Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 7 Netherfield Visit

Mr. Bennet's income of two thousand pounds a year comes down to the fact that almost the whole of his fortune is concentrated in one estate.This industry is really unfortunate for the daughter.Because he has no son, the property has to be inherited by a distant relative. As for their mother's private house money, it can be considered a large sum in their family, but in fact it is far from being able to make up for his loss.

Mrs. Bennet's father had been a lawyer in Meryton, and had left her an inheritance of four thousand pounds.She had a younger sister, who married her father's clerk, and her brother-in-law then took over her father's business; and she had a brother, who lived in London, and who carried on a successful business.

The village of Longburn was but a mile from Meryton, a distance which was very convenient for the young ladies, who used to go there three or four times a week, to see their aunt, and Check out a shop over there that sells women's hats.The two youngest sisters of the Bennet family, Catherine and Lydia, are particularly fond of it. They are much less concerned than their sisters, and whenever there is no better entertainment, they must go to Meryton to pass the good time. Time, and at night there will be something to talk about.There is usually no news in this village, but they always try to find some from their aunt.A group of militiamen came nearby recently, and of course they had more sources of news, which made them even more excited.Here the regiment was to be stationed all winter, and Meryton was the headquarters.

Since then, every visit to Mrs. Philips has yielded the most interesting news.They would inquire about the names of several officers and their social relations every day.Soon, they even knew the residences of the officers; afterward, the ladies got to know them directly.Mr. Philip's visits to the officers one by one opened up an unexpected source of happiness for Mrs. Philip's nieces and aunts.Now, they cannot do without those officers.The mention of Mr. Bingley's vast fortune, which had previously delighted their mothers, now seemed to them nothing compared with the uniforms of the officers.

One morning, Mr. Bennet heard them talking on this subject eloquently, and he could not help saying sarcastically: "From the way you talk, I think you are really stupid girls. Before I was only half-believed, but now I completely believe it." .”

Catherine felt a little uneasy when he said that, but she didn't answer.Lydia, however, paid little attention to what her father said, and went on to tell how much she adored Captain Carter, and wished to see him that day, for he was leaving for London to-morrow morning.

Mrs. Bennet said to her husband: "I am surprised, my dear, that you always like to say your own children are stupid. In my opinion, I can look down on other people's children, but I will never look down on my own children. "

"If my own children were really stupid, I would never want to be without self-knowledge."

"You are right, but in fact, they are all very smart."

"We two really don't see eye to eye on this point. I would have liked us to agree in every way. But it's very stupid to talk about our two little girls; So far, my opinion is completely different from yours."

"My dear, you can't expect these girls to have the same sense as their parents. When they grow up to our age, they will probably be like us and won't think of officers anymore. I used to Very fond of 'red uniforms for British soldiers.'—Of course, I still love 'red uniforms' very much. If there is a handsome young colonel with an income of five or six thousand pounds a year, I will give it to any of my daughters I would never refuse him. I was at Sir William's one night, and I saw Colonel Forster in uniform, and what a man!"

"Mother," cried Lydia, "my aunt says Colonel Forster and Captain Carter don't go to Miss Jean's as often as they did when they first came; Book office' and others."

Mrs. Bennet was about to answer, when a footman entered, and brought a letter for Miss Bennet.The letter came from Netherfield, and the valet was waiting for it.Mrs. Bennet's eyes lit up with pleasure.While Jane was reading the letter, she cried out anxiously: "Hey, Jane, who's the letter? What's it saying? How is it said? Come, Jane, hurry up and tell us; hurry up!" Ah, dear baby!"

"It's from Miss Bingley," said Jane, reading the letter—

My dear friend, . . . if you don't do me the honor of coming to dinner with Louisa and me at the humble house today, she and I will be sorry for it. ——Two women talk together all day long, and in the end they never stop fighting.Hope to come as soon as possible after receiving the letter.My brother and some of his friends were going to dine with the officers.

your forever friend
Caroline Bingley
"Dinner with the officers!" cried Lydia; "how come my aunt didn't tell us about it?"

"To dine at someone's house?" said Mrs. Bennet. "What a bad luck!"

"Can I go by car?" Jane asked.

"No, dear, you'd better ride over. It looks like it's going to rain, and if it does you can spend the night there."

"That's a good idea," said Elizabeth, "if you're sure they won't send her back."

"Oh, Mr. Bingley's carriage is to take his friend to Meryton, and the couple have a carriage without a horse."

"I'd rather go by carriage."

"But, my dear, your papa can't get a cart-horse just now.—the farm is going for horses now, isn't it, my dear?"

"The farm often uses horses, but unfortunately there are not many of them in my hands."

Elizabeth said: "However, if it comes into your hands today, it will do what mother wants."

She finally forced her father to admit that...the horses that pulled the cart had other uses.So Jane had to ride another horse.Her mother walked her to the door, and said cheerfully many words of hope that the weather would turn bad.Her words came true, because not long after Jane left, it began to rain heavily.The younger sisters were all worried about her, but she was the only one who was very happy.

The heavy rain did not stop throughout the evening.Of course Jane couldn't come back.

Mrs. Bennet said over and over again: "It's a good thing I came up with such a good idea!" as if she was responsible for the rain in the old days.However, how much happiness her "magical calculation" has caused is not known until the next morning.

Before breakfast was finished, Netherfield Manor sent a letter to Elizabeth:

My dear Lizzy, . . . I do not feel very well this morning, and I think it may be because of the rain yesterday.I am very grateful to the good friends here for their concern. I will not go home until I feel better.My friends have repeatedly asked Dr. Jones to see me, so don't be surprised if he comes to me.I just have a sore throat and head, nothing major.

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When Elizabeth read the letter, Mr. Bennet said to his wife: "Oh, my good lady, if your daughter is seriously ill--in case she should never recover from it--it will be comforting, because she is a servant of the church. Bingley at your command."

"Oh, is this going to kill her all at once? There's no reason why a little cold will kill her! They will take good care of her. As long as she stays there, she will be fine. If there is a car, I will I want to see her too."

It was Elizabeth who was really anxious. She decided to go there regardless of whether she had a car or not.She can't ride a horse, so the only way is to walk.She spoke of her plan.

Her mother yelled: "How stupid you are! The road is so muddy, you can't figure it out! When you get there, you won't look like anyone."

"I just want to see Jane."

"Lizzy," said her father, "do you mean that I should get you some horses for your carriage?"

"Of course not. I'm not afraid of walking. I just want to go. It's nothing. It's only three miles. I can make it back to dinner."

At this time, Mary said: "You are completely sincere, I admire you very much, but you must not be emotional, be more rational, and try your best not to overdo it."

Catherine and Lydia said together: "We will accompany you to Meryton."

Elizabeth assented, and the three young ladies set off together.

"If we hurry," said Lydia, as they walked, "perhaps we'll see Captain Carter in time."

The three sisters parted ways when they reached Meryton.The two sisters were going to the house of an officer's wife, while Elizabeth went on alone, striding hastily across fields, fences, and puddles, Finally saw the house.By this time her feet were weak, her socks were stained with mud, and her face was blushing.

She was ushered into the dining-room, where the whole family was there except Jane.As soon as she entered the door, everyone in the audience was amazed.It was incredible, Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley thought, that she should have come three miles away, and alone, at such an early morning and in such mud.

Elizabeth had expected them to despise her behavior.It was not so, they received her with great civility, especially their brother, who received her not only with civility, but with great courtesy.Mr. Darcy said little, and Mr. Hurst was quite silent.Mr. Darcy's mind was agitated by two emotions: admiration for the freshness of her face after walking, and a doubt whether she was worth coming so far alone for so little.As for Mr. Hurst, all he wanted was breakfast.

Elizabeth asked about her sister's condition, but did not get a satisfactory answer.Miss Bennet had not had a good night's rest, and although she was up now, she still had a high fever and could not go out.To Elizabeth's delight, they soon led her to her sister.

Jane was very happy to see Elizabeth.It turned out that in order to save her family members from worry and trouble, she did not say in the letter that she very much hoped that a relative would come to visit her.But she didn't have the strength to talk anymore.When Miss Bingley left, and the sisters were alone, she said that she was very well treated here, and was very touched--no further words were said.Elizabeth accompanied her quietly.The Bingley sisters came to accompany them after breakfast, and Elizabeth could not help feeling fond of them, seeing their kindness and enthusiasm for Jane.

The doctor came to examine the patient's symptoms and said that she had a severe cold (in fact, this is conceivable), he asked them to take care of them, advised Jane to go to bed and rest, and prescribed some medicines for her.Because the patient's fever was higher and he had a severe headache, they immediately followed the doctor's instructions and took it seriously.Elizabeth did not leave her room for a moment, nor did the other two young ladies.The men were not at home, and in fact they couldn't help much at home.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Elizabeth felt that she should go back, so she reluctantly said goodbye to her master.Miss Bingley asked her to go back in a carriage, and she was about to accept the host's kindness with a little refusal, but Jane said she was reluctant to let her go, so Miss Bingley had to change her mind and invite her to stay at Netherfield Manor. Stay for a few days.Elizabeth gratefully agreed.The next step was to send someone to Longbourne, tell the family about her temporary stay here, and ask her family to bring her some clothes.

(End of this chapter)