Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 40 (1)
When Elizabeth awoke next morning, her mind was still full of the thoughts and thoughts of the night before when she closed her eyes for the last time.She had not yet recovered from the surprise she had felt the day before; and as it was impossible to think of anything else, and to do anything else, she resolved to go for a walk as soon as breakfast was over.As she was about to go straight up the path which she usually liked to follow, she suddenly remembered that Mr. Darcy sometimes came here, and she changed her mind, and instead of going into the garden, she came upon the path which led away from the road.She continued walking along the garden fence, and presently passed a garden gate.

After walking along this path for two or three times, she was attracted by the pleasant scenery in the morning, and she could not help but stop in front of the garden gates and look into the garden.She had spent five weeks in Kent, and the country had undergone a great change, and the early green trees were growing greener every day.When she was about to go further, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a man in the grove adjacent to the garden; he was walking towards this side; worried that it was Mr Darcy, she hurried back .But the person who came forward was already so close that she could see her clearly, and he was walking quickly here, calling her name.She had turned away and walked away, but when she heard her name being called, and knowing it was Mr. Darcy, she went back towards the garden gate.Mr. Darcy, who was at the garden gate at this time, produced a letter for her, which she accepted involuntarily.He said with a proud and calm face: "I have been walking in the woods for a while, hoping to meet you. Would you like to take the trouble to read this letter from me?" After speaking, he bowed slightly , went into the woods and disappeared.

Elizabeth did not expect to get any pleasure from this letter, but out of a very strong curiosity, she opened it, and to her surprise, there were two pages of letter paper in the envelope, each with a They are all densely written.With such a large two-page letter paper, the envelope also looked bulging.As she walked along the path, she began to read.The letter was written at Rosings at eight o'clock this morning, and here is what it said: ?

"Miss, when you have this letter, don't be alarmed, you needn't be afraid that it will bring back in it those feelings of mine which so disgusted you last night. I did not mention in the letter the matter which has disturbed us. Things that are difficult to forget at once, so as not to cause you pain and embarrass myself, would have spared me the effort it would have taken me to write this letter and yours to read it, if it had not been for the urging of my conscience and character. I can't do this. So you must forgive me for asking to read this letter at night; I know you don't want to read it emotionally, but I beg you to read it calmly.

The two things you accused me of last night were of a completely different nature and of a different priority.The first charge you accuse me of, is that I have separated Mr. Bingley and your sister without the slightest regard for their affection; the second is that I failed to perform a series of duties. Promises, with no regard for decency, ruined Mr. Wickham's wealth and his bright future, and abandoned my childhood friend unscrupulously and unscrupulously-the unanimously recognized favor of my father during his lifetime. Young people who have nothing else to rely on under the protection of our parents, who have grown up in our parents' expectation of getting what we promised - this kind of behavior is simply a kind of moral decline, compared with breaking up a couple who have just been together Zhou's men and women are nothing.

However, when you have read the following account of my actions and motives, I hope you will not criticize me in every way as severely as you did last night.In the process of explaining them as necessary, if I have to say something that hurt your feelings, I can only say that you forgive me-and since I have to-then it would seem ridiculous to apologize blindly. .I hadn't been in Hertfordshire a few days before I saw it as well as everybody else, that Bingley was better for your sister than any other country girl—but only at Netherfield. It was only on the night of the ball that I realized that his affection for Ling was serious.I've seen him involved in relationships a few times before.When I had the honor of dancing with you at that ball, it was only by chance mention by Sir William Lucas that I knew that Bingley's affection for your sister had begun to give the public the impression that they would be married. It's a happy match.Sir Lucas spoke of the match with certainty, and it was only a question of how soon the wedding should take place.

From that time on I began to watch my friend's every move; and I found in him a love for Miss Bennet such as I had never seen before in his dealings with other women.I have also observed your sister--her expression and demeanor are frank, cheerful, and attentive, but there is no sign of any special emotion. From watching her carefully that night, I am convinced that although she Gladly accepted his attentions, but she herself was not moved to encourage his favors--if it is not your fault here, it must be my fault.Your intimate knowledge of your sister certainly makes this possible--if so, and if it were my delusion that caused your sister pain, your resentment would not be unreasonable.I will, however, say without hesitation that the mildness and tranquility of your sister's expression and manner would have led the sharpest observer to conclude that, notwithstanding her amiable disposition, her The heart is difficult to be easily moved.

I hope her heart is not touched, that's for sure--but I dare say that I usually make my inquiries and decisions independently of my wishes or scruples--I don't want her to I think she is so without being tempted-the reason why I think so is based on a fair judgment, just as my hope also has its reasons.My objection to their marriage is not merely from the reasons I gave you last night, which I set aside with great emotional force; As much as I value it.There are other damning reasons here--reasons which still exist and have equal weight in both marriages, but which I have long since tried to forget, since they are not before our eyes. up.

These reasons must be briefly mentioned here-your mother's family, though not satisfactory on the part of the family, is always in perfect harmony with herself, your three sisters, and sometimes your father. It pales in comparison to the lack of manners.Please forgive my bluntness.I don't want to offend you either.However, in the midst of your anxiety at the shortcomings of your dear ones, and your displeasure at my mention of theirs, you may take comfort in thinking of yourself and your sister, both of you. Behaved in a dignified manner, the accusations against your family were not for the two of you, and your knowledge and personality, as well as your conduct, are highly praised by all.One more thing I would like to mention is that, from what I saw that night, I established my opinion of each person, and all kinds of thoughts I had before were strengthened, and I felt that I had to stop my friend. Let him enter into what I think is the most unfortunate marriage.

He left Netherfield the next day for London, and, as I am sure you will remember, he expected to return soon.Now let me talk about my role here.It turned out that his sister had the same apprehensions as I had in the matter; and we both soon discovered our unity of affection on this point; The work of returning had to be done at once, and we immediately resolved to join him directly in London—and so we set off.Arriving in London, I immediately set to work persuading my friend, pointing out to him again and again the evils of his choice.But though this admonition of mine may have delayed his decision, I do not think it would have prevented the marriage in the end, had I not hesitated to further assure him that there was indeed no love affair on your sister's part. .Before that, he thought that she reciprocated his affection with true affection, even though her affection was not as deep as his.Bingley was modest by nature, and often relied more on my judgment than on his own.So it was not very difficult to convince him that he had deceived his own eyes.

(End of this chapter)