Chapter 10 (Pride and Prejudice (Full Cast))

01CHAPTER X.

02The day passed much as the day before had done.

03Mrs.

04Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid, who continued, though slowly, to mend.

05And in the evening Elizabeth joined their party in the drawing-room.

06The loo-table, however, did not appear.

07Mr.

08Darcy was writing, and Miss Bingley, seated near him, was watching the progress of his letter, and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to his sister.

09Mr.

10Hurst and Mr.

11Bingley were at Piquet, and Mrs.

12Hurst was observing their game.

13Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion.

14The perpetual commendations of the lady, either on his handwriting, or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length of his letter, with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received, formed a curious dialogue, and was exactly in union with her opinion of each.

15How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!

16He made no answer.

17You write uncommonly fast.

18You are mistaken.

19I write rather slowly.

20How many letters you must have occasion to write in the curse of a year!

21Letters of business, too!

22How odious I should think them!

23It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of yours.

24Pray tell your sister that I long to see her.

25I have already told her so once, by your desire.

26I am afraid you do not like your pen.

27Let me mend it for you.

28I mend pens remarkably well.

29Thank you.

30But I always mend my own.

31How can you contrive to write so even?

32He was silent.

33Tell your sister I am delighted to hear of her improvement on the hop.

34And pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design for table, and I think it infinitely superior to Miss Grantley's.

35Will you give me leave to defer your raptures till I write again?

36At present I have not room to do them justice.

37Oh, it is of no consequence.

38I shall see her in January.

39But do you always write such charming long letters to her, Mr.

40Darcy?

41They are generally long, but whether always charming, it is not for me to determine.

42It is a rule with me that a person who can write a long letter with ease cannot write ill.

43That will not do for a compliment to Darcy, Caroline, cried her brother.

44Because he does not write with ease.

45He studies too much for words of four syllables, do you not, Darcy?

46My style of writing is very different from yours.

47Oh!

48No!

49cried Miss Bingley.

50Charles writes in the most careless way imaginable.

51He leaves out half his words and blots the rest.

52My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them, by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my correspondence.

53Your humility, Mr.

54Bingley, said Elizabeth, must disarm reproof.

55Nothing is more deceitful, said Darcy, than the appearance of humility.

56It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.

57And which of the two do you call my little recent piece of modesty?

58The indirect boast, for you are really proud of your defects in writing, because you consider them as proceeding from a rapidity of thought and carelessness of execution, which, if not estimable, you think at least highly interesting.

59The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance.

60When you told Mrs.

61Bennet this morning that if you ever resolved upon quitting Netherfield you should be gone in five minutes, you meant it to be a sort of panegyric, of compliment to yourself.

62And yet what is there so very laudable in a precipitance which must leave very necessary business undone, and can be of no real advantage to yourself or any one else?

63Nay, cried Bingley.

64This is too much to remember at night all the foolish things that were said in the morning, and yet upon my honour I believe what I said of myself to be true, and I believe it at this moment.

65At least, therefore, I did not assume the character of needless precipitance merely to show off before the ladies.

66I dare say you believed it, but I am by no means convinced that you would be gone with such celerity.

67Your conduct would be quite as dependent on chance as that of any man I know, and if, as you were mounting your horse, a friend were to say, Bingley, you had better stay till next week, you would probably do it, you would probably not go, and at another word might stay a month.

68You have only proved by this, cried Elizabeth, that Mr.

69Bingley did not do justice to his own disposition.

70You have shown him off now much more than he did himself.

71I am exceedingly gratified, said Bingley, by your converting what my friend says into a compliment of the sweetness of my temper.

72But I am afraid you are giving it a turn which that gentleman did by no means intent, for he would certainly think better of me if under such a circumstance I were to give a flat denial and ride off as fast as I could.

73Would Mr.

74Darcy then consider the rashness of your original intentions as atone for, by your obstinacy in adhering to it?

75Upon my word I cannot exactly explain the matter.

76Darcy must speak for himself.

77You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged.

78Allowing the case, however, to stand according to your representation, you must remember, Miss Bennet, that the friend who is supposed to desire his return to the house, and the delay of his plan, has merely desired it, asked it without offering one argument in favour of its propriety.

79To yield readily, easily, to the persuasion of a friend is no merit with you.

80To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.

81You appear to me, Mr.

82Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection.

83A regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request, without waiting for arguments to reason one into it.

84I am not particularly speaking of such a case as you have supposed about Mr.

85Bingley.

86We may as well wait, perhaps, till the circumstance occurs before we discuss the discretion of his behaviour thereupon.

87But in general and ordinary cases between friend and friend, where one of them is desired by the other to change a resolution of no very great moment, should you think ill of that person for complying with the desire, without waiting to be argued into it?

88Will it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject, to arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance which is to appertain to this request, as well as the degree of intimacy subsisting between the parties?

89By all means, cried Bingley, let us hear all the particulars, not forgetting their comparative height and size, for that will have more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be aware of.

90I assure you that if Darcy were not such a great tall fellow in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so much deference.

91I declare I do not know a more awful object than Darcy, on particular occasions and in particular places, at his own house especially, and of a Sunday evening when he has nothing to do.

92Mr.

93Darcy smiled, but Elizabeth thought she could perceive that he was rather offended, and therefore checked her laugh.

94Miss Bingley warmly resented the indignity he had received in an expostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense.

95I see your design, Bingley, said his friend.

96You dislike an argument and want to silence this.

97Perhaps I do.

98Arguments are too much like disputes.

99If you and Miss Bennet will defer yours till I am out of the room, I shall be very thankful, and then you may say whatever you like of me.

100What you ask, said Elizabeth, is no sacrifice on my side, and Mr.

101Darcy had much better finish his letter.

102Mr.

103Darcy took her advice and did finish his letter.

104When that business was over, he applied to Miss Bingley and Elizabeth for an indulgence of some music.

105Miss Bingley moved with some alacrity to the pianoforte, and after a polite request that Elizabeth would lead the way, which the other, as politely and more earnestly negatived, she seated herself.

106Mrs.

107Hurst sang with her sister, and while they were thus employed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as she turned over some music-books that lay on the instrument, how frequently Mr.

108Darcy's eyes were fixed on her.

109She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man, and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her was still more strange.

110She could only imagine, however, at last, that she drew his notice because there was something more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other person present.

111The supposition did not pain her.

112She liked him too little to care for his approbation.

113After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm by a lively Scotch air, and soon afterwards Mr.

114Darcy, drawing near Elizabeth, said to her, Do you not feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel?

115She smiled but made no answer.

116He repeated the question with some surprise at her silence.

117Oh!

118said she.

119I heard you before, but I could not immediately determine what to say in reply.

120You wanted me, I know, to say yes, that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste.

121But I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt.

122I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you that I do not want to dance a reel at all, and now despise me if you dare.

123Indeed, I do not dare.

124Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry.

125But there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody, and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her.

126He really believed that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.

127Miss Bingley saw, or suspected, enough to be jealous, and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane received some assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth.

128She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking her guest by talking of their supposed marriage and planning his happiness in such an alliance.

129I hope, said she, as they were walking together in the shrubbery the next day, you will give your mother-in-law a few hints when this desirable event takes place, as to the advantage of holding her tongue.

130And if you can compass it, do cure the younger girls of running after officers.

131And, if I may mention so, delicate subject, endeavor to check that little something bordering on conceit and impertinence which your lady possesses.

132Have you anything else to propose for my domestic felicity?

133Oh, yes.

134Do let the portraits of your uncle and Aunt Phillips be placed in the gallery at Pemberley.

135Put them next to your great-uncle, the judge.

136They are in the same profession, you know, only in different lines.

137As for your Elizabeth's picture, you must not have it taken.

138For what painter could you justice to those beautiful eyes?

139It would not be easy, indeed, to catch their expression.

140But their colour and shape, and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine, might be copied.

141At that moment they were met from another walk by Mrs.

142Hurst and Elizabeth herself.

143I did not know that you intended to walk, said Miss Bingley, in some confusion, lest they had been overheard.

144You used us abominably ill, answered Mrs.

145Hurst, running away without telling us that you were coming out.

146Then, taking the disengaged arm of Mr.

147Darcy, she left Elizabeth to walk by herself.

148The path just admitted three.

149Mr.

150Darcy felt their rudeness and immediately said, This walk is not wide enough for our party.

151We had better go into the avenue.

152But Elizabeth, who had not the least inclination to remain with them, laughingly answered, No, no, stay where you are.

153You are charmingly grouped, and appear to uncommon advantage.

154The picturesque would be spoilt by admitting a fourth.

155Good-bye.

156She then ran gaily off, rejoicing as she rambled about, in the hope of being at home again in a day or two.

157Jane was already so much recovered as to intend leaving her room for a couple of hours that evening.

158End of chapter 10