Mr. Bennet is a very eccentric man, who, on the one hand, likes to be sarcastic and sarcastic, but at the same time is so unpredictable and unpredictable, that his wife, with twenty-three years' experience, is not yet able to understand his character. The wife's mind was easy to analyze. She was an intellectually impoverished, uneducated, temperamental woman, who thought she was having a nervous breakdown whenever she was unhappy. The great event of her life was the marriage of her daughter; the consolation of her life was visiting friends and paying visits and inquiring into the news.
Despite the fact that Mrs. Bennet, with the help of her five daughters, asked her husband about Mr. Bingley and so on and so forth, her husband's replies never satisfied her. Mothers and daughters tried to deal with him ...... naked questioning, ingenious conception, far from the subject of speculation, what methods have been used; but he did not go on their trap. At last they were compelled to listen to the indirect news of their neighbor, Mrs. Lucas. Her report was all good. Sir William was said to be very fond of him. He was very young, exceptionally good-looking, extremely modest, and, above all, he intended to invite a large number of guests to his next ball. It could not have been better; a fondness for dancing was a step towards lovemaking; and everyone was warmly desirous of going to obtain that heart of Mr. Bingley's.
Mr. Bingley was a fine, gentlemanly man, and a pleasant man, without the habit of being pretentious. His sisters, too, were beautiful women, and generous in their manner. His brother-in-law, Hurst, was but a common gentleman, and not very remarkable; but his friend Darcy at once attracted the attention of the whole house, for he was a man of great stature, with a clear brow, and noble manners, so that in less than five minutes after he entered the room, it was rumored that he had an income of 10,000 pounds per annum. The male guests praised him for his good looks, and the female guests said he was much prettier than Mr. Bingley. People looked at him with admiration for nearly half the evening. At last it was realized that he was proud, looked down on people, could not flatter him, and therefore became disgusted with him, and his popularity was eclipsed by the spectacle of the moment. Since he had assumed so repulsive and offensive a countenance, no matter how great his property in Derbyshire might be, it could not save him, and besides, compared with his friends, he was of even less consequence.
The whole family at Ban House had a generally happy evening. The eldest lady, Mr. Montbringe, had asked her to dance twice, and the nobleman's sisters had looked at her in a different light. Mrs. Benn was very pleased to see that the family of Netherfield Gardens were so fond of her eldest daughter. Gwynne was just as pleased as her mother, only not as vocal. Elizabeth was also happy for Jiying. Manly had heard herself mentioned before Miss Bingley as the most talented girl in the neighborhood; and Catelyn and Lydia had had the best of luck in not being without a partner for that one dance, which was the only thing they cared about whenever they had a ball. The mothers and daughters returned happily to the village of Longbourn, where they lived (and of which they were considered the most prosperous), and saw that Mr. Bennet had not yet gone to bed. It was not unusual for this gentleman to lose track of time with a book in his hand, but on this occasion he did not sleep because he was anxious to know what had become of the event which was so much in the minds of all. He thought that his wife must have been very disappointed with the guest of honor, but he immediately realized that this was not the case. "
Elizabeth listened to her sister's words without a murmur, but in her heart she was not convinced. She was more observant than her sister, and her temper was not so good as her sister's, so when it came to the Beam sisters, she had only to think of the way they behaved on the dance floor to know that they did not intend to be pleasing to the general public. And she was too shrewd to change her mind just because people waited on her, and she would not have been much in favor of them. They were, in fact, very nice ladies; they were not incapable of laughing and joking, when it came to their pleasure; and they were not incapable of being pleasant to others, when it came to their pleasure to do so. Unfortunately, they were proud and arrogant. They were beautiful, had been educated in a high-class college, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were always profligate with their money, and loved to make friends with people of high standing, which caused them to think highly of themselves in all respects, and to disregard others. They were born in the north of England in a decent family. They remembered their origins well, but almost forgot that their brothers' property and their own had been earned through business.
The difference in their personalities is evident in the way they talk about the Maclitun Ball. Bingley said that he had never in his life met any people more amiable, or any girls more beautiful; that everyone seemed to him extremely kind, extremely attentive, unpretentious, and unassuming, and that he felt at once acquainted with the whole house; and that, speaking of Miss Bennet, he could not conceive of a fairer angel on earth than she.
Not far from Longbourn lived a family, and this was Sir William Lucas's House. The House of Bennet was particularly well known to them. Sir William Lucas, who had made his fortune in business in Maclitun, had petitioned the Emperor in his office as mayor, and obtained a knighthood; and this eminence made him feel so honored, that he hated to do business, and hated to live in a small town, and so rested his business, and said good-bye to the town, and removed with his family to a house about a mile out of Maclitun, and from that time onward called the place the Lukes' House. He could enjoy himself here. Here he could enjoy himself and make a name for himself as a prominent man, and, now that he was free from the entanglements of business, he could devote himself to social activities.
While he was proud of his position, he was not so blind to the importance of it as to be very attentive to everyone. He was born not to be offended, and was always kind and solicitous in his dealings with others, and has become more courteous since his royal audience. Mrs. Lucas was a very kind woman, and really a valuable neighbor to Mrs. Bennet. There were several children in the Lou household. The eldest daughter was a sensible young lady, aged about twenty-six or twenty-seven, and she was a good friend of Elizabeth. It is said that several of the young ladies of the Lew family and several of the young ladies of the Ban family had to meet and talk over the business of the dance. So the next morning after the dance, the ladies from the Lew House came to Longbourn to exchange views with the ladies from the Ban House.
Miss Bingley at once fixed her eyes on his face, and asked him to tell her which of the ladies had such wonderful qualities as to make him think in this way. Mr. Darcy summoned up great courage and answered:
"Miss Elizabeth Bennet."
"Miss Elizabeth Bennet!" Miss Bingley repeated. "I am truly amazed. How long have you had your eye on her? Will ...... you please tell me when I can congratulate you?"
"I expected you to ask such a thing. Women have such quick imaginations; jumping from admiration to love in a hop, and from love to marriage in the blink of an eye. I knew you were going to be ready to come and bid me good day."
"Well, if you're so serious, I'd say it's 100% decided. You're going to have an interesting mother-in-law, and of course, she'll stay with you in Pemberley forever."
Almost the whole of Mr. Bennet's fortune is in an estate, by which he derives an income of two thousand pounds a year. It was the misfortune of his daughters to speak of this estate. As he had no son, the estate had to be inherited by a distant relative, and their mother's effects, which would have amounted to a large sum in such a family, were in fact insufficient to make up for his loss. Mrs. Bennet's father, who had been a solicitor at Maclitun, had given her an estate of four thousand pounds. She had had a sister, who had married Philip, her father's clerk, and her brother-in-law had next inherited her father's trade; and she had brothers, living in London, who were doing a very good business. The village of Longbourn was only a mile from Macleodun, and such a distance could not have been more convenient for the young ladies, who had to go up there three or four times a week, to see their aunt, and to take a look at a store over there that sold women's hats. The two youngest sisters, Catherine and Lydia, were especially devoted to this, and, being much less preoccupied than their elder sisters, were sure to take a walk to Meryton, whenever they had no better diversion, to amuse themselves with the fine morning light, and to have something to talk about in the evening. Though there was usually no news to be had in the village, they always tried to get some from their aunt. A regiment of militia had recently arrived in the neighborhood, and of course their sources of information had been enriched, to their great joy. This group will be stationed here for the whole winter, and Mairitun is the seat of the headquarters.
It was three o'clock when Elizabeth felt it was time to go, and reluctantly bade her hosts farewell. Miss Bingley asked her to go back in the carriage, and she was about to accept her host's kind offer with a little excuse, but Jiying said she could not let her go, so Miss Bingley had to change her mind about asking her to go back in the carriage, and asked her to stay for a while in the garden of the Netherfield. Elizabeth agreed gratefully. The next step was to send up to Longbourn to tell her family about her stay, and to ask them to bring her some clothes.
Elizabeth went back to Girling's as soon as she had eaten her supper. As soon as she came out of the dining-room, Miss Bingley began to speak ill of her, and to speak ill of her manners, saying that she was haughty and impolite, that she did not know how to talk to people, that she was ill-mannered, that she had no sense of humor, and that she was unattractive. Mrs. Hurstedt was of the same opinion, and added:
"In a word, she has nothing to offer but the ability to run. I shall never forget the way she looked this morning, like a madman."
"She did look like a madman, Louisa. I couldn't help but laugh. She's had a dull trip; why should she make such a fuss about running all over the village when her sister's got a little wind? ...... hair is so tousled and unkempt!"
"Yes, and her petticoats ...... It's a pity you didn't see her petticoats. I'm absolutely not making it up, there was a good six inches of mud plastered on that top, and she lowered the outside skirt a bit to try and cover it up, but she couldn't." Mr. Bingley said, "You don't describe it too well, Louisa, but I don't think so. I thought Miss Elizabeth Bennet had a nice sort of demeanor when she came into the house this morning. I did not see her dirty petticoats."
"You must have seen it, Mr. Darcy," said Miss Bingley, "and I suppose you don't want to see your own sister get into that mess."
"Of course I don't."
"Catching up so three miles down the road, five miles down the road, who knows how many miles, for no reason, with mud covering her ankles and bones, and all alone! What on earth does she mean by that? She seems to me to show all the wildness of an undomesticated person, and all the impudence of a countryman who knows no manners."
Mr. Bingley said, "That just shows how good a handful she is."
Mrs. Hurstout and Miss Bingley both called up, saying that she ought not to have expressed her suspicions, for such suspicions were unfair, and they were united in their counter-evidence, saying that they themselves knew of a great many women who were good enough for these conditions. It was only when Mr. Hurst told them to play their cards properly, and blamed them for not being so careless about the card game, that they stopped, and an argument ended, and Elizabeth was not long in going away.
Elizabeth came to them once more, only to tell them that her sister's illness was worse, and that she could not go away. Bingley repeatedly urged that Dr. Jones should be sent for at once, but his sisters thought that a country doctor would be of no use, and urged that the most famous doctor should be sent for in the city, which Elizabeth did not approve of, but she could not be too much obliged to her brothers, and so a solution was agreed upon; that if Miss Bennet should not be able to get any better in the morning, Dr. Jones should be sent for at once. Mr. Bingley was very uneasy in his mind, and his sister and sister said they were very much worried. After supper they both at length joined in a few songs to remove some of the vexation, and Mr. Bingley, unable to think of a good way to relieve his anxiety, had only to look after his housekeeper with all his heart and soul to take care of the sick man and the sick man's sister.
Elizabeth spent most of that night in her sister's room, and early the next morning Mr. Bingley sent a maid to greet them. After a while, Bingley's sister and sister-in-law also sent two civil maids to visit them, and Elizabeth could at last tell them with some relief that the patient had improved slightly. But, though she was relieved, she asked them to send a letter from their house to Longbourn for her, asking her mother to come and see Girling, and to judge for herself how she was getting on. The letter was sent at once, and what it said was soon done. Mrs. Bennet, with her two youngest daughters, came to the garden of Netherfield just after breakfast in their house
It would have grieved Mrs. Bennet to find out that Gillian was in any danger; but as soon as she saw that Gillian's illness was not very serious, she was satisfied; and she did not wish Gillian to recover at once, for, if she had, she would have had to leave the garden of Netherfield and go home. So when her daughter mentioned that she should take her home, she would not hear of it; and besides, the doctor, who had come at about the same time with her, did not think it a good idea to move back. After her mother had sat with Gilling for some time, Miss Bingley came to invite her to breakfast, so she took her three daughters up to the dining-room with her. Mr. Bingley came to meet them, and said he hoped that Mrs. Bennet must feel that her young lady's illness was not so serious as she thought it was, when she saw it.
Lydia was a fat, well-developed girl, only fifteen years of age, fine-skinned and smiling; she was the apple of her mother's eye, and, owing to an excess of pampering, had entered the social world at a very early age. She was by nature a good sport, and naturally a little uncontrolled, and as her aunt had again and again entertained the officers with wine and delicacies, and the officers, seeing that she was quite a prodigal, had taken quite a fancy to her, she had become even more unscrupulous. So she was in a position to propose a ball to Mr. Bingley, and had the temerity to remind him of his previous promise, and to say that it would be the greatest disgrace in the world if he did not keep it. Mr. Bingley replied to this sudden provocation of hers in a way that pleased her mother.
"I can assure you that I am more than willing to practise my promise; only wait till your sister is restored to her senses, and let you fix a date at your pleasure. You don't want to dance while your sister is sick, do you?!"
Lydia expressed satisfaction. "That's a good point you're making. It would be so nice to wait until after Ji'in has recovered, and by that time, Captain Kartel might be likely to be back in Maeliton again. When you have had your dance, I must have them have one too. I'll be sure to tell Colonel Furst that it would be a shame if he didn't open it."
So Mrs. Bennet went away with her two daughters. Elizabeth went back to Girling at once, and did not care how the two Misses at Bingley House talked behind her back about her being unseemly with her family. But despite Miss Bingley's wisecracks and jokes about her "beautiful eyes," Darcy refused to be encouraged by them to join them in making up stories about her.
The day passed not much differently from the day before. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley spent a few hours in the morning with the patient, who was getting better, though slowly. In the evening, Elizabeth stayed with them in the parlor. This time, however, there was no one to be seen playing the "Locke" card. Mr. Darcy was writing a letter, and Miss Bingley sat beside him, watching him, and repeatedly pestering him to send her greetings to his sister. Mr. Hurst and Mr. Bingley were playing poker, and Mrs. Hurst watched them.
Elizabeth was sewing, and listening attentively to Darcy's conversation with Miss Bingley. She heard Miss Bingley's compliments, either about his good handwriting, or the neatness of his handwriting, or the care with which his letters were written, but the other man was completely cold and uncaring. These two people asked and answered, forming a marvelous dialogue. As it seemed, Elizabeth had not indeed misjudged either of them.