Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 23 (3)
But no matter what she said, it was useless.And her mother peddled her opinion with an equally high pitch.Elizabeth was both ashamed and angry, and her face flushed again and again.She kept looking at Mr. Darcy involuntarily, though each look confirmed her fears; for though he was not always looking at her mother, she could clearly see his The whole attention was drawn to her mother.The expression on his face changed from anger and contempt at the beginning to a kind of indifference and solemnity.

In the end, Mrs. Bennet had exhausted her words; Mrs. Lucas, who had long yawned uncontrollably at hearing her repeated tales of pleasure for which she had no part, was now happy enough to eat in peace. Cold ham and chicken on the table.Elizabeth, too, was beginning to feel more at ease now.It's just that the good times don't last long; after dinner, someone asked to listen to the song, and she was very disturbed to see that Mary hadn't responded to everyone's entreaties, and she was going to sing to everyone.She tried in vain to avoid this embarrassing display of self-expression, with many winks and silent hints; Mary refused to heed her intentions; she was glad to have such an opportunity, and she began sang.

Elizabeth had her eyes fixed on her in agony; she listened to her several verses with patience, which at last was not rewarded; Agreeing to give them the hint of another song, she sang another a few moments later.Mary's talent was far from being able to perform on such occasions; her voice was weak and her expression was artificial. —Elizabeth was in great pain.She glanced at Jane to see how she was enduring all this; but Jane was only talking calmly to Bingley.She looked after his two sisters, and saw that they looked at each other with mocking expressions on their faces, and then at Darcy, who still had the same cold and serious face.She went to look at her father and asked him to stop Mary from singing forever.He understood her, and when Mary had finished the second song he said aloud:
"You've sung enough, boy. You've kept us all entertained long enough. Give the other ladies time to act too."

Mary, too, became a little uncomfortable, though she pretended not to hear; Elizabeth felt sorry for her.She was also sad for her father's words, and felt that her worry just now might not have had a good effect. —At the moment everyone is asking others to sing.

"If," said Mr. Collins, "if I had the good fortune to be gifted with singing, I should be glad to sing a song for you, for I consider music to be a sublime pastime, quite on par with the clergy. . . . I do not mean, of course, that we should spend too much time on music, for there are undoubtedly many other things waiting for us to do. There is much to be done as a vicar of a parish. --First of all, he must work out the tithing agreement, so that it will be beneficial to himself and not infringe on the interests of his patrons.

He had to compose his prayers himself, which left him little time for other parish duties, and he had to tend and improve his dwelling, and make it as comfortable as possible, which It is also his unshirkable responsibility.In addition, he should treat everyone, especially those he admires, with a caring and humble attitude, and I don't think this work can be underestimated.I cannot remove this responsibility from him; nor do I think it right that he should not show his respect to the relatives and friends of the patrons when they meet them.He concluded his speech with a bow to Mr. Darcy, in such an impassioned manner that half the ballroom could have heard him. —Many people stared wide-eyed in surprise. —Many people smiled again; but none were more amusing than Mr. Bennet, while his wife was solemnly praising Mr. Collins for a good speech, talking to Lucas half-voiced. His wife said he was a very smart and kind young man.

It seemed to Elizabeth that her family could never have performed more vividly or successfully at this evening, had they had agreed beforehand to make a great display of themselves; He and her sister were glad that there were some appearances that he hadn't noticed, and that even if he had seen the stupidity of her family, his temperament did not embarrass him too much.But it was bad enough that his sisters and Mr. Darcy should have had such an opportunity of laughing at her family, that she could not decide whether it was the gentleman's silent contempt or the two ladies' haughtiness. The smile made her even more intolerable.

During the rest of the party, she did not get any joy.She was entangled with Mr. Collins, and he stayed by her side with a stern face, and though he could no longer persuade her to dance with him again, he made it impossible for her to dance with anyone else.In vain she begged him to dance with others, and offered to introduce him to any girl in the house.He told her with firmness that he cared nothing at all about the dancing; his chief concern was to be attentive to her in order to grow close to her, and so he intended to remain with her all the evening.It's no use arguing about such a wishful thinking plan.She was very much relieved by her friend, Miss Lucas, who often came over and kindly turned Mr. Collins' conversation upon herself.

Elizabeth, at least, was now free from unwanted attention from Mr. Darcy's side; and though he often stood at a distance from her with nothing to do, he never came forward to speak to her.She felt that this was probably due to her mention of Wickham, and felt a surge of pride in her heart.

The Longbourne family was the last to leave the party; Mrs. Bennet, with a little twitch, waited for a quarter of an hour on the pretext of waiting for the carriage after the others had gone, during which time It gave them an opportunity to see how eagerly some of the Bingleys looked forward to their departure.Mrs. Hurst and her sister said little more than to complain how tired they were, evidently longing to be left alone soon.They impatiently rebuffed every attempt by Mrs. Bennet to strike up a conversation, and the ensuing silence languished on everyone present, despite Mr. Collins' occasional tirade. Nor did it lighten the tedium, and Mr. Collins praised Bingley and his sisters for their hospitality, attentiveness, and courteousness, which impressed their guests.Darcy said nothing.Mr. Bingley and Jane stood alone together, talking only to each other.Elizabeth, like Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, kept silent; even Lydia was too weary to speak, except for an occasional sigh of "My God, I'm so worn out!" Then he yawned loudly.

When they arose at last to set off, Mrs. Bennet exchanged courteous greetings, and hoped that the whole family would soon be visiting at Longbourn; No need to wait for any formal invitation to come and have a homely meal with them, which is sure to please the whole family very much.Bingley was very grateful and delighted, and promised to call on him as soon as possible after his return from London, where he would leave tomorrow and stay only a few days.

Mrs. Bennet was completely satisfied, and after saying goodbye to her, she made wishful thinking along the way: that is, taking into account the preparations before marriage, such as buying a new car, buying wedding clothes, etc., it only takes three or four months. She would see without a doubt that her eldest daughter would marry to Netherfield.As to the marriage between her second daughter and Mr. Collins, she felt equally sure, and pleased, though in a lesser degree.Of all the daughters, Elizabeth was the one she least liked; and though the character of my uncle and the marriage itself were good enough for Elizabeth, neither Mr. Bingley nor Netherfield Compared with it, it seems to be overshadowed.

(End of this chapter)