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chapter 41 the first week of their return was soongone. the second began. it was the last of the regiment's stay inmeryton, and all the young ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace.the dejection was almost universal. the elder miss bennets alone were stillable to eat, drink, and sleep, and pursue the usual course of their employments. very frequently were they reproached forthis insensibility by kitty and lydia, whose own misery was extreme, and who couldnot 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 theirgrief; she remembered what she had herself endured on a similar occasion, five-and-twenty years ago. "i am sure," said she, "i cried for twodays 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!" observedmrs. bennet.

"oh, yes!--if one could but go to brighton!but papa is so disagreeable." "a little sea-bathing would set me upforever." "and my aunt phillips is sure it would dome a great deal of good," added kitty. such were the kind of lamentationsresounding 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'sobjections; and never had she been so much disposed to pardon his interference in theviews of his friend. but the gloom of lydia's prospect wasshortly cleared away; for she received an

invitation from mrs. forster, the wife ofthe colonel of the regiment, to accompany her to brighton. this invaluable friend was a very youngwoman, and very lately married. a resemblance in good humour and goodspirits 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, heradoration of mrs. forster, the delight of mrs. bennet, and the mortification ofkitty, are scarcely to be described. wholly inattentive to her sister'sfeelings, lydia flew about the house in restless ecstasy, calling for everyone'scongratulations, and laughing and talking

with more violence than ever; whilst the luckless kitty continued in the parlourrepined at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her accent was peevish. "i cannot see why mrs. forster should notask me as well as lydia," said she, "though i am not her particular friend. i have just as much right to be asked asshe 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 invitationwas so far from exciting in her the same

feelings as in her mother and lydia, thatshe considered it as the death warrant of all possibility of common sense for the latter; and detestable as such a step mustmake her were it known, she could not help secretly advising her father not to let hergo. she represented to him all theimproprieties of lydia's general behaviour, the little advantage she could derive fromthe friendship of such a woman as mrs. forster, and the probability of her being yet more imprudent with such a companion atbrighton, where the temptations must be greater than at home.he heard her attentively, and then said:

"lydia will never be easy until she hasexposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do itwith so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the presentcircumstances." "if you were aware," said elizabeth, "ofthe very great disadvantage to us all which must arise from the public notice oflydia's unguarded and imprudent manner-- nay, which has already arisen from it, i am sure you would judge differently in theaffair." "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 beconnected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret. come, let me see the list of pitifulfellows 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 generalevils, which i am now complaining. our importance, our respectability in theworld must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain ofall restraint which mark lydia's character.

excuse me, for i must speak plainly. if you, my dear father, will not take thetrouble of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her presentpursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will soon be beyond the reach ofamendment. her character will be fixed, and she will,at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her familyridiculous; a flirt, too, in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any attraction beyond youth and a tolerableperson; and, from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable toward off any portion of that universal

contempt which her rage for admiration willexcite. in this danger kitty also is comprehended.she will follow wherever lydia leads. vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutelyuncontrolled! oh! my dear father, can you suppose itpossible that they will not be censured and despised wherever they are known, and thattheir sisters will not be often involved in the disgrace?" mr. bennet saw that her whole heart was inthe subject, and affectionately taking her hand said in reply:"do not make yourself uneasy, my love. wherever you and jane are known you must berespected and valued; and you will not

appear to less advantage for having acouple of--or i may say, three--very silly sisters. we shall have no peace at longbourn iflydia does not go to brighton. let her go, then. colonel forster is a sensible man, and willkeep her out of any real mischief; and she is luckily too poor to be an object of preyto anybody. at brighton she will be of less importanceeven as a common flirt than she has been here.the officers will find women better worth their notice.

let us hope, therefore, that her beingthere may teach her her own insignificance. at any rate, she cannot grow many degreesworse, without authorising us to lock her up for the rest of her life." with this answer elizabeth was forced to becontent; but her own opinion continued the same, and she left him disappointed andsorry. it was not in her nature, however, toincrease her vexations by dwelling on them. she was confident of having performed herduty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or augment them by anxiety, was no part ofher disposition. had lydia and her mother known thesubstance of her conference with her

father, their indignation would hardly havefound expression in their united volubility. in lydia's imagination, a visit to brightoncomprised 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, totens and to scores of them at present unknown. she saw all the glories of the camp--itstents stretched forth in beauteous

uniformity of lines, crowded with the youngand the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to complete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirtingwith at least six officers at once. had she known her sister sought to tear herfrom such prospects and such realities as these, what would have been her sensations? they could have been understood only by hermother, who might have felt nearly the same. lydia's going to brighton was all thatconsoled her for her melancholy conviction of her husband's never intending to gothere himself.

but they were entirely ignorant of what hadpassed; and their raptures continued, with little intermission, to the very day oflydia's leaving home. elizabeth was now to see mr. wickham forthe last time. having been frequently in company with himsince her return, agitation was pretty well over; the agitations of formal partialityentirely so. she had even learnt to detect, in the verygentleness which had first delighted her, an affectation and a sameness to disgustand weary. in his present behaviour to herself,moreover, she had a fresh source of displeasure, for the inclination he soontestified of renewing those intentions

which had marked the early part of their acquaintance could only serve, after whathad since passed, to provoke her. she lost all concern for him in findingherself thus selected as the object of such idle and frivolous gallantry; and while shesteadily 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 herpreference secured at any time by their renewal. on the very last day of the regiment'sremaining at meryton, he dined, with other

of the officers, at longbourn; and solittle was elizabeth disposed to part from him in good humour, that on his making some inquiry as to the manner in which her timehad passed at hunsford, she mentioned colonel fitzwilliam's and mr. darcy'shaving both spent three weeks at rosings, and asked him, if he was acquainted withthe former. he looked surprised, displeased, alarmed;but with a moment's recollection and a returning smile, replied, that he hadformerly seen him often; and, after observing that he was a very gentlemanlikeman, 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 hiscousin's." "yes, very different.but i think mr. darcy improves upon acquaintance." "indeed!" cried mr. wickham with a lookwhich did not escape her. "and pray, may i ask?--" but checkinghimself, he added, in a gayer tone, "is it in address that he improves?

has he deigned to add aught of civility tohis ordinary style?--for i dare not hope," he continued in a lower and more serioustone, "that he is improved in essentials." "oh, no!" said elizabeth. "in essentials, i believe, he is very muchwhat he ever was." while she spoke, wickham looked as ifscarcely knowing whether to rejoice over her words, or to distrust their meaning. there was a something in her countenancewhich made him listen with an apprehensive and anxious attention, while she added: "when i said that he improved onacquaintance, i did not mean that his mind

or his manners were in a state ofimprovement, but that, from knowing him better, his disposition was betterunderstood." wickham's alarm now appeared in aheightened 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 ofaccents: "you, who so well know my feeling towardsmr. darcy, will readily comprehend how sincerely i must rejoice that he is wiseenough to assume even the appearance of what is right. his pride, in that direction, may be ofservice, if not to himself, to many others,

for it must only deter him from such foulmisconduct as i have suffered by. i only fear that the sort of cautiousnessto which you, i imagine, have been alluding, is merely adopted on his visitsto his aunt, of whose good opinion and judgement he stands much in awe. his fear of her has always operated, iknow, when they were together; and a good deal is to be imputed to his wish offorwarding the match with miss de bourgh, which i am certain he has very much atheart." elizabeth could not repress a smile atthis, but she answered only by a slight inclination of the head.

she saw that he wanted to engage her on theold subject of his grievances, and she was in no humour to indulge him. the rest of the evening passed with theappearance, on his side, of usual cheerfulness, but with no further attemptto distinguish elizabeth; and they parted at last with mutual civility, and possiblya mutual desire of never meeting again. when the party broke up, lydia returnedwith mrs. forster to meryton, from whence they were to set out early the nextmorning. the separation between her and her familywas rather noisy than pathetic. kitty was the only one who shed tears; butshe did weep from vexation and envy.

mrs. bennet was diffuse in her good wishesfor the felicity of her daughter, and impressive in her injunctions that sheshould not miss the opportunity of enjoying herself as much as possible--advice which there was every reason to believe would bewell attended to; and in the clamorous happiness of lydia herself in biddingfarewell, the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard. > chapter 42 had elizabeth's opinion been all drawn fromher own family, she could not have formed a

very pleasing opinion of conjugal felicityor domestic comfort. her father, captivated by youth and beauty,and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, hadmarried a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affectionfor her. respect, esteem, and confidence hadvanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown. but mr. bennet was not of a disposition toseek comfort for the disappointment which his own imprudence had brought on, in anyof those pleasures which too often console

the unfortunate for their folly or theirvice. 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 otherwiseindebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement. this is not the sort of happiness which aman would in general wish to owe to his wife; but where other powers ofentertainment are wanting, the true philosopher will derive benefit from suchas are given. elizabeth, however, had never been blind tothe impropriety of her father's behaviour

as a husband. she had always seen it with pain; butrespecting his abilities, and grateful for his affectionate treatment of herself, sheendeavoured to forget what she could not overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that continual breach of conjugalobligation and decorum which, in exposing his wife to the contempt of her ownchildren, was so highly reprehensible. but she had never felt so strongly as nowthe disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage, norever 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 ifincapable of enlarging the mind of his wife. when elizabeth had rejoiced over wickham'sdeparture she found little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of the regiment. their parties abroad were less varied thanbefore, and at home she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings at thedullness of everything around them threw a real gloom over their domestic circle; and, though kitty might in time regain hernatural degree of sense, since the

disturbers of her brain were removed, herother sister, from whose disposition greater evil might be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her folly andassurance by a situation of such double danger as a watering-place and a camp. upon the whole, therefore, she found, whathas been sometimes found before, that an event to which she had been looking withimpatient desire did not, in taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promisedherself. it was consequently necessary to name someother period for the commencement of actual felicity--to have some other point on whichher wishes and hopes might be fixed, and by

again enjoying the pleasure of anticipation, console herself for thepresent, and prepare for another disappointment. her tour to the lakes was now the object ofher happiest thoughts; it was her best consolation for all the uncomfortable hourswhich the discontentedness of her mother and kitty made inevitable; and could she have included jane in the scheme, everypart of it would have been perfect. "but it is fortunate," thought she, "that ihave something to wish for. were the whole arrangement complete, mydisappointment would be certain.

but here, by carrying with me one ceaselesssource of regret in my sister's absence, i may reasonably hope to have all myexpectations of pleasure realised. a scheme of which every part promisesdelight can never be successful; and general disappointment is only warded offby the defence of some little peculiar vexation." when lydia went away she promised to writevery often and very minutely to her mother and kitty; but her letters were always longexpected, and always very short. those to her mother contained little elsethan that they were just returned from the library, where such and such officers hadattended 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 violenthurry, as mrs. forster called her, and they were going off to the camp; and from her correspondence with her sister, there wasstill less to be learnt--for her letters to kitty, though rather longer, were much toofull of lines under the words to be made public. after the first fortnight or three weeks ofher absence, health, good humour, and cheerfulness began to reappear atlongbourn.

everything wore a happier aspect. the families who had been in town for thewinter came back again, and summer finery and summer engagements arose. mrs. bennet was restored to her usualquerulous serenity; and, by the middle of june, kitty was so much recovered as to beable to enter meryton without tears; an event of such happy promise as to make elizabeth hope that by the followingchristmas she might be so tolerably reasonable as not to mention an officerabove once a day, unless, by some cruel and malicious arrangement at the war office,

another regiment should be quartered inmeryton. the time fixed for the beginning of theirnorthern tour was now fast approaching, and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when aletter arrived from mrs. gardiner, which at once delayed its commencement and curtailedits extent. mr. gardiner would be prevented by businessfrom setting out till a fortnight later in july, and must be in london again within amonth, 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 itwith 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 gono farther northwards than derbyshire. in that county there was enough to be seento occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to mrs. gardiner it had a peculiarlystrong attraction. the town where she had formerly passed someyears of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as greatan object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of matlock, chatsworth,dovedale, or the peak. elizabeth was excessively disappointed; shehad set her heart on seeing the lakes, and still thought there might have been timeenough. 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 wordwithout thinking of pemberley and its owner. "but surely," said she, "i may enter hiscounty without impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars without his perceivingme." the period of expectation was now doubled. four weeks were to pass away before heruncle 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 eightyears old, and two younger boys, were to be left under the particular care of theircousin jane, who was the general favourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly adapted her for attending tothem in every way--teaching them, playing with them, and loving them. the gardiners stayed only one night atlongbourn, and set off the next morning with elizabeth in pursuit of novelty andamusement. one enjoyment was certain--that ofsuitableness of companions; a suitableness

which comprehended health and temper tobear inconveniences--cheerfulness to enhance every pleasure--and affection and intelligence, which might supply it amongthemselves if there were disappointments abroad. it is not the object of this work to give adescription of derbyshire, nor of any of the remarkable places through which theirroute thither lay; oxford, blenheim, warwick, kenilworth, birmingham, etc. aresufficiently known. a small part of derbyshire is all thepresent concern. to the little town of lambton, the scene ofmrs. gardiner's former residence, and where

she had lately learned some acquaintancestill remained, they bent their steps, after having seen all the principal wonders of the country; and within five miles oflambton, 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 eveningbefore, mrs. gardiner expressed an inclination to see the place again. mr. gardiner declared his willingness, andelizabeth was applied to for her approbation.

"my love, should not you like to see aplace of which you have heard so much?" said her aunt; "a place, too, with which somany of your acquaintances are connected. wickham passed all his youth there, youknow." elizabeth was distressed. she felt that she had no business atpemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing it. she must own that she was tired of seeinggreat houses; after going over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets orsatin curtains. mrs. gardiner abused her stupidity.

"if it were merely a fine house richlyfurnished," said she, "i should not care about it myself; but the grounds aredelightful. they have some of the finest woods in thecountry." elizabeth said no more--but her mind couldnot acquiesce. the possibility of meeting mr. darcy, whileviewing the place, instantly occurred. it would be dreadful! she blushed at the very idea, and thoughtit would be better to speak openly to her aunt than to run such a risk. but against this there were objections; andshe finally resolved that it could be the

last resource, if her private inquiries tothe absence of the family were unfavourably answered. accordingly, when she retired at night, sheasked the chambermaid whether pemberley were not a very fine place? what was thename of its proprietor? and, with no little alarm, whether the family were down for thesummer? a most welcome negative followed the lastquestion--and her alarms now being removed, she was at leisure to feel a great deal ofcuriosity 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 reallyany dislike to the scheme. to pemberley, therefore, they were to go. chapter 43 elizabeth, as they drove along, watched forthe first appearance of pemberley woods with some perturbation; and when at lengththey turned in at the lodge, her spirits were in a high flutter. the park was very large, and containedgreat variety of ground. they entered it in one of its lowestpoints, and drove for some time through a beautiful wood stretching over a wideextent.

elizabeth's mind was too full forconversation, 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 woodceased, and the eye was instantly caught by pemberley house, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road withsome abruptness wound. it was a large, handsome stone building,standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and infront, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without anyartificial appearance.

its banks were neither formal nor falselyadorned. elizabeth was delighted. she had never seen a place for which naturehad done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkwardtaste. they were all of them warm in theiradmiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of pemberley might besomething! they descended the hill, crossed thebridge, 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 beenmistaken. on applying to see the place, they wereadmitted into the hall; and elizabeth, as they waited for the housekeeper, hadleisure to wonder at her being where she was. the housekeeper came; a respectable-lookingelderly woman, much less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of findingher. 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 haddescended, 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 andthe winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with delight. as they passed into other rooms theseobjects were taking different positions; but from every window there were beautiesto be seen. the rooms were lofty and handsome, andtheir furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor; but elizabeth saw, withadmiration of his taste, that it was

neither gaudy nor uselessly fine; with less of splendour, and more real elegance, thanthe furniture of rosings. "and of this place," thought she, "i mighthave been mistress! with these rooms i might now have beenfamiliarly acquainted! instead of viewing them as a stranger, imight have rejoiced in them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle andaunt. but no,"--recollecting herself--"that couldnever be; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; i should not have been allowedto invite them." this was a lucky recollection--it saved herfrom something very like regret.

she longed to inquire of the housekeeperwhether her master was really absent, but had not the courage for it. at length however, the question was askedby her uncle; and she turned away with alarm, while mrs. reynolds replied that hewas, adding, "but we expect him to-morrow, with a large party of friends." how rejoiced was elizabeth that their ownjourney 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 themit was a picture of a young gentleman, the son of her late master's steward, who hadbeen 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 toanother 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 fineperson," 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 seemedto 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 handsomegentleman, ma'am?" "yes, very handsome."

"i am sure i know none so handsome; but inthe gallery upstairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this. this room was my late master's favouriteroom, 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 attentionto one of miss darcy, drawn when she was only eight years old. "and is miss darcy as handsome as herbrother?" said mrs. gardiner. "oh! yes--the handsomest young lady thatever was seen; and so accomplished!--she

plays and sings all day long. in the next room is a new instrument justcome down for her--a present from my master; she comes here to-morrow with him." mr. gardiner, whose manners were very easyand pleasant, encouraged her communicativeness by his questions andremarks; mrs. reynolds, either by pride or attachment, had evidently great pleasure intalking of her master and his sister. "is your master much at pemberley in thecourse of the year?" "not so much as i could wish, sir; but idare say he may spend half his time here; and miss darcy is always down for thesummer months."

"except," thought elizabeth, "when she goesto ramsgate." "if your master would marry, you might seemore of him." "yes, sir; but i do not know when that willbe. i do not know who is good enough for him."mr. and mrs. gardiner smiled. elizabeth could not help saying, "it isvery much to his credit, i am sure, that you should think so." "i say no more than the truth, andeverybody will say that knows him," replied the other. elizabeth thought this was going prettyfar; and she listened with increasing

astonishment as the housekeeper added, "ihave never known a cross word from him in my life, and i have known him ever since hewas four years old." this was praise, of all others mostextraordinary, most opposite to her ideas. that he was not a good-tempered man hadbeen her firmest opinion. her keenest attention was awakened; shelonged to hear more, and was grateful to her uncle for saying: "there are very few people of whom so muchcan 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 couldnot meet with a better.

but i have always observed, that they whoare good-natured when children, are good- natured when they grow up; and he wasalways 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," saidmrs. gardiner. "yes, ma'am, that he was indeed; and hisson 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 noother 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 offamily prejudice to which he attributed her excessive commendation of her master, soonled again to the subject; and she dwelt with energy on his many merits as theyproceeded together up the great staircase. "he is the best landlord, and the bestmaster," said she, "that ever lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who thinkof nothing but themselves. there is not one of his tenants or servantsbut will give him a good name. some people call him proud; but i am sure inever saw anything of it.

to my fancy, it is only because he does notrattle away like other young men." "in what an amiable light does this placehim!" thought elizabeth. "this fine account of him," whispered heraunt as they walked, "is not quite consistent with his behaviour to our poorfriend." "perhaps we might be deceived." "that is not very likely; our authority wastoo good." on reaching the spacious lobby above theywere shown into a very pretty sitting-room, lately fitted up with greater elegance andlightness than the apartments below; and were informed that it was but just done to

give pleasure to miss darcy, who had takena liking to the room when last at pemberley. "he is certainly a good brother," saidelizabeth, 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," sheadded. "whatever can give his sister any pleasureis sure to be done in a moment. there is nothing he would not do for her." the picture-gallery, and two or three ofthe principal bedrooms, were all that

remained to be shown. in the former were many good paintings; butelizabeth knew nothing of the art; and from such as had been already visible below, shehad willingly turned to look at some drawings of miss darcy's, in crayons, whose subjects were usually more interesting, andalso more intelligible. in the gallery there were many familyportraits, but they could have little to fix the attention of a stranger. elizabeth walked in quest of the only facewhose features would be known to her. at last it arrested her--and she beheld astriking resemblance to mr. darcy, with

such a smile over the face as sheremembered to have sometimes seen when he looked at her. she stood several minutes before thepicture, in earnest contemplation, and returned to it again before they quittedthe gallery. mrs. reynolds informed them that it hadbeen taken in his father's lifetime. there was certainly at this moment, inelizabeth's mind, a more gentle sensation towards the original than she had ever feltat the height of their acquaintance. the commendation bestowed on him by mrs.reynolds was of no trifling nature. what praise is more valuable than thepraise of an intelligent servant?

as a brother, a landlord, a master, sheconsidered how many people's happiness were in his guardianship!--how much of pleasureor 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 bythe housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she stood before thecanvas on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment ofgratitude than it had ever raised before; she remembered its warmth, and softened itsimpropriety of expression. when all of the house that was open togeneral inspection had been seen, they

returned downstairs, and, taking leave ofthe housekeeper, were consigned over to the gardener, who met them at the hall-door. as they walked across the hall towards theriver, elizabeth turned back to look again; her uncle and aunt stopped also, and whilethe former was conjecturing as to the date of the building, the owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road, whichled behind it to the stables. they were within twenty yards of eachother, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight. their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks ofboth were overspread with the deepest

blush. he absolutely started, and for a momentseemed immovable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself, advanced towards theparty, and spoke to elizabeth, if not in terms of perfect composure, at least ofperfect civility. she had instinctively turned away; butstopping on his approach, received his compliments with an embarrassmentimpossible to be overcome. had his first appearance, or hisresemblance to the picture they had just been examining, been insufficient to assurethe other two that they now saw mr. darcy, the gardener's expression of surprise, on

beholding his master, must immediately havetold it. they stood a little aloof while he wastalking to their niece, who, astonished and confused, scarcely dared lift her eyes tohis face, and knew not what answer she returned to his civil inquiries after herfamily. amazed at the alteration of his mannersince they last parted, every sentence that he uttered was increasing herembarrassment; and every idea of the impropriety of her being found there recurring to her mind, the few minutes inwhich they continued were some of the most uncomfortable in her life.

nor did he seem much more at ease; when hespoke, his accent had none of its usual sedateness; and he repeated his inquiriesas to the time of her having left longbourn, and of her having stayed in derbyshire, so often, and in so hurried away, 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 recollectedhimself, and took leave. the others then joined her, and expressedadmiration of his figure; but elizabeth heard not a word, and wholly engrossed byher 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 purposelythrown 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, theyshould have been beyond the reach of his discrimination; for it was plain that hewas that moment arrived--that moment

alighted from his horse or his carriage. she blushed again and again over theperverseness of the meeting. and his behaviour, so strikingly altered--what could it mean? that he should even speak to her wasamazing!--but to speak with such civility, to inquire after her family! never in her life had she seen his mannersso little dignified, never had he spoken with such gentleness as on this unexpectedmeeting. what a contrast did it offer to his lastaddress 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 bythe 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, shedistinguished no part of the scene. her thoughts were all fixed on that onespot of pemberley house, whichever it might be, where mr. darcy then was.

she longed to know what at the moment waspassing in his mind--in what manner he thought of her, and whether, in defiance ofeverything, she was still dear to him. perhaps he had been civil only because hefelt himself at ease; yet there had been that in his voice which was not like ease. whether he had felt more of pain or ofpleasure in seeing her she could not tell, but he certainly had not seen her withcomposure. at length, however, the remarks of hercompanions on her absence of mind aroused her, and she felt the necessity ofappearing more like herself. they entered the woods, and bidding adieuto the river for a while, ascended some of

the higher grounds; when, in spots wherethe opening of the trees gave the eye power to wander, were many charming views of the valley, the opposite hills, with the longrange of woods overspreading many, and occasionally part of the stream. mr. gardiner expressed a wish of goinground 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 theaccustomed circuit; which brought them again, after some time, in a descent amonghanging woods, to the edge of the water,

and one of its narrowest parts. they crossed it by a simple bridge, incharacter with the general air of the scene; it was a spot less adorned than anythey had yet visited; and the valley, here contracted into a glen, allowed room only for the stream, and a narrow walk amidstthe 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 aspossible.

her niece was, therefore, obliged tosubmit, and they took their way towards the house on the opposite side of the river, inthe nearest direction; but their progress was slow, for mr. gardiner, though seldom able to indulge the taste, was very fond offishing, and was so much engaged in watching the occasional appearance of sometrout 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 hadbeen at first, by the sight of mr. darcy approaching them, and at no great distance.

the walk being here less sheltered than onthe other side, allowed them to see him before they met. elizabeth, however astonished, was at leastmore prepared for an interview than before, and resolved to appear and to speak withcalmness, if he really intended to meet them. for a few moments, indeed, she felt that hewould probably strike into some other path. the idea lasted while a turning in the walkconcealed him from their view; the turning past, he was immediately before them. with a glance, she saw that he had lostnone of his recent civility; and, to

imitate his politeness, she began, as theymet, to admire the beauty of the place; but she had not got beyond the words "delightful," and "charming," when someunlucky recollections obtruded, and she fancied that praise of pemberley from hermight 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 himto her friends. this was a stroke of civility for which shewas quite unprepared; and she could hardly suppress a smile at his being now seekingthe acquaintance of some of those very

people against whom his pride had revoltedin 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 immediatelymade; and as she named their relationship to herself, she stole a sly look at him, tosee 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 wasevident; he sustained it, however, with fortitude, and so far from going away,turned his back with them, and entered into

conversation with mr. gardiner. elizabeth could not but be pleased, couldnot but triumph. it was consoling that he should know shehad some relations for whom there was no need to blush. she listened most attentively to all thatpassed 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 asoften as he chose while he continued in the

neighbourhood, offering at the same time to supply him with fishing tackle, andpointing out those parts of the stream where there was usually most sport. mrs. gardiner, who was walking arm-in-armwith elizabeth, gave her a look expressive of wonder. elizabeth said nothing, but it gratifiedher exceedingly; the compliment must be all for herself. her astonishment, however, was extreme, andcontinually was she repeating, "why is he so altered?from what can it proceed?

it cannot be for me--it cannot be for mysake that his manners are thus softened. my reproofs at hunsford could not work sucha change as this. it is impossible that he should still loveme." after walking some time in this way, thetwo ladies in front, the two gentlemen behind, on resuming their places, afterdescending to the brink of the river for the better inspection of some curious water-plant, there chanced to be a littlealteration. it originated in mrs. gardiner, who,fatigued by the exercise of the morning, found elizabeth's arm inadequate to hersupport, and consequently preferred her

husband's. mr. darcy took her place by her niece, andthey walked on together. after a short silence, the lady firstspoke. she wished him to know that she had beenassured of his absence before she came to the place, and accordingly began byobserving, that his arrival had been very unexpected--"for your housekeeper," she added, "informed us that you wouldcertainly not be here till to-morrow; and indeed, before we left bakewell, weunderstood that you were not immediately expected in the country."

he acknowledged the truth of it all, andsaid that business with his steward had occasioned his coming forward a few hoursbefore the rest of the party with whom he had been travelling. "they will join me early to-morrow," hecontinued, "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 tothe time when mr. bingley's name had been the last mentioned between them; and, ifshe might judge by his complexion, his mind was not very differently engaged.

"there is also one other person in theparty," he continued after a pause, "who more particularly wishes to be known toyou. will you allow me, or do i ask too much, tointroduce my sister to your acquaintance during your stay at lambton?" the surprise of such an application wasgreat indeed; it was too great for her to know in what manner she acceded to it. she immediately felt that whatever desiremiss 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 thinkreally ill of her. they now walked on in silence, each of themdeep in thought. elizabeth was not comfortable; that wasimpossible; 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 whenthey had reached the carriage, mr. and mrs. gardiner were half a quarter of a milebehind. 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 bean embargo on every subject. at last she recollected that she had beentravelling, and they talked of matlock and dove dale with great perseverance. yet time and her aunt moved slowly--and herpatience and her ideas were nearly worn our before the tete-a-tete was over. on mr. and mrs. gardiner's coming up theywere all pressed to go into the house and take some refreshment; but this wasdeclined, and they parted on each side with utmost politeness.

mr. darcy handed the ladies into thecarriage; and when it drove off, elizabeth saw him walking slowly towards the house. the observations of her uncle and aunt nowbegan; and each of them pronounced him to be infinitely superior to anything they hadexpected. "he is perfectly well behaved, polite, andunassuming," said her uncle. "there is something a little stately inhim, to be sure," replied her aunt, "but it is confined to his air, and is notunbecoming. i can now say with the housekeeper, thatthough 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 reallyattentive; and there was no necessity for such attention.his acquaintance with elizabeth was very trifling." "to be sure, lizzy," said her aunt, "he isnot so handsome as wickham; or, rather, he has not wickham's countenance, for hisfeatures are perfectly good. but how came you to tell me that he was sodisagreeable?" elizabeth excused herself as well as shecould; said that she had liked him better when they had met in kent than before, andthat she had never seen him so pleasant as

this morning. "but perhaps he may be a little whimsicalin his civilities," replied her uncle. "your great men often are; and therefore ishall not take him at his word, as he might change his mind another day, and warn meoff his grounds." elizabeth felt that they had entirelymisunderstood his character, but said nothing. "from what we have seen of him," continuedmrs. gardiner, "i really should not have thought that he could have behaved in socruel 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 hiscountenance that would not give one an unfavourable idea of his heart. but, to be sure, the good lady who showedus his house did give him a most flaming character!i could hardly help laughing aloud sometimes. but he is a liberal master, i suppose, andthat in the eye of a servant comprehends every virtue."

elizabeth here felt herself called on tosay something in vindication of his behaviour to wickham; and therefore gavethem to understand, in as guarded a manner as she could, that by what she had heard from his relations in kent, his actionswere capable of a very different construction; and that his character was byno means so faulty, nor wickham's so amiable, as they had been considered inhertfordshire. in confirmation of this, she related theparticulars of all the pecuniary transactions in which they had beenconnected, without actually naming her authority, but stating it to be such asmight be relied on.

mrs. gardiner was surprised and concerned;but as they were now approaching the scene of her former pleasures, every idea gaveway to the charm of recollection; and she was too much engaged in pointing out to her husband all the interesting spots in itsenvirons to think of anything else. fatigued as she had been by the morning'swalk they had no sooner dined than she set off again in quest of her formeracquaintance, and the evening was spent in the satisfactions of a intercourse renewedafter many years' discontinuance. the occurrences of the day were too full ofinterest to leave elizabeth much attention for any of these new friends; and she coulddo nothing but think, and think with

wonder, of mr. darcy's civility, and, above all, of his wishing her to be acquaintedwith his sister. chapter 44 elizabeth had settled it that mr. darcywould bring his sister to visit her the very day after her reaching pemberley; andwas consequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole of that morning. but her conclusion was false; for on thevery morning after their arrival at lambton, these visitors came. they had been walking about the place withsome of their new friends, and were just

returning to the inn to dress themselvesfor 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 acurricle driving up the street. elizabeth immediately recognizing thelivery, guessed what it meant, and imparted no small degree of her surprise to herrelations by acquainting them with the honour which she expected. her uncle and aunt were all amazement; andthe 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 onthe business.

nothing had ever suggested it before, butthey felt that there was no other way of accounting for such attentions from such aquarter than by supposing a partiality for their niece. while these newly-born notions were passingin their heads, the perturbation of elizabeth's feelings was at every momentincreasing. she was quite amazed at her owndiscomposure; but amongst other causes of disquiet, she dreaded lest the partialityof the brother should have said too much in her favour; and, more than commonly anxious to please, she naturally suspected thatevery power of pleasing would fail her.

she retreated from the window, fearful ofbeing seen; and as she walked up and down the room, endeavouring to compose herself,saw such looks of inquiring surprise in her uncle and aunt as made everything worse. miss darcy and her brother appeared, andthis formidable introduction took place. with astonishment did elizabeth see thather new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as herself. since her being at lambton, she had heardthat miss darcy was exceedingly proud; but the observation of a very few minutesconvinced her that she was only exceedingly shy.

she found it difficult to obtain even aword from her beyond a monosyllable. miss darcy was tall, and on a larger scalethan elizabeth; and, though little more than sixteen, her figure was formed, andher appearance womanly and graceful. she was less handsome than her brother; butthere was sense and good humour in her face, and her manners were perfectlyunassuming and gentle. elizabeth, who had expected to find in heras acute and unembarrassed an observer as ever mr. darcy had been, was much relievedby 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 toexpress her satisfaction, and prepare for

such a visitor, when bingley's quick step was heard on the stairs, and in a moment heentered the room. all elizabeth's anger against him had beenlong done away; but had she still felt any, it could hardly have stood its groundagainst the unaffected cordiality with which he expressed himself on seeing heragain. he inquired in a friendly, though generalway, after her family, and looked and spoke with the same good-humoured ease that hehad ever done. to mr. and mrs. gardiner he was scarcely aless 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 earnestthough guarded inquiry; and they soon drew from those inquiries the full conviction that one of them at least knew what it wasto love. of the lady's sensations they remained alittle in doubt; but that the gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evidentenough. elizabeth, on her side, had much to do. she wanted to ascertain the feelings ofeach of her visitors; she wanted to compose

her own, and to make herself agreeable toall; and in the latter object, where she feared most to fail, she was most sure of success, for those to whom she endeavouredto give pleasure were prepossessed in her favour.bingley was ready, georgiana was eager, and darcy determined, to be pleased. in seeing bingley, her thoughts naturallyflew to her sister; and, oh! how ardently did she long to know whether any of hiswere directed in a like manner. sometimes she could fancy that he talkedless 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, shecould not be deceived as to his behaviour to miss darcy, who had been set up as arival to jane. no look appeared on either side that spokeparticular regard. nothing occurred between them that couldjustify the hopes of his sister. on this point she was soon satisfied; andtwo or three little circumstances occurred ere they parted, which, in her anxiousinterpretation, denoted a recollection of jane not untinctured by tenderness, and a wish of saying more that might lead to themention of her, had he dared.

he observed to her, at a moment when theothers 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 eightmonths. we have not met since the 26th of november,when we were all dancing together at netherfield." elizabeth was pleased to find his memory soexact; and he afterwards took occasion to ask her, when unattended to by any of therest, whether all her sisters were at longbourn.

there was not much in the question, nor inthe preceding remark; but there was a look and a manner which gave them meaning. it was not often that she could turn hereyes on mr. darcy himself; but, whenever she did catch a glimpse, she saw anexpression of general complaisance, and in all that he said she heard an accent so removed from hauteur or disdain of hiscompanions, as convinced her that the improvement of manners which she hadyesterday witnessed however temporary its existence might prove, had at leastoutlived one day. when she saw him thus seeking theacquaintance and courting the good opinion

of people with whom any intercourse a fewmonths ago would have been a disgrace--when she saw him thus civil, not only to herself, but to the very relations whom hehad 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 astonishmentfrom being visible. never, even in the company of his dearfriends at netherfield, or his dignified relations at rosings, had she seen him sodesirous to please, so free from self- consequence or unbending reserve, as now,

when no importance could result from thesuccess of his endeavours, and when even the acquaintance of those to whom hisattentions were addressed would draw down the ridicule and censure of the ladies bothof 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 inexpressing their wish of seeing mr. and mrs. gardiner, and miss bennet, to dinnerat pemberley, before they left the country. miss darcy, though with a diffidence whichmarked her little in the habit of giving invitations, readily obeyed. mrs. gardiner looked at her niece, desirousof knowing how she, whom the invitation

most concerned, felt disposed as to itsacceptance, but elizabeth had turned away her head. presuming however, that this studiedavoidance spoke rather a momentary embarrassment than any dislike of theproposal, and seeing in her husband, who was fond of society, a perfect willingness to accept it, she ventured to engage forher attendance, and the day after the next was fixed on. bingley expressed great pleasure in thecertainty of seeing elizabeth again, having still a great deal to say to her, and manyinquiries to make after all their

hertfordshire friends. elizabeth, construing all this into a wishof hearing her speak of her sister, was pleased, and on this account, as well assome 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 inquiriesor hints from her uncle and aunt, she stayed with them only long enough to heartheir 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 betteracquainted with mr. darcy than they had before any idea of; it was evident that hewas very much in love with her. they saw much to interest, but nothing tojustify inquiry. of mr. darcy it was now a matter of anxietyto think well; and, as far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault tofind. they could not be untouched by hispoliteness; and had they drawn his character from their own feelings and hisservant's report, without any reference to

any other account, the circle in hertfordshire to which he was known wouldnot have recognized it for mr. darcy. there was now an interest, however, inbelieving the housekeeper; and they soon became sensible that the authority of aservant who had known him since he was four years old, and whose own manners indicated respectability, was not to be hastilyrejected. neither had anything occurred in theintelligence of their lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight. they had nothing to accuse him of butpride; pride he probably had, and if not,

it would certainly be imputed by theinhabitants of a small market-town where the family did not visit. it was acknowledged, however, that he was aliberal man, and did much good among the poor. with respect to wickham, the travellerssoon found that he was not held there in much estimation; for though the chief ofhis concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood, it was yet a well-known fact that, on his quittingderbyshire, he had left many debts behind him, which mr. darcy afterwards discharged.

as for elizabeth, her thoughts were atpemberley this evening more than the last; and the evening, though as it passed itseemed long, was not long enough to determine her feelings towards one in that mansion; and she lay awake two whole hoursendeavouring to make them out. she certainly did not hate him. no; hatred had vanished long ago, and shehad almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that couldbe so called. the respect created by the conviction ofhis valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some timeceased to be repugnant to her feeling; and

it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony sohighly 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 forhaving once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive all thepetulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjustaccusations accompanying her rejection. he who, she had been persuaded, would avoidher as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this

accidental meeting, most eager to preservethe acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where their twoselves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends, and benton making her known to his sister. such a change in a man of so much prideexciting not only astonishment but gratitude--for to love, ardent love, itmust 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 wasgrateful to him, she felt a real interest

in his welfare; and she only wanted to knowhow far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she shouldemploy the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on her therenewal of his addresses. it had been settled in the evening betweenthe aunt and the niece, that such a striking civility as miss darcy's in comingto 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 thefollowing morning. they were, therefore, to go. elizabeth was pleased; though when sheasked 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 daybefore, and a positive engagement made of his meeting some of the gentlemen atpemberley before noon. chapter 45 convinced as elizabeth now was that missbingley's dislike of her had originated in

jealousy, she could not help feeling howunwelcome her appearance at pemberley must be to her, and was curious to know with how much civility on that lady's side theacquaintance would now be renewed. on reaching the house, they were shownthrough the hall into the saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful forsummer. its windows opening to the ground, admitteda most refreshing view of the high woody hills behind the house, and of thebeautiful oaks and spanish chestnuts which were scattered over the intermediate lawn. in this house they were received by missdarcy, who was sitting there with mrs.

hurst and miss bingley, and the lady withwhom she lived in london. georgiana's reception of them was verycivil, but attended with all the embarrassment which, though proceeding fromshyness and the fear of doing wrong, would easily give to those who felt themselves inferior the belief of her being proud andreserved. mrs. gardiner and her niece, however, didher justice, and pitied her. by mrs. hurst and miss bingley they werenoticed only by a curtsey; and, on their being seated, a pause, awkward as suchpauses must always be, succeeded for a few moments.

it was first broken by mrs. annesley, agenteel, agreeable-looking woman, whose endeavour to introduce some kind ofdiscourse proved her to be more truly well- bred than either of the others; and between her and mrs. gardiner, with occasional helpfrom elizabeth, the conversation was carried on. miss darcy looked as if she wished forcourage enough to join in it; and sometimes did venture a short sentence when there wasleast danger of its being heard. elizabeth soon saw that she was herselfclosely watched by miss bingley, and that she could not speak a word, especially tomiss darcy, without calling her attention.

this observation would not have preventedher from trying to talk to the latter, had they not been seated at an inconvenientdistance; 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 ofthe house might be amongst them; and whether she wished or feared it most, shecould scarcely determine. after sitting in this manner a quarter ofan hour without hearing miss bingley's voice, elizabeth was roused by receivingfrom her a cold inquiry after the health of

her family. she answered with equal indifference andbrevity, and the others said no more. the next variation which their visitafforded was produced by the entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and avariety 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 wholeparty--for though they could not all talk, they could all eat; and the beautifulpyramids of grapes, nectarines, and peaches

soon collected them round the table. while thus engaged, elizabeth had a fairopportunity 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 wishesto 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, andhad left him only on learning that the ladies of the family intended a visit togeorgiana that morning.

no sooner did he appear than elizabethwisely resolved to be perfectly easy and unembarrassed; a resolution the morenecessary to be made, but perhaps not the more easily kept, because she saw that the suspicions of the whole party were awakenedagainst them, and that there was scarcely an eye which did not watch his behaviourwhen he first came into the room. in no countenance was attentive curiosityso strongly marked as in miss bingley's, in spite of the smiles which overspread herface whenever she spoke to one of its objects; for jealousy had not yet made her desperate, and her attentions to mr. darcywere 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 hissister and herself to get acquainted, and forwarded as much as possible, everyattempt at conversation on either side. miss bingley saw all this likewise; and, inthe imprudence of anger, took the first opportunity of saying, with sneeringcivility: "pray, miss eliza, are not the ----shiremilitia removed from meryton? they must be a great loss to your family." in darcy's presence she dared not mentionwickham's name; but elizabeth instantly comprehended that he was uppermost in herthoughts; and the various recollections

connected with him gave her a moment's distress; but exerting herself vigorouslyto repel the ill-natured attack, she presently answered the question in atolerably detached tone. while she spoke, an involuntary glanceshowed her darcy, with a heightened complexion, earnestly looking at her, andhis sister overcome with confusion, and unable to lift up her eyes. had miss bingley known what pain she wasthen giving her beloved friend, she undoubtedly would have refrained from thehint; but she had merely intended to discompose elizabeth by bringing forward

the idea of a man to whom she believed herpartial, 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 thatcorps. not a syllable had ever reached her of missdarcy's meditated elopement. to no creature had it been revealed, wheresecrecy was possible, except to elizabeth; and from all bingley's connections herbrother was particularly anxious to conceal it, from the very wish which elizabeth had long ago attributed to him, of theirbecoming hereafter her own.

he had certainly formed such a plan, andwithout meaning that it should effect his endeavour to separate him from miss bennet,it is probable that it might add something to his lively concern for the welfare ofhis friend. elizabeth's collected behaviour, however,soon quieted his emotion; and as miss bingley, vexed and disappointed, dared notapproach nearer to wickham, georgiana also recovered in time, though not enough to beable to speak any more. her brother, whose eye she feared to meet,scarcely recollected her interest in the affair, and the very circumstance which hadbeen designed to turn his thoughts from elizabeth seemed to have fixed them on hermore and more cheerfully.

their visit did not continue long after thequestion and answer above mentioned; and while mr. darcy was attending them to theircarriage miss bingley was venting her feelings in criticisms on elizabeth'sperson, behaviour, and dress. but georgiana would not join her. her brother's recommendation was enough toensure her favour; his judgement could not err. and he had spoken in such terms ofelizabeth as to leave georgiana without the power of finding her otherwise than lovelyand amiable. when darcy returned to the saloon, missbingley could not help repeating to him

some part of what she had been saying tohis sister. "how very ill miss eliza bennet looks thismorning, mr. darcy," she cried; "i never in my life saw anyone so much altered as sheis since the winter. she is grown so brown and coarse! louisa and i were agreeing that we shouldnot have known her again." however little mr. darcy might have likedsuch an address, he contented himself with coolly replying that he perceived no otheralteration than her being rather tanned, no miraculous consequence of travelling in thesummer. "for my own part," she rejoined, "i mustconfess that i never could see any beauty

in her. her face is too thin; her complexion has nobrilliancy; 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 thecommon way; and as for her eyes, which have sometimes been called so fine, i couldnever see anything extraordinary in them. they have a sharp, shrewish look, which ido not like at all; and in her air altogether there is a self-sufficiencywithout fashion, which is intolerable." persuaded as miss bingley was that darcyadmired elizabeth, this was not the best

method of recommending herself; but angrypeople are not always wise; and in seeing him at last look somewhat nettled, she hadall 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 inhertfordshire, how amazed we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty; and iparticularly recollect your saying one night, after they had been dining at netherfield, 'she a beauty!--i should assoon call her mother a wit.' but afterwards she seemed to improve onyou, and i believe you thought her rather

pretty at one time." "yes," replied darcy, who could containhimself no longer, "but that was only when i first saw her, for it is many monthssince i have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance." he then went away, and miss bingley wasleft to all the satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any painbut herself. mrs. gardiner and elizabeth talked of allthat had occurred during their visit, as they returned, except what had particularlyinterested them both. the look and behaviour of everybody theyhad seen were discussed, except of the

person who had mostly engaged theirattention. they talked of his sister, his friends, hishouse, his fruit--of everything but himself; yet elizabeth was longing to knowwhat mrs. gardiner thought of him, and mrs. gardiner would have been highly gratifiedby her niece's beginning the subject. chapter 46 elizabeth had been a good deal disappointedin not finding a letter from jane on their first arrival at lambton; and thisdisappointment had been renewed on each of the mornings that had now been spent there; but on the third her repining was over, andher sister justified, by the receipt of two

letters from her at once, on one of whichwas marked that it had been missent elsewhere. elizabeth was not surprised at it, as janehad written the direction remarkably ill. they had just been preparing to walk as theletters came in; and her uncle and aunt, leaving her to enjoy them in quiet, set offby themselves. the one missent must first be attended to;it had been written five days ago. the beginning contained an account of alltheir little parties and engagements, with such news as the country afforded; but thelatter half, which was dated a day later, and written in evident agitation, gave moreimportant 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 ofalarming you--be assured that we are all well. what i have to say relates to poor lydia. an express came at twelve last night, justas we were all gone to bed, from colonel forster, to inform us that she was gone offto 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 thathis character has been misunderstood. thoughtless and indiscreet i can easilybelieve him, but this step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad atheart. his choice is disinterested at least, forhe 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 themknow 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 withinten miles of us. colonel forster gives us reason to expecthim here soon. lydia left a few lines for his wife,informing her of their intention. i must conclude, for i cannot be long frommy poor mother. i am afraid you will not be able to make itout, but i hardly know what i have written."

without allowing herself time forconsideration, and scarcely knowing what she felt, elizabeth on finishing thisletter instantly seized the other, and opening it with the utmost impatience, read as follows: it had been written a day laterthan the conclusion of the first. "by this time, my dearest sister, you havereceived my hurried letter; i wish this may be more intelligible, but though notconfined for time, my head is so bewildered that i cannot answer for being coherent. dearest lizzy, i hardly know what i wouldwrite, 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 takenplace, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to scotland. colonel forster came yesterday, having leftbrighton the day before, not many hours after the express. though lydia's short letter to mrs. f. gavethem to understand that they were going to gretna green, something was dropped bydenny 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 nofurther; for on entering that place, they removed into a hackney coach, and dismissedthe chaise that brought them from epsom. all that is known after this is, that theywere seen to continue the london road. i know not what to think. after making every possible inquiry on thatside london, colonel f. came on into hertfordshire, anxiously renewing them atall the turnpikes, and at the inns in barnet and hatfield, but without any success--no such people had been seen topass through.

with the kindest concern he came on tolongbourn, and broke his apprehensions to us in a manner most creditable to hisheart. 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 moreeligible 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 isuppose 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 iexpressed my hopes, and said he feared w. was not a man to be trusted. my poor mother is really ill, and keeps herroom. could she exert herself, it would bebetter; but this is not to be expected. and as to my father, i never in my life sawhim so affected. poor kitty has anger for having concealedtheir attachment; but as it was a matter of confidence, one cannot wonder.

i am truly glad, dearest lizzy, that youhave been spared something of these distressing scenes; but now, as the firstshock is over, shall i own that i long for your return? i am not so selfish, however, as to pressfor it, if inconvenient. adieu! i take up my pen again to do what i havejust told you i would not; but circumstances are such that i cannot helpearnestly begging you all to come here as soon as possible. i know my dear uncle and aunt so well, thati am not afraid of requesting it, though i

have still something more to ask of theformer. my father is going to london with colonelforster 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 andsafest way, and colonel forster is obliged to be at brighton again to-morrow evening. in such an exigence, my uncle's advice andassistance would be everything in the world; he will immediately comprehend whati must feel, and i rely upon his goodness." "oh! where, where is my uncle?" criedelizabeth, darting from her seat as she finished the letter, in eagerness to followhim, without losing a moment of the time so

precious; but as she reached the door it was opened by a servant, and mr. darcyappeared. her pale face and impetuous manner made himstart, and before he could recover himself to speak, she, in whose mind every idea wassuperseded by lydia's situation, hastily exclaimed, "i beg your pardon, but i mustleave you. i must find mr. gardiner this moment, onbusiness 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 detainyou a minute; but let me, or let the

servant go after mr. and mrs. gardiner. you are not well enough; you cannot goyourself." elizabeth hesitated, but her knees trembledunder her and she felt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them. calling back the servant, therefore, shecommissioned him, though in so breathless an accent as made her almostunintelligible, 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 fordarcy to leave her, or to refrain from

saying, in a tone of gentleness andcommiseration, "let me call your maid. is there nothing you could take to give youpresent 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 bysome 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 saysomething indistinctly of his concern, and observe her in compassionate silence.at length she spoke again. "i have just had a letter from jane, withsuch 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, nothingthat can tempt him to--she is lost for ever."darcy was fixed in astonishment.

"when i consider," she added in a yet moreagitated 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 sundaynight, and were traced almost to london,

but not beyond; they are certainly not goneto scotland." "and what has been done, what has beenattempted, to recover her?" "my father is gone to london, and jane haswritten to beg my uncle's immediate assistance; and we shall be off, i hope, inhalf-an-hour. but nothing can be done--i know very wellthat 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 realcharacter--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 waswalking up and down the room in earnest meditation, his brow contracted, his airgloomy. elizabeth soon observed, and instantlyunderstood it. her power was sinking; everything must sinkunder such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace.

she could neither wonder nor condemn, butthe belief of his self-conquest brought nothing consolatory to her bosom, affordedno palliation of her distress. it was, on the contrary, exactly calculatedto make her understand her own wishes; and never had she so honestly felt that shecould have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain. but self, though it would intrude, couldnot engross her. lydia--the humiliation, the misery she wasbringing on them all, soon swallowed up every private care; and covering her facewith her handkerchief, elizabeth was soon lost to everything else; and, after a pause

of several minutes, was only recalled to asense of her situation by the voice of her companion, who, in a manner which, thoughit spoke compassion, spoke likewise restraint, said, "i am afraid you have been long desiring my absence, nor have ianything to plead in excuse of my stay, but real, though unavailing concern. would to heaven that anything could beeither said or done on my part that might offer consolation to such distress! but i will not torment you with vainwishes, 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 missdarcy. say that urgent business calls us homeimmediately. conceal the unhappy truth as long as it ispossible, i know it cannot be long." he readily assured her of his secrecy;again expressed his sorrow for her distress, wished it a happier conclusionthan there was at present reason to hope, and leaving his compliments for her relations, with only one serious, partinglook, went away.

as he quitted the room, elizabeth felt howimprobable it was that they should ever see each other again on such terms ofcordiality as had marked their several meetings in derbyshire; and as she threw a retrospective glance over the whole oftheir acquaintance, so full of contradictions and varieties, sighed at theperverseness of those feelings which would now have promoted its continuance, and would formerly have rejoiced in itstermination. if gratitude and esteem are goodfoundations of affection, elizabeth's change of sentiment will be neitherimprobable nor faulty.

but if otherwise--if regard springing fromsuch sources is unreasonable or unnatural, in comparison of what is so often describedas arising on a first interview with its object, and even before two words have been exchanged, nothing can be said in herdefence, except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the latter method in herpartiality for wickham, and that its ill success might, perhaps, authorise her to seek the other less interesting mode ofattachment. be that as it may, she saw him go withregret; and in this early example of what lydia's infamy must produce, foundadditional 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 onthis development. while the contents of the first letterremained in her mind, she was all surprise- -all astonishment that wickham should marrya girl whom it was impossible he could marry for money; and how lydia could ever have attached him had appearedincomprehensible.

but now it was all too natural. for such an attachment as this she mighthave sufficient charms; and though she did not suppose lydia to be deliberatelyengaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no difficulty in believing that neither hervirtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey. she had never perceived, while the regimentwas in hertfordshire, that lydia had any partiality for him; but she was convincedthat 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 mistakenindulgence towards such a girl--oh! how acutely did she now feel it! she was wild to be at home--to hear, tosee, to be upon the spot to share with jane in the cares that must now fall wholly uponher, in a family so deranged, a father absent, a mother incapable of exertion, and requiring constant attendance; and thoughalmost persuaded that nothing could be done

for lydia, her uncle's interference seemedof the utmost importance, and till he entered the room her impatience was severe. mr. and mrs. gardiner had hurried back inalarm, 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, anddwelling on the postscript of the last with trembling energy, though lydia had neverbeen a favourite with them, mr. and mrs. gardiner could not but be deeply afflicted. not lydia only, but all were concerned init; and after the first exclamations of

surprise and horror, mr. gardiner promisedevery 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 ableto keep our engagement. that is all settled.""what is all settled?" repeated the other,

as she ran into her room to prepare. "and are they upon such terms as for her todisclose the real truth? oh, that i knew how it was!" but wishes were vain, or at least couldonly 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 sowretched as herself; but she had her share of business as well as her aunt, and amongst the rest there were notes to bewritten to all their friends at lambton,

with false excuses for their suddendeparture. an hour, however, saw the whole completed;and mr. gardiner meanwhile having settled his account at the inn, nothing remained tobe done but to go; and elizabeth, after all the misery of the morning, found herself, in a shorter space of time than she couldhave 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 seriousconsideration, i am much more inclined than

i was to judge as your eldest sister doeson the matter. it appears to me so very unlikely that anyyoung man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected orfriendless, and who was actually staying in his colonel's family, that i am stronglyinclined to hope the best. could he expect that her friends would notstep forward? could he expect to be noticed again by theregiment, 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, "ibegin to be of your uncle's opinion. it is really too great a violation ofdecency, honour, and interest, for him to be guilty of.i cannot think so very ill of wickham. can you yourself, lizzy, so wholly give himup, as to believe him capable of it?" "not, perhaps, of neglecting his owninterest; 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 ifthat 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 befound on the barnet road." "well, then--supposing them to be inlondon. they may be there, though for the purposeof concealment, for no more exceptional purpose. it is not likely that money should be veryabundant on either side; and it might strike them that they could be moreeconomically, 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 byjane'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 attractionhas 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 ofdisgrace in the corps might throw on a dishonourable elopement with her, i am notable to judge; for i know nothing of the effects that such a step might produce. but as to your other objection, i am afraidit will hardly hold good. lydia has no brothers to step forward; andhe might imagine, from my father's behaviour, from his indolence and thelittle attention he has ever seemed to give to what was going forward in his family, that he would do as little, and think aslittle about it, as any father could do, in such a matter."

"but can you think that lydia is so lost toeverything but love of him as to consent to live with him on any terms other thanmarriage?" "it does seem, and it is most shockingindeed," replied elizabeth, with tears in her eyes, "that a sister's sense of decencyand 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 beentaught to think on serious subjects; and for the last half-year, nay, for atwelvemonth--she has been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity.

she has been allowed to dispose of her timein the most idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in her way. since the ----shire were first quartered inmeryton, nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been in her head. she has been doing everything in her powerby 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 everycharm 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 theirformer conduct, that she would think capable of such an attempt, till it wereproved against them? but jane knows, as well as i do, whatwickham really is. we both know that he has been profligate inevery sense of the word; that he has neither integrity nor honour; that he is asfalse and deceitful as he is insinuating." "and do you really know all this?" criedmrs. 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 infamousbehaviour to mr. darcy; and you yourself, when last at longbourn, heard in whatmanner he spoke of the man who had behaved with such forbearance and liberalitytowards him. and there are other circumstances which iam not at liberty--which it is not worth while to relate; but his lies about thewhole pemberley family are endless. from what he said of miss darcy i wasthoroughly prepared to see a proud, reserved, disagreeable girl.yet he knew to the contrary himself. he must know that she was as amiable andunpretending as we have found her."

"but does lydia know nothing of this? canshe 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 colonelfitzwilliam, i was ignorant of the truth myself. and when i returned home, the ----shire wasto leave meryton in a week or fortnight's time. as that was the case, neither jane, to whomi related the whole, nor i, thought it necessary to make our knowledge public; forof what use could it apparently be to any

one, that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of him should then beoverthrown? and even when it was settled that lydiashould go with mrs. forster, the necessity of opening her eyes to his character neveroccurred to me. that she could be in any danger from thedeception never entered my head. that such a consequence as this couldensue, 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 oneither side; and had anything of the kind been perceptible, you must be aware thatours is not a family on which it could be thrown away. when first he entered the corps, she wasready enough to admire him; but so we all were. every girl in or near meryton was out ofher senses about him for the first two months; but he never distinguished her byany particular attention; and, consequently, after a moderate period of extravagant and wild admiration, her fancyfor him gave way, and others of the

regiment, who treated her with moredistinction, again became her favourites." it may be easily believed, that howeverlittle of novelty could be added to their fears, hopes, and conjectures, on thisinteresting subject, by its repeated discussion, no other could detain them fromit long, during the whole of the journey. from elizabeth's thoughts it was neverabsent. fixed there by the keenest of all anguish,self-reproach, she could find no interval of ease or forgetfulness. they travelled as expeditiously aspossible, and, sleeping one night on the road, reached longbourn by dinner time thenext day.

it was a comfort to elizabeth to considerthat jane could not have been wearied by long expectations. the little gardiners, attracted by thesight of a chaise, were standing on the steps of the house as they entered thepaddock; and, when the carriage drove up to the door, the joyful surprise that lighted up their faces, and displayed itself overtheir whole bodies, in a variety of capers and frisks, was the first pleasing earnestof their welcome. elizabeth jumped out; and, after givingeach of them a hasty kiss, hurried into the vestibule, where jane, who came runningdown from her mother's apartment,

immediately met her. elizabeth, as she affectionately embracedher, whilst tears filled the eyes of both, lost not a moment in asking whetheranything had been heard of the fugitives. "not yet," replied jane. "but now that my dear uncle is come, i hopeeverything 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 saythat he had arrived in safety, and to give

me his directions, which i particularlybegged him to do. he merely added that he should not writeagain 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 upstairs and will have greatsatisfaction in seeing you all. she does not yet leave her dressing-room. mary and kitty, thank heaven, are quitewell." "but you--how are you?" cried elizabeth."you look pale.

how much you must have gone through!" her sister, however, assured her of herbeing perfectly well; and their conversation, which had been passing whilemr. and mrs. gardiner were engaged with their children, was now put an end to bythe approach of the whole party. jane ran to her uncle and aunt, andwelcomed and thanked them both, with alternate smiles and tears. when they were all in the drawing-room, thequestions which elizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the others, andthey soon found that jane had no intelligence to give.

the sanguine hope of good, however, whichthe benevolence of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her; she still expectedthat it would all end well, and that every morning would bring some letter, either from lydia or her father, to explain theirproceedings, and, perhaps, announce their marriage. mrs. bennet, to whose apartment they allrepaired, after a few minutes' conversation together, received them exactly as might beexpected; with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous conduct of wickham, and complaints of herown 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 carrymy point in going to brighton, with all my family, this would not have happened; butpoor dear lydia had nobody to take care of her. why did the forsters ever let her go out oftheir sight? i am sure there was some great neglect orother on their side, for she is not the kind of girl to do such a thing if she hadbeen well looked after. i always thought they were very unfit tohave the charge of her; but i was

overruled, as i always am.poor dear child! and now here's mr. bennet gone away, and iknow he will fight wickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, andwhat is to become of us all? the collinses will turn us out before he iscold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us, brother, i do not know what we shalldo." they all exclaimed against such terrificideas; and mr. gardiner, after general assurances of his affection for her and allher family, told her that he meant to be in london the very next day, and would assist mr. bennet in every endeavour forrecovering lydia.

"do not give way to useless alarm," addedhe; "though it is right to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look onit as certain. it is not quite a week since they leftbrighton. in a few days more we may gain some news ofthem; and till we know that they are not married, and have no design of marrying, donot let us give the matter over as lost. as soon as i get to town i shall go to mybrother, and make him come home with me to gracechurch street; and then we may consulttogether 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 themout, wherever they may be; and if they are not married already, make them marry. and as for wedding clothes, do not let themwait for that, but tell lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buythem, after they are married. and, above all, keep mr. bennet fromfighting. tell him what a dreadful state i am in,that i am frighted out of my wits--and have such tremblings, such flutterings, all overme--such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and such beatings at heart, that ican get no rest by night nor by day. and tell my dear lydia not to give anydirections about her clothes till she has

seen me, for she does not know which arethe best warehouses. oh, brother, how kind you are! i know you will contrive it all." but mr. gardiner, though he assured heragain of his earnest endeavours in the cause, could not avoid recommendingmoderation 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 theabsence of her daughters. though her brother and sister werepersuaded that there was no real occasion

for such a seclusion from the family, theydid not attempt to oppose it, for they knew that she had not prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants, while theywaited at table, and judged it better that one only of the household, and the one whomthey could most trust should comprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject. in the dining-room they were soon joined bymary and kitty, who had been too busily engaged in their separate apartments tomake their appearance before. one came from her books, and the other fromher toilette. the faces of both, however, were tolerablycalm; and no change was visible in either,

except that the loss of her favouritesister, or the anger which she had herself incurred in this business, had given more of fretfulness than usual to the accents ofkitty. as for mary, she was mistress enough ofherself to whisper to elizabeth, with a countenance of grave reflection, soon afterthey were seated at table: "this is a most unfortunate affair, andwill probably be much talked of. but we must stem the tide of malice, andpour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation." then, perceiving in elizabeth noinclination of replying, she added,

"unhappy as the event must be for lydia, wemay draw from it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involvesher in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; andthat she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of theother sex." elizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement,but was too much oppressed to make any reply. mary, however, continued to console herselfwith such kind of moral extractions from the evil before them.

in the afternoon, the two elder missbennets were able to be for half-an-hour by themselves; and elizabeth instantly availedherself of the opportunity of making any inquiries, which jane was equally eager tosatisfy. after joining in general lamentations overthe 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 andeverything about it which i have not already heard.give me further particulars. what did colonel forster say?

had they no apprehension of anything beforethe elopement took place? they must have seen them together forever." "colonel forster did own that he had oftensuspected some partiality, especially on lydia's side, but nothing to give him anyalarm. i am so grieved for him! his behaviour was attentive and kind to theutmost. he was coming to us, in order to assure usof his concern, before he had any idea of their not being gone to scotland: when thatapprehension first got abroad, it hastened his journey."

"and was denny convinced that wickham wouldnot marry? did he know of their intending to go off?had colonel forster seen denny himself?" "yes; but, when questioned by him, dennydenied knowing anything of their plans, and would not give his real opinion about it. he did not repeat his persuasion of theirnot marrying--and from that, i am inclined to hope, he might have been misunderstoodbefore." "and till colonel forster came himself, notone 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 ofmy sister's happiness with him in marriage, because i knew that his conduct had notbeen 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 naturaltriumph on knowing more than the rest of us, that in lydia's last letter she hadprepared her for such a step. she had known, it seems, of their being inlove with each other, many weeks." "but not before they went to brighton?""no, i believe not." "and did colonel forster appear to thinkwell 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 andextravagant. 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 wetold 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 anyperson without knowing what their present

feelings were, seemed unjustifiable.we acted with the best intentions." "could colonel forster repeat theparticulars 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 amgone, and i cannot help laughing myself at your surprise to-morrow morning, as soon asi am missed. i am going to gretna green, and if youcannot guess with who, i shall think you a simpleton, for there is but one man in theworld i love, and he is an angel.

i should never be happy without him, sothink it no harm to be off. you need not send them word at longbourn ofmy going, if you do not like it, for it will make the surprise the greater, when iwrite 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 notkeeping my engagement, and dancing with him to-night. tell him i hope he will excuse me when heknows all; and tell him i will dance with him at the next ball we meet, with greatpleasure.

i shall send for my clothes when i get tolongbourn; but i wish you would tell sally to mend a great slit in my worked muslingown 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!" criedelizabeth when she had finished it. "what a letter is this, to be written atsuch a moment! but at least it shows that she was seriouson the subject of their journey. whatever he might afterwards persuade herto, 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 tenminutes. my mother was taken ill immediately, andthe whole house in such confusion!" "oh! jane," cried elizabeth, "was there aservant 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 verydifficult. my mother was in hysterics, and though iendeavoured to give her every assistance in

my power, i am afraid i did not do so muchas i might have done! but the horror of what might possiblyhappen almost took from me my faculties." "your attendance upon her has been too muchfor you. you do not look well. oh that i had been with you! you have hadevery care and anxiety upon yourself alone." "mary and kitty have been very kind, andwould have shared in every fatigue, i am sure; but i did not think it right foreither of them. kitty is slight and delicate; and marystudies so much, that her hours of repose

should not be broken in on. my aunt phillips came to longbourn ontuesday, 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; shewalked here on wednesday morning to condole with us, and offered her services, or anyof her daughters', if they should be of use to us." "she had better have stayed at home," criedelizabeth; "perhaps she meant well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one cannotsee too little of one's neighbours. assistance is impossible; condolenceinsufferable.

let them triumph over us at a distance, andbe satisfied." she then proceeded to inquire into themeasures which her father had intended to pursue, while in town, for the recovery ofhis daughter. "he meant i believe," replied jane, "to goto epsom, the place where they last changed horses, see the postilions and try ifanything could be made out from them. his principal object must be to discoverthe number of the hackney coach which took them from clapham. it had come with a fare from london; and ashe thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and lady's removing from onecarriage into another might be remarked he

meant to make inquiries at clapham. if he could anyhow discover at what housethe coachman had before set down his fare, he determined to make inquiries there, andhoped it might not be impossible to find out the stand and number of the coach. i do not know of any other designs that hehad formed; but he was in such a hurry to be gone, and his spirits so greatlydiscomposed, that i had difficulty in finding out even so much as this." chapter 48 the whole party were in hopes of a letterfrom mr. bennet the next morning, but the

post came in without bringing a single linefrom him. his family knew him to be, on all commonoccasions, a most negligent and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time they hadhoped for exertion. they were forced to conclude that he had nopleasing intelligence to send; but even of that they would have been glad to becertain. mr. gardiner had waited only for theletters before he set off. when he was gone, they were certain atleast of receiving constant information of what was going on, and their unclepromised, at parting, to prevail on mr. bennet to return to longbourn, as soon as

he could, to the great consolation of hissister, who considered it as the only security for her husband's not being killedin a duel. mrs. gardiner and the children were toremain in hertfordshire a few days longer, as the former thought her presence might beserviceable 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 themfrequently, and always, as she said, with the design of cheering and heartening themup--though, as she never came without reporting some fresh instance of wickham's

extravagance or irregularity, she seldomwent away without leaving them more dispirited than she found them. all meryton seemed striving to blacken theman who, but three months before, had been almost an angel of light. he was declared to be in debt to everytradesman 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 thewickedest young man in the world; and everybody began to find out that they hadalways distrusted the appearance of his

goodness. elizabeth, though she did not credit abovehalf of what was said, believed enough to make her former assurance of her sister'sruin more certain; and even jane, who believed still less of it, became almost hopeless, more especially as the time wasnow come when, if they had gone to scotland, which she had never beforeentirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained some news of them. mr. gardiner left longbourn on sunday; ontuesday his wife received a letter from him; it told them that, on his arrival, hehad immediately found out his brother, and

persuaded him to come to gracechurch street; that mr. bennet had been to epsomand clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining any satisfactoryinformation; and that he was now determined to inquire at all the principal hotels in town, as mr. bennet thought it possiblethey might have gone to one of them, on their first coming to london, before theyprocured lodgings. mr. gardiner himself did not expect anysuccess from this measure, but as his brother was eager in it, he meant to assisthim in pursuing it. he added that mr. bennet seemed whollydisinclined 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 todesire him to find out, if possible, from some of the young man's intimates in theregiment, whether wickham has any relations or connections who would be likely to know in what part of town he has now concealedhimself. if there were anyone that one could applyto with a probability of gaining such a clue as that, it might be of essentialconsequence. at present we have nothing to guide us. colonel forster will, i dare say, doeverything in his power to satisfy us on

this head. but, on second thoughts, perhaps, lizzycould tell us what relations he has now living, better than any other person." elizabeth was at no loss to understand fromwhence this deference to her authority proceeded; but it was not in her power togive any information of so satisfactory a nature as the compliment deserved. she had never heard of his having had anyrelations, except a father and mother, both of whom had been dead many years. it was possible, however, that some of hiscompanions in the ----shire might be able

to give more information; and though shewas not very sanguine in expecting it, the application was a something to look forwardto. every day at longbourn was now a day ofanxiety; but the most anxious part of each was when the post was expected. the arrival of letters was the grand objectof every morning's impatience. through letters, whatever of good or badwas to be told would be communicated, and every succeeding day was expected to bringsome 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; andelizabeth, who knew what curiosities his letters always were, looked over her, andread it likewise. it was as follows: "my dear sir, "i feel myself called upon, by ourrelationship, and my situation in life, to condole with you on the grievous afflictionyou are now suffering under, of which we were yesterday informed by a letter fromhertfordshire. be assured, my dear sir, that mrs. collinsand myself sincerely sympathise with you

and all your respectable family, in yourpresent distress, which must be of the bitterest kind, because proceeding from acause which no time can remove. no arguments shall be wanting on my partthat can alleviate so severe a misfortune-- or that may comfort you, under acircumstance that must be of all others the most afflicting to a parent's mind. the death of your daughter would have beena blessing in comparison of this. and it is the more to be lamented, becausethere is reason to suppose as my dear charlotte informs me, that thislicentiousness 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 owndisposition must be naturally bad, or she could not be guilty of such an enormity, atso early an age. howsoever that may be, you are grievouslyto be pitied; in which opinion i am not only joined by mrs. collins, but likewiseby lady catherine and her daughter, to whom i have related the affair. they agree with me in apprehending thatthis false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of all theothers; for who, as lady catherine herself condescendingly says, will connectthemselves with such a family?

and this consideration leads me moreover toreflect, with augmented satisfaction, on a certain event of last november; for had itbeen otherwise, i must have been involved in all your sorrow and disgrace. let me then advise you, dear sir, toconsole yourself as much as possible, to throw off your unworthy child from youraffection 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 colonelforster; and then he had nothing of a pleasant nature to send.

it was not known that wickham had a singlerelationship with whom he kept up any connection, and it was certain that he hadno 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 ofparticular friendship with any of them. there was no one, therefore, who could bepointed out as likely to give any news of him. and in the wretched state of his ownfinances, there was a very powerful motive for secrecy, in addition to his fear ofdiscovery by lydia's relations, for it had just transpired that he had left gaming

debts behind him to a very considerableamount. colonel forster believed that more than athousand pounds would be necessary to clear his expenses at brighton. he owed a good deal in town, but his debtsof honour were still more formidable. mr. gardiner did not attempt to concealthese particulars from the longbourn 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 theymight expect to see their father at home on the following day, which was saturday.

rendered spiritless by the ill-success ofall their endeavours, he had yielded to his brother-in-law's entreaty that he wouldreturn to his family, and leave it to him to do whatever occasion might suggest to beadvisable for continuing their pursuit. when mrs. bennet was told of this, she didnot express so much satisfaction as her children expected, considering what heranxiety for his life had been before. "what, is he coming home, and without poorlydia?" she cried. "sure he will not leave london before hehas found them. who is to fight wickham, and make him marryher, if he comes away?" as mrs. gardiner began to wish to be athome, it was settled that she and the

children should go to london, at the sametime that mr. bennet came from it. the coach, therefore, took them the firststage of their journey, and brought its master back to longbourn. mrs. gardiner went away in all theperplexity about elizabeth and her derbyshire friend that had attended herfrom that part of the world. his name had never been voluntarilymentioned 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 innothing. elizabeth had received none since herreturn that could come from pemberley.

the present unhappy state of the familyrendered 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 ownfeelings, was perfectly aware that, had she known nothing of darcy, she could haveborne the dread of lydia's infamy somewhat better. it would have spared her, she thought, onesleepless night out of two. when mr. bennet arrived, he had all theappearance of his usual philosophic composure.

he said as little as he had ever been inthe habit of saying; made no mention of the business that had taken him away, and itwas some time before his daughters had courage to speak of it. it was not till the afternoon, when he hadjoined them at tea, that elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on herbriefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have endured, he replied, "say nothingof 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 howmuch i have been to blame. i am not afraid of being overpowered by theimpression. 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 beingjustified in your advice to me last may, which, considering the event, shows somegreatness of mind." they were interrupted by miss bennet, whocame to fetch her mother's tea. "this is a parade," he cried, "which doesone good; it gives such an elegance to misfortune! another day i will do the same; i will sitin 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," saidkitty fretfully.

"if i should ever go to brighton, i wouldbehave better than lydia." "you go to brighton. i would not trust you so near it aseastbourne for fifty pounds! no, kitty, i have at last learnt to becautious, and you will feel the effects of it. no officer is ever to enter into my houseagain, 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 tillyou 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 makeyourself unhappy. if you are a good girl for the next tenyears, i will take you to a review at the end of them." chapter 49 two days after mr. bennet's return, as janeand elizabeth were walking together in the shrubbery behind the house, they saw thehousekeeper 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 missbennet, "i beg your pardon, madam, for interrupting you, but i was in hopes you might have got some good news from town, soi took the liberty of coming to ask." "what do you mean, hill?we have heard nothing from town." "dear madam," cried mrs. hill, in greatastonishment, "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 tohave time for speech.

they ran through the vestibule into thebreakfast-room; from thence to the library; their father was in neither; and they wereon the point of seeking him upstairs with their mother, when they were met by thebutler, who said: "if you are looking for my master, ma'am,he is walking towards the little copse." upon this information, they instantlypassed through the hall once more, and ran across the lawn after their father, who wasdeliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock. jane, who was not so light nor so much inthe habit of running as elizabeth, soon lagged behind, while her sister, pantingfor 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 byexpress." "well, and what news does it bring--good orbad?" "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 hishand. 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 tidingsof my niece, and such as, upon the whole, i hope it will give you satisfaction. soon after you left me on saturday, i wasfortunate 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 therewas any intention of being so; but if you are willing to perform the engagementswhich 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 assureto your daughter, by settlement, her equal share of the five thousand pounds securedamong 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, consideringeverything, i had no hesitation in

complying with, as far as i thought myselfprivileged, for you. i shall send this by express, that no timemay be lost in bringing me your answer. you will easily comprehend, from theseparticulars, that mr. wickham's circumstances are not so hopeless as theyare generally believed to be. the world has been deceived in thatrespect; and i am happy to say there will be some little money, even when all hisdebts are discharged, to settle on my niece, in addition to her own fortune. if, as i conclude will be the case, yousend me full powers to act in your name throughout the whole of this business, iwill immediately give directions to

haggerston for preparing a propersettlement. there will not be the smallest occasion foryour coming to town again; therefore stay quiet at longbourn, and depend on mydiligence 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 shouldbe 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 shehad finished. "can it be possible that he will marryher?" "wickham is not so undeserving, then, as wethought 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 entreaty 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 insuch a case."

"let me write for you," said jane, "if youdislike the trouble yourself." "i dislike it very much," he replied; "butit must be done." and so saying, he turned back with them,and walked towards the house. "and may i ask--" said elizabeth; "but theterms, 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 verymuch to know; one is, how much money your

uncle has laid down to bring it about; andthe 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 wouldmarry lydia on so slight a temptation as one hundred a year during my life, andfifty after i am gone." "that is very true," said elizabeth;"though it had not occurred to me before. his debts to be discharged, and somethingstill to remain! oh! it must be my uncle's doings! generous, good man, i am afraid he hasdistressed himself.

a small sum could not do all this." "no," said her father; "wickham's a fool ifhe 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 ofthem, deep in thought, continued silent till they reached the house. their father then went on to the library towrite, and the girls walked into the

breakfast-room. "and they are really to be married!" criedelizabeth, 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 theirchance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice.oh, lydia!" "i comfort myself with thinking," repliedjane, "that he certainly would not marry lydia if he had not a real regard for her. though our kind uncle has done somethingtowards clearing him, i cannot believe that

ten thousand pounds, or anything like it,has been advanced. he has children of his own, and may havemore. how could he spare half ten thousandpounds?" "if he were ever able to learn whatwickham's debts have been," said elizabeth, "and how much is settled on his side on oursister, we shall exactly know what mr. gardiner has done for them, because wickhamhas not sixpence of his own. the kindness of my uncle and aunt can neverbe requited. their taking her home, and affording hertheir personal protection and countenance, is such a sacrifice to her advantage asyears 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 behappy! what a meeting for her, when she first seesmy aunt!" "we must endeavour to forget all that haspassed on either side," said jane: "i hope and trust they will yet be happy. his consenting to marry her is a proof, iwill 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," repliedelizabeth, "as neither you, nor i, nor anybody can ever forget.it is useless to talk of it." it now occurred to the girls that theirmother was in all likelihood perfectly ignorant of what had happened. they went to the library, therefore, andasked 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 upstairs 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'shope of lydia's being soon married, her joy burst forth, and every following sentenceadded to its exuberance.

she was now in an irritation as violentfrom 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 herfelicity, 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 aboutthem 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 givesome relief to the violence of these

transports, by leading her thoughts to theobligations which mr. gardiner's behaviour laid them all under. "for we must attribute this happyconclusion," 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 veryright; who should do it but her own uncle? if he had not had a family of his own, iand my children must have had all his money, you know; and it is the first timewe have ever had anything from him, except a few presents.

well!i am so happy! in a short time i shall have a daughtermarried. mrs. wickham! how well it sounds!and she was only sixteen last june. my dear jane, i am in such a flutter, thati am sure i can't write; so i will dictate, and you write for me. we will settle with your father about themoney afterwards; but the things should be ordered immediately." she was then proceeding to all theparticulars of calico, muslin, and cambric,

and would shortly have dictated some veryplentiful orders, had not jane, though with some difficulty, persuaded her to wait tillher father was at leisure to be consulted. one day's delay, she observed, would be ofsmall 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, goodnews to my sister philips. and as i come back, i can call on ladylucas 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 inmeryton? oh! here comes hill!my dear hill, have you heard the good news? miss lydia is going to be married; and youshall all have a bowl of punch to make merry at her wedding."mrs. hill began instantly to express her joy. elizabeth received her congratulationsamongst the rest, and then, sick of this folly, took refuge in her own room, thatshe might think with freedom. poor lydia's situation must, at best, bebad enough; but that it was no worse, she had need to be thankful.

she felt it so; and though, in lookingforward, neither rational happiness nor worldly prosperity could be justly expectedfor her sister, in looking back to what they had feared, only two hours ago, she felt all the advantages of what they hadgained. chapter 50 mr. bennet had very often wished beforethis period of his life that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid byan annual sum for the better provision of his children, and of his wife, if shesurvived him. he now wished it more than ever.

had he done his duty in that respect, lydianeed not have been indebted to her uncle for whatever of honour or credit could nowbe purchased for her. the satisfaction of prevailing on one ofthe most worthless young men in great britain to be her husband might then haverested in its proper place. he was seriously concerned that a cause ofso little advantage to anyone should be forwarded at the sole expense of hisbrother-in-law, and he was determined, if possible, to find out the extent of his assistance, and to discharge the obligationas soon as he could. when first mr. bennet had married, economywas held to be perfectly useless, for, of

course, they were to have a son. the son was to join in cutting off theentail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would bythat means be provided for. five daughters successively entered theworld, but yet the son was to come; and mrs. bennet, for many years after lydia'sbirth, 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, andher husband's love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding theirincome. five thousand pounds was settled bymarriage articles on mrs. bennet and the

children. but in what proportions it should bedivided 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 inacceding to the proposal before him. in terms of grateful acknowledgment for thekindness of his brother, though expressed most concisely, he then delivered on paperhis perfect approbation of all that was done, and his willingness to fulfil theengagements that had been made for him. he had never before supposed that, couldwickham be prevailed on to marry his

daughter, it would be done with so littleinconvenience to himself as by the present arrangement. he would scarcely be ten pounds a year theloser by the hundred that was to be paid them; for, what with her board and pocketallowance, and the continual presents in money which passed to her through her mother's hands, lydia's expenses had beenvery little within that sum. that it would be done with such triflingexertion on his side, too, was another very welcome surprise; for his wish at presentwas to have as little trouble in the business as possible.

when the first transports of rage which hadproduced his activity in seeking her were over, he naturally returned to all hisformer indolence. his letter was soon dispatched; for, thoughdilatory in undertaking business, he was quick in its execution. he begged to know further particulars ofwhat he was indebted to his brother, but was too angry with lydia to send anymessage to her. the good news spread quickly through thehouse, 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 theadvantage of conversation had miss lydia bennet come upon the town; or, as thehappiest alternative, been secluded from the world, in some distant farmhouse. but there was much to be talked of inmarrying her; and the good-natured wishes for her well-doing which had proceededbefore from all the spiteful old ladies in meryton lost but a little of their spirit in this change of circumstances, becausewith such an husband her misery was considered certain. it was a fortnight since mrs. bennet hadbeen downstairs; but on this happy day she

again took her seat at the head of hertable, and in spirits oppressively high. no sentiment of shame gave a damp to hertriumph. the marriage of a daughter, which had beenthe first object of her wishes since jane was sixteen, was now on the point ofaccomplishment, and her thoughts and her words ran wholly on those attendants of elegant nuptials, fine muslins, newcarriages, and servants. she was busily searching through theneighbourhood for a proper situation for her daughter, and, without knowing orconsidering what their income might be, rejected many as deficient in size andimportance.

"haye park might do," said she, "if thegouldings 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 fromme; 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 toher: "mrs. bennet, before you take any or all of these houses for your son anddaughter, let us come to a right understanding. into one house in this neighbourhood theyshall never have admittance.

i will not encourage the impudence ofeither, by receiving them at longbourn." a long dispute followed this declaration;but mr. bennet was firm. it soon led to another; and mrs. bennetfound, with amazement and horror, that her husband would not advance a guinea to buyclothes for his daughter. he protested that she should receive fromhim no mark of affection whatever on the occasion.mrs. bennet could hardly comprehend it. that his anger could be carried to such apoint of inconceivable resentment as to refuse his daughter a privilege withoutwhich her marriage would scarcely seem valid, exceeded all she could believepossible.

she was more alive to the disgrace whichher want of new clothes must reflect on her daughter's nuptials, than to any sense ofshame at her eloping and living with wickham a fortnight before they took place. elizabeth was now most heartily sorry thatshe had, from the distress of the moment, been led to make mr. darcy acquainted withtheir fears for her sister; for since her marriage would so shortly give the proper termination to the elopement, they mighthope to conceal its unfavourable beginning from all those who were not immediately onthe spot. she had no fear of its spreading fartherthrough his means.

there were few people on whose secrecy shewould have more confidently depended; but, at the same time, there was no one whoseknowledge of a sister's frailty would have mortified her so much--not, however, from any fear of disadvantage from itindividually to herself, for, at any rate, there seemed a gulf impassable betweenthem. had lydia's marriage been concluded on themost honourable terms, it was not to be supposed that mr. darcy would connecthimself with a family where, to every other objection, would now be added an alliance and relationship of the nearest kind with aman whom he so justly scorned.

from such a connection she could not wonderthat he would shrink. the wish of procuring her regard, which shehad assured herself of his feeling in derbyshire, could not in rationalexpectation survive such a blow as this. she was humbled, she was grieved; sherepented, though she hardly knew of what. she became jealous of his esteem, when shecould no longer hope to be benefited by it. she wanted to hear of him, when thereseemed the least chance of gaining intelligence. she was convinced that she could have beenhappy with him, when it was no longer likely they should meet.

what a triumph for him, as she oftenthought, could he know that the proposals which she had proudly spurned only fourmonths ago, would now have been most gladly and gratefully received! he was as generous, she doubted not, as themost generous of his sex; but while he was mortal, there must be a triumph. she began now to comprehend that he wasexactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. his understanding and temper, though unlikeher own, would have answered all her wishes.

it was an union that must have been to theadvantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have beensoftened, his manners improved; and from his judgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have receivedbenefit of greater importance. but no such happy marriage could now teachthe admiring multitude what connubial felicity really was. an union of a different tendency, andprecluding the possibility of the other, was soon to be formed in their family. how wickham and lydia were to be supportedin tolerable independence, she could not

imagine. but how little of permanent happiness couldbelong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions werestronger than their virtue, she could easily conjecture. mr. gardiner soon wrote again to hisbrother. to mr. bennet's acknowledgments he brieflyreplied, 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 himagain. the principal purport of his letter was toinform them that mr. wickham had resolved

on quitting the militia. "it was greatly my wish that he should doso," he added, "as soon as his marriage was fixed on. and i think you will agree with me, inconsidering the removal from that corps as highly advisable, both on his account andmy niece's. it is mr. wickham's intention to go intothe regulars; and among his former friends, there are still some who are able andwilling to assist him in the army. he has the promise of an ensigncy ingeneral ----'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 amongdifferent people, where they may each have a character to preserve, they will both bemore prudent. i have written to colonel forster, toinform him of our present arrangements, and to request that he will satisfy the variouscreditors of mr. wickham in and near brighton, with assurances of speedypayment, for which i have pledged myself. and will you give yourself the trouble ofcarrying similar assurances to his creditors in meryton, of whom i shallsubjoin a list according to his information?

he has given in all his debts; i hope atleast he has not deceived us. haggerston has our directions, and all willbe completed in a week. they will then join his regiment, unlessthey are first invited to longbourn; and i understand from mrs. gardiner, that myniece is very desirous of seeing you all before she leaves the south. she is well, and begs to be dutifullyremembered to you and your mother.--yours, etc.,"e. gardiner." mr. bennet and his daughters saw all theadvantages of wickham's removal from the -- --shire as clearly as mr. gardiner coulddo.

but mrs. bennet was not so well pleasedwith it. lydia's being settled in the north, justwhen she had expected most pleasure and pride in her company, for she had by nomeans given up her plan of their residing in hertfordshire, was a severe disappointment; and, besides, it was such apity that lydia should be taken from a regiment where she was acquainted witheverybody, 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 ingeneral ----'s regiment." his daughter's request, for such it mightbe considered, of being admitted into her family again before she set off for thenorth, received at first an absolute negative. but jane and elizabeth, who agreed inwishing, for the sake of their sister's feelings and consequence, that she shouldbe noticed on her marriage by her parents, urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so mildly, to receive her and herhusband at longbourn, as soon as they were married, that he was prevailed on to thinkas they thought, and act as they wished.

and their mother had the satisfaction ofknowing that she would be able to show her married daughter in the neighbourhoodbefore 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 soonas the ceremony was over, they should proceed to longbourn. elizabeth was surprised, however, thatwickham should consent to such a scheme, and had she consulted only her owninclination, any meeting with him would have been the last object of her wishes.

ideen garderobe kleiner flur 2018-04-05T06:17:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: ika