Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 17 Darcy in the Mouth of Wickham (2)
"The wording of the inheritance in the will is very vague, so I may not be able to appeal in accordance with the law. It stands to reason that a person who wants to save face will not doubt the intention of the ancestors; but Mr. Darcy has to doubt, or he thinks The will only stated that I was promoted conditionally, but he insisted on saying that I was wasteful and absurd, and wanted to cancel all my rights. In a word, it’s enough to say nothing, and all kinds of bad things have been said. The position of pastor was two years ago It was vacant, and that was the year when I was old enough to take and hold that pay, but it was given to someone else. I really can't reproach myself for any mistake that deserves to lose that pay. Unless it's my nature Irritable, outspoken, sometimes it is inevitable to say a few straight things about him in front of others, and even contradict him face to face, that's all. It's just that we are completely different people, and he hates me because of it."

"This is appalling! He should be publicly humiliated."

"Sooner or later someone will come to disgrace him, but I will never make it difficult for him. Unless I am ungrateful to his ancestors, I will never expose him and fight against him."

Elizabeth greatly admired his insight, and found him all the more handsome after what he had said.

After a while, she said again: "But what is his intention? Why does he want to treat others like this?"

"It was nothing more than a determination to get on with me outright, and it has been suggested that he had done it out of a certain degree of jealousy. If old Mr. Darcy had treated me less well, his son would have gotten on better with me. I believe It was because his father loved me so much that he felt wronged since he was a child. He was narrow-minded and couldn't tolerate me competing with him or me being better than him."

"I can't imagine that Mr. Darcy could be so bad. Although I never had a good feeling for him, I didn't have a very bad feeling for him. I just thought he looked down on people, but I never thought he was so mean--with such Vicious revenge is so unreasonable and inhumane!"

She thought for a while, and then went on: "I do remember that once, at Netherfield, he said smugly that he could not get rid of the grudges he had with people, that he was born to hold grudges. It’s really disgusting.”

Wickham replied: "In this matter, my opinion may not be reliable, because I can't help prejudice against him."

Elizabeth thought for a while, and then said loudly: "You are his father's godson, friend, and someone his father valued highly. How could he abuse you like this!"

She almost uttered the words: "How could he treat a young man like you like this? Just because of your good looks, you must be popular." However, when she said it, she changed it to something like this Sentence: "Besides, you have been with him since you were a child, and as you said, the relationship is very close."

"We grew up in the same parish, on the same estate. We spent most of our teenage years together...living in the same house, playing together, loved by the same father. My father My business is the one that your uncle Mr. Philip is very good at. However, my late father benefited greatly from his good family management. Therefore, when my late father was dying, he offered to pay all my living expenses. I believe he did this, on the one hand, to be grateful to his late father, and on the other hand, to love me."

Elizabeth exclaimed: "How strange! How abominable! I can't understand how this Mr. Darcy, who has so much self-respect, should treat you so badly! If there is no other better reason, then he should be so proud of his personality." Disdain for such insidiousness—insidious, I must say.”

"Strangely enough," replied Wickham, "that, in the last analysis, everything he does is basically a matter of arrogance, and arrogance is his best friend. He is supposed to be the most virtuous, being so haughty. But People often contradict themselves, and he treats me more emotionally than arrogantly."

"What good is his abominable arrogance doing to himself?"

"It's good. It often makes a man appear generous—spending money, being courteous, subsidizing tenants, helping the poor. He did it because he was proud of his ancestry, and he was very proud of his father. He is also very proud. He mainly wants not to disgrace the lintel, not to disappoint the public, and not to lose the reputation of the Pemberley Wang family. He also has the pride of being a brother, this pride, coupled with some brotherhood , made him a kind and careful protector to his sister; and you will hear him all agree that he is the most considerate and best brother."

"What kind of girl is Miss Darcy?"

Wickham shook his head and said: "I wish I could call her lovely. I can't bear to say a bad word about any of the Darcys. But she's too much like her brother--very, very haughty. She As a child she was very kind, very agreeable, and very fond of me; I used to play with her for hours on end, but now I don't give her much thought. She is very beautiful, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and as far as I know. She was well-informed, and very capable. She lived in London after her father died, and a lady lived with her and taught her to read."

They chattered on and on about other things, at intervals, until Elizabeth could not help returning to the original subject.She said: "I am very surprised that he should become a confidant with Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bingley is so good-natured, and he is very amiable, how can he become a good friend with such a man? How can they?" Get along? Do you know Mr. Bingley?"

"I do not recognize."

"He's really good-natured and agreeable. He won't understand what Mr. Darcy is like."

"Perhaps not. But Mr. Darcy has a way of pleasing people. He has a good artifice, and he can laugh when he thinks it worthwhile to talk to people. He is in the presence of those who are like himself. In front of those who are not as good as him, he is completely different. He is arrogant everywhere, but when he is with rich and rich people, he appears to be aboveboard, fair and honest, reasonable, save face, and maybe even amiable , it all depends on the value and status of others."

The Whistler was over, and the players crowded round another table, with Mr Collins standing between his cousin Elizabeth and Mrs Philip.Mrs. Philips asked him, as usual, if he had won.He didn't win, he totally lost.Mrs. Philip expressed regret for him, but he said solemnly that there was no need to worry about trivial matters, because he didn't value money at all, and asked her not to feel uneasy.

He said: "I know very well, ma'am, that as long as one sits down at a poker table, one's luck depends on one's luck, and luckily I don't take five shillings seriously. Of course there are plenty of people who don't like me." Speaking, it is also thanks to Mrs. Catherine de Bourgh, with her, I don't have to worry about this small amount."

These words attracted Mr. Wickham's attention.Wickham cast a few glances at Mr. Collins, and then asked Elizabeth in a low voice if this relation of hers was well known to the de Bauer family.

Elizabeth replied: "Lady Catherine de Bourgh recently offered him a priesthood. I can hardly understand how Mr. Collins was so appreciated by her, but he must not have known her long."

"I suppose you know that Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady Anne Darcy are sisters. Lady Catherine is the aunt of the present Mr. Darcy."

"No, I really don't. I don't know anything about Lady Catherine's relations. I didn't know of her until the day before yesterday."

"Her daughter, Mademoiselle de Bourgh, will inherit a large fortune, and it is believed that she and her cousin will combine the two estates."

Elizabeth could not help laughing at this, for it reminded her of poor Miss Bingley.If Darcy really has another lover, all Miss Bingley's attentions are in vain, her concern for Darcy's sister and her admiration for Darcy himself are all in vain.

"Mr. Collins is full of praise for Lady Catherine and her daughter, but hearing him talk about the lady, there are some places that make me suspect that he has said too much, and is fascinated by her gratitude. Although she is His benefactor, she is still a woman who is both arrogant and arrogant."

"I believe she has both," replied Wickham. "I haven't seen her for many years, but I've always hated her because she's bossy and rude. I say she is very reasonable, but I think people praise her for her ability because she is rich and powerful, and because she is domineering, and she has such a great nephew. People who are educated by society go to curry favor with him."

Elizabeth admitted that he had a good point in what he said.The two of them continued their conversation, in a very congenial manner, till it was at supper after the card game that the other ladies had an opportunity to share a little of Mr. Wickham's attentions.Mrs. Philip's guests were making too much noise to continue the conversation, but his manner alone was enough to please everyone.He was very witty in his words and very gentle in his actions.When Elizabeth left, he was alone in her mind.All the way home she thought of Mr. Wickham, and what he had said to her.But neither Lydia nor Mr. Collins had been silent all the way, so that she had no occasion to mention his name.Lydia talked incessantly of the lottery, of when she had lost and which time she had won; He didn't care about losing a few dollars, and he recited the dinner dishes one by one, saying repeatedly that he was afraid that he would squeeze his cousins.He had too much to say, and he was not finished when the carriage stopped at Longburn's house.

(End of this chapter)