Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 15

"My dear, I wish you would ask the cook to prepare a good dinner to-day," said Mr. Bennet to his wife at breakfast the next morning, "because I have reason to think that we are going to have La."

"Who do you say is coming, my dear? I don't know anyone who's coming, except Carlotie Lucas happens to come to skewer sometimes, and I think my usual meals are enough to satisfy her. I I believe she will not often eat such meals at her home."

"The man I'm talking about is a gentleman and a stranger." Mrs. Bennet's eyes lit up. —"A gentleman, a stranger! That must be Mr. Bingley. Why, Jane--how did you never mention it at all, how calm you are to mother! Oh, I am so glad to see you again." Mr. Bingley.--But--My God! How bad it is! No fish to-day. Lydia, my darling, ring mamma. I must call Hill now to get ready. "

"This is not Mr. Bingley," said her husband. "I have never seen such a man till now."

This surprised the whole family, and his wife and five daughters were eager to ask him questions, which made him quite proud.

After teasing their curiosity, he explained: "About a month ago, I received a letter from this person, and I wrote back two weeks ago, because I think this matter is more difficult." .It should have been given earlier attention. The letter is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who may sooner or later throw you out of this house after my death."

"Ah! my dear," cried his wife, "I cannot bear to hear you say that. Please don't mention the wretched fellow again. It is a world that your own estate cannot be inherited by your own children." It's the most intolerable thing ever; and I think if I had been you I'd have tried to get it over with long ago."

Jane and Elizabeth try to explain this question of inheritance to her.Both of them had tried this before, but Mrs. Bennet lost her head at the mention of it; Take it away alive, and give it to someone who has nothing to do with them.

"It is indeed a gross injustice," said Mr. Bennet, "and nothing will clear Mr. Collins of the guilt of his Longbourne inheritance. But if you will listen to him Listen to this letter from him, and hear the way he expresses himself, and you may calm your temper."

"No, that's absolutely impossible; I don't think he should have written to you at all, it's just fake mercy. I hate these fake friends all my life. Why can't a man openly quarrel with you like his father did when he was alive?" What about endlessly?"

"Oh, really, he seems to have thought about how to respect filial piety, as far as this matter is concerned, you will listen to this letter next."?
Dear Sir:
The entanglement that existed between yourself and my late father always haunts me when I think of it, a rift that I have often wished to heal since the tragic loss of my father; but there have been times when I, I was haunted by my own doubts that it would appear disrespectful to my late father to reconcile with anyone whom my late father had been enemies with during his lifetime. —Listen here, my good lady. —But I have now made up my mind on this matter, having been ordained at Easter, and having the honor of being received by Madame Catherine de Bour, widow of the Duke of Lewis de Bour. The support and grace have made me a priest of the diocese, and for this I will do my best, be thankful for your ladyship, and observe all the rites prescribed by the Church of England.

As a clergyman, I feel all the more that it is my bounden duty to establish and promote, as far as I can, the harmony of all families; and for these reasons I consider my present good intentions to be commendable , the fact that I will inherit the Longbourn family property in the future will not matter to you too much, so you will not refuse this olive branch from me. (Reference to this letter of reconciliation.) I am deeply concerned about the loss that will be caused to your daughters, and allow me to apologize for this, but I assure you that I will be more than willing to give They redeemed it as much as they could——I will report this matter later.If you have no objection to my visit, I would very much like to visit you on Monday, November 11th at 8:4 pm, and I might be at the house until next Saturday night, which is not a problem to me. No inconvenience, for Lady Catherine will have no objection to my occasional absence on a Sunday, so long as some other clergyman presides over the day.My sincere regards to Mrs. Madam and your daughters.

Your well-wisher and faithful friend?William Collins? Written in the village of Hansford, Kent, near Westerham, October 10
"So, at four o'clock this afternoon, we shall have the Messenger of Peace," said Mr. Bennet, folding the letter, "and I daresay he seems to be a very polite and responsible man." young man; I am sure he will be a dear friend to us in the future, especially if Lady Catherine will open her eyes and allow him to come to us again in the future."

"He was right about our daughters; and if he would make amends for them, I wouldn't be the one to discourage him."

"While it is difficult," said Jane, "to guess what compensation he would like to give us he thinks we are due, there is no doubt that his motives are good."

Elizabeth was mainly surprised at the respect he gave Lady Catherine, and she was curious that he was so kind and willing to baptize the parishioners and preside over the wedding and funeral ceremonies at any time.

"He must be a queer fellow, I think," said she, "I don't understand him yet.—His style is pompous.—We would not be able to help us in this matter, even if he had been able to help us." Don't think of him as a signifier.—Will he be a sensible man, father?"

"No, my dear; I don't think he is. I think I'm going to find out that he's an unreasonable and unreasonable sort of person. The mixture of humility and arrogance in his letters foretells That's all. I should very much like to see him."

"From a compositional point of view," said Mary, "there's nothing wrong with his letter. The idea of ​​the olive branch is not new, but here I think it expresses his meaning very well." .”

Neither the letter nor its author was of interest to Catherine and Lydia.Their cousins ​​wouldn't come in "red uniforms" anyway, and they hadn't been happy to befriend anyone in any other color for weeks.For their mother, this letter from Mr. Collins had taken away much of her bad temper, and she was now ready to receive him calmly, much to the astonishment of her husband and daughters.

Mr. Collins arrived punctually, and was received with great courtesy by the whole family.Mr. Bennet seldom talked; his girls and wife seemed to be chatty, and Mr. Collins himself did not seem to need encouragement, nor did he wish to observe silence.He is 25 years old, a tall, slightly obese young man.He behaves solemnly and dignifiedly, and his behavior must be in line with etiquette.As soon as he sat down, he complimented Mrs. Bennet on her family fortune, on having so many fine daughters, and that he had heard of their reputations for their beauty, though, as it now appeared, it was not true; and then added: He believed that he could see that they would all be able to marry good people by then.The compliment was not liked by everyone present, but Mrs. Bennet, who never found fault with a compliment, replied cheerfully:
"I believe you are a good man, sir; and I sincerely hope that all will be as you say; otherwise, my daughters will be poor in the future. There is something very strange in the way things are decided. .”

"Perhaps you mean the matter of inheritance."

"Oh, sir, it is so. It is very unfortunate for my poor daughters, you must admit that. And I do not mean to disagree with you, for I know that such things in the world are all Depends on the arrangement of fate. Once a person's property is limited to heirs, then you don't know whose hands they will fall into."

"I am quite sympathetic and sympathetic to this difficulty of my pretty cousins, ma'am—and I can say a great deal on the subject, though I think it is better to be cautious. But I can now say to One thing that the young ladies are sure of is that I am here to express my admiration to them. I don't want to say anything more at the moment, but after we get to know each other better, maybe I will—"

His words were interrupted by the call to supper, and the girls looked at each other and smiled.In fact, they were not the only objects of Mr. Collins' praise.The hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture, had been examined and admired by him; and his admiration of all this might have touched Mrs. Bennet's heart, if she had not sentimentally suspected that he might have Seeing it all as his own future property.The delicious soup on the table was also greatly praised by him, and he begged to know which cousin's handicrafts such delicious meals came from.Here, however, he was corrected by Mrs. Bennet, who told him plainly and without brusqueness that the family could afford a good cook, and that the girls had never done anything in the kitchen.He begged her forgiveness for that.Then she said, in a softened tone, that she hadn't been angry at all; but he kept on apologizing for a quarter of an hour or so.

(End of this chapter)