Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 13 Mr. Collins Visits

At breakfast the next day, Mr. Bennet said to his wife: "Honey, I hope you have prepared your lunch better today, because I expect there will be guests today."

"Which guest do you mean, my dear? I don't really know anyone except Charlotte Lucas who happens to be visiting us, and I think she'll be good enough for our usual meal." .I can't believe she eats so well at home so often."

"The guest I'm talking about is a man who will be here for the first time."

Mrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled. "A man! Another stranger! That must be Mr. Bingley, and rightly so.—Oh, Jane, you never tipped off, you cunning fellow!—Hey, Bingley I'm so glad Mr. Lay's coming. But, my God, it's bad luck, no fish today. -- Lydia, dear, ring the bell for me, and I'll tell Hill right away .”

"It's not Mr. Bingley," said her husband hastily. "As for the guest, I never saw him."

This sentence surprised the whole family.His wife and five daughters immediately pressed eagerly, much to his delight.

After teasing the curiosity of his wife and daughters for a while, he said earnestly: "A letter came to me about a month ago, and I wrote back a fortnight ago, because I thought it was A rather nerve-wracking matter, to be attended to early. The letter is from my cousin, Mr. Collins. After my death, this cousin will be able to throw you out of the house whenever he likes."

"Oh, my God," cried his wife, "I can't bear to hear you mention it. Please don't talk about that nasty guy. You can't let your own children inherit your own inheritance, but let It is the most unbearable thing in the world to be inherited by others. If I were you, I must have figured out a way to remedy this problem as soon as possible."

Jane and Elizabeth managed to explain the issue of inheritance to her.In fact, they had been trying to explain it to her, but she couldn't understand this question.She was always swearing, saying that her property could not be inherited by her five biological daughters, but it was so unreasonable to give it to someone who had nothing to do with them.

"It is indeed an injustice," said Mr. Bennet. "Mr. Collins is to inherit the Longbourne estate, and he will never be cleared of his guilt. But if you listen to his letter You may feel better about what he said in the letter, because his words of expressing his heart are not bad."

"No, I'm sure I'm not going to soften my heart. I think it's rude and hypocritical for him to write to you. I hate hypocrisy. Why doesn't he just quarrel with you like his father did?" Woolen cloth?"

"Oh, he does seem to be a little hesitant about this issue out of filial piety, and let me read the letter to you!"

Hansford village in Kent near Westerham
October [-]

Dear elder:
There used to be some rift between you and my father, which has always troubled me.Since my father passed away unfortunately, I have often thought of making up for this rift; but I have been hesitant not to do so, because I am afraid that my father hated you unceasingly during his lifetime, but I come to repair it with you today, which would be an insult to the ancestors.

"Listen, dear lady."

But I have made up my mind on this matter, because I was ordained on Easter.Madame Catherine de Bourgh, widow of the late Duke Lewis de Bourgh of Dormont, trusted and graciously promoted me to the priesthood of the diocese, and thereafter may serve my lady with the utmost fidelity, and follow the All the ceremonies prescribed by the Church of England, it is a great honor.Moreover, as a priest, I feel that I have the responsibility to do my best to enable every family to cultivate friendship and promote friendship.Therefore, I am confident that this kindness will definitely attract your attention, and you will not mind my inheritance of the Longburn property, and please accept this olive branch I offer.I am deeply disturbed that I have violated the interests of the ladies in this way, and I am extremely sorry, but please rest assured that I very much want to give them all possible compensations, and I will discuss this matter in detail later.If you have no objection to my visit, I suggest arranging to visit at four o'clock on Monday, November [-], and even stay in your residence until next Saturday.This was no inconvenience to me, for Lady Catherine would have no objection to my occasional absence from church on Sundays, provided another priest presided over the day's affairs.Greetings to Mrs. Madam and all ladies.

your well-wishers and friends
william collins

"At four o'clock, then, the quiet gentleman will be coming," said Mr. Bennet, folding up the letter. "He's a very conscientious and polite young man, he must be." I am sure he will be a valued friend, and it would be the better if Lady Catherine would be kind enough to let him come to us later."

"What he said about our daughters was quite right; and if he really intends to try to make amends, I have no objection."

Jane said: "He said he would compensate us. Although we couldn't guess what he meant, his kindness is indeed rare."

Elizabeth was greatly surprised to hear the extraordinary respect he had for Lady Catherine, and the kindness with which he was ready to christen, marry, and funeral the inhabitants of his parish.

"I suppose he must be a queer man," she said. "I don't understand. His writing seems pompous. What does he mean when he says he's terribly sorry for inheriting our property? Even if this Things can be canceled, and we don't think he is willing to cancel, is he a clear-headed person, Dad?"

"No, honey, I don't think he is. I totally think he's quite the opposite. You can see it in the humble, conceited tone of his letters. I'd really like to see him."

Mary said: "As far as the text is concerned, there seems to be nothing wrong with his letter. Although the word olive branch is not new, I think it is very appropriate to use."

Neither the letter nor the person who wrote it meant anything to Catherine and Lydia.Anyway, they felt that their cousin would never come in a "red uniform," and for weeks they had been reluctant to associate with anyone in any other color.As for their mother, the original resentment had been much repelled by a letter from Mr. Collins, and she was prepared to meet him in a rather calm manner, which seemed very strange to her husband and daughters.

Mr. Collins came punctually, and was received with great civility by the whole family. Mr. Bennet said very little; but the lady and the ladies were more than willing to chat with him, and Mr. Collins himself seemed to need no encouragement. Talk a lot, and don't plan to stop talking.He is a 25-year-old young man, tall and fat-looking, with a dignified and dignified demeanor and a strict etiquette.As soon as he sat down, he complimented Mrs. Bennet on her good fortune in having so many fine daughters.He said that he had heard people praise their beauty for a long time, but when they met today, he realized that their beauty far surpassed their reputation;No one liked to hear his compliments very much, except Mrs. Bennet.She replied with the utmost crispness: "I am sure you are a good man, sir. I wish I could be as you Chrysostom said, or they would be in a terrible state. There is something very strange about it."

"You should be talking about the inheritance of the property."

"Well, sir, I did say that. You have to admit, it's not a lucky thing for my poor girls. I don't want to blame you, because I also know that there are no such things in the world. By fate. Once a person's estate is limited to heirs, then you have no way of knowing whose hands it will fall into."

"Madame, I know very well that this matter has hurt my cousins. I have many thoughts on this subject, but I dare not speak rashly for a while. But I can assure you young ladies that when I come here, It's just to show them my admiration. I don't plan to say more at the moment, maybe when we get along better in the future..."

The host invited him to lunch, so he had to be interrupted.The ladies looked at each other and smiled.They were not the only ones Mr. Collins admired, and he inspected and admired the drawing-room, dining-room, and all the furniture in the house.Mrs. Bennet was flattered when she heard a word of praise from him; but it made her very sad to think that these things would become his future property.Even at lunch, he was so impressed that he asked the host to tell him which cousin cooked this delicious dish.When Mrs. Bennet heard his words, she couldn't help scolding him.She told him rather unceremoniously that the family could still afford a decent cook, and that the daughters did not need to do the cooking themselves.He begged her forgiveness, not to take offense.So, Mrs. Bennet said in a soft voice, she didn't blame him at all, but he kept making apologies for a quarter of an hour.

(End of this chapter)