Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 44 Travel North to Derbyshire

Had Elizabeth been asked to speak of the happiness of marriage, and the pleasures of home, in the light of her own family, she would have had nothing good to say.Her father married such a mentally poor and narrow-minded woman because of his lust for youth and beauty.Soon after the marriage, his deep affection for his wife came to an end.The mutual respect, love, and confidence of husband and wife were lost forever, and his ideal of domestic happiness was completely overturned.For others, those who have brought misfortune because of their own rashness will often comfort themselves with absurd or improper pleasure, but Mr. Bennet does not like this.He loves country scenery and reading for self-entertainment, which is his greatest pleasure.As for his wife, he had no other kindness towards her than his amusement in her ignorance and stupidity.Generally speaking, a man would not want to find this kind of pleasure in his wife, but since a wise man has no ability to find other things, of course he has to resign himself to fate.

However, Elizabeth is not blind to her father's shortcomings.She felt pain whenever she saw it, but she respected his talent and thanked him for his love of reading, so she tried to ignore what could not have been ignored, and even if the father should not let the children look down on their mother, As a result, the old couple became less and less able to get along with each other with mutual respect and love, and she tried not to think about it.But never before had she experienced so deeply the disadvantages of unsatisfactory marriages for children;If the faculties of the father are well employed, it may at least preserve the decency of the daughters, if not extend the insight of the mother.

Elizabeth was certainly pleased that Wickham was gone, but there was nothing else to satisfy her when the militia was gone.The banquets outside were not as many and interesting as before, and at home, I could only hear my mother and sister complaining about the dullness of life all day long, which cast a shadow over the house; as for Katie, those who made her distracted had left She will return to normal soon; but she has another younger sister, who has a bad temperament, and now she is in the double dangerous environment of the barracks and the bathing place, so she will naturally be more daring and dissolute, and make a bigger breakthrough. disaster.On the whole, therefore, she felt (and indeed she had felt it for a time before) that what she had longed for to come was not as satisfying as she expected it to be when it did come.

Now, she had to look forward to the beginning of real happiness in the future, so she found something else to put her hopes and wishes on, indulged in the mood of anticipation, comforted herself for a while, and prepared to suffer disappointment again.The one thing she is most proud of now is that she will soon be able to travel to the Lake District. Because her mother and Katie are unhappy and the quarrel is making the family restless, the thought of going out gives her the greatest comfort. If Jane can also Take this trip and it's perfect.

She thought to herself: "It's lucky, I can still have some hope. If everything is well arranged, I will be disappointed. I will always regret that my sister can't go together, but I can't do it." On the contrary, it keeps me hopeful, so that the pleasure I look forward to may be realized. Perfect plans never succeed, and only a little distress can generally prevent disappointment."

Before Lydia left, she promised to write to her mother and Katie often, telling them in detail about the journey, but after she left, the family always had to wait a long time for a letter from her. , and each letter is often only a few lines.Her letters to her mother said nothing more than that they had just returned from the library, and that they had been accompanied by many officers; A new frock was bought, a parasol, and she could have described them in detail, but Mrs. Foster was calling her, and they were going to the barracks soon, and so on.As for her letter to Katie, though much longer, it was also very empty, because there were many important things that could not be written.

After two or three weeks of her absence, Longburn regained its cheerfulness, and everything flourished.Families that had been in town for the winter had moved back, people were wearing new summer clothes, and there were summer dates everywhere.Mrs. Bennet was whining as usual.

By the middle of June, Katie had recovered enough to go to Meryton without tears.Elizabeth was glad to see it, and she hoped that by Christmas Katie would be quite sensible enough not to mention the officers several times a day, unless the War Department, regardless of whether they were dead or alive, would play another "prank" and regroup the crew. Come and quarter at Meryton.

The date of their northward journey was approaching, and there were but two weeks left, when a letter from Mrs. Gardner delayed their journey and reduced the scope of their journey.The letter stated that because of Mr. Gardner's business, the trip must be postponed for two weeks, and he will not be able to leave until July, and because he has to return to London after a one-month trip, the date is very short, and the long-distance trip cannot be carried out according to the original plan. Travel, to see the mountains and rivers, at least not at the leisure which had been planned; the Lake District must be abandoned, and the journey shortened to Derbyshire.In fact, Derbyshire was enough for them to visit, enough to fill up their short three weeks' travel schedule, and Mrs. Gardner was very much looking forward to that place.She had lived there for several years before, and now she was able to revisit the old place. After a few days, she couldn't help being fascinated by the scenic spots of Matlock, Wordsworth, Pigeon Forge, and Xiufu.

This letter disappointed Elizabeth very much.She originally wanted to enjoy the scenery of the Lake District, but now she still feels that she has plenty of time.However, since she had no right to object, and her mood was free and easy, she felt better after a while.

When Derbyshire is mentioned, it inevitably brings up many associations in her.When she saw the name of the place, she couldn't help thinking of Pemberley and the owner of Pemberley.She said: "I will definitely be able to walk into his hometown swaggeringly, and grab a few transparent crystals when he doesn't know it."

The trip was delayed again and again.My aunt and uncle will not be here for another four weeks.

Four weeks passed before the Gardners finally arrived in Longburn with their four children.Among the four children are two girls, one is six years old and the other is eight years old, and the other two boys are still young.The children will stay here and be looked after by their cousin Jane, because they all like Jane, and Jane's steady manner and soft disposition are very suitable whether she teaches the children to read, plays with them, or takes care of them.

The Gardners only stayed at Longburn for one night, and they took Elizabeth to explore new places early the next morning.These traveling companions are indeed very suitable. The so-called suitable means that everyone is in good health and gentle temperament. They can bear inconveniences encountered on the road.All of them are full of vitality, so they can naturally communicate happily. In addition, they are all emotional and intelligent. In case of any disappointing things in other places, they can still have a good time with each other.

It is not the intention of this book to describe the sights of Derbyshire in detail, but enough is known of the places of interest through which their journey must pass, such as Oxford, Blaine, Warwick, Kenilworth, Birmingham, etc. Nor do I intend to write.Now only a small part of Derbyshire will be mentioned.Let's say that there is a small town called Lambertton, where the Gardiners used to live, and she recently heard that some acquaintances still live there, so after seeing all the places of interest in the country, she detoured there. have a look.

Elizabeth heard her aunt say that Pemberley was less than five miles from Lambethton, and although it was not necessary, it was only a detour of a mile or two.When discussing the journey the night before, Mrs. Gardiner said she would like to go there again, and Mr. Gardner agreed, so they came to ask Elizabeth for permission.

The aunt said to her: "My dear, you have heard of that place for a long time. Would you like to see it? Many of your friends are related to it. Wickham spent all his boyhood there." ,you know."

Elizabeth was said to be embarrassed.She felt it unnecessary to go to Pemberley, so she said she did not want to go.She only said that she had seen enough tall buildings and splendid curtains, and she really had no intention of browsing.

Mrs. Gardiner called her stupid, and said: "If there were only a splendid house, I would not care about it, but the scenery is lovely, and the woods are the most beautiful in the country. "

Elizabeth fell silent, but her disapproval remained.It immediately occurred to her that if she went there for sightseeing, she might run into Mr. Darcy, and how bad it would be!She blushed when she thought of this, thinking that she might as well explain the matter to her aunt frankly, so as not to take such a big risk.But on second thought it was not right, and at last decided to inquire secretly whether there was anyone in Mr. Darcy's house;

When she was going to bed at night, she asked the maid whether Pemberley was a good place, and who was the master's name, and asked her master whether he would come back to cool off with fear.This last question of hers got the answer she could only wish for: they will not come back.

She no longer had to be afraid, but she gradually developed a great curiosity to see the house for herself.The old story was repeated the next morning, and her aunt came again to ask her permission, and she promptly replied, with an air of indifference, that she had nothing against the plan, and they resolved to go to Pemberley.

(End of this chapter)