r. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society

Then turning to Mr. Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist at backgammon. Mr. Bennet accepted the chal-lenge, observing that he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements.

Mr. Collins, much offended,

Do you know, mamma, that my uncle Phillips talks of turning away Richard; and if he does, Colonel Forster will hire him. My aunt told me so herself on Saturday. I shall walk to Meryton to-morrow to hear more about it, and to ask when Mr. Denny comes back from town.’

Mr. Bennet was glad to take his guest into the drawing-room again, and, when tea was over, glad to invite him to read aloud to the ladies. Mr. Collins readily assented, and a book was produced; but, on beholding it (for everything an-nounced it to be from a circulating library), he started back, and begging pardon, protested that he never read novels. Kitty stared at him, and Lydia exclaimed. Other books were produced, and after some deliberation he chose Fordyce’s Sermons.

You judge very properly,’ said Mr. Bennet, ‘and it is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions pro-ceed from the impulse of the moment,

Mr. Collins seemed neither in need of encouragement, nor inclined to be silent himself. He was a tall, heavy-look-ing young man of five-and-twenty. His air was grave and stately, and his manners were very formal. He had not been long seated before he complimented Mrs. Bennet on hav-ing so fine a family of daughters;

you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing

s a clergy-man, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within in the reach of my influence;

My mind, however, is now made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh,

‘I cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure, if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.

he person of whom I speak is a gentleman, and a strang-er.’Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled. ‘A gentleman and a strang-er! It is Mr. Bingley, I am sure! Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr. Bingley.

But their father, though very laconic in his expressions of pleasure, was really glad to see them; he had felt their importance in the family circle.

To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence—Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked—and Miss Bingley was uncivil to HER, and more teasing than usual to himself. He wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should NOW escape him, nothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity;

she urged Jane to borrow Mr. Bingley’s carriage immediately,

Mrs. Bennet sent them word that they could not possibly have the carriage before Tues-day; and in her postscript it was added, that if Mr. Bingley and his sister pressed them to stay longer, she could spare them very well.

liza-beth wrote the next morning to their mother, to beg that the carriage might be sent for them in the course of the day. But Mrs. Bennet, who had calculated on her daughters re-maining at Netherfield till the following Tuesday, which would exactly finish Jane’s week, could not bring herself to receive them with pleasure before.

Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no beauty.

he day passed much as the day before had done. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid, wh

Free eBooks at Planet eBook.comThe country is a vast deal pleasanter, is it not, Mr. Bingley?’‘When I am in the country,’ he replied, ‘I never wish to leave it; and when I am in town it is pretty much the same. They have each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either.’‘Aye—that is because you have the right disposition. But that gentleman,’ looking at Darcy, ‘seemed to think the country was nothing at all.’‘Indeed, Mamma, you are mistaken,’ said Elizabeth, blushing for her mother. ‘You quite mistook Mr. Darcy. He only meant that there was not such a variety of people to be met with in the country as in the town, which you must ac-knowledge to be true

Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Ben-net would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alarming, she had no wish of her recovering immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remove her from Netherfield.

Mr. Darcy, her sister scarcely less so; and as for Mr. Hurst, by whom Elizabeth sat,

ed three or four times how much they were grieved, how shocking it was to have a bad cold, and how excessively they disliked being ill themselves; and then thought no more of the matter: and their indifference towards Jane when not immediately before them restored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her former dislike

Pride and PrejudiceChapter 8

Miss Bingley offered her the carriage, and she only wanted a little pressing to accept it, when Jane testified such concern in parting with her, that Miss Bingley was obliged to convert the offer of the chaise to an invitation to remain at Netherfield for the present.

Bingley

Pride,’ observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the so-lidity of her reflections, ‘is a very common failing, I believe

Pride and Prejudice1Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings to-ward him. She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition,

1Free eBooks at Planet eBook.comChapter 4When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister just how very much she admired him

Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to hear a conversation between him and Mr. Bingley,

Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unre-served, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield.

Pride and Prejudice10Chapter 3

How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet!

Pride and Prejudice‘I am sick of Mr. Bingley,’ cried his wife.‘I am sorry to hear THAT; but why did not you tell me that before? If I had known as much this morning I certain-ly would not have called on him. It is very unlucky; but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquain-tance now.

Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to visit him

The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and

have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least.’

vexing

izzy.

hen he comes into the neighbourhood.’‘It is more than I engage for, I assure you.’

‘But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood.’‘It is more than I engage for, I assure you.’

Free eBooks at Planet eBook.comservants are to be in the house by the end of next week.’‘What is his name?’‘Bingley.

My dear Mr. Bennet,’ said his lady to him one day, ‘have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?

Pride and PrejudiceChapter 1It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters

want