Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 34

The satisfaction that Mr. Collins felt at this invitation to dinner is beyond description.To show his patron's grace and luxury to his curious guests, and let them witness the kindness and care that the old lady treats their husband and wife, this is what he has long hoped for; He did not know how to express his admiration for the fact that the opportunity had been given to him so soon, which must be said to be yet another example of Lady Catherine's sympathy.

"I confess," said he, "that I should not be in the least surprised if the old lady asked me to come over for Sunday tea and spend the evening there. From what I know of her genial disposition Look, I thought it was going to be like this. But who would have guessed that we'd be invited to dine there (let alone all of us) when you first arrived?"

"It does not surprise me much," went on Sir William, "for my position and position have given me an opportunity to understand that this is often the way great men conduct themselves. Among court officials, Such hospitable and suave incidents are not uncommon.”

That day and the next morning they talked almost exclusively of their visit to Rosings.Mr. Collins was careful to tell them what they would see when they went there, so that they would not be overwhelmed when they saw such a luxurious house, so many servants and maids, and such a rich and delicious meal.

As the ladies were about to adorn themselves, Mr. Collins said to Elizabeth:
"My dear cousin, you need not be troubled by your dress. Lady Catherine does not require us to dress as elegantly as she herself and her daughters do. All I want to tell you is that you choose only the best you have now. Just put it on, and nothing else. Lady Catherine will not think you bad for your modest attire, and she likes to preserve rank."

Two or three more times, while the ladies were dressing, he went to the doors of the various persons, urging them to hurry, for Lady Catherine's objection to dinner was the lateness of her guests. —These extraordinary accounts of the old lady herself and of her way of life terrified Maria Lucas, who was not accustomed to society, and she was very sympathetic to the master who was introduced to Rosings. Going there, she felt even more uneasy, just like her father when he went to the palace to see him.

As the weather was fine, they walked happily through the garden for more than half a mile. —Every garden has its own beauty and unique view; Elizabeth naturally saw many pleasing sights here, although she was not as intoxicated by the things in front of her as Mr. Collins expected. at last Mr. Collins began to count the windows of the front of the house, and tell how much the glass in them had cost Sir Lewis de Bourgh, but she knew very little of them. feel any interest.

Maria's panic increased every minute as they mounted the steps into the hall, and even Sir William seemed less composed. —Elizabeth did not lose her courage.She had never heard of Lady Catherine's endowed with any extraordinary talent, or any amazing virtue, which would have awed her, but money and high position alone, she thought she could face without fear.

They followed the servants into the hall, where Mr. Collins ravished its sound structure and beautiful decoration, and passed through the antechamber into the room where Lady Catherine, her daughter, and Mrs. Gingerson sat. —The lady put down her airs and rose to meet them herself; as Mrs. Collins had agreed with her husband beforehand to take care of the mutual introduction, the ceremony was so well done that it spared them all. The clichés of apology and gratitude that were supposed to be necessary.

Even though he was the one who had seen the Emperor, Sir William was completely taken aback by the splendor that filled his eyes at this moment. The little courage he had left was just enough for him to bow deeply, and then sat silently. and his daughter, almost out of her wits, sat on tiptoes on the edge of the chair, not knowing which way to turn her eyes.But Elizabeth thought she could handle it calmly, and could look calmly at the three women before her. —Lady Catherine was a tall woman, with a well-characterized face and, perhaps, charm in her youth.Her demeanor was not of the easy-going kind, nor was her manner of receiving them, which reminded her guests of their own humbleness.What is frightening about her is not her silence, but her speech is always in a high and authoritative tone, showing her self-important features, which makes Elizabeth suddenly think of Waco Mr. Ham's words; after a day's observation, she was absolutely convinced that Lady Catherine was exactly what he had described.

She looked carefully at Lady Catherine, and found that she was similar to Mr. Darcy in appearance and manner, after which she turned her eyes to Lady Catherine's daughter, who was so thin, so thin, This surprised her almost as much as Maria.In the figure and appearance of the mother and daughter, it can be said that there is no similarity.Mademoiselle de Bourgh was pale and ill-looking; her features, though good, were featureless; she spoke very little, except sometimes in low tones to Mrs. Gingerson, who was plain. , just listened to her speech intently, and often covered her eyes with her hands, and only turned her face towards the young lady.

After sitting in this way for a few minutes, the guests were all sent to a window to look out, and Mr. Collins accompanied them, pointing out each of the beauties, and Lady Catherine kindly told them, , the summer scenery here is more worth seeing.

The food at the banquet was really very rich, the servants were numerous, and the utensils for serving the dishes were just as described by Mr. Collins; , looking at his smug look, it seems that there is nothing more enjoyable in life than this. —he ate with his knife and fork, all the while admiring him with gusto; every dish was served first by him, then by Sir William, who had recovered some of his Calm enough to respond to his son-in-law, Elizabeth wondered how Lady Catherine could bear his answering antics.Lady Catherine seemed quite satisfied with their constant compliments, and often had a regal smile on her face, especially when a dish was served which the guests said they had not seen before.The dinner table did not lead to much conversation.Elizabeth would have liked to pick up what others had said, but she had no choice but to sit between Carlotti and Mademoiselle de Bourgh—the former was listening attentively to Lady Catherine's speech, and the latter was silent throughout. .Mrs. Gingerson was mainly taking care of Miss de Bourgh these days, telling her that she ate too little, and urging her to try something else.Maria thought it impossible to get her to talk about anything now, and the men just ate and sang compliments.

When the ladies returned to the drawing-room, all they had to do was to listen to Mrs. Catherine's discourse. Except for the moment when the coffee was served, the old lady never stopped talking, and she talked about every subject. The tone of time is so affirmative, as if to show that she can never allow her opinions to be opposed.She carefully and skillfully asked Carlotti about the housework, and she gave her a lot of advice on how to take care of these housework; told her how to arrange everything in a small family like her Well, instruct her how to take care of the cows and poultry.Elizabeth found that the lady would never let go of anything that offered her such an occasion for admonishing others.During her conversation with Mrs. Collins, she also asked Maria and Elizabeth all kinds of questions, especially Elizabeth because she knew so little about her family, and she also told Mrs. Collins that , Elizabeth is a very quiet and beautiful girl.In between conversations, she asked how many sisters she had, whether they were older or younger, whether any of them were getting married soon, whether they were pretty, where they were educated, where her father rode. What kind of carriage was it, and what was the name of her mother's maid? —Elizabeth felt that she had raised these questions inappropriately, but she answered them one by one calmly. —Then Lady Catherine went on:
"Your father's estate will go to Mr. Collins, won't you? For your sake," she said, turning her head to Carlotti, "I'm glad of it; It is necessary to take the property out of hand.—In Sir Lewis de Bourgh's family, it was not felt necessary to do so.—Can you play and sing, Miss Bennet?"

"A little bit later."

"Oh, well! We shall be very glad to hear you play and sing some day. Ours is very good, perhaps better than—you try it another day.—Does your sisters play and sing too? ?”

"There is a meeting."

"Why don't you sisters all come and learn?—you should all learn. The Miss Webbs can play the piano very well, and their father's income is not as good as yours.—Can you paint?"

"No, not at all."

"Oh, don't any of you sisters know?"

"No one will."

"That's strange. But I think maybe you don't have a chance. Your mother should take you to the city every spring to learn from famous teachers."

"My mother didn't object to it, but my father hated London."

"Is your governess still around?"

"We never had a governess."

"No governess! How is that possible? Five daughters were brought up in one family without a single governess!—I never heard of such a thing. Then your mothers must be happy for you." I have made great efforts in my own education."

Elizabeth could not help laughing, and assured her ladyship that the situation was not what she said it was.

"Then, who will teach you? Who will take care of you? Without tutors, your studies will be neglected?"

"Compared with some families, I think we are like this; but for the sisters among us who want to study, there are many ways to study. The family always encourages us to study, and we also have the necessary teachers. Both. If anyone is willing to be idle, she will definitely be delayed."

"Well, there is no doubt about it; but that's exactly what a governess can prevent, and if I had known your mother I should have persuaded her to take one. I repeat that there is no order There is nothing to be gained by teaching, an education which only a governess can give. Strange to say, there are many families whom I have introduced to them. It is always my pleasure to teach a young man All the four nieces of Mrs. Jiang Jinsheng’s family got the most ideal arrangements through my hands; just a few days ago, I recommended a young man to a family, she was just mentioned to me on an occasional occasion Yes, the family is very pleased with her. Oh, Mrs. Collins, did I tell you about it? Mrs. Metcal thanked me for it yesterday. She found Miss Pope a treasure. 'Lady Catherine,' She said, 'You've got me a baby.' Miss Bennet, have your sisters been out socializing, too?"

"Yes, ma'am, all attended."

"All out to socialize!—Oh, are all five sisters allowed to come out into the social circle at the same time? This is so strange! You are only the second girl in your family.—The sister is not married yet, and the younger sisters are all out to socialize Yes!—your sisters must be very young?"

"Yes, my youngest sister is not yet sixteen. Perhaps she is too young for many friends. But, madam, if you cannot help it because you are old, or if you don't want to marry sooner, then don't ask me." To call her sisters out to their proper society and amusements, I think that is a little too hard on them.—The last-born, like the first-born, have a happy youth Entitlement. To be excluded from society for such a reason—I do not think it would serve to deepen the bond between the sisters, and to mature their minds."

"Ah," said the lady, "you are so young, and so self-sufficient.—Excuse me, how old are you this year?"

"I have three grown-up younger sisters," Elizabeth replied with a smile, "Madame, I'm afraid it's hard for you to believe my real age."

Lady Catherine seemed surprised at not getting a direct answer; and Elizabeth thought that perhaps she herself was the number one who dared to joke with the lady's orderly insolence!
"I'm sure you're no more than 20 years old, so you don't have to hide your age."

"I'm under 21."

When the male guests also came here, after everyone drank tea, the card table was set up.Lady Catherine, Sir William, and Mr. and Mrs. Collins sat down to make a type of forty.Because Miss de Bourgh wanted to play casino (a card game similar to blackjack.), the two ladies had the honor to open another game for her with Mrs. Jiang Jinsheng.Their table was really dull, except that sometimes Mrs. Jiang Jinsheng said something that worried that Miss de Bourgh would feel too hot or too cold, or that the light was too strong or too weak, and she didn't say a word that was not related to the current game. There is something about it.The other table was much more lively.Lady Catherine was almost always talking—pointing out the wrong cards of the other three, or telling anecdotes of her own.Mr. Collins was incessantly agreeing with everything the lady said, thanking her for every win he had, and apologizing to her if he won too many.Sir William said little, but he was busy filling his mind with anecdotes and noble names.

When Lady Catherine and her daughter thought they had had enough, the game broke up, and then it was suggested that Mrs. Collins go back in their car, which Mrs. Collins gratefully accepted, and immediately sent for a harness.Then the hosts and guests sat around the fire, listening to Lady Catherine's opinion on the weather to-morrow.They waited until the carriage came and asked them to get into the carriage. Then they ended their lesson, and after Mr. Collins said many words of thanks and Sir William made many bows, the guests took their leave.As soon as they were out of the gate, Elizabeth's cousin asked her how she felt about her visit to Rosings, and she said something nice, in Carlotta's honor.However, what she said, though she had done so reluctantly, did not please Collins, and he was soon obliged to take the old lady's compliments upon himself.

(End of this chapter)