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."