if he _had been_ imposed on, would have much to suffer
- when the affair became public.
-
- The two young ladies were summoned from the shrubbery, where this
- conversation passed, by the arrival of the very persons of whom
- they had been speaking; Mr. Bingley and his sisters came to give
- their personal invitation for the long-expected ball at
- Netherfield, which was fixed for the following Tuesday. The two
- ladies were delighted to see their dear friend again, called it
- an age since they had met, and repeatedly asked what she had been
- doing with herself since their separation. To the rest of the
- family they paid little attention; avoiding Mrs. Bennet as much
- as possible, saying not much to Elizabeth, and nothing at all to
- the others. They were soon gone again, rising from their seats
- with an activity which took their brother by surprise, and
- hurrying off as if eager to escape from Mrs. Bennet’s civilities.
-
- The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to
- every female of the family. Mrs. Bennet chose to consider it as
- given in compliment to her eldest daughter, and was particularly
- flattered by receiving the invitation from Mr. Bingley himself,
- instead of a ceremonious card. Jane pictured to herself a happy
- evening in the society of her two friends, and the attentions of
- their brother; and Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a
- great deal with Mr. Wickham, and of seeing a confirmation of
- everything in Mr. Darcy’s look and behaviour. The happiness
- anticipated by Catherine and Lydia depended less on any single
- event, or any particular person, for though they each, like
- Elizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham, he
- was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them, and a
- ball was, at any rate, a ball. And even Mary could assure her
- family that she had no disinclination for it.
-
- “While I can have my mornings to myself,” said she, “it is
- enough—I think it is no sacrifice to join occasionally in evening
- engagements. Society has claims on us all; and I profess myself
- one of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement
- as desirable for everybody.”
-
- Elizabeth’s spirits were so high on this occasion, that though
- she did not often speak unnecessarily to Mr. Collins, she could
- not help asking him whether he intended to accept Mr. Bingley’s
- invitation, and if he did, whether he would think it proper to
- join in the evening’s amusement; and she was rather surprised to
- find that he entertained no scruple whatever on that head, and
- was very far from dreading a rebuke either from the Archbishop,
- or Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by venturing to dance.
-
- “I am by no means of the opinion, I assure you,” said he, “that a
- ball of this kind, given by a young man of character, to
- respectable people, can have any evil tendency; and I am so far
- from objecting to dancing myself, that I shall hope to be
- honoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of
- the evening; and I take this opportunity of soliciting yours,
- Miss Elizabeth, for the two first dances especially, a preference
- which I trust my cousin Jane will attribute to the right cause,
- and not to any disrespect for her.”
-
- Elizabeth felt herself completely taken in. She had fully
- proposed being engaged by Mr. Wickham for those very dances; and
- to have Mr. Collins instead! her liveliness had never been worse
- timed. There was no help for it, however. Mr. Wickham’s happiness
- and her own were perforce delayed a little longer, and Mr.
- Collins’s proposal accepted with as good a grace as she could.
- She was not the better pleased with his gallantry from the idea
- it suggested of something more. It now first struck her, that
- _she_ was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being
- mistress of Hunsford Parsonage, and of assisting to form a
- quadrille table at Rosings, in the absence of more eligible
- visitors. The idea soon reached to conviction, as she observed
- his increasing civilities toward herself, and heard his frequent
- attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity; and though more
- astonished than gratified herself by this effect of her charms,
- it was not long before her mother gave her to understand that the
- probability of their marriage was extremely agreeable to _her_.
- Elizabeth, however, did not choose to take the hint, being well
- aware that a serious dispute must be the consequence of any
- reply. Mr. Collins might never make the offer, and till he did,
- it was useless to quarrel about him.
-
- If there had not been a Netherfield ball to prepare for and talk
- of, the younger Miss Bennets would have been in a very pitiable
- state at this time, for from the day of the invitation, to the
- day of the ball, there was such a succession of rain as prevented
- their walking to Meryton once. No aunt, no officers, no news
- could be sought after—the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were
- got by proxy. Even Elizabeth might have found some trial of her
- patience in weather which totally suspended the improvement of
- her acquaintance with Mr. Wickham; and nothing less than a dance
- on Tuesday, could have made such a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and
- Monday endurable to Kitty and Lydia.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 18
-
- Till Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield, and
- looked in vain for Mr. Wickham among the cluster of red coats
- there assembled, a doubt of his being present had never occurred
- to her. The certainty of meeting him had not been checked by any
- of those recollections that might not unreasonably have alarmed
- her. She had dressed with more than usual care, and prepared in
- the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained
- unsubdued of his heart, trusting that it was not more than might
- be won in the course of the evening. But in an instant arose the
- dreadful suspicion of his being purposely omitted for Mr. Darcy’s
- pleasure in the Bingleys’ invitation to the officers; and though
- this was not exactly the case, the absolute fact of his absence
- was pronounced by his friend Denny, to whom Lydia eagerly
- applied, and who told them that Wickham had been obliged to go to
- town on business the day before, and was not yet returned;
- adding, with a significant smile, “I do not imagine his business
- would have called him away just now, if he had not wanted to
- avoid a certain gentleman here.”
-
- This part of his intelligence, though unheard by Lydia, was
- caught by Elizabeth, and, as it assured her that Darcy was not
- less answerable for Wickham’s absence than if her first surmise
- had been just, every feeling of displeasure against the former
- was so sharpened by immediate disappointment, that she could
- hardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite enquiries
- which he directly afterwards approached to make. Attendance,
- forbearance, patience with Darcy, was injury to Wickham. She was
- resolved against any sort of conversation with him, and turned
- away with a degree of ill-humour which she could not wholly
- surmount even in speaking to Mr. Bingley, whose blind partiality
- provoked her.
-
- But Elizabeth was not formed for ill-humour; and though every
- prospect of her own was destroyed for the evening, it could not
- dwell long on her spirits; and having told all her griefs to
- Charlotte Lucas, whom she had not seen for a week, she was soon
- able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her
- cousin, and to point him out to her particular notice. The first
- two dances, however, brought a return of distress; they were
- dances of mortification. Mr. Collins, awkward and solemn,
- apologising instead of attending, and often moving wrong without
- being aware of it, gave her all the shame and misery which 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
- talking of Wickham, and of hearing that he was universally liked.
- When those dances were over, she returned to Charlotte Lucas, and
- was in conversation with her, when she found herself suddenly
- addressed by Mr. Darcy who took her so much by surprise in his
- application for her hand, that, without knowing what she did, she
- accepted him. He walked away again immediately, and she was left
- to fret over her own want of presence of mind; Charlotte tried to
- console her:
-
- “I dare say you will find him very agreeable.”
-
- “Heaven forbid! _That_ would be the greatest misfortune of all!
- To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not
- wish me such an evil.”
-
- When the dancing recommenced, however, and Darcy approached to
- claim her hand, Charlotte could not help cautioning her in a
- whisper, not to be a simpleton, and allow her fancy for Wickham
- to make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man ten times his
- consequence. Elizabeth made no answer, and took her place in the
- set, amazed at the dignity to which she was arrived in being
- allowed to stand opposite to Mr. Darcy, and reading in her
- neighbours’ looks, their equal amazement in beholding it. They
- stood for some time without speaking a word; and she began to
- imagine that their silence was to last through the two dances,
- and at first was resolved not to break it; till suddenly fancying
- that it would be the greater punishment to her partner to oblige
- him to talk, she made some slight observation on the dance. He
- replied, and was again silent. After a pause of some minutes, she
- addressed him a second time with:—“It is _your_ turn to say
- something now, Mr. Darcy. _I_ talked about the dance, and _you_
- ought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room, or the
- number of couples.”
-
- He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say
- should be said.
-
- “Very well. That reply will do for the present. Perhaps by and by
- I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public
- ones. But _now_ we may be silent.”
-
- “Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?”
-
- “Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd
- to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the
- advantage of _some_, conversation ought to be so arranged, as
- that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.”
-
- “Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do
- you imagine that you are gratifying mine?”
-
- “Both,” replied Elizabeth archly; “for I have always seen a great
- similarity in the turn of our minds. We are each of an unsocial,
- taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say
- something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to
- posterity with all the _éclat_ of a proverb.”
-
- “This is no very striking resemblance of your own character, I am
- sure,” said he. “How near it may be to _mine_, I cannot pretend
- to say. _You_ think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly.”
-
- “I must not decide on my own performance.”
-
- He made no answer, and they were again silent till they had gone
- down the dance, when he asked her if she and her sisters did not
- very often walk to Meryton. She answered in the affirmative, and,
- unable to resist the temptation, added, “When you met us there
- the other day, we had just been forming a new acquaintance.”
-
- The effect was immediate. A deeper shade of _hauteur_ overspread
- his features, but he said not a word, and Elizabeth, though
- blaming herself for her own weakness, could not go on. At length
- Darcy spoke, and in a constrained manner said, “Mr. Wickham is
- blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his _making_
- friends—whether he may be equally capable of _retaining_ them, is
- less certain.”
-
- “He has been so unlucky as to lose _your_ friendship,” replied
- Elizabeth with emphasis, “and in a manner which he is likely to
- suffer from all his life.”
-
- Darcy made no answer, and seemed desirous of changing the
- subject. At that moment, Sir William Lucas appeared close to
- them, meaning to pass through the set to the other side of the
- room; but on perceiving Mr. Darcy, he stopped with a bow of
- superior courtesy to compliment him on his dancing and his
- partner.
-
- “I have been most highly gratified indeed, my dear sir. Such very
- superior dancing is not often seen. It is evident that you belong
- to the first circles. Allow me to say, however, that your fair
- partner does not disgrace you, and that I must hope to have this
- pleasure often repeated, especially when a certain desirable
- event, my dear Eliza (glancing at her sister and Bingley) shall
- take place. What congratulations will then flow in! I appeal to
- Mr. Darcy:—but let me not interrupt you, sir. You will not thank
- me for detaining you from the bewitching converse of that young
- lady, whose bright eyes are also upbraiding me.”
-
- The latter part of this address was scarcely heard by Darcy; but
- Sir William’s allusion to his friend seemed to strike him
- forcibly, and his eyes were directed with a very serious
- expression towards Bingley and Jane, who were dancing together.
- Recovering himself, however, shortly, he turned to his partner,
- and said, “Sir William’s interruption has made me forget what we
- were talking of.”
-
- “I do not think we were speaking at all. Sir William could not
- have interrupted two people in the room who had less to say for
- themselves. We have tried two or three subjects already without
- success, and what we are to talk of next I cannot imagine.”
-
- “What think you of books?” said he, smiling.
-
- “Books—oh! no. I am sure we never read the same, or not with the
- same feelings.”
-
- “I am sorry you think so; but if that be the case, there can at
- least be no want of subject. We may compare our different
- opinions.”
-
- “No—I cannot talk of books in a ball-room; my head is always full
- of something else.”
-
- “The _present_ always occupies you in such scenes—does it?” said
- he, with a look of doubt.
-
- “Yes, always,” she replied, without knowing what she said, for
- her thoughts had wandered far from the subject, as soon
- afterwards appeared by her suddenly exclaiming, “I remember
- hearing you once say, Mr. Darcy, that you hardly ever forgave,
- that your resentment once created was unappeasable. You are very
- cautious, I suppose, as to its _being created?_”
-
- “I am,” said he, with a firm voice.
-
- “And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?”
-
- “I hope not.”
-
- “It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their
- opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.”
-
- “May I ask to what these questions tend?”
-
- “Merely to the illustration of _your_ character,” said she,
- endeavouring to shake off her gravity. “I am trying to make it
- out.”
-
- “And what is your success?”
-
- She shook her head. “I do not get on at all. I hear such
- different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.”
-
- “I can readily believe,” answered he gravely, “that reports may
- vary greatly with respect to me; and I could wish, Miss Bennet,
- that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment,
- as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no
- credit on either.”
-
- “But if I do not take your likeness now, I may never have another
- opportunity.”
-
- “I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours,” he coldly
- replied. She said no more, and they went down the other dance and
- parted in silence; and on each side dissatisfied, though not to
- an equal degree, for in Darcy’s breast there was a tolerably
- powerful feeling towards her, which soon procured her pardon, and
- directed all his anger against another.
-
- They had not long separated, when Miss Bingley came towards her,
- and with an expression of civil disdain accosted her:
-
- “So, Miss Eliza, I hear you are quite delighted with George
- Wickham! Your sister has been talking to me about him, and asking
- me a thousand questions; and I find that the young man quite
- forgot to tell you, among his other communication, that he was
- the son of old Wickham, the late Mr. Darcy’s steward. Let me
- recommend you, however, as a friend, not to give implicit
- confidence to all his assertions; for as to Mr. Darcy’s using him
- ill, it is perfectly false; for, on the contrary, he has always
- been remarkably kind to him, though George Wickham has treated
- Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. I do not know the
- particulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the
- least to blame, that he cannot bear to hear George Wickham
- mentioned, and that though my brother thought that he could not
- well avoid including him in his invitation to the officers, he
- was excessively glad to find that he had taken himself out of the
- way. His coming into the country at all is a most insolent thing,
- indeed, and I wonder how he could presume to do it. I pity you,
- Miss Eliza, for this discovery of your favourite’s guilt; but
- really, considering his descent, one could not expect much
- better.”
-
- “His guilt and his descent appear by your account to be the
- same,” said Elizabeth angrily; “for I have heard you accuse him
- of nothing worse than of being the son of Mr. Darcy’s steward,
- and of _that_, I can assure you, he informed me himself.”
-
- “I beg your pardon,” replied Miss Bingley, turning away with a
- sneer. “Excuse my interference—it was kindly meant.”
-
- “Insolent girl!” said Elizabeth to herself. “You are much
- mistaken if you expect to influence me by such a paltry attack as
- this. I see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and the
- malice of Mr. Darcy.” She then sought her eldest sister, who had
- undertaken to make enquiries on the same subject of Bingley. Jane
- met her with a smile of such sweet complacency, a glow of such
- happy expression, as sufficiently marked how well she was
- satisfied with the occurrences of the evening. Elizabeth
- instantly read her feelings, and at that moment solicitude for
- Wickham, resentment against his enemies, and everything else,
- gave way before the hope of Jane’s being in the fairest way for
- happiness.
-
- “I want to know,” said she, with a countenance no less smiling
- than her sister’s, “what you have learnt about Mr. Wickham. But
- perhaps you have been too pleasantly engaged to think of any
- third person; in which case you may be sure of my pardon.”
-
- “No,” replied Jane, “I have not forgotten him; but I have nothing
- satisfactory to tell you. Mr. Bingley does not know the whole of
- his history, and is quite ignorant of the circumstances which
- have principally offended Mr. Darcy; but he will vouch for the
- good conduct, the probity, and honour of his friend, and is
- perfectly convinced that Mr. Wickham has deserved much less
- attention from Mr. Darcy than he has received; and I am sorry to
- say by his account as well as his sister’s, Mr. Wickham is by no
- means a respectable young man. I am afraid he has been very
- imprudent, and has deserved to lose Mr. Darcy’s regard.”
-
- “Mr. Bingley does not know Mr. Wickham himself?”
-
- “No; he never saw him till the other morning at Meryton.”
-
- “This account then is what he has received from Mr. Darcy. I am
- satisfied. But what does he say of the living?”
-
- “He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has
- heard them from Mr. Darcy more than once, but he believes that it
- was left to him _conditionally_ only.”
-
- “I have not a doubt of Mr. Bingley’s sincerity,” said Elizabeth
- warmly; “but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances
- only. Mr. Bingley’s defense of his friend was a very able one, I
- dare say; but since he is unacquainted with several parts of the
- story, and has learnt the rest from that friend himself, I shall
- venture to still think of both gentlemen as I did before.”
-
- She then changed the discourse to one more gratifying to each,
- and on which there could be no difference of sentiment. Elizabeth
- listened with delight to the happy, though modest hopes which
- Jane entertained of Mr. Bingley’s regard, and said all in her
- power to heighten her confidence in it. On their being joined by
- Mr. Bingley himself, Elizabeth withdrew to Miss Lucas; to whose
- enquiry after the pleasantness of her last partner she had
- scarcely replied, before Mr. Collins came up to them, and told
- her with great exultation that he had just been so fortunate as
- to make a most important discovery.
-
- “I have found out,” said he, “by a singular accident, that there
- is now in the room a near relation of my patroness. I happened to
- overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who
- does the honours of the house the names of his cousin Miss de
- Bourgh, and of her mother Lady Catherine. How wonderfully these
- sort of things occur! Who would have thought of my meeting with,
- perhaps, a nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in this assembly! I
- am most thankful that the discovery is made in time for me to pay
- my respects to him, which I am now going to do, and trust he will
- excuse my not having done it before. My total ignorance of the
- connection must plead my apology.”
-
- “You are not going to introduce yourself to Mr. Darcy!”
-
- “Indeed I am. I shall entreat his pardon for not having done it
- earlier. I believe him to be Lady Catherine’s _nephew_. It will
- be in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well
- yesterday se’nnight.”
-
- Elizabeth tried hard to dissuade him from such a scheme, assuring
- him that Mr. Darcy would consider his addressing him without
- introduction as an impertinent freedom, rather than a compliment
- to his aunt; that it was not in the least necessary there should
- be any notice on either side; and that if it were, it must belong
- to Mr. Darcy, the superior in consequence, to begin the
- acquaintance. Mr. Collins listened to her with the determined air
- of following his own inclination, and, when she ceased speaking,
- replied thus:
-
- “My dear Miss Elizabeth, I have the highest opinion in the world
- in your excellent judgement in all matters within the scope of
- your understanding; but permit me to say, that there must be a
- wide difference between the established forms of ceremony amongst
- the laity, and those which regulate the clergy; for, give me
- leave to observe that I consider the clerical office as equal in
- point of dignity with the highest rank in the kingdom—provided
- that a proper humility of behaviour is at the same time
- maintained. You must therefore allow me to follow the dictates of
- my conscience on this occasion, which leads me to perform what I
- look on as a point of duty. Pardon me for neglecting to profit by
- your advice, which on every other subject shall be my constant
- guide, though in the case before us I consider myself more fitted
- by education and habitual study to decide on what is right than a
- young lady like yourself.” And with a low bow he left her to
- attack Mr. Darcy, whose reception of his advances she eagerly
- watched, and whose astonishment at being so addressed was very
- evident. Her cousin prefaced his speech with a solemn bow and
- though she could not hear a word of it, she felt as if hearing it
- all, and saw in the motion of his lips the words “apology,”
- “Hunsford,” and “Lady Catherine de Bourgh.” It vexed her to see
- him expose himself to such a man. Mr. Darcy was eyeing him with
- unrestrained wonder, and when at last Mr. Collins allowed him
- time to speak, replied with an air of distant civility. Mr.
- Collins, however, was not discouraged from speaking again, and
- Mr. Darcy’s contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length
- of his second speech, and at the end of it he only made him a
- slight bow, and moved another way. Mr. Collins then returned to
- Elizabeth.
-
- “I have no reason, I assure you,” said he, “to be dissatisfied
- with my reception. Mr. Darcy seemed much pleased with the
- attention. He answered me with the utmost civility, and even paid
- me the compliment of saying that he was so well convinced of Lady
- Catherine’s discernment as to be certain she could never bestow a
- favour unworthily. It was really a very handsome thought. Upon
- the whole, I am much pleased with him.”
-
- As Elizabeth had no longer any interest of her own to pursue, she
- turned her attention almost entirely on her sister and Mr.
- Bingley; and the train of agreeable reflections which her
- observations gave birth to, made her perhaps almost as happy as
- Jane. She saw her in idea settled in that very house, in all the
- felicity which a marriage of true affection could bestow; and she
- felt capable, under such circumstances, of endeavouring even to
- like Bingley’s two sisters. Her mother’s thoughts she plainly saw
- were bent the same way, and she determined not to venture near
- her, lest she might hear too much. When they sat down to supper,
- therefore, she considered it a most unlucky perverseness which
- placed them within one of each other; and deeply was she vexed to
- find that her mother was talking to that one person (Lady Lucas)
- freely, openly, and of nothing else but her expectation that Jane
- would soon be married to Mr. Bingley. It was an animating
- subject, and Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while
- enumerating the advantages of the match. His being such a
- charming young man, and so rich, and living but three miles from
- them, were the first points of self-gratulation; and then it was
- such a comfort to think how fond the two sisters were of Jane,
- and to be certain that they must desire the connection as much as
- she could do. It was, moreover, such a promising thing for her
- younger daughters, as Jane’s marrying so greatly must throw them
- in the way of other rich men; and lastly, it was so pleasant at
- her time of life to be able to consign her single daughters to
- the care of their sister, that she might not be obliged to go
- into company more than she liked. It was necessary to make this
- circumstance a matter of pleasure, because on such occasions it
- is the etiquette; but no one was less likely than Mrs. Bennet to
- find comfort in staying home at any period of her life. She
- concluded with many good wishes that Lady Lucas might soon be
- equally fortunate, though evidently and triumphantly believing
- there was no chance of it.
-
- In vain did Elizabeth endeavour to check the rapidity of her
- mother’s words, or persuade her to describe her felicity in a
- less audible whisper; for, to her inexpressible vexation, she
- could perceive that the chief of it was overheard by Mr. Darcy,
- who sat opposite to them. Her mother only scolded her for being
- 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
- to say nothing _he_ may not like to hear.”
-
- “For heaven’s sake, madam, speak lower. What advantage can it be
- for you to offend Mr. Darcy? You will never recommend yourself to
- his friend by so doing!”
-
- Nothing that she could say, however, had any influence. Her
- mother 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, though
- every glance convinced her of what she dreaded; for though he was
- not always looking at her mother, she was convinced that his
- attention was invariably fixed by her. The expression of his face
- changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and
- steady gravity.
-
- At length, however, Mrs. Bennet had no more to say; and Lady
- Lucas, who had been long yawning at the repetition of delights
- which she saw no likelihood of sharing, was left to the comforts
- of cold ham and chicken. Elizabeth now began to revive. But not
- long was the interval of tranquillity; for, when supper was over,
- singing was talked of, and she had the mortification of seeing
- Mary, after very little entreaty, preparing to oblige the
- company. By many significant looks and silent entreaties, did she
- endeavour to prevent such a proof of complaisance, but in vain;
- Mary would not understand them; such an opportunity of exhibiting
- was delightful to her, and she began her song. Elizabeth’s eyes
- were fixed on her with most painful sensations, and she watched
- her progress through the several stanzas with an impatience which
- was very ill rewarded at their close; for Mary, on receiving,
- amongst the thanks of the table, the hint of a hope that she
- might be prevailed on to favour them again, after the pause of
- half a minute began another. Mary’s powers were by no means
- fitted for such a display; her voice was weak, and her manner
- affected. Elizabeth was in agonies. She looked at Jane, to see
- how she bore it; but Jane was very composedly talking to Bingley.
- She looked at his two sisters, and saw them making signs of
- derision at each other, and at Darcy, who continued, however,
- imperturbably grave. She looked at her father to entreat his
- interference, lest Mary should be singing all night. He took the
- hint, and when Mary had finished her second song, said aloud,
- “That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long
- enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit.”
-
- Mary, though pretending not to hear, was somewhat disconcerted;
- and Elizabeth, sorry for her, and sorry for her father’s speech,
- was afraid her anxiety had done no good. Others of the party were
- now applied to.
-
- “If I,” said Mr. Collins, “were so fortunate as to be able to
- sing, I should have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the
- company with an air; for I consider music as a very innocent
- diversion, and perfectly compatible with the profession of a
- clergyman. I do not mean, however, to assert that we can be
- justified in devoting too much of our time to music, for there
- are certainly other things to be attended to. The rector of a
- parish has much to do. In the first place, he must make such an
- agreement for tithes as may be beneficial to himself and not
- offensive to his patron. He must write his own sermons; and the
- time that remains will not be too much for his parish duties, and
- the care and improvement of his dwelling, which he cannot be
- excused from making as comfortable as possible. And I do not
- think it of light importance that he should have attentive and
- conciliatory manners towards everybody, especially towards those
- to whom he owes his preferment. I cannot acquit him of that duty;
- nor could I think well of the man who should omit an occasion of
- testifying his respect towards anybody connected with the
- family.” And with a bow to Mr. Darcy, he concluded his speech,
- which had been spoken so loud as to be heard by half the room.
- Many stared—many smiled; but no one looked more amused than Mr.
- Bennet himself, while his wife seriously commended Mr. Collins
- for having spoken so sensibly, and observed in a half-whisper to
- Lady Lucas, that he was a remarkably clever, good kind of young
- man.
-
- To Elizabeth it appeared that, had her family made an agreement
- to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening, it
- would have been impossible for them to play their parts with more
- spirit or finer success; and happy did she think it for Bingley
- and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his
- notice, and that his feelings were not of a sort to be much
- distressed by the folly which he must have witnessed. That his
- two sisters and Mr. Darcy, however, should have such an
- opportunity of ridiculing her relations, was bad enough, and she
- could not determine whether the silent contempt of the gentleman,
- or the insolent smiles of the ladies, were more intolerable.
-
- The rest of the evening brought her little amusement. She was
- teased by Mr. Collins, who continued most perseveringly by her
- side, and though he could not prevail on her to dance with him
- again, put it out of her power to dance with others. In vain did
- she entreat him to stand up with somebody else, and offer to
- introduce him to any young lady in the room. He assured her, that
- as to dancing, he was perfectly indifferent to it; that his chief
- object was by delicate attentions to recommend himself to her and
- that he should therefore make a point of remaining close to her
- the whole evening. There was no arguing upon such a project. She
- owed her greatest relief to her friend Miss Lucas, who often
- joined them, and good-naturedly engaged Mr. Collins’s
- conversation to herself.
-
- She was at least free from the offense of Mr. Darcy’s further
- notice; though often standing within a very short distance of
- her, quite disengaged, he never came near enough to speak. She
- felt it to be the probable consequence of her allusions to Mr.
- Wickham, and rejoiced in it.
-
- The Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart,
- and, by a manoeuvre of Mrs. Bennet, had to wait for their
- carriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone,
- which gave them time to see how heartily they were wished away by
- some of the family. Mrs. Hurst and her sister scarcely opened
- their mouths, except to complain of fatigue, and were evidently
- impatient to have the house to themselves. They repulsed every
- attempt of Mrs. Bennet at conversation, and by so doing threw a
- languor over the whole party, which was very little relieved by
- the long speeches of Mr. Collins, who was complimenting Mr.
- Bingley and his sisters on the elegance of their entertainment,
- and the hospitality and politeness which had marked their
- behaviour to their guests. Darcy said nothing at all. Mr. Bennet,
- in equal silence, was enjoying the scene. Mr. Bingley and Jane
- were standing together, a little detached from the rest, and
- talked only to each other. Elizabeth preserved as steady a
- silence as either Mrs. Hurst or Miss Bingley; and even Lydia was
- too much fatigued to utter more than the occasional exclamation
- of “Lord, how tired I am!” accompanied by a violent yawn.
-
- When at length they arose to take leave, Mrs. Bennet was most
- pressingly civil in her hope of seeing the whole family soon at
- Longbourn, and addressed herself especially to Mr. Bingley, to
- assure him how happy he would make them by eating a family dinner
- with them at any time, without the ceremony of a formal
- invitation. Bingley was all grateful pleasure, and he readily
- engaged for taking the earliest opportunity of waiting on her,
- after his return from London, whither he was obliged to go the
- next day for a short time.
-
- Mrs. Bennet was perfectly satisfied, and quitted the house under
- the delightful persuasion that, allowing for the necessary
- preparations of settlements, new carriages, and wedding clothes,
- she should undoubtedly see her daughter settled at Netherfield in
- the course of three or four months. Of having another daughter
- married to Mr. Collins, she thought with equal certainty, and
- with considerable, though not equal, pleasure. Elizabeth was the
- least dear to her of all her children; and though the man and the
- match were quite good enough for _her_, the worth of each was
- eclipsed by Mr. Bingley and Netherfield.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 19
-
- The next day opened a new scene at Longbourn. Mr. Collins made
- his declaration in form. Having resolved to do it without loss of
- time, as his leave of absence extended only to the following
- Saturday, and having no feelings of diffidence to make it
- distressing to himself even at the moment, he set about it in a
- very orderly manner, with all the observances, which he supposed
- a regular part of the business. On finding Mrs. Bennet,
- Elizabeth, and one of the younger girls together, soon after
- breakfast, he addressed the mother in these words:
-
- “May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter
- Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience
- with her in the course of this morning?”
-
- Before Elizabeth had time for anything but a blush of surprise,
- Mrs. Bennet answered instantly, “Oh dear!—yes—certainly. I am
- sure Lizzy will be very happy—I am sure she can have no
- objection. Come, Kitty, I want you up stairs.” And, gathering her
- work together, she was hastening away, when Elizabeth called out:
-
- “Dear madam, do not go. I beg you will not go. Mr. Collins must
- excuse me. He can have nothing to say to me that anybody need not
- hear. I am going away myself.”
-
- “No, no, nonsense, Lizzy. I desire you to stay where you are.”
- And upon Elizabeth’s seeming really, with vexed and embarrassed
- looks, about to escape, she added: “Lizzy, I _insist_ upon your
- staying and hearing Mr. Collins.”
-
- Elizabeth would not oppose such an injunction—and a moment’s
- consideration making her also sensible that it would be wisest to
- get it over as soon and as quietly as possible, she sat down
- again and tried to conceal, by incessant employment the feelings
- which were divided between distress and diversion. Mrs. Bennet
- and Kitty walked off, and as soon as they were gone, Mr. Collins
- began.
-
- “Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far
- from doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other
- perfections. You would have been less amiable in my eyes had
- there _not_ been this little unwillingness; but allow me to
- assure you, that I have your respected mother’s permission for
- this address. You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse,
- however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble; my
- attentions have been too marked to be mistaken. Almost as soon as
- I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my
- future life. But before I am run away with by my feelings on this
- subject, perhaps it would be advisable for me to state my reasons
- for marrying—and, moreover, for coming into Hertfordshire with
- the design of selecting a wife, as I certainly did.”
-
- The idea of Mr. Collins, with all his solemn composure, being run
- away with by his feelings, made Elizabeth so near laughing, that
- she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to
- stop him further, and he continued:
-
- “My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right
- thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to
- set the example of matrimony in his parish; secondly, that I am
- convinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness; and
- thirdly—which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it
- is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble
- lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she
- condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this
- subject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left
- Hunsford—between our pools at quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinson was
- arranging Miss de Bourgh’s footstool, that she said, ‘Mr.
- Collins, you must marry. A clergyman like you must marry. Choose
- properly, choose a gentlewoman for _my_ sake; and for your _own_,
- let her be an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high,
- but able to make a small income go a good way. This is my advice.
- Find such a woman as soon as you can, bring her to Hunsford, and
- I will visit her.’ Allow me, by the way, to observe, my fair
- cousin, that I do not reckon the notice and kindness of Lady
- Catherine de Bourgh as among the least of the advantages in my
- power to offer. You will find her manners beyond anything I can
- describe; and your wit and vivacity, I think, must be acceptable
- to her, especially when tempered with the silence and respect
- which her rank will inevitably excite. Thus much for my general
- intention in favour of matrimony; it remains to be told why my
- views were directed towards Longbourn instead of my own
- neighbourhood, where I can assure you there are many amiable
- young women. But the fact is, that being, as I am, to inherit
- this estate after the death of your honoured father (who,
- however, may live many years longer), I could not satisfy myself
- without resolving to choose a wife from among his daughters, that
- the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the
- melancholy event takes place—which, however, as I have already
- said, may not be for several years. This has been my motive, my
- fair cousin, and I flatter myself it will not sink me in your
- esteem. And now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the
- most animated language of the violence of my affection. To
- fortune I am perfectly indifferent, and shall make no demand of
- that nature on your father, since I am well aware that it could
- not be complied with; and that one thousand pounds in the four
- per cents, which will not be yours till after your mother’s
- decease, is all that you may ever be entitled to. On that head,
- therefore, I shall be uniformly silent; and you may assure
- yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when
- we are married.”
-
- It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now.
-
- “You are too hasty, sir,” she cried. “You forget that I have made
- no answer. Let me do it without further loss of time. Accept my
- thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible
- of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to
- do otherwise than to decline them.”
-
- “I am not now to learn,” replied Mr. Collins, with a formal wave
- of the hand, “that it is usual with young ladies to reject the
- addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he
- first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is
- repeated a second, or even a third time. I am therefore by no
- means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to
- lead you to the altar ere long.”
-
- “Upon my word, sir,” cried Elizabeth, “your hope is a rather
- extraordinary one after my declaration. I do assure you that I am
- not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are)
- who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of
- being asked a second time. I am perfectly serious in my refusal.
- You could not make _me_ happy, and I am convinced that I am the
- last woman in the world who could make you so. Nay, were your
- friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find
- me in every respect ill qualified for the situation.”
-
- “Were it certain that Lady Catherine would think so,” said Mr.
- Collins very gravely—“but I cannot imagine that her ladyship
- would at all disapprove of you. And you may be certain when I
- have the honour of seeing her again, I shall speak in the very
- highest terms of your modesty, economy, and other amiable
- qualification.”
-
- “Indeed, Mr. Collins, all praise of me will be unnecessary. You
- must give me leave to judge for myself, and pay me the compliment
- of believing what I say. I wish you very happy and very rich, and
- by refusing your hand, do all in my power to prevent your being
- otherwise. In making me the offer, you must have satisfied the
- delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family, and may take
- possession of Longbourn estate whenever it falls, without any
- self-reproach. This matter may be considered, therefore, as
- finally settled.” And rising as she thus spoke, she would have
- quitted the room, had Mr. Collins not thus addressed her:
-
- “When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on the
- subject, I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than
- you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of
- cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established
- custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and
- perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as
- would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female
- character.”
-
- “Really, Mr. Collins,” cried Elizabeth with some warmth, “you
- puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can appear to
- you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my
- refusal in such a way as to convince you of its being one.”
-
- “You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that
- your refusal of my addresses is merely words of course. My
- reasons for believing it are briefly these: It does not appear to
- me that my hand is unworthy of your acceptance, or that the
- establishment I can offer would be any other than highly
- desirable. My situation in life, my connections with the family
- of de Bourgh, and my relationship to your own, are circumstances
- highly in my favour; and you should take it into further
- consideration, that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is
- by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be
- made you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all
- likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable
- qualifications. As I must therefore conclude that you are not
- serious in your rejection of me, I shall choose to attribute it
- to your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the
- usual practice of elegant females.”
-
- “I do assure you, sir, that I have no pretensions whatever to
- that kind 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 your proposals, but to accept them is absolutely
- impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it. Can I speak
- plainer? Do not consider me now as an elegant female, intending
- to plague you, but as a rational creature, speaking the truth
- from her heart.”
-
- “You are uniformly charming!” cried he, with an air of awkward
- gallantry; “and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the
- express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals
- will not fail of being acceptable.”
-
- To such perseverance in wilful self-deception Elizabeth would
- make no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew;
- determined, if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals
- as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose
- negative might be uttered in such a manner as to be decisive, and
- whose behaviour at least could not be mistaken for the
- affectation and coquetry of an elegant female.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 20
-
- Mr. Collins was not left long to the silent contemplation of his
- successful love; for Mrs. Bennet, having dawdled about in the
- vestibule to watch for the end of the conference, no sooner saw
- Elizabeth open the door and with quick step pass her towards the
- staircase, than she entered the breakfast-room, and congratulated
- both him and herself in warm terms on the happy prospect of their
- nearer connection. Mr. Collins received and returned these
- felicitations with equal pleasure, and then proceeded to relate
- the particulars of their interview, with the result of which he
- trusted he had every reason to be satisfied, since the refusal
- which his cousin had steadfastly given him would naturally flow
- from her bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her
- character.
-
- This information, however, startled Mrs. Bennet; she would have
- been glad to be equally satisfied that her daughter had meant to
- encourage him by protesting against his proposals, but she dared
- not believe it, and could not help saying so.
-
- “But, depend upon it, Mr. Collins,” she added, “that Lizzy shall
- be brought to reason. I will speak to her about it directly. She
- is a very headstrong, foolish girl, and does not know her own
- interest but I will _make_ her know it.”
-
- “Pardon me for interrupting you, madam,” cried Mr. Collins; “but
- if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether she
- would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my
- situation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage
- state. If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit,
- perhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me,
- because if liable to such defects of temper, she could not
- contribute much to my felicity.”
-
- “Sir, you quite misunderstand me,” said Mrs. Bennet, alarmed.
- “Lizzy is only headstrong in such matters as these. In everything
- else she is as good-natured a girl as ever lived. I will go
- directly to Mr. Bennet, and we shall very soon settle it with
- her, I am sure.”
-
- She would not give him time to reply, but hurrying instantly to
- her husband, called out as she entered the library, “Oh! Mr.
- Bennet, you are wanted immediately; we are all in an uproar. You
- must come and make Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, for she vows she will
- not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his
- mind and not have _her_.”
-
- Mr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered, and
- fixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in the
- least altered by her communication.
-
- “I have not the pleasure of understanding you,” said he, when she
- had finished her speech. “Of what are you talking?”
-
- “Of Mr. Collins and Lizzy. Lizzy declares she will not have Mr.
- Collins, and Mr. Collins begins to say that he will not have
- Lizzy.”
-
- “And what am I to do on the occasion? It seems an hopeless
- business.”
-
- “Speak to Lizzy about it yourself. Tell her that you insist upon
- her marrying him.”
-
- “Let her be called down. She shall hear my opinion.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet rang the bell, and Miss Elizabeth was summoned to the
- library.
-
- “Come here, child,” cried her father as she appeared. “I have
- sent for you on an affair of importance. I understand that Mr.
- Collins has made you an offer of marriage. Is it true?” Elizabeth
- replied that it was. “Very well—and this offer of marriage you
- have refused?”
-
- “I have, sir.”
-
- “Very well. We now come to the point. Your mother insists upon
- your accepting it. Is it not so, Mrs. Bennet?”
-
- “Yes, or I will never see her again.”
-
- “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day
- you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will
- never see you again if you do _not_ marry Mr. Collins, and I will
- never see you again if you _do_.”
-
- Elizabeth could not but smile at such a conclusion of such a
- beginning, but Mrs. Bennet, who had persuaded herself that her
- husband regarded the affair as she wished, was excessively
- disappointed.
-
- “What do you mean, Mr. Bennet, in talking this way? You promised
- me to _insist_ upon her marrying him.”
-
- “My dear,” replied her husband, “I have two small favours to
- request. First, that you will allow me the free use of my
- understanding on the present occasion; and secondly, of my room.
- I shall be glad to have the library to myself as soon as may be.”
-
- Not yet, however, in spite of her disappointment in her husband,
- did Mrs. Bennet give up the point. She talked to Elizabeth again
- and again; coaxed and threatened her by turns. She endeavoured to
- secure Jane in her interest; but Jane, with all possible
- mildness, declined interfering; and Elizabeth, sometimes with
- real earnestness, and sometimes with playful gaiety, replied to
- her attacks. Though her manner varied, however, her determination
- never did.
-
- Mr. Collins, meanwhile, was meditating in solitude on what had
- passed. He thought too well of himself to comprehend on what
- motives his cousin could refuse him; and though his pride was
- hurt, he suffered in no other way. His regard for her was quite
- imaginary; and the possibility of her deserving her mother’s
- reproach prevented his feeling any regret.
-
- While the family were in this confusion, Charlotte Lucas came to
- spend the day with them. She was met in the vestibule by Lydia,
- who, flying to her, cried in a half whisper, “I am glad you are
- come, for there is such fun here! What do you think has happened
- this morning? Mr. Collins has made an offer to Lizzy, and she
- will not have him.”
-
- Charlotte hardly had time to answer, before they were joined by
- Kitty, who came to tell the same news; and no sooner had they
- entered the breakfast-room, where Mrs. Bennet was alone, than she
- likewise began on the subject, calling on Miss Lucas for her
- compassion, and entreating her to persuade her friend Lizzy to
- comply with the wishes of all her family. “Pray do, my dear Miss
- Lucas,” she added in a melancholy tone, “for nobody is on my
- side, nobody takes part with me. I am cruelly used, nobody feels
- for my poor nerves.”
-
- Charlotte’s reply was spared by the entrance of Jane and
- Elizabeth.
-
- “Aye, there she comes,” continued Mrs. Bennet, “looking as
- unconcerned as may be, and caring no more for us than if we were
- at York, provided she can have her own way. But I tell you, Miss
- Lizzy—if you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer
- of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband at all—and
- I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father
- is dead. _I_ shall not be able to keep you—and so I warn you. I
- have done with you from this very day. I told you in the library,
- you know, that I should never speak to you again, and you will
- find me as good as my word. I have no pleasure in talking to
- undutiful children. Not that I have much pleasure, indeed, in
- talking to anybody. People who suffer as I do from nervous
- complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can
- tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not
- complain are never pitied.”
-
- Her daughters listened in silence to this effusion, sensible that
- any attempt to reason with her or soothe her would only increase
- the irritation. She talked on, therefore, without interruption
- from any of them, till they were joined by Mr. Collins, who
- entered the room with an air more stately than usual, and on
- perceiving whom, she said to the girls, “Now, I do insist upon
- it, that you, all of you, hold your tongues, and let me and Mr.
- Collins have a little conversation together.”
-
- Elizabeth passed quietly out of the room, Jane and Kitty
- followed, but Lydia stood her ground, determined to hear all she
- could; and Charlotte, detained first by the civility of Mr.
- Collins, whose enquiries after herself and all her family were
- very minute, and then by a little curiosity, satisfied herself
- with walking to the window and pretending not to hear. In a
- doleful voice Mrs. Bennet began the projected conversation: “Oh!
- Mr. Collins!”
-
- “My dear madam,” replied he, “let us be for ever silent on this
- point. Far be it from me,” he presently continued, in a voice
- that marked his displeasure, “to resent the behaviour of your
- daughter. Resignation to inevitable evils is the duty of us all;
- the peculiar duty of a young man who has been so fortunate as I
- have been in early preferment; and I trust I am resigned. Perhaps
- not the less so from feeling a doubt of my positive happiness had
- my fair cousin honoured me with her hand; for I have often
- observed that resignation is never so perfect as when the
- blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value in our
- estimation. You will not, I hope, consider me as showing any
- disrespect to your family, my dear madam, by thus withdrawing my
- pretensions to your daughter’s favour, without having paid
- yourself and Mr. Bennet the compliment of requesting you to
- interpose your authority in my behalf. My conduct may, I fear, be
- objectionable in having accepted my dismission from your
- daughter’s lips instead of your own. But we are all liable to
- error. I have certainly meant well through the whole affair. My
- object has been to secure an amiable companion for myself, with
- due consideration for the advantage of all your family, and if my
- _manner_ has been at all reprehensible, I here beg leave to
- apologise.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 21
-
- The discussion of Mr. Collins’s offer was now nearly at an end,
- and Elizabeth had only to suffer from the uncomfortable feelings
- necessarily attending it, and occasionally from some peevish
- allusions of her mother. As for the gentleman himself, _his_
- feelings were chiefly expressed, not by embarrassment or
- dejection, or by trying to avoid her, but by stiffness of manner
- and resentful silence. He scarcely ever spoke to her, and the
- assiduous attentions which he had been so sensible of himself
- were transferred for the rest of the day to Miss Lucas, whose
- civility in listening to him was a seasonable relief to them all,
- and especially to her friend.
-
- The morrow produced no abatement of Mrs. Bennet’s ill-humour or
- ill health. Mr. Collins was also in the same state of angry
- pride. Elizabeth had hoped that his resentment might shorten his
- visit, 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
- to stay.
-
- After breakfast, the girls walked to Meryton to enquire if Mr.
- Wickham were returned, and to lament over his absence from the
- Netherfield ball. He joined them on their entering the town, and
- attended them to their aunt’s where his regret and vexation, and
- the concern of everybody, was well talked over. To Elizabeth,
- however, he voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his
- absence _had_ been self-imposed.
-
- “I found,” said he, “as the time drew near that I had better not
- meet Mr. Darcy; that to be in the same room, the same party with
- him for so many hours together, might be more than I could bear,
- and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself.”
-
- She highly approved his forbearance, and they had leisure for a
- full discussion of it, and for all the commendation which they
- civilly bestowed on each other, as Wickham and another officer
- walked back with them to Longbourn, and during the walk he
- particularly attended to her. His accompanying them was a double
- advantage; she felt all the compliment it offered to herself, and
- it was most acceptable as an occasion of introducing him to her
- father and mother.
-
- Soon after their return, a letter was delivered to Miss Bennet;
- it came from Netherfield. The envelope contained a sheet of
- elegant, little, hot-pressed paper, well covered with a lady’s
- fair, flowing hand; and Elizabeth saw her sister’s countenance
- change as she read it, and saw her dwelling intently on some
- particular passages. Jane recollected herself soon, and putting
- the letter away, tried to join with her usual cheerfulness in the
- general conversation; but Elizabeth felt an anxiety on the
- subject which drew off her attention even from Wickham; and no
- sooner had he and his companion taken leave, than a glance from
- Jane invited her to follow her up stairs. When they had gained
- their own room, Jane, taking out the letter, said:
-
- “This is from Caroline Bingley; what it contains has surprised me
- a good deal. The whole party have left Netherfield by this time,
- and are on their way to town—and without any intention of coming
- back again. You shall hear what she says.”
-
- She then read the first sentence aloud, which comprised the
- information of their having just resolved to follow their brother
- to town directly, and of their meaning to dine in Grosvenor
- Street, where Mr. Hurst had a house. The next was in these words:
- “I do not pretend to regret anything I shall leave in
- Hertfordshire, except your society, my dearest friend; but we
- will hope, at some future period, to enjoy many returns of that
- delightful intercourse we have known, and in the meanwhile may
- lessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most
- unreserved correspondence. I depend on you for that.” To these
- highflown expressions Elizabeth listened with all the
- insensibility of distrust; and though the suddenness of their
- removal surprised her, she saw nothing in it really to lament; it
- was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield would
- prevent Mr. Bingley’s being there; and as to the loss of their
- society, she was persuaded that Jane must cease to regard it, in
- the enjoyment of his.
-
- “It is unlucky,” said she, after a short pause, “that you should
- not be able to see your friends before they leave the country.
- But may we not hope that the period of future happiness to which
- Miss Bingley looks forward may arrive earlier than she is aware,
- and that the delightful intercourse you have known as friends
- will be renewed with yet greater satisfaction as sisters? Mr.
- Bingley will not be detained in London by them.”
-
- “Caroline decidedly says that none of the party will return into
- Hertfordshire this winter. I will read it to you:”
-
- “When my brother left us yesterday, he imagined that the business
- which took him to London might be concluded in three or four
- days; but as we are certain it cannot be so, and at the same time
- convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry
- to leave it again, we have determined on following him thither,
- that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a
- comfortless hotel. Many of my acquaintances are already there for
- the winter; I wish that I could hear that you, my dearest friend,
- had any intention of making one of the crowd—but of that I
- despair. I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may
- abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings, and
- that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling
- the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.”
-
- “It is evident by this,” added Jane, “that he comes back no more
- this winter.”
-
- “It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean that he
- _should_.”
-
- “Why will you think so? It must be his own doing. He is his own
- master. But you do not know _all_. I _will_ read you the passage
- which particularly hurts me. I will have no reserves from _you_.”
-
- “Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister; and, to confess the
- truth, _we_ are scarcely less eager to meet her again. I really
- do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance,
- and accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and
- myself is heightened into something still more interesting, from
- the hope we dare entertain of her being hereafter our sister. I
- do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on
- this subject; but I will not leave the country without confiding
- them, and I trust you will not esteem them unreasonable. My
- brother admires her greatly already; he will have frequent
- opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing; her
- relations all wish the connection as much as his own; and a
- sister’s partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call
- Charles most capable of engaging any woman’s heart. With all
- these circumstances to favour an attachment, and nothing to
- prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of
- an event which will secure the happiness of so many?”
-
- “What do you think of _this_ sentence, my dear Lizzy?” said Jane
- as she finished it. “Is it not clear enough? Does it not
- expressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to
- be her sister; that she is perfectly convinced of her brother’s
- indifference; and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings
- for him, she means (most kindly!) to put me on my guard? Can
- there be any other opinion on the subject?”
-
- “Yes, there can; for mine is totally different. Will you hear
- it?”
-
- “Most willingly.”
-
- “You shall have it in a few words. Miss Bingley sees that her
- brother 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
- to persuade you that he does not care about you.”
-
- Jane shook her head.
-
- “Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe me. No one who has ever seen
- you together can doubt his affection. Miss Bingley, I am sure,
- cannot. She is not such a simpleton. Could she have seen half as
- much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her
- wedding clothes. But the case is this: We are not rich enough or
- grand enough for them; and she is the more anxious to get Miss
- Darcy for her brother, from the notion that when there has been
- _one_ intermarriage, she may have less trouble in achieving a
- second; in which there is certainly some ingenuity, and I dare
- say it would succeed, if Miss de Bourgh were out of the way. But,
- my dearest Jane, you cannot seriously imagine that because Miss
- Bingley tells you her brother greatly admires Miss Darcy, he is
- in the smallest degree less sensible of _your_ merit than when he
- took leave of you on Tuesday, or that it will be in her power to
- persuade him that, instead of being in love with you, he is very
- much in love with her friend.”
-
- “If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,” replied Jane, “your
- representation of all this might make me quite easy. But I know
- the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of wilfully
- deceiving anyone; and all that I can hope in this case is that
- she is deceiving herself.”
-
- “That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea,
- since you will not take comfort in mine. Believe her to be
- deceived, by all means. You have now done your duty by her, and
- must fret no longer.”
-
- “But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in
- accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to
- marry elsewhere?”
-
- “You must decide for yourself,” said Elizabeth; “and if, upon
- mature deliberation, you find that the misery of disobliging his
- two sisters is more than equivalent to the happiness of being his
- wife, I advise you by all means to refuse him.”
-
- “How can you talk so?” said Jane, faintly smiling. “You must know
- that though I should be exceedingly grieved at their
- disapprobation, I could not hesitate.”
-
- “I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot
- consider your situation with much compassion.”
-
- “But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be
- required. A thousand things may arise in six months!”
-
- The idea of his returning no more Elizabeth treated with the
- utmost contempt. It appeared to her merely the suggestion of
- Caroline’s interested wishes, and she could not for a moment
- suppose that those wishes, however openly or artfully spoken,
- could influence a young man so totally independent of everyone.
-
- She represented to her sister as forcibly as possible what she
- felt on the subject, and had soon the pleasure of seeing its
- happy effect. Jane’s temper was not desponding, and she was
- gradually led to hope, though the diffidence of affection
- sometimes overcame the hope, that Bingley would return to
- Netherfield and answer every wish of her heart.
-
- They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear of the departure of
- the family, without being alarmed on the score of the gentleman’s
- conduct; but even this partial communication gave her a great
- deal of concern, and she bewailed it as exceedingly unlucky that
- the ladies should happen to go away just as they were all getting
- so intimate together. After lamenting it, however, at some
- length, she had the consolation that Mr. Bingley would be soon
- down again and soon dining at Longbourn, and the conclusion of
- all was the comfortable declaration, that though he had been
- invited only to a family dinner, she would take care to have two
- full courses.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 22
-
- The Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases and again
- during the chief of the day was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen
- to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her.
- “It keeps him in good humour,” said she, “and I am more obliged
- to you than I can express.” Charlotte assured her friend of her
- satisfaction in being useful, and that it amply repaid her for
- the little sacrifice of her time. This was very amiable, but
- Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any
- conception of; its object was nothing else than to secure her
- from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them
- towards herself. Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme; and appearances
- were so favourable, that when they parted at night, she would
- have felt almost secure of success if he had not been to leave
- Hertfordshire so very soon. But here she did injustice to the
- fire and independence of his character, for it led him to escape
- out of Longbourn House the next morning with admirable slyness,
- and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw himself at her feet. He was
- anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins, from a conviction
- that if they saw him depart, they could not fail to conjecture
- his design, and he was not willing to have the attempt known till
- its success might be known likewise; for though feeling almost
- secure, and with reason, for Charlotte had been tolerably
- encouraging, he was comparatively diffident since the adventure
- of Wednesday. His reception, however, was of the most flattering
- kind. Miss Lucas perceived him from an upper window as he walked
- towards the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidentally
- in the lane. But little had she dared to hope that so much love
- and eloquence awaited her there.
-
- In as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow,
- everything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both;
- and as they entered the house he earnestly entreated her to name
- the day that was to make him the happiest of men; and though such
- a solicitation must be waived for the present, the lady felt no
- inclination to trifle with his happiness. The stupidity with
- which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any
- charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss
- Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested
- desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment
- were gained.
-
- Sir William and Lady Lucas were speedily applied to for their
- consent; and it was bestowed with a most joyful alacrity. Mr.
- Collins’s present circumstances made it a most eligible match for
- their daughter, to whom they could give little fortune; and his
- prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair. Lady Lucas
- began directly to calculate, with more interest than the matter
- had ever excited before, how many years longer Mr. Bennet was
- likely to live; and Sir William gave it as his decided opinion,
- that whenever Mr. Collins should be in possession of the
- Longbourn estate, it would be highly expedient that both he and
- his wife should make their appearance at St. James’s. The whole
- family, in short, were properly overjoyed on the occasion. The
- younger girls formed hopes of _coming out_ a year or two sooner
- than they might otherwise have done; and the boys were relieved
- from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid.
- Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She had gained her
- point, and had time to consider of it. Her reflections were in
- general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither
- sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his
- attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her
- husband. Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony,
- marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision
- for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however
- uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest
- preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained;
- and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been
- handsome, she felt all the good luck of it. The least agreeable
- circumstance in the business was the surprise it must occasion to
- Elizabeth Bennet, whose friendship she valued beyond that of any
- other person. Elizabeth would wonder, and probably would blame
- her; and though her resolution was not to be shaken, her feelings
- must be hurt by such a disapprobation. She resolved to give her
- the information herself, and therefore charged Mr. Collins, when
- he returned to Longbourn to dinner, to drop no hint of what had
- passed before any of the family. A promise of secrecy was of
- course very dutifully given, but it could not be kept without
- difficulty; for the curiosity excited by his long absence burst
- forth in such very direct questions on his return as required
- some ingenuity to evade, and he was at the same time exercising
- great self-denial, for he was longing to publish his prosperous
- love.
-
- As he was to begin his journey too early on the morrow to see any
- of the family, the ceremony of leave-taking was performed when
- the ladies moved for the night; and Mrs. Bennet, with great
- politeness and cordiality, said how happy they should be to see
- him at Longbourn again, whenever his engagements might allow him
- to visit them.
-
- “My dear madam,” he replied, “this invitation is particularly
- gratifying, because it is what I have been hoping to receive; and
- you may be very certain that I shall avail myself of it as soon
- as possible.”
-
- They were all astonished; and Mr. Bennet, who could by no means
- wish for so speedy a return, immediately said:
-
- “But is there not danger of Lady Catherine’s disapprobation here,
- my good sir? You had better neglect your relations than run the
- risk of offending your patroness.”
-
- “My dear sir,” replied Mr. Collins, “I am particularly obliged to
- you for this friendly caution, and you may depend upon my not
- taking so material a step without her ladyship’s concurrence.”
-
- “You cannot be too much upon your guard. Risk anything rather
- than her displeasure; and if you find it likely to be raised by
- your coming to us again, which I should think exceedingly
- probable, stay quietly at home, and be satisfied that _we_ shall
- take no offence.”
-
- “Believe me, my dear sir, my gratitude is warmly excited by such
- affectionate attention; and depend upon it, you will speedily
- receive from me a letter of thanks for this, and for every other
- mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire. As for my
- fair cousins, though my absence may not be long enough to render
- it necessary, I shall now take the liberty of wishing them health
- and happiness, not excepting my cousin Elizabeth.”
-
- With proper civilities the ladies then withdrew; all of them
- equally surprised that he meditated a quick return. Mrs. Bennet
- wished to understand by it that he thought of paying his
- addresses to one of her younger girls, and Mary might have been
- prevailed on to accept him. She rated his abilities much higher
- than any of the others; there was a solidity in his reflections
- which often struck her, and though by no means so clever as
- herself, she thought that if encouraged to read and improve
- himself by such an example as hers, he might become a very
- agreeable companion. But on the following morning, every hope of
- this kind was done away. Miss Lucas called soon after breakfast,
- and in a private conference with Elizabeth related the event of
- the day before.
-
- The possibility of Mr. Collins’s fancying himself in love with
- her friend had once occurred to Elizabeth within the last day or
- two; but that Charlotte could encourage him seemed almost as far
- from possibility as she could encourage him herself, and her
- astonishment was consequently so great as to overcome at first
- the bounds of decorum, and she could not help crying out:
-
- “Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte—impossible!”
-
- The steady countenance which Miss Lucas had commanded in telling
- her story, gave way to a momentary confusion here on receiving so
- direct a reproach; though, as it was no more than she expected,
- she soon regained her composure, and calmly replied:
-
- “Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza? Do you think it
- incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s
- good opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with
- you?”
-
- But Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong
- effort for it, was able to assure with tolerable firmness that
- the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her,
- and that she wished her all imaginable happiness.
-
- “I see what you are feeling,” replied Charlotte. “You must be
- surprised, very much surprised—so lately as Mr. Collins was
- wishing to marry you. But when you have had time to think it
- over, I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done. I am
- not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable
- home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connection, and
- situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness
- with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the
- marriage state.”
-
- Elizabeth quietly answered “Undoubtedly;” and after an awkward
- pause, they returned to the rest of the family. Charlotte did not
- stay much longer, and Elizabeth was then left to reflect on what
- she had heard. It was a long time before she became at all
- reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match. The strangeness
- of Mr. Collins’s making two offers of marriage within three days
- was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted. She had
- always felt that Charlotte’s opinion of matrimony was not exactly
- like her own, but she had not supposed it to be possible that,
- when called into action, she would 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 esteem, was added the
- distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to
- be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 23
-
- Elizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters, reflecting on
- what she had heard, and doubting whether she was authorised to
- mention it, when Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his
- daughter, to announce her engagement to the family. With many
- compliments to them, and much self-gratulation on the prospect of
- a connection between the houses, he unfolded the matter—to an
- audience not merely wondering, but incredulous; for Mrs. Bennet,
- with more perseverance than politeness, protested he must be
- entirely mistaken; and Lydia, always unguarded and often uncivil,
- boisterously exclaimed:
-
- “Good Lord! Sir William, how can you tell such a story? Do not
- you know that Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzy?”
-
- Nothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have borne
- without anger such treatment; but Sir William’s good breeding
- carried him through it all; and though he begged leave to be
- positive as to the truth of his information, he listened to all
- their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy.
-
- Elizabeth, feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so
- unpleasant a situation, now put herself forward to confirm his
- account, by mentioning her prior knowledge of it from Charlotte
- herself; and endeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her
- mother and sisters by the earnestness of her congratulations to
- Sir William, in which she was readily joined by Jane, and by
- making a variety of remarks on the happiness that might be
- expected from the match, the excellent character of Mr. Collins,
- and the convenient distance of Hunsford from London.
-
- Mrs. Bennet was in fact too much overpowered to say a great deal
- while Sir William remained; but no sooner had he left them than
- her feelings found a rapid vent. In the first place, she
- persisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter; secondly, she
- was very sure that Mr. Collins had been taken in; thirdly, she
- trusted that they would never be happy together; and fourthly,
- that the match might be broken off. Two inferences, however, were
- plainly deduced from the whole: one, that Elizabeth was the real
- cause of the mischief; and the other that she herself had been
- barbarously misused by them all; and on these two points she
- principally dwelt during the rest of the day. Nothing could
- console and nothing could appease her. Nor did that day wear out
- her resentment. A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth
- without scolding her, a month passed away before she could speak
- to Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude, and many months
- were gone before she could at all forgive their daughter.
-
- Mr. Bennet’s emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion,
- and such as he did experience he pronounced to be of a most
- agreeable sort; for it gratified him, he said, to discover that
- Charlotte Lucas, whom he had been used to think tolerably
- sensible, was as foolish as his wife, and more foolish than his
- daughter!
-
- Jane confessed herself a little surprised at the match; but she
- said less of her astonishment than of her earnest desire for
- their happiness; nor could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it
- as improbable. Kitty and Lydia were far from envying Miss Lucas,
- for Mr. Collins was only a clergyman; and it affected them in no
- other way than as a piece of news to spread at Meryton.
-
- Lady Lucas could not be insensible of triumph on being able to
- retort on Mrs. Bennet the comfort of having a daughter well
- married; and she called at Longbourn rather oftener than usual to
- say how happy she was, though Mrs. Bennet’s sour looks and
- ill-natured remarks might have been enough to drive happiness
- away.
-
- Between Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which kept
- them mutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded
- that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again.
- Her disappointment in Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard
- to her sister, of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure her
- opinion could never be shaken, and for whose happiness she grew
- daily more anxious, as Bingley had now been gone a week and
- nothing more was heard of his return.
-
- Jane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and was
- counting the days till she might reasonably hope to hear again.
- The promised letter of thanks from Mr. Collins arrived on
- Tuesday, addressed to their father, and written with all the
- solemnity of gratitude which a twelvemonth’s abode in the family
- might have prompted. After discharging his conscience on that
- head, he proceeded to inform them, with many rapturous
- expressions, of his happiness in having obtained the affection of
- their amiable neighbour, Miss Lucas, and then explained that it
- was merely with the view of enjoying her society that he had been
- so ready to close with their kind wish of seeing him again at
- Longbourn, whither he hoped to be able to return on Monday
- fortnight; for Lady Catherine, he added, so heartily approved his
- marriage, that she wished it to take place as soon as possible,
- which he trusted would be an unanswerable argument with his
- amiable Charlotte to name an early day for making him the
- happiest of men.
-
- Mr. Collins’s return into Hertfordshire was no longer a matter of
- pleasure to Mrs. Bennet. On the contrary, she was as much
- disposed to complain of it as her husband. It was very strange
- that he should come to Longbourn instead of to Lucas Lodge; it
- was also very inconvenient and exceedingly troublesome. She hated
- having visitors in the house while her health was so indifferent,
- and lovers were of all people the most disagreeable. Such were
- the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet, and they gave way only 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 him
- than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton of his coming
- no more to Netherfield the whole winter; a report which highly
- incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never failed to contradict as
- a most scandalous falsehood.
-
- Even Elizabeth began to fear—not that Bingley was indifferent—but
- that his sisters would be successful in keeping him away.
- Unwilling as she was to admit an idea so destructive of Jane’s
- happiness, and so dishonorable to the stability of her lover, she
- could not prevent its frequently occurring. The united efforts of
- his two unfeeling sisters and of his overpowering friend,
- assisted by the attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements of
- London might be too much, she feared, for the strength of his
- attachment.
-
- As for Jane, _her_ anxiety under this suspense was, of course,
- more painful than Elizabeth’s, but whatever she felt she was
- desirous of concealing, and between herself and Elizabeth,
- therefore, the subject was never alluded to. But as no such
- delicacy restrained her mother, an hour seldom passed in which
- she did not talk of Bingley, express her impatience for his
- arrival, or even require Jane to confess that if he did not come
- back she would think herself very ill used. It needed all Jane’s
- steady mildness to bear these attacks with tolerable
- tranquillity.
-
- Mr. Collins returned most punctually on Monday fortnight, but his
- reception at Longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had been
- on his first introduction. He was too happy, however, to need
- much attention; and luckily for the others, the business of
- 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
- sometimes returned to Longbourn only in time to make an apology
- for his absence before the family went to bed.
-
- Mrs. Bennet was really in a most pitiable state. The very mention
- of anything concerning the match threw her into an agony of
- ill-humour, and wherever she went she was sure of hearing it
- talked of. The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to her. As her
- successor in that house, she regarded her with jealous
- abhorrence. Whenever Charlotte came to see them, she concluded
- her to be anticipating the hour of possession; and whenever she
- spoke in a low voice to Mr. Collins, was convinced that they were
- talking of the Longbourn estate, and resolving to turn herself
- and her daughters out of the house, as soon as Mr. Bennet were
- dead. She complained bitterly of all this to her husband.
-
- “Indeed, Mr. Bennet,” said she, “it is very hard to think that
- Charlotte Lucas should ever be mistress of this house, that _I_
- should be forced to make way for _her_, and live to see her take
- her place in it!”
-
- “My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts. Let us hope
- for better things. Let us flatter ourselves that _I_ may be the
- survivor.”
-
- This was not very consoling to Mrs. Bennet, and therefore,
- instead of 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.”
-
- “What should not you mind?”
-
- “I should not mind anything at all.”
-
- “Let us be thankful that you are preserved from a state of such
- insensibility.”
-
- “I never can be thankful, Mr. Bennet, for anything about the
- entail. How anyone could have the conscience to entail away an
- estate from one’s own daughters, I cannot understand; and all for
- the sake of Mr. Collins too! Why should _he_ have it more than
- anybody else?”
-
- “I leave it to yourself to determine,” said Mr. Bennet.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 24
-
- Miss Bingley’s letter arrived, and put an end to doubt. The very
- first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled
- in London for the winter, and concluded with her brother’s regret
- at not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in
- Hertfordshire before he left the country.
-
- Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the
- rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed
- affection of the writer, that could give her any comfort. Miss
- Darcy’s praise occupied the chief of it. Her many attractions
- were again dwelt on, and Caroline boasted joyfully of their
- increasing intimacy, and ventured to predict the accomplishment
- of the wishes which had been unfolded in her former letter. She
- wrote also with great pleasure of her brother’s being an inmate
- of Mr. Darcy’s house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of
- the latter with regard to new furniture.
-
- Elizabeth, to whom Jane very soon communicated the chief of all
- this, heard it in silent indignation. Her heart was divided
- between concern for her sister, and resentment against all
- others. To Caroline’s assertion of her brother’s being partial to
- Miss Darcy she paid no credit. That he was really fond of Jane,
- she doubted no more than she had ever done; and much as she had
- always been disposed to like him, she could not think without
- anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that
- want of proper resolution, which now made him the slave of his
- designing friends, and led him to sacrifice of his own happiness
- to the caprice of their inclination. Had his own happiness,
- however, been the only sacrifice, he might have been allowed to
- sport with it in whatever manner he thought best, but her
- sister’s was involved in it, as she thought he must be sensible
- himself. It was a subject, in short, on which reflection would be
- long indulged, and must be unavailing. She could think of nothing
- else; and yet whether Bingley’s regard had really died away, or
- were suppressed by his friends’ interference; whether he had been
- aware of Jane’s attachment, or whether it had escaped his
- observation; whatever were the case, though her opinion of him
- must be materially affected by the difference, her sister’s
- situation remained the same, her peace equally wounded.
-
- A day or two passed before Jane had courage to speak of her
- feelings to Elizabeth; but at last, on Mrs. Bennet’s leaving them
- together, after a longer irritation than usual about Netherfield
- and its master, she could not help saying:
-
- “Oh, that my dear mother had more command over herself! She can
- have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual
- reflections on him. But I will not repine. It cannot last long.
- He will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before.”
-
- Elizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude, but
- said nothing.
-
- “You doubt me,” cried Jane, slightly colouring; “indeed, you have
- no reason. He may live in my memory as the most amiable man of my
- acquaintance, but that is all. I have nothing either to hope or
- fear, and nothing to reproach him with. Thank God! I have not
- _that_ pain. A little time, therefore—I shall certainly try to
- get the better.”
-
- With a stronger voice she soon added, “I have this comfort
- immediately, that it has not been more than an error of fancy on
- my side, and that it has done no harm to anyone but myself.”
-
- “My dear Jane!” exclaimed Elizabeth, “you are too good. Your
- sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic; I do not know
- what to say to you. I feel as if I had never done you justice, or
- loved you as you deserve.”
-
- Miss Bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit, and threw
- back the praise on her sister’s warm affection.
-
- “Nay,” said Elizabeth, “this is not fair. _You_ wish to think all
- the world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of anybody.
- _I_ only want to think _you_ perfect, and you set yourself
- against it. Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my
- encroaching on your privilege of universal good-will. You need
- not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of
- whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I
- dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the
- inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little
- dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or
- sense. I have met with two instances lately, one I will not
- mention; the other is Charlotte’s marriage. It is unaccountable!
- In every view it is unaccountable!”
-
- “My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these. They
- will ruin your happiness. You do not make allowance enough for
- difference of situation and temper. Consider Mr. Collins’s
- respectability, and Charlotte’s steady, prudent character.
- Remember that she is one of a large family; that as to fortune,
- it is a most eligible match; and be ready to believe, for
- everybody’s sake, that she may feel something like regard and
- esteem for our cousin.”
-
- “To oblige you, I would try to believe almost anything, but no
- one else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were I
- persuaded that Charlotte had any regard for him, I should only
- think worse of her understanding than I now do of her heart. My
- dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded,
- silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as
- well as I do, that the woman who married him cannot have a proper
- way of thinking. You shall not defend her, though it is Charlotte
- Lucas. You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the
- meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade
- yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility
- of danger security for happiness.”
-
- “I must think your language too strong in speaking of both,”
- replied Jane; “and I hope you will be convinced of it by seeing
- them happy together. But enough of this. You alluded to something
- else. You mentioned _two_ instances. I cannot misunderstand you,
- but I entreat you, dear Lizzy, not to pain me by thinking _that
- person_ to blame, and saying your opinion of him is sunk. We must
- not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured. We must
- not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and
- circumspect. It is very often nothing but our own vanity that
- deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does.”
-
- “And men take care that they should.”
-
- “If it is designedly done, they cannot be justified; but I have
- no idea of there being so much design in the world as some
- persons imagine.”
-
- “I am far from attributing any part of Mr. Bingley’s conduct to
- design,” said Elizabeth; “but without scheming to do wrong, or to
- make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be misery.
- Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people’s feelings,
- and want of resolution, will do the business.”
-
- “And do you impute it to either of those?”
-
- “Yes; to the last. But if I go on, I shall displease you by
- saying what I think of persons you esteem. Stop me whilst you
- can.”
-
- “You persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him?”
-
- “Yes, in conjunction with his friend.”
-
- “I cannot believe it. Why should they try to influence him? They
- can only wish his happiness; and if he is attached to me, no
- other woman can secure it.”
-
- “Your first position is false. They may wish many things besides
- his happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and
- consequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the
- importance of money, great connections, and pride.”
-
- “Beyond a doubt, they do wish him to choose Miss Darcy,” replied
- Jane; “but this may be from better feelings than you are
- supposing. They have known her much longer than they have known
- me; no wonder if they love her better. But, whatever may be their
- own wishes, it is very unlikely they should have opposed their
- brother’s. What sister would think herself at liberty to do it,
- unless there were something very objectionable? If they believed
- him attached to me, they would not try to part us; if he were so,
- they could not succeed. By supposing such an affection, you make
- everybody acting unnaturally and wrong, and me most unhappy. Do
- not distress me by the idea. I am not ashamed of having been
- mistaken—or, at least, it is light, it is nothing in comparison
- of what I should feel in thinking ill of him or his sisters. Let
- me take it in the best light, in the light in which it may be
- understood.”
-
- Elizabeth could not oppose such a wish; and from this time Mr.
- Bingley’s name was scarcely ever mentioned between them.
-
- Mrs. Bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning
- no more, and though a day seldom passed in which Elizabeth did
- not account for it clearly, there was little chance of her ever
- considering it with less perplexity. Her daughter endeavoured to
- convince her of what she did not believe herself, that his
- attentions to Jane had been merely the effect of a common and
- transient liking, which ceased when he saw her no more; but
- though the probability of the statement was admitted at the time,
- she had the same story to repeat every day. Mrs. Bennet’s best
- comfort was that Mr. Bingley must be down again in the summer.
-
- Mr. Bennet treated the matter differently. “So, Lizzy,” said he
- one day, “your sister is crossed in love, I find. I congratulate
- her. Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little
- in love now and then. It is something to think of, and it gives
- her a sort of distinction among her companions. When is your turn
- to come? You will hardly bear to be long outdone by Jane. Now is
- your time. Here are officers enough in Meryton to disappoint all
- the young ladies in the country. Let Wickham be your man. He is a
- pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably.”
-
- “Thank you, sir, but a less agreeable man would satisfy me. We
- must not all expect Jane’s good fortune.”
-
- “True,” said Mr. Bennet, “but it is a comfort to think that
- whatever of that kind may befall you, you have an affectionate
- mother who will make the most of it.”
-
- Mr. Wickham’s society was of material service in dispelling the
- gloom which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many of
- the Longbourn family. They saw him often, and to his other
- recommendations was now added that of general unreserve. The
- whole of what Elizabeth had already heard, his claims on Mr.
- Darcy, and all that he had suffered from him, was now openly
- acknowledged and publicly canvassed; and everybody was pleased to
- know how much they had always disliked Mr. Darcy before they had
- known anything of the matter.
-
- Miss Bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might
- be any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the
- society of Hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always
- pleaded for allowances, and urged the possibility of mistakes—but
- by everybody else Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of men.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 25
-
- After a week spent in professions of love and schemes of
- felicity, Mr. Collins was called from his amiable Charlotte by
- the arrival of Saturday. The pain of separation, however, might
- be alleviated on his side, by preparations for the reception of
- his bride; as he had reason to hope, that shortly after his
- return into Hertfordshire, the day would be fixed that was to
- make him the happiest of men. He took leave of his relations at
- Longbourn with as much solemnity as before; wished his fair
- cousins health and happiness again, and promised their father
- another letter of thanks.
-
- On the following Monday, Mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of
- receiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend
- the Christmas at Longbourn. Mr. Gardiner was a sensible,
- gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister, as well by
- nature as education. The Netherfield ladies would have had
- difficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade, and within
- view of his own warehouses, could have been so well-bred and
- agreeable. Mrs. Gardiner, who was several years younger than Mrs.
- Bennet and Mrs. Phillips, was an amiable, intelligent, elegant
- woman, and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces.
- Between the two eldest and herself especially, there subsisted a
- particular regard. They had frequently been staying with her in
- town.
-
- The first part of Mrs. Gardiner’s business on her arrival was to
- distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions. When
- this was done she had a less active part to play. It became her
- turn to listen. Mrs. Bennet had many grievances to relate, and
- much to complain of. They had all been very ill-used since she
- last saw her sister. Two of her girls had been upon the point of
- marriage, and after all there was nothing in it.
-
- “I do not blame Jane,” she continued, “for Jane would have got
- Mr. Bingley if she could. But Lizzy! Oh, sister! It is very hard
- to think that she might have been Mr. Collins’s wife by this
- time, had it not been for her own perverseness. He made her an
- offer in this very room, and she refused him. The consequence of
- it is, that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before I
- have, and that the Longbourn estate is just as much entailed as
- ever. The Lucases are very artful people indeed, sister. They are
- all for what 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 family, and to have neighbours who think of themselves
- before anybody else. However, your coming just at this time is
- the greatest of comforts, and I am very glad to hear what you
- tell us, of long sleeves.”
-
- Mrs. Gardiner, to whom the chief of this news had been given
- before, in the course of Jane and Elizabeth’s correspondence with
- her, made her sister a slight answer, and, in compassion to her
- nieces, turned the conversation.
-
- When alone with Elizabeth afterwards, she spoke more on the
- subject. “It seems likely to have been a desirable match for
- Jane,” said she. “I am sorry it went off. But these things happen
- so often! A young man, such as you describe Mr. Bingley, so
- easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and when
- accident separates them, so easily forgets her, that these sort
- of inconsistencies are very frequent.”
-
- “An excellent consolation in its way,” said Elizabeth, “but it
- will not do for _us_. We do not suffer by accident. It does not
- often happen that the interference of friends will persuade a
- young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl whom
- he was violently in love with only a few days before.”
-
- “But that expression of ‘violently in love’ is so hackneyed, so
- doubtful, so indefinite, that it gives me very little idea. It is
- as often applied to feelings which arise from a half-hour’s
- acquaintance, as to a real, strong attachment. Pray, how _violent
- was_ Mr. Bingley’s love?”
-
- “I never saw a more promising inclination; he was growing quite
- inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her. Every
- time they met, it was more decided and remarkable. At his own
- ball he offended two or three young ladies, by not asking them to
- dance; and I spoke to him twice myself, without receiving an
- answer. Could there be finer symptoms? Is not general incivility
- the very essence of love?”
-
- “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
- may not get over it immediately. It had better have happened to
- _you_, Lizzy; you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner.
- But do you think she would be prevailed upon to go back with us?
- Change of scene might be of service—and perhaps a little relief
- from home may be as useful as anything.”
-
- Elizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal, and felt
- persuaded of her sister’s ready acquiescence.
-
- “I hope,” added Mrs. Gardiner, “that no consideration with regard
- to this young man will influence her. We live in so different a
- part of town, all our connections are so different, and, as you
- well know, we go out so little, that it is very improbable that
- they should meet at all, unless he really comes to see her.”
-
- “And _that_ is quite impossible; for he is now in the custody of
- his friend, and Mr. Darcy would no more suffer him to call on
- Jane in such a part of London! My dear aunt, how could you think
- of it? Mr. Darcy may perhaps have _heard_ of such a place as
- Gracechurch Street, but he would hardly think a month’s ablution
- enough to cleanse him from its impurities, were he once to enter
- it; and depend upon it, Mr. Bingley never stirs without him.”
-
- “So much the better. I hope they will not meet at all. But does
- not Jane correspond with his sister? _She_ will not be able to
- help calling.”
-
- “She will drop the acquaintance entirely.”
-
- But in spite of the certainty in which Elizabeth affected to
- place this point, as well as the still more interesting one of
- Bingley’s being withheld from seeing Jane, she felt a solicitude
- on the subject which convinced her, on examination, that she did
- not consider it entirely hopeless. It was possible, and sometimes
- she thought it probable, that his affection might be reanimated,
- and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the
- more natural influence of Jane’s attractions.
-
- Miss Bennet accepted her aunt’s invitation with pleasure; and the
- Bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the same time, than
- as she hoped by Caroline’s not living in the same house with her
- brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with her, without
- any danger of seeing him.
-
- The Gardiners stayed a week at Longbourn; and what with the
- Phillipses, the Lucases, and the officers, there was not a day
- without its engagement. Mrs. Bennet had so carefully provided for
- the entertainment of her brother and sister, that they did not
- once sit down to a family dinner. When the engagement was for
- home, some of the officers always made part of it—of which
- officers Mr. Wickham was sure to be one; and on these occasions,
- Mrs. Gardiner, rendered suspicious by Elizabeth’s warm
- commendation, narrowly observed them both. Without supposing
- them, from what she saw, to be very seriously in love, their
- preference of each other was plain enough to make her a little
- uneasy; and she resolved to speak to Elizabeth on the subject
- before she left Hertfordshire, and represent to her the
- imprudence of encouraging such an attachment.
-
- To Mrs. Gardiner, Wickham had one means of affording pleasure,
- unconnected with his general powers. About ten or a dozen years
- ago, before her marriage, she had spent a considerable time in
- that very part of Derbyshire to which he belonged. They had,
- therefore, many acquaintances in common; and though Wickham had
- been little there since the death of Darcy’s father, it was yet
- in his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former
- friends than she had been in the way of procuring.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner had seen Pemberley, and known the late Mr. Darcy by
- character perfectly well. Here consequently was an inexhaustible
- subject of discourse. In comparing her recollection of Pemberley
- with the minute description which Wickham could give, and in
- bestowing her tribute of praise on the character of its late
- possessor, she was delighting both him and herself. On being made
- acquainted with the present Mr. Darcy’s treatment of him, she
- tried to remember some of that gentleman’s reputed disposition
- when quite a lad which might agree with it, and was confident at
- last that she recollected having heard Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
- formerly spoken of as a very proud, ill-natured boy.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 26
-
- Mrs. Gardiner’s caution to Elizabeth was punctually and kindly
- given on the first favourable opportunity of speaking to her
- alone; after honestly telling her what she thought, she thus went
- on:
-
- “You are too sensible a girl, Lizzy, to fall in love merely
- because you are warned against it; and, therefore, I am not
- afraid of speaking openly. Seriously, I would have you be on your
- guard. Do not involve yourself or endeavour to involve him in an
- affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent.
- I have nothing to say against _him_; he is a most interesting
- young man; and if he had the fortune he ought to have, I should
- think you could not do better. But as it is, you must not let
- your fancy run away with you. You have sense, and we all expect
- you to use it. Your father would depend on _your_ resolution and
- good conduct, I am sure. You must not disappoint your father.”
-
- “My dear aunt, this is being serious indeed.”
-
- “Yes, and I hope to engage you to be serious likewise.”
-
- “Well, then, you need not be under any alarm. I will take care of
- myself, and of Mr. Wickham too. He shall not be in love with me,
- if I can prevent it.”
-
- “Elizabeth, you are not serious now.”
-
- “I beg your pardon, I will try again. At present I am not in love
- with Mr. Wickham; no, I certainly am not. But he is, beyond all
- comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw—and if he becomes
- really attached to me—I believe it will be better that he should
- not. I see the imprudence of it. Oh! _that_ abominable Mr. Darcy!
- My father’s opinion of me does me the greatest honour, and I
- should be miserable to forfeit it. My father, however, is partial
- to Mr. Wickham. In short, my dear aunt, I should be very sorry to
- be the means of making any of you unhappy; but since we see every
- day that where there is affection, young people are seldom
- withheld by immediate want of fortune from entering into
- engagements with each other, how can I promise to be wiser than
- so many of my fellow-creatures if I am tempted, or how am I even
- to know that it would be wisdom to resist? All that I can promise
- you, therefore, is not to be in a hurry. I will not be in a hurry
- to believe myself his first object. When I am in company with
- him, I will not be wishing. In short, I will do my best.”
-
- “Perhaps it will be as well if you discourage his coming here so
- very often. At least, you should not _remind_ your mother of
- inviting him.”
-
- “As I did the other day,” said Elizabeth with a conscious smile:
- “very true, it will be wise in me to refrain from _that_. But do
- not imagine that he is always here so often. It is on your
- account that he has been so frequently invited this week. You
- know my mother’s ideas as to the necessity of constant company
- for her friends. But really, and upon my honour, I will try to do
- what I think to be the wisest; and now I hope you are satisfied.”
-
- Her aunt assured her that she was, and Elizabeth having thanked
- her for the kindness of her hints, they parted; a wonderful
- instance of advice being given on such a point, without being
- resented.
-
- Mr. Collins returned into Hertfordshire soon after it had been
- quitted by the Gardiners and Jane; but as he took up his abode
- with the Lucases, his arrival was no great inconvenience to Mrs.
- Bennet. His marriage was now fast approaching, and she was at
- length so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and even
- repeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she “_wished_
- they might be happy.” Thursday was to be the wedding day, and on
- Wednesday Miss Lucas paid her farewell visit; and when she rose
- to take leave, Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother’s ungracious and
- reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affected herself,
- accompanied her out of the room. As they went downstairs
- together, Charlotte said:
-
- “I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.”
-
- “_That_ you certainly shall.”
-
- “And I have another favour to ask you. Will you come and see me?”
-
- “We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.”
-
- “I am not likely to leave Kent for some time. Promise me,
- therefore, to come to Hunsford.”
-
- Elizabeth could not refuse, though she foresaw little pleasure in
- the visit.
-
- “My father and Maria are coming to me in March,” added Charlotte,
- “and I hope you will consent to be of the party. Indeed, Eliza,
- you will be as welcome as either of them.”
-
- The wedding took place; the bride and bridegroom set off for Kent
- from the church door, and everybody had as much to say, or to
- hear, on the subject as usual. Elizabeth soon heard from her
- friend; and their correspondence was as regular and frequent as
- it had ever been; that it should be equally unreserved was
- impossible. Elizabeth could never address her without feeling
- that all the comfort of intimacy was over, and though determined
- not to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of what
- had been, rather than what was. Charlotte’s first letters were
- received with a good deal of eagerness; there could not but be
- curiosity to know how she would speak of her new home, how she
- would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would dare pronounce
- herself to be; though, when the letters were read, Elizabeth felt
- that Charlotte expressed herself on every point exactly as she
- might have foreseen. She wrote cheerfully, seemed surrounded with
- comforts, and mentioned nothing which she could not praise. The
- house, furniture, neighbourhood, and roads, were all to her
- taste, and Lady Catherine’s behaviour was most friendly and
- obliging. It was Mr. Collins’s picture of Hunsford and Rosings
- rationally softened; and Elizabeth perceived that she must wait
- for her own visit there to know the rest.
-
- Jane had already written a few lines to her sister to announce
- their safe arrival in London; and when she wrote again, Elizabeth
- hoped it would be in her power to say something of the Bingleys.
-
- Her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded as
- impatience generally is. Jane had been a week in town without
- either seeing or hearing from Caroline. She accounted for it,
- however, by supposing that her last letter to her friend from
- Longbourn had by some accident been lost.
-
- “My aunt,” she continued, “is going to-morrow into that part of
- the town, and I shall take the opportunity of calling in
- Grosvenor Street.”
-
- She wrote again when the visit was paid, and she had seen Miss
- Bingley. “I did not think Caroline in spirits,” were her words,
- “but she was very glad to see me, and reproached me for giving
- her no notice of my coming to London. I was right, therefore, my
- last letter had never reached her. I enquired after their
- brother, of course. He was well, but so much engaged with Mr.
- Darcy that they scarcely ever saw him. I found that Miss Darcy
- was expected to dinner. I wish I could see her. My visit was not
- long, as Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out. I dare say I
- shall see them soon here.”
-
- Elizabeth shook her head over this letter. It convinced her that
- accident only could discover to Mr. Bingley her sister’s being in
- town.
-
- Four weeks passed away, and Jane saw nothing of him. She
- endeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it; but
- she could no longer be blind to Miss Bingley’s inattention. After
- waiting at home every morning for a fortnight, and inventing
- every evening a fresh excuse for her, the visitor did at last
- appear; but the shortness of her stay, and yet more, the
- alteration of her manner would allow Jane to deceive herself no
- longer. The letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister
- will prove what she felt.
-
- “My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure, be incapable of triumphing in
- her better judgement, at my expense, when I confess myself to
- have been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley’s regard for me. But,
- my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do not
- think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what her
- behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion. I
- do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate
- with me; but if the same circumstances were to happen again, I am
- sure I should be deceived again. Caroline did not return my visit
- till yesterday; and not a note, not a line, did I receive in the
- meantime. When she did come, it was very evident that she had no
- pleasure in it; she made a slight, formal apology, for not
- calling before, said not a word of wishing to see me again, and
- was in every respect so altered a creature, that when she went
- away I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no
- longer. I pity, though I cannot help blaming her. She was very
- wrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say that every
- advance to intimacy began on her side. But I pity her, because
- she must feel that she has been acting wrong, and because I am
- very sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it. I need
- not explain myself farther; and though _we_ know this anxiety to
- be quite needless, yet if she feels it, it will easily account
- for her behaviour to me; and so deservedly dear as he is to his
- sister, whatever anxiety she must feel on his behalf is natural
- and amiable. I cannot but wonder, however, at her having any such
- fears now, because, if he had at all cared about me, we must have
- met, long ago. He knows of my being in town, I am certain, from
- something she said herself; and yet it would seem, by her manner
- of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herself that he is
- really partial to Miss Darcy. I cannot understand it. If I were
- not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say
- that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this. But I
- will endeavour to banish every painful thought, and think only of
- what will make me happy—your affection, and the invariable
- kindness of my dear uncle and aunt. Let me hear from you very
- soon. Miss Bingley said something of his never returning to
- Netherfield again, of giving up the house, but not with any
- certainty. We had better not mention it. I am extremely glad that
- you have such pleasant accounts from our friends at Hunsford.
- Pray go to see them, with Sir William and Maria. I am sure you
- will be very comfortable there.—Yours, etc.”
-
- This letter gave Elizabeth some pain; but her spirits returned as
- she considered that Jane would no longer be duped, by the sister
- at least. All expectation from the brother was now absolutely
- over. She would not even wish for a renewal of his attentions.
- His character sunk on every review of it; and as a punishment for
- him, as well as a possible advantage to Jane, she seriously hoped
- he might really soon marry Mr. Darcy’s sister, as by Wickham’s
- account, she would make him abundantly regret what he had thrown
- away.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner about this time reminded Elizabeth of her promise
- concerning that gentleman, and required information; and
- Elizabeth had such to send as might rather give contentment to
- her aunt than to herself. His apparent partiality had subsided,
- his attentions were over, he was the admirer of some one else.
- Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it
- and write of it without material pain. Her heart had been but
- slightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing
- that _she_ would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted
- it. The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most
- remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering
- himself agreeable; but Elizabeth, less clear-sighted perhaps in
- this case than in Charlotte’s, did not quarrel with him for his
- wish of independence. Nothing, on the contrary, could be more
- natural; and while able to suppose that it cost him a few
- struggles to relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise and
- desirable measure for both, and could very sincerely wish him
- happy.
-
- All this was acknowledged to Mrs. Gardiner; and after relating
- the circumstances, she thus went on: “I am now convinced, my dear
- aunt, that I have never been much in love; for had I really
- experienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present
- detest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But my
- feelings are not only cordial towards _him_; they are even
- impartial towards Miss King. I cannot find out that I hate her at
- all, or that I am in the least unwilling to think her a very good
- sort of girl. There can be no love in all this. My watchfulness
- has been effectual; and though I certainly should be a more
- interesting object to all my acquaintances were I distractedly in
- love with him, I cannot say that I regret my comparative
- insignificance. Importance may sometimes be purchased too dearly.
- Kitty and Lydia take his defection much more to heart than I do.
- They are young in the ways of the world, and not yet open to the
- mortifying conviction that handsome young men must have something
- to live on as well as the plain.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 27
-
- With no greater events than these in the Longbourn family, and
- otherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to Meryton,
- sometimes dirty and sometimes cold, did January and February pass
- away. March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford. She had not at
- first thought very seriously of going thither; but Charlotte, she
- soon found, was depending on the plan and she gradually learned
- to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as greater
- certainty. Absence had increased her desire of seeing Charlotte
- again, and weakened her disgust of Mr. Collins. There was novelty
- in the scheme, and as, with such a mother and such
- uncompanionable sisters, home could not be faultless, a little
- change was not unwelcome for its own sake. The journey would
- moreover give her a peep at Jane; and, in short, as the time drew
- near, she would have been very sorry for any delay. Everything,
- however, went on smoothly, and was finally settled according to
- Charlotte’s first sketch. She was to accompany Sir William and
- his second daughter. The improvement of spending a night in
- London was added in time, and the plan became perfect as plan
- could be.
-
- The only pain was in leaving her father, who would certainly miss
- her, and who, when it came to the point, so little liked her
- going, that he told her to write to him, and almost promised to
- answer her letter.
-
- The farewell between herself and Mr. Wickham was perfectly
- friendly; on his side even more. His present pursuit could not
- make him forget that Elizabeth had been the first to excite and
- to deserve his attention, the first to listen and to pity, the
- first to be admired; and in his manner of bidding her adieu,
- wishing her every enjoyment, reminding her of what she was to
- expect in Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and trusting their opinion of
- her—their opinion of everybody—would always coincide, there was a
- solicitude, an interest which she felt must ever attach her to
- him with a most sincere regard; and she parted from him convinced
- that, whether married or single, he must always be her model of
- the amiable and pleasing.
-
- Her fellow-travellers the next day were not of a kind to make her
- think him less agreeable. Sir William Lucas, and his daughter
- Maria, a good-humoured girl, but as empty-headed as himself, had
- nothing to say that could be worth hearing, and were listened to
- with about as much delight as the rattle of the chaise. Elizabeth
- loved absurdities, but she had known Sir William’s too long. He
- could tell her nothing new of the wonders of his presentation and
- knighthood; and his civilities were worn out, like his
- information.
-
- It was a journey of only twenty-four miles, and they began it so
- early as to be in Gracechurch Street by noon. As they drove to
- Mr. Gardiner’s door, Jane was at a drawing-room window watching
- their arrival; when they entered the passage she was there to
- welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her face, was
- pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever. On the stairs
- were a troop of little boys and girls, whose eagerness for their
- cousin’s appearance would not allow them to wait in the
- drawing-room, and whose shyness, as they had not seen her for a
- twelvemonth, prevented their coming lower. All was joy and
- kindness. The day passed most pleasantly away; the morning in
- bustle and shopping, and the evening at one of the theatres.
-
- Elizabeth then contrived to sit by her aunt. Their first object
- was her sister; and she was more grieved than astonished to hear,
- in reply to her minute enquiries, that though Jane always
- struggled to support her spirits, there were periods of
- dejection. It was reasonable, however, to hope that they would
- not continue long. Mrs. Gardiner gave her the particulars also of
- Miss Bingley’s visit in Gracechurch Street, and repeated
- conversations occurring at different times between Jane and
- herself, which proved that the former had, from her heart, given
- up the acquaintance.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on Wickham’s desertion, and
- complimented her on bearing it so well.
-
- “But my dear Elizabeth,” she added, “what sort of girl is Miss
- King? I should be sorry to think our friend mercenary.”
-
- “Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial
- affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does
- discretion end, and avarice begin? Last Christmas you were afraid
- of his marrying me, because it would be imprudent; and now,
- because he is trying to get a girl with only ten thousand pounds,
- you want to find out that he is mercenary.”
-
- “If you will only tell me what sort of girl Miss King is, I shall
- know what to think.”
-
- “She is a very good kind of girl, I believe. I know no harm of
- her.”
-
- “But he paid her not the smallest attention till her
- grandfather’s death made her mistress of this fortune.”
-
- “No—why should he? If it were not allowable for him to gain _my_
- affections because I had no money, what occasion could there be
- for making love to a girl whom he did not care about, and who was
- equally poor?”
-
- “But there seems an indelicacy in directing his attentions
- towards her so soon after this event.”
-
- “A man in distressed circumstances has not time for all those
- elegant decorums which other people may observe. If _she_ does
- not object to it, why should _we_?”
-
- “_Her_ not objecting does not justify _him_. It only shows her
- being deficient in something herself—sense or feeling.”
-
- “Well,” cried Elizabeth, “have it as you choose. _He_ shall be
- mercenary, and _she_ shall be foolish.”
-
- “No, Lizzy, that is what I do _not_ choose. I should be sorry,
- you know, to think ill of a young man who has lived so long in
- Derbyshire.”
-
- “Oh! if that is all, I have a very poor opinion of young men who
- live in Derbyshire; and their intimate friends who live in
- Hertfordshire are not much better. I am sick of them all. Thank
- Heaven! I am going to-morrow where I shall find a man who has not
- one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor sense to
- recommend him. Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after
- all.”
-
- “Take care, Lizzy; that speech savours strongly of
- disappointment.”
-
- Before they were separated by the conclusion of the play, she had
- the unexpected happiness of an invitation to accompany her uncle
- and aunt in a tour of pleasure which they proposed taking in the
- summer.
-
- “We have not determined how far it shall carry us,” said Mrs.
- Gardiner, “but, perhaps, to the Lakes.”
-
- No scheme could have been more agreeable to Elizabeth, and her
- 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
- disappointment and spleen. What are young men to rocks and
- mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when
- we _do_ return, it shall not be like other travellers, without
- being able to give one accurate idea of anything. We _will_ know
- where we have gone—we _will_ recollect what we have seen. Lakes,
- mountains, and rivers shall not be jumbled together in our
- imaginations; nor when we attempt to describe any particular
- scene, will we begin quarreling about its relative situation. Let
- _our_ first effusions be less insupportable than those of the
- generality of travellers.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 28
-
- Every object in the next day’s journey was new and interesting to
- Elizabeth; and her spirits were in a state of enjoyment; for she
- had seen her sister looking so well as to banish all fear for her
- health, and the prospect of her northern tour was a constant
- source of delight.
-
- When they left the high road for the lane to Hunsford, every eye
- was in search of the Parsonage, and every turning expected to
- bring it in view. The palings of Rosings Park was their boundary
- on one side. Elizabeth smiled at the recollection of all that she
- had heard of its inhabitants.
-
- At length the Parsonage was discernible. The garden sloping to
- the road, the house standing in it, the green pales, and the
- laurel hedge, everything declared they were arriving. Mr. Collins
- and Charlotte appeared at the door, and the carriage stopped at
- the small gate which led by a short gravel walk to the house,
- amidst the nods and smiles of the whole party. In a moment they
- were all out of the chaise, rejoicing at the sight of each other.
- Mrs. Collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure, and
- Elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming when she found
- herself so affectionately received. She saw instantly that her
- cousin’s manners were not altered by his marriage; his formal
- civility was just what it had been, and he detained her some
- minutes at the gate to hear and satisfy his enquiries after all
- her family. They were then, with no other delay than his pointing
- out the neatness of the entrance, taken into the house; and as
- soon as they were in the parlour, he welcomed them a second time,
- with ostentatious formality to his humble abode, and punctually
- repeated all his wife’s offers of refreshment.
-
- Elizabeth was prepared to see him in his glory; and she could not
- help in fancying that in displaying the good proportion of the
- room, its aspect and its furniture, he addressed himself
- particularly to her, as if wishing to make her feel what she had
- lost in refusing him. But though everything seemed neat and
- comfortable, she was not able to gratify him by any sigh of
- repentance, and rather looked with wonder at her friend that she
- could have so cheerful an air with such a companion. When Mr.
- Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be
- ashamed, which certainly was not unseldom, she involuntarily
- turned her eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern a
- faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear. After
- sitting long enough to admire every article of furniture in the
- room, from the sideboard to the fender, to give an account of
- their journey, and of all that had happened in London, Mr.
- Collins invited them to take a stroll in the garden, which was
- large and well laid out, and to the cultivation of which he
- attended himself. To work in this garden was one of his most
- respectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the command of
- countenance with which Charlotte talked of the healthfulness of
- the exercise, and owned she encouraged it as much as possible.
- Here, leading the way through every walk and cross walk, and
- scarcely allowing them an interval to utter the praises he asked
- for, every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left
- beauty entirely behind. He could number the fields in every
- direction, and could tell how many trees there were in the most
- distant clump. But of all the views which his garden, or which
- the country or kingdom could boast, none were to be compared with
- the prospect of Rosings, afforded by an opening in the trees that
- bordered the park nearly opposite the front of his house. It was
- a handsome modern building, well situated on rising ground.
-
- From his garden, Mr. Collins would have led them round his two
- meadows; but the ladies, not having shoes to encounter the
- remains of a white frost, turned back; and while Sir William
- accompanied him, Charlotte took her sister and friend over the
- house, extremely well pleased, probably, to have the opportunity
- of showing it without her husband’s help. It was rather small,
- but well built and convenient; and everything was fitted up and
- arranged with a neatness and consistency of which Elizabeth gave
- Charlotte all the credit. When Mr. Collins could be forgotten,
- there was really an air of great comfort throughout, and by
- Charlotte’s evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must
- be often forgotten.
-
- She had already learnt that Lady Catherine was still in the
- country. It was spoken of again while they were at dinner, when
- Mr. Collins joining in, observed:
-
- “Yes, Miss Elizabeth, you will have the honour of seeing Lady
- Catherine de Bourgh on the ensuing Sunday at church, and I need
- not say you will be delighted with her. She is all affability and
- condescension, and I doubt not but you will be honoured with some
- portion of her notice when service is over. I have scarcely any
- hesitation in saying she will include you and my sister Maria in
- every invitation with which she honours us during your stay here.
- Her behaviour to my dear Charlotte is charming. We dine at
- Rosings twice every week, and are never allowed to walk home. Her
- ladyship’s carriage is regularly ordered for us. I _should_ say,
- one of her ladyship’s carriages, for she has several.”
-
- “Lady Catherine is a very respectable, sensible woman indeed,”
- added Charlotte, “and a most attentive neighbour.”
-
- “Very true, my dear, that is exactly what I say. She is the sort
- of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.”
-
- The evening was spent chiefly in talking over Hertfordshire news,
- and telling again what had already been written; and when it
- closed, Elizabeth, in the solitude of her chamber, had to
- meditate upon Charlotte’s degree of contentment, to understand
- her address in guiding, and composure in bearing with, her
- husband, and to acknowledge that it was all done very well. She
- had also to anticipate how her visit would pass, the quiet tenor
- of their usual employments, the vexatious interruptions of Mr.
- Collins, 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
- ready for a walk, a sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole
- house in confusion; and, after listening a moment, she heard
- somebody running up stairs in a violent hurry, and calling loudly
- after her. She opened the door and met Maria in the landing
- place, who, breathless with agitation, cried out—
-
- “Oh, my dear Eliza! pray make haste and come into the
- dining-room, for there is such a sight to be seen! I will not
- tell you what it is. Make haste, and come down this moment.”
-
- Elizabeth asked questions in vain; Maria would tell her nothing
- more, and down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the
- lane, in quest of this wonder; It was two ladies stopping in a
- low phaeton at the garden gate.
-
- “And is this all?” cried Elizabeth. “I expected at least that the
- pigs were got into the garden, and here is nothing but Lady
- Catherine and her daughter.”
-
- “La! my dear,” said Maria, quite shocked at the mistake, “it is
- not Lady Catherine. The old lady is Mrs. Jenkinson, who lives
- with them; the other is Miss de Bourgh. Only look at her. She is
- quite a little creature. Who would have thought that she could be
- so thin and small?”
-
- “She is abominably rude to keep Charlotte out of doors in all
- this wind. Why does she not come in?”
-
- “Oh, Charlotte says she hardly ever does. It is the greatest of
- favours when Miss de Bourgh comes in.”
-
- “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.”
-
- Mr. Collins and Charlotte were both standing at the gate in
- conversation with the ladies; and Sir William, to Elizabeth’s
- high diversion, was stationed in the doorway, in earnest
- contemplation of the greatness before him, and constantly bowing
- whenever Miss de Bourgh looked that way.
-
- At length there was nothing more to be said; the ladies drove on,
- and the others returned into the house. Mr. Collins no sooner saw
- the two girls than he began to congratulate them on their good
- fortune, which Charlotte explained by letting them know that the
- whole party was asked to dine at Rosings the next day.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 29
-
- Mr. Collins’s triumph, in consequence of this invitation, was
- complete. The power of displaying the grandeur of his patroness
- to his wondering visitors, and of letting them see her civility
- towards himself and his wife, was exactly what he had wished for;
- and that an opportunity of doing it should be given so soon, was
- such an instance of Lady Catherine’s condescension, as he knew
- not how to admire enough.
-
- “I confess,” said he, “that I should not have been at all
- surprised by her ladyship’s asking us on Sunday to drink tea and
- spend the evening at Rosings. I rather expected, from my
- knowledge of her affability, that it would happen. But who could
- have foreseen such an attention as this? Who could have imagined
- that we should receive an invitation to dine there (an
- invitation, moreover, including the whole party) so immediately
- after your arrival!”
-
- “I am the less surprised at what has happened,” replied Sir
- William, “from that knowledge of what the manners of the great
- really are, which my situation in life has allowed me to acquire.
- About the court, such instances of elegant breeding are not
- uncommon.”
-
- Scarcely anything was talked of the whole day or next morning but
- their visit to Rosings. Mr. Collins was carefully instructing
- them in what they were to expect, that the sight of such rooms,
- so many servants, and so splendid a dinner, might not wholly
- overpower them.
-
- When the ladies were separating for the toilette, he said to
- Elizabeth—
-
- “Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your apparel.
- Lady Catherine is far from requiring that elegance of dress in us
- which becomes herself and her daughter. I would advise you merely
- to put on whatever of your clothes is superior to the rest—there
- is no occasion for anything more. Lady Catherine will not think
- the worse of you for being simply dressed. She likes to have the
- distinction of rank preserved.”
-
- While they were dressing, he came two or three times to their
- different doors, to recommend their being quick, as Lady
- Catherine very much objected to be kept waiting for her dinner.
- Such formidable accounts of her ladyship, and her manner of
- living, quite frightened Maria Lucas who had been little used to
- company, and she looked forward to her introduction at Rosings
- with as much apprehension as her father had done to his
- presentation at St. James’s.
-
- As the weather was fine, they had a pleasant walk of about half a
- mile across the park. Every park has its beauty and its
- prospects; and Elizabeth saw much to be pleased with, though she
- could not be in such raptures as Mr. Collins expected the scene
- to inspire, and was but slightly affected by his enumeration of
- the windows in front of the house, and his relation of what the
- glazing altogether had originally cost Sir Lewis de Bourgh.
-
- When they ascended the steps to the hall, Maria’s alarm was every
- moment increasing, and even Sir William did not look perfectly
- calm. Elizabeth’s courage did not fail her. She had heard nothing
- of Lady Catherine that spoke her awful from any extraordinary
- talents or miraculous virtue, and the mere stateliness of money
- or rank she thought she could witness without trepidation.
-
- From the entrance-hall, of which Mr. Collins pointed out, with a
- rapturous air, the fine proportion and the finished ornaments,
- they followed the servants through an ante-chamber, to the room
- where Lady Catherine, her daughter, and Mrs. Jenkinson were
- sitting. Her ladyship, with great condescension, arose to receive
- them; and as Mrs. Collins had settled it with her husband that
- the office of introduction should be hers, it was performed in a
- proper manner, without any of those apologies and thanks which he
- would have thought necessary.
-
- In spite of having been at St. James’s, Sir William was so
- completely awed by the grandeur surrounding him, that he had but
- just courage enough to make a very low bow, and take his seat
- without saying a word; and his daughter, frightened almost out of
- her senses, sat on the edge of her chair, not knowing which way
- to look. Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene, and
- could observe the three ladies before her composedly. Lady
- Catherine was a tall, large woman, with strongly-marked features,
- which might once have been handsome. Her air was not
- conciliating, nor was her manner of receiving them such as to
- make her visitors forget their inferior rank. She was not
- rendered formidable by silence; but whatever she said was spoken
- in so authoritative a tone, as marked her self-importance, and
- brought Mr. Wickham immediately to Elizabeth’s mind; and from the
- observation of the day altogether, she believed Lady Catherine to
- be exactly what he represented.
-
- When, after examining the mother, in whose countenance and
- deportment she soon found some resemblance of Mr. Darcy, she
- turned her eyes on the daughter, she could almost have joined in
- Maria’s astonishment at her being so thin and so small. There was
- neither in figure nor face any likeness between the ladies. Miss
- de Bourgh was pale and sickly; her features, though not plain,
- were insignificant; and she spoke very little, except in a low
- voice, to Mrs. Jenkinson, in whose appearance there was nothing
- remarkable, and who was entirely engaged in listening to what she
- said, and placing a screen in the proper direction before her
- eyes.
-
- After sitting a few minutes, they were all sent to one of the
- windows to admire the view, Mr. Collins attending them to point
- out its beauties, and Lady Catherine kindly informing them that
- it was much better worth looking at in the summer.
-
- The dinner was exceedingly handsome, and there were all the
- servants and all the articles of plate which Mr. Collins had
- promised; and, as he had likewise foretold, he took his seat at
- the bottom of the table, by her ladyship’s desire, and looked as
- if he felt that life could furnish nothing greater. He carved,
- and ate, and praised with delighted alacrity; and every dish was
- commended, first by him and then by Sir William, who was now
- enough recovered to echo whatever his son-in-law said, in a
- manner which Elizabeth wondered Lady Catherine could bear. But
- Lady Catherine seemed gratified by their excessive admiration,
- and gave most gracious smiles, especially when any dish on the
- table proved a novelty to them. The party did not supply much
- conversation. Elizabeth was ready to speak whenever there was an
- opening, but she was seated between Charlotte and Miss de
- Bourgh—the former of whom was engaged in listening to Lady
- Catherine, and the latter said not a word to her all dinner-time.
- Mrs. Jenkinson was chiefly employed in watching how little Miss
- de Bourgh ate, pressing her to try some other dish, and fearing
- she was indisposed. Maria thought speaking out of the question,
- and the gentlemen did nothing but eat and admire.
-
- When the ladies returned to the drawing-room, there was little to
- be done but to hear Lady Catherine talk, which she did without
- any intermission till coffee came in, delivering her opinion on
- every subject in so decisive a manner, as proved that she was not
- used to have her judgement controverted. She enquired into
- Charlotte’s domestic concerns familiarly and minutely, gave her a
- great deal of advice as to the management of them all; told her
- how everything ought to be regulated in so small a family as
- hers, and instructed her as to the care of her cows and her
- poultry. Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great
- lady’s attention, which could furnish her with an occasion of
- dictating to others. In the intervals of her discourse with Mrs.
- Collins, she addressed a variety of questions to Maria and
- Elizabeth, but especially to the latter, of whose connections she
- knew the least, and who she observed to Mrs. Collins was a very
- genteel, pretty kind of girl. She asked her, at different times,
- how many sisters she had, whether they were older or younger than
- herself, whether any of them were likely to be married, whether
- they were handsome, where they had been educated, what carriage
- her father kept, and what had been her mother’s maiden name?
- Elizabeth felt all the impertinence of her questions but answered
- them very composedly. Lady Catherine then observed,
-
- “Your father’s estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think. For
- your sake,” turning to Charlotte, “I am glad of it; but otherwise
- I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. It
- was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family. Do you
- play and sing, Miss Bennet?”
-
- “A little.”
-
- “Oh! then—some time or other we shall be happy to hear you. Our
- instrument is a capital one, probably superior to——You shall try
- it some day. Do your sisters play and sing?”
-
- “One of them does.”
-
- “Why did not you all learn? You ought all to have learned. The
- Miss Webbs all play, and their father has not so good an income
- as yours. Do you draw?”
-
- “No, not at all.”
-
- “What, none of you?”
-
- “Not one.”
-
- “That is very strange. But I suppose you had no opportunity. Your
- mother should have taken you to town every spring for the benefit
- of masters.”
-
- “My mother would have had no objection, but my father hates
- London.”
-
- “Has your governess left you?”
-
- “We never had any governess.”
-
- “No governess! How was that possible? Five daughters brought up
- at home without a governess! I never heard of such a thing. Your
- mother must have been quite a slave to your education.”
-
- Elizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that had
- not been the case.
-
- “Then, who taught you? who attended to you? Without a governess,
- you must have been neglected.”
-
- “Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us
- as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always
- encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary.
- Those who chose to be idle, certainly might.”
-
- “Aye, no doubt; but that is what a governess will prevent, and if
- I had known your mother, I should have advised her most
- strenuously to engage one. I always say that nothing is to be
- done in education without steady and regular instruction, and
- nobody but a governess can give it. It is wonderful how many
- families I have been the means of supplying in that way. I am
- always glad to get a young person well placed out. Four nieces of
- Mrs. Jenkinson are most delightfully situated through my means;
- and it was but the other day that I recommended another young
- person, who was merely accidentally mentioned to me, and the
- family are quite delighted with her. Mrs. Collins, did I tell you
- of Lady Metcalf’s calling yesterday to thank me? She finds Miss
- Pope a treasure. ‘Lady Catherine,’ said she, ‘you have given me a
- treasure.’ Are any of your younger sisters out, Miss Bennet?”
-
- “Yes, ma’am, all.”
-
- “All! What, all five out at once? Very odd! And you only the
- second. The younger ones out before the elder ones are married!
- Your younger sisters must be very young?”
-
- “Yes, my youngest is not sixteen. Perhaps _she_ is full young to
- be much in company. But really, ma’am, I think it would be very
- hard upon younger sisters, that they should not have their share
- of society and amusement, because the elder may not have the
- means or inclination to marry early. The last-born has as good a
- right to the pleasures of youth as the first. And to be kept back
- on _such_ a motive! I think it would not be very likely to
- promote sisterly affection or delicacy of mind.”
-
- “Upon my word,” said her ladyship, “you give your opinion very
- decidedly for so young a person. Pray, what is your age?”
-
- “With three younger sisters grown up,” replied Elizabeth,
- smiling, “your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it.”
-
- Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct
- answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature
- who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence.
-
- “You cannot be more than twenty, I am sure, therefore you need
- not conceal your age.”
-
- “I am not one-and-twenty.”
-
- When the gentlemen had joined them, and tea was over, the
- card-tables were placed. Lady Catherine, Sir William, and Mr. and
- Mrs. Collins sat down to quadrille; and as Miss de Bourgh chose
- to play at cassino, the two girls had the honour of assisting
- Mrs. Jenkinson to make up her party. Their table was
- superlatively stupid. Scarcely a syllable was uttered that did
- not relate to the game, except when Mrs. Jenkinson expressed her
- fears of Miss de Bourgh’s being too hot or too cold, or having
- too much or too little light. A great deal more passed at the
- other table. Lady Catherine was generally speaking—stating the
- mistakes of the three others, or relating some anecdote of
- herself. Mr. Collins was employed in agreeing to everything her
- ladyship said, thanking her for every fish he won, and
- apologising if he thought he won too many. Sir William did not
- say much. He was storing his memory with anecdotes and noble
- names.
-
- When Lady Catherine and her daughter had played as long as they
- chose, the tables were broken up, the carriage was offered to
- Mrs. Collins, gratefully accepted and immediately ordered. The
- party then gathered round the fire to hear Lady Catherine
- determine what weather they were to have on the morrow. From
- these instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the
- coach; and with many speeches of thankfulness on Mr. Collins’s
- side and as many bows on Sir William’s they departed. As soon as
- they had driven from the door, Elizabeth was called on by her
- cousin to give her opinion of all that she had seen at Rosings,
- which, for Charlotte’s sake, she made more favourable than it
- really was. But her commendation, though costing her some
- trouble, could by no means satisfy Mr. Collins, and he was very
- soon obliged to take her ladyship’s praise into his own hands.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 30
-
- Sir William stayed only a week at Hunsford, but his visit was
- long enough to convince him of his daughter’s being most
- comfortably settled, and of her possessing such a husband and
- such a neighbour as were not often met with. While Sir William
- was with them, Mr. Collins devoted his morning to driving him out
- in his gig, and showing him the country; but when he went away,
- the whole family returned to their usual employments, and
- Elizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of her
- cousin by the alteration, for the chief of the time between
- breakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in the
- garden or in reading and writing, and looking out of the window
- in his own book-room, which fronted the road. The room in which
- the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth had at first rather
- wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining-parlour for
- common use; it was a better sized room, and had a more pleasant
- aspect; but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason
- for what she did, for Mr. Collins would undoubtedly have been
- much less in his own apartment, had they sat in one equally
- lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for the arrangement.
-
- From the drawing-room they could distinguish nothing in the lane,
- and were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge of what
- carriages went along, and how often especially Miss de Bourgh
- drove by in her phaeton, which he never failed coming to inform
- them of, though it happened almost every day. She not
- unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a few minutes’
- conversation with Charlotte, but was scarcely ever prevailed upon
- to get out.
-
- Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to
- Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it
- necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that
- there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could
- not understand the sacrifice of so many hours. Now and then they
- were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped
- her observation that was passing in the room during these visits.
- She examined into their employments, looked at their work, and
- advised them to do it differently; found fault with the
- arrangement of the furniture; or detected the housemaid in
- negligence; and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to do it
- only for the sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins’s joints of
- meat were too large for her family.
-
- Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in
- the commission of the peace of the county, she was a most active
- magistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which were
- carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the cottagers
- were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor, she
- sallied forth into the village to settle their differences,
- silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty.
-
- The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twice a
- week; and, allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there being
- only one card-table in the evening, every such entertainment was
- the counterpart of the first. Their other engagements were few,
- as the style of living in the neighbourhood in general was beyond
- Mr. Collins’s reach. This, however, was no evil to Elizabeth, and
- upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough; there were
- half-hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte, and the
- weather was so fine for the time of year that she had often great
- enjoyment out of doors. Her favourite walk, and where she
- frequently went while the others were calling on Lady Catherine,
- was along the open grove which edged that side of the park, where
- there was a nice sheltered path, which no one seemed to value but
- herself, and where she felt beyond the reach of Lady Catherine’s
- curiosity.
-
- In this quiet way, the first fortnight of her visit soon passed
- away. Easter was approaching, and the week preceding it was to
- bring an addition to the family at Rosings, which in so small a
- circle must be important. Elizabeth had heard soon after her
- arrival that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a few
- weeks, and though there were not many of her acquaintances whom
- she did not prefer, his coming would furnish one comparatively
- new to look at in their Rosings parties, and she might be amused
- in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley’s designs on him were, by his
- behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined by
- Lady Catherine, who talked of his coming with the greatest
- satisfaction, spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration,
- and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been
- frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.
-
- His arrival was soon known at the Parsonage; for Mr. Collins was
- walking the whole morning within view of the lodges opening into
- Hunsford Lane, in order to have the earliest assurance of it, and
- after making his bow as the carriage turned into the Park,
- hurried home with the great intelligence. On the following
- morning he hastened to Rosings to pay his respects. There were
- two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, for Mr. Darcy had
- brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of his
- uncle Lord ——, and, to the great surprise of all the party, when
- Mr. Collins returned, the gentlemen accompanied him. Charlotte
- had seen them from her husband’s room, crossing the road, and
- immediately running into the other, told the girls what an honour
- they might expect, adding:
-
- “I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy
- would never have come so soon to wait upon me.”
-
- Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the
- compliment, before their approach was announced by the door-bell,
- and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room.
- Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was about thirty, not
- handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman. Mr.
- Darcy looked just as he had been used to look in
- Hertfordshire—paid his compliments, with his usual reserve, to
- Mrs. Collins, and whatever might be his feelings toward her
- friend, met her with every appearance of composure. Elizabeth
- merely curtseyed to him without saying a word.
-
- Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly with the
- readiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked very
- pleasantly; but his cousin, after having addressed a slight
- observation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins, sat for some
- time without speaking to anybody. At length, however, his
- civility was so far awakened as to enquire of Elizabeth after the
- health of her family. She answered him in the usual way, and
- after a moment’s pause, added:
-
- “My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Have you
- never happened to see her there?”
-
- She was perfectly sensible that he never had; but she wished to
- see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had passed
- between the Bingleys and Jane, and she thought he looked a little
- confused as he answered that he had never been so fortunate as to
- meet Miss Bennet. The subject was pursued no farther, and the
- gentlemen soon afterwards went away.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 31
-
- Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners were very much admired at the
- Parsonage, and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably
- to the pleasures of their engagements at Rosings. It was some
- days, however, before they received any invitation thither—for
- while there were visitors in the house, they could not be
- necessary; and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after
- the gentlemen’s arrival, that they were honoured by such an
- attention, and then they were merely asked on leaving church to
- come there in the evening. For the last week they had seen very
- little of Lady Catherine or her daughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam had
- called at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr.
- Darcy they had seen only at church.
-
- The invitation was accepted of course, and at a proper hour they
- joined the party in Lady Catherine’s drawing-room. Her ladyship
- received them civilly, but it was plain that their company was by
- no means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else; and she
- was, in fact, almost engrossed by her nephews, speaking to them,
- especially to Darcy, much more than to any other person in the
- room.
-
- Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them; anything was
- a welcome relief to him at Rosings; and Mrs. Collins’s pretty
- friend had moreover caught his fancy very much. He now seated
- himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent and
- Hertfordshire, of travelling and staying at home, of new books
- and music, that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertained
- in that room before; and they conversed with so much spirit and
- flow, as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself, as well
- as of Mr. Darcy. _His_ eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned
- towards them with a look of curiosity; and that her ladyship,
- after a while, shared the feeling, was more openly acknowledged,
- for she did not scruple to call out:
-
- “What is that you are saying, Fitzwilliam? What is it you are
- talking of? What are you telling Miss Bennet? Let me hear what it
- is.”
-
- “We are speaking of music, madam,” said he, when no longer able
- to avoid a reply.
-
- “Of music! Then pray speak aloud. It is of all subjects my
- delight. I must have my share in the conversation if you are
- speaking of music. There are few people in England, I suppose,
- who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better
- natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great
- proficient. And so would Anne, if her health had allowed her to
- apply. I am confident that she would have performed delightfully.
- How does Georgiana get on, Darcy?”
-
- Mr. Darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sister’s
- proficiency.
-
- “I am very glad to hear such a good account of her,” said Lady
- Catherine; “and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect to
- excel if she does not practice a good deal.”
-
- “I assure you, madam,” he replied, “that she does not need such
- advice. She practises very constantly.”
-
- “So much the better. It cannot be done too much; and when I next
- write to her, I shall charge her not to neglect it on any
- account. I often tell young ladies that no excellence in music is
- to be acquired without constant practice. I have told Miss Bennet
- several times, that she will never play really well unless she
- practises more; and though Mrs. Collins has no instrument, she is
- very welcome, as I have often told her, to come to Rosings every
- 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.”
-
- Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’s ill-breeding, and
- made no answer.
-
- When coffee was over, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth of
- having promised to play to him; and she sat down directly to the
- instrument. He drew a chair near her. Lady Catherine listened to
- half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other nephew;
- till the latter walked away from her, and making with his usual
- deliberation towards the pianoforte stationed himself so as to
- command a full view of the fair performer’s countenance.
- Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient
- pause, turned to him with an arch smile, and said:
-
- “You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state
- to hear me? I will not be alarmed though your sister _does_ play
- so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to
- be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at
- every attempt to intimidate me.”
-
- “I shall not say you are mistaken,” he replied, “because you
- could not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming
- you; and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long enough
- to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionally professing
- opinions which in fact are not your own.”
-
- Elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said
- to Colonel Fitzwilliam, “Your cousin will give you a very pretty
- notion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say. I am
- particularly unlucky in meeting with a person so able to expose
- my real character, in a part of the world where I had hoped to
- pass myself off with some degree of credit. Indeed, Mr. Darcy, it
- is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my
- disadvantage in Hertfordshire—and, give me leave to say, very
- impolitic too—for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such
- things may come out as will shock your relations to hear.”
-
- “I am not afraid of you,” said he, smilingly.
-
- “Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,” cried Colonel
- Fitzwilliam. “I should like to know how he behaves among
- strangers.”
-
- “You shall hear then—but prepare yourself for something very
- dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire,
- you must know, was at a ball—and at this ball, what do you think
- he did? He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce;
- and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was
- sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy, you cannot deny the
- fact.”
-
- “I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the
- assembly beyond my own party.”
-
- “True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well,
- Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your
- orders.”
-
- “Perhaps,” said Darcy, “I should have judged better, had I sought
- an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to
- strangers.”
-
- “Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?” said Elizabeth,
- still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Shall we ask him why a man
- of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill
- qualified to recommend himself to strangers?”
-
- “I can answer your question,” said Fitzwilliam, “without applying
- to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble.”
-
- “I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said
- Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.
- I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested
- in their concerns, as I often see done.”
-
- “My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument
- in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have
- not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same
- expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own
- fault—because I will not take the trouble of practising. It is
- not that I do not believe _my_ fingers as capable as any other
- woman’s of superior execution.”
-
- Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have
- employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege
- of hearing you can think anything wanting. We neither of us
- perform to strangers.”
-
- Here they were interrupted by Lady Catherine, who called out to
- know what they were talking of. Elizabeth immediately began
- playing again. Lady Catherine approached, and, after listening
- for a few minutes, said to Darcy:
-
- “Miss Bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more,
- and could have the advantage of a London master. She has a very
- good notion of fingering, though her taste is not equal to
- Anne’s. Anne would have been a delightful performer, had her
- health allowed her to learn.”
-
- Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see how cordially he assented to his
- cousin’s praise; but neither at that moment nor at any other
- could she discern any symptom of love; and from the whole of his
- behaviour to Miss de Bourgh she derived this comfort for Miss
- Bingley, that he might have been just as likely to marry _her_,
- had she been his relation.
-
- Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth’s performance,
- mixing with them many instructions on execution and taste.
- Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility,
- and, at the request of the gentlemen, remained at the instrument
- till her ladyship’s carriage was ready to take them all home.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 32
-
- Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to
- Jane while Mrs. Collins and Maria were gone on business into the
- village, when she was startled by a ring at the door, the certain
- signal of a visitor. As she had heard no carriage, she thought it
- not unlikely to be Lady Catherine, and under that apprehension
- was putting away her half-finished letter that she might escape
- all impertinent questions, when the door opened, and, to her very
- great surprise, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room.
-
- He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologised for
- his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all the
- ladies were to be within.
-
- They then sat down, and when her enquiries after Rosings were
- made, seemed in danger of sinking into total silence. It was
- absolutely necessary, therefore, to think of something, and in
- this emergence recollecting _when_ she had seen him last in
- Hertfordshire, and feeling curious to know what he would say on
- the subject of their hasty departure, she observed:
-
- “How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last November, Mr.
- Darcy! It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr. Bingley
- to see you all after him so soon; for, if I recollect right, he
- went but the day before. He and his sisters were well, I hope,
- when you left London?”
-
- “Perfectly so, I thank you.”
-
- She found that she was to receive no other answer, and, after a
- short pause added:
-
- “I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of
- ever returning to Netherfield again?”
-
- “I have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may
- spend very little of his time there in the future. He has many
- friends, and is at a time of life when friends and engagements
- are continually increasing.”
-
- “If he means to be but little at Netherfield, it would be better
- for the neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely,
- for then we might possibly get a settled family there. But,
- perhaps, Mr. Bingley did not take the house so much for the
- convenience of the neighbourhood as for his own, and we must
- expect him to keep it or quit it on the same principle.”
-
- “I should not be surprised,” said Darcy, “if he were to give it
- up as soon as any eligible purchase offers.”
-
- Elizabeth made no answer. She was afraid of talking longer of his
- friend; and, having nothing else to say, was now determined to
- leave the trouble of finding a subject to him.
-
- He took the hint, and soon began with, “This seems a very
- comfortable house. Lady Catherine, I believe, did a great deal to
- it when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford.”
-
- “I believe she did—and I am sure she could not have bestowed her
- kindness on a more grateful object.”
-
- “Mr. Collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a
- wife.”
-
- “Yes, indeed, his friends may well rejoice in his having met with
- one of the very few sensible women who would have accepted him,
- or have made him happy if they had. My friend has an excellent
- understanding—though I am not certain that I consider her
- marrying Mr. Collins as the wisest thing she ever did. She seems
- perfectly happy, however, and in a prudential light it is
- certainly a very good match for her.”
-
- “It must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a
- distance of her own family and friends.”
-
- “An easy distance, do you call it? It is nearly fifty miles.”
-
- “And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a
- day’s journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.”
-
- “I should never have considered the distance as one of the
- _advantages_ of the match,” cried Elizabeth. “I should never have
- said Mrs. Collins was settled _near_ her family.”
-
- “It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire. Anything
- beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would
- appear far.”
-
- As he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied she
- understood; he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane and
- Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered:
-
- “I do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near
- her family. The far and the near must be relative, and depend on
- many varying circumstances. Where there is fortune to make the
- expenses of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil. But
- that is not the case _here_. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a
- comfortable income, but not such a one as will allow of frequent
- journeys—and I am persuaded my friend would not call herself
- _near_ her family under less than _half_ the present distance.”
-
- Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, “_You_
- cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment. _You_
- cannot have been always at Longbourn.”
-
- Elizabeth looked surprised. The gentleman experienced some change
- of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the
- table, and glancing over it, said, in a colder voice:
-
- “Are you pleased with Kent?”
-
- A short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued, on either
- side calm and concise—and soon put an end to by the entrance of
- Charlotte and her sister, just returned from her walk. The
- _tête-à-tête_ surprised them. Mr. Darcy related the mistake which
- had occasioned his intruding on Miss Bennet, and after sitting a
- few minutes longer without saying much to anybody, went away.
-
- “What can be the meaning of this?” said Charlotte, as soon as he
- was gone. “My dear, Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he
- would never have called on us in this familiar way.”
-
- But when Elizabeth told of his silence, it did not seem very
- likely, even to Charlotte’s wishes, to be the case; and after
- various conjectures, they could at last only suppose his visit to
- proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do, which was
- the more probable from the time of year. All field sports were
- over. Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a
- billiard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be within doors; and
- in the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness of the walk
- to it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins found a
- temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day.
- They called at various times of the morning, sometimes
- separately, sometimes together, and now and then accompanied by
- their aunt. It was plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam
- came because he had pleasure in their society, a persuasion which
- of course recommended him still more; and Elizabeth was reminded
- by her own satisfaction in being with him, as well as by his
- evident admiration of her, of her former favourite George
- Wickham; and though, in comparing them, she saw there was less
- captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners, she
- believed he might have the best informed mind.
-
- But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage, it was more
- difficult to understand. It could not be for society, as he
- frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his
- lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity
- rather than of choice—a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure to
- himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs. Collins knew
- not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam’s occasionally
- laughing at his stupidity, proved that he was generally
- different, which her own knowledge of him could not have told
- her; and as she would liked to have believed this change the
- effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza, she
- set herself seriously to work to find it out. She watched him
- whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford;
- but without much success. He certainly looked at her friend a
- great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It
- was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether
- there were much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing
- but absence of mind.
-
- She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of
- his being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the
- idea; and Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the
- subject, from the danger of raising expectations which might only
- end in disappointment; for in her opinion it admitted not of a
- doubt, that all her friend’s dislike would vanish, if she could
- suppose him to be in her power.
-
- In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her
- marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was beyond comparison the most
- pleasant man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in life
- was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr.
- Darcy had considerable patronage in the church, and his cousin
- could have none at all.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 33
-
- More than once did Elizabeth, in her ramble within the park,
- unexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy. She felt all the perverseness of the
- mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought,
- and, to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him
- at first that it was a favourite haunt of hers. How it could
- occur a second time, therefore, was very odd! Yet it did, and
- even a third. It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary
- penance, for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal
- enquiries and an awkward pause and then away, but he actually
- thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her. He never
- said a great deal, nor did she give herself the trouble of
- talking or of listening much; but it struck her in the course of
- their third rencontre that he was asking some odd unconnected
- questions—about her pleasure in being at Hunsford, her love of
- solitary walks, and her opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Collins’s
- happiness; and that in speaking of Rosings and her not perfectly
- understanding the house, he seemed to expect that whenever she
- came into Kent again she would be staying _there_ too. His words
- seemed to imply it. Could he have Colonel Fitzwilliam in his
- thoughts? She supposed, if he meant anything, he must mean an
- allusion to what might arise in that quarter. It distressed her a
- little, and she was quite glad to find herself at the gate in the
- pales opposite the Parsonage.
-
- She was engaged one day as she walked, in perusing Jane’s last
- letter, and dwelling on some passages which proved that Jane had
- not written in spirits, when, instead of being again surprised by
- Mr. Darcy, she saw on looking up that Colonel Fitzwilliam was
- meeting her. Putting away the letter immediately and forcing a
- smile, she said:
-
- “I did not know before that you ever walked this way.”
-
- “I have been making the tour of the park,” he replied, “as I
- generally do every year, and intend to close it with a call at
- the Parsonage. Are you going much farther?”
-
- “No, I should have turned in a moment.”
-
- And accordingly she did turn, and they walked towards the
- Parsonage together.
-
- “Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?” said she.
-
- “Yes—if Darcy does not put it off again. But I am at his
- disposal. He arranges the business just as he pleases.”
-
- “And if not able to please himself in the arrangement, he has at
- least pleasure in the great power of choice. I do not know
- anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes
- than Mr. Darcy.”
-
- “He likes to have his own way very well,” replied Colonel
- Fitzwilliam. “But so we all do. It is only that he has better
- means of having it than many others, because he is rich, and many
- others are poor. I speak feelingly. A younger son, you know, must
- be inured to self-denial and dependence.”
-
- “In my opinion, the younger son of an earl can know very little
- of either. Now seriously, what have you ever known of self-denial
- and dependence? When have you been prevented by want of money
- from going wherever you chose, or procuring anything you had a
- fancy for?”
-
- “These are home questions—and perhaps I cannot say that I have
- experienced many hardships of that nature. But in matters of
- greater weight, I may suffer from want of money. Younger sons
- cannot marry where they like.”
-
- “Unless where they like women of fortune, which I think they very
- often do.”
-
- “Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not
- many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some
- attention to money.”
-
- “Is this,” thought Elizabeth, “meant for me?” and she coloured at
- the idea; but, recovering herself, said in a lively tone, “And
- pray, what is the usual price of an earl’s younger son? Unless
- the elder brother is very sickly, I suppose you would not ask
- above fifty thousand pounds.”
-
- He answered her in the same style, and the subject dropped. To
- interrupt a silence which might make him fancy her affected with
- what had passed, she soon afterwards said:
-
- “I imagine your cousin brought you down with him chiefly for the
- sake of having someone at his disposal. I wonder he does not
- marry, to secure a lasting convenience of that kind. But,
- perhaps, his sister does as well for the present, and, as she is
- under his sole care, he may do what he likes with her.”
-
- “No,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam, “that is an advantage which he
- must divide with me. I am joined with him in the guardianship of
- Miss Darcy.”
-
- “Are you indeed? And pray what sort of guardians do you make?
- Does your charge give you much trouble? Young ladies of her age
- are sometimes a little difficult to manage, and if she has the
- true Darcy spirit, she may like to have her own way.”
-
- As she spoke she observed him looking at her earnestly; and the
- manner in which he immediately asked her why she supposed Miss
- Darcy likely to give them any uneasiness, convinced her that she
- had somehow or other got pretty near the truth. She directly
- replied:
-
- “You need not be frightened. I never heard any harm of her; and I
- 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, Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. I think I have heard
- you say that you know them.”
-
- “I know them a little. Their brother is a pleasant gentlemanlike
- man—he is a great friend of Darcy’s.”
-
- “Oh! yes,” said Elizabeth drily; “Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to
- Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigious deal of care of him.”
-
- “Care of him! Yes, I really believe Darcy _does_ take care of him
- in those points where he most wants care. From something that he
- told me in our journey hither, I have reason to think Bingley
- very much indebted to him. But I ought to beg his pardon, for I
- have no right to suppose that Bingley was the person meant. It
- was all conjecture.”
-
- “What is it you mean?”
-
- “It is a circumstance which Darcy could not wish to be generally
- known, because if it were to get round to the lady’s family, it
- would be an unpleasant thing.”
-
- “You may depend upon my not mentioning it.”
-
- “And remember that I have not much reason for supposing it to be
- Bingley. What he told me was merely this: that he congratulated
- himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences
- of a most imprudent marriage, but without mentioning names or any
- other particulars, and I only suspected it to be Bingley from
- believing him the kind of young man to get into a scrape of that
- sort, and from knowing them to have been together the whole of
- last summer.”
-
- “Did Mr. Darcy give you reasons for this interference?”
-
- “I understood that there were some very strong objections against
- the lady.”
-
- “And what arts did he use to separate them?”
-
- “He did not talk to me of his own arts,” said Fitzwilliam,
- smiling. “He only told me what I have now told you.”
-
- Elizabeth made no answer, and walked on, her heart swelling with
- indignation. After watching her a little, Fitzwilliam asked her
- 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 to be the
- judge?”
-
- “You are rather disposed to call his interference officious?”
-
- “I do not see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide on the propriety
- of his friend’s inclination, or why, upon his own judgement
- alone, he was to determine and direct in what manner his friend
- was to be happy. But,” she continued, recollecting herself, “as
- we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to condemn him.
- It is not to be supposed that there was much affection in the
- case.”
-
- “That is not an unnatural surmise,” said Fitzwilliam, “but it is
- a lessening of the honour of my cousin’s triumph very sadly.”
-
- This was spoken jestingly; but it appeared to her so just a
- picture of Mr. Darcy, that she would not trust herself with an
- answer, and therefore, abruptly changing the conversation talked
- on indifferent matters until they reached the Parsonage. There,
- shut into her own room, as soon as their visitor left them, she
- could think without interruption of all that she had heard. It
- was not to be supposed that any other people could be meant than
- those with whom she was connected. There could not exist in the
- world _two_ men over whom Mr. Darcy could have such boundless
- influence. That he had been concerned in the measures taken to
- separate Bingley and Jane she had never doubted; but she had
- always attributed to Miss Bingley the principal design and
- arrangement of them. If his own vanity, however, did not mislead
- him, _he_ was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause, of
- all that Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer. He had
- ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most
- affectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say
- how lasting an evil he might have inflicted.
-
- “There were some very strong objections against the lady,” were
- Colonel Fitzwilliam’s words; and those strong objections probably
- were, her having one uncle who was a country attorney, and
- another who was in business in London.
-
- “To Jane herself,” she exclaimed, “there could be no possibility
- of objection; all loveliness and goodness as she is!—her
- understanding excellent, her mind improved, and her manners
- captivating. Neither could anything be urged against my father,
- who, though with some peculiarities, has abilities Mr. Darcy
- himself need not disdain, and respectability which he will
- probably never reach.” When she thought of her mother, her
- confidence gave way a little; but she would not allow that any
- objections _there_ had material weight with Mr. Darcy, whose
- pride, she was convinced, would receive a deeper wound from the
- want of importance in his friend’s connections, than from their
- want of sense; and she was quite decided, at last, that he had
- been partly governed by this worst kind of pride, and partly by
- the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister.
-
- The agitation and tears which the subject occasioned, brought on
- a headache; and it grew so much worse towards the evening, that,
- added to her unwillingness to see Mr. Darcy, it determined her
- not to attend her cousins to Rosings, where they were engaged to
- drink tea. Mrs. Collins, seeing that she was really unwell, did
- not press her to go and as much as possible prevented her husband
- from pressing her; but Mr. Collins could not conceal his
- apprehension of Lady Catherine’s being rather displeased by her
- staying at home.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 34
-
- When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate
- herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her
- employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had
- written to her since her being in Kent. They contained no actual
- complaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any
- communication of present suffering. But in all, and in almost
- every line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which
- had been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding
- from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly
- disposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded.
- Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of
- uneasiness, with an attention which it had hardly received on the
- first perusal. Mr. Darcy’s shameful boast of what misery he had
- been able to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister’s
- sufferings. It was some consolation to think that his visit to
- Rosings was to end on the day after the next—and, a still
- greater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with
- Jane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her
- spirits, by all that affection could do.
-
- She could not think of Darcy’s leaving Kent without remembering
- that his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had
- made it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable as
- he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him.
-
- While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound
- of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the
- idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once
- before called late in the evening, and might now come to enquire
- particularly after her. But this idea was soon banished, and her
- spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter
- amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried
- manner he immediately began an enquiry after her health, imputing
- his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered
- him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then
- getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but
- said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came
- towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:
-
- “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not
- be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire
- and love you.”
-
- Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared,
- coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient
- encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long
- felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were
- feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was
- not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His
- sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family
- obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on
- with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was
- wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.
-
- In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be
- insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection, and
- though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at
- first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to
- resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in
- anger. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with
- patience, when he should have done. He concluded with
- representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in
- spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer;
- and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her
- acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see
- that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He _spoke_ of
- apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real
- security. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther, and,
- when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she said:
-
- “In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to
- express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however
- unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation
- should be felt, and if I could _feel_ gratitude, I would now
- thank you. But I cannot—I have never desired your good opinion,
- and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. I am sorry
- to have occasioned pain to anyone. It has been most unconsciously
- done, however, and I hope will be of short duration. The feelings
- which, you tell me, have long prevented the acknowledgment of
- your regard, can have little difficulty in overcoming it after
- this explanation.”
-
- Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes
- fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less
- resentment than surprise. His complexion became pale with anger,
- and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He
- was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not
- open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it. The
- pause was to Elizabeth’s feelings dreadful. At length, with a
- voice of forced calmness, he said:
-
- “And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of
- expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so
- little _endeavour_ at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of
- small importance.”
-
- “I might as well enquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a
- desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that
- you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even
- against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility,
- if I _was_ uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I
- have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been
- indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that
- any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been
- the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most
- beloved sister?”
-
- As she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but the
- emotion was short, and he listened without attempting to
- interrupt her while she continued:
-
- “I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. No motive
- can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted _there_. You
- dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if
- not the only means of dividing them from each other—of exposing
- one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability, and
- the other to its derision for disappointed hopes, and involving
- them both in misery of the acutest kind.”
-
- She paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was
- listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any
- feeling of remorse. He even looked at her with a smile of
- affected incredulity.
-
- “Can you deny that you have done it?” she repeated.
-
- With assumed tranquillity he then replied: “I have no wish of
- denying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend
- from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success. Towards _him_
- I have been kinder than towards myself.”
-
- Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil
- reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to
- conciliate her.
-
- “But it is not merely this affair,” she continued, “on which my
- dislike is founded. Long before it had taken place my opinion of
- you was decided. Your character was unfolded in the recital which
- I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On this subject,
- what can you have to say? In what imaginary act of friendship can
- you here defend yourself? or under what misrepresentation can you
- here impose upon others?”
-
- “You take an eager interest in that gentleman’s concerns,” said
- Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour.
-
- “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help feeling
- an interest in him?”
-
- “His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy contemptuously; “yes, his
- misfortunes have been great indeed.”
-
- “And of your infliction,” cried Elizabeth with energy. “You have
- reduced him to his present state of poverty—comparative poverty.
- You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been
- designed for him. You have deprived the best years of his life of
- that independence which was no less his due than his desert. You
- have done all this! and yet you can treat the mention of his
- misfortune with contempt and ridicule.”
-
- “And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the
- room, “is your opinion of me! This is the estimation in which you
- hold me! I thank you for explaining it so fully. My faults,
- according to this calculation, are heavy indeed! But perhaps,”
- added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards her, “these
- offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt
- by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented
- my forming any serious design. These bitter accusations might
- have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my
- struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled
- by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection,
- by everything. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Nor
- am I ashamed of the feelings I related. They were natural and
- just. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your
- connections?—to congratulate myself on the hope of relations,
- whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?”
-
- Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she
- tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said:
-
- “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of
- your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared
- me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you
- behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.”
-
- She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she
- continued:
-
- “You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible
- way that would have tempted me to accept it.”
-
- Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an
- expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. She went on:
-
- “From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost
- say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with
- the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your
- selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form
- the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have
- built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month
- before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I
- could ever be prevailed on to marry.”
-
- “You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your
- feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have
- been. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and
- accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.”
-
- And with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth
- heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house.
-
- The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great. She knew not how
- to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried
- for half-an-hour. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had
- passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should
- receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! That he should have
- been in love with her for so many months! So much in love as to
- wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made
- him prevent his friend’s marrying her sister, and which must
- appear at least with equal force in his own case—was almost
- incredible! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so
- strong an affection. But his pride, his abominable pride—his
- shameless avowal of what he had done with respect to Jane—his
- unpardonable assurance in acknowledging, though he could not
- justify it, and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned
- Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to
- deny, soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his
- attachment had for a moment excited. She continued in very
- agitated reflections till the sound of Lady Catherine’s carriage
- made her feel how unequal she was to encounter Charlotte’s
- observation, and hurried her away to her room.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 35
-
- Elizabeth awoke the next morning to the same thoughts and
- meditations which had at length closed her eyes. She could not
- yet recover from the surprise of what had happened; it was
- impossible to think of anything else; and, totally indisposed for
- employment, she resolved, soon after breakfast, to indulge
- herself in air and exercise. She was proceeding directly to her
- favourite walk, when the recollection of Mr. Darcy’s sometimes
- coming there stopped her, and instead of entering the park, she
- turned up the lane, which led farther from the turnpike-road. The
- park paling was still the boundary on one side, and she soon
- passed one of the gates into the ground.
-
- After walking two or three times along that part of the lane, she
- was tempted, by the pleasantness of the morning, to stop at the
- gates and look into the park. The five weeks which she had now
- passed in Kent had made a great difference in the country, and
- every day was adding to the verdure of the early trees. She was
- on the point of continuing her walk, when she caught a glimpse of
- a gentleman within the sort of grove which edged the park; he was
- moving that way; and, fearful of its being Mr. Darcy, she was
- directly retreating. But the person who advanced was now near
- enough to see her, and stepping forward with eagerness,
- pronounced her name. She had turned away; but on hearing herself
- called, though in a voice which proved it to be Mr. Darcy, she
- moved again towards the gate. He had by that time reached it
- also, and, holding out a letter, which she instinctively took,
- said, with a look of haughty composure, “I have been walking in
- the grove some time in the hope of meeting you. Will you do me
- the honour of reading that letter?” And then, with a slight bow,
- turned again into the plantation, and was soon out of sight.
-
- With no expectation of pleasure, but with the strongest
- curiosity, Elizabeth opened the letter, and, to her still
- increasing wonder, perceived an envelope containing two sheets of
- letter-paper, written quite through, in a very close hand. The
- envelope itself was likewise full. Pursuing her way along the
- lane, she then began it. It was dated from Rosings, at eight
- o’clock in the morning, and was as follows:—
-
- “Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the
- apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments
- or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to
- you. I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling
- myself, by dwelling on wishes which, for the happiness of both,
- cannot be too soon forgotten; and the effort which the formation
- and the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been
- spared, had not my character required it to be written and read.
- You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your
- attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but
- I demand it of your justice.
-
- “Two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of
- equal magnitude, you last night laid to my charge. The first
- mentioned was, that, regardless of the sentiments of either, I
- had detached Mr. Bingley from your sister, and the other, that I
- had, in defiance of various claims, in defiance of honour and
- humanity, ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the
- prospects of Mr. Wickham. Wilfully and wantonly to have thrown
- off the companion of my youth, the acknowledged favourite of my
- father, a young man who had scarcely any other dependence than on
- our patronage, and who had been brought up to expect its
- exertion, would be a depravity, to which the separation of two
- young persons, whose affection could be the growth of only a few
- weeks, could bear no comparison. But from the severity of that
- blame which was last night so liberally bestowed, respecting each
- circumstance, I shall hope to be in the future secured, when the
- following account of my actions and their motives has been read.
- If, in the explanation of them, which is due to myself, I am
- under the necessity of relating feelings which may be offensive
- to yours, I can only say that I am sorry. The necessity must be
- obeyed, and further apology would be absurd.
-
- “I had not been long in Hertfordshire, before I saw, in common
- with others, that Bingley preferred your elder sister to any
- other young woman in the country. But it was not till the evening
- of the dance at Netherfield that I had any apprehension of his
- feeling 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 first made acquainted, by Sir William Lucas’s accidental
- information, that Bingley’s attentions to your sister had given
- rise to a general expectation of their marriage. He spoke of it
- as a certain event, of which the time alone could be undecided.
- From that moment I observed my friend’s behaviour attentively;
- and I could then perceive that his partiality for Miss Bennet was
- beyond what I had ever witnessed in him. Your sister I also
- watched. Her look and manners were open, cheerful, and engaging
- as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard, and I
- remained convinced from the evening’s scrutiny, that though she
- received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by
- any participation of sentiment. If _you_ have not been mistaken
- here, _I_ must have been in error. Your superior knowledge of
- your sister must make the latter probable. If it be so, if I have
- been misled by such error to inflict pain on her, your resentment
- has not been unreasonable. But I shall not scruple to assert,
- that the serenity of your sister’s countenance and air was such
- as might have given the most acute observer a conviction that,
- however amiable her temper, her heart was not likely to be easily
- touched. That I was desirous of believing her indifferent is
- certain—but I will venture to say that my investigation and
- decisions are not usually influenced by my hopes or fears. I did
- not believe her to be indifferent because I wished it; I believed
- it on impartial conviction, as truly as I wished it in reason. My
- objections to the marriage were not merely those which I last
- night acknowledged to have required the utmost force of passion
- to put aside, in my own case; the want of connection could not be
- so great an evil to my friend as to me. But there were other
- causes of repugnance; causes which, though still existing, and
- existing to an equal degree in both instances, I had myself
- endeavoured to forget, because they were not immediately before
- me. These causes must be stated, though briefly. The situation of
- your mother’s family, though objectionable, was nothing in
- comparison to that total want of propriety so frequently, so
- almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger
- sisters, and occasionally even by your father. Pardon me. It
- pains me to offend you. But amidst your concern for the defects
- of your nearest relations, and your displeasure at this
- representation of them, let it give you consolation to consider
- that, to have conducted yourselves so as to avoid any share of
- the like censure, is praise no less generally bestowed on you and
- your elder sister, than it is honourable to the sense and
- disposition of both. I will only say farther that from what
- passed that evening, my opinion of all parties was confirmed, and
- every inducement heightened which could have led me before, to
- preserve my friend from what I esteemed a most unhappy
- connection. He left Netherfield for London, on the day following,
- as you, I am certain, remember, with the design of soon
- returning.
-
- “The part which I acted is now to be explained. His sisters’
- uneasiness had been equally excited with my own; our coincidence
- of feeling was soon discovered, and, alike sensible that no time
- was to be lost in detaching their brother, we shortly resolved on
- joining him directly in London. We accordingly went—and there I
- readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my friend the
- certain evils of such a choice. I described, and enforced them
- earnestly. But, however this remonstrance might have staggered or
- delayed his determination, I do not suppose that it would
- ultimately have prevented the marriage, had it not been seconded
- by the assurance that I hesitated not in giving, of your sister’s
- indifference. He had before believed her to return his affection
- with sincere, if not with equal regard. But Bingley has great
- natural modesty, with a stronger dependence on my judgement than
- on his own. To convince him, therefore, that he had deceived
- himself, was no very difficult point. To persuade him against
- returning into Hertfordshire, when that conviction had been
- given, was scarcely the work of a moment. I cannot blame myself
- for having done thus much. There is but one part of my conduct in
- the whole affair on which I do not reflect with satisfaction; it
- is that I condescended to adopt the measures of art so far as to
- conceal from him your sister’s being in town. I knew it myself,
- as it was known to Miss Bingley; but her brother is even yet
- ignorant of it. That they might have met without ill consequence
- is perhaps probable; but his regard did not appear to me enough
- extinguished for him to see her without some danger. Perhaps this
- concealment, this disguise was beneath me; it is done, however,
- and it was done for the best. On this subject I have nothing more
- to say, no other apology to offer. If I have wounded your
- sister’s feelings, it was unknowingly done and though the motives
- which governed me may to you very naturally appear insufficient,
- I have not yet learnt to condemn them.
-
- “With respect to that other, more weighty accusation, of having
- injured Mr. Wickham, I can only refute it by laying before you
- the whole of his connection with my family. Of what he has
- _particularly_ accused me I am ignorant; but of the truth of what
- I shall relate, I can summon more than one witness of undoubted
- veracity.
-
- “Mr. Wickham is the son of a very respectable man, who had for
- many years the management of all the Pemberley estates, and whose
- good conduct in the discharge of his trust naturally inclined my
- father to be of service to him; and on George Wickham, who was
- his godson, his kindness was therefore liberally bestowed. My
- father supported him at school, and afterwards at Cambridge—most
- important assistance, as his own father, always poor from the
- extravagance of his wife, would have been unable to give him a
- gentleman’s education. My father was not only fond of this young
- man’s society, whose manners were always engaging; he had also
- the highest opinion of him, and hoping the church would be his
- profession, intended to provide for him in it. As for myself, it
- is many, many years since I first began to think of him in a very
- different manner. The vicious propensities—the want of principle,
- which he was careful to guard from the knowledge of his best
- friend, could not escape the observation of a young man of nearly
- the same age with himself, and who had opportunities of seeing
- him in unguarded moments, which Mr. Darcy could not have. Here
- again I shall give you pain—to what degree you only can tell. But
- whatever may be the sentiments which Mr. Wickham has created, a
- suspicion of their nature shall not prevent me from unfolding his
- real character—it adds even another motive.
-
- “My excellent father died about five years ago; and his
- attachment to Mr. Wickham was to the last so steady, that in his
- will he particularly recommended it to me, to promote his
- advancement in the best manner that his profession might
- allow—and if he took orders, desired that a valuable family
- living might be his as soon as it became vacant. There was also a
- legacy of one thousand pounds. His own father did not long
- survive mine, and within half a year from these events, Mr.
- Wickham wrote to inform me that, having finally resolved against
- taking orders, he hoped I should not think it unreasonable for
- him to expect some more immediate pecuniary advantage, in lieu of
- the preferment, by which he could not be benefited. He had some
- intention, he added, of studying law, and I must be aware that
- the interest of one thousand pounds would be a very insufficient
- support therein. I rather wished, than believed him to be
- sincere; but, at any rate, was perfectly ready to accede to his
- proposal. I knew that Mr. Wickham ought not to be a clergyman;
- the business was therefore soon settled—he resigned all claim to
- assistance in the church, were it possible that he could ever be
- in a situation to receive it, and accepted in return three
- thousand pounds. All connection between us seemed now dissolved.
- I thought too ill of him to invite him to Pemberley, or admit his
- society in town. In town I believe he chiefly lived, but his
- studying the law was a mere pretence, and being now free from all
- restraint, his life was a life of idleness and dissipation. For
- about three years I heard little of him; but on the decease of
- the incumbent of the living which had been designed for him, he
- applied to me again by letter for the presentation. His
- circumstances, he assured me, and I had no difficulty in
- believing it, were exceedingly bad. He had found the law a most
- unprofitable study, and was now absolutely resolved on being
- ordained, if I would present him to the living in question—of
- which he trusted there could be little doubt, as he was well
- assured that I had no other person to provide for, and I could
- not have forgotten my revered father’s intentions. You will
- hardly blame me for refusing to comply with this entreaty, or for
- resisting every repetition to it. His resentment was in
- proportion to the distress of his circumstances—and he was
- doubtless as violent in his abuse of me to others as in his
- reproaches to myself. After this period every appearance of
- acquaintance was dropped. How he lived I know not. But last
- summer he was again most painfully obtruded on my notice.
-
- “I must now mention a circumstance which I would wish to forget
- myself, and which no obligation less than the present should
- induce me to unfold to any human being. Having said thus much, I
- feel no doubt of your secrecy. My sister, who is more than ten
- years my junior, was left to the guardianship of my mother’s
- nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and myself. About a year ago, she
- was taken from school, and an establishment formed for her in
- London; and last summer she went with the lady who presided over
- it, to Ramsgate; and thither also went Mr. Wickham, undoubtedly
- by design; for there proved to have been a prior acquaintance
- between him and Mrs. Younge, in whose character we were most
- unhappily deceived; and by her connivance and aid, he so far
- recommended himself to Georgiana, whose affectionate heart
- retained a strong impression of his kindness to her as a child,
- that she was persuaded to believe herself in love, and to consent
- to an elopement. She was then but fifteen, which must be her
- excuse; and after stating her imprudence, I am happy to add, that
- I owed the knowledge of it to herself. I joined them unexpectedly
- a day or two before the intended elopement, and then Georgiana,
- unable to support the idea of grieving and offending a brother
- whom she almost looked up to as a father, acknowledged the whole
- to me. You may imagine what I felt and how I acted. Regard for my
- sister’s credit and feelings prevented any public exposure; but I
- wrote to Mr. Wickham, who left the place immediately, and Mrs.
- Younge was of course removed from her charge. Mr. Wickham’s chief
- object was unquestionably my sister’s fortune, which is thirty
- thousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hope of
- revenging himself on me was a strong inducement. His revenge
- would have been complete indeed.
-
- “This, madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which we
- have been concerned together; and if you do not absolutely reject
- it as false, you will, I hope, acquit me henceforth of cruelty
- towards Mr. Wickham. I know not in what manner, under what form
- of falsehood he had imposed on you; but his success is not
- perhaps to be wondered at. Ignorant as you previously were of
- everything concerning either, detection could not be in your
- power, and suspicion certainly not in your inclination.
-
- “You may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last
- night; but I was not then master enough of myself to know what
- could or ought to be revealed. For the truth of everything here
- related, I can appeal more particularly to the testimony of
- Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, from our near relationship and constant
- intimacy, and, still more, as one of the executors of my father’s
- will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of
- these transactions. If your abhorrence of _me_ should make _my_
- assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause
- from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the
- possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some
- opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of
- the morning. I will only add, God bless you.
-
- “FITZWILLIAM DARCY”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 36
-
- If Elizabeth, when Mr. Darcy gave her the letter, did not expect
- it to contain a renewal of his offers, she had formed no
- expectation at all of its contents. But such as they were, it may
- well be supposed how eagerly she went through them, and what a
- contrariety of emotion they excited. Her feelings as she read
- were scarcely to be defined. With amazement did she first
- understand that he believed any apology to be in his power; and
- steadfastly was she persuaded, that he could have no explanation
- to give, which a just sense of shame would not conceal. With a
- strong prejudice against everything he might say, she began his
- account of what had happened at Netherfield. She read with an
- eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension, and from
- impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring, was
- incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes.
- His belief of her sister’s insensibility she instantly resolved
- to be false; and his account of the real, the worst objections to
- the match, made her too angry to have any wish of doing him
- justice. He expressed no regret for what he had done which
- 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.
- Wickham—when she read with somewhat clearer attention a relation
- of events which, if true, must overthrow every cherished opinion
- of his worth, and which bore so alarming an affinity to his own
- history of himself—her feelings were yet more acutely painful and
- more difficult of definition. Astonishment, apprehension, and
- even horror, oppressed her. She wished to discredit it entirely,
- repeatedly exclaiming, “This must be false! This cannot be! This
- must be the grossest falsehood!”—and when she had gone through
- the whole letter, though scarcely knowing anything of the last
- page or two, put it hastily away, protesting that she would not
- regard it, that she would never look in it again.
-
- In this perturbed state of mind, with thoughts that could rest on
- nothing, she walked on; but it would not do; in half a minute the
- letter was unfolded again, and collecting herself as well as she
- could, she again began the mortifying perusal of all that related
- to Wickham, and commanded herself so far as to examine the
- meaning of every sentence. The account of his connection with the
- Pemberley family was exactly what he had related himself; and the
- kindness of the late Mr. Darcy, though she had not before known
- its extent, agreed equally well with his own words. So far each
- recital confirmed the other; but when she came to the will, the
- difference was great. What Wickham had said of the living was
- fresh in her memory, and as she recalled his very words, it was
- impossible not to feel that there was gross duplicity on one side
- or the other; and, for a few moments, she flattered herself that
- her wishes did not err. But when she read and re-read with the
- closest attention, the particulars immediately following of
- Wickham’s resigning all pretensions to the living, of his
- receiving in lieu so considerable a sum as three thousand pounds,
- again was she forced to hesitate. She put down the letter,
- weighed every circumstance with what she meant to be
- impartiality—deliberated on the probability of each statement—but
- with little success. On both sides it was only assertion. Again
- she read on; but every line proved more clearly that the affair,
- which she had believed it impossible that any contrivance could
- so represent as to render Mr. Darcy’s conduct in it less than
- infamous, was capable of a turn which must make him entirely
- blameless throughout the whole.
-
- The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to
- lay at Mr. Wickham’s charge, exceedingly shocked her; the more
- so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice. She had never
- heard of him before his entrance into the ——shire Militia, in
- which he had engaged at the persuasion of the young man who, on
- meeting him accidentally in town, had there renewed a slight
- acquaintance. Of his former way of life nothing had been known in
- Hertfordshire but what he told himself. As to his real character,
- had information been in her power, she had never felt a wish of
- enquiring. His countenance, voice, and manner had established him
- at once in the possession of every virtue. She tried to recollect
- some instance of goodness, some distinguished trait of integrity
- or benevolence, that might rescue him from the attacks of Mr.
- Darcy; or at least, by the predominance of virtue, atone for
- those casual errors under which she would endeavour to class what
- Mr. Darcy had described as the idleness and vice of many years’
- continuance. But no such recollection befriended her. She could
- see him instantly before her, in every charm of air and address;
- but she could remember no more substantial good than the general
- approbation of the neighbourhood, and the regard which his social
- powers had gained him in the mess. After pausing on this point a
- considerable while, she once more continued to read. But, alas!
- the story which followed, of his designs on Miss Darcy, received
- some confirmation from what had passed between Colonel
- Fitzwilliam and herself only the morning before; and at last she
- was referred for the truth of every particular to Colonel
- Fitzwilliam himself—from whom she had previously received the
- information of his near concern in all his cousin’s affairs, and
- whose character she had no reason to question. At one time she
- had almost resolved on applying to him, but the idea was checked
- by the awkwardness of the application, and at length wholly
- banished by the conviction that Mr. Darcy would never have
- hazarded such a proposal, if he had not been well assured of his
- cousin’s corroboration.
-
- She perfectly remembered everything that had passed in
- conversation between Wickham and herself, in their first evening
- at Mr. Phillips’s. Many of his expressions were still fresh in
- her memory. She was _now_ struck with the impropriety of such
- communications to a stranger, and wondered it had escaped her
- before. She saw the indelicacy of putting himself forward as he
- had done, and the inconsistency of his professions with his
- conduct. She remembered that he had boasted of having no fear of
- seeing Mr. Darcy—that Mr. Darcy might leave the country, but that
- _he_ should stand his ground; yet he had avoided the Netherfield
- ball the very next week. She remembered also that, till the
- Netherfield family had quitted the country, he had told his story
- to no one but herself; but that after their removal it had been
- everywhere discussed; that he had then no reserves, no scruples
- in sinking Mr. Darcy’s character, though he had assured her that
- respect for the father would always prevent his exposing the son.
-
- How differently did everything now appear in which he was
- concerned! His attentions to Miss King were now the consequence
- of views solely and hatefully mercenary; and the mediocrity of
- her fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes, but
- his eagerness to grasp at anything. His behaviour to herself
- could now have had no tolerable motive; he had either been
- deceived with regard to her fortune, or had been gratifying his
- vanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had
- most incautiously shown. Every lingering struggle in his favour
- grew fainter and fainter; and in farther justification of Mr.
- Darcy, she could not but allow that Mr. Bingley, when questioned
- by Jane, had long ago asserted his blamelessness in the affair;
- that proud and repulsive as were his manners, she had never, in
- the whole course of their acquaintance—an acquaintance which had
- latterly brought them much together, and given her a sort of
- intimacy with his ways—seen anything that betrayed him to be
- unprincipled or unjust—anything that spoke him of irreligious or
- immoral habits; that among his own connections he was esteemed
- and valued—that even Wickham had allowed him merit as a brother,
- and that she had often heard him speak so affectionately of his
- sister as to prove him capable of some amiable feeling; that had
- his actions been what Mr. Wickham represented them, so gross a
- violation of everything right could hardly have been concealed
- from the world; and that friendship between a person capable of
- it, and such an amiable man as Mr. Bingley, was incomprehensible.
-
- She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor
- Wickham could she think without feeling she had been blind,
- partial, prejudiced, absurd.
-
- “How despicably I have acted!” she cried; “I, who have prided
- myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my
- abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my
- sister, 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
- preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on
- the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted
- prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either
- were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself.”
-
- From herself to Jane—from Jane to Bingley, her thoughts were in a
- line which soon brought to her recollection that Mr. Darcy’s
- explanation _there_ had appeared very insufficient, and she read
- it again. Widely different was the effect of a second perusal.
- How could she deny that credit to his assertions in one instance,
- which she had been obliged to give in the other? He declared
- himself to be totally unsuspicious of her sister’s attachment;
- and she could not help remembering what Charlotte’s opinion had
- always been. Neither could she deny the justice of his
- description of Jane. She felt that Jane’s feelings, though
- fervent, were little displayed, and that there was a constant
- complacency in her air and manner not often united with great
- sensibility.
-
- When she came to that part of the letter in which her family were
- mentioned in terms of such mortifying, yet merited reproach, her
- sense of shame was severe. The justice of the charge struck her
- too forcibly for denial, and the circumstances to which he
- particularly alluded as having passed at the Netherfield ball,
- and as confirming all his first disapprobation, could not have
- made a stronger impression on his mind than on hers.
-
- The compliment to herself and her sister was not unfelt. It
- soothed, but it could not console her for the contempt which had
- thus been self-attracted by the rest of her family; and as she
- considered that Jane’s disappointment had in fact been the work
- of her nearest relations, and reflected how materially the credit
- of both must be hurt by such impropriety of conduct, she felt
- depressed beyond anything she had ever known before.
-
- After wandering along the lane for two hours, giving way to every
- variety of thought—re-considering events, determining
- probabilities, and reconciling herself, as well as she could, to
- a change so sudden and so important, fatigue, and a recollection
- of her long absence, made her at length return home; and she
- entered the house with the wish of appearing cheerful as usual,
- and the resolution of repressing such reflections as must make
- her unfit for conversation.
-
- She was immediately told that the two gentlemen from Rosings had
- each called during her absence; Mr. Darcy, only for a few
- minutes, to take leave—but that Colonel Fitzwilliam had been
- sitting with them at least an hour, hoping for her return, and
- almost resolving to walk after her till she could be found.
- Elizabeth could but just _affect_ concern in missing him; she
- really rejoiced at it. Colonel Fitzwilliam was no longer an
- object; she could think only of her letter.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 37
-
- The two gentlemen left Rosings the next morning, and Mr. Collins
- having been in waiting near the lodges, to make them his parting
- obeisance, was able to bring home the pleasing intelligence, of
- their appearing in very good health, and in as tolerable spirits
- as could be expected, after the melancholy scene so lately gone
- through at Rosings. To Rosings he then hastened, to console Lady
- Catherine and her daughter; and on his return brought back, with
- great satisfaction, a message from her ladyship, importing that
- she felt herself so dull as to make her very desirous of having
- them all to dine with her.
-
- Elizabeth could not see Lady Catherine without recollecting that,
- had she chosen it, she might by this time have been presented to
- her as her future niece; nor could she think, without a smile, of
- what her ladyship’s indignation would have been. “What would she
- have said? how would she have behaved?” were questions with which
- she amused herself.
-
- Their first subject was the diminution of the Rosings party. “I
- assure you, I feel it exceedingly,” said Lady Catherine; “I
- believe no one feels the loss of friends so much as I do. But I
- am particularly attached to these young men, and know them to be
- so much attached to me! They were excessively sorry to go! But so
- they always are. The dear Colonel rallied his spirits tolerably
- till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely,
- more, I think, than last year. His attachment to Rosings
- certainly increases.”
-
- Mr. Collins had a compliment, and an allusion to throw in here,
- which were kindly smiled on by the mother and daughter.
-
- Lady Catherine observed, after dinner, that Miss Bennet seemed
- out of spirits, and immediately accounting for it herself, by
- supposing that she did not like to go home again so soon, she
- added:
-
- “But if that is the case, you must write to your mother and beg
- that you may stay a little longer. Mrs. Collins will be very glad
- of your company, I am sure.”
-
- “I am much obliged to your ladyship for your kind invitation,”
- replied Elizabeth, “but it is not in my power to accept it. I
- must be in town next Saturday.”
-
- “Why, at that rate, you will have been here only six weeks. I
- expected you to stay two months. I told Mrs. Collins so before
- you came. There can be no occasion for your going so soon. Mrs.
- Bennet could certainly spare you for another fortnight.”
-
- “But my father cannot. He wrote last week to hurry my return.”
-
- “Oh! your father of course may spare you, if your mother can.
- Daughters are never of so much consequence to a father. And if
- you will stay another _month_ complete, it will be in my power to
- take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early in
- June, for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the
- barouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you—and
- indeed, if the weather should happen to be cool, I should not
- object to taking you both, as you are neither of you large.”
-
- “You are all kindness, madam; but I believe we must abide by our
- original plan.”
-
- Lady Catherine seemed resigned. “Mrs. Collins, you must send a
- servant with them. You know I always speak my mind, and I cannot
- bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves.
- It is highly improper. You must contrive to send somebody. I have
- the greatest dislike in the world to that sort of thing. Young
- women should always be properly guarded and attended, according
- to their situation in life. When my niece Georgiana went to
- Ramsgate last summer, I made a point of her having two
- men-servants go with her. Miss Darcy, the daughter of Mr. Darcy,
- of Pemberley, and Lady Anne, could not have appeared with
- propriety in a different manner. I am excessively attentive to
- all those things. You must send John with the young ladies, Mrs.
- Collins. I am glad it occurred to me to mention it; for it would
- really be discreditable to _you_ to let them go alone.”
-
- “My uncle is to send a servant for us.”
-
- “Oh! Your uncle! He keeps a man-servant, does he? I am very glad
- you have somebody who thinks of these things. Where shall you
- change horses? Oh! Bromley, of course. If you mention my name at
- the Bell, you will be attended to.”
-
- Lady Catherine had many other questions to ask respecting their
- journey, and as she did not answer them all herself, attention
- was necessary, which Elizabeth believed to be lucky for her; or,
- with a mind so occupied, she might have forgotten where she was.
- Reflection must be reserved for solitary hours; whenever she was
- alone, she gave way to it as the greatest relief; and not a day
- went by without a solitary walk, in which she might indulge in
- all the delight of unpleasant recollections.
-
- Mr. Darcy’s letter she was in a fair way of soon knowing by
- heart. She studied every sentence; and her feelings towards its
- writer were at times widely different. When she remembered the
- style of his address, she was still full of indignation; but when
- she considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him,
- her anger was turned against herself; and his disappointed
- feelings became the object of compassion. His attachment excited
- gratitude, his general character respect; but she could not
- approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal, or
- feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again. In her own
- past behaviour, there was a constant source of vexation and
- regret; and in the unhappy defects of her family, a subject of
- yet heavier chagrin. They were hopeless of remedy. Her father,
- contented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to
- restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters; and her
- mother, with manners so far from right herself, was entirely
- insensible of the evil. Elizabeth had frequently united with Jane
- in an endeavour to check the imprudence of Catherine and Lydia;
- but while they were supported by their mother’s indulgence, what
- chance could there be of improvement? Catherine, weak-spirited,
- irritable, and completely under Lydia’s guidance, had been always
- affronted by their advice; and Lydia, self-willed and careless,
- would scarcely give them a hearing. They were ignorant, idle, and
- vain. While there was an officer in Meryton, they would flirt
- with him; and while Meryton was within a walk of Longbourn, they
- would be going there forever.
-
- Anxiety on Jane’s behalf was another prevailing concern; and Mr.
- Darcy’s explanation, by restoring Bingley to all her former good
- opinion, heightened the sense of what Jane had lost. His
- affection was proved to have been sincere, and his conduct
- cleared of all blame, unless any could attach to the implicitness
- of his confidence in his friend. How grievous then was the
- thought that, of a situation so desirable in every respect, so
- replete with advantage, so promising for happiness, Jane had been
- deprived, by the folly and indecorum of her own family!
-
- When to these recollections was added the development of
- Wickham’s character, it may be easily believed that the happy
- spirits which had seldom been depressed before, were now so much
- affected as to make it almost impossible for her to appear
- tolerably cheerful.
-
- Their engagements at Rosings were as frequent during the last
- week of her stay as they had been at first. The very last evening
- was spent there; and her ladyship again enquired minutely into
- the particulars of their journey, gave them directions as to the
- best method of packing, and was so urgent on the necessity of
- placing gowns in the only right way, that Maria thought herself
- obliged, on her return, to undo all the work of the morning, and
- pack her trunk afresh.
-
- When they parted, Lady Catherine, with great condescension,
- wished them a good journey, and invited them to come to Hunsford
- again next year; and Miss de Bourgh exerted herself so far as to
- curtsey and hold out her hand to both.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 38
-
- On Saturday morning Elizabeth and Mr. Collins met for breakfast a
- few minutes before the others appeared; and he took the
- opportunity of paying the parting civilities which he deemed
- indispensably necessary.
-
- “I know not, Miss Elizabeth,” said he, “whether Mrs. Collins has
- yet expressed her sense of your kindness in coming to us; but I
- am very certain you will not leave the house without receiving
- her thanks for it. The favour of your company has been much felt,
- I assure you. We know how little there is to tempt anyone to our
- humble abode. Our plain manner of living, our small rooms and few
- domestics, and the little we see of the world, must make Hunsford
- extremely dull to a young lady like yourself; but I hope you will
- believe us grateful for the condescension, and that we have done
- everything in our power to prevent your spending your time
- unpleasantly.”
-
- Elizabeth was eager with her thanks and assurances of happiness.
- She had spent six weeks with great enjoyment; and the pleasure of
- being with Charlotte, and the kind attentions she had received,
- must make _her_ feel the obliged. Mr. Collins was gratified, and
- with a more smiling solemnity replied:
-
- “It gives me great pleasure to hear that you have passed your
- time not disagreeably. We have certainly done our best; and most
- fortunately having it in our power to introduce you to very
- superior society, and, from our connection with Rosings, the
- frequent means of varying the humble home scene, I think we may
- flatter ourselves that your Hunsford visit cannot have been
- entirely irksome. Our situation with regard to Lady Catherine’s
- family is indeed the sort of extraordinary advantage and blessing
- which few can boast. You see on what a footing we are. You see
- how continually we are engaged there. In truth I must acknowledge
- that, with all the disadvantages of this humble parsonage, I
- should not think anyone abiding in it an object of compassion,
- while they are sharers of our intimacy at Rosings.”
-
- Words were insufficient for the elevation of his feelings; and he
- was obliged to walk about the room, while Elizabeth tried to
- unite civility and truth in a few short sentences.
-
- “You may, in fact, carry a very favourable report of us into
- Hertfordshire, my dear cousin. I flatter myself at least that you
- will be able to do so. Lady Catherine’s great attentions to Mrs.
- Collins you have been a daily witness of; and altogether I trust
- it does not appear that your friend has drawn an unfortunate—but
- on this point it will be as well to be silent. Only let me assure
- you, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that I can from my heart most
- cordially wish you equal felicity in marriage. My dear Charlotte
- and I have but one mind and one way of thinking. There is in
- everything a most remarkable resemblance of character and ideas
- between us. We seem to have been designed for each other.”
-
- Elizabeth could safely say that it was a great happiness where
- that was the case, and with equal sincerity could add, that she
- firmly believed and rejoiced in his domestic comforts. She was
- not sorry, however, to have the recital of them interrupted by
- the lady from whom they sprang. Poor Charlotte! it was melancholy
- to leave her to such society! But she had chosen it with her eyes
- open; and though evidently regretting that her visitors were to
- go, she did not seem to ask for compassion. Her home and her
- housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, and all their dependent
- concerns, had not yet lost their charms.
-
- At length the chaise arrived, the trunks were fastened on, the
- parcels placed within, and it was pronounced to be ready. After
- an affectionate parting between the friends, Elizabeth was
- attended to the carriage by Mr. Collins, and as they walked down
- the garden he was commissioning her with his best respects to all
- her family, not forgetting his thanks for the kindness he had
- received at Longbourn in the winter, and his compliments to Mr.
- and Mrs. Gardiner, though unknown. He then handed her in, Maria
- followed, and the door was on the point of being closed, when he
- suddenly reminded them, with some consternation, that they had
- hitherto forgotten to leave any message for the ladies at
- Rosings.
-
- “But,” he added, “you will of course wish to have your humble
- respects delivered to them, with your grateful thanks for their
- kindness to you while you have been here.”
-
- Elizabeth made no objection; the door was then allowed to be
- shut, and the carriage drove off.
-
- “Good gracious!” cried Maria, after a few minutes’ silence, “it
- seems but a day or two since we first came! and yet how many
- things have happened!”
-
- “A great many indeed,” said her companion with a sigh.
-
- “We have dined nine times at Rosings, besides drinking tea there
- twice! How much I shall have to tell!”
-
- Elizabeth added privately, “And how much I shall have to
- conceal!”
-
- Their journey was performed without much conversation, or any
- alarm; and within four hours of their leaving Hunsford they
- reached Mr. Gardiner’s house, where they were to remain a few
- days.
-
- Jane looked well, and Elizabeth had little opportunity of
- studying her spirits, amidst the various engagements which the
- kindness of her aunt had reserved for them. But Jane was to go
- home with her, and at Longbourn there would be leisure enough for
- observation.
-
- It was not without an effort, meanwhile, that she could wait even
- for Longbourn, before she told her sister of Mr. Darcy’s
- proposals. To know that she had the power of revealing what would
- so exceedingly astonish Jane, and must, at the same time, so
- highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been
- able to reason away, was such a temptation to openness as nothing
- could have conquered but the state of indecision in which she
- remained as to the extent of what she should communicate; and her
- fear, if she once entered on the subject, of being hurried into
- repeating something of Bingley which might only grieve her sister
- further.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 39
-
- It was the second week in May, in which the three young ladies
- set out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of ——, in
- Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where Mr.
- Bennet’s carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived, in
- token of the coachman’s punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia looking
- out of a dining-room up stairs. These two girls had been above an
- hour in the place, happily employed in visiting an opposite
- milliner, watching the sentinel on guard, and dressing a salad
- and cucumber.
-
- After welcoming their sisters, they triumphantly displayed a
- table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually
- affords, exclaiming, “Is not this nice? Is not this an agreeable
- surprise?”
-
- “And we mean to treat you all,” added Lydia, “but you must lend
- us the money, for we have just spent ours at the shop out there.”
- Then, 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 buy it as not. I shall pull it to pieces as soon as I get
- home, and see if I can make it up any better.”
-
- And when her sisters abused it as ugly, she added, with perfect
- unconcern, “Oh! but there were two or three much uglier in the
- shop; and when I have bought some prettier-coloured satin to trim
- it with fresh, I think it will be very tolerable. Besides, it
- will not much signify what one wears this summer, after the
- ——shire have left Meryton, and they are going in a fortnight.”
-
- “Are they indeed!” cried Elizabeth, with the greatest
- satisfaction.
-
- “They are going to be encamped near Brighton; and I do so want
- papa to take us all there for the summer! It would be such a
- delicious scheme; and I dare say would hardly cost anything at
- all. Mamma would like to go too of all things! Only think what a
- miserable summer else we shall have!”
-
- “Yes,” thought Elizabeth, “_that_ would be a delightful scheme
- indeed, and completely do for us at once. Good Heaven! Brighton,
- and a whole campful of soldiers, to us, who have been overset
- already by one poor regiment of militia, and the monthly balls of
- Meryton!”
-
- “Now I have got some news for you,” said Lydia, as they sat down
- at table. “What do you think? It is excellent news—capital
- news—and about a certain person we all like!”
-
- Jane and Elizabeth looked at each other, and the waiter was told
- he need not stay. Lydia laughed, and said:
-
- “Aye, that is just like your formality and discretion. You
- thought the waiter must not hear, as if he cared! I dare say he
- often hears worse things said than I am going to say. But he is
- an ugly fellow! I am glad he is gone. I never saw such a long
- chin in my life. Well, but now for my news; it is about dear
- Wickham; too good for the waiter, is it not? There is no danger
- of Wickham’s marrying Mary King. There’s for you! She is gone
- down to her uncle at Liverpool: gone to stay. Wickham is safe.”
-
- “And Mary King is safe!” added Elizabeth; “safe from a connection
- imprudent as to fortune.”
-
- “She is a great fool for going away, if she liked him.”
-
- “But I hope there is no strong attachment on either side,” said
- Jane.
-
- “I am sure there is not on _his_. I will answer for it, he never
- cared three straws about her—who _could_ about such a nasty
- little freckled thing?”
-
- Elizabeth was shocked to think that, however incapable of such
- coarseness of _expression_ herself, the coarseness of the
- _sentiment_ was little other than her own breast had harboured
- and fancied liberal!
-
- As soon as all had ate, and the elder ones paid, the carriage was
- ordered; and after some contrivance, the whole party, with all
- their boxes, work-bags, and parcels, and the unwelcome addition
- of Kitty’s and Lydia’s purchases, were seated in it.
-
- “How nicely we are all crammed in,” cried Lydia. “I am glad I
- bought my bonnet, if it is only for the fun of having another
- bandbox! Well, now let us be quite comfortable and snug, and talk
- and laugh all the way home. And in the first place, let us hear
- what has happened to you all since you went away. Have you seen
- any pleasant men? Have you had any flirting? I was in great hopes
- that one of you would have got a husband before you 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 not being
- married before three-and-twenty! My aunt Phillips wants you so to
- get husbands, you can’t think. She says Lizzy had better have
- taken Mr. Collins; but _I_ do not think there would have been any
- fun in it. Lord! how I should like to be married before any of
- you; and then I would _chaperon_ you about to all the balls. Dear
- me! we had such a good piece of fun the other day at Colonel
- Forster’s. Kitty and me were to spend the day there, and Mrs.
- Forster promised to have a little dance in the evening; (by the
- bye, Mrs. Forster and me are _such_ friends!) and so she asked
- the two Harringtons to come, but Harriet was ill, and so Pen was
- forced to come by herself; and then, what do you think we did? We
- dressed up Chamberlayne in woman’s clothes on purpose to pass for
- a lady, only think what fun! Not a soul knew of it, but Colonel
- and Mrs. Forster, and Kitty and me, except my aunt, for we were
- forced to borrow one of her gowns; and you cannot imagine how
- well he looked! When Denny, and Wickham, and Pratt, and two or
- three more of the men came in, they did not know him in the
- least. Lord! how I laughed! and so did Mrs. Forster. I thought I
- should have died. And _that_ made the men suspect something, and
- then they soon found out what was the matter.”
-
- With such kinds of histories of their parties and good jokes, did
- Lydia, assisted by Kitty’s hints and additions, endeavour to
- amuse her companions all the way to Longbourn. Elizabeth listened
- as little as she could, but there was no escaping the frequent
- mention of Wickham’s name.
-
- Their reception at home was most kind. Mrs. Bennet rejoiced to
- see Jane in undiminished beauty; and more than once during dinner
- did Mr. Bennet say voluntarily to Elizabeth:
-
- “I am glad you are come back, Lizzy.”
-
- Their party in the dining-room was large, for almost all the
- Lucases came to meet Maria and hear the news; and various were
- the subjects that occupied them: Lady Lucas was enquiring of
- Maria, after the welfare and poultry of her eldest daughter; Mrs.
- Bennet was doubly engaged, on one hand collecting an account of
- the present fashions from Jane, who sat some way below her, and,
- on the other, retailing them all to the younger Lucases; and
- Lydia, in a voice rather louder than any other person’s, was
- enumerating the various pleasures of the morning to anybody who
- would hear her.
-
- “Oh! Mary,” said she, “I wish you had gone with us, for we had
- such fun! As we went along, Kitty and I drew up the blinds, and
- pretended there was nobody in the coach; and I should have gone
- so all the way, if Kitty had not been sick; and when we got to
- the George, I do think we behaved very handsomely, for we treated
- the other three with the nicest cold luncheon in the world, and
- if you would have gone, we would have treated you too. And then
- when we came away it was such fun! I thought we never should have
- got into the coach. I was ready to die of laughter. And then we
- were so merry all the way home! we talked and laughed so loud,
- that anybody might have heard us ten miles off!”
-
- To this Mary very gravely replied, “Far be it from me, my dear
- sister, to depreciate such pleasures! They would doubtless be
- congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they
- would have no charms for _me_—I should infinitely prefer a book.”
-
- But of this answer Lydia heard not a word. She seldom listened to
- anybody for more than half a minute, and never attended to Mary
- at all.
-
- In the afternoon Lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls to
- walk to Meryton, and to see how everybody went on; but Elizabeth
- steadily opposed the scheme. It should not be said that the Miss
- Bennets could not be at home half a day before they were in
- pursuit of the officers. There was another reason too for her
- opposition. She dreaded seeing Mr. Wickham again, and was
- resolved to avoid it as long as possible. The comfort to _her_ of
- the regiment’s approaching removal was indeed beyond expression.
- In a fortnight they were to go—and once gone, she hoped there
- could be nothing more to plague her on his account.
-
- She had not been many hours at home before she found that the
- Brighton scheme, of which Lydia had given them a hint at the inn,
- was under frequent discussion between her parents. Elizabeth saw
- directly that her father had not the smallest intention of
- yielding; but his answers were at the same time so vague and
- equivocal, that her mother, though often disheartened, had never
- yet despaired of succeeding at last.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 40
-
- Elizabeth’s impatience to acquaint Jane with what had happened
- could no longer be overcome; and at length, resolving to suppress
- every particular in which her sister was concerned, and preparing
- her to be surprised, she related to her the next morning the
- chief of the scene between Mr. Darcy and herself.
-
- Miss Bennet’s astonishment was soon lessened by the strong
- sisterly partiality which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear
- perfectly natural; and all surprise was shortly lost in other
- feelings. She was sorry that Mr. Darcy should have delivered his
- sentiments in a manner so little suited to recommend them; but
- still more was she grieved for the unhappiness which her sister’s
- refusal must have given him.
-
- “His being so sure of succeeding was wrong,” said she, “and
- certainly ought not to have appeared; but consider how much it
- must increase his disappointment!”
-
- “Indeed,” replied Elizabeth, “I am heartily sorry for him; but he
- has other feelings, which will probably soon drive away his
- regard for me. You do not blame me, however, for refusing him?”
-
- “Blame you! Oh, no.”
-
- “But you blame me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?”
-
- “No—I do not know that you were wrong in saying what you did.”
-
- “But you _will_ know it, when I tell you what happened the very
- next day.”
-
- She then spoke of the letter, repeating the whole of its contents
- as far as they concerned George Wickham. What a stroke was this
- for poor Jane! who would willingly have gone through the world
- without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole
- race of mankind, as was here collected in one individual. Nor was
- Darcy’s vindication, though grateful to her feelings, capable of
- consoling her for such discovery. Most earnestly did she labour
- to prove the probability of error, and seek to clear the one
- without involving the other.
-
- “This will not do,” said Elizabeth; “you never will be able to
- make both of them good for anything. Take your choice, but you
- must be satisfied with only one. There is but such a quantity of
- merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and
- of late it has been shifting about pretty much. For my part, I am
- inclined to believe it all Darcy’s; but you shall do as you
- choose.”
-
- It was some time, however, before a smile could be extorted from
- 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. Darcy! Dear
- Lizzy, only consider what he must have suffered. Such a
- disappointment! and with the knowledge of your ill opinion, too!
- and having to relate such a thing of his sister! It is really too
- distressing. I am sure you must feel it so.”
-
- “Oh! no, my regret and compassion are all done away by seeing you
- so full of both. I know you will do him such ample justice, that
- I am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent. Your
- profusion makes me saving; and if you lament over him much
- longer, my heart will be as light as a feather.”
-
- “Poor Wickham! there is such an expression of goodness in his
- countenance! such an openness and gentleness in his manner!”
-
- “There certainly was some great mismanagement in the education of
- those two young men. One has got all the goodness, and the other
- all the appearance of it.”
-
- “I never thought Mr. Darcy so deficient in the _appearance_ of it
- as you used to do.”
-
- “And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a
- dislike to him, without any reason. It is such a spur to one’s
- genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind.
- One may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but
- one cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then
- stumbling on something witty.”
-
- “Lizzy, when you first read that letter, I am sure you could not
- treat the matter as you do now.”
-
- “Indeed, I could not. I was uncomfortable enough, I may say
- unhappy. And with no one to speak to about what I felt, no Jane
- to comfort me and say that I had not been so very weak and vain
- and nonsensical as I knew I had! Oh! how I wanted you!”
-
- “How unfortunate that you should have used such very strong
- expressions in speaking of Wickham to Mr. Darcy, for now they
- _do_ appear wholly undeserved.”
-
- “Certainly. But the misfortune of speaking with bitterness is a
- most natural consequence of the prejudices I had been
- encouraging. There is one point on which I want your advice. I
- want to be told whether I ought, or ought not, to make our
- acquaintances in general understand Wickham’s character.”
-
- Miss Bennet paused a little, and then replied, “Surely there can
- be no occasion for exposing him so dreadfully. What is your
- opinion?”
-
- “That it ought not to be attempted. Mr. Darcy has not authorised
- me to make his communication public. On the contrary, every
- particular relative to his sister was meant to be kept as much as
- possible to myself; and if I endeavour to undeceive people as to
- the rest of his conduct, who will believe me? The general
- prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so violent, that it would be the
- death of half the good people in Meryton to attempt 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 anyone here what he
- really is. Some time hence it will be all found out, and then we
- may laugh at their stupidity in not knowing it before. At present
- I will say nothing about it.”
-
- “You are quite right. To have his errors made public might ruin
- him for ever. He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done, and
- anxious to re-establish a character. We must not make him
- desperate.”
-
- The tumult of Elizabeth’s mind was allayed by this conversation.
- She had got rid of two of the secrets which had weighed on her
- for a fortnight, and was certain of a willing listener in Jane,
- whenever she might wish to talk again of either. But there was
- still something lurking behind, of which prudence forbade the
- disclosure. She dared not relate the other half of Mr. Darcy’s
- letter, nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been
- valued by her friend. Here was knowledge in which no one could
- partake; and she was sensible that nothing less than a perfect
- understanding between the parties could justify her in throwing
- off this last encumbrance of mystery. “And then,” said she, “if
- that very improbable event should ever take place, I shall merely
- be able to tell what Bingley may tell in a much more agreeable
- manner himself. The liberty of communication cannot be mine till
- it has lost all its value!”
-
- She was now, on being settled at home, at leisure to observe the
- real state of her sister’s spirits. Jane was not happy. She still
- cherished a very tender affection for Bingley. Having never even
- fancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of
- first attachment, and, from her age and disposition, greater
- steadiness than most first attachments often boast; and so
- fervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every
- other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the
- feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence
- of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health
- and their tranquillity.
-
- “Well, Lizzy,” said Mrs. Bennet one day, “what is your opinion
- _now_ of this sad business of Jane’s? For my part, I am
- determined never to speak of it again to anybody. I told my
- sister Phillips so the other day. But I cannot find out that Jane
- saw anything of him in London. Well, he is a very undeserving
- young man—and I do not suppose there’s the least chance in the
- world of her ever getting him now. There is no talk of his coming
- to Netherfield again in the summer; and I have enquired of
- everybody, too, who is likely to know.”
-
- “I do not believe he will ever live at Netherfield any more.”
-
- “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
- if I was her, I would not have put up with it. Well, my comfort
- is, I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart; and then he will
- be sorry for what he has done.”
-
- But as Elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such
- expectation, she made no answer.
-
- “Well, Lizzy,” continued her mother, soon afterwards, “and so the
- Collinses live very comfortable, do they? Well, well, I only hope
- it will last. And what sort of table do they keep? Charlotte is
- an excellent manager, I dare say. If she is half as sharp as her
- mother, she is saving enough. There is nothing extravagant in
- _their_ housekeeping, I dare say.”
-
- “No, nothing at all.”
-
- “A great deal of good management, depend upon it. Yes, yes.
- _They_ will take care not to outrun their income. _They_ will
- never be distressed for money. Well, much good may it do them!
- And so, I suppose, they often talk of having Longbourn when your
- father is dead. They look upon it as quite their own, I dare say,
- whenever that happens.”
-
- “It was a subject which they could not mention before me.”
-
- “No; it would have been strange if they had; but I make no doubt
- they often talk of it between themselves. Well, if they can be
- easy with an estate that is not lawfully their own, so much the
- better. _I_ should be ashamed of having one that was only
- entailed on me.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 41
-
- The 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
- young ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace. The
- dejection was almost universal. The elder Miss Bennets alone were
- still able to eat, drink, and sleep, and pursue the usual course
- of their employments. Very frequently were they reproached for
- this insensibility by Kitty and Lydia, whose own misery was
- extreme, and who could not comprehend such hard-heartedness in
- any of the family.
-
- “Good Heaven! what is to become of us? What are we to do?” would
- they often exclaim in the bitterness of woe. “How can you be
- smiling so, Lizzy?”
-
- Their affectionate mother shared all their grief; she remembered
- what she had herself endured on a similar occasion,
- five-and-twenty years ago.
-
- “I am sure,” said she, “I cried for two days together when
- Colonel Miller’s regiment went away. I thought I should have
- broken my heart.”
-
- “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
- disagreeable.”
-
- “A little sea-bathing would set me up forever.”
-
- “And my aunt Phillips is sure it would do _me_ a great deal of
- good,” added Kitty.
-
- Such were the kind of lamentations resounding perpetually through
- Longbourn House. Elizabeth tried to be diverted by them; but all
- sense of pleasure was lost in shame. She felt anew the justice of
- Mr. Darcy’s objections; and never had she been so much disposed
- to pardon his interference in the views of his friend.
-
- But the gloom of Lydia’s prospect was shortly cleared away; for
- she received an invitation from Mrs. Forster, the wife of the
- colonel of the regiment, to accompany her to Brighton. This
- invaluable friend was a very young woman, and very lately
- married. A resemblance in good humour and good spirits had
- recommended her and Lydia to each other, and out of their _three_
- months’ acquaintance they had been intimate _two_.
-
- The rapture of Lydia on this occasion, her adoration of Mrs.
- Forster, the delight of Mrs. Bennet, and the mortification of
- Kitty, are scarcely to be described. Wholly inattentive to her
- sister’s feelings, Lydia flew about the house in restless
- ecstasy, calling for everyone’s congratulations, and laughing and
- talking with more violence than ever; whilst the luckless Kitty
- continued in the parlour repining at her fate in terms as
- unreasonable as her accent was peevish.
-
- “I cannot see why Mrs. Forster should not ask _me_ as well as
- Lydia,” said she, “Though I am _not_ her particular friend. I
- have just as much right to be asked as she has, and more too, for
- I am two years older.”
-
- In vain did Elizabeth attempt to make her reasonable, and Jane to
- make her resigned. As for Elizabeth herself, this invitation was
- so far from exciting in her the same feelings as in her mother
- and Lydia, that she considered it as the death warrant of all
- possibility of common sense for the latter; and detestable as
- such a step must make her were it known, she could not help
- secretly advising her father not to let her go. She represented
- to him all the improprieties of Lydia’s general behaviour, the
- little advantage she could derive from the friendship of such a
- woman as Mrs. Forster, and the probability of her being yet more
- imprudent with such a companion at Brighton, where the
- temptations must be greater than at home. He heard her
- attentively, and then said:
-
- “Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some
- public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with
- so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the
- present circumstances.”
-
- “If you were aware,” said Elizabeth, “of the very great
- disadvantage to us all which must arise from the public notice of
- Lydia’s unguarded and imprudent manner—nay, which has already
- arisen from it, I am sure you would judge differently in the
- affair.”
-
- “Already arisen?” repeated Mr. Bennet. “What, has she frightened
- away some of your lovers? Poor little Lizzy! But do not be cast
- down. Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a
- little absurdity are not worth a regret. Come, let me see the
- list of pitiful fellows who have been kept aloof by Lydia’s
- folly.”
-
- “Indeed you are mistaken. I have no such injuries to resent. It
- is not of particular, but of general evils, which I am now
- complaining. Our importance, our respectability in the world must
- be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of
- all restraint which mark Lydia’s character. Excuse me, for I must
- speak plainly. If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble
- of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her
- present pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will
- soon be beyond the reach of amendment. Her character will be
- fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt
- that ever made herself or her family ridiculous; a flirt, too, in
- the worst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any
- attraction beyond youth and a tolerable person; and, from the
- ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off
- any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for
- admiration will excite. In this danger Kitty also is
- comprehended. She will follow wherever Lydia leads. Vain,
- ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled! Oh! my dear father,
- can you suppose it possible that they will not be censured and
- despised wherever they are known, and that their sisters will not
- be often involved in the disgrace?”
-
- Mr. Bennet saw that her whole heart was in the subject, and
- affectionately taking her hand said in reply:
-
- “Do not make yourself uneasy, my love. Wherever you and Jane are
- known you must be respected and valued; and you will not appear
- to less advantage for having a couple of—or I may say, three—very
- silly sisters. We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does
- not go to Brighton. Let her go, then. Colonel Forster is a
- sensible man, and will keep her out of any real mischief; and she
- is luckily too poor to be an object of prey to anybody. At
- Brighton she will be of less importance even as a common flirt
- than she has been here. The officers will find women better worth
- their notice. Let us hope, therefore, that her being there may
- teach her her own insignificance. At any rate, she cannot grow
- many degrees worse, without authorising us to lock her up for the
- rest of her life.”
-
- With this answer Elizabeth was forced to be content; but her own
- opinion continued the same, and she left him disappointed and
- sorry. It was not in her nature, however, to increase her
- vexations by dwelling on them. She was confident of having
- performed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or
- augment them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition.
-
- Had Lydia and her mother known the substance of her conference
- with her father, their indignation would hardly have found
- expression in their united volubility. In Lydia’s imagination, a
- visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly
- happiness. She saw, with the creative eye of fancy, the streets
- of that gay bathing-place covered with officers. She saw herself
- the object of attention, to tens and to scores of them at present
- unknown. She saw all the glories of the camp—its tents stretched
- forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young
- and the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to complete the
- view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirting
- with at least six officers at once.
-
- Had she known her sister sought to tear her from such prospects
- and such realities as these, what would have been her sensations?
- They could have been understood only by her mother, who might
- have felt nearly the same. Lydia’s going to Brighton was all that
- consoled her for her melancholy conviction of her husband’s never
- intending to go there himself.
-
- But they were entirely ignorant of what had passed; and their
- raptures continued, with little intermission, to the very day of
- Lydia’s leaving home.
-
- Elizabeth was now to see Mr. Wickham for the last time. Having
- been frequently in company with him since her return, agitation
- was pretty well over; the agitations of former partiality
- entirely so. She had even learnt to detect, in the very
- gentleness which had first delighted her, an affectation and a
- sameness to disgust and weary. In his present behaviour to
- herself, moreover, she had a fresh source of displeasure, for the
- inclination he soon testified of renewing those intentions which
- had marked the early part of their acquaintance could only serve,
- after what had since passed, to provoke her. She lost all concern
- for him in finding herself thus selected as the object of such
- idle and frivolous gallantry; and while she steadily repressed
- it, could not but feel the reproof contained in his believing,
- that however long, and for whatever cause, his attentions had
- been withdrawn, her vanity would be gratified, and her preference
- secured at any time by their renewal.
-
- On the very last day of the regiment’s remaining at Meryton, he
- dined, with others of the officers, at Longbourn; and so little
- was Elizabeth disposed to part from him in good humour, that on
- his making some enquiry as to the manner in which her time had
- passed at Hunsford, she mentioned Colonel Fitzwilliam’s and Mr.
- Darcy’s having both spent three weeks at Rosings, and asked him,
- if he was acquainted with the former.
-
- He looked surprised, displeased, alarmed; but with a moment’s
- recollection and a returning smile, replied, that he had formerly
- seen him often; and, after observing that he was a very
- gentlemanlike man, asked her how she had liked him. Her answer
- was warmly in his favour. With an air of indifference he soon
- afterwards added:
-
- “How long did you say he was at Rosings?”
-
- “Nearly three weeks.”
-
- “And you saw him frequently?”
-
- “Yes, almost every day.”
-
- “His manners are very different from his cousin’s.”
-
- “Yes, very different. But I think Mr. Darcy improves upon
- acquaintance.”
-
- “Indeed!” cried Mr. Wickham with a look which did not escape her.
- “And pray, may I ask?—” But checking himself, he added, in a
- gayer tone, “Is it in address that he improves? Has he deigned to
- add aught of civility to his ordinary style?—for I dare not
- hope,” he continued in a lower and more serious tone, “that he is
- improved in essentials.”
-
- “Oh, no!” said Elizabeth. “In essentials, I believe, he is very
- much what he ever was.”
-
- While she spoke, Wickham looked as if scarcely knowing whether to
- rejoice over her words, or to distrust their meaning. There was a
- something in her countenance which made him listen with an
- apprehensive and anxious attention, while she added:
-
- “When I said that he improved on acquaintance, I did not mean
- that his mind or his manners were in a state of improvement, but
- that, from knowing him better, his disposition was better
- understood.”
-
- Wickham’s alarm now appeared in a heightened complexion and
- agitated look; for a few minutes he was silent, till, shaking off
- his embarrassment, he turned to her again, and said in the
- gentlest of accents:
-
- “You, who so well know my feeling towards Mr. Darcy, will readily
- comprehend how sincerely I must rejoice that he is wise enough to
- assume even the _appearance_ of what is right. His pride, in that
- direction, may be of service, if not to himself, to many others,
- for it must only deter him from such foul misconduct as I have
- suffered by. I only fear that the sort of cautiousness to which
- you, I imagine, have been alluding, is merely adopted on his
- visits to his aunt, of whose good opinion and judgement he stands
- much in awe. His fear of her has always operated, I know, when
- they were together; and a good deal is to be imputed to his wish
- of forwarding the match with Miss de Bourgh, which I am certain
- he has very much at heart.”
-
- Elizabeth could not repress a smile at this, but she answered
- only by a slight inclination of the head. She saw that he wanted
- to engage her on the old subject of his grievances, and she was
- in no humour to indulge him. The rest of the evening passed with
- the _appearance_, on his side, of usual cheerfulness, but with no
- further attempt to distinguish Elizabeth; and they parted at last
- with mutual civility, and possibly a mutual desire of never
- meeting again.
-
- When the party broke up, Lydia returned with Mrs. Forster to
- Meryton, from whence they were to set out early the next morning.
- The separation between her and her family was rather noisy than
- pathetic. Kitty was the only one who shed tears; but she did weep
- from vexation and envy. Mrs. Bennet was diffuse in her good
- wishes for the felicity of her daughter, and impressive in her
- injunctions that she should not miss the opportunity of enjoying
- herself as much as possible—advice which there was every reason
- to believe would be well attended to; and in the clamorous
- happiness of Lydia herself in bidding farewell, the more gentle
- adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 42
-
- Had Elizabeth’s opinion been all drawn from her own family, she
- could not have formed a very pleasing opinion of conjugal
- felicity or domestic comfort. Her father, captivated by youth and
- beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty
- generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and
- illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all
- real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had
- vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were
- overthrown. But Mr. Bennet was not of a disposition to seek
- comfort for the disappointment which his own imprudence had
- brought on, in any of those pleasures which too often console the
- unfortunate for their folly or their vice. He was fond of the
- country and of books; and from these tastes had arisen his
- principal enjoyments. To his wife he was very little otherwise
- indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his
- amusement. This is not the sort of happiness which a man would in
- general wish to owe to his wife; but where other powers of
- entertainment are wanting, the true philosopher will derive
- benefit from such as are given.
-
- Elizabeth, however, had never been blind to the impropriety of
- her father’s behaviour as a husband. She had always seen it with
- pain; but respecting his abilities, and grateful for his
- affectionate treatment of herself, she endeavoured to forget what
- she could not overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that
- continual breach of conjugal obligation and decorum which, in
- exposing his wife to the contempt of her own children, was so
- highly reprehensible. But she had never felt so strongly as now
- the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable
- a marriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising
- from so ill-judged a direction of talents; talents, which,
- rightly used, might at least have preserved the respectability of
- his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his
- wife.
-
- When Elizabeth had rejoiced over Wickham’s departure she found
- little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of the regiment.
- Their parties abroad were less varied than before, and at home
- she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings at the
- dullness of everything around them threw a real gloom over their
- domestic circle; and, though Kitty might in time regain her
- natural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain were
- removed, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evil
- might be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her folly
- and assurance by a situation of such double danger as a
- watering-place and a camp. Upon the whole, therefore, she found,
- what has been sometimes found before, that an event to which she
- had looked forward with impatient desire did not, in taking
- place, bring all the satisfaction she had promised herself. It
- was consequently necessary to name some other period for the
- commencement of actual felicity—to have some other point on which
- her wishes and hopes might be fixed, and by again enjoying the
- pleasure of anticipation, console herself for the present, and
- prepare for another disappointment. Her tour to the Lakes was now
- the object of her happiest thoughts; it was her best consolation
- for all the uncomfortable hours which the discontentedness of her
- mother and Kitty made inevitable; and could she have included
- Jane in the scheme, every part of it would have been perfect.
-
- “But it is fortunate,” thought she, “that I have something to
- wish for. Were the whole arrangement complete, my disappointment
- would be certain. But here, by carrying with me one ceaseless
- source of regret in my sister’s absence, I may reasonably hope to
- have all my expectations of pleasure realised. A scheme of which
- every part promises delight can never be successful; and general
- disappointment is only warded off by the defence of some little
- peculiar vexation.”
-
- When Lydia went away she promised to write very often and very
- minutely to her mother and Kitty; but her letters were always
- long expected, and always very short. Those to her mother
- contained little else than that they were just returned from the
- library, where such and such officers had attended them, and
- where she had seen such beautiful ornaments as made her quite
- wild; that she had a new gown, or a new parasol, which she would
- have described more fully, but was obliged to leave off in a
- violent hurry, as Mrs. Forster called her, and they were going
- off to the camp; and from her correspondence with her sister,
- there was still less to be learnt—for her letters to Kitty,
- though rather longer, were much too full of lines under the words
- to be made public.
-
- After the first fortnight or three weeks of her absence, health,
- good humour, and cheerfulness began to reappear at Longbourn.
- Everything wore a happier aspect. The families who had been in
- town for the winter came back again, and summer finery and summer
- engagements arose. Mrs. Bennet was restored to her usual
- querulous serenity; and, by the middle of June, Kitty was so much
- recovered as to be able to enter Meryton without tears; an event
- of such happy promise as to make Elizabeth hope that by the
- following Christmas she might be so tolerably reasonable as not
- to mention an officer above once a day, unless, by some cruel and
- malicious arrangement at the War Office, another regiment should
- be quartered in Meryton.
-
- The time fixed for the beginning of their northern tour was now
- fast approaching, and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when a
- letter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed its
- commencement and curtailed its extent. Mr. Gardiner would be
- prevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in
- July, and must be in London again within a month, and as that
- left too short a period for them to go so far, and see so much as
- they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure and
- comfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up the
- Lakes, and substitute a more contracted tour, and, according to
- the present plan, were to go no farther northwards than
- Derbyshire. In that county there was enough to be seen to occupy
- the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a
- peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly
- passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a
- few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all
- the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the
- Peak.
-
- Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on
- seeing the Lakes, and still thought there might have been time
- enough. But it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her
- 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
- Pemberley and its owner. “But surely,” said she, “I may enter his
- county with impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars without
- his perceiving me.”
-
- The period of expectation was now doubled. Four weeks were to
- pass away before her uncle and aunt’s arrival. But they did pass
- away, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, with their four children, did at
- length appear at Longbourn. The children, two girls of six and
- eight years old, and two younger boys, were to be left under the
- particular care of their cousin Jane, who was the general
- favourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly
- adapted her for attending to them in every way—teaching them,
- playing with them, and loving them.
-
- The Gardiners stayed only one night at Longbourn, and set off the
- next morning with Elizabeth in pursuit of novelty and amusement.
- One enjoyment was certain—that of suitableness of companions; a
- suitableness which comprehended health and temper to bear
- inconveniences—cheerfulness to enhance every pleasure—and
- affection and intelligence, which might supply it among
- themselves if there were disappointments abroad.
-
- It is not the object of this work to give a description of
- Derbyshire, nor of any of the remarkable places through which
- their route thither lay; Oxford, Blenheim, Warwick, Kenilworth,
- Birmingham, etc. are sufficiently known. A small part of
- Derbyshire is all the present concern. To the little town of
- Lambton, the scene of Mrs. Gardiner’s former residence, and where
- she had lately learned some acquaintance still remained, they
- bent their steps, after having seen all the principal wonders of
- the country; and within five miles of Lambton, Elizabeth found
- from her aunt that Pemberley was situated. It was not in their
- direct road, nor more than a mile or two out of it. In talking
- over their route the evening before, Mrs. Gardiner expressed an
- inclination to see the place again. Mr. Gardiner declared his
- willingness, and Elizabeth was applied to for her approbation.
-
- “My love, should not you like to see a place of which you have
- heard so much?” said her aunt; “a place, too, with which so many
- of your acquaintances are connected. Wickham passed all his youth
- there, you know.”
-
- Elizabeth was distressed. She felt that she had no business at
- Pemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing
- it. She must own that she was tired of seeing great houses; after
- going over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets or
- satin curtains.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner abused her stupidity. “If it were merely a fine
- house richly furnished,” said she, “I should not care about it
- myself; but the grounds are delightful. They have some of the
- finest woods in the country.”
-
- Elizabeth said no more—but her mind could not acquiesce. The
- possibility of meeting Mr. Darcy, while viewing the place,
- instantly occurred. It would be dreadful! She blushed at the very
- idea, and thought it would be better to speak openly to her aunt
- than to run such a risk. But against this there were objections;
- and she finally resolved that it could be the last resource, if
- her private enquiries to the absence of the family were
- unfavourably answered.
-
- Accordingly, when she retired at night, she asked the chambermaid
- whether Pemberley were not a very fine place? what was the name
- of its proprietor? and, with no little alarm, whether the family
- were down for the summer? A most welcome negative followed the
- last question—and her alarms now being removed, she was at
- leisure to feel a great deal of curiosity to see the house
- herself; and when the subject was revived the next morning, and
- she was again applied to, could readily answer, and with a proper
- air of indifference, that she had not really any dislike to the
- scheme. To Pemberley, therefore, they were to go.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 43
-
- Elizabeth, as they drove along, watched for the first appearance
- of Pemberley Woods with some perturbation; and when at length
- they turned in at the lodge, her spirits were in a high flutter.
-
- The park was very large, and contained great variety of ground.
- They entered it in one of its lowest points, and drove for some
- time through a beautiful wood stretching over a wide extent.
-
- Elizabeth’s mind was too full for conversation, but she saw and
- admired every remarkable spot and point of view. They gradually
- ascended for half-a-mile, and then found themselves at the top of
- a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was
- instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite
- side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound.
- It was a large, handsome stone building, standing well on rising
- ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front,
- a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but
- without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal
- nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen
- a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty
- had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were
- all of them warm in their admiration; and at that moment she felt
- that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!
-
- They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the
- door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all
- her apprehension of meeting its owner returned. She dreaded lest
- the chambermaid had been mistaken. On applying to see the place,
- they were admitted into the hall; and Elizabeth, as they waited
- for the housekeeper, had leisure to wonder at her being where she
- was.
-
- The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking elderly woman, much
- less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of finding
- 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 its prospect.
- The hill, crowned with wood, which they had descended, receiving
- increased abruptness from the distance, was a beautiful object.
- Every disposition of the ground was good; and she looked on the
- whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks and the
- winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with
- delight. As they passed into other rooms these objects were
- taking different positions; but from every window there were
- beauties to be seen. The rooms were lofty and handsome, and their
- furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor; but
- Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither
- gaudy nor uselessly fine; with less of splendour, 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 in
- them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and
- aunt. But no,”—recollecting herself—“that could never be; my
- uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been
- allowed to invite them.”
-
- This was a lucky recollection—it saved her from something very
- like regret.
-
- She longed to enquire of the housekeeper whether her master was
- really absent, but had not the courage for it. At length however,
- the question was asked by her uncle; and she turned away with
- alarm, while Mrs. Reynolds replied that he was, adding, “But we
- expect him to-morrow, with a large party of friends.” How
- rejoiced was Elizabeth that their own journey had not by any
- circumstance been delayed a day!
-
- Her aunt now called her to look at a picture. She approached and
- saw the likeness of Mr. Wickham, suspended, amongst several other
- miniatures, over the mantelpiece. Her aunt asked her, smilingly,
- how she liked it. The housekeeper came forward, and told them it
- was a picture of a young gentleman, the son of her late master’s
- steward, who had been brought up by him at his own expense. “He
- is now gone into the army,” she added; “but I am afraid he has
- turned out very wild.”
-
- Mrs. Gardiner looked at her niece with a smile, but Elizabeth
- could not return it.
-
- “And that,” said Mrs. Reynolds, pointing to another of the
- miniatures, “is my master—and very like him. It was drawn at the
- same time as the other—about eight years ago.”
-
- “I have heard much of your master’s fine person,” said Mrs.
- Gardiner, looking at the picture; “it is a handsome face. But,
- Lizzy, you can tell us whether it is like or not.”
-
- Mrs. Reynolds respect for Elizabeth seemed to increase on this
- intimation of her knowing her master.
-
- “Does that young lady know Mr. Darcy?”
-
- Elizabeth coloured, and said: “A little.”
-
- “And do not you think him a very handsome gentleman, ma’am?”
-
- “Yes, very handsome.”
-
- “I am sure _I_ know none so handsome; but in the gallery up
- stairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this.
- This room was my late master’s favourite room, and these
- miniatures are just as they used to be then. He was very fond of
- them.”
-
- This accounted to Elizabeth for Mr. Wickham’s being among them.
-
- Mrs. Reynolds then directed their attention to one of Miss Darcy,
- drawn 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 so
- accomplished!—She plays and sings all day long. In the next room
- is a new instrument just come down for her—a present from my
- master; she comes here to-morrow with him.”
-
- Mr. Gardiner, whose manners were very easy and pleasant,
- encouraged her communicativeness by his questions and remarks;
- Mrs. Reynolds, either by pride or attachment, had evidently great
- pleasure in talking of her master and his sister.
-
- “Is your master much at Pemberley in the course of the year?”
-
- “Not so much as I could wish, sir; but I dare say he may spend
- half his time here; and Miss Darcy is always down for the summer
- months.”
-
- “Except,” thought Elizabeth, “when she goes to Ramsgate.”
-
- “If your master would marry, you might see more of him.”
-
- “Yes, sir; but I do not know when _that_ will be. I do not know
- who is good enough for him.”
-
- Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner smiled. Elizabeth could not help saying,
- “It is very much to his credit, I am sure, that you should think
- so.”
-
- “I say no more than the truth, and everybody will say that knows
- him,” replied the other. Elizabeth thought this was going pretty
- far; and she listened with increasing astonishment as the
- housekeeper added, “I have never known a cross word from him in
- my life, and I have known him ever since he was four years old.”
-
- This was praise, of all others most extraordinary, most opposite
- to her ideas. That he was not a good-tempered man had been her
- firmest opinion. Her keenest attention was awakened; she longed
- to hear more, and was grateful to her uncle for saying:
-
- “There are very few people of whom so much can be said. You are
- lucky in having such a master.”
-
- “Yes, sir, I know I am. If I were to go through the world, I
- could not meet with a better. But I have always observed, that
- they who are good-natured when children, are good-natured when
- they grow up; and he was always the sweetest-tempered, most
- generous-hearted boy in the world.”
-
- Elizabeth almost stared at her. “Can this be Mr. Darcy?” thought
- she.
-
- “His father was an excellent man,” said Mrs. Gardiner.
-
- “Yes, ma’am, that he was indeed; and his son will be just like
- him—just as affable to the poor.”
-
- Elizabeth listened, wondered, doubted, and was impatient for
- more. Mrs. Reynolds could interest her on no other point. She
- related the subjects of the pictures, the dimensions of the
- rooms, and the price of the furniture, in vain. Mr. Gardiner,
- highly amused by the kind of family prejudice to which he
- attributed her excessive commendation of her master, soon led
- again to the subject; and she dwelt with energy on his many
- merits as they proceeded together up the great staircase.
-
- “He is the best landlord, and the best master,” said she, “that
- ever lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who think of
- nothing but themselves. There is not one of his tenants or
- servants but will give him a good name. Some people call him
- proud; but I am sure I never saw anything of it. To my fancy, it
- is only because he does not rattle away like other young men.”
-
- “In what an amiable light does this place him!” thought
- Elizabeth.
-
- “This fine account of him,” whispered her aunt as they walked,
- “is not quite consistent with his behaviour to our poor friend.”
-
- “Perhaps we might be deceived.”
-
- “That is not very likely; our authority was too good.”
-
- On reaching the spacious lobby above they were shown into a very
- pretty sitting-room, lately fitted up with greater elegance and
- lightness than the apartments below; and were informed that it
- was but just done to give pleasure to Miss Darcy, who had taken a
- liking to the room when last at Pemberley.
-
- “He is certainly a good brother,” said Elizabeth, as she walked
- towards one of the windows.
-
- Mrs. Reynolds anticipated Miss Darcy’s delight, when she should
- enter the room. “And this is always the way with him,” she added.
- “Whatever can give his sister any pleasure is sure to be done in
- a moment. There is nothing he would not do for her.”
-
- The picture-gallery, and two or three of the principal bedrooms,
- were all that remained to be shown. In the former were many good
- paintings; but Elizabeth knew nothing of the art; and from such
- as had been already visible below, she had willingly turned to
- look at some drawings of Miss Darcy’s, in crayons, whose subjects
- were usually more interesting, and also more intelligible.
-
- In the gallery there were many family portraits, but they could
- have little to fix the attention of a stranger. Elizabeth walked
- in quest of the only face whose features would be known to her.
- At last it arrested her—and she beheld a striking resemblance to
- Mr. Darcy, with such a smile over the face as she remembered to
- have sometimes seen when he looked at her. She stood several
- minutes before the picture, in earnest contemplation, and
- returned to it again before they quitted the gallery. Mrs.
- Reynolds informed them that it had been taken in his father’s
- lifetime.
-
- There was certainly at this moment, in Elizabeth’s mind, a more
- gentle sensation towards the original than she had ever felt at
- the height of their acquaintance. The commendation bestowed on
- him by Mrs. Reynolds was of no trifling nature. What praise is
- more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a
- brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people’s
- happiness were in his guardianship!—how much of pleasure or pain
- was it in his power to bestow!—how much of good or evil must be
- done by him! Every idea that had been brought forward by the
- housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she stood
- before the canvas on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes
- upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment
- of gratitude than it had ever raised before; she remembered its
- warmth, and softened its impropriety of expression.
-
- When all of the house that was open to general inspection had
- been seen, they returned downstairs, and, taking leave of the
- housekeeper, were consigned over to the gardener, who met them at
- the hall-door.
-
- As they walked across the hall towards the river, Elizabeth
- turned back to look again; her uncle and aunt stopped also, and
- while the former was conjecturing as to the date of the building,
- the owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road,
- which led behind it to the stables.
-
- They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was
- his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight. Their
- eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of both were overspread with
- the deepest blush. He absolutely started, and for a moment seemed
- immovable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself, advanced
- towards the party, and spoke to Elizabeth, if not in terms of
- perfect composure, at least of perfect civility.
-
- She had instinctively turned away; but stopping on his approach,
- received his compliments with an embarrassment impossible to be
- overcome. Had his first appearance, or his resemblance to the
- picture they had just been examining, been insufficient to assure
- the other two that they now saw Mr. Darcy, the gardener’s
- expression of surprise, on beholding his master, must immediately
- have told it. They stood a little aloof while he was talking to
- their niece, who, astonished and confused, scarcely dared lift
- her eyes to his face, and knew not what answer she returned to
- his civil enquiries after her family. Amazed at the alteration of
- his manner since they last parted, every sentence that he uttered
- was increasing her embarrassment; and every idea of the
- impropriety of her being found there recurring to her mind, the
- few minutes in which they continued were some of the most
- uncomfortable in her life. Nor did he seem much more at ease;
- when he spoke, his accent had none of its usual sedateness; and
- he repeated his enquiries as to the time of her having left
- Longbourn, and of her stay in Derbyshire, so often, and in so
- hurried a way, as plainly spoke the distraction of his thoughts.
-
- At length every idea seemed to fail him; and, after standing a
- few moments without saying a word, he suddenly recollected
- himself, and took leave.
-
- The others then joined her, and expressed admiration of his
- figure; but Elizabeth heard not a word, and wholly engrossed by
- her own feelings, followed them in silence. She was overpowered
- by shame and vexation. Her coming there was the most unfortunate,
- the most ill-judged thing in the world! How strange it must
- appear to him! In what a disgraceful light might it not strike so
- vain a man! It might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself
- in his way again! Oh! why did she come? Or, why did he thus come
- a day before he was expected? Had they been only ten minutes
- sooner, they should have been beyond the reach of his
- discrimination; for it was plain that he was that moment
- arrived—that moment alighted from his horse or his carriage. She
- blushed again and again over the perverseness of the meeting. And
- his behaviour, so strikingly altered—what could it mean? That he
- should even speak to her was amazing!—but to speak with such
- civility, to enquire after her family! Never in her life had she
- seen his manners so little dignified, never had he spoken with
- such gentleness as on this unexpected meeting. What a contrast
- did it offer to his last address 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,
- and every step was bringing forward a nobler fall of ground, or a
- finer reach of the woods to which they were approaching; but it
- was some time before Elizabeth was sensible of any of it; and,
- though she answered mechanically to the repeated appeals of her
- uncle and aunt, and seemed to direct her eyes to such objects as
- they pointed out, she distinguished no part of the scene. Her
- thoughts were all fixed on that one spot of Pemberley House,
- whichever it might be, where Mr. Darcy then was. She longed to
- know what at the moment was passing in his mind—in what manner he
- thought of her, and whether, in defiance of everything, she was
- still dear to him. Perhaps he had been civil only because he felt
- himself at ease; yet there had been _that_ in his voice which was
- not like ease. Whether he had felt more of pain or of pleasure in
- seeing her she could not tell, but he certainly had not seen her
- with composure.
-
- At length, however, the remarks of her companions on her absence
- of mind aroused her, and she felt the necessity of appearing more
- like herself.
-
- They entered the woods, and bidding adieu to the river for a
- while, ascended some of the higher grounds; when, in spots where
- the opening of the trees gave the eye power to wander, were many
- charming views of the valley, the opposite hills, with the long
- range of woods overspreading many, and occasionally part of the
- stream. Mr. Gardiner expressed a wish of going round the whole
- park, but feared it might be beyond a walk. With a triumphant
- smile they were told that it was ten miles round. It settled the
- matter; and they pursued the accustomed circuit; which brought
- them again, after some time, in a descent among hanging woods, to
- the edge of the water, and one of its narrowest parts. They
- crossed it by a simple bridge, in character with the general air
- of the scene; it was a spot less adorned than any they had yet
- visited; and the valley, here contracted into a glen, allowed
- room only for the stream, and a narrow walk amidst the rough
- coppice-wood which bordered it. Elizabeth longed to explore its
- windings; but when they had crossed the bridge, and perceived
- their distance from the house, Mrs. Gardiner, who was not a great
- walker, could go no farther, and thought only of returning to the
- carriage as quickly as possible. Her niece was, therefore,
- obliged to submit, and they took their way towards the house on
- the opposite side of the river, in the nearest direction; but
- their progress was slow, for Mr. Gardiner, though seldom able to
- indulge the taste, was very fond of fishing, and was so much
- engaged in watching the occasional appearance of some trout in
- the water, and talking to the man about them, that he advanced
- but little. Whilst wandering on in this slow manner, they were
- again surprised, and Elizabeth’s astonishment was quite equal to
- what it had been at first, by the sight of Mr. Darcy approaching
- them, and at no great distance. The walk being here less
- sheltered than on the other side, allowed them to see him before
- they met. Elizabeth, however astonished, was at least more
- prepared for an interview than before, and resolved to appear and
- to speak with calmness, if he really intended to meet them. For a
- few moments, indeed, she felt that he would probably strike into
- some other path. The idea lasted while a turning in the walk
- concealed him from their view; the turning past, he was
- immediately before them. With a glance, she saw that he had lost
- none of his recent civility; and, to imitate his politeness, she
- began, as they met, to admire the beauty of the place; but she
- had not got beyond the words “delightful,” and “charming,” when
- some unlucky recollections obtruded, and she fancied that praise
- of Pemberley from her might be mischievously construed. Her
- colour changed, and she said no more.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner was standing a little behind; and on her pausing,
- he asked her if she would do him the honour of introducing him to
- her friends. This was a stroke of civility for which she was
- quite unprepared; and she could hardly suppress a smile at his
- being now seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people
- against whom his pride had revolted in his offer to herself.
- “What will be his surprise,” thought she, “when he knows who they
- are? He takes them now for people of fashion.”
-
- The introduction, however, was immediately made; and as she named
- their relationship to herself, she stole a sly look at him, to
- see how he bore it, and was not without the expectation of his
- decamping as fast as he could from such disgraceful companions.
- That he was _surprised_ by the connection was evident; he
- sustained it, however, with fortitude, and so far from going
- away, turned back with them, and entered into conversation with
- Mr. Gardiner. Elizabeth could not but be pleased, could not but
- triumph. It was consoling that he should know she had some
- relations for whom there was no need to blush. She listened most
- attentively to all that passed between them, and gloried in every
- expression, every sentence of her uncle, which marked his
- intelligence, his taste, or his good manners.
-
- The conversation soon turned upon fishing; and she heard Mr.
- Darcy invite him, with the greatest civility, to fish there as
- often as he chose while he continued in the neighbourhood,
- offering at the same time to supply him with fishing tackle, and
- pointing out those parts of the stream where there was usually
- most sport. Mrs. Gardiner, who was walking arm-in-arm with
- Elizabeth, gave her a look expressive of wonder. Elizabeth said
- nothing, but it gratified her exceedingly; the compliment must be
- all for herself. Her astonishment, however, was extreme, and
- continually was she repeating, “Why is he so altered? From what
- can it proceed? It cannot be for _me_—it cannot be for _my_ sake
- that his manners are thus softened. My reproofs at Hunsford could
- not work such a change as this. It is impossible that he should
- still love me.”
-
- After walking some time in this way, the two ladies in front, the
- two gentlemen behind, on resuming their places, after descending
- to the brink of the river for the better inspection of some
- curious water-plant, there chanced to be a little alteration. It
- originated in Mrs. Gardiner, who, fatigued by the exercise of the
- morning, found Elizabeth’s arm inadequate to her support, and
- consequently preferred her husband’s. Mr. Darcy took her place by
- her niece, and they walked on together. After a short silence,
- the lady first spoke. She wished him to know that she had been
- assured of his absence before she came to the place, and
- accordingly began by observing, that his arrival had been very
- unexpected—“for your housekeeper,” she added, “informed us that
- you would certainly not be here till to-morrow; and indeed,
- before we left Bakewell, we understood that you were not
- immediately expected in the country.” He acknowledged the truth
- of it all, and said that business with his steward had occasioned
- his coming forward a few hours before the rest of the party with
- whom he had been travelling. “They will join me early to-morrow,”
- he continued, “and among them are some who will claim an
- acquaintance with you—Mr. Bingley and his sisters.”
-
- Elizabeth answered only by a slight bow. Her thoughts were
- instantly driven back to the time when Mr. Bingley’s name had
- been the last mentioned between them; and, if she might judge by
- his complexion, _his_ mind was not very differently engaged.
-
- “There is also one other person in the party,” he continued after
- a pause, “who more particularly wishes to be known to you. Will
- you allow me, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister to
- your acquaintance during your stay at Lambton?”
-
- The surprise of such an application was great indeed; it was too
- great for her to know in what manner she acceded to it. She
- immediately felt that whatever desire Miss Darcy might have of
- being acquainted with her must be the work of her brother, and,
- without looking farther, it was satisfactory; it was gratifying
- to know 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
- flattered and pleased. His wish of introducing his sister to her
- was a compliment of the highest kind. They soon outstripped the
- others, and when they had reached the carriage, Mr. and Mrs.
- Gardiner were half a quarter of a mile behind.
-
- He then asked her to walk into the house—but she declared herself
- not tired, and they stood together on the lawn. At such a time
- much might have been said, and silence was very awkward. She
- wanted to talk, but there seemed to be an embargo on every
- subject. At last she recollected that she had been travelling,
- and they talked of Matlock and Dove Dale with great perseverance.
- Yet time and her aunt moved slowly—and her patience and her ideas
- were nearly worn out before the _tête-à-tête_ was over.
-
- On Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner’s coming up they were all pressed to go
- into the house and take some refreshment; but this was declined,
- and they parted on each side with utmost politeness. Mr. Darcy
- handed the ladies into the carriage; and when it drove off,
- Elizabeth saw him walking slowly towards the house.
-
- The observations of her uncle and aunt now began; and each of
- them pronounced him to be infinitely superior to anything they
- had expected. “He is perfectly well behaved, polite, and
- unassuming,” said her uncle.
-
- “There _is_ something a little stately in him, to be sure,”
- replied her aunt, “but it is confined to his air, and is not
- unbecoming. I can now say with the housekeeper, that though some
- people may call him proud, _I_ have seen nothing of it.”
-
- “I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us. It was
- more than civil; it was really attentive; and there was no
- necessity for such attention. His acquaintance with Elizabeth was
- very trifling.”
-
- “To be sure, Lizzy,” said her aunt, “he is not so handsome as
- Wickham; or, rather, he has not Wickham’s countenance, for his
- features are perfectly good. But how came you to tell me that he
- was so disagreeable?”
-
- Elizabeth excused herself as well as she could; said that she had
- liked him better when they had met in Kent than before, and that
- she had never seen him so pleasant as this morning.
-
- “But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities,”
- replied her uncle. “Your great men often are; and therefore I
- shall not take him at his word, as he might change his mind
- another day, and warn me off his grounds.”
-
- Elizabeth felt that they had entirely misunderstood his
- character, but said nothing.
-
- “From what we have seen of him,” continued Mrs. Gardiner, “I
- really should not have thought that he could have behaved in so
- cruel a way by anybody as he has done by poor Wickham. He has not
- an ill-natured look. On the contrary, there is something pleasing
- about his mouth when he speaks. And there is something of dignity
- in his countenance that would not give one an unfavourable idea
- of his heart. But, to be sure, the good lady who showed us his
- house did give him a most flaming character! I could hardly help
- laughing aloud sometimes. But he is a liberal master, I suppose,
- and _that_ in the eye of a servant comprehends every virtue.”
-
- Elizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in
- vindication of his behaviour to Wickham; and therefore gave them
- to understand, in as guarded a manner as she could, that by what
- she had heard from his relations in Kent, his actions were
- capable of a very different construction; and that his character
- was by no means so faulty, nor Wickham’s so amiable, as they had
- been considered in Hertfordshire. In confirmation of this, she
- related the particulars of all the pecuniary transactions in
- which they had been connected, without actually naming her
- authority, but stating it to be such as might be relied on.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner was surprised and concerned; but as they were now
- approaching the scene of her former pleasures, every idea gave
- way to the charm of recollection; and she was too much engaged in
- pointing out to her husband all the interesting spots in its
- environs to think of anything else. Fatigued as she had been by
- the morning’s walk they had no sooner dined than she set off
- again in quest of her former acquaintance, and the evening was
- spent in the satisfactions of an intercourse renewed after many
- years’ discontinuance.
-
- The occurrences of the day were too full of interest to leave
- Elizabeth much attention for any of these new friends; and she
- could do nothing but think, and think with wonder, of Mr. Darcy’s
- civility, and, above all, of his wishing her to be acquainted
- with his sister.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 44
-
- Elizabeth had settled it that Mr. Darcy would bring his sister to
- visit her the very day after her reaching Pemberley; and was
- consequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole
- of that morning. But her conclusion was false; for on the very
- morning after their arrival at Lambton, these visitors came. They
- had been walking about the place with some of their new friends,
- and were just returning to the inn to dress themselves for dining
- with the same family, when the sound of a carriage drew them to a
- window, and they saw a gentleman and a lady in a curricle driving
- up the street. Elizabeth immediately recognizing the livery,
- guessed what it meant, and imparted no small degree of her
- surprise to her relations by acquainting them with the honour
- which she expected. Her uncle and aunt were all amazement; and
- the embarrassment of her manner as she spoke, joined to the
- circumstance itself, and many of the circumstances of the
- preceding day, opened to them a new idea on the business. Nothing
- had ever suggested it before, but they felt that there was no
- other way of accounting for such attentions from such a quarter
- than by supposing a partiality for their niece. While these
- newly-born notions were passing in their heads, the perturbation
- of Elizabeth’s feelings was at every moment increasing. She was
- quite amazed at her own discomposure; but amongst other causes of
- disquiet, she dreaded lest the partiality of the brother should
- have said too much in her favour; and, more than commonly anxious
- to please, she naturally suspected that every power of pleasing
- would fail her.
-
- She retreated from the window, fearful of being seen; and as she
- walked up and down the room, endeavouring to compose herself, saw
- such looks of enquiring surprise in her uncle and aunt as made
- everything worse.
-
- Miss Darcy and her brother appeared, and this formidable
- introduction took place. With astonishment did Elizabeth see that
- her new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as herself.
- Since her being at Lambton, she had heard that Miss Darcy was
- exceedingly proud; but the observation of a very few minutes
- convinced her that she was only exceedingly shy. She found it
- difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a monosyllable.
-
- Miss Darcy was tall, and on a larger scale than Elizabeth; and,
- though little more than sixteen, her figure was formed, and her
- appearance womanly and graceful. She was less handsome than her
- brother; but there was sense and good humour in her face, and her
- manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle. Elizabeth, who had
- expected to find in her as acute and unembarrassed an observer as
- ever Mr. Darcy had been, was much relieved by discerning such
- different feelings.
-
- They had not long been together before Mr. Darcy told her that
- Bingley was also coming to wait on her; and she had barely time
- to express her satisfaction, and prepare for such a visitor, when
- Bingley’s quick step was heard on the stairs, and in a moment he
- entered the room. All Elizabeth’s anger against him had been long
- done away; but had she still felt any, it could hardly have stood
- its ground against the unaffected cordiality with which he
- expressed himself on seeing her again. He enquired in a friendly,
- though general way, after her family, and looked and spoke with
- the same good-humoured ease that he had ever done.
-
- To Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner he was scarcely a less interesting
- personage 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
- directed their observation towards each with an earnest though
- guarded enquiry; and they soon drew from those enquiries the full
- conviction 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
- the gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evident enough.
-
- Elizabeth, on her side, had much to do. She wanted to ascertain
- the feelings of each of her visitors; she wanted to compose her
- own, and to make herself agreeable to all; and in the latter
- object, where she feared most to fail, she was most sure of
- success, for those to whom she endeavoured to give pleasure were
- prepossessed in her favour. Bingley was ready, Georgiana was
- eager, and Darcy determined, to be pleased.
-
- In seeing Bingley, her thoughts naturally flew to her sister;
- and, oh! how ardently did she long to know whether any of his
- were directed in a like manner. Sometimes she could fancy that he
- talked less than on former occasions, and once or twice pleased
- herself with the notion that, as he looked at her, he was trying
- to trace a resemblance. But, though this might be imaginary, she
- could not be deceived as to his behaviour to Miss Darcy, who had
- been set up as a rival to Jane. No look appeared on either side
- that spoke particular regard. Nothing occurred between them that
- could justify the hopes of his sister. On this point she was soon
- satisfied; and two or three little circumstances occurred ere
- they parted, which, in her anxious interpretation, denoted a
- recollection of Jane not untinctured by tenderness, and a wish of
- saying more that might lead to the mention of her, had he dared.
- He observed to her, at a moment when the others were talking
- together, and in a tone which had something of real regret, that
- it “was a very long time since he had had the pleasure of seeing
- her;” and, before she could reply, he added, “It is above eight
- months. We have not met since the 26th of November, when we were
- all dancing together at Netherfield.”
-
- Elizabeth was pleased to find his memory so exact; and he
- afterwards took occasion to ask her, when unattended to by any of
- the rest, whether _all_ her sisters were at Longbourn. There was
- not much in the question, nor in the preceding remark; but there
- was a look and a manner which gave them meaning.
-
- It was not often that she could turn her eyes on Mr. Darcy
- himself; but, whenever she did catch a glimpse, she saw an
- expression of general complaisance, and in all that he said she
- heard an accent so removed from _hauteur_ or disdain of his
- companions, as convinced her that the improvement of manners
- which she had yesterday witnessed however temporary its existence
- might prove, had at least outlived one day. When she saw him thus
- seeking the acquaintance and courting the good opinion of people
- with whom any intercourse a few months ago would have been a
- disgrace—when she saw him thus civil, not only to herself, but to
- the very relations whom he had openly disdained, and recollected
- their last lively scene in Hunsford Parsonage—the difference, the
- change was so great, and struck so forcibly on her mind, that she
- could hardly restrain her astonishment from being visible. Never,
- even in the company of his dear friends at Netherfield, or his
- dignified relations at Rosings, had she seen him so desirous to
- please, so free from self-consequence or unbending reserve, as
- now, when no importance could result from the success of his
- endeavours, and when even the acquaintance of those to whom his
- attentions were addressed would draw down the ridicule and
- censure of the ladies both of Netherfield and Rosings.
-
- Their visitors stayed with them above half-an-hour; and when they
- arose to depart, Mr. Darcy called on his sister to join him in
- expressing their wish of seeing Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, and Miss
- Bennet, to dinner at Pemberley, before they left the country.
- Miss Darcy, though with a diffidence which marked her little in
- the habit of giving invitations, readily obeyed. Mrs. Gardiner
- looked at her niece, desirous of knowing how _she_, whom the
- invitation most concerned, felt disposed as to its acceptance,
- but Elizabeth had turned away her head. Presuming however, that
- this studied avoidance spoke rather a momentary embarrassment
- than any dislike of the proposal, and seeing in her husband, who
- was fond of society, a perfect willingness to accept it, she
- ventured to engage for her attendance, and the day after the next
- was fixed on.
-
- Bingley expressed great pleasure in the certainty of seeing
- Elizabeth again, having still a great deal to say to her, and
- many enquiries to make after all their Hertfordshire friends.
- Elizabeth, construing all this into a wish of hearing her speak
- of her sister, was pleased, and on this account, as well as some
- others, found herself, when their visitors left them, capable of
- considering the last half-hour with some satisfaction, though
- while it was passing, the enjoyment of it had been little. Eager
- to be alone, and fearful of enquiries or hints from her uncle and
- aunt, she stayed with them only long enough to hear their
- favourable opinion of Bingley, and then hurried away to dress.
-
- But she had no reason to fear Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner’s curiosity;
- it was not their wish to force her communication. It was evident
- that she was much better acquainted with Mr. Darcy than they had
- before any idea of; it was evident that he was very much in love
- with her. They saw much to interest, but nothing to justify
- enquiry.
-
- Of Mr. Darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well; and,
- as far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault to find.
- They could not be untouched by his politeness; and had they drawn
- his character from their own feelings and his servant’s report,
- without any reference to any other account, the circle in
- Hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized it
- for Mr. Darcy. There was now an interest, however, in believing
- the housekeeper; and they soon became sensible that the authority
- of a servant who had known him since he was four years old, and
- whose own manners indicated respectability, was not to be hastily
- rejected. Neither had anything occurred in the intelligence of
- their Lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight.
- They had nothing to accuse him of but pride; pride he probably
- had, and if not, it would certainly be imputed by the inhabitants
- of a small market-town where the family did not visit. It was
- acknowledged, however, that he was a liberal man, and did much
- good among the poor.
-
- With respect to Wickham, the travellers soon found that he was
- not held there in much estimation; for though the chief of his
- concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood,
- it was yet a well-known fact that, on his quitting Derbyshire, he
- had left many debts behind him, which Mr. Darcy afterwards
- discharged.
-
- As for Elizabeth, her thoughts were at Pemberley this evening
- more than the last; and the evening, though as it passed it
- seemed long, was not long enough to determine her feelings
- towards _one_ in that mansion; and she lay awake two whole hours
- endeavouring to make them out. She certainly did not hate him.
- No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been
- ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that could be so
- called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable
- qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some
- time ceased to be repugnant to her feeling; and it was now
- heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony
- so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in
- so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all,
- above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of
- goodwill which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude;
- gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving
- her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony
- of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations
- accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would
- avoid her as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this accidental
- meeting, most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any
- indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where
- their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good
- opinion of her friends, and bent on making her known to his
- sister. Such a change in a man of so much pride exciting not only
- astonishment but gratitude—for to love, ardent love, it must be
- attributed; and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be
- encouraged, as by no means unpleasing, though it could not be
- exactly defined. She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to
- him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted
- to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself,
- and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should
- employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed,
- of bringing on her the renewal of his addresses.
-
- It had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the
- niece, that such a striking civility as Miss Darcy’s in coming to
- see them on the very day of her arrival at Pemberley, for she had
- reached it only to a late breakfast, ought to be imitated, though
- it could not be equalled, by some exertion of politeness on their
- side; and, consequently, that it would be highly expedient to
- wait on her at Pemberley the following morning. They were,
- therefore, to go. Elizabeth was pleased; though when she asked
- herself the reason, she had very little to say in reply.
-
- Mr. Gardiner left them soon after breakfast. The fishing scheme
- had been renewed the day before, and a positive engagement made
- of his meeting some of the gentlemen at Pemberley before noon.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 45
-
- Convinced as Elizabeth now was that Miss Bingley’s dislike of her
- had originated in jealousy, she could not help feeling how
- unwelcome her appearance at Pemberley must be to her, and was
- curious to know with how much civility on that lady’s side the
- acquaintance would now be renewed.
-
- On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into the
- saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer.
- Its windows opening to the ground, admitted a most refreshing
- view of the high woody hills behind the house, and of the
- beautiful oaks and Spanish chestnuts which were scattered over
- the intermediate lawn.
-
- In this house they were received by Miss Darcy, who was sitting
- there with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, and the lady with whom
- she lived in London. Georgiana’s reception of them was very
- civil, but attended with all the embarrassment which, though
- proceeding from shyness and the fear of doing wrong, would easily
- give to those who felt themselves inferior the belief of her
- being proud and reserved. Mrs. Gardiner and her niece, however,
- did her justice, and pitied her.
-
- By Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley they were noticed only by a
- curtsey; and, on their being seated, a pause, awkward as such
- pauses must always be, succeeded for a few moments. It was first
- broken by Mrs. Annesley, a genteel, agreeable-looking woman,
- whose endeavour to introduce some kind of discourse proved her to
- be more truly well-bred than either of the others; and between
- her and Mrs. Gardiner, with occasional help from Elizabeth, the
- conversation was carried on. Miss Darcy looked as if she wished
- for courage enough to join in it; and sometimes did venture a
- short sentence when there was least danger of its being heard.
-
- Elizabeth soon saw that she was herself closely watched by Miss
- Bingley, and that she could not speak a word, especially to Miss
- Darcy, without calling her attention. This observation would not
- have prevented her from trying to talk to the latter, had they
- not been seated at an inconvenient distance; but she was not
- sorry to be spared the necessity of saying much. Her own thoughts
- were employing her. She expected every moment that some of the
- gentlemen would enter the room. She wished, she feared that the
- master of the house might be amongst them; and whether she wished
- or feared it most, she could scarcely determine. After sitting in
- this manner a quarter of an hour without hearing Miss Bingley’s
- voice, Elizabeth was roused by receiving from her a cold enquiry
- after the health of her family. She answered with equal
- indifference and brevity, and the other said no more.
-
- The next variation which their visit afforded was produced by the
- entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and a variety of all
- the finest fruits in season; but this did not take place till
- after many a significant look and smile from Mrs. Annesley to
- Miss Darcy had been given, to remind her of her post. There was
- now employment for the whole party—for though they could not all
- talk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes,
- nectarines, and peaches soon collected them round the table.
-
- While thus engaged, Elizabeth had a fair opportunity of deciding
- whether she most feared or wished for the appearance of Mr.
- Darcy, by the feelings which prevailed on his entering the room;
- and then, though but a moment before she had believed her wishes
- to predominate, she began to regret that he came.
-
- He had been some time with Mr. Gardiner, who, with two or three
- other gentlemen from the house, was engaged by the river, and had
- left him only on learning that the ladies of the family intended
- a visit to Georgiana that morning. No sooner did he appear than
- Elizabeth wisely resolved to be perfectly easy and unembarrassed;
- a resolution the more necessary to be made, but perhaps not the
- more easily kept, because she saw that the suspicions of the
- whole party were awakened against them, and that there was
- scarcely an eye which did not watch his behaviour when he first
- came into the room. In no countenance was attentive curiosity so
- strongly marked as in Miss Bingley’s, in spite of the smiles
- which overspread her face whenever she spoke to one of its
- objects; for jealousy had not yet made her desperate, and her
- attentions to Mr. Darcy were by no means over. Miss Darcy, on her
- brother’s entrance, exerted herself much more to talk, and
- Elizabeth saw that he was anxious for his sister and herself to
- get acquainted, and forwarded as much as possible, every attempt
- at conversation on either side. Miss Bingley saw all this
- likewise; and, in the imprudence of anger, took the first
- opportunity of saying, with sneering civility:
-
- “Pray, Miss Eliza, are not the ——shire Militia removed from
- Meryton? They must be a great loss to _your_ family.”
-
- In Darcy’s presence she dared not mention Wickham’s name; but
- Elizabeth instantly comprehended that he was uppermost in her
- thoughts; and the various recollections connected with him gave
- her a moment’s distress; but exerting herself vigorously to repel
- the ill-natured attack, she presently answered the question in a
- tolerably detached tone. While she spoke, an involuntary glance
- showed her Darcy, with a heightened complexion, earnestly looking
- at her, and his sister overcome with confusion, and unable to
- lift up her eyes. Had Miss Bingley known what pain she was then
- giving her beloved friend, she undoubtedly would have refrained
- from the hint; but she had merely intended to discompose
- Elizabeth by bringing forward the idea of a man to whom she
- believed her partial, to make her betray a sensibility which
- might injure her in Darcy’s opinion, and, perhaps, to remind the
- latter of all the follies and absurdities by which some part of
- her family were connected with that corps. Not a syllable had
- ever reached her of Miss Darcy’s meditated elopement. To no
- creature had it been revealed, where secrecy was possible, except
- to Elizabeth; and from all Bingley’s connections her brother was
- particularly anxious to conceal it, from the very wish which
- Elizabeth had long ago attributed to him, of their becoming
- hereafter her own. He had certainly formed such a plan, and
- without meaning that it should affect his endeavour to separate
- him from Miss Bennet, it is probable that it might add something
- to his lively concern for the welfare of his friend.
-
- Elizabeth’s collected behaviour, however, soon quieted his
- emotion; and as Miss Bingley, vexed and disappointed, dared not
- approach nearer to Wickham, Georgiana also recovered in time,
- though not enough to be able to speak any more. Her brother,
- whose eye she feared to meet, scarcely recollected her interest
- in the affair, and the very circumstance which had been designed
- to turn his thoughts from Elizabeth seemed to have fixed them on
- her more and more cheerfully.
-
- Their visit did not continue long after the question and answer
- above mentioned; and while Mr. Darcy was attending them to their
- carriage Miss Bingley was venting her feelings in criticisms on
- Elizabeth’s person, behaviour, and dress. But Georgiana would not
- join her. Her brother’s recommendation was enough to ensure her
- favour; his judgement could not err. And he had spoken in such
- terms of Elizabeth as to leave Georgiana without the power of
- finding her otherwise than lovely and amiable. When Darcy
- returned to the saloon, Miss Bingley could not help repeating to
- him some part of what she had been saying to his sister.
-
- “How very ill Miss Eliza Bennet looks this morning, Mr. Darcy,”
- she cried; “I never in my life saw anyone so much altered as she
- is since the winter. She is grown so brown and coarse! Louisa and
- I were agreeing that we should not have known her again.”
-
- However little Mr. Darcy might have liked such an address, he
- contented himself with coolly replying that he perceived no other
- alteration than her being rather tanned, no miraculous
- consequence of travelling in the summer.
-
- “For my own part,” she rejoined, “I must confess that I never
- could see any beauty in her. Her face is too thin; her complexion
- has no brilliancy; and her features are not at all handsome. Her
- nose wants character—there is nothing marked in its lines. Her
- teeth are tolerable, but not out of the common way; and as for
- her eyes, which have sometimes been called so fine, I could never
- see anything extraordinary in them. They have a sharp, shrewish
- look, which I do not like at all; and in her air altogether there
- is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which is intolerable.”
-
- Persuaded as Miss Bingley was that Darcy admired Elizabeth, this
- was not the best method of recommending herself; but angry people
- are not always wise; and in seeing him at last look somewhat
- nettled, she had all the success she expected. He was resolutely
- silent, however, and, from a determination of making him speak,
- she continued:
-
- “I remember, when we first knew her in Hertfordshire, how amazed
- we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty; and I
- particularly recollect your saying one night, after they had been
- dining at Netherfield, ‘_She_ a beauty!—I should as soon call her
- mother a wit.’ But afterwards she seemed to improve on you, and I
- believe you thought her rather pretty at one time.”
-
- “Yes,” replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer, “but
- _that_ was only when I first saw her, for it is many months since
- I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my
- acquaintance.”
-
- He then went away, and Miss Bingley was left to all the
- satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any
- pain but herself.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth talked of all that had occurred
- during their visit, as they returned, except what had
- particularly interested them both. The look and behaviour of
- everybody they had seen were discussed, except of the person who
- had mostly engaged their attention. They talked of his sister,
- his friends, his house, his fruit—of everything but himself; yet
- Elizabeth was longing to know what Mrs. Gardiner thought of him,
- and Mrs. Gardiner would have been highly gratified by her niece’s
- beginning the subject.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 46
-
- Elizabeth had been a good deal disappointed in not finding a
- letter from Jane on their first arrival at Lambton; and this
- disappointment had been renewed on each of the mornings that had
- now been spent there; but on the third her repining was over, and
- her sister justified, by the receipt of two letters from her at
- once, on one of which was marked that it had been missent
- elsewhere. Elizabeth was not surprised at it, as Jane had written
- the direction remarkably ill.
-
- They had just been preparing to walk as the letters came in; and
- her uncle and aunt, leaving her to enjoy them in quiet, set off
- by themselves. The one missent must first be attended to; it had
- been written five days ago. The beginning contained an account of
- all their little parties and engagements, with such news as the
- country afforded; but the latter half, which was dated a day
- later, and written in evident agitation, gave more important
- intelligence. It was to this effect:
-
- “Since writing the above, dearest Lizzy, something has occurred
- of a most unexpected and serious nature; but I am afraid of
- alarming you—be assured that we are all well. What I have to say
- relates to poor Lydia. An express came at twelve last night, just
- as we were all gone to bed, from Colonel Forster, to inform us
- that she was gone off to Scotland with one of his officers; to
- own the truth, with Wickham! Imagine our surprise. To Kitty,
- however, it does not seem so wholly unexpected. I am very, very
- sorry. So imprudent a match on both sides! But I am willing to
- hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood.
- Thoughtless and indiscreet I can easily believe him, but this
- step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad at heart. His
- choice is disinterested at least, for he must know my father can
- give her nothing. Our poor mother is sadly grieved. My father
- bears it better. How thankful am I that we never let them know
- what has been said against him; we must forget it ourselves. They
- were off Saturday night about twelve, as is conjectured, but were
- not missed till yesterday morning at eight. The express was sent
- off directly. My dear Lizzy, they must have passed within ten
- miles of us. Colonel Forster gives us reason to expect him here
- soon. Lydia left a few lines for his wife, informing her of their
- intention. I must conclude, for I cannot be long from my poor
- mother. I am afraid you will not be able to make it out, but I
- hardly know what I have written.”
-
- Without allowing herself time for consideration, and scarcely
- knowing what she felt, Elizabeth on finishing this letter
- instantly seized the other, and opening it with the utmost
- impatience, read as follows: it had been written a day later than
- the conclusion of the first.
-
- “By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried
- letter; I wish this may be more intelligible, but though not
- confined for time, my head is so bewildered that I cannot answer
- for being coherent. Dearest Lizzy, I hardly know what I would
- write, but I have bad news for you, and it cannot be delayed.
- Imprudent as the marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia
- would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place,
- for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to
- Scotland. Colonel Forster came yesterday, having left Brighton
- the day before, not many hours after the express. Though Lydia’s
- short letter to Mrs. F. gave them to understand that they were
- going to Gretna Green, something was dropped by Denny expressing
- his belief that W. never intended to go there, or to marry Lydia
- at all, which was repeated to Colonel F., who, instantly taking
- the alarm, set off from B. intending to trace their route. He did
- trace them easily to Clapham, but no further; for on entering
- that place, they removed into a hackney coach, and dismissed the
- chaise that brought them from Epsom. All that is known after this
- is, that they were seen to continue the London road. I know not
- what to think. After making every possible enquiry on that side
- London, Colonel F. came on into Hertfordshire, anxiously renewing
- them at all the turnpikes, and at the inns in Barnet and
- Hatfield, but without any success—no such people had been seen to
- pass through. With the kindest concern he came on to Longbourn,
- and broke his apprehensions to us in a manner most creditable to
- his heart. I am sincerely grieved for him and Mrs. F., but no one
- can throw any blame on them. Our distress, my dear Lizzy, is very
- great. My father and mother believe the worst, but I cannot think
- so ill of him. Many circumstances might make it more eligible for
- them to be married privately in town than to pursue their first
- plan; and even if _he_ could form such a design against a young
- woman of Lydia’s connections, which is not likely, can I suppose
- her so lost to everything? Impossible! I grieve to find, however,
- that Colonel F. is not disposed to depend upon their marriage; he
- shook his head when I expressed my hopes, and said he feared W.
- was not a man to be trusted. My poor mother is really ill, and
- keeps her room. Could she exert herself, it would be better; but
- this is not to be expected. And as to my father, I never in my
- life saw him so affected. Poor Kitty has anger for having
- concealed their attachment; but as it was a matter of confidence,
- one cannot wonder. I am truly glad, dearest Lizzy, that you have
- been spared something of these distressing scenes; but now, as
- the first shock is over, shall I own that I long for your return?
- I am not so selfish, however, as to press for it, if
- inconvenient. Adieu! I take up my pen again to do what I have
- just told you I would not; but circumstances are such that I
- cannot help earnestly begging you all to come here as soon as
- possible. I know my dear uncle and aunt so well, that I am not
- afraid of requesting it, though I have still something more to
- ask of the former. My father is going to London with Colonel
- Forster instantly, to try to discover her. What he means to do I
- am sure I know not; but his excessive distress will not allow him
- to pursue any measure in the best and safest way, and Colonel
- Forster is obliged to be at Brighton again to-morrow evening. In
- such an exigence, my uncle’s advice and assistance would be
- everything in the world; he will immediately comprehend what I
- must feel, and I rely upon his goodness.”
-
- “Oh! where, where is my uncle?” cried Elizabeth, darting from her
- seat as she finished the letter, in eagerness to follow him,
- without losing a moment of the time so precious; but as she
- reached the door it was opened by a servant, and Mr. Darcy
- appeared. Her pale face and impetuous manner made him start, and
- before he could recover himself to speak, she, in whose mind
- every idea was superseded by Lydia’s situation, hastily
- exclaimed, “I beg your pardon, but I must leave you. I must find
- Mr. Gardiner this moment, on business that cannot be delayed; I
- have not an instant to lose.”
-
- “Good God! what is the matter?” cried he, with more feeling than
- politeness; then recollecting himself, “I will not detain you a
- minute; but let me, or let the servant go after Mr. and Mrs.
- Gardiner. You are not well enough; you cannot go yourself.”
-
- Elizabeth hesitated, but her knees trembled under her and she
- felt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them.
- Calling back the servant, therefore, she commissioned him, though
- in so breathless an accent as made her almost unintelligible, to
- fetch his master and mistress home instantly.
-
- On his quitting the room she sat down, unable to support herself,
- and looking so miserably ill, that it was impossible for Darcy to
- leave her, or to refrain from saying, in a tone of gentleness and
- commiseration, “Let me call your maid. Is there nothing you could
- take to give you present relief? A glass of wine; shall I get you
- one? You are very ill.”
-
- “No, I thank you,” she replied, endeavouring to recover herself.
- “There is nothing the matter with me. I am quite well; I am only
- distressed by some dreadful news which I have just received from
- Longbourn.”
-
- She burst into tears as she alluded to it, and for a few minutes
- could not speak another word. Darcy, in wretched suspense, could
- only say something indistinctly of his concern, and observe her
- in compassionate silence. At length she spoke again. “I have just
- had a letter from Jane, with such dreadful news. It cannot be
- concealed from anyone. My younger sister has left all her
- friends—has eloped; has thrown herself into the power of—of Mr.
- Wickham. They are gone off together from Brighton. _You_ know him
- too well to doubt the rest. She has no money, no connections,
- nothing that can tempt him to—she is lost for ever.”
-
- Darcy was fixed in astonishment. “When I consider,” she added in
- a yet more agitated voice, “that _I_ might have prevented it! _I_
- who knew what he was. Had I but explained some part of it
- only—some part of what I learnt, to my own family! Had his
- character been known, this could not have happened. But it is
- all—all too late now.”
-
- “I am grieved indeed,” cried Darcy; “grieved—shocked. But is it
- certain—absolutely certain?”
-
- “Oh, yes! They left Brighton together on Sunday night, and were
- traced almost to London, but not beyond; they are certainly not
- gone to Scotland.”
-
- “And what has been done, what has been attempted, to recover
- her?”
-
- “My father is gone to London, and Jane has written to beg my
- uncle’s immediate assistance; and we shall be off, I hope, in
- half-an-hour. But nothing can be done—I know very well that
- nothing can be done. How is such a man to be worked on? How are
- they even to be discovered? I have not the smallest hope. It is
- every way horrible!”
-
- Darcy shook his head in silent acquiescence.
-
- “When _my_ eyes were opened to his real character—Oh! had I known
- what I ought, what I dared to do! But I knew not—I was afraid of
- doing too much. Wretched, wretched mistake!”
-
- Darcy made no answer. He seemed scarcely to hear her, and was
- walking up and down the room in earnest meditation, his brow
- contracted, his air gloomy. Elizabeth soon observed, and
- instantly understood it. Her power was sinking; everything _must_
- sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of
- the deepest disgrace. She could neither wonder nor condemn, but
- the belief of his self-conquest brought nothing consolatory to
- her bosom, afforded no palliation of her distress. It was, on the
- contrary, exactly calculated to make her understand her own
- wishes; and never had she so honestly felt that 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,
- soon swallowed up every private care; and covering her face with
- her handkerchief, Elizabeth was soon lost to everything else;
- and, after a pause of several minutes, was only recalled to a
- sense of her situation by the voice of her companion, who, in a
- manner which, though it spoke compassion, spoke likewise
- restraint, said, “I am afraid you have been long desiring my
- absence, nor have I anything to plead in excuse of my stay, but
- real, though unavailing concern. Would to Heaven that anything
- could be either said or done on my part that might offer
- consolation to such distress! But I will not torment you with
- vain wishes, which may seem purposely to ask for your thanks.
- This unfortunate affair will, I fear, prevent my sister’s having
- the pleasure of seeing you at Pemberley to-day.”
-
- “Oh, yes. Be so kind as to apologise for us to Miss Darcy. Say
- that urgent business calls us home immediately. Conceal the
- unhappy truth as long as it is possible, I know it cannot be
- long.”
-
- He readily assured her of his secrecy; again expressed his sorrow
- for her distress, wished it a happier conclusion than there was
- at present reason to hope, and leaving his compliments for her
- relations, with only one serious, parting look, went away.
-
- As he quitted the room, Elizabeth felt how improbable it was that
- they should ever see each other again on such terms of cordiality
- as had marked their several meetings in Derbyshire; and as she
- threw a retrospective glance over the whole of their
- acquaintance, so full of contradictions and varieties, sighed at
- the perverseness of those feelings which would now have promoted
- its continuance, and would formerly have rejoiced in its
- termination.
-
- If gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection,
- Elizabeth’s change of sentiment will be neither improbable nor
- faulty. But if otherwise—if regard springing from such sources is
- unreasonable or unnatural, in comparison of what is so often
- described as arising on a first interview with its object, and
- even before two words have been exchanged, nothing can be said in
- her defence, except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the
- latter method in her partiality for Wickham, and that its ill
- success might, perhaps, authorise her to seek the other less
- interesting mode of attachment. Be that as it may, she saw him go
- with regret; and in this early example of what Lydia’s infamy
- must produce, found additional anguish as she reflected on that
- wretched business. Never, since reading Jane’s second letter, had
- she entertained a hope of Wickham’s meaning to marry her. No one
- but Jane, she thought, could flatter herself with such an
- expectation. Surprise was the least of her feelings on this
- development. While the contents of the first letter remained in
- her mind, she was all surprise—all astonishment that Wickham
- should marry a girl whom it was impossible he could marry for
- money; and how Lydia could ever have attached him had appeared
- incomprehensible. But now it was all too natural. For such an
- attachment as this she might have sufficient charms; and though
- she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in an
- elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no
- difficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her
- understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey.
-
- She had never perceived, while the regiment was in Hertfordshire,
- that Lydia had any partiality for him; but she was convinced that
- Lydia wanted only encouragement to attach herself to anybody.
- Sometimes one officer, sometimes another, had been her favourite,
- as their attentions raised them in her opinion. Her affections
- had continually been fluctuating but never without an object. The
- mischief of neglect and mistaken indulgence towards such a
- girl—oh! how acutely did she now feel it!
-
- She was wild to be at home—to hear, to see, to be upon the spot
- to share with Jane in the cares that must now fall wholly upon
- her, in a family so deranged, a father absent, a mother incapable
- of exertion, and requiring constant attendance; and though almost
- persuaded that nothing could be done for Lydia, her uncle’s
- interference seemed of the utmost importance, and till he entered
- the room her impatience was severe. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had
- hurried back in alarm, supposing by the servant’s account that
- their niece was taken suddenly ill; but satisfying them instantly
- on that head, she eagerly communicated the cause of their
- summons, reading the two letters aloud, and dwelling on the
- postscript of the last with trembling energy.— Though Lydia had
- never been a favourite with them, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner could not
- but be deeply afflicted. Not Lydia only, but all were concerned
- in it; and after the first exclamations of surprise and horror,
- Mr. Gardiner promised every assistance in his power. Elizabeth,
- though expecting no less, thanked him with tears of gratitude;
- and all three being actuated by one spirit, everything relating
- to their journey was speedily settled. They were to be off as
- soon as possible. “But what is to be done about Pemberley?” cried
- Mrs. Gardiner. “John told us Mr. Darcy was here when you sent for
- us; was it so?”
-
- “Yes; and I told him we should not be able to keep our
- engagement. _That_ is all settled.”
-
- “That is all settled;” repeated the other, as she ran into her
- room to prepare. “And are they upon such terms as for her to
- disclose the real truth? Oh, that I knew how it was!”
-
- But wishes were vain, or at least could only serve to amuse her
- in the hurry and confusion of the following hour. Had Elizabeth
- been at leisure to be idle, she would have remained certain that
- all employment was impossible to one so wretched as herself; but
- she had her share of business as well as her aunt, and amongst
- the rest there were notes to be written to all their friends at
- Lambton, with false excuses for their sudden departure. An hour,
- however, saw the whole completed; and Mr. Gardiner meanwhile
- having settled his account at the inn, nothing remained to be
- done but to go; and Elizabeth, after all the misery of the
- morning, found herself, in a shorter space of time than she could
- have supposed, seated in the carriage, and on the road to
- Longbourn.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 47
-
- “I have been thinking it over again, Elizabeth,” said her uncle,
- as they drove from the town; “and really, upon serious
- consideration, I am much more inclined than I was to judge as
- your eldest sister does on the matter. It appears to me so very
- unlikely that any young man should form such a design against a
- girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless, and who was
- actually staying in his colonel’s family, that I am strongly
- inclined to hope the best. Could he expect that her friends would
- not step forward? Could he expect to be noticed again by the
- regiment, after such an affront to Colonel Forster? His
- temptation is not adequate to the risk!”
-
- “Do you really think so?” cried Elizabeth, brightening up for a
- moment.
-
- “Upon my word,” said Mrs. Gardiner, “I begin to be of your
- uncle’s opinion. It is really too great a violation of decency,
- honour, and interest, for him to be guilty of. I cannot think so
- very ill of Wickham. Can you yourself, Lizzy, so wholly give him
- up, as to believe him capable of it?”
-
- “Not, perhaps, of neglecting his own interest; but of every other
- neglect 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 if
- that had been the case?”
-
- “In the first place,” replied Mr. Gardiner, “there is no absolute
- proof that they are not gone to Scotland.”
-
- “Oh! but their removing from the chaise into a hackney coach is
- such a presumption! And, besides, no traces of them were to be
- found on the Barnet road.”
-
- “Well, then—supposing them to be in London. They may be there,
- though for the purpose of concealment, for no more exceptional
- purpose. It is not likely that money should be very abundant on
- either side; and it might strike them that they could be more
- economically, though less expeditiously, married in London than
- in Scotland.”
-
- “But why all this secrecy? Why any fear of detection? Why must
- their marriage be private? Oh, no, no—this is not likely. His
- most particular friend, you see by Jane’s account, was persuaded
- of his never intending to marry her. Wickham will never marry a
- woman without some money. He cannot afford it. And what claims
- has Lydia—what attraction has she beyond youth, health, and good
- humour that could make him, for her sake, forego every chance of
- benefiting himself by marrying well? As to what restraint the
- apprehensions of disgrace in the corps might throw on a
- dishonourable elopement with her, I am not able to judge; for I
- know nothing of the effects that such a step might produce. But
- as to your other objection, I am afraid it will hardly hold good.
- Lydia has no brothers to step forward; and he might imagine, from
- my father’s behaviour, from his indolence and the little
- attention he has ever seemed to give to what was going forward in
- his family, that _he_ would do as little, and think as little
- about it, as any father could do, in such a matter.”
-
- “But can you think that Lydia is so lost to everything but love
- of him as to consent to live with him on any terms other than
- marriage?”
-
- “It does seem, and it is most shocking indeed,” replied
- Elizabeth, with tears in her eyes, “that a sister’s sense of
- decency and virtue in such a point should admit of doubt. But,
- really, I know not what to say. Perhaps I am not doing her
- justice. But she is very young; she has never been taught to
- think on serious subjects; and for the last half-year, nay, for a
- twelvemonth—she has been given up to nothing but amusement and
- vanity. She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most
- idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in
- her way. Since the ——shire were first quartered in Meryton,
- nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been in her head.
- She has been doing everything in her power by thinking and
- talking on the subject, to give greater—what shall I call it?
- susceptibility to her feelings; which are naturally lively
- enough. And we all know that Wickham has every charm of person
- and address that can captivate a woman.”
-
- “But you see that Jane,” said her aunt, “does not think so very
- ill of Wickham as to believe him capable of the attempt.”
-
- “Of whom does Jane ever think ill? And who is there, whatever
- might be their former conduct, that she would think capable of
- such an attempt, till it were proved against them? But Jane
- knows, as well as I do, what Wickham really is. We both know that
- he has been profligate in every sense of the word; that he has
- neither integrity nor honour; that he is as false and deceitful
- as he is insinuating.”
-
- “And do you really know all this?” cried Mrs. Gardiner, whose
- curiosity as to the mode of her intelligence was all alive.
-
- “I do indeed,” replied Elizabeth, colouring. “I told you, the
- other day, of his infamous behaviour to Mr. Darcy; and you
- yourself, when last at Longbourn, heard in what manner he spoke
- of the man who had behaved with such forbearance and liberality
- towards him. And there are other circumstances which I am not at
- liberty—which it is not worth while to relate; but his lies about
- the whole Pemberley family are endless. From what he said of Miss
- Darcy I was thoroughly prepared to see a proud, reserved,
- disagreeable girl. Yet he knew to the contrary himself. He must
- know that she was as amiable and unpretending as we have found
- her.”
-
- “But does Lydia know nothing of this? can she be ignorant of what
- you and Jane seem so well to understand?”
-
- “Oh, yes!—that, that is the worst of all. Till I was in Kent, and
- saw so much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel
- Fitzwilliam, I was ignorant of the truth myself. And when I
- returned home, the ——shire was to leave Meryton in a week or
- fortnight’s time. As that was the case, neither Jane, to whom I
- related the whole, nor I, thought it necessary to make our
- knowledge public; for of what use could it apparently be to any
- one, that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of him
- should then be overthrown? And even when it was settled that
- Lydia should go with Mrs. Forster, the necessity of opening her
- eyes to his character never occurred to me. That _she_ could be
- in any danger from the deception never entered my head. That such
- a consequence as _this_ could ensue, you may easily believe, was
- far enough from my thoughts.”
-
- “When they all removed to Brighton, therefore, you had no reason,
- I suppose, to believe them fond of each other?”
-
- “Not the slightest. I can remember no symptom of affection on
- either side; and had anything of the kind been perceptible, you
- must be aware that ours is not a family on which it could be
- thrown away. When first he entered the corps, she was ready
- enough to admire him; but so we all were. Every girl in or near
- Meryton was out of her senses about him for the first two months;
- but he never distinguished _her_ by any particular attention;
- and, consequently, after a moderate period of extravagant and
- wild admiration, her fancy for him gave way, and others of the
- regiment, who treated her with more distinction, again became her
- favourites.”
-
- It may be easily believed, that however little of novelty could
- be added to their fears, hopes, and conjectures, on this
- interesting subject, by its repeated discussion, no other could
- detain them from it long, during the whole of the journey. From
- Elizabeth’s thoughts it was never absent. Fixed there by the
- keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could find no interval
- of ease or forgetfulness.
-
- They travelled as expeditiously as possible, and, sleeping one
- night on the road, reached Longbourn by dinner time the next day.
- It was a comfort to Elizabeth to consider that Jane could not
- have been wearied by long expectations.
-
- The little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were
- standing on the steps of the house as they entered the paddock;
- and, when the carriage drove up to the door, the joyful surprise
- that lighted up their faces, and displayed itself over their
- whole bodies, in a variety of capers and frisks, was the first
- pleasing earnest of their welcome.
-
- Elizabeth jumped out; and, after giving each of them a hasty
- kiss, hurried into the vestibule, where Jane, who came running
- down from her mother’s apartment, immediately met her.
-
- Elizabeth, as she affectionately embraced her, whilst tears
- filled the eyes of both, lost not a moment in asking whether
- anything had been heard of the fugitives.
-
- “Not yet,” replied Jane. “But now that my dear uncle is come, I
- hope everything will be well.”
-
- “Is my father in town?”
-
- “Yes, he went on Tuesday, as I wrote you word.”
-
- “And have you heard from him often?”
-
- “We have heard only twice. He wrote me a few lines on Wednesday
- to say that he had arrived in safety, and to give me his
- directions, which I particularly begged him to do. He merely
- added that he should not write again till he had something of
- importance to mention.”
-
- “And my mother—how is she? How are you all?”
-
- “My mother is tolerably well, I trust; though her spirits are
- greatly shaken. She is up stairs and will have great satisfaction
- in seeing you all. She does not yet leave her dressing-room. Mary
- and Kitty, thank Heaven, are quite well.”
-
- “But you—how are you?” cried Elizabeth. “You look pale. How much
- you must have gone through!”
-
- Her sister, however, assured her of her being perfectly well; and
- their conversation, which had been passing while Mr. and Mrs.
- Gardiner were engaged with their children, was now put an end to
- by the approach of the whole party. Jane ran to her uncle and
- aunt, and welcomed and thanked them both, with alternate smiles
- and tears.
-
- When they were all in the drawing-room, the questions which
- Elizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the
- others, and they soon found that Jane had no intelligence to
- give. The sanguine hope of good, however, which the benevolence
- of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her; she still
- expected that it would all end well, and that every morning would
- bring some letter, either from Lydia or her father, to explain
- their proceedings, and, perhaps, announce their marriage.
-
- Mrs. Bennet, to whose apartment they all repaired, after a few
- minutes’ conversation together, received them exactly as might be
- expected; with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives
- against the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of her
- own sufferings and ill-usage; blaming everybody but the person to
- whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her daughter must
- principally be owing.
-
- “If I had been able,” said she, “to carry my point in going to
- Brighton, with all my family, _this_ would not have happened; but
- poor dear Lydia had nobody to take care of her. Why did the
- Forsters ever let her go out of their sight? I am sure there was
- some great neglect or other on their side, for she is not the
- kind 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; but I was overruled, as I always am. Poor dear child! And
- now here’s Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight
- Wickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and
- what is to become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out
- before he is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us,
- brother, I do not know what we shall do.”
-
- They all exclaimed against such terrific ideas; and Mr. Gardiner,
- after general assurances of his affection for her and all her
- family, told her that he meant to be in London the very next day,
- and would assist Mr. Bennet in every endeavour for recovering
- Lydia.
-
- “Do not give way to useless alarm,” added he; “though it is right
- to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on 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 know
- that they are not married, and have no design of marrying, do not
- let us give the matter over as lost. As soon as I get to town I
- shall go to my brother, and make him come home with me to
- Gracechurch Street; and then we may consult together as to what
- is to be done.”
-
- “Oh! my dear brother,” replied Mrs. Bennet, “that is exactly what
- I could most wish for. And now do, when you get to town, find
- them out, wherever they may be; and if they are not married
- already, _make_ them marry. And as for wedding clothes, do not
- let them wait for that, but tell Lydia she shall have as much
- money as she chooses to buy them, after they are married. And,
- above all, keep Mr. Bennet from fighting. Tell him what a
- dreadful state I am in, that I am frighted out of my wits—and
- have such tremblings, such flutterings, all over me—such spasms
- in my side and pains in my head, and such beatings at heart, that
- I can get no rest by night nor by day. And tell my dear Lydia not
- to give any directions about her clothes till she has seen me,
- for she does not know which are the best warehouses. Oh, brother,
- how kind you are! I know you will contrive it all.”
-
- But Mr. Gardiner, though he assured her again of his earnest
- endeavours in the cause, could not avoid recommending moderation
- to her, as well in her hopes as her fear; and after talking with
- her in this manner till dinner was on the table, they all left
- her to vent all her feelings on the housekeeper, who attended in
- the absence of her daughters.
-
- Though her brother and sister were persuaded that there was no
- real occasion for such a seclusion from the family, they did not
- attempt to oppose it, for they knew that she had not prudence
- enough to hold her tongue before the servants, while they waited
- at table, and judged it better that _one_ only of the household,
- and the one whom they could most trust should comprehend all her
- fears and solicitude on the subject.
-
- In the dining-room they were soon joined by Mary and Kitty, who
- had been too busily engaged in their separate apartments to make
- their appearance before. One came from her books, and the other
- from her toilette. The faces of both, however, were tolerably
- calm; and no change was visible in either, except that the loss
- of her favourite sister, or the anger which she had herself
- incurred in this business, had given more of fretfulness than
- usual to the accents of Kitty. As for Mary, she was mistress
- enough of herself to whisper to Elizabeth, with a countenance of
- grave reflection, soon after they were seated at table:
-
- “This is a most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much
- talked of. But we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into the
- wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation.”
-
- Then, perceiving in Elizabeth no inclination of replying, she
- added, “Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from
- it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is
- irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin;
- that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and
- that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the
- undeserving of the other sex.”
-
- Elizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement, but was too much
- oppressed to make any reply. Mary, however, continued to console
- herself with such kind of moral extractions from the evil before
- them.
-
- In the afternoon, the two elder Miss Bennets were able to be for
- half-an-hour by themselves; and Elizabeth instantly availed
- herself of the opportunity of making many enquiries, which Jane
- was equally eager to satisfy. After joining in general
- lamentations over the dreadful sequel of this event, which
- Elizabeth considered as all but certain, and Miss Bennet could
- not assert to be wholly impossible, the former continued the
- subject, by saying, “But tell me all and everything about it
- which I have not already heard. Give me further particulars. What
- did Colonel Forster say? Had they no apprehension of anything
- before the elopement took place? They must have seen them
- together for ever.”
-
- “Colonel Forster did own that he had often suspected some
- partiality, especially on Lydia’s side, but nothing to give him
- any alarm. I am so grieved for him! His behaviour was attentive
- and kind to the utmost. He _was_ coming to us, in order to assure
- us of his concern, before he had any idea of their not being gone
- to Scotland: when that apprehension first got abroad, it hastened
- his journey.”
-
- “And was Denny convinced that Wickham would not marry? Did he
- know of their intending to go off? Had Colonel Forster seen Denny
- himself?”
-
- “Yes; but, when questioned by _him_, Denny denied knowing
- anything of their plans, and would not give his real opinion
- about it. He did not repeat his persuasion of their not
- marrying—and from _that_, I am inclined to hope, he might have
- been misunderstood before.”
-
- “And till Colonel Forster came himself, not one of you
- entertained a doubt, I suppose, of their being really married?”
-
- “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
- with him in marriage, because I knew that his conduct had not
- been always quite right. My father and mother knew nothing of
- that; they only felt how imprudent a match it must be. Kitty then
- owned, with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the rest
- of us, that in Lydia’s last letter she had prepared her for such
- a step. She had known, it seems, of their being in love with each
- other, many weeks.”
-
- “But not before they went to Brighton?”
-
- “No, I believe not.”
-
- “And did Colonel Forster appear to think well of Wickham himself?
- Does he know his real character?”
-
- “I must confess that he did not speak so well of Wickham as he
- formerly did. He believed him to be imprudent and extravagant.
- And since this sad affair has taken place, it is said that he
- left Meryton greatly in debt; but I hope this may be false.”
-
- “Oh, Jane, had we been less secret, had we told what we knew of
- him, this could not have happened!”
-
- “Perhaps it would have been better,” replied her sister. “But to
- expose the former faults of any person without knowing what their
- present feelings were, seemed unjustifiable. We acted with the
- best intentions.”
-
- “Could Colonel Forster repeat the particulars of Lydia’s note to
- his wife?”
-
- “He brought it with him for us to see.”
-
- Jane then took it from her pocket-book, and gave it to Elizabeth.
- These were the contents:
-
- “My dear Harriet,
- “You will laugh when you know where I am gone, and I cannot help
- laughing myself at your surprise to-morrow morning, as soon as I
- am missed. I am going to Gretna Green, and if you cannot guess
- with who, I shall think you a simpleton, for there is but one man
- in the world I love, and he is an angel. I should never be happy
- without him, so think it no harm to be off. You need not send
- them word at Longbourn of my going, if you do not like it, for it
- will make the surprise the greater, when I write to them and sign
- my name ‘Lydia Wickham.’ What a good joke it will be! I can
- hardly write for laughing. Pray make my excuses to Pratt for not
- keeping my engagement, and dancing with him to-night. Tell him I
- hope he will excuse me when he knows all; and tell him I will
- dance with him at the next ball we meet, with great pleasure. I
- shall send for my clothes when I get to Longbourn; but I wish you
- would tell Sally to mend a great slit in my worked muslin gown
- before they are packed up. Good-bye. Give my love to Colonel
- Forster. I hope you will drink to our good journey.
-
- “Your affectionate friend,
- “LYDIA BENNET.”
-
- “Oh! thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia!” cried Elizabeth when she
- had finished it. “What a letter is this, to be written at such a
- moment! But at least it shows that _she_ was serious on the
- subject of their journey. Whatever he might afterwards persuade
- her to, it was not on her side a _scheme_ of infamy. My poor
- father! how he must have felt it!”
-
- “I never saw anyone so shocked. He could not speak a word for
- full ten minutes. My mother was taken ill immediately, and the
- whole house in such confusion!”
-
- “Oh! Jane,” cried Elizabeth, “was there a servant belonging to it
- who did not know the whole story before the end of the day?”
-
- “I do not know. I hope there was. But to be guarded at such a
- time is very difficult. My mother was in hysterics, and though I
- endeavoured to give her every assistance in my power, I am afraid
- I did not do so much as I might have done! But the horror of what
- might possibly happen almost took from me my faculties.”
-
- “Your attendance upon her has been too much for you. You do not
- look well. Oh that I had been with you! you have had every care
- and anxiety upon yourself alone.”
-
- “Mary and Kitty have been very kind, and would have shared in
- every fatigue, I am sure; but I did not think it right for either
- of them. Kitty is slight and delicate; and Mary studies so much,
- that her hours of repose should not be broken in on. My aunt
- Phillips came to Longbourn on Tuesday, after my father went away;
- and was so good as to stay till Thursday with me. She was of
- great use and comfort to us all. And Lady Lucas has been very
- kind; she walked here on Wednesday morning to condole with us,
- and offered her services, or any of her daughters’, if they
- should be of use to us.”
-
- “She had better have stayed at home,” cried Elizabeth; “perhaps
- she _meant_ well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one
- cannot see too little of one’s neighbours. Assistance is
- impossible; condolence insufferable. Let them triumph over us at
- a distance, and be satisfied.”
-
- She then proceeded to enquire into the measures which her father
- had intended to pursue, while in town, for the recovery of his
- daughter.
-
- “He meant I believe,” replied Jane, “to go to Epsom, the place
- where they last changed horses, see the postilions and try if
- anything could be made out from them. His principal object must
- be to discover the number of the hackney coach which took them
- from Clapham. It had come with a fare from London; and as he
- thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and lady’s removing
- from one carriage into another might be remarked he meant to make
- enquiries at Clapham. If he could anyhow discover at what house
- the coachman had before set down his fare, he determined to make
- enquiries there, and hoped it might not be impossible to find out
- the stand and number of the coach. I do not know of any other
- designs that he had formed; but he was in such a hurry to be
- gone, and his spirits so greatly discomposed, that I had
- difficulty in finding out even so much as this.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 48
-
- The whole party were in hopes of a letter from Mr. Bennet the
- next morning, but the post came in without bringing a single line
- from him. His family knew him to be, on all common occasions, a
- most negligent and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time
- they had hoped for exertion. They were forced to conclude that he
- had no pleasing intelligence to send; but even of _that_ they
- would have been glad to be certain. Mr. Gardiner had waited only
- for the letters before he set off.
-
- When he was gone, they were certain at least of receiving
- constant information of what was going on, and their uncle
- promised, at parting, to prevail on Mr. Bennet to return to
- Longbourn, as soon as he could, to the great consolation of his
- sister, who considered it as the only security for her husband’s
- not being killed in a duel.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in Hertfordshire a
- few days longer, as the former thought her presence might be
- serviceable to her nieces. She shared in their attendance on Mrs.
- Bennet, and was a great comfort to them in their hours of
- freedom. Their other aunt also visited them frequently, and
- always, as she said, with the design of cheering and heartening
- them up—though, as she never came without reporting some fresh
- instance of Wickham’s extravagance or irregularity, she seldom
- went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found
- them.
-
- All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three
- months before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared
- to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues,
- all honoured with the title of seduction, had been extended into
- every tradesman’s family. Everybody declared that he was the
- wickedest young man in the world; and everybody began to find out
- that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness.
- Elizabeth, though she did not credit above half of what was said,
- believed enough to make her former assurance of her sister’s ruin
- more certain; and even Jane, who believed still less of it,
- became almost hopeless, more especially as the time was now come
- when, if they had gone to Scotland, which she had never before
- entirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained
- some news of them.
-
- Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday; on Tuesday his wife
- received a letter from him; it told them that, on his arrival, he
- had immediately found out his brother, and persuaded him to come
- to Gracechurch Street; that Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and
- Clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining any satisfactory
- information; and that he was now determined to enquire at all the
- principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet thought it possible they
- might have gone to one of them, on their first coming to London,
- before they procured lodgings. Mr. Gardiner himself did not
- expect any success from this measure, but as his brother was
- eager in it, he meant to assist him in pursuing it. He added that
- Mr. Bennet seemed wholly disinclined at present to leave London
- and promised to write again very soon. There was also a
- postscript to this effect:
-
- “I have written to Colonel Forster to desire him to find out, if
- possible, from some of the young man’s intimates in the regiment,
- whether Wickham has any relations or connections who would be
- likely to know in what part of town he has now concealed himself.
- If there were anyone that one could apply to with a probability
- of gaining such a clue as that, it might be of essential
- consequence. At present we have nothing to guide us. Colonel
- Forster will, I dare say, do everything in his power to satisfy
- us on this head. But, on second thoughts, perhaps, Lizzy could
- tell us what relations he has now living, better than any other
- person.”
-
- Elizabeth was at no loss to understand from whence this deference
- to her authority proceeded; but it was not in her power to give
- any information of so satisfactory a nature as the compliment
- deserved. She had never heard of his having had any relations,
- except a father and mother, both of whom had been dead many
- years. It was possible, however, that some of his companions in
- the ——shire might be able to give more information; and though
- she was not very sanguine in expecting it, the application was a
- something to look forward to.
-
- Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety; but the most
- anxious part of each was when the post was expected. The arrival
- of letters was the grand object of every morning’s impatience.
- Through letters, whatever of good or bad was to be told would be
- communicated, and every succeeding day was expected to bring some
- news of importance.
-
- But before they heard again from Mr. Gardiner, a letter arrived
- for their father, from a different quarter, from Mr. Collins;
- which, as Jane had received directions to open all that came for
- him in his absence, she accordingly read; and Elizabeth, who knew
- what curiosities his letters always were, looked over her, and
- read it likewise. It was as follows:
-
- “My dear Sir,
- “I feel myself called upon, by our relationship, and my situation
- in life, to condole with you on the grievous affliction you are
- now suffering under, of which we were yesterday informed by a
- letter from Hertfordshire. Be assured, my dear sir, that Mrs.
- Collins and myself sincerely sympathise with you and all your
- respectable family, in your present distress, which must be of
- the bitterest kind, because proceeding from a cause which no time
- can remove. No arguments shall be wanting on my part that can
- alleviate so severe a misfortune—or that may comfort you, under a
- circumstance that 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 of this. And it is the more to be
- lamented, because there is reason to suppose as my dear Charlotte
- informs me, that this licentiousness of behaviour in your
- daughter has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence;
- though, at the same time, for the consolation of yourself and
- Mrs. Bennet, I am inclined to think that her own disposition must
- be naturally bad, or she could not be guilty of such an enormity,
- at so early an age. Howsoever that may be, you are grievously to
- be pitied; in which opinion I am not only joined by Mrs. Collins,
- but likewise by Lady Catherine and her daughter, to whom I have
- related the affair. They agree with me in apprehending that this
- false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of
- all the others; for who, as Lady Catherine herself
- condescendingly says, will connect themselves with such a family?
- And this consideration leads me moreover to reflect, with
- augmented satisfaction, on a certain event of last November; for
- had it been otherwise, I must have been involved in all your
- sorrow and disgrace. Let me then advise you, dear sir, to console
- yourself as much as possible, to throw off your unworthy child
- from your affection for ever, and leave her to reap the fruits of
- her own heinous offense.
-
- “I am, dear sir, etc., etc.”
-
- Mr. Gardiner did not write again till he had received an answer
- from Colonel Forster; and then he had nothing of a pleasant
- nature to send. It was not known that Wickham had a single
- relationship with whom he kept up any connection, and it was
- certain that he had no near one living. His former acquaintances
- had been numerous; but since he had been in the militia, it did
- not appear that he was on terms of particular friendship with any
- of them. There was no one, therefore, who could be pointed out as
- likely to give any news of him. And in the wretched state of his
- own finances, there was a very powerful motive for secrecy, in
- addition to his fear of discovery by Lydia’s relations, for it
- had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him to a
- very considerable amount. Colonel Forster believed that more than
- a thousand pounds would be necessary to clear his expenses at
- Brighton. He owed a good deal in town, but his debts of honour
- were still more formidable. Mr. Gardiner did not attempt to
- conceal these particulars from the Longbourn family. Jane heard
- them with horror. “A gamester!” she cried. “This is wholly
- unexpected. I had not an idea of it.”
-
- Mr. Gardiner added in his letter, that they might expect to see
- their father at home on the following day, which was Saturday.
- Rendered spiritless by the ill-success of all their endeavours,
- he had yielded to his brother-in-law’s entreaty that he would
- return to his family, and leave it to him to do whatever occasion
- might suggest to be advisable for continuing their pursuit. When
- Mrs. Bennet was told of this, she did not express so much
- satisfaction as her children expected, considering what her
- anxiety for his life 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 is
- to fight Wickham, and make him marry her, if he comes away?”
-
- As Mrs. Gardiner began to wish to be at home, it was settled that
- she and the children should go to London, at the same time that
- Mr. Bennet came from it. The coach, therefore, took them the
- first stage of their journey, and brought its master back to
- Longbourn.
-
- Mrs. Gardiner went away in all the perplexity about Elizabeth and
- her Derbyshire friend that had attended her from that part of the
- world. His name had never been voluntarily mentioned before them
- by her niece; and the kind of half-expectation which Mrs.
- Gardiner had formed, of their being followed by a letter from
- him, had ended in nothing. Elizabeth had received none since her
- return that could come from Pemberley.
-
- The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse
- for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, therefore,
- could be fairly conjectured from _that_, though Elizabeth, who
- was by this time tolerably well acquainted with her own feelings,
- was perfectly aware that, had she known nothing of Darcy, she
- could have borne the dread of Lydia’s infamy somewhat better. It
- would have spared her, she thought, one sleepless night out of
- two.
-
- When Mr. Bennet arrived, he had all the appearance of his usual
- philosophic composure. He said as little as he had ever been in
- the habit of saying; made no mention of the business that had
- taken him away, and it was some time before his daughters had
- courage to speak of it.
-
- It was not till the afternoon, when he had joined them at tea,
- that Elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on
- her briefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have endured,
- he replied, “Say nothing of that. Who should suffer but myself?
- It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it.”
-
- “You must not be too severe upon yourself,” replied Elizabeth.
-
- “You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature is so
- prone to fall into it! No, Lizzy, let me once in my life feel how
- much I have been to blame. I am not afraid of being overpowered
- by the impression. It will pass away soon enough.”
-
- “Do you suppose them to be in London?”
-
- “Yes; where else can they be so well concealed?”
-
- “And Lydia used to want to go to London,” added Kitty.
-
- “She is happy then,” said her father drily; “and her residence
- there will probably be of some duration.”
-
- Then after a short silence he continued:
-
- “Lizzy, I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice
- to me last May, which, considering the event, shows some
- greatness of mind.”
-
- They were interrupted by Miss Bennet, who came to fetch her
- mother’s tea.
-
- “This is a parade,” he cried, “which does one good; it gives such
- an elegance to misfortune! Another day I will do the same; I will
- sit in my library, in my nightcap and powdering gown, and give as
- much trouble as I can; or, perhaps, I may defer it till Kitty
- runs away.”
-
- “I am not going to run away, papa,” said Kitty fretfully. “If _I_
- should ever go to Brighton, I would behave better than Lydia.”
-
- “_You_ go to Brighton. I would not trust you so near it as
- Eastbourne for fifty pounds! No, Kitty, I have at last learnt to
- be cautious, and you will feel the effects of it. No officer is
- ever to enter into my house again, nor even to pass through the
- village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited, unless you stand up
- with one of your sisters. And you are never to stir out of doors
- till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day
- in a rational manner.”
-
- Kitty, who took all these threats in a serious light, began to
- cry.
-
- “Well, well,” said he, “do not make yourself unhappy. If you are
- a good girl for the next ten years, I will take you to a review
- at the end of them.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 49
-
- Two days after Mr. Bennet’s return, as Jane and Elizabeth were
- walking together in the shrubbery behind the house, they saw the
- housekeeper coming towards them, and, concluding that she came to
- call them to their mother, went forward to meet her; but, instead
- of the expected summons, when they approached her, she said to
- Miss Bennet, “I beg your pardon, madam, for interrupting you, but
- I was in hopes you might have got some good news from town, so I
- took the liberty of coming to ask.”
-
- “What do you mean, Hill? We have heard nothing from town.”
-
- “Dear madam,” cried Mrs. Hill, in great astonishment, “don’t you
- know there is an express come for master from Mr. Gardiner? He
- has been here this half-hour, and master has had a letter.”
-
- Away ran the girls, too eager to get in to have time for speech.
- They ran through the vestibule into the breakfast-room; from
- thence to the library; their father was in neither; and they were
- on the point of seeking him up stairs with their mother, when
- they were met by the butler, who said:
-
- “If you are looking for my master, ma’am, he is walking towards
- the little copse.”
-
- Upon this information, they instantly passed through the hall
- once more, and ran across the lawn after their father, who was
- deliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of
- the paddock.
-
- Jane, who was not so light nor so much in the habit of running as
- Elizabeth, soon lagged behind, while her sister, panting for
- breath, came up with him, and eagerly cried out:
-
- “Oh, papa, what news—what news? Have you heard from my uncle?”
-
- “Yes I have had a letter from him by express.”
-
- “Well, and what news does it bring—good or bad?”
-
- “What is there of good to be expected?” said he, taking the
- letter from his pocket. “But perhaps you would like to read it.”
-
- Elizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand. Jane now came up.
-
- “Read it aloud,” said their father, “for I hardly know myself
- what it is about.”
-
- “Gracechurch Street, _Monday, August_ 2.
-
- “My dear Brother,
- “At last I am able to send you some tidings of my niece, and such
- as, upon the whole, I hope it will give you satisfaction. Soon
- after you left me on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to find out
- in what part of London they were. The particulars I reserve till
- we meet; it is enough to know they are discovered. I have seen
- them both—”
- “Then it is as I always hoped,” cried Jane; “they are
- married!”
-
- Elizabeth read on:
-
- “I have seen them both. They are not married, nor can I find
- there was any intention of being so; but if you are willing to
- perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your
- side, I hope it will not be long before they are. All that is
- required of you is, to assure to your daughter, by settlement,
- her equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among your
- children after the decease of yourself and my sister; and,
- moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during
- your life, one hundred pounds per annum. These are conditions
- which, considering everything, I had no hesitation in complying
- with, as far as I thought myself privileged, for you. I shall
- send this by express, that no time may be lost in bringing me
- your answer. You will easily comprehend, from these particulars,
- that Mr. Wickham’s circumstances are not so hopeless as they are
- generally believed to be. The world has been deceived in that
- respect; and I am happy to say there will be some little money,
- even when all his debts are discharged, to settle on my niece, in
- addition to her own fortune. If, as I conclude will be the case,
- you send me full powers to act in your name throughout the whole
- of this business, I will immediately give directions to
- Haggerston for preparing a proper settlement. There will not be
- the smallest occasion for your coming to town again; therefore
- stay quiet at Longbourn, and depend on my diligence and care.
- Send back your answer as fast as you can, and be careful to write
- explicitly. We have judged it best that my niece should be
- married from this house, of which I hope you will approve. She
- comes to us to-day. I shall write again as soon as anything more
- is determined on. Yours, etc.,
-
- “EDW. GARDINER.”
-
- “Is it possible?” cried Elizabeth, when she had finished. “Can it
- be possible that he will marry her?”
-
- “Wickham is not so undeserving, then, as we thought him,” said
- her sister. “My dear father, I congratulate you.”
-
- “And have you answered the letter?” cried Elizabeth.
-
- “No; but it must be done soon.”
-
- Most earnestly did she then entreat him to lose no more time
- before he wrote.
-
- “Oh! my dear father,” she cried, “come back and write
- immediately. Consider how important every moment is in such a
- case.”
-
- “Let me write for you,” said Jane, “if you dislike the trouble
- yourself.”
-
- “I dislike it very much,” he replied; “but it must be done.”
-
- And so saying, he turned back with them, and walked towards the
- house.
-
- “And may I ask—” said Elizabeth; “but the terms, I suppose, must
- be complied with.”
-
- “Complied with! I am only ashamed of his asking so little.”
-
- “And they _must_ marry! Yet he is _such_ a man!”
-
- “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, how
- much money your uncle has laid down to bring it about; and the
- other, how am I ever to pay him.”
-
- “Money! My uncle!” cried Jane, “what do you mean, sir?”
-
- “I mean, that no man in his senses would marry Lydia on so slight
- a temptation as one hundred a year during my life, and fifty
- after I am gone.”
-
- “That is very true,” said Elizabeth; “though it had not occurred
- to me before. His debts to be discharged, and something still to
- remain! Oh! it must be my uncle’s doings! Generous, good man, I
- am afraid he has distressed himself. A small sum could not do all
- this.”
-
- “No,” said her father; “Wickham’s a fool if he takes her with a
- farthing less than ten thousand pounds. I should be sorry to
- think so ill of him, in the very beginning of our relationship.”
-
- “Ten thousand pounds! Heaven forbid! How is half such a sum to be
- repaid?”
-
- Mr. Bennet made no answer, and each of them, deep in thought,
- continued silent till they reached the house. Their father then
- went on to the library to write, and the girls walked into the
- breakfast-room.
-
- “And they are really to be married!” cried Elizabeth, as soon as
- they were by themselves. “How strange this is! And for _this_ we
- are to be thankful. That they should marry, small as is their
- chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are
- forced to rejoice. Oh, Lydia!”
-
- “I comfort myself with thinking,” replied Jane, “that he
- certainly would not marry Lydia if he had not a real regard for
- her. Though our kind uncle has done something towards clearing
- him, I cannot believe that ten thousand pounds, or anything like
- it, has been advanced. He has children of his own, and may have
- more. How could he spare half ten thousand pounds?”
-
- “If he were ever able to learn what Wickham’s debts have been,”
- said Elizabeth, “and how much is settled on his side on our
- sister, we shall exactly know what Mr. Gardiner has done for
- them, because Wickham has not sixpence of his own. The kindness
- of my uncle and aunt can never be requited. Their taking her
- home, and affording her their personal protection and
- countenance, is such a sacrifice to her advantage as years of
- gratitude cannot enough acknowledge. By this time she is actually
- with them! If such goodness does not make her miserable now, she
- will never deserve to be happy! What a meeting for her, when she
- first sees my aunt!”
-
- “We must endeavour to forget all that has passed on either side,”
- said Jane: “I hope and trust they will yet be happy. His
- consenting to marry her is a proof, I will believe, that he is
- come to a right way of thinking. Their mutual affection will
- steady them; and I flatter myself they will settle so quietly,
- and live in so rational a manner, as may in time make their past
- imprudence forgotten.”
-
- “Their conduct has been such,” replied Elizabeth, “as neither
- you, nor I, nor anybody can ever forget. It is useless to talk of
- it.”
-
- It now occurred to the girls that their mother was in all
- likelihood perfectly ignorant of what had happened. They went to
- the library, therefore, and asked their father whether he would
- not wish them to make it known to her. He was writing and,
- without raising his head, coolly replied:
-
- “Just as you please.”
-
- “May we take my uncle’s letter to read to her?”
-
- “Take whatever you like, and get away.”
-
- Elizabeth took the letter from his writing-table, and they went
- up stairs together. Mary and Kitty were both with Mrs. Bennet:
- one communication would, therefore, do for all. After a slight
- preparation for good news, the letter was read aloud. Mrs. Bennet
- could hardly contain herself. As soon as Jane had read Mr.
- Gardiner’s hope of Lydia’s being soon married, her joy burst
- forth, and every following sentence added to its exuberance. She
- was now in an irritation as violent from delight, as she had ever
- been fidgety from alarm and vexation. To know that her daughter
- would be married was enough. She was disturbed by no fear for her
- felicity, nor humbled by any remembrance 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 at
- sixteen! My good, kind brother! I knew how it would be. I knew he
- would manage everything! How I long to see her! and to see dear
- Wickham too! But the clothes, the wedding clothes! I will write
- to my sister Gardiner about them directly. Lizzy, my dear, run
- down to your father, and ask him how much he will give her. Stay,
- stay, I will go myself. Ring the bell, Kitty, for Hill. I will
- put on my things in a moment. My dear, dear Lydia! How merry we
- shall be together when we meet!”
-
- Her eldest daughter endeavoured to give some relief to the
- violence of these transports, by leading her thoughts to the
- obligations which Mr. Gardiner’s behaviour laid them all under.
-
- “For we must attribute this happy conclusion,” she added, “in a
- great measure to his kindness. We are persuaded that he has
- pledged himself to assist Mr. Wickham with money.”
-
- “Well,” cried her mother, “it is all very right; who should do it
- but her own uncle? If he had not had a family of his own, I and
- my children must have had all his money, you know; and it is the
- first time we have ever had anything from him, except a few
- presents. Well! I am so happy! In a short time I shall have a
- daughter married. Mrs. Wickham! How well it sounds! And she was
- only sixteen last June. My dear Jane, I am in such a flutter,
- that I am sure I can’t write; so I will dictate, and you write
- for me. We will settle with your father about the money
- afterwards; but the things should be ordered immediately.”
-
- She was then proceeding to all the particulars of calico, muslin,
- and cambric, and would shortly have dictated some very plentiful
- orders, had not Jane, though with some difficulty, persuaded her
- to wait till her father was at leisure to be consulted. One day’s
- delay, she observed, would be of small importance; and her mother
- was too happy to be quite so obstinate as usual. Other schemes,
- too, came into her head.
-
- “I will go to Meryton,” said she, “as soon as I am dressed, and
- tell the good, good news to my sister Philips. And as I come
- back, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long. Kitty, run down and
- order the carriage. An airing would do me a great deal of good, I
- am sure. Girls, can I do anything for you in Meryton? Oh! Here
- comes Hill! My dear Hill, have you heard the good news? Miss
- Lydia is going to be married; and you shall all have a bowl of
- punch to make merry at her wedding.”
-
- Mrs. Hill began instantly to express her joy. Elizabeth received
- her congratulations amongst the rest, and then, sick of this
- folly, took refuge in her own room, that she might think with
- freedom.
-
- Poor Lydia’s situation must, at best, be bad enough; but that it
- was no worse, she had need to be thankful. She felt it so; and
- though, in looking forward, neither rational happiness nor
- worldly prosperity could be justly expected for her sister, in
- looking back to what they had feared, only two hours ago, she
- felt all the advantages of what they had gained.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 50
-
- Mr. Bennet had very often wished before this period of his life
- that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an
- annual sum for the better provision of his children, and of his
- wife, if she survived him. He now wished it more than ever. Had
- he done his duty in that respect, Lydia need not have been
- indebted to her uncle for whatever of honour or credit could now
- be purchased for her. The satisfaction of prevailing on one of
- the most worthless young men in Great Britain to be her husband
- might then have rested in its proper place.
-
- He was seriously concerned that a cause of so little advantage to
- anyone should be forwarded at the sole expense of his
- brother-in-law, and he was determined, if possible, to find out
- the extent of his assistance, and to discharge the obligation as
- soon as he could.
-
- When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be
- perfectly useless, for, of course, they were to have a son. The
- son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should
- be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means
- be provided for. Five daughters successively entered the world,
- but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years
- after Lydia’s birth, had been certain that he would. This event
- had at last been despaired of, but it was then too late to be
- saving. Mrs. Bennet had no turn for economy, and her husband’s
- love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their
- income.
-
- Five thousand pounds was settled by marriage articles on Mrs.
- Bennet and the children. But in what proportions it should be
- divided amongst the latter depended on the will of the parents.
- This was one point, with regard to Lydia, at least, which was now
- to be settled, and Mr. Bennet could have no hesitation in
- acceding to the proposal before him. In terms of grateful
- acknowledgment for the kindness of his brother, though expressed
- most concisely, he then delivered on paper his perfect
- approbation of all that was done, and his willingness to fulfil
- the engagements that had been made for him. He had never before
- supposed that, could Wickham be prevailed on to marry his
- daughter, it would be done with so little inconvenience to
- himself as by the present arrangement. He would scarcely be ten
- pounds a year the loser by the hundred that was to be paid them;
- for, what with her board and pocket allowance, and the continual
- presents in money which passed to her through her mother’s hands,
- Lydia’s expenses had been very little within that sum.
-
- That it would be done with such trifling exertion on his side,
- too, was another very welcome surprise; for his wish at present
- was to have as little trouble in the business as possible. When
- the first transports of rage which had produced his activity in
- seeking her were over, he naturally returned to all his former
- indolence. His letter was soon dispatched; for, though dilatory
- in undertaking business, he was quick in its execution. He begged
- to know further particulars of what he was indebted to his
- brother, but was too angry with Lydia to send any message to her.
-
- The good news spread quickly through the house, and with
- proportionate speed through the neighbourhood. It was borne in
- the latter with decent philosophy. To be sure, it would have been
- more for the advantage of conversation had Miss Lydia Bennet come
- upon the town; or, as the happiest alternative, been secluded
- from the world, in some distant farmhouse. But there was much to
- be talked of in marrying her; and the good-natured wishes for her
- well-doing which had proceeded before from all the spiteful old
- ladies in Meryton lost but a little of their spirit in this
- change of circumstances, because with such an husband her misery
- was considered certain.
-
- It was a fortnight since Mrs. Bennet had been downstairs; but on
- this happy day she again took her seat at the head of her table,
- and in spirits oppressively high. No sentiment of shame gave a
- damp to her triumph. The marriage of a daughter, which had been
- the first object of her wishes since Jane was sixteen, was now on
- the point of accomplishment, and her thoughts and her words ran
- wholly on those attendants of elegant nuptials, fine muslins, new
- carriages, and servants. She was busily searching through the
- neighbourhood for a proper situation for her daughter, and,
- without knowing or considering what their income might be,
- rejected many as deficient in size and importance.
-
- “Haye Park might do,” said she, “if the Gouldings could quit
- it—or the great house at Stoke, if the drawing-room were larger;
- but Ashworth is too far off! I could not bear to have her ten
- miles from me; and as for Pulvis Lodge, the attics are dreadful.”
-
- Her husband allowed her to talk on without interruption while the
- servants remained. But when they had withdrawn, he said to her:
- “Mrs. Bennet, before you take any or all of these houses for your
- son and daughter, let us come to a right understanding. Into
- _one_ house in this neighbourhood they shall never have
- admittance. I will not encourage the impudence of either, by
- receiving them at Longbourn.”
-
- A long dispute followed this declaration; but Mr. Bennet was
- firm. It soon led to another; and Mrs. Bennet found, with
- amazement and horror, that her husband would not advance a guinea
- to buy clothes for his daughter. He protested that she should
- receive from him no mark of affection whatever on the occasion.
- Mrs. Bennet could hardly comprehend it. That his anger could be
- carried to such a point of inconceivable resentment as to refuse
- his daughter a privilege without which her marriage would
- scarcely seem valid, exceeded all she could believe possible. She
- was more alive to the disgrace which her want of new clothes must
- reflect on her daughter’s nuptials, than to any sense of shame at
- her eloping and living with Wickham a fortnight before they took
- place.
-
- Elizabeth was now most heartily sorry that she had, from the
- distress of the moment, been led to make Mr. Darcy acquainted
- with their fears for her sister; for since her marriage would so
- shortly give the proper termination to the elopement, they might
- hope to conceal its unfavourable beginning from all those who
- 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 confidently
- depended; but, at the same time, there was no one whose knowledge
- of a sister’s frailty would have mortified her so much—not,
- however, from any fear of disadvantage from it individually to
- herself, for, at any rate, there seemed a gulf impassable between
- them. Had Lydia’s marriage been concluded on the most honourable
- terms, it was not to be supposed that Mr. Darcy would connect
- himself with a family where, to every other objection, would now
- be added an alliance and relationship of 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
- of his feeling in Derbyshire, could not in rational expectation
- survive such a blow as this. She was humbled, she was grieved;
- she repented, though she hardly knew of what. She became jealous
- of 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 gaining intelligence. She was convinced that she could have
- been happy with him, when it was no longer likely they should
- meet.
-
- What a triumph for him, as she often thought, could he know that
- the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four months ago,
- would now have been most gladly and gratefully received! He was
- as generous, she doubted not, as the most generous of his sex;
- but while he was mortal, there must be a triumph.
-
- She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in
- disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding
- and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her
- wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of
- both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been
- softened, his manners improved; and from his judgement,
- information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received
- benefit of greater importance.
-
- But no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring multitude
- what connubial felicity really was. An union of a different
- tendency, and precluding the possibility of the other, was soon
- to be formed in their family.
-
- How Wickham and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable
- independence, she could not imagine. But how little of permanent
- happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together
- because their passions were stronger than their virtue, she could
- easily conjecture.
-
- Mr. Gardiner soon wrote again to his brother. To Mr. Bennet’s
- acknowledgments he briefly replied, with assurance of his
- eagerness to promote the welfare of any of his family; and
- concluded with entreaties that the subject might never be
- mentioned to him again. The principal purport of his letter was
- to inform them that Mr. Wickham had resolved on quitting the
- militia.
-
- “It was greatly my wish that he should do so,” he added, “as soon
- as his marriage was fixed on. And I think you will agree with me,
- in considering the removal from that corps as highly advisable,
- both on his account and my niece’s. It is Mr. Wickham’s intention
- to go into the regulars; and among his former friends, there are
- still some who are able and willing to assist him in the army. He
- has the promise of an ensigncy in General ——’s regiment, now
- quartered in the North. It is an advantage to have it so far from
- this part of the kingdom. He promises fairly; and I hope among
- different people, where they may each have a character to
- preserve, they will both be more prudent. I have written to
- Colonel Forster, to inform him of our present arrangements, and
- to request that he will satisfy the various creditors of Mr.
- Wickham in and near Brighton, with assurances of speedy payment,
- for which I have pledged myself. And will you give yourself the
- trouble of carrying similar assurances to his creditors in
- Meryton, of whom I shall subjoin a list according to his
- information? He has given 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 Longbourn; and I understand from Mrs.
- Gardiner, that my niece is very desirous of seeing you all before
- she leaves the South. She is well, and begs to be dutifully
- remembered to you and her mother.—Yours, etc.,
-
- “E. GARDINER.”
-
- Mr. Bennet and his daughters saw all the advantages of Wickham’s
- removal from the ——shire as clearly as Mr. Gardiner could do. But
- Mrs. Bennet was not so well pleased with it. Lydia’s being
- settled in the North, just when she had expected most pleasure
- and pride in her company, for she had by no means given up her
- plan of their residing in Hertfordshire, was a severe
- disappointment; and, besides, it was such a pity that Lydia
- should be taken from a regiment where she was acquainted with
- everybody, and had so many favourites.
-
- “She is so fond of Mrs. Forster,” said she, “it will be quite
- shocking to send her away! And there are several of the young
- men, too, that she likes very much. The officers may not be so
- pleasant in General ——’s regiment.”
-
- His daughter’s request, for such it might be considered, of being
- admitted into her family again before she set off for the North,
- received at first an absolute negative. But Jane and Elizabeth,
- who agreed in wishing, for the sake of their sister’s feelings
- and consequence, that she should be noticed on her marriage by
- her parents, urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so
- mildly, to receive her and her husband at Longbourn, as soon as
- they were married, that he was prevailed on to think as they
- thought, and act as they wished. And their mother had the
- satisfaction of knowing that she would be able to show her
- married daughter in the neighbourhood before she was banished to
- the North. When Mr. Bennet wrote again to his brother, therefore,
- he sent his permission for them to come; and it was settled, that
- as soon as the ceremony was over, they should proceed to
- Longbourn. Elizabeth was surprised, however, that Wickham should
- consent to such a scheme, and had she consulted only her own
- inclination, any meeting with him would have been the last object
- of her wishes.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 51
-
- Their sister’s wedding day arrived; and Jane and Elizabeth felt
- for her probably more than she felt for herself. The carriage was
- sent to meet them at ——, and they were to return in it by
- dinner-time. Their arrival was dreaded by the elder Miss Bennets,
- and Jane more especially, who gave Lydia the feelings which would
- have attended herself, had _she_ been the culprit, and was
- wretched in the thought of what her sister must endure.
-
- They came. The family were assembled in the breakfast room to
- receive them. Smiles decked the face of Mrs. Bennet as the
- carriage drove up to the door; her husband looked impenetrably
- grave; her daughters, alarmed, anxious, uneasy.
-
- Lydia’s voice was heard in the vestibule; the door was thrown
- open, and she ran into the room. Her mother stepped forwards,
- embraced her, and welcomed her with rapture; gave her hand, with
- an affectionate smile, to Wickham, who followed his lady; and
- wished them both joy with an alacrity which shewed no doubt of
- their happiness.
-
- Their reception from Mr. Bennet, to whom they then turned, was
- not quite so cordial. His countenance rather gained in austerity;
- and he scarcely opened his lips. The easy assurance of the young
- couple, indeed, was enough to provoke him. Elizabeth was
- disgusted, and even Miss Bennet was shocked. Lydia was Lydia
- still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless. She turned
- from sister to sister, demanding their congratulations; and when
- at length they all sat down, looked eagerly round the room, took
- notice of some little alteration in it, and observed, with a
- laugh, that it was a great while since she had been there.
-
- Wickham was not at all more distressed than herself, but his
- manners were always so pleasing, that had his character and his
- marriage been exactly what they ought, his smiles and his easy
- address, while he claimed their relationship, would have
- delighted them all. Elizabeth had not before believed him quite
- equal to such assurance; but she sat down, resolving within
- herself to draw no limits in future to the impudence of an
- impudent man. _She_ blushed, and Jane blushed; but the cheeks of
- the two who caused their confusion suffered no variation of
- colour.
-
- There was no want of discourse. The bride and her mother could
- neither of them talk fast enough; and Wickham, who happened to
- sit near Elizabeth, began enquiring after his acquaintance in
- that neighbourhood, with a good humoured ease which she felt very
- unable to equal in her replies. They seemed each of them to have
- the happiest memories in the world. Nothing of the past was
- recollected with pain; and Lydia led voluntarily to subjects
- which her sisters would not have alluded to for the world.
-
- “Only think of its being three months,” she cried, “since I went
- away; it seems but a fortnight I declare; and yet there have been
- things enough happened in the time. Good gracious! when I went
- away, I am sure I had no more idea of being married till I came
- back again! though I thought it would be very good fun if I was.”
-
- Her father lifted up his eyes. Jane was distressed. Elizabeth
- looked expressively at Lydia; but she, who never heard nor saw
- anything of which she chose to be insensible, gaily continued,
- “Oh! mamma, do the people hereabouts know I am married to-day? I
- was afraid they might not; and we overtook William Goulding in
- his curricle, so I was determined he should know it, and so I let
- down the side-glass next to him, and took off my glove, and let
- my hand just rest upon the window frame, so that he might see the
- ring, and then I bowed and smiled like anything.”
-
- Elizabeth could bear it no longer. She got up, and ran out of the
- room; and returned no more, till she heard them passing through
- the hall to the dining parlour. She then joined them soon enough
- to see Lydia, with anxious parade, walk up to her mother’s right
- hand, and hear her say to her eldest sister, “Ah! Jane, I take
- your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married
- woman.”
-
- It was not to be supposed that time would give Lydia that
- embarrassment from which she had been so wholly free at first.
- Her ease and good spirits increased. She longed to see Mrs.
- Phillips, the Lucases, and all their other neighbours, and to
- hear herself called “Mrs. Wickham” by each of them; and in the
- mean time, she went after dinner to show her ring, and boast of
- being married, to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids.
-
- “Well, mamma,” said she, when they were all returned to the
- breakfast room, “and what do you think of my husband? Is not he a
- charming man? I am sure my sisters must all envy me. I only hope
- they may have half my good luck. They must all go to Brighton.
- That is the place to get husbands. What a pity it is, mamma, we
- did not all go.”
-
- “Very true; and if I had my will, we should. But my dear Lydia, I
- don’t at all like your going such a way off. Must it be so?”
-
- “Oh, lord! yes;—there is nothing in that. I shall like it of all
- things. You and papa, and my sisters, must come down and see us.
- We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I dare say there
- will be some balls, and I will take care to get good partners for
- them all.”
-
- “I should like it beyond anything!” said her mother.
-
- “And then when you go away, you may leave one or two of my
- sisters behind you; and I dare say I shall get husbands for them
- before the winter is over.”
-
- “I thank you for my share of the favour,” said Elizabeth; “but I
- do not particularly like your way of getting husbands.”
-
- Their visitors were not to remain above ten days with them. Mr.
- Wickham had received his commission before he left London, and he
- was to join his regiment at the end of a fortnight.
-
- No one but Mrs. Bennet regretted that their stay would be so
- short; and she made the most of the time by visiting about with
- her daughter, and having very frequent parties at home. These
- parties were acceptable to all; to avoid a family circle was even
- more desirable to such as did think, than such as did not.
-
- Wickham’s affection for Lydia was just what Elizabeth had
- expected to find it; not equal to Lydia’s for him. She had
- scarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied, from the
- reason of things, that their elopement had been brought on by the
- strength of her love, rather than by his; and she would have
- wondered why, without violently caring for her, he chose to elope
- with her at all, had she not felt certain that his flight was
- rendered necessary by distress of circumstances; and if that were
- the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of
- having a companion.
-
- Lydia was exceedingly fond of him. He was her dear Wickham on
- every 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 kill
- more birds on the first of September, than any body else in the
- country.
-
- One morning, soon after their arrival, as she was sitting with
- her two elder sisters, she said to Elizabeth:
-
- “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?”
-
- “No really,” replied Elizabeth; “I think there cannot be too
- little said on the subject.”
-
- “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
- lodgings were in that parish. And it was settled that we should
- all be there by eleven o’clock. My uncle and aunt and I were to
- go together; and the others were to meet us at the church. Well,
- Monday morning came, and I was in such a fuss! I was so afraid,
- you know, that something would happen to put it off, and then I
- should have gone quite distracted. And there was my aunt, all the
- time I was dressing, preaching and talking away just as if she
- was reading a sermon. However, I did not hear above one word in
- ten, for I was thinking, you may suppose, of my dear Wickham. I
- longed to know whether he would be married in his blue coat.”
-
- “Well, and so we breakfasted at ten as usual; I thought it would
- never be over; for, by the bye, you are to understand, that my
- uncle and aunt were horrid unpleasant all the time I was with
- them. If you’ll believe me, I did not once put my foot out of
- doors, though I was there a fortnight. Not one party, or scheme,
- or anything. To be sure London was rather thin, but, however, the
- Little Theatre was open. Well, and so just as the carriage came
- to the door, my uncle was called away upon business to that
- horrid man Mr. Stone. And then, you know, 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 uncle was to give me away; and if we
- were beyond the hour, we could not be married all day. But,
- luckily, he came back again in ten minutes’ time, and then we all
- set out. However, I recollected afterwards that if he _had_ been
- prevented going, the wedding need not be put off, for Mr. Darcy
- might have done as well.”
-
- “Mr. Darcy!” repeated Elizabeth, in utter amazement.
-
- “Oh, yes!—he was to come there with Wickham, you know. But
- gracious me! I quite forgot! I ought not to have said a word
- about it. I promised them so faithfully! What will Wickham say?
- It was to be such a secret!”
-
- “If it was to be secret,” said Jane, “say not another word on the
- subject. You may depend upon my seeking no further.”
-
- “Oh! certainly,” said Elizabeth, though burning with curiosity;
- “we will ask you no questions.”
-
- “Thank you,” said Lydia, “for if you did, I should certainly tell
- you all, and then Wickham would be angry.”
-
- On such encouragement to ask, Elizabeth was forced to put it out
- of her power, by running away.
-
- But to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible; or at
- least it was impossible not to try for information. Mr. Darcy had
- been at her sister’s wedding. It was exactly a scene, and exactly
- among people, where he had apparently least to do, and least
- temptation to go. Conjectures as to the meaning of it, rapid and
- wild, hurried into her brain; but she was satisfied with none.
- Those that best pleased her, as placing his conduct in the
- noblest light, seemed most improbable. She could not bear such
- suspense; and hastily seizing a sheet of paper, wrote a short
- letter to her aunt, to request an explanation of what Lydia had
- dropt, if it were compatible with the secrecy which had been
- intended.
-
- “You may readily comprehend,” she added, “what my curiosity must
- be to know how a person unconnected with any of us, and
- (comparatively speaking) a stranger to our family, should have
- been amongst you at such a time. Pray write instantly, and let me
- understand it—unless it is, for very cogent reasons, to remain in
- the secrecy which Lydia seems to think necessary; and then I must
- endeavour to be satisfied with ignorance.”
-
- “Not that I _shall_, though,” she added to herself, as she
- finished the letter; “and my dear aunt, if you do not tell me in
- an honourable manner, I shall certainly be reduced to tricks and
- stratagems to find it out.”
-
- Jane’s delicate sense of honour would not allow her to speak to
- Elizabeth privately of what Lydia had let fall; Elizabeth was
- glad of it;—till it appeared whether her enquiries would receive
- any satisfaction, she had rather be without a confidante.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 52
-
- Elizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her
- letter as soon as she possibly could. She was no sooner in
- possession of it than, hurrying into the little copse, where she
- was least likely to be interrupted, she sat down on one of the
- benches and prepared to be happy; for the length of the letter
- convinced her that it did not contain a denial.
-
- “Gracechurch Street, _Sept_. 6.
-
- “My dear Niece,
-
- “I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole
- morning to answering it, as I foresee that a _little_ writing
- will not comprise what I have to tell you. I must confess myself
- surprised by your application; I did not expect it from _you_.
- Don’t think me angry, however, for I only mean to let you know
- that I had not imagined such enquiries to be necessary on _your_
- side. If you do not choose to understand me, forgive my
- impertinence. Your uncle is as much surprised as I am—and nothing
- but the belief of your being a party concerned would have allowed
- him to act as he has done. But if you are really innocent and
- ignorant, I must be more explicit.
-
- “On the very day of my coming home from Longbourn, your uncle had
- a most unexpected visitor. Mr. Darcy called, and was shut up with
- him several hours. It was all over before I arrived; so my
- curiosity was not so dreadfully racked as _yours_ seems to have
- been. He came to tell Mr. Gardiner that he had found out where
- your sister and Mr. Wickham were, and that he had seen and talked
- with them both; Wickham repeatedly, Lydia once. From what I can
- collect, he left Derbyshire only one day after ourselves, and
- came to town with the resolution of hunting for them. The motive
- professed was his conviction of its being owing to himself that
- Wickham’s worthlessness had not been so well known as to make it
- impossible for any young woman of character to love or confide in
- him. He generously imputed the whole to his mistaken pride, and
- confessed that he had before thought it beneath him to lay his
- private actions open to the world. His character was to speak for
- itself. He called it, therefore, his duty to step forward, and
- endeavour to remedy an evil which had been brought on by himself.
- If he _had another_ motive, I am sure it would never disgrace
- him. He had been some days in town, before he was able to
- discover them; but he had something to direct his search, which
- was more than _we_ had; and the consciousness of this was another
- reason for his resolving to follow us.
-
- “There is a lady, it seems, a Mrs. Younge, who was some time ago
- governess to Miss Darcy, and was dismissed from her charge on
- some cause of disapprobation, though he did not say what. She
- then took a large house in Edward-street, and has since
- maintained herself by letting lodgings. This Mrs. Younge was, he
- knew, intimately acquainted with Wickham; and he went to her for
- intelligence of him as soon as he got to town. But it was two or
- three days before he could get from her what he wanted. She would
- not betray her trust, I suppose, without bribery and corruption,
- for she really did know where her friend was to be found. Wickham
- indeed had gone to her on their first arrival in London, and had
- she been able to receive them into her house, they would have
- taken up their abode with her. At length, however, our kind
- friend procured the wished-for direction. They were in —— street.
- He saw Wickham, and afterwards insisted on seeing Lydia. His
- first object with her, he acknowledged, had been to persuade her
- to quit her present disgraceful situation, and return to her
- friends as soon as they could be prevailed on to receive her,
- offering his assistance, as far as it would go. But he found
- Lydia absolutely resolved on remaining where she was. She cared
- for none of her friends; she wanted no help of his; she would not
- hear of leaving Wickham. She was sure they should be married some
- time or other, and it did not much signify when. Since such were
- her feelings, it only remained, he thought, to secure and
- expedite a marriage, which, in his very first conversation with
- Wickham, he easily learnt had never been _his_ design. He
- confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment, on account of
- some debts of honour, which were very pressing; and scrupled not
- to lay all the ill-consequences of Lydia’s flight on her own
- folly alone. He meant to resign his commission immediately; and
- as 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 have 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 able to do something for him, and his situation must have
- been benefited by marriage. But he found, in reply to this
- question, that Wickham still cherished the hope of more
- effectually making his fortune by marriage in some other country.
- Under such circumstances, however, he was not likely to be proof
- against the temptation of immediate relief.
-
- “They met several times, for there was much to be discussed.
- Wickham of course wanted more than he could get; but at length
- was reduced to be reasonable.
-
- “Everything being settled between _them_, Mr. Darcy’s next step
- was to make your uncle acquainted with it, and he first called in
- Gracechurch street the evening before I came home. But Mr.
- Gardiner could not be seen, and Mr. Darcy found, on further
- enquiry, that your father was still with him, but would quit town
- the next morning. He did not judge your father to be a person
- whom he could so properly consult as your uncle, and therefore
- readily postponed seeing him till after the departure of the
- former. He did not leave his name, and till the next day it was
- only known that a gentleman had called on business.
-
- “On Saturday he came again. Your father was gone, your uncle at
- home, and, 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 settled before Monday: as soon as it was, the express was
- sent off to Longbourn. But our visitor was very obstinate. I
- fancy, Lizzy, that obstinacy is the real defect of his character,
- after all. He has been accused 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 (and I do not speak it to be
- thanked, therefore say nothing about it), your uncle would most
- readily have settled the whole.
-
- “They battled it together for a long time, which was more than
- either the gentleman or lady concerned in it deserved. But at
- last your uncle was forced to yield, and instead of being allowed
- to be of use to his niece, was forced to put up with only having
- the probable credit of it, which went sorely against the grain;
- and I really believe your letter this morning gave him great
- pleasure, because it required an explanation that would rob him
- of his borrowed feathers, and give the praise where it was due.
- But, Lizzy, this must go no farther than yourself, or Jane at
- most.
-
- “You know pretty well, I suppose, what has been done for the
- young people. His debts are to be paid, amounting, I believe, to
- considerably more than a thousand pounds, another thousand in
- addition to her own settled upon _her_, and his commission
- purchased. The reason why all this was to be done by him alone,
- was such as I have given above. It was owing to him, to his
- reserve and want of proper consideration, that Wickham’s
- character had been so misunderstood, and consequently that he had
- been received and noticed as he was. Perhaps there was some truth
- in _this_; though I doubt whether _his_ reserve, or _anybody’s_
- reserve, can be answerable for the event. But in spite of all
- this fine talking, my dear Lizzy, you may rest perfectly assured
- that your uncle would never have yielded, if we had not given him
- credit for _another interest_ in the affair.
-
- “When all this was resolved on, he returned again to his friends,
- who were still staying at Pemberley; but it was agreed that he
- should be in London once more when the wedding took place, and
- all money matters were then to receive the last finish.
-
- “I believe I have now told you every thing. It is a relation
- which you tell me is to give you great surprise; I hope at least
- it will not afford you any displeasure. Lydia came to us; and
- Wickham had constant admission to the house. _He_ was exactly
- what he had been, when I knew him in Hertfordshire; but I would
- not tell you how little I was satisfied with _her_ behaviour
- while she staid with us, if I had not perceived, by Jane’s letter
- last Wednesday, that her conduct on coming home was exactly of a
- piece with it, and therefore what I now tell you can give you no
- fresh pain. I talked to her repeatedly in the most serious
- manner, representing to her all the wickedness of what she had
- done, and all the unhappiness she had brought on her family. If
- she heard me, it was by good luck, for I am sure she did not
- listen. I was sometimes quite provoked, but then I recollected my
- dear Elizabeth and Jane, and for their sakes had patience with
- her.
-
- “Mr. Darcy was punctual in his return, and as Lydia informed you,
- attended the wedding. He dined with us the next day, and was to
- leave town again on Wednesday or Thursday. Will you be very angry
- with me, my dear Lizzy, if I take this opportunity of saying
- (what I was never bold enough to say before) how much I like him.
- His behaviour to us has, in every respect, been as pleasing as
- when we were in Derbyshire. His understanding and opinions all
- please me; he wants nothing but a little more liveliness, and
- _that_, if he marry _prudently_, his wife may teach him. I
- thought him very sly;—he hardly ever mentioned your name. But
- slyness seems the fashion.
-
- “Pray forgive me if I have been very presuming, or at least do
- not punish me so far as to exclude me from P. I shall never be
- quite happy till I have been all round the park. A low phaeton,
- with a nice little pair of ponies, would be the very thing.
-
- “But I must write no more. The children have been wanting me this
- half hour.
-
- “Yours, very sincerely,
- “M. GARDINER.”
-
- The contents of this letter threw Elizabeth into a flutter of
- spirits, in which it was difficult to determine whether pleasure
- or pain bore the greatest share. The vague and unsettled
- suspicions which uncertainty had produced of what Mr. Darcy might
- have been doing to forward her sister’s match, which she had
- feared to encourage as an exertion of goodness too great to be
- probable, and at the same time dreaded to be just, from the pain
- of obligation, were proved beyond their greatest extent to be
- true! He had followed them purposely to town, he had taken on
- himself all the trouble and mortification attendant on such a
- research; in which supplication had been necessary to a woman
- whom he must abominate and despise, and where he was reduced to
- meet, frequently meet, reason with, persuade, and finally bribe,
- the man whom he always most wished to avoid, and whose very name
- it was punishment to him to pronounce. He had done all this for a
- girl whom he could neither regard nor esteem. Her heart did
- whisper that he had done it for her. But it was a hope shortly
- checked by other considerations, and she soon felt that even her
- vanity was insufficient, when required to depend on his affection
- for her—for a woman who had already refused him—as able to
- overcome a sentiment so natural as abhorrence against
- relationship with Wickham. Brother-in-law of Wickham! Every kind
- of pride must revolt from the connection. He had, to be sure,
- done much. She was ashamed to think how much. But he had given a
- reason for his interference, which asked no extraordinary stretch
- of belief. It was reasonable that he should feel he had been
- wrong; he had liberality, and he had the means of exercising it;
- and though she would not place herself as his principal
- inducement, she could, perhaps, believe that remaining partiality
- for her might assist his endeavours in a cause where her peace of
- mind must be materially concerned. It was painful, exceedingly
- painful, to know that they were under obligations to a person who
- could never receive a return. They owed the restoration of Lydia,
- her character, every thing, to him. Oh! how heartily did she
- grieve over every ungracious sensation she had ever encouraged,
- every saucy speech she had ever directed towards him. For herself
- she was humbled; but she was proud of him. Proud that in a cause
- of compassion and honour, he had been able to get the better of
- himself. She read over her aunt’s commendation of him again and
- again. It was hardly enough; but it pleased her. She was even
- sensible of some pleasure, though mixed with regret, on finding
- how steadfastly both she and her uncle had been persuaded that
- affection and confidence subsisted between Mr. Darcy and herself.
-
- She was roused from her seat, and her reflections, by some one’s
- approach; and before she could strike into another path, she was
- overtaken by Wickham.
-
- “I am afraid I interrupt your solitary ramble, my dear sister?”
- said he, as he joined her.
-
- “You certainly do,” she replied with a smile; “but it does not
- follow that the interruption must be unwelcome.”
-
- “I should be sorry indeed, if it were. _We_ were always good
- friends; and now we are better.”
-
- “True. Are the others coming out?”
-
- “I do not know. Mrs. Bennet and Lydia are going in the carriage
- to Meryton. And so, my dear sister, I find, from our uncle and
- aunt, that you have actually seen Pemberley.”
-
- She replied in the affirmative.
-
- “I almost envy you the pleasure, and yet I believe it would be
- too much for me, or else I could take it in my way to Newcastle.
- And you saw the old housekeeper, I suppose? Poor Reynolds, she
- was always very fond of me. But of course she did not mention my
- name to you.”
-
- “Yes, she did.”
-
- “And what did she say?”
-
- “That you were gone into the army, and she was afraid had—not
- turned out well. At such a distance as _that_, you know, things
- are strangely misrepresented.”
-
- “Certainly,” he replied, biting his lips. Elizabeth hoped she had
- silenced him; but he soon afterwards said:
-
- “I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month. We passed each
- other several times. I wonder what he can be doing there.”
-
- “Perhaps preparing for his marriage with Miss de Bourgh,” said
- Elizabeth. “It must be something particular, to take him there at
- this time of year.”
-
- “Undoubtedly. Did you see him while you were at Lambton? I
- thought I understood from the Gardiners that you had.”
-
- “Yes; he introduced us to his sister.”
-
- “And do you like her?”
-
- “Very much.”
-
- “I have heard, indeed, that she is uncommonly improved within
- this year or two. When I last saw her, she was not very
- promising. I am very glad you liked her. I hope she will turn out
- well.”
-
- “I dare say she will; she has got over the most trying age.”
-
- “Did you go by the village of Kympton?”
-
- “I do not recollect that we did.”
-
- “I mention it, because it is the living which I ought to have
- had. A most delightful place!—Excellent Parsonage House! It would
- have suited me in every respect.”
-
- “How should you have liked making sermons?”
-
- “Exceedingly well. I should have considered it as part of my
- duty, and the exertion would soon have been nothing. One ought
- not to repine;—but, to be sure, it would have been such a thing
- for me! The quiet, the retirement of such a life would have
- answered all my ideas of happiness! But it was not to be. Did you
- ever hear Darcy mention the circumstance, when you were in Kent?”
-
- “I _have_ heard from authority, which I thought _as good_, that
- it was left you conditionally only, and at the will of the
- present patron.”
-
- “You have. Yes, there was something in _that_; I told you so from
- the first, you may remember.”
-
- “I _did_ hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was
- not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that you
- actually declared your resolution of never taking orders, and
- that the business had been compromised accordingly.”
-
- “You did! and it was not wholly without foundation. You may
- remember what I told you on that point, when first we talked of
- it.”
-
- They were now almost at the door of the house, for she had walked
- fast to get rid of him; and unwilling, for her sister’s sake, to
- provoke him, she only said in reply, with a good-humoured smile:
-
- “Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know. Do not
- let us quarrel about the past. In future, I hope we shall be
- always of one mind.”
-
- She held out her hand; he kissed it with affectionate gallantry,
- though he hardly knew how to look, and they entered the house.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 53
-
- Mr. Wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation
- that he never again distressed himself, or provoked his dear
- sister Elizabeth, by introducing the subject of it; and she was
- pleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet.
-
- The day of his and Lydia’s departure soon came, and Mrs. Bennet
- was forced to submit to a separation, which, as her husband by no
- means entered into her scheme of their all going to Newcastle,
- was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth.
-
- “Oh! my dear Lydia,” she cried, “when shall we meet again?”
-
- “Oh, lord! I don’t know. Not these two or three years, perhaps.”
-
- “Write to me very often, my dear.”
-
- “As often as I can. But you know married women have never much
- time for writing. My sisters may write to _me_. They will have
- nothing else to do.”
-
- Mr. Wickham’s adieus were much more affectionate than his wife’s.
- He smiled, looked handsome, and said many pretty things.
-
- “He is as fine a fellow,” said Mr. Bennet, as soon as they were
- out of the house, “as ever I saw. He simpers, and smirks, and
- makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even
- Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable son-in-law.”
-
- The loss of her daughter made Mrs. Bennet very dull for several
- days.
-
- “I often think,” said she, “that there is nothing so bad as
- parting with one’s friends. One seems so forlorn without them.”
-
- “This is the consequence, you see, Madam, of marrying a
- daughter,” said Elizabeth. “It must make you better satisfied
- that your other four are single.”
-
- “It is no such thing. Lydia does not leave me because she is
- married, but only because her husband’s regiment happens to be so
- far off. If that had been nearer, she would not have gone so
- soon.”
-
- But the spiritless condition which this event threw her into was
- shortly relieved, and her mind opened again to the agitation of
- hope, by an article of news which then began to be in
- circulation. The housekeeper at Netherfield had received orders
- to prepare for the arrival of her master, who was coming down in
- a day or two, to shoot there for several weeks. Mrs. Bennet was
- quite in the fidgets. She looked at Jane, and smiled and shook
- her head by turns.
-
- “Well, well, and so Mr. Bingley is coming down, sister,” (for
- Mrs. Phillips first brought her the news). “Well, so much the
- better. Not that I care about it, though. He is nothing to us,
- you know, and I am sure I never want to see him again. But,
- however, he is very welcome to come to Netherfield, if he likes
- it. And who knows what _may_ happen? But that is nothing to us.
- You know, sister, we agreed long ago never to mention a word
- about it. And so, is it quite certain he is coming?”
-
- “You may depend on it,” replied the other, “for Mrs. Nicholls was
- in Meryton last night; I saw her passing by, and went out myself
- on purpose to know the truth of it; and she told me that it was
- certain true. He comes down on Thursday at the latest, very
- likely on Wednesday. She was going to the butcher’s, she told me,
- on purpose to order in some meat on Wednesday, and she has got
- three couple of ducks just fit to be killed.”
-
- Miss Bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without
- changing colour. It was many months since she had mentioned his
- name to Elizabeth; but now, as soon as they were alone together,
- she said:
-
- “I saw you look at me to-day, Lizzy, when my aunt told us of the
- present report; and I know I appeared distressed. But don’t
- imagine it was from any silly cause. I was only confused for the
- moment, because I felt that I _should_ be looked at. I do assure
- you that the news does not affect me either with pleasure or
- pain. I am glad of one thing, that he comes alone; because we
- shall see the less of him. Not that I am afraid of _myself_, but
- I dread other people’s remarks.”
-
- Elizabeth did not know what to make of it. Had she not seen him
- in Derbyshire, she might have supposed him capable of coming
- there with no other view than what was acknowledged; but she
- still thought him partial to Jane, and she wavered as to the
- greater probability of his coming there _with_ his friend’s
- permission, or being bold enough to come without it.
-
- “Yet it is hard,” she sometimes thought, “that this poor man
- cannot come to a house which he has legally hired, without
- raising all this speculation! I _will_ leave him to himself.”
-
- In spite of what her sister declared, and really believed to be
- her feelings in the expectation of his arrival, Elizabeth could
- easily perceive that her spirits were affected by it. They were
- more disturbed, more unequal, than she had often seen them.
-
- The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their
- parents, about a twelvemonth ago, was now brought forward again.
-
- “As soon as ever Mr. Bingley comes, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet,
- “you will wait on him of course.”
-
- “No, no. You forced me into visiting him last year, and promised,
- if I went to see him, he should marry one of my daughters. But it
- ended in nothing, and I will not be sent on a fool’s errand
- again.”
-
- His wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an
- attention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen, on his
- returning to Netherfield.
-
- “’Tis an _etiquette_ I despise,” said he. “If he wants our
- society, let him seek it. He knows where we live. I will not
- spend _my_ hours in running after my neighbours every time they
- go away and come back again.”
-
- “Well, all I know is, that it will be abominably rude if you do
- not wait on him. But, however, that shan’t prevent my asking him
- to dine here, I am determined. We must have Mrs. Long and the
- Gouldings soon. That will make thirteen with ourselves, so there
- will be just room at table for him.”
-
- Consoled by this resolution, she was the better able to bear her
- husband’s incivility; though it was very mortifying to know that
- her neighbours might all see Mr. Bingley, in consequence of it,
- before _they_ did. As the day of his arrival drew near,—
-
- “I begin to be sorry that he comes at all,” said Jane to her
- sister. “It would be nothing; I could see him with perfect
- indifference, but I can hardly bear to hear it thus perpetually
- talked of. My mother means well; but she does not know, no one
- can know, how much I suffer from what she says. Happy shall I be,
- when his stay at Netherfield is over!”
-
- “I wish I could say anything to comfort you,” replied Elizabeth;
- “but it is wholly out of my power. You must feel it; and the
- usual satisfaction of preaching patience to a sufferer is denied
- me, because you have always so much.”
-
- Mr. Bingley arrived. Mrs. Bennet, through the assistance of
- servants, contrived to have the earliest tidings of it, that the
- period of anxiety and fretfulness on her side might be as long as
- it could. She counted the days that must intervene before their
- invitation could be sent; hopeless of seeing him before. But on
- the third morning after his arrival in Hertfordshire, she saw
- him, from her dressing-room window, enter the paddock and ride
- towards the house.
-
- Her daughters were eagerly called to partake of her joy. Jane
- resolutely kept her place at the table; but Elizabeth, to satisfy
- her mother, went to the window—she looked,—she saw Mr. Darcy with
- him, and sat down again by her sister.
-
- “There is a gentleman with him, mamma,” said Kitty; “who can it
- be?”
-
- “Some acquaintance or other, my dear, I suppose; I am sure I do
- not know.”
-
- “La!” replied Kitty, “it looks just like that man that used to be
- with him before. Mr. what’s-his-name. That tall, proud man.”
-
- “Good gracious! Mr. Darcy!—and so it does, I vow. Well, any
- friend of Mr. Bingley’s will always be welcome here, to be sure;
- but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him.”
-
- Jane looked at Elizabeth with surprise and concern. She knew but
- little of their meeting in Derbyshire, and therefore felt for the
- awkwardness which must attend her sister, in seeing him almost
- for the first time after receiving his explanatory letter. Both
- sisters were uncomfortable enough. Each felt for the other, and
- of course for themselves; and their mother talked on, of her
- dislike of Mr. Darcy, and her resolution to be civil to him only
- as Mr. Bingley’s friend, without being heard by either of them.
- But Elizabeth had sources of uneasiness which could not be
- suspected by Jane, to whom she had never yet had courage to shew
- Mrs. Gardiner’s letter, or to relate her own change of sentiment
- towards him. To Jane, he could be only a man whose proposals she
- had refused, and whose merit she had undervalued; but to her own
- more extensive information, he was the person to whom the whole
- family were indebted for the first of benefits, and whom she
- regarded herself with an interest, if not quite so tender, at
- least as reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley. Her
- astonishment at his coming—at his coming to Netherfield, to
- Longbourn, and voluntarily seeking her again, was almost equal to
- what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour in
- Derbyshire.
-
- The colour which had been driven from her face, returned for half
- a minute with an additional glow, and a smile of delight added
- lustre to her eyes, as she thought for that space of time that
- his affection and wishes must still be unshaken. But she would
- not be secure.
-
- “Let me first see how he behaves,” said she; “it will then be
- early enough for expectation.”
-
- She sat intently at work, striving to be composed, and without
- daring to lift up her eyes, till anxious curiosity carried them
- to the face of her sister as the servant was approaching the
- door. Jane looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate than
- Elizabeth had expected. On the gentlemen’s appearing, her colour
- increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease, and with a
- propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of
- resentment or any unnecessary complaisance.
-
- Elizabeth said as little to either as civility would allow, and
- sat down again to her work, with an eagerness which it did not
- often command. She had ventured only one glance at Darcy. He
- looked serious, as usual; and, she thought, more as he had been
- used to look in Hertfordshire, than as she had seen him at
- Pemberley. But, perhaps he could not in her mother’s presence be
- what he was before her uncle and aunt. It was a painful, but not
- an improbable, conjecture.
-
- Bingley, she had likewise seen for an instant, and in that short
- period saw him looking both pleased and embarrassed. He was
- received by Mrs. Bennet with a degree of civility which made her
- two daughters ashamed, especially when contrasted with the cold
- and ceremonious politeness of her curtsey and address to his
- friend.
-
- Elizabeth, particularly, who knew that her mother owed to the
- latter the preservation of her favourite daughter from
- irremediable infamy, was hurt and distressed to a most painful
- degree by a distinction so ill applied.
-
- Darcy, after enquiring of her how Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did, a
- question which she could not answer without confusion, said
- scarcely anything. He was not seated by her; perhaps that was the
- reason of his silence; but it had not been so in Derbyshire.
- There he had talked to her friends, when he could not to herself.
- But now several minutes elapsed without bringing the sound of his
- voice; and when occasionally, unable to resist the impulse of
- curiosity, she raised her eyes to his face, she as often found
- him looking at Jane as at herself, and frequently on no object
- but the ground. More thoughtfulness and less anxiety to please,
- than when they last met, were plainly expressed. She was
- disappointed, and angry with herself for being so.
-
- “Could I expect it to be otherwise!” said she. “Yet why did he
- come?”
-
- She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself;
- and to him she had hardly courage to speak.
-
- She enquired after his sister, but could do no more.
-
- “It is a long time, Mr. Bingley, since you went away,” said Mrs.
- Bennet.
-
- He readily agreed to it.
-
- “I began to be afraid you would never come back again. People
- _did_ say you meant to quit the place entirely at Michaelmas;
- but, however, I hope it is not true. A great many changes have
- happened in the neighbourhood, since you went away. Miss Lucas is
- married and settled. And one of my own daughters. I suppose you
- have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It
- was in The Times and The Courier, I know; though it was not put
- in as it ought to be. It was only said, ‘Lately, George Wickham,
- Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet,’ without there being a syllable said
- of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything. It was
- my brother Gardiner’s drawing up too, and I wonder how he came to
- make such an awkward business of it. Did you see it?”
-
- Bingley replied that he did, and made his congratulations.
- Elizabeth dared not lift up her eyes. How Mr. Darcy looked,
- therefore, she could not tell.
-
- “It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well
- married,” continued her mother, “but at the same time, Mr.
- Bingley, it is very hard to have her taken such a way from me.
- They are gone down to Newcastle, a place quite northward, it
- 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 leaving
- the ——shire, and of his being gone into the regulars. Thank
- Heaven! he has _some_ friends, though perhaps not so many as he
- deserves.”
-
- Elizabeth, who knew this to be levelled at Mr. Darcy, was in such
- misery of shame, that she could hardly keep her seat. It drew
- from her, however, the exertion of speaking, which nothing else
- had so effectually done before; and she asked Bingley whether he
- meant to make any stay in the country at present. A few weeks, he
- believed.
-
- “When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley,” said her
- mother, “I beg you will come here, and shoot as many as you
- please on Mr. Bennet’s manor. I am sure he will be vastly happy
- to oblige you, and will save all the best of the covies for you.”
-
- Elizabeth’s misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious
- attention! Were the same fair prospect to arise at present as had
- flattered them a year ago, every thing, she was persuaded, would
- be hastening to the same vexatious conclusion. At that instant,
- she felt that years of happiness could not make Jane or herself
- amends for moments of such painful confusion.
-
- “The first wish of my heart,” said she to herself, “is never more
- to be in company with either of them. Their society can afford no
- pleasure that will atone for such wretchedness as this! Let me
- never see either one or the other again!”
-
- Yet the misery, for which years of happiness were to offer no
- compensation, received soon afterwards material relief, from
- observing how much the beauty of her sister re-kindled the
- admiration of her former lover. When first he came in, he had
- spoken to her but little; but every five minutes seemed to be
- giving her more of his attention. He found her as handsome as she
- had been last year; as good natured, and as unaffected, though
- not quite so chatty. Jane was anxious that no difference should
- be perceived in her at all, and was really persuaded that she
- talked as much as ever. But her mind was so busily engaged, that
- she did not always know when she was silent.
-
- When the gentlemen rose to go away, Mrs. Bennet was mindful of
- her intended civility, and they were invited and engaged to dine
- at Longbourn in a few days time.
-
- “You are quite a visit in my debt, Mr. Bingley,” she added, “for
- when you went to town last winter, you promised to take a family
- dinner with us, as soon as you returned. I have not forgot, you
- see; and I assure you, I was very much disappointed that you did
- not come back and keep your engagement.”
-
- Bingley looked a little silly at this reflection, and said
- something 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
- dine there that day; but, though she always kept a very good
- table, she did not think anything less than two courses could be
- good enough for a man on whom she had such anxious designs, or
- satisfy the appetite and pride of one who had ten thousand a
- year.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 54
-
- As soon as they were gone, Elizabeth walked out to recover her
- spirits; or in other words, to dwell without interruption on
- those subjects that must deaden them more. Mr. Darcy’s behaviour
- astonished and vexed her.
-
- “Why, if he came only to be silent, grave, and indifferent,” said
- she, “did he come at all?”
-
- She could settle it in no way that gave her pleasure.
-
- “He could be still amiable, still pleasing, to my uncle and aunt,
- when he was in town; and why not to me? If he fears me, why come
- hither? If he no longer cares for me, why silent? Teasing,
- teasing, man! I will think no more about him.”
-
- Her resolution was for a short time involuntarily kept by the
- approach of her sister, who joined her with a cheerful look,
- which showed her better satisfied with their visitors, than
- Elizabeth.
-
- “Now,” said she, “that this first meeting is over, I feel
- perfectly easy. I know my own strength, and I shall never be
- embarrassed again by his coming. I am glad he dines here on
- Tuesday. It will then be publicly seen that, on both sides, we
- meet only as common and indifferent acquaintance.”
-
- “Yes, very indifferent indeed,” said Elizabeth, laughingly. “Oh,
- Jane, take care.”
-
- “My dear Lizzy, you cannot think me so weak, as to be in danger
- now?”
-
- “I think you are in very great danger of making him as much in
- love with you as ever.”
-
- They did not see the gentlemen again till Tuesday; and Mrs.
- Bennet, in the meanwhile, was giving way to all the happy
- schemes, which the good humour and common politeness of Bingley,
- in half an hour’s visit, had revived.
-
- On Tuesday there was a large party assembled at Longbourn; and
- the two who were most anxiously expected, to the credit of their
- punctuality as sportsmen, were in very good time. When they
- repaired to the dining-room, Elizabeth eagerly watched to see
- whether Bingley would take the place, which, in all their former
- parties, had belonged to him, by her sister. Her prudent mother,
- occupied by the same ideas, forbore to invite him to sit by
- herself. On entering the room, he seemed to hesitate; but Jane
- happened to look round, and happened to smile: it was decided. He
- placed himself by her.
-
- Elizabeth, with a triumphant sensation, looked towards his
- friend. He bore it with noble indifference, and she would have
- imagined that Bingley had received his sanction to be happy, had
- she not seen his eyes likewise turned towards Mr. Darcy, with an
- expression of half-laughing alarm.
-
- His behaviour to her sister was such, during dinner time, as
- showed an admiration of her, which, though more guarded than
- formerly, persuaded Elizabeth, that if left wholly to himself,
- Jane’s happiness, and his own, would be speedily secured. Though
- she dared not depend upon the consequence, she yet received
- pleasure from observing his behaviour. It gave her all the
- animation that her spirits could boast; for she was in no
- cheerful humour. Mr. Darcy was almost as far from her as the
- table could divide them. He was on one side of her mother. She
- knew how little such a situation would give pleasure to either,
- or make either appear to advantage. She was not near enough to
- hear any of their discourse, but she could see how seldom they
- spoke to each other, and how formal and cold was their manner
- whenever they did. Her mother’s ungraciousness, made the sense of
- what they owed him more painful to Elizabeth’s mind; and she
- would, at times, have given anything to be privileged to tell him
- that his kindness was neither unknown nor unfelt by the whole of
- the family.
-
- She was in hopes that the evening would afford some opportunity
- of bringing them together; that the whole of the visit would not
- pass away without enabling them to enter into something more of
- conversation than the mere ceremonious salutation attending his
- entrance. Anxious and uneasy, the period which passed in the
- drawing-room, before the gentlemen came, was wearisome and dull
- to a degree that almost made her uncivil. She looked forward to
- their entrance as the point on which all her chance of pleasure
- for the evening must depend.
-
- “If he does not come to me, _then_,” said she, “I shall give him
- up for ever.”
-
- The gentlemen came; and she thought he looked as if he would have
- answered her hopes; but, alas! the ladies had crowded round the
- table, where Miss Bennet was making tea, and Elizabeth pouring
- out the coffee, in so close a confederacy that there was not a
- single vacancy near her which would admit of a chair. And on the
- gentlemen’s approaching, one of the girls moved closer to her
- than ever, and said, in a whisper:
-
- “The men shan’t come and part us, I am determined. We want none
- of them; do we?”
-
- Darcy had walked away to another part of the room. She followed
- him with her eyes, envied everyone to whom he spoke, had scarcely
- patience enough to help anybody to coffee; and then was enraged
- against herself for being so silly!
-
- “A man who has once been refused! How could I ever be foolish
- enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the
- sex, who would not protest against such a weakness as a second
- proposal to the same woman? There is no indignity so abhorrent to
- their feelings!”
-
- She was a little revived, however, by his bringing back his
- coffee cup himself; and she seized the opportunity of saying:
-
- “Is your sister at Pemberley still?”
-
- “Yes, she will remain there till Christmas.”
-
- “And quite alone? Have all her friends left her?”
-
- “Mrs. Annesley is with her. The others have been gone on to
- Scarborough, these three weeks.”
-
- She could think of nothing more to say; but if he wished to
- converse with her, he might have better success. He stood by her,
- however, for some minutes, in silence; and, at last, on the young
- lady’s whispering to Elizabeth again, he walked away.
-
- When the tea-things were removed, and the card-tables placed, the
- ladies all rose, and Elizabeth was then hoping to be soon joined
- by him, when all her views were overthrown by seeing him fall a
- victim to her mother’s rapacity for whist players, and in a few
- moments after seated with the rest of the party. She now lost
- every expectation of pleasure. They were confined for the evening
- at different tables, and she had nothing to hope, but that his
- eyes were so often turned towards her side of the room, as to
- make him play as unsuccessfully as herself.
-
- Mrs. Bennet had designed to keep the two Netherfield gentlemen to
- supper; but their carriage was unluckily ordered before any of
- the others, and she had no opportunity of detaining them.
-
- “Well girls,” said she, as soon as they were left to themselves,
- “What say you to the day? I think every thing has passed off
- uncommonly well, I assure you. The dinner was as well dressed as
- any I ever saw. The venison was roasted to a turn—and everybody
- said they never saw so fat a haunch. The soup was fifty times
- better than what we had at the Lucases’ last week; and even Mr.
- Darcy acknowledged, that the partridges were remarkably well
- done; and I suppose he has two or three French cooks at least.
- And, my dear Jane, I never saw you look in greater beauty. Mrs.
- Long said so too, for I asked her whether you did not. And what
- do you think she said besides? ‘Ah! Mrs. Bennet, we shall have
- her at Netherfield at last.’ She did indeed. I do think Mrs. Long
- is as good a creature as ever lived—and her nieces are very
- pretty behaved girls, and not at all handsome: I like them
- prodigiously.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet, in short, was in very great spirits; she had seen
- enough of Bingley’s behaviour to Jane, to be convinced that she
- would get him at last; and her expectations of advantage to her
- family, when in a happy humour, were so far beyond reason, that
- she was quite disappointed at not seeing him there again the next
- day, to make his proposals.
-
- “It has been a very agreeable day,” said Miss Bennet to
- Elizabeth. “The party seemed so well selected, so suitable one
- with the other. I hope we may often meet again.”
-
- Elizabeth smiled.
-
- “Lizzy, you must not do so. You must not suspect me. It mortifies
- me. I assure you that I have now learnt to enjoy his conversation
- as an agreeable and sensible young man, without having a wish
- beyond it. I am perfectly satisfied, from what his manners now
- are, that he never had any design of engaging my affection. It is
- only that he is blessed with greater sweetness of address, and a
- stronger desire of generally pleasing, than any other man.”
-
- “You are very cruel,” said her sister, “you will not let me
- smile, and are provoking me to it every moment.”
-
- “How hard it is in some cases to be believed!”
-
- “And how impossible in others!”
-
- “But why should you wish to persuade me that I feel more than I
- acknowledge?”
-
- “That is a question which I hardly know how to answer. We all
- love to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth
- knowing. Forgive me; and if you persist in indifference, do not
- make _me_ your confidante.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 55
-
- A few days after this visit, Mr. Bingley called again, and alone.
- His friend had left him that morning for London, but was to
- return home in ten days time. He sat with them above an hour, and
- was in remarkably good spirits. Mrs. Bennet invited him to dine
- with them; but, with many expressions of concern, he confessed
- himself engaged elsewhere.
-
- “Next time you call,” said she, “I hope we shall be more lucky.”
-
- He should be particularly happy at any time, etc. etc.; and if
- she would give him leave, would take an early opportunity of
- waiting on them.
-
- “Can you come to-morrow?”
-
- Yes, he had no engagement at all for to-morrow; and her
- invitation was accepted with alacrity.
-
- He came, and in such very good time that the ladies were none of
- them dressed. In ran Mrs. Bennet to her daughter’s room, in her
- dressing gown, and with her hair half finished, crying out:
-
- “My dear Jane, make haste and hurry down. He is come—Mr. Bingley
- is come. He is, indeed. Make haste, make haste. Here, Sarah, come
- to Miss Bennet this moment, and help her on with her gown. Never
- mind Miss Lizzy’s hair.”
-
- “We will be down as soon as we can,” said Jane; “but I dare say
- Kitty is forwarder than either of us, for she went up stairs half
- an hour ago.”
-
- “Oh! hang Kitty! what has she to do with it? Come be quick, be
- quick! Where is your sash, my dear?”
-
- But when her mother was gone, Jane would not be prevailed on to
- go down without one of her sisters.
-
- The same anxiety to get them by themselves was visible again in
- the evening. After tea, Mr. Bennet retired to the library, as was
- his custom, and Mary went up stairs to her instrument. Two
- obstacles of the five being thus removed, Mrs. Bennet sat looking
- and winking at Elizabeth and Catherine for a considerable time,
- without making any impression on them. Elizabeth would not
- observe her; and when at last Kitty did, she very innocently
- said, “What is the matter mamma? What do you keep winking at me
- for? What am I to do?”
-
- “Nothing child, nothing. I did not wink at you.” She then sat
- still five minutes longer; but unable to waste such a precious
- occasion, she suddenly got up, and saying to Kitty, “Come here,
- my love, I want to speak to you,” took her out of the room. Jane
- instantly gave a look at Elizabeth which spoke her distress at
- such premeditation, and her entreaty that _she_ would not give in
- to it. In a few minutes, Mrs. Bennet half-opened the door and
- called out:
-
- “Lizzy, my dear, I want to speak with you.”
-
- Elizabeth was forced to go.
-
- “We may as well leave them by themselves you know;” said her
- mother, as soon as she was in the hall. “Kitty and I are going up
- stairs to sit in my dressing-room.”
-
- Elizabeth made no attempt to reason with her mother, but remained
- quietly in the hall, till she and Kitty were out of sight, then
- returned into the drawing-room.
-
- Mrs. Bennet’s schemes for this day were ineffectual. Bingley was
- every thing that was charming, except the professed lover of her
- daughter. His ease and cheerfulness rendered him a most agreeable
- addition to their evening party; and he bore with the ill-judged
- officiousness of the mother, and heard all her silly remarks with
- a forbearance and command of countenance particularly grateful to
- the daughter.
-
- He scarcely needed an invitation to stay supper; and before he
- went away, an engagement was formed, chiefly through his own and
- Mrs. Bennet’s means, for his coming next morning to shoot with
- her husband.
-
- After this day, Jane said no more of her indifference. Not a word
- passed between the sisters concerning Bingley; but Elizabeth went
- to bed in the happy belief that all must speedily be concluded,
- unless Mr. Darcy returned within the stated time. Seriously,
- however, she felt tolerably persuaded that all this must have
- taken place with that gentleman’s concurrence.
-
- Bingley was punctual to his appointment; and he and Mr. Bennet
- spent the morning together, as had been agreed on. The latter was
- much more agreeable than his companion expected. There was
- nothing of presumption or folly in Bingley that could provoke his
- ridicule, or disgust him into silence; and he was more
- communicative, and less eccentric, than the other had ever seen
- him. Bingley of course returned with him to dinner; and in the
- evening Mrs. Bennet’s invention was again at work to get every
- body away from him and her daughter. Elizabeth, who had a letter
- to write, went into the breakfast room for that purpose soon
- after tea; for as the others were all going to sit down to cards,
- she could not be wanted to counteract her mother’s schemes.
-
- But on returning to the drawing-room, when her letter was
- finished, she saw, to her infinite surprise, there was reason to
- fear that her mother had been too ingenious for her. On opening
- the door, she perceived her sister and Bingley standing together
- over the hearth, as if engaged in earnest conversation; and had
- this led to no suspicion, the faces of both, as they hastily
- turned round and moved away from each other, would have told it
- all. _Their_ situation was awkward enough; but _hers_ she thought
- was still worse. Not a syllable was uttered by either; and
- Elizabeth was on the point of going away again, when Bingley, who
- as well as the other had sat down, suddenly rose, and whispering
- a few words to her sister, ran out of the room.
-
- Jane could have no reserves from Elizabeth, where confidence
- would give pleasure; and instantly embracing her, acknowledged,
- with the liveliest emotion, that she was the happiest creature in
- the world.
-
- “’Tis too much!” she added, “by far too much. I do not deserve
- it. Oh! why is not everybody as happy?”
-
- Elizabeth’s congratulations were given with a sincerity, a
- warmth, a delight, which words could but poorly express. Every
- sentence of kindness was a fresh source of happiness to Jane. But
- she would not allow herself to stay with her sister, or say half
- that remained to be said for the present.
-
- “I must go instantly to my mother;” she cried. “I would not on
- any account trifle with her affectionate solicitude; or allow her
- to hear it from anyone but myself. He is gone to my father
- already. Oh! Lizzy, to know that what I have to relate will give
- such pleasure to all my dear family! how shall I bear so much
- happiness!”
-
- She then hastened away to her mother, who had purposely broken up
- the card party, and was sitting up stairs with Kitty.
-
- Elizabeth, who was left by herself, now smiled at the rapidity
- and ease with which an affair was finally settled, that had given
- them so many previous months of suspense and vexation.
-
- “And this,” said she, “is the end of all his friend’s anxious
- circumspection! of all his sister’s falsehood and contrivance!
- the happiest, wisest, most reasonable end!”
-
- In a few minutes she was joined by Bingley, whose conference with
- 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, I dare
- say.”
-
- He then shut the door, and, coming up to her, claimed the good
- wishes and affection of a sister. Elizabeth honestly and heartily
- expressed her delight in the prospect of their relationship. They
- shook hands with great cordiality; and then, till her sister came
- down, she had to listen to all he had to say of his own
- happiness, and of Jane’s perfections; and in spite of his being a
- lover, Elizabeth really believed all his expectations of felicity
- to be rationally founded, because they had for basis the
- excellent understanding, and super-excellent disposition of Jane,
- and a general similarity of feeling and taste between her and
- himself.
-
- It was an evening of no common delight to them all; the
- satisfaction of Miss Bennet’s mind gave a glow of such sweet
- animation 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
- in terms warm enough to satisfy her feelings, though she talked
- to Bingley of nothing else for half an hour; and when Mr. Bennet
- joined them at supper, his voice and manner plainly showed how
- really happy he was.
-
- Not a word, however, passed his lips in allusion to it, till
- their visitor took his leave for the night; but as soon as he was
- gone, he turned to his daughter, and said:
-
- “Jane, I congratulate you. You will be a very happy woman.”
-
- Jane went to him instantly, kissed him, and thanked him for his
- goodness.
-
- “You are a good girl;” he replied, “and I have great pleasure in
- thinking you will be so happily settled. I have not a doubt of
- your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means
- unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever
- be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and
- so generous, that you will always exceed your income.”
-
- “I hope not so. Imprudence or thoughtlessness in money matters
- would be unpardonable in _me_.”
-
- “Exceed their income! My dear Mr. Bennet,” cried his wife, “what
- are you talking of? Why, he has four or five thousand a year, and
- very likely more.” Then addressing her daughter, “Oh! my dear,
- dear Jane, I am so happy! I am sure I shan’t get a wink of sleep
- all night. I knew how it would be. I always said it must be so,
- at last. I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing! I
- remember, as soon as ever I saw him, when he first came into
- Hertfordshire last year, I thought how likely it was that you
- should come together. Oh! he is the handsomest young man that
- ever was seen!”
-
- Wickham, Lydia, were all forgotten. Jane was beyond competition
- her favourite child. At that moment, she cared for no other. Her
- younger sisters soon began to make interest with her for objects
- of happiness which she might in future be able to dispense.
-
- Mary petitioned for the use of the library at Netherfield; and
- Kitty begged very hard for a few balls there every winter.
-
- Bingley, from this time, was of course a daily visitor at
- Longbourn; coming frequently before breakfast, and always
- remaining till after supper; unless when some barbarous
- neighbour, who could not be enough detested, had given him an
- invitation to dinner which he thought himself obliged to accept.
-
- Elizabeth had now but little time for conversation with her
- sister; for while he was present, Jane had no attention to bestow
- on anyone else; but she found herself considerably useful to both
- of them in those hours of separation that must sometimes occur.
- In the absence of Jane, he always attached himself to Elizabeth,
- for the pleasure of talking of her; and when Bingley was gone,
- Jane constantly sought the same means of relief.
-
- “He has made me so happy,” said she, one evening, “by telling me
- that he was totally ignorant of my being in town last spring! I
- had not believed it possible.”
-
- “I suspected as much,” replied Elizabeth. “But how did he account
- for it?”
-
- “It must have been his sister’s doing. They were certainly no
- friends to his acquaintance with me, which I cannot wonder at,
- since he might have chosen so much more advantageously in many
- respects. But when they see, as I trust they will, that their
- brother is happy with me, they will learn to be contented, and we
- shall be on good terms again; though we can never be what we once
- were to each other.”
-
- “That is the most unforgiving speech,” said Elizabeth, “that I
- ever heard you utter. Good girl! It would vex me, indeed, to see
- you again the dupe of Miss Bingley’s pretended regard.”
-
- “Would you believe it, Lizzy, that when he went to town last
- November, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion of
- _my_ being indifferent would have prevented his coming down
- again!”
-
- “He made a little mistake to be sure; but it is to the credit of
- his modesty.”
-
- This naturally introduced a panegyric from Jane on his
- diffidence, and the little value he put on his own good
- qualities. Elizabeth was pleased to find that he had not betrayed
- the interference of his friend; for, though Jane had the most
- generous and forgiving heart in the world, she knew it was a
- circumstance which must prejudice her against him.
-
- “I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed!”
- cried Jane. “Oh! Lizzy, why am I thus singled from my family, and
- blessed above them all! If I could but see you as happy! If there
- were but such another man for you!”
-
- “If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy
- as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can
- have your happiness. No, no, let me shift for myself; and,
- perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr.
- Collins in time.”
-
- The situation of affairs in the Longbourn family could not be
- long a secret. Mrs. Bennet was privileged to whisper it to Mrs.
- Phillips, and she ventured, without any permission, to do the
- same by all her neighbours in Meryton.
-
- The Bennets were speedily pronounced to be the luckiest family in
- the world, though only a few weeks before, when Lydia had first
- run away, they had been generally proved to be marked out for
- misfortune.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 56
-
- One morning, about a week after Bingley’s engagement with Jane
- had been formed, as he and the females of the family were sitting
- together in the dining-room, their attention was suddenly drawn
- to the window, by the sound of a carriage; and they perceived a
- chaise and four driving up the lawn. It was too early in the
- morning for visitors, and besides, the equipage did not answer to
- that of any of their neighbours. The horses were post; and
- neither the carriage, nor the livery of the servant who preceded
- it, were familiar to them. As it was certain, however, that
- somebody was coming, Bingley instantly prevailed on Miss Bennet
- to avoid the confinement of such an intrusion, and walk away with
- him into the shrubbery. They both set off, and the conjectures of
- the remaining three continued, though with little satisfaction,
- till the door was thrown open and their visitor entered. It was
- Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
-
- They were of course all intending to be surprised; but their
- astonishment was beyond their expectation; and on the part of
- Mrs. Bennet and Kitty, though she was perfectly unknown to them,
- even inferior to what Elizabeth felt.
-
- She entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious,
- made no other reply to Elizabeth’s salutation than a slight
- inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word.
- Elizabeth had mentioned her name to her mother on her ladyship’s
- entrance, though no request of introduction had been made.
-
- Mrs. Bennet, all amazement, though flattered by having a guest of
- such high importance, received her with the utmost politeness.
- After sitting for a moment in silence, she said very stiffly to
- Elizabeth,
-
- “I hope you are well, Miss Bennet. That lady, I suppose, is your
- mother.”
-
- Elizabeth replied very concisely that she was.
-
- “And _that_ I suppose is one of your sisters.”
-
- “Yes, madam,” said Mrs. Bennet, delighted to speak to Lady
- Catherine. “She is my youngest girl but one. My youngest of all
- is lately married, and my eldest is somewhere about the grounds,
- walking with a young man who, I believe, will soon become a part
- of the family.”
-
- “You have a very small park here,” returned Lady Catherine after
- a short silence.
-
- “It is nothing in comparison of Rosings, my lady, I dare say; but
- I assure you it is much larger than Sir William Lucas’s.”
-
- “This must be a most inconvenient sitting room for the evening,
- in summer; the windows are full west.”
-
- Mrs. Bennet assured her that they never sat there after dinner,
- and then added:
-
- “May I take the liberty of asking your ladyship whether you left
- Mr. and Mrs. Collins well.”
-
- “Yes, very well. I saw them the night before last.”
-
- Elizabeth now expected that she would produce a letter for her
- from Charlotte, as it seemed the only probable motive for her
- calling. But no letter appeared, and she was completely puzzled.
-
- Mrs. Bennet, with great civility, begged her ladyship to take
- some refreshment; but Lady Catherine very resolutely, and not
- very politely, declined eating anything; and then, rising up,
- said to Elizabeth,
-
- “Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little
- wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a
- turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.”
-
- “Go, my dear,” cried her mother, “and show her ladyship about the
- different walks. I think she will be pleased with the hermitage.”
-
- Elizabeth obeyed, and running into her own room for her parasol,
- attended her noble guest downstairs. As they passed through the
- hall, Lady Catherine opened the doors into the dining-parlour and
- drawing-room, and pronouncing them, after a short survey, to be
- decent looking rooms, walked on.
-
- Her carriage remained at the door, and Elizabeth saw that her
- waiting-woman was in it. They proceeded in silence along the
- gravel walk that led to the copse; Elizabeth was determined to
- make no effort for conversation with a woman who was now more
- than usually insolent and disagreeable.
-
- “How could I ever think her like her nephew?” said she, as she
- looked in her face.
-
- As soon as they entered the copse, Lady Catherine began in the
- following manner:—
-
- “You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of
- my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell
- you why I come.”
-
- Elizabeth looked with unaffected astonishment.
-
- “Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I have not been at all able to
- account for the honour of seeing you here.”
-
- “Miss Bennet,” replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, “you ought
- to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere
- _you_ may choose to be, you shall not find _me_ so. My character
- has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in
- a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from
- it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago. I
- was told that not only your sister was on the point of being most
- advantageously married, but that you, that Miss Elizabeth Bennet,
- would, in all likelihood, be soon afterwards united to my nephew,
- my own nephew, Mr. Darcy. Though I _know_ it must be a scandalous
- falsehood, though I would not injure him so much as to suppose
- the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for
- this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you.”
-
- “If you believed it impossible to be true,” said Elizabeth,
- colouring with astonishment and disdain, “I wonder you took the
- trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by
- it?”
-
- “At once to insist upon having such a report universally
- contradicted.”
-
- “Your coming to Longbourn, to see me and my family,” said
- Elizabeth coolly, “will be rather a confirmation of it; if,
- indeed, such a report is in existence.”
-
- “If! Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? Has it not been
- industriously circulated by yourselves? Do you not know that such
- a report is spread abroad?”
-
- “I never heard that it was.”
-
- “And can you likewise declare, that there is no _foundation_ for
- it?”
-
- “I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship.
- _You_ may ask questions which _I_ shall not choose to answer.”
-
- “This is not to be borne. Miss Bennet, I insist on being
- satisfied. Has he, has my nephew, made you an offer of marriage?”
-
- “Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible.”
-
- “It ought to be so; it must be so, while he retains the use of
- his reason. But _your_ arts and allurements may, in a moment of
- infatuation, have made him forget what he owes to himself and to
- all his family. You may have drawn him in.”
-
- “If I have, I shall be the last person to confess it.”
-
- “Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? I have not been accustomed to
- such language as this. I am almost the nearest relation he has in
- the world, and am entitled to know all his dearest concerns.”
-
- “But you are not entitled to know _mine;_ nor will such behaviour
- as this, ever induce me to be explicit.”
-
- “Let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the
- presumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never. Mr. Darcy
- is engaged to _my daughter_. Now what have you to say?”
-
- “Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose
- he will make an offer to me.”
-
- Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment, and then replied:
-
- “The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind. From their
- infancy, they have been intended for each other. It was the
- favourite wish of _his_ mother, as well as of hers. While in
- their cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when
- the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished in their
- marriage, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of
- no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family! Do
- you pay no regard to the wishes of his friends? To his tacit
- engagement with Miss de Bourgh? Are you lost to every feeling of
- propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say that from his
- earliest hours he was destined for his cousin?”
-
- “Yes, and I had heard it before. But what is that to me? If there
- is no other objection to my marrying your nephew, I shall
- certainly not be kept from it by knowing that his mother and aunt
- wished him to marry Miss de Bourgh. You both did as much as you
- could in planning the marriage. Its completion depended on
- others. If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination
- confined to his cousin, why is not he to make another choice? And
- if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?”
-
- “Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it.
- Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed by
- his family or friends, if you wilfully act against the
- inclinations of all. You will be censured, slighted, and
- despised, by everyone connected with him. Your alliance will be a
- disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us.”
-
- “These are heavy misfortunes,” replied Elizabeth. “But the wife
- of Mr. Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of happiness
- necessarily attached to her situation, that she could, upon the
- whole, have no cause to repine.”
-
- “Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your
- gratitude for my attentions to you last spring? Is nothing due to
- me on that score? Let us sit down. You are to understand, Miss
- Bennet, that I came here with the determined resolution of
- carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded from it. I have not
- been used to submit to any person’s whims. I have not been in the
- habit of brooking disappointment.”
-
- “_That_ will make your ladyship’s situation at present more
- pitiable; but it will have no effect on _me_.”
-
- “I will not be interrupted. Hear me in silence. My daughter and
- my nephew are formed for each other. They are descended, on the
- maternal side, from the same noble line; and, on the father’s,
- from respectable, honourable, and ancient—though
- untitled—families. Their fortune on both sides is splendid. They
- are destined for each other by the voice of every member of their
- respective houses; and what is to divide them? The upstart
- pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or
- fortune. Is this to be endured! But it must not, shall not be. If
- you were sensible of your own good, you would not wish to quit
- the sphere in which you have been brought up.”
-
- “In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as
- quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s
- daughter; so far we are equal.”
-
- “True. You _are_ a gentleman’s daughter. But who was your mother?
- Who are your uncles and aunts? Do not imagine me ignorant of
- their condition.”
-
- “Whatever my connections may be,” said Elizabeth, “if your nephew
- does not object to them, they can be nothing to _you_.”
-
- “Tell me once for all, are you engaged to him?”
-
- Though Elizabeth would not, for the mere purpose of obliging Lady
- Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but say,
- after a moment’s deliberation:
-
- “I am not.”
-
- Lady Catherine seemed pleased.
-
- “And will you promise me, never to enter into such an
- engagement?”
-
- “I will make no promise of the kind.”
-
- “Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a
- more reasonable young woman. But do not deceive yourself into a
- belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away till you have
- given me the assurance I require.”
-
- “And I certainly _never_ shall give it. I am not to be
- intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable. Your ladyship
- wants Mr. Darcy to marry your daughter; but would my giving you
- the wished-for promise make _their_ marriage at all more
- probable? Supposing him to be attached to me, would _my_ refusing
- to accept his hand make him wish to bestow it on his cousin?
- Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which
- you have supported this extraordinary application have been as
- frivolous as the application was ill-judged. You have widely
- mistaken my character, if you think I can be worked on by such
- persuasions as these. How far your nephew might approve of your
- interference in _his_ affairs, I cannot tell; but you have
- certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg,
- therefore, to be importuned no farther on the subject.”
-
- “Not so hasty, if you please. I have by no means done. To all the
- objections I have already urged, I have still another to add. I
- am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest sister’s
- infamous elopement. I know it all; that the young man’s marrying
- her was a patched-up business, at the expence of your father and
- uncles. And is _such_ a girl to be my nephew’s sister? Is _her_
- husband, who is the son of his late father’s steward, to be his
- brother? Heaven and earth!—of what are you thinking? Are the
- shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?”
-
- “You can _now_ have nothing further to say,” she resentfully
- answered. “You have insulted me in every possible method. I must
- beg to return to the house.”
-
- And she rose as she spoke. Lady Catherine rose also, and they
- turned back. Her ladyship was highly incensed.
-
- “You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my
- nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a
- connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?”
-
- “Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my
- sentiments.”
-
- “You are then resolved to have him?”
-
- “I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that
- manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness,
- without reference to _you_, or to any person so wholly
- unconnected with me.”
-
- “It is well. You refuse, then, to oblige me. You refuse to obey
- the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude. You are determined to
- ruin him in the opinion of all his friends, and make him the
- contempt of the world.”
-
- “Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude,” replied Elizabeth,
- “have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No
- principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr.
- Darcy. And with regard to the resentment of his family, or the
- indignation of the world, if the former _were_ excited by his
- marrying me, it would not give me one moment’s concern—and the
- world in general would have too much sense to join in the scorn.”
-
- “And this is your real opinion! This is your final resolve! Very
- well. I shall now know how to act. Do not imagine, Miss Bennet,
- that your ambition will ever be gratified. I came to try you. I
- hoped to find you reasonable; but, depend upon it, I will carry
- my point.”
-
- In this manner Lady Catherine talked on, till they were at the
- door of the carriage, when, turning hastily round, she added, “I
- take no leave of you, Miss Bennet. I send no compliments to your
- mother. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously
- displeased.”
-
- Elizabeth made no answer; and without attempting to persuade her
- ladyship to return into the house, walked quietly into it
- herself. She heard the carriage drive away as she proceeded up
- stairs. Her mother impatiently met her at the door of the
- dressing-room, to ask why Lady Catherine would not come in again
- and rest herself.
-
- “She did not choose it,” said her daughter, “she would go.”
-
- “She is a very fine-looking woman! and her calling here was
- prodigiously civil! for she only came, I suppose, to tell us the
- Collinses were well. She is on her road somewhere, I dare say,
- and so, passing through Meryton, thought she might as well call
- on you. I suppose she had nothing particular to say to you,
- Lizzy?”
-
- Elizabeth was forced to give into a little falsehood here; for to
- acknowledge the substance of their conversation was impossible.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 57
-
- The discomposure of spirits which this extraordinary visit threw
- Elizabeth into, could not be easily overcome; nor could she, for
- many hours, learn to think of it less than incessantly. Lady
- Catherine, it appeared, had actually taken the trouble of this
- journey from Rosings, for the sole purpose of breaking off her
- supposed engagement with Mr. Darcy. It was a rational scheme, to
- be sure! but from what the report of their engagement could
- originate, Elizabeth was at a loss to imagine; till she
- recollected that _his_ being the intimate friend of Bingley, and
- _her_ being the sister of Jane, was enough, at a time when the
- expectation of one wedding made everybody eager for another, to
- supply the idea. She had not herself forgotten to feel that the
- marriage of her sister must bring them more frequently together.
- And her neighbours at Lucas Lodge, therefore (for through their
- communication with the Collinses, the report, she concluded, had
- reached Lady Catherine), had only set _that_ down as almost
- certain and immediate, which _she_ had looked forward to as
- possible at some future time.
-
- In revolving Lady Catherine’s expressions, however, she could not
- help feeling some uneasiness as to the possible consequence of
- her persisting in this interference. From what she had said of
- her resolution to prevent their marriage, it occurred to
- Elizabeth that she must meditate an application to her nephew;
- and how he might take a similar representation of the evils
- attached to a connection with her, she dared not pronounce. She
- knew not the exact degree of his affection for his aunt, or his
- dependence on her judgment, but it was natural to suppose that he
- thought much higher of her ladyship than _she_ could do; and it
- was certain that, in enumerating the miseries of a marriage with
- _one_, whose immediate connections were so unequal to his own,
- his aunt would address him on his weakest side. With his notions
- of dignity, he would probably feel that the arguments, which to
- Elizabeth had appeared weak and ridiculous, contained much good
- sense and solid reasoning.
-
- If he had been wavering before as to what he should do, which had
- often seemed likely, the advice and entreaty of so near a
- relation might settle every doubt, and determine him at once to
- be as happy as dignity unblemished could make him. In that case
- he would return no more. Lady Catherine might see him in her way
- through town; and his engagement to Bingley of coming again to
- Netherfield must give way.
-
- “If, therefore, an excuse for not keeping his promise should come
- to his friend within a few days,” she added, “I shall know how to
- understand it. I shall then give over every expectation, every
- wish of his constancy. If he is satisfied with only regretting
- me, when he might have obtained my affections and hand, I shall
- soon cease to regret him at all.”
-
- The surprise of the rest of the family, on hearing who their
- visitor had been, was very great; but they obligingly satisfied
- it, with the same kind of supposition which had appeased Mrs.
- Bennet’s curiosity; and Elizabeth was spared from much teasing on
- the subject.
-
- The next morning, as she was going downstairs, she was met by her
- father, who came out of his library with a letter in his hand.
-
- “Lizzy,” said he, “I was going to look for you; come into my
- room.”
-
- She followed him thither; and her curiosity to know what he had
- to tell her was heightened by the supposition of its being in
- some manner connected with the letter he held. It suddenly struck
- her that it might be from Lady Catherine; and she anticipated
- with dismay all the consequent explanations.
-
- She followed her father to the fire place, and they both sat
- down. He then said,
-
- “I have received a letter this morning that has astonished me
- exceedingly. As it principally concerns yourself, you ought to
- know its contents. I did not know before, that I had _two_
- daughters on the brink of matrimony. Let me congratulate you on a
- very important conquest.”
-
- The colour now rushed into Elizabeth’s cheeks in the
- instantaneous conviction of its being a letter from the nephew,
- instead of the aunt; and she was undetermined whether most to be
- pleased that he explained himself at all, or offended that his
- letter was not rather addressed to herself; when her father
- continued:
-
- “You look conscious. Young ladies have great penetration in such
- matters as these; but I think I may defy even _your_ sagacity, to
- discover the name of your admirer. This letter is from Mr.
- Collins.”
-
- “From Mr. Collins! and what can _he_ have to say?”
-
- “Something very much to the purpose of course. He begins with
- congratulations on the approaching nuptials of my eldest
- daughter, of which, it seems, he has been told by some of the
- good-natured, gossiping Lucases. I shall not sport with your
- impatience, by reading what he says on that point. What relates
- to yourself, is as follows: ‘Having thus offered you the sincere
- congratulations of Mrs. Collins and myself on this happy event,
- let me now add a short hint on the subject of another; of which
- we have been advertised by the same authority. Your daughter
- Elizabeth, it is presumed, will not long bear the name of Bennet,
- after her elder sister has resigned it, and the chosen partner of
- her fate may be reasonably looked up to as one of the most
- illustrious personages in this land.’
-
- “Can you possibly guess, Lizzy, who is meant by this? ‘This young
- gentleman is blessed, in a peculiar way, with every thing the
- heart of mortal can most desire,—splendid property, noble
- kindred, and extensive patronage. Yet in spite of all these
- temptations, let me warn my cousin Elizabeth, and yourself, of
- what evils you may incur by a precipitate closure with this
- gentleman’s proposals, which, of course, you will be inclined to
- take immediate advantage of.’
-
- “Have you any idea, Lizzy, who this gentleman is? But now it
- comes out:
-
- “‘My motive for cautioning you is as follows. We have reason to
- imagine that his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, does not look on
- the match with a friendly eye.’
-
- “_Mr. Darcy_, you see, is the man! Now, Lizzy, I think I _have_
- surprised you. Could he, or the Lucases, have pitched on any man
- within the circle of our acquaintance, whose name would have
- given the lie more effectually to what they related? Mr. Darcy,
- who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish, and who
- probably never looked at _you_ in his life! It is admirable!”
-
- Elizabeth tried to join in her father’s pleasantry, but could
- only force one most reluctant smile. Never had his wit been
- directed in a manner so little agreeable to her.
-
- “Are you not diverted?”
-
- “Oh! yes. Pray read on.”
-
- “‘After mentioning the likelihood of this marriage to her
- ladyship last night, she immediately, with her usual
- condescension, expressed what she felt on the occasion; when it
- became apparent, that on the score of some family objections on
- the part of my cousin, she would never give her consent to what
- she termed so disgraceful a match. I thought it my duty to give
- the speediest intelligence of this to my cousin, that she and her
- noble admirer may be aware of what they are about, and not run
- hastily into a marriage which has not been properly sanctioned.’
- Mr. Collins moreover adds, ‘I am truly rejoiced that my cousin
- Lydia’s sad business has been so well hushed up, and am only
- concerned that their living together before the marriage took
- place should be so generally known. I must not, however, neglect
- the duties of my station, or refrain from declaring my amazement
- at hearing that you received the young couple into your house as
- soon as they were married. It was an encouragement of vice; and
- had I been the rector of Longbourn, I should very strenuously
- have opposed it. You ought certainly to forgive them, as a
- Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their
- names to be mentioned in your hearing.’ _That_ is his notion of
- Christian forgiveness! The rest of his letter is only about his
- dear Charlotte’s situation, and his expectation of a young
- olive-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
- affronted at an idle report. For what do we live, but to make
- sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”
-
- “Oh!” cried Elizabeth, “I am excessively diverted. But it is so
- strange!”
-
- “Yes—_that_ is what makes it amusing. Had they fixed on any other
- man it would have been nothing; but _his_ perfect indifference,
- and _your_ pointed dislike, make it so delightfully absurd! Much
- as I abominate writing, I would not give up Mr. Collins’s
- correspondence for any consideration. Nay, when I read a letter
- of his, I cannot help giving him the preference even over
- Wickham, much 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?”
-
- To this question his daughter replied only with a laugh; and as
- it had been asked without the least suspicion, she was not
- distressed by his repeating it. Elizabeth had never been more 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 Mr. Darcy’s
- indifference, and she could do nothing but wonder at such a want
- of penetration, or fear that perhaps, instead of his seeing too
- _little_, she might have fancied too _much_.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 58
-
- Instead of receiving any such letter of excuse from his friend,
- as Elizabeth half expected Mr. Bingley to do, he was able to
- bring Darcy with him to Longbourn before many days had passed
- after Lady Catherine’s visit. The gentlemen arrived early; and,
- before Mrs. Bennet had time to tell him of their having seen his
- aunt, of which her daughter sat in momentary dread, Bingley, who
- wanted to be alone with Jane, proposed their all walking out. It
- was agreed to. Mrs. Bennet was not in the habit of walking; Mary
- could never spare time; but the remaining five set off together.
- Bingley and Jane, however, soon allowed the others to outstrip
- them. They lagged behind, while Elizabeth, Kitty, and Darcy were
- to entertain each other. Very little was said by either; Kitty
- was too much afraid of him to talk; Elizabeth was secretly
- forming a desperate resolution; and perhaps he might be doing the
- same.
-
- They walked towards the Lucases, because Kitty wished to call
- upon Maria; and as Elizabeth saw no occasion for making it a
- general concern, when Kitty left them she went boldly on with him
- alone. Now was the moment for her resolution to be executed, and,
- while her courage was high, she immediately said:
-
- “Mr. Darcy, I am a very selfish creature; and, for the sake of
- giving relief to my own feelings, care not how much I may be
- wounding yours. I can no longer help thanking you for your
- unexampled kindness to my poor sister. Ever since I have known
- it, I have been most anxious to acknowledge to you how gratefully
- I feel it. Were it known to the rest of my family, I should not
- have merely my own gratitude to express.”
-
- “I am sorry, exceedingly sorry,” replied Darcy, in a tone of
- surprise and emotion, “that you have ever been informed of what
- may, in a mistaken light, have given you uneasiness. I did not
- think Mrs. Gardiner was so little to be trusted.”
-
- “You must not blame my aunt. Lydia’s thoughtlessness first
- betrayed to me that you had been concerned in the matter; and, of
- course, I could not rest till I knew the particulars. Let me
- thank you again and again, in the name of all my family, for that
- generous compassion which induced you to take so much trouble,
- and bear so many mortifications, for the sake of discovering
- them.”
-
- “If you _will_ thank me,” he replied, “let it be for yourself
- alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force
- to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to
- deny. But your _family_ owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I
- believe I thought only of _you_.”
-
- Elizabeth was too much embarrassed to say a word. After a short
- pause, her companion added, “You are too generous to trifle with
- me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me
- so at once. _My_ affections and wishes are unchanged, but one
- word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.”
-
- Elizabeth, feeling all the more than common awkwardness and
- anxiety of his situation, now forced herself to speak; and
- immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand
- that her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since the
- period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with gratitude
- and pleasure his present assurances. The happiness which this
- reply produced, was such as he had probably never felt before;
- and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as
- warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do. Had
- Elizabeth been able to encounter his eye, she might have seen how
- well the expression of heartfelt delight, diffused over his face,
- became him; but, though she could not look, she could listen, and
- he told her of feelings, which, in proving of what importance she
- was to him, made his affection every moment more valuable.
-
- They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too
- much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any
- other objects. She soon learnt that they were indebted for their
- present good understanding to the efforts of his aunt, who _did_
- call on him in her return through London, and there relate her
- journey to Longbourn, its motive, and the substance of her
- conversation with Elizabeth; dwelling emphatically on every
- expression of the latter which, in her ladyship’s apprehension,
- peculiarly denoted her perverseness and assurance; in the belief
- that such a relation must assist her endeavours to obtain that
- promise from her nephew which _she_ had refused to give. But,
- unluckily for her ladyship, its effect had been exactly
- contrariwise.
-
- “It taught me to hope,” said he, “as I had scarcely ever allowed
- myself to hope before. I knew enough of your disposition to be
- certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided
- against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine,
- frankly and openly.”
-
- Elizabeth coloured and laughed as she replied, “Yes, you know
- enough of my _frankness_ to believe me capable of _that_. After
- abusing you so abominably to your face, I could have no scruple
- in abusing you to all your relations.”
-
- “What did you say of me, that I did not deserve? For, though your
- accusations were ill-founded, formed on mistaken premises, my
- behaviour to you at the time had merited the severest reproof. It
- was unpardonable. I cannot think of it without abhorrence.”
-
- “We will not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to
- that evening,” said Elizabeth. “The conduct of neither, if
- strictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we
- have both, I hope, improved in civility.”
-
- “I cannot be so easily reconciled to myself. The recollection of
- what I then said, of my conduct, my manners, my expressions
- during the whole of it, is now, and has been many months,
- inexpressibly painful to me. Your reproof, so well applied, I
- shall never forget: ‘had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike
- manner.’ Those were your words. You know not, you can scarcely
- conceive, how they have tortured me;—though it was some time, I
- confess, before I was reasonable enough to allow their justice.”
-
- “I was certainly very far from expecting them to make so strong
- an impression. I had not the smallest idea of their being ever
- felt in such a way.”
-
- “I can easily believe it. You thought me then devoid of every
- proper feeling, I am sure you did. The turn of your countenance I
- shall never forget, as you said that I could not have addressed
- you in any possible way that would induce you to accept me.”
-
- “Oh! do not repeat what I then said. These recollections will not
- do at all. I assure you that I have long been most heartily
- ashamed of it.”
-
- Darcy mentioned his letter. “Did it,” said he, “did it soon make
- you think better of me? Did you, on reading it, give any credit
- to its contents?”
-
- She explained what its effect on her had been, and how gradually
- all her former prejudices had been removed.
-
- “I knew,” said he, “that what I wrote must give you pain, but it
- was necessary. I hope you have destroyed the letter. There was
- one part especially, the opening of it, which I should dread your
- having the power of reading again. I can remember some
- expressions which might justly make you hate me.”
-
- “The letter shall certainly be burnt, if you believe it essential
- to the preservation of my regard; but, though we have both reason
- to think my opinions not entirely unalterable, they are not, I
- hope, quite so easily changed as that implies.”
-
- “When I wrote that letter,” replied Darcy, “I believed myself
- perfectly calm and cool, but I am since convinced that it was
- written in a dreadful bitterness of spirit.”
-
- “The letter, perhaps, began in bitterness, but it did not end so.
- The adieu is charity itself. But think no more of the letter. The
- feelings of the person who wrote, and the person who received it,
- are now so widely different from what they were then, that every
- unpleasant circumstance attending it ought to be forgotten. You
- must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its
- remembrance gives you pleasure.”
-
- “I cannot give you credit for any philosophy of the kind. _Your_
- retrospections must be so totally void of reproach, that the
- contentment arising from them is not of philosophy, but, what is
- much better, of innocence. But with _me_, it is not so. Painful
- recollections will intrude which cannot, which ought not, to be
- repelled. I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice,
- though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was
- _right_, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given
- good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit.
- Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only _child_), I was
- spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father,
- particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed,
- encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to
- care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all
- the rest of the world; to _wish_ at least to think meanly of
- their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from
- eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but
- for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You
- taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous.
- By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of
- my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my
- pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.”
-
- “Had you then persuaded yourself that I should?”
-
- “Indeed I had. What will you think of my vanity? I believed you
- to be wishing, expecting my addresses.”
-
- “My manners must have been in fault, but not intentionally, I
- assure you. I never meant to deceive you, but my spirits might
- often lead me wrong. How you must have hated me after _that_
- evening?”
-
- “Hate you! I was angry perhaps at first, but my anger soon began
- to take a proper direction.”
-
- “I am almost afraid of asking what you thought of me, when we met
- at Pemberley. You blamed me for coming?”
-
- “No indeed; I felt nothing but surprise.”
-
- “Your surprise could not be greater than _mine_ in being noticed
- by you. My conscience told me that I deserved no extraordinary
- politeness, and I confess that I did not expect to receive _more_
- than my due.”
-
- “My object _then_,” replied Darcy, “was to show you, by every
- civility in my power, that I was not so mean as to resent the
- past; and I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your ill
- opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been attended
- to. How soon any other wishes introduced themselves I can hardly
- tell, but I believe in about half an hour after I had seen you.”
-
- He then told her of Georgiana’s delight in her acquaintance, and
- of her disappointment at its sudden interruption; which naturally
- leading to the cause of that interruption, she soon learnt that
- his resolution of following her from Derbyshire in quest of her
- sister had been formed before he quitted the inn, and that his
- gravity and thoughtfulness there had arisen from no other
- struggles than what such a purpose must comprehend.
-
- She expressed her gratitude again, but it was too painful a
- subject to each, to be dwelt on farther.
-
- After walking several miles in a leisurely manner, and too busy
- to know anything about it, they found at last, on examining their
- watches, that it was time to be at home.
-
- “What could become of Mr. Bingley and Jane!” was a wonder which
- introduced the discussion of _their_ affairs. Darcy was delighted
- with their engagement; his friend had given him 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 happen.”
-
- “That is to say, you had given your permission. I guessed as
- much.” And though he exclaimed at the term, she found that it had
- been pretty much the case.
-
- “On the evening before my going to London,” said he, “I made a
- confession to him, which I believe I ought to have made long ago.
- I told him of all that had occurred to make my former
- interference in his affairs absurd and impertinent. His surprise
- was great. He had never had the slightest suspicion. I told him,
- moreover, that I believed myself mistaken in supposing, as I had
- done, that your sister was indifferent to him; and as I could
- easily perceive that his attachment to her was unabated, I felt
- no doubt of their happiness together.”
-
- Elizabeth could not help smiling at his easy manner of directing
- his friend.
-
- “Did you speak from your own observation,” said she, “when you
- told him that my sister loved him, or merely from my information
- last spring?”
-
- “From the former. I had narrowly observed her during the two
- visits which I had lately made here; and I was convinced of her
- affection.”
-
- “And your assurance of it, I suppose, carried immediate
- conviction to him.”
-
- “It did. Bingley is most unaffectedly modest. His diffidence had
- prevented his depending on his own judgment in so anxious a case,
- but his reliance on mine made every thing easy. I was obliged to
- confess one thing, which for a time, and not unjustly, offended
- him. I could not allow myself to conceal that your sister had
- been in town three months last winter, that I had known it, and
- purposely kept it from him. He was angry. But his anger, I am
- persuaded, lasted no longer than he remained in any doubt of your
- sister’s sentiments. He has heartily forgiven me now.”
-
- Elizabeth longed to observe that Mr. Bingley had been a most
- delightful friend; so easily guided that his worth was
- invaluable; but she checked herself. She remembered that he had
- yet to learn to be laughed at, and it was rather too early to
- begin. In anticipating the happiness of Bingley, which of course
- was to be inferior only to his own, he continued the conversation
- till they reached the house. In the hall they parted.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 59
-
- “My dear Lizzy, where can you have been walking to?” was a
- question which Elizabeth received from Jane as soon as she
- entered their room, and from all the others when they sat down to
- table. She had only to say in reply, that they had wandered
- about, till she was beyond her own knowledge. She coloured as she
- spoke; but neither that, nor anything else, awakened a suspicion
- of the truth.
-
- The evening passed quietly, unmarked by anything extraordinary.
- The acknowledged lovers talked and laughed, the unacknowledged
- were silent. Darcy was not of a disposition in which happiness
- overflows in mirth; and Elizabeth, agitated and confused, rather
- _knew_ that she was happy than _felt_ herself to be so; for,
- besides the immediate embarrassment, there were other evils
- before her. She anticipated what would be felt in the family when
- her situation became known; she was aware that no one liked him
- but Jane; and even feared that with the others it was a _dislike_
- which not all his fortune and consequence might do away.
-
- At night she opened her heart to Jane. Though suspicion was very
- far from Miss Bennet’s general habits, she was absolutely
- incredulous 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.”
-
- “This is a wretched beginning indeed! My sole dependence was on
- you; and I am sure nobody else will believe me, if you do not.
- Yet, indeed, I am in earnest. I speak nothing but the truth. He
- still loves me, and we are engaged.”
-
- Jane looked at her doubtingly. “Oh, Lizzy! it cannot be. I know
- how much you dislike him.”
-
- “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
- such cases as these, a good memory is unpardonable. This is the
- last time I shall ever remember it myself.”
-
- Miss Bennet still looked all amazement. Elizabeth again, and more
- seriously assured her of its truth.
-
- “Good Heaven! can it be really so! Yet now I must believe you,”
- cried Jane. “My dear, dear Lizzy, I would—I do congratulate
- you—but are you certain? forgive the question—are you quite
- certain that you can be happy with him?”
-
- “There can be no doubt of that. It is settled between us already,
- that we are to be the happiest couple in the world. But are you
- pleased, Jane? Shall you like to have such a brother?”
-
- “Very, very much. Nothing could give either Bingley or myself
- more delight. But we considered it, we talked of it as
- impossible. 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?”
-
- “Oh, yes! You will only think I feel _more_ than I ought to do,
- when I tell you all.”
-
- “What do you mean?”
-
- “Why, I must confess that I love him better than I do Bingley. I
- am afraid you will be angry.”
-
- “My dearest sister, now _be_ serious. I want to talk very
- seriously. Let me know every thing that I am to know, without
- delay. Will you tell me how long you have loved him?”
-
- “It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it
- began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his
- beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”
-
- Another entreaty that she would be serious, however, produced the
- desired effect; and she soon satisfied Jane by her solemn
- assurances of attachment. When convinced on that article, Miss
- Bennet had nothing further to wish.
-
- “Now I am quite happy,” said she, “for you will be as happy as
- myself. I always had a value for him. Were it for nothing but his
- love of you, I must always have esteemed him; but now, as
- Bingley’s friend and your husband, there can be only Bingley and
- yourself more dear to me. But Lizzy, you have been very sly, very
- reserved with me. How little did you tell me of what passed at
- Pemberley and Lambton! I owe all that I know of it to another,
- not to you.”
-
- Elizabeth told her the motives of her secrecy. She had been
- unwilling to mention Bingley; and the unsettled state of her own
- feelings had made her equally avoid the name of his friend. But
- now she would no longer conceal from her his share in Lydia’s
- marriage. All was acknowledged, and half the night spent in
- conversation.
-
- “Good gracious!” cried Mrs. Bennet, as she stood at a window the
- next morning, “if that disagreeable Mr. Darcy is not coming here
- again with our dear Bingley! What can he mean by being so
- tiresome as to be always coming here? I had no notion but he
- would go a-shooting, or something or other, and not disturb us
- with his company. What shall we do with him? Lizzy, you must walk
- out with him again, that he may not be in Bingley’s way.”
-
- Elizabeth could hardly help laughing at so convenient a proposal;
- yet was really vexed that her mother should be always giving him
- such an epithet.
-
- As soon as they entered, Bingley looked at her so expressively,
- and shook hands with such warmth, as left no doubt of his good
- information; and he soon afterwards said aloud, “Mrs. Bennet,
- have you no more lanes hereabouts in which Lizzy may lose her way
- again to-day?”
-
- “I advise Mr. Darcy, and Lizzy, and Kitty,” said Mrs. Bennet, “to
- walk to Oakham Mount this morning. It is a nice long walk, and
- Mr. Darcy has never seen the view.”
-
- “It may do very well for the others,” replied Mr. Bingley; “but I
- am sure it will be too much for Kitty. Won’t it, Kitty?” Kitty
- owned that she had rather stay at home. Darcy professed a great
- curiosity to see the view from the Mount, and Elizabeth silently
- consented. As she went up stairs to get ready, Mrs. Bennet
- followed her, saying:
-
- “I am quite sorry, Lizzy, that you should be forced to have that
- disagreeable man all to yourself. But I hope you will not mind
- it: it is all for Jane’s sake, you know; and there is no occasion
- for talking to him, except just now and then. So, do not put
- yourself to inconvenience.”
-
- During their walk, it was resolved that Mr. Bennet’s consent
- should be asked in the course of the evening. Elizabeth reserved
- to herself the application for her mother’s. She could not
- determine how her mother would take it; sometimes doubting
- whether all his wealth and grandeur would be enough to overcome
- her abhorrence of the man. But whether she were violently set
- against the match, or violently delighted with it, it was certain
- that her manner would be equally ill adapted to do credit to her
- sense; and she could no more bear that Mr. Darcy should hear the
- first raptures of her joy, than the first vehemence of her
- disapprobation.
-
- In the evening, soon after Mr. Bennet withdrew to the library,
- she saw Mr. Darcy rise also and follow him, and her agitation on
- seeing it was extreme. She did not fear her father’s opposition,
- but he was going to be made unhappy; and that it should be
- through her means—that _she_, his favourite child, should be
- distressing him by her choice, should be filling him with fears
- and regrets in disposing of her—was a wretched reflection, and
- she sat in misery till Mr. Darcy appeared again, when, looking at
- him, she was a little relieved by his smile. In a few minutes he
- approached the table where she was sitting with Kitty; and, while
- pretending to admire her work said in a whisper, “Go to your
- father, he wants you in the library.” She was gone directly.
-
- Her father was walking about the room, looking grave and anxious.
- “Lizzy,” said he, “what are you doing? Are you out of your
- senses, to be accepting this man? Have not you always hated him?”
-
- How earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had been
- more reasonable, her expressions more moderate! It would have
- spared her from explanations and professions which it was
- exceedingly awkward to give; but they were now necessary, and she
- assured him, with some confusion, of her attachment to Mr. Darcy.
-
- “Or, in other words, you are determined to have him. He is rich,
- to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages
- than Jane. But will they make you happy?”
-
- “Have you any other objection,” said Elizabeth, “than your belief
- of my indifference?”
-
- “None at all. We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of
- man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him.”
-
- “I do, I do like him,” she replied, with tears in her eyes, “I
- love him. Indeed he has no improper pride. He is perfectly
- amiable. You do not know what he really is; then pray do not pain
- me by speaking of him in such terms.”
-
- “Lizzy,” said her father, “I have given him my consent. He is the
- kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything,
- which he condescended to ask. I now give it to _you_, if you are
- resolved on having him. But let me advise you to think better of
- it. I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be
- neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your
- husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively
- talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal
- marriage. You could scarcely escape discredit and misery. My
- child, let me not have the grief of seeing _you_ unable to
- respect your partner in life. You know not what you are about.”
-
- Elizabeth, still more affected, was earnest and solemn in her
- reply; and at length, by repeated assurances that Mr. Darcy was
- really the object of her choice, by explaining the gradual change
- which her estimation of him had undergone, relating her absolute
- certainty that his affection was not the work of a day, but had
- stood the test of many months’ suspense, and enumerating with
- energy all his good qualities, she did conquer her father’s
- incredulity, and reconcile him to the match.
-
- “Well, my dear,” said he, when she ceased speaking, “I have no
- more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not
- have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy.”
-
- To complete the favourable impression, she then told him what Mr.
- Darcy had voluntarily done for Lydia. He heard her with
- astonishment.
-
- “This is an evening of wonders, indeed! And so, Darcy did every
- thing; made up the match, gave the money, paid the fellow’s
- debts, and got him his commission! So much the better. It will
- save me a world of trouble and economy. Had it been your uncle’s
- doing, I must and _would_ have paid him; but these violent young
- lovers carry every thing their own way. I shall offer to pay him
- to-morrow; he will rant and storm about his love for you, and
- there will be an end of the matter.”
-
- He then recollected her embarrassment a few days before, on his
- reading Mr. Collins’s letter; and after laughing at her some
- time, allowed her at last to go—saying, as she quitted the room,
- “If any young men come for Mary or Kitty, send them in, for I am
- quite at leisure.”
-
- Elizabeth’s mind was now relieved from a very heavy weight; and,
- after half an hour’s quiet reflection in her own room, she was
- able to join the others with tolerable composure. Every thing was
- too recent for gaiety, but the evening passed tranquilly away;
- there was no longer anything material to be dreaded, and the
- comfort of ease and familiarity would come in time.
-
- When her mother went up to her dressing-room at night, she
- followed her, and made the important communication. Its effect
- was most extraordinary; for on first hearing it, Mrs. Bennet sat
- quite still, and unable to utter a syllable. Nor was it under
- many, many minutes that she could comprehend what she heard;
- though not in general backward to credit what was for the
- advantage of her family, or that came in the shape of a lover to
- any of them. She began at length to recover, to fidget about in
- her chair, get up, sit down again, wonder, and 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 happy. Such a charming
- man!—so handsome! so tall!—Oh, my dear Lizzy! pray apologise for
- my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook
- it. Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in town! Every thing that is
- charming! Three daughters married! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord!
- What will become of me. I shall go distracted.”
-
- This was enough to prove that her approbation need not be
- doubted: and Elizabeth, rejoicing that such an effusion was heard
- only by herself, soon went away. But before she had been 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 Lord!
- And a special licence. You must and shall be married by a special
- licence. But my dearest love, tell me what dish Mr. Darcy is
- particularly fond of, that I may have it to-morrow.”
-
- This was a sad omen of what her mother’s behaviour to the
- gentleman himself might be; and Elizabeth found that, though in
- the certain possession of his warmest affection, and secure of
- her relations’ consent, there was still something to be wished
- for. But the morrow passed off much better than she expected; for
- Mrs. Bennet luckily stood in such awe of her intended son-in-law
- that she ventured not to speak to him, unless it was in her power
- to offer him any attention, or mark her deference for his
- opinion.
-
- Elizabeth had the satisfaction of seeing her father taking pains
- to get acquainted with him; and Mr. Bennet soon assured her that
- he was rising every hour in his esteem.
-
- “I admire all my three sons-in-law highly,” said he. “Wickham,
- perhaps, is my favourite; but I think I shall like _your_ husband
- quite as well as Jane’s.”
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 60
-
- Elizabeth’s spirits soon rising to playfulness again, she wanted
- Mr. Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love with her.
- “How could you begin?” said she. “I can comprehend your going on
- charmingly, when you had once made a beginning; but what could
- set you off in the first place?”
-
- “I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the
- words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in
- the middle before I knew that I _had_ begun.”
-
- “My beauty you had early withstood, and as for my manners—my
- behaviour to _you_ was at least always bordering on the uncivil,
- and I never spoke to you without rather wishing to give you pain
- than not. Now be sincere; did you admire me for my impertinence?”
-
- “For the liveliness of your mind, I did.”
-
- “You may as well call it impertinence at once. It was very little
- less. The fact is, that you were sick of civility, of deference,
- of officious attention. You were disgusted with the women who
- were always speaking, and looking, and thinking for _your_
- approbation alone. I roused, and interested you, because I was so
- unlike _them_. Had you not been really amiable, you would have
- hated me for it; but in spite of the pains you took to disguise
- yourself, your feelings were always noble and just; and in your
- heart, you thoroughly despised the persons who so assiduously
- courted you. There—I have saved you the trouble of accounting for
- it; and really, all things considered, I begin to think it
- perfectly reasonable. To be sure, you knew no actual good of
- me—but nobody thinks of _that_ when they fall in love.”
-
- “Was there no good in your affectionate behaviour to Jane while
- she was ill at Netherfield?”
-
- “Dearest Jane! who could have done less for her? But make a
- virtue of it by all means. My good qualities are under your
- protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible;
- and, in return, it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing
- and quarrelling with you as often as may be; and I shall begin
- directly by asking you what made you so unwilling to come to the
- point at last. What made you so shy of me, when you first called,
- and afterwards dined here? Why, especially, when you called, did
- you look as if you did not care about me?”
-
- “Because you were grave and silent, and gave me no
- encouragement.”
-
- “But I was embarrassed.”
-
- “And so was I.”
-
- “You might have talked to me more when you came to dinner.”
-
- “A man who had felt less, might.”
-
- “How unlucky that you should have a reasonable answer to give,
- and that I should be so reasonable as to admit it! But I wonder
- how long you _would_ have gone on, if you had been left to
- yourself. I wonder when you _would_ have spoken, if I had not
- asked you! My resolution of thanking you for your kindness to
- Lydia had certainly great effect. _Too much_, I am afraid; for
- what becomes of the moral, if our comfort springs from a breach
- of promise? for I ought not to have mentioned the subject. This
- will never do.”
-
- “You need not distress yourself. The moral will be perfectly
- fair. Lady Catherine’s unjustifiable endeavours to separate us
- were the means of removing all my doubts. I am not indebted for
- my present happiness to your eager desire of expressing your
- gratitude. I was not in a humour to wait for any opening of
- yours. My aunt’s intelligence had given me hope, and I was
- determined at once to know every thing.”
-
- “Lady Catherine has been of infinite use, which ought to make her
- happy, for she loves to be of use. But tell me, what did you come
- down to Netherfield for? Was it merely to ride to Longbourn and
- be embarrassed? or had you intended any more serious
- consequence?”
-
- “My real purpose was to see _you_, and to judge, if I could,
- whether I might ever hope to make you love me. My avowed one, or
- what I avowed to myself, was to see whether your sister were
- still partial to Bingley, and if she were, to make the confession
- to him which I have since made.”
-
- “Shall you ever have courage to announce to Lady Catherine what
- is to befall her?”
-
- “I am more likely to want time than courage, Elizabeth. But it
- ought to be done, and if you will give me a sheet of paper, it
- shall be done directly.”
-
- “And if I had not a letter to write myself, I might sit by you
- and admire the evenness of your writing, as another young lady
- once did. But I have an aunt, too, who must not be longer
- neglected.”
-
- From an unwillingness to confess how much her intimacy with Mr.
- Darcy had been over-rated, Elizabeth had never yet answered Mrs.
- Gardiner’s long letter; but now, having _that_ to communicate
- which she knew would be most welcome, she was almost ashamed to
- find that her uncle and aunt had already lost three days of
- happiness, and immediately wrote as follows:
-
- “I would have thanked you before, my dear aunt, as I ought to
- have done, for your long, kind, satisfactory, detail of
- particulars; but to say the truth, I was too cross to write. You
- supposed more than really existed. But _now_ suppose as much as
- you choose; give a loose rein to your fancy, indulge your
- imagination in every possible flight which the subject will
- afford, and unless you believe me actually married, you cannot
- greatly err. You must write again very soon, and praise him a
- great deal more than you did in your last. I thank you, again and
- again, for not going to the Lakes. How could I be so silly as to
- wish it! Your idea of the ponies is delightful. We will go round
- the Park every day. I am the happiest creature in the world.
- Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such
- justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.
- Mr. Darcy sends you all the love in the world that he can spare
- from me. You are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas. Yours,
- etc.”
-
- Mr. Darcy’s letter to Lady Catherine was in a different style;
- and still different from either was what Mr. Bennet sent to Mr.
- Collins, in reply to his last.
-
- “Dear Sir,
- “I must trouble you once more for congratulations. Elizabeth will
- soon be the wife of Mr. Darcy. Console Lady Catherine as well as
- you can. But, if I were you, I would stand by the nephew. He has
- more to give.
-
- “Yours sincerely, etc.”
-
- Miss Bingley’s congratulations to her brother, on his approaching
- marriage, were all that was affectionate and insincere. She wrote
- even to Jane on the occasion, to express her delight, and repeat
- all her former professions of regard. Jane was not deceived, but
- she was affected; and though feeling no reliance on her, could
- not help writing her a much kinder answer than she knew was
- deserved.
-
- The joy which Miss Darcy expressed on receiving similar
- information, was as sincere as her brother’s in sending it. Four
- sides of paper were insufficient to contain all her delight, and
- all her earnest desire of being loved by her sister.
-
- Before any answer could arrive from Mr. Collins, or any
- congratulations to Elizabeth from his wife, the Longbourn family
- heard that the Collinses were come themselves to Lucas Lodge. The
- reason of this sudden removal was soon evident. Lady Catherine
- had been rendered so exceedingly angry by the contents of her
- nephew’s letter, that Charlotte, really rejoicing in the match,
- was anxious to get away till the storm was blown over. At such a
- moment, the arrival of her friend was a sincere pleasure to
- Elizabeth, though in the course of their meetings she must
- sometimes think the pleasure dearly bought, when she saw Mr.
- Darcy exposed to all the parading and obsequious civility of her
- husband. He bore it, however, with admirable calmness. He could
- even listen to Sir William Lucas, when he complimented him on
- carrying away the brightest jewel of the country, and expressed
- his hopes of their all meeting frequently at St. James’s, with
- very decent composure. If he did shrug his shoulders, it was not
- till Sir William was out of sight.
-
- Mrs. Phillips’s vulgarity was another, and perhaps a greater, tax
- on his forbearance; and though Mrs. Phillips, as well as her
- sister, stood in too much awe of him to speak with the
- familiarity which Bingley’s good humour encouraged, yet, whenever
- she _did_ speak, she must be vulgar. Nor was her respect for him,
- though it made her more quiet, at all likely to make her more
- elegant. Elizabeth did all she could to shield him from the
- frequent notice of either, and was ever anxious to keep him to
- herself, and to those of her family with whom he might converse
- without mortification; and though the uncomfortable feelings
- arising from all this took from the season of courtship much of
- its pleasure, it added to the hope of the future; and she looked
- forward with delight to the time when they should be removed from
- society so little pleasing to either, to all the comfort and
- elegance of their family party at Pemberley.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter 61
-
- Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs.
- Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters. With what
- delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs. Bingley, and talked
- of Mrs. Darcy, may be guessed. I wish I could say, for the sake
- of her family, that the accomplishment of her earnest desire in
- the establishment of so many of her children produced so happy an
- effect as to make her a sensible, amiable, well-informed woman
- for the rest of her life; though perhaps it was lucky for her
- husband, who might not have relished domestic felicity in so
- unusual a form, that she still was occasionally nervous and
- invariably silly.
-
- Mr. Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; his affection
- for her drew him oftener from home than anything else could do.
- He delighted in going to Pemberley, especially when 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
- desirable even to _his_ easy temper, or _her_ affectionate heart.
- The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified; he bought an
- estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire, and Jane and
- Elizabeth, in addition to every other source of happiness, were
- within thirty miles of each other.
-
- Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her
- time with her two elder sisters. In society so superior to what
- she had generally known, her improvement was great. She was not
- of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia; and, removed from the
- influence of Lydia’s example, she became, by proper attention and
- management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. From
- the further disadvantage of Lydia’s society she was of course
- carefully kept, and though Mrs. Wickham frequently invited her to
- come and stay with her, with the promise of balls and young men,
- her father would never consent to her going.
-
- Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was
- necessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs.
- Bennet’s being quite unable to sit alone. Mary was obliged to mix
- more with the world, but she could still moralize over every
- morning visit; and as she was no longer mortified by comparisons
- between her sisters’ beauty and her own, it was suspected by her
- father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance.
-
- As for Wickham and Lydia, their characters suffered no revolution
- from the marriage of her sisters. He bore with philosophy the
- conviction that Elizabeth must now become acquainted with
- whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood had before been unknown
- to her; and in spite of every thing, was not wholly without hope
- that Darcy might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune. The
- congratulatory letter which Elizabeth received from Lydia on her
- marriage, explained to her that, by his wife at least, if not by
- himself, such a hope was cherished. The letter was to this
- effect:
-
- “My dear Lizzy,
- “I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my
- dear Wickham, you must be very happy. It is a great comfort to
- have you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope
- you will think of us. I am sure Wickham would like a place at
- court very much, and I do not think we shall have quite money
- enough to live upon without some help. Any place would do, of
- about three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speak to
- Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather not.
-
- “Yours, etc.”
-
- As it happened that Elizabeth had much rather not, she
- endeavoured in her answer to put an end to every entreaty and
- expectation of the kind. Such relief, however, as it was in her
- power to afford, by the practice of what might be called economy
- in her own private expences, she frequently sent them. It had
- always been evident to her that such an income as theirs, under
- the direction of two persons so extravagant in their wants, and
- heedless of the future, must be very insufficient to their
- support; and whenever they changed their quarters, either Jane or
- herself were sure of being applied to for some little assistance
- towards discharging their bills. Their manner of living, even
- when the restoration of peace dismissed them to a home, was
- unsettled in the extreme. They were always moving from place to
- place in quest of a cheap situation, and always spending more
- than they ought. His affection for her soon sunk into
- indifference; hers lasted a little longer; and in spite of her
- youth and her manners, she retained all the claims to reputation
- which her marriage had given her.
-
- Though Darcy could never receive _him_ at Pemberley, yet, for
- Elizabeth’s sake, he assisted him further in his profession.
- Lydia was occasionally a visitor there, when her husband was gone
- to enjoy himself in London or Bath; and with the Bingleys they
- both of them frequently staid so long, that even Bingley’s good
- humour was overcome, and he proceeded so far as to _talk_ of
- giving them a hint to be gone.
-
- Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy’s marriage; but
- as she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at
- Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever of
- Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and paid
- off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.
-
- Pemberley was now Georgiana’s home; and the attachment of the
- sisters was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see. They were able
- to love each other even as well as they intended. Georgiana had
- the highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth; though at first
- she often listened with an astonishment bordering on alarm at her
- lively, sportive, manner of talking to her brother. He, who had
- always inspired in herself a respect which almost overcame her
- affection, she now saw the object of open pleasantry. Her mind
- received knowledge which had never before fallen in her way. By
- Elizabeth’s instructions, she began to comprehend that a woman
- may take liberties with her husband which a brother will not
- always allow in a sister more than ten years younger than
- himself.
-
- Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of her
- nephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of her
- character in her reply to the letter which announced its
- arrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especially of
- Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end. But
- at length, by Elizabeth’s persuasion, he was prevailed on to
- overlook the offence, and seek a reconciliation; and, after a
- little further resistance on the part of his aunt, her resentment
- gave way, either to her affection for him, or her curiosity to
- see how his wife conducted herself; and she condescended to wait
- on them at Pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its woods
- had received, not merely from the presence of such a mistress,
- but the visits of her uncle and aunt from the city.
-
- With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms.
- Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were
- both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons
- who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of
- uniting them.
-
-
-
-
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diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/multiple-fields-metadata-request.graphql b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/multiple-fields-metadata-request.graphql
deleted file mode 100644
index 8ad09951b..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/multiple-fields-metadata-request.graphql
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-{
- metaData(fileId:"2") {
- fileName
- fileType
- }
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/single-field-metadata-request.graphql b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/single-field-metadata-request.graphql
deleted file mode 100644
index e941eba46..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/path-param/single-field-metadata-request.graphql
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-{
- metaData(fileId:"2") {
- fileName
- }
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-request.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-request.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 9c71a8923..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-request.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-{
- "query":"{\n metaData(fileId:\"2\") {\n fileName\nfileType }\n}",
- "variables":null
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-response.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-response.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 8ac44e650..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/multiple-fields-metadata-response.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
- "errors":[],
- "data": {
- "metaData": {
- "fileName": "Moby Dick",
- "fileType": "PDF"
- }
- },
- "extensions":null,
- "dataPresent":true
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-request.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-request.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 8d0b900f0..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-request.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-{
- "query":"{\n metaData(fileId:\"2\") {\n fileName\n }\n}",
- "variables":null
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-response.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-response.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 2878ee8b0..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/single-field-metadata-response.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-{
- "errors":[],
- "data": {
- "metaData": {
- "fileName": "Moby Dick"
- }
- },
- "extensions":null,
- "dataPresent":true
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-request.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-request.json
deleted file mode 100644
index d62d68080..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-request.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-{
- "query":"{\n metaData(fileId:\"%s\") {\n fileName\nfileType }\n}",
- "variables":null
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-response.json b/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-response.json
deleted file mode 100644
index f2d6c72db..000000000
--- a/athena-examples/athena-examples-acceptance-tests/src/test/resources/payload/uploaded-file-metadata-response.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
- "errors":[],
- "data": {
- "metaData": {
- "fileName": "pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen.txt",
- "fileType": "TXT"
- }
- },
- "extensions":null,
- "dataPresent":true
-}
diff --git a/athena-examples/pom.xml b/athena-examples/pom.xml
index ae27e2ac2..fe993b3dd 100644
--- a/athena-examples/pom.xml
+++ b/athena-examples/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@