Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 27

The Bennet family had an appointment to dine at Lucas's house, and during the day they stayed at the house, it was Miss Lucas who was so kind to listen to Mr. Collins's rhetoric.Elizabeth found a moment to thank her. "He talks to you, and he feels better." Elizabeth said, "I really don't know how to express my gratitude to you." Carlotti replied that she could feel that she was useful to her friends. Satisfied, it more than made up for the little time she had wasted on it.The words were sweet and affectionate enough, but it was Kalotti's kind intentions that Elizabeth could never have imagined;--she did it so that Elizabeth would avoid Mr. Collins from asking her again. the possibility of proposing marriage, and turn this possibility on himself.

Such was Miss Lucas's plan; all seemed to be going so well that when they parted in the evening she almost felt that she was on the verge of success if he were not leaving Hertfordshire so soon.But here she underestimated the fiery and authoritarian side of his character, for he slipped out of Longbourn's house very skilfully the next morning, and hurried to the Lucas house, where he paid his respects. at her feet.He tried his best to avoid the attention of his cousins. He was afraid that they would see him running out and guess his intentions. Before he knew whether he could succeed, he was unwilling to announce it; I was sure that Miss Lucas had feelings for him, but his courage and confidence had diminished since Wednesday's adventure.However, this time he received the most hospitable reception.Miss Lucas, from an upper window, saw him approaching her house, and ran out, which happened to be in an alley where so much love and words awaited her.

After Collins's eloquence, the matter between them was settled quickly and satisfactorily; and when they came into the house he was urging her very earnestly to choose the service. It was the day when he was the happiest man; and though such entreaties had to be put aside for the present, Miss Lucas was not at all willing to spoil his joy.His natural follies dulled his courtship, and made no woman willing to talk to him any further; Miss Lucas accepted him out of an unfeeling, She wanted to have a decent home, but she didn't care too much about how soon such a home would be available.

They both proceeded to seek the consent of Sir William and Lady Lucas; and the Lucass readily agreed to the marriage.Mr. Collins' present state of affairs made him a very suitable spouse for their daughter; and his future fortune was still more considerable.Mrs. Lucas immediately calculated with never-before-seen interest how many more years Mr. Bennet might live; It is just around the corner to be summoned by the emperor.In short, the Lucas family was overjoyed about it.Several young daughters have begun to have the hope that they will be married off a year or two earlier, and the boys no longer have to worry about their sister being an old maid at home.Carlotti himself seemed very calm.She had achieved her purpose, and she had time now to think about it.She is generally satisfied with her thinking.Mr. Collins was, of course, neither bright nor likable; his society was dull, and his feelings for her must have been figments of his own imagination.But, for all that, she wanted him to be her husband.

—she did not take too seriously a man's conduct or the success of a marriage; marriage was her only object; and to a well-educated young woman of meager means, marriage was the only respectable destination for them, no matter what Can marriage bring them happiness? At least they are carefree in terms of livelihood.She had now found such a safe haven; and as a young girl of twenty-seven, without any great beauty, she was content with her lot.What embarrassed her most in the matter was how surprised Elizabeth Bennet would be by it, with whom she valued her friendship more than any other. precious.Elizabeth would be amazed, perhaps reproached, and though her resolution would not be shaken, her feelings would be wounded by such a reproach.She resolved to tell her the story herself, and when Mr. Collins was returning to Longbourn to dine, she enjoined him not to reveal the events of the last few days.The promise of secrecy was, of course, dutifully made, but it was not without difficulty in carrying it out; for as soon as he got home, the curiosity aroused by his absence for so long turned into a flurry of questions. He was attacked face to face, without any skill, it was very difficult not to reveal his secrets, and at the same time he had to control his emotions as much as possible, because he was eager to announce his successful love to the public as soon as possible.

As he was leaving early the next day and had no time to see the family again, the farewell ceremony took place before the ladies went to bed that night, and Mrs. Bennet, with the utmost courtesy and frankness, hoped that, at his leisure, he would Came to Longbourn to visit them, and the whole family was very happy to see him again.

"My dear madam," he replied, "I am very grateful for your invitation, for it is what I have been looking forward to; and you may be sure that I shall return to see you as soon as possible."

This startled the whole family; Mr. Bennet certainly did not expect him to come back so soon, and said at once:

"But, I'm afraid it won't please Lady Catherine too much, my nephew?—you'd better neglect your relatives a little, than offend your patron."

"My dear uncle," replied Mr. Collins, "I am very grateful for your kind reminder, and you may rest assured that I will not come without the consent of the old lady."

"You'd better be very careful. Don't offend her old man; and if you think you might displease her by coming here (which I think is quite possible), then you stay at home. Well, you can rest assured that we will never blame you here."

"Believe me, dear uncle, this love and concern of yours fills me with warm gratitude; and you will soon receive a letter from me for this and for my stay in Hertfordshire. As for my beautiful cousins, although my parting will not be long and it may not be necessary to do so, I would like to wish them health and happiness, including myself. cousin Elizabeth."

After a few courteous pleasantries, the ladies retired to their rooms; not one of them was surprised to learn that he would soon wish to visit again.Mrs. Bennet hopes that, in doing so, he intends to propose to one of her daughters, and Mary may be persuaded to accept him.Mr. Collins's abilities, she thought, were far superior to those of any other man; But she thought that as long as he was encouraged to read books and improve his self-cultivation like herself, he would become a very lovely person.But on the next morning all hope in this direction was dashed.Miss Lucas came shortly after breakfast, and told Elizabeth privately about the events of the previous day.

The possibility that Mr. Collins thought he himself had fallen in love with her friend had crossed Elizabeth's mind during the next day or two; Possibly, just as she herself would never have encouraged him, she was now so surprised that she forgot all manners and cried out:
"Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Carlotta—how is that possible?"

The calmness with which Miss Lucas had endeavored to preserve the incident, when she heard such an unabashed rebuke, became for a moment flustered; She quickly regained her composure and replied calmly:

"Why should you be so astonished, my dear Elizabeth?—do you think that, because he has had the misfortune of not having your love, it is no longer possible for him to be in the favor of any other woman?"

Elizabeth had now collected herself, and controlled her feelings as best she could, and she was able to tell with some certainty that she was very pleased with their future union, and wished her every happiness.

"I can see how you feel now," replied Carlotti. "You must be amazed, terribly amazed—that only a few days ago Mr. Collins had been thinking of marrying you. But when you When you've had time to think it over, I hope you won't be dissatisfied with what I've done. I'm not romantic, you know. I never was. All I want is a comfortable family; and taking all Mr. Collins's character, social relations, and position into account, I feel that my chances of happiness in marriage with him will be no less than those which most people boast of when they marry."

Elizabeth answered calmly: "There is no doubt about it."—After an awkward silence, the two of them returned to their families.Carlotta didn't stay any longer, and Elizabeth was alone at this time thinking about everything she had just heard.It was only after a long time that she was able to come to terms with the idea of ​​this terribly unsuitable marriage.The strange behavior of Mr. Collins in proposing twice in three days was nothing compared with the fact that he was now accepted by Carlotte.Elizabeth has always felt that Kalotti's view of marriage is not exactly the same as her own, but she never thought that when she put it into action, she would sacrifice all good emotions and condescend to worldly interests.Carlotta was Mr. Collins's wife, a most humiliating picture ever! —She was distressed that a friend had insulted herself and lowered her position in her heart, and she was still more distressed that that friend could not have even the least happiness in the fate she had chosen.

(End of this chapter)