Pride and Prejudice | Page 5

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 place!"
"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 4
When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been
cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister just
how very much she admired him.
"He is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "sensible,
good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!--so much
ease, with such perfect good breeding!"
"He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth, "which a young man ought
likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete."
"I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I
did not expect such a compliment."
"Did not you? I did for you. But that is one great difference between us.
Compliments always take YOU by surprise, and ME never. What could
be more natural than his asking you again? He could not help seeing
that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the
room. No thanks to his gallantry for that. Well, he certainly is very

agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a
stupider person."
"Dear Lizzy!"
"Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general.
You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good and agreeable
in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in your life."
"I would not wish to be hasty in censuring anyone; but I always speak
what I think."
"I know you do; and it is THAT which makes the wonder. With YOUR
good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others!
Affectation of candour is common enough--one meets with it
everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design--to take the
good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing
of the bad--belongs to you alone. And so you like this man's sisters, too,
do you? Their manners are not equal to his."
"Certainly not--at first. But they are very pleasing women when you
converse with them. Miss Bingley is to live with her brother, and keep
his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming
neighbour in her."
Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced; their behaviour at
the assembly had not been calculated to please in general; and with
more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her
sister, and with a judgement too unassailed by any attention to herself,
she was very little disposed to approve them. They were in fact very
fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor
in the power of making themselves agreeable when they chose it, but
proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in
one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty
thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought,
and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every
respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. They
were of a respectable