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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen |
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This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with |
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almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or |
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re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included |
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with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org |
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Title: Pride and Prejudice |
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Author: Jane Austen |
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Posting Date: August 26, 2008 [EBook #1342] |
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Release Date: June, 1998 |
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Last updated: February 15, 2015] |
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Language: English |
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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRIDE AND PREJUDICE *** |
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Produced by Anonymous Volunteers |
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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE |
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By Jane Austen |
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Chapter 1 |
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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession |
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of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. |
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However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his |
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first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds |
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of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property |
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of some one or other of their daughters. |
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"My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that |
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Netherfield Park is let at last?" |
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Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. |
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"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she |
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told me all about it." |
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Mr. Bennet made no answer. |
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"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his wife impatiently. |
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"_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it." |
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This was invitation enough. |
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"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken |
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by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came |
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down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much |
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delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he |
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is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to |
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be in the house by the end of next week." |
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"What is his name?" |
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"Bingley." |
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"Is he married or single?" |
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"Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or |
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five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!" |
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"How so? How can it affect them?" |
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"My dear Mr. Bennet," replied his wife, "how can you be so tiresome! You |
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must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them." |
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"Is that his design in settling here?" |
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"Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he |
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_may_ fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as |
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soon as he comes." |
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"I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send |
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them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are |
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as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the |
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party." |
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"My dear, you flatter me. I certainly _have_ had my share of beauty, but |
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I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five |
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grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty." |
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"In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of." |
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"But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into |
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the neighbourhood." |
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"It is more than I engage for, I assure you." |
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"But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would |
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be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to |
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go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no |
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newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for _us_ to |
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visit him if you do not." |
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"You are over-scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very |
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glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my |
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hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though |
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I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy." |
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"I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the |
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others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so |
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good-humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving _her_ the preference." |
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"They have none of them much to recommend them," replied he; "they are |
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all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of |
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quickness than her sisters." |
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"Mr. Bennet, how _can_ you abuse your own children in such a way? You |
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take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves." |
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"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They |
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are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration |
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these last twenty years at least." |
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"Ah, you do not know what I suffer." |
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"But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four |
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thousand a year come into the neighbourhood." |
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"It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will not |
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visit them." |
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"Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them |
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all." |
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Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, |
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reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had |
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been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. _Her_ mind |
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was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, |
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little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, |
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she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her |
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daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. |
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Chapter 2 |
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Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley. He |
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had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring |
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his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was |
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paid she had no knowledge of it. It was then disclosed in the following |
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manner. Observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat, he |
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suddenly addressed her with: |
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"I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy." |
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"We are not in a way to know _what_ Mr. Bingley likes," said her mother |
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resentfully, "since we are not to visit." |
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"But you forget, mamma," said Elizabeth, "that we shall meet him at the |
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assemblies, and that Mrs. Long promised to introduce him." |
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"I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces |
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of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion |
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of her." |
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"No more have I," said Mr. Bennet; "and I am glad to find that you do |
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not depend on her serving you." |
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Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to contain |
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herself, began scolding one of her daughters. |
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"Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for Heaven's sake! Have a little |
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compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces." |
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"Kitty has no discretion in her coughs," said her father; "she times |
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them ill." |
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"I do not cough for my own amusement," replied Kitty fretfully. "When is |
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your next ball to be, Lizzy?" |
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"To-morrow fortnight." |
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"Aye, so it is," cried her mother, "and Mrs. Long does not come back |
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till the day before; so it will be impossible for her to introduce him, |
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for she will not know him herself." |
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"Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and introduce |
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Mr. Bingley to _her_." |
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"Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible, when I am not acquainted with him |
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myself; how can you be so teasing?" |
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"I honour your circumspection. A fortnight's acquaintance is certainly |
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very little. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a |
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fortnight. But if _we_ do not venture somebody else will; and after all, |
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Mrs. Long and her neices must stand their chance; and, therefore, as |
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she will think it an act of kindness, if you decline the office, I will |
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take it on myself." |
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The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet said only, "Nonsense, |
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nonsense!" |
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"What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?" cried he. "Do |
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you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress that is laid on |
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them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree with you _there_. What say you, |
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Mary? For you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read |
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great books and make extracts." |
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Mary wished to say something sensible, but knew not how. |
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"While Mary is adjusting her ideas," he continued, "let us return to Mr. |
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Bingley." |
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"I am sick of Mr. Bingley," cried his wife. |
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"I am sorry to hear _that_; but why did not you tell me that before? If |
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I had known as much this morning I certainly would not have called |
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on him. It is very unlucky; but as I have actually paid the visit, we |
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cannot escape the acquaintance now." |
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The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs. |
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Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when the first tumult of joy |
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was over, she began to declare that it was what she had expected all the |
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while. |
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"How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet! But I knew I should |
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persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to |
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neglect such an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a |
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good joke, too, that you should have gone this morning and never said a |
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word about it till now." |
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"Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose," said Mr. Bennet; and, |
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as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the raptures of his wife. |
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"What an excellent father you have, girls!" said she, when the door was |
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shut. "I do not know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness; |
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or me, either, for that matter. At our time of life it is not so |
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pleasant, I can tell you, to be making new acquaintances every day; but |
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for your sakes, we would do anything. Lydia, my love, though you _are_ |
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the youngest, I dare say Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next |
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ball." |
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"Oh!" said Lydia stoutly, "I am not afraid; for though I _am_ the |
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youngest, I'm the tallest." |
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The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would |
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return Mr. Bennet's visit, and determining when they should ask him to |
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dinner. |
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Chapter 3 |
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Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five |
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daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her |
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husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley. They attacked him |
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in various ways--with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and |
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distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all, and they were at |
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last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, |
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Lady Lucas. Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been |
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delighted with him. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely |
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agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly |
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with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of |
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dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively |
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hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained. |
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"If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," |
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said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, "and all the others equally well |
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married, I shall have nothing to wish for." |
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In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit, and sat about |
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ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being |
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admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had |
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heard much; but he saw only the father. The ladies were somewhat more |
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fortunate, for they had the advantage of ascertaining from an upper |
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window that he wore a blue coat, and rode a black horse. |
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An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already |
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had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her |
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housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr. Bingley |
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was obliged to be in town the following day, and, consequently, unable |
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to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite |
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disconcerted. She could not imagine what business he could have in town |
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so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that |
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he might be always flying about from one place to another, and never |
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settled at Netherfield as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted her fears |
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a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get |
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a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr. Bingley |
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was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. |
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The girls grieved over such a number of ladies, but were comforted the |
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day before the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve he brought only |
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six with him from London--his five sisters and a cousin. And when |
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the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five |
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altogether--Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and |
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another young man. |
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Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant |
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countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, |
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with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely |
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looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention |
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of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and |
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the report which was in general circulation within five minutes |
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after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen |
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pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he |
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was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great |
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admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust |
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which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be |
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proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all |
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his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most |
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forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared |
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with his friend. |
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Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal |
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people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, |
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was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving |
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one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for |
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themselves. What a contrast between him and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced |
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only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being |
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introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in |
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walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. |
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His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man |
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in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again. |
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Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet, whose dislike of |
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his general behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his |
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having slighted one of her daughters. |