Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 53

The next morning, everyone expected Mr. Bennet to send a letter, but when the postman came, he did not bring a piece of paper from him.The family members knew that he was always too lazy to write letters, and that he always procrastinated if he could, but at this time, they all hoped that he would be more reluctant.Since there was no letter, they had to think that he had nothing pleasant to report, and even so they wished to make the matter clear.Mr. Gardiner, too, wished to see a few letters before leaving.

After Mr. Gardiner went, it was thought that at least some of the course of events would be heard more often in the future.As he went away he promised to persuade Mr. Bennet to come back as soon as possible.When their mother heard these words, she was very comforted, and she thought that only in this way could she ensure that her husband would not be killed in the duel.

Mrs. Gardner and her children were staying in Hertfordshire for a few more days, because she felt that staying here would give her nieces an extra helping hand.She could attend to Mrs. Bennet for them, and comfort them when they were free.My aunt often came to see them too, and, as she said, she came to cheer them up and cheer them up, but she never came without talking about Wickham's luxury, and every time New examples can be cited.Every time she left, it made them even more depressed than before she hadn't come.

Three months ago, nearly all of Meryton were adoring the man; three months later, all of Meryton were speaking ill of him.They said he owed a debt to every merchant in the area; they accused him of deceiving women, and said that every merchant's house had been spoiled by him.Everyone said he was the worst young man in the world, and everyone began to find that they had never trusted his hypocrisy.Although Elizabeth only half-believed these words, she had long believed that her sister would be destroyed in his hands, so of course she was even more convinced.Jane, who had been far from being even half-suspicious, was almost disappointed—for so much time had passed that, if they had both gone to Scotland, there would be news by now.In this way, even if she had never been completely disappointed, of course she would be disappointed now.

Mr. Gardiner left Longburn on Sunday.On Tuesday his wife received a letter from him.He found out his brother-in-law as soon as he got there, he wrote, and persuaded him to go to Tennessee Street; before he came to London, Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and Clapham, but he didn't know anything about it. and said that he had decided to inquire about the various hotels in the city, for Mr. Bennet thought that Wickham and Lydia would probably stay in hotels when they arrived in London, and then slowly look for lodgings.Mr. Gardner himself does not count on much to be gained from this approach.However, since my brother-in-law insisted on doing that, I had no choice but to help him start it.It also stated that Mr. Bennet had no intention of leaving London at all for the time being, and he promised to write again shortly.

The letter also included the following postscript:

I have written to Colonel Forster to ask him, if he can, to find out as many of the young lad's closest friends in the militia as possible, if any of them know what part of the town Wickham is hiding in.It would be very useful if we had such persons to consult and get some clues.At present, we still have no way of knowing.Perhaps Colonel Firth will try to make this work to our satisfaction.But I thought about it again, and it occurred to me that Lizzy, perhaps, knew better than anyone else what kind of relations he had now.

Elizabeth was well aware of why she received such admiration, but it was a pity that she could not provide any satisfactory materials, so she could not bear such compliments.

She had never heard of Wickham's relations with him, except that of his parents, both of whom had been dead for many years.Some of his friends in the militia in the Midlands might provide some material, and although she couldn't have too much hope for it, she could give it a try after all.

The Longburn family is very anxious every day, and the most anxious time is waiting for the postman to deliver the letter.Regardless of whether the letter reported good news or bad news, it was always told to everyone, and it was hoped that important news would arrive the next day.

Though Mr. Gardiner had not yet sent them a second letter, they had received a letter from elsewhere, and it turned out that Mr. Collins had sent a letter to their father.Jane had been entrusted by her father to open and read all the letters on his behalf, so she opened and read this letter.Elizabeth also knew that Mr. Collins' letters were always written strangely, so she read them together next to Jane.The letter reads as follows:
From Mr. Elder:
I received a letter from Hertfordshire yesterday, and learned that the husband is currently in a state of distress and distress.Wen Zhi, who is not a flattery and a humble man, expresses deep sympathy to Mr. personally or to the old and young in the family.As far as the status and position of not being a sycophant is concerned, I should express my condolences, not to mention being in harmony with the Zunfu, I feel that there is no shirkable responsibility.For all reason, this unfortunate incident is unavoidable. Once the reputation of Gai's family is ruined, there will never be a day to clean it up. What is worse than this to hurt the hearts of parents in the world?I knew this earlier, but I hope that it will be lucky for him to die as soon as possible.If you are not a sycophant, you can only express your condolences and condolences, so you can talk about magnanimity.According to her wife Charlotte, Qianjin's wanton running this time was actually caused by her usual over-indulgence, which is especially sad.It's just that I don't think that the daughter is young enough, but she made a big mistake, which shows her own bad nature; sir, you don't have to blame yourself too much.A few days ago, I met Mrs. Catherine and her daughter, and told me about it. The wife and others also felt differently from the unsycophant couple.Mrs. Domon coincided with her foolish opinion, thinking that the daughter's misstep had dishonored her family's prestige, which made her future relatives discouraged, and affected her sister's lifelong happiness.Thinking of this, Ling Nian couldn't help but recall what happened in November last year, and he felt very lucky, otherwise, it would be a done deal, and he would surely bring shame on himself and suffer a lot.Mr. Jingqi is good at comforting himself, letting him belittle himself and reaping the fruit of himself is not worthy of pity. (abbreviated below)

Mr. Gardiner waited until Colonel Forster's reply had come before writing a second letter to Longburn.There was no good news in the letter.It was not known whether Wickham had any relations with him, but it was true that he had no living relatives.He used to have a lot of friends, but since he joined the militia, he has become estranged from them, so there is no one to report something about him.The reason why he kept the secret this time is said to be because he owed a large amount of gambling debts before he left, and he is currently very poor and unable to repay; and it is also because he is afraid of being discovered by Lydia's relatives and friends.Colonel Forster thought that more than £1000 would be needed to pay off his Brighton debts.Although he has a lot of debts in this town, his gambling debts are even more considerable.Mr. Gardner had no intention of keeping these matters from the Longburns.

Jane was terrified, and could not help exclaiming, "What a gambler! This is quite unexpected. I never thought of it."

Mr. Gardiner's letter added that their father would be home tomorrow (Saturday).It turned out that the two of them worked hard, but they had no results, and they were very depressed. Therefore, Mr. Bennett agreed to his uncle's request and went home immediately, leaving everything to Gardner.

The daughters thought that their mother would be very proud when they heard the news that their mother was so worried that their father would be beaten to death, but they didn't know it.

Mrs. Bennet cried: "What! He didn't find poor Lydia, did he come back alone? He shouldn't have left London if he didn't find them both. Who's going to talk to Will when he's gone?" Coxham dueling, forcing him to marry Lydia?"

Mrs. Gardner wanted to go home too, and she resolved to take the children back to London on the very day Mr. Bennet left for Longburn.On the day of departure, a carriage can be sent from here to take her to the first stop, and then pick up the master back by the way.

Mrs. Gardiner was still in a daze about Elizabeth and her friend in Derbyshire after Mrs. Gardner's departure.In fact, since the time when I was in Derby County, I have never figured it out.The niece never took the initiative to mention his name in front of her uncles and parents.She thought that when she came back, there would be a letter from that gentleman, but it turned out not to be the case.Elizabeth had never received a letter from Pemberley.

She saw that her niece was depressed, but such unfortunate things happened in the family, so it was inevitable, so there was no need to implicate this phenomenon in other reasons.Therefore, she still couldn't figure it out.Only Elizabeth herself knew what she was thinking, and she thought that if she didn't know Darcy, the shame of Lydia might make her feel better, and it might save her a few sleepless nights.

Mr. Bennet returned home with the same resigned look.He still didn't talk much as usual, and didn't mention what he was going out for this time, and it took a long time for the daughters to dare to mention it.

It was not until the afternoon, when he had tea with them, that Elizabeth spoke boldly of the matter.She first briefly said that he must have suffered a lot this time, which made her very sad, but he replied: "Don't say such things. Who else should suffer but myself? Myself What you do should be done by yourself.”

Elizabeth comforted him and said, "Don't blame yourself too much."

"Your persuasion is in vain. It is human nature to feel sorry for yourself! No, Lizzy, I have never complained about myself in my life. Let me have a taste of it this time. I am not afraid of depression and illness. It will pass."

"Did you think they'd be in London?"

"Yes, and where else could they hide so well?"

Katie added: "And Lydia always wanted to go to London."

The father said coldly: "Then, she is very proud. She may live there for a while."

After a moment of silence, he went on to say: "Lizzy, the words you persuaded me in May were indeed correct, and I definitely don't blame you. Judging from the current incident, you are indeed wise."

Miss Bennet interrupted their conversation by entering to bring her mother tea.

Mr. Bennet exclaimed: "It's such a blessing, it's so comfortable, and it's unlucky to be elegant! Someday I'll come and sit in your study, wearing a nightcap and pajamas, just like you." , try to make trouble for someone, or wait until Katie elopes."

"I won't elope, Pa. If I go to Brighton, I'll behave like Lydia," said Katie crossly.

"You go to Brighton! I wouldn't dare go as near East Longbourne as I would bet fifty pounds! No, Katie, at least I've learned to be careful, I must show you how good I am. From now on, no officer will be allowed to enter my door, or even pass through our village. You will definitely not be allowed to go to the ball unless you dance among your sisters. You will not be allowed to go out One step at home, unless you have at least 10 minutes a day at home to behave like a human being."

Kitty took these menacing words seriously, and burst into tears.

Mr. Bennet said quickly: "Come on, come on, don't be sad. If you can be a good girl for ten years from today, then when the ten years expire, I will definitely take you to see the military parade."

(End of this chapter)