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  • CHAPTER 3

  • Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask

  • on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of

  • Mr. Bingley.

  • They attacked him in various ways--with barefaced questions, ingenious

  • suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all, and they were

  • at last obliged to accept the second-hand

  • intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas.

  • Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with him.

  • He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the

  • whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party.

  • Nothing could be more delightful!

  • To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively

  • hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.

  • "If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," said Mrs.

  • Bennet to her husband, "and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing

  • to wish for."

  • In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit, and sat about ten minutes

  • with him in his library.

  • He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose

  • beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father.

  • The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantage of ascertaining

  • from an upper window that he wore a blue coat, and rode a black horse.

  • An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had Mrs. Bennet

  • planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived

  • which deferred it all.

  • Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and, consequently, unable to

  • accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted.

  • She could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his

  • arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that he might be always flying about

  • from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be.

  • Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to

  • London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr.

  • Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly.

  • The girls grieved over such a number of ladies, but were comforted the day before

  • the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve he brought only six with him from London--

  • his five sisters and a cousin.

  • And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether--

  • Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.

  • Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant

  • countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of

  • decided fashion.

  • His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr.

  • Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome

  • features, noble mien, and the report which

  • was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having

  • ten thousand a year.

  • The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was

  • much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about

  • half the evening, till his manners gave a

  • disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be

  • proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate

  • in Derbyshire could then save him from

  • having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be

  • compared with his friend.

  • Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in

  • the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball

  • closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield.

  • Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves.

  • What a contrast between him and his friend!

  • Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being

  • introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the

  • room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party.

  • His character was decided.

  • He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he

  • would never come there again.

  • Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet, whose dislike of his general

  • behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his having slighted one of

  • her daughters.

  • Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two

  • dances; and during part of that time, Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her

  • to hear a conversation between him and Mr.

  • Bingley, who came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.

  • "Come, Darcy," said he, "I must have you dance.

  • I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner.

  • You had much better dance." "I certainly shall not.

  • You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner.

  • At such an assembly as this it would be insupportable.

  • Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not

  • be a punishment to me to stand up with." "I would not be so fastidious as you are,"

  • cried Mr. Bingley, "for a kingdom!

  • Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this

  • evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."

  • "You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room," said Mr. Darcy, looking

  • at the eldest Miss Bennet. "Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I

  • ever beheld!

  • But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty,

  • and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."

  • "Which do you mean?" and turning round he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till

  • catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: "She is tolerable, but not

  • handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no

  • humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.

  • You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your

  • time with me."

  • Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth

  • remained with no very cordial feelings toward him.

  • She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a

  • lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.

  • The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family.

  • Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Netherfield party.

  • Mr. Bingley had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters.

  • Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way.

  • Elizabeth felt Jane's pleasure.

  • Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in

  • the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough never to be

  • without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball.

  • They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived,

  • and of which they were the principal inhabitants.

  • They found Mr. Bennet still up.

  • With a book he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal

  • of curiosity as to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid

  • expectations.

  • He had rather hoped that his wife's views on the stranger would be disappointed; but

  • he soon found out that he had a different story to hear.

  • "Oh! my dear Mr. Bennet," as she entered the room, "we have had a most delightful

  • evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there.

  • Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it.

  • Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and

  • danced with her twice!

  • Only think of that, my dear; he actually danced with her twice! and she was the only

  • creature in the room that he asked a second time.

  • First of all, he asked Miss Lucas.

  • I was so vexed to see him stand up with her!

  • But, however, he did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed

  • quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance.

  • So he inquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next.

  • Then the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas,

  • and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger--"

  • "If he had had any compassion for me," cried her husband impatiently, "he would

  • not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of his

  • partners.

  • O that he had sprained his ankle in the first dance!"

  • "Oh! my dear, I am quite delighted with him.

  • He is so excessively handsome!

  • And his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more

  • elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst's gown-

  • -"

  • Here she was interrupted again. Mr. Bennet protested against any

  • description of finery.

  • She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject, and related, with

  • much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr.

  • Darcy.

  • "But I can assure you," she added, "that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his

  • fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing.

  • So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him!

  • He walked here, and he walked there, fancying himself so very great!

  • Not handsome enough to dance with!

  • I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given him one of your set-downs.

  • I quite detest the man."

CHAPTER 3

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