第19章

To Catherine and Lydia，neither the letter nor its writer were in any degree interesting. It was next to impossible that their cousin should come in a scarlet coat，and it was now some weeks since they had received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour.As for their mother，Mr.Collins's letter had done away much of her ill-will，and she was preparing to see him with a degree of composure，which astonished her husband and daughters.

Mr. Collins was punctual to his time，and was received with great politeness by the whole family.Mr.Bennet indeed said little；but the ladies were ready enough to talk，and Mr.Collins seemed neither in need of encouragement，nor inclined to be silent himself.He was a tall，heavy looking young man of five and twenty.His air was grave and stately，and his manners were very formal.He had not been long seated before he complimented Mrs.Bennet on having so fine a family of daughters，said he had heard much of their beauty，but that，in this instance，fame had fallen short of the truth；and added，that he did not doubt her seeing them all in due time well disposed of in marriage.This gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers，but Mrs.Bennet，who quarrelled with no compliments，answered most readily，

'You are very kind，sir，I am sure；and I wish with all my heart it may prove so；for else they will be destitute enough. Things are settled so oddly.'

'You allude perhaps to the entail of this estate.'

'Ah！sir，I do indeed. It is a grievous affair to my poor girls，you must confess.Not that I mean to find fault with you，for such things I know are all chance in this world.There is no knowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed.'

'I am very sensible，madam，of the hardship to my fair cousins，—and could say much on the subject，but that I am cautious of appearing forward and precipitate. But I can assure the young ladies that I come prepared to admire them.At present I will not say more，but perhaps when we are better acquainted—'

He was interrupted by a summons to dinner；and the girls smiled on each other. They were not the only objects of Mr.Collins's admiration.The hall，the dining-room，and all its furniture were examined and praised；and his commendation of every thing would have touched Mrs.Bennet's heart，but for the mortifying supposition of his viewing it all as his own future property.The dinner too in its turn was highly admired；and he begged to know to which of his fair cousins，the excellence of its cookery was owing.But here he was set right by Mrs.Bennet，who assured him with some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good cook，and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen.He begged pardon for having displeased her.In a softened tone she declared herself not at all offended；but he continued to apologise for about a quarter of an hour.

XIV

D uring dinner，Mr. Bennet scarcely spoke at all；but when the servants were withdrawn，he thought it time to have some conversation with his guest，and therefore started a subject in which he expected him to shine，by observing that he seemed very fortunate in his patroness.Lady Catherine de Bourgh's attention to his wishes，and consideration for his comfort，appeared very remarkable.Mr.Bennet could not have chosen better.Mr.Collins was eloquent in her praise.The subject elevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner，and with a most important aspect he protested that he had never in his life witnessed such behaviour in a person of rank—such affability and condescension，as he had himself experienced from Lady Catherine.She had been graciously pleased to approve of both the discourses，which he had already had the honour of preaching before her.She had also asked him twice to dine at Rosings，and had sent for him only the Saturday before，to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening.Lady Catherine was reckoned proud by many people he knew，but he had never seen any thing but affability in her.She had always spoken to him as she would to any other gentleman；she made not the smallest objection to his joining in the society of the neighbourhood，nor to his leaving his parish occasionally for a week or two，to visit his relations.She had even condescended to advise him to marry as soon as he could，provided he chose with discretion；and had once paid him a visit in his humble parsonage；where she had perfectly approved all the alterations he had been making，and had even vouchsafed to suggest some herself，some shelves in the closets up stairs.'

'That is all very proper and civil，I am sure，'said Mrs. Bennet，'and I dare say she is a very agreeable woman.It is a pity that great ladies in general are not more like her.Does she live near you，sir？'

'The garden in which stands my humble abode，is separated only by a lane from Rosings Park，her ladyship's residence.'

'I think you said she was a widow，sir？has she any family？'

'She has one only daughter，the heiress of Rosings，and of very extensive property.'

'Ah！'cried Mrs. Bennet，shaking her head，'then she is better off than many girls.And what sort of young lady is she？is she handsome？'

'She is a most charming young lady indeed. Lady Catherine herself says that in point of true beauty，Miss De Bourgh is far superior to the handsomest of her sex；because there is that in her features which marks the young woman of distinguished birth.She is unfortunately of a sickly constitution，which has prevented her making that progress in many accomplishments，which she could not otherwise have failed of；as I am informed by the lady who superintended her education，and who still resides with them.But she is perfectly amiable，and often condescends to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.'

'Has she been presented？I do not remember her name among the ladies at court.'