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Chapter II · Pride and Prejudice | Audiobook

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  Speaker 1: CHAPTER II Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those
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  Speaker 1: who waited on Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to
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  Speaker 1: visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife
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  Speaker 1: that he should not go. Until the evening after the
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  Speaker 1: visit was paid, she had no knowledge of it. It
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  Speaker 1: was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second
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  Speaker 1: daughter employed in trimming a hat... he suddenly addressed her with,
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  Speaker 1: I hope Mr Bingley will like it, Lizzie. We are
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  Speaker 1: not in a way to know what Mr Bingley likes,
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  Speaker 1: said her mother, resentfully, since we are not to visit.
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  Speaker 1: But you forget, Mama, said Elizabeth, that we shall meet
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  Speaker 1: him at the assemblies, and that Mrs Long has promised
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  Speaker 1: to introduce him. I do not believe Mrs Long will
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  Speaker 1: do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own.
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  Speaker 1: She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no
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  Speaker 1: opinion of her. No more have I, said Mr. Bennet,
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  Speaker 1: and I am glad to find that you do not
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  Speaker 1: depend on her serving you. Mrs. Bennet deigned not to
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  Speaker 1: make any reply, but, unable to contain herself, began scolding
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  Speaker 1: one of her daughters. Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for
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  Speaker 1: heaven's sake. Have a little compassion on my nerves. You
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  Speaker 1: tear them to pieces. Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,
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  Speaker 1: said her father. She times them ill. I do not
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  Speaker 1: cough for my own amusement, replied Kitty, fretfully. When is
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  Speaker 1: your next ball to be, Lizzie? Tomorrow fortnight. Aye, so
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  Speaker 1: it is, cried her mother. and Mrs. Long does not
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  Speaker 1: come back till the day before, so it will be
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  Speaker 1: impossible for her to introduce him, for she will not
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  Speaker 1: know him herself. Then, my dear, you may have the
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  Speaker 1: advantage of your friend, and introduce Mr. Bingley to her. Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible,
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  Speaker 1: when I am not acquainted with him myself. How can
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  Speaker 1: you be so teasing? I honour your circumspection, A fortnight's
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  Speaker 1: acquaintance is certainly very little. One cannot know what a
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  Speaker 1: man really is by the end of a fortnight. But
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  Speaker 1: if we do not venture, somebody else will. And after all,
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  Speaker 1: Mrs Long and her nieces must stand their chance, and therefore,
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  Speaker 1: as she will think it an act of kindness, if
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  Speaker 1: you decline the office, I will take it on myself.
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  Speaker 1: The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet said only, Nonsense, nonsense.
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  Speaker 1: What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation? cried he.
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  Speaker 1: Do you consider the forms of introduction and the stress
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  Speaker 1: that is laid on them as nonsense? I cannot quite
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  Speaker 1: agree with you there. What say you, Mary? For you
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  Speaker 1: are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and
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  Speaker 1: read great books and make extracts. Mary wished to say
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  Speaker 1: something very sensible, but knew not how.' While Mary is
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  Speaker 1: adjusting her ideas,' he continued,' let us return to Mr. Bingley.''
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  Speaker 1: I am sick of Mr. Bingley,' cried his wife.' I
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  Speaker 1: am sorry to hear that. But why did you not
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  Speaker 1: tell me so before?'' If I had known as much
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  Speaker 1: this morning, I certainly would not have called on him.
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  Speaker 1: It is very unlucky.' but as I have actually paid
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  Speaker 1: the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now. The astonishment
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  Speaker 1: of the ladies was just what he wished, that of Mrs.
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  Speaker 1: Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest, though when the first tumult
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  Speaker 1: of joy was over, she began to declare that it
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  Speaker 1: was what she had expected all the while. How good
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  Speaker 1: it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet! but I
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  Speaker 1: knew I should persuade you at last. I was sure
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  Speaker 1: you loved your girls too well to neglect such an acquaintance. Well,
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  Speaker 1: how pleased I am. And it is such a good joke, too,
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  Speaker 1: that you should have gone this morning and never said
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  Speaker 1: a word about it till now. Now, Kitty, you may
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  Speaker 1: cough as much as you choose, said Mr. Bennet. And
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  Speaker 1: as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the
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  Speaker 1: raptures of his wife. What an excellent father you have, girls,
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  Speaker 1: said she, when the door was shut. I do not
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  Speaker 1: know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness,
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  Speaker 1: or me either, for that matter. At our time of life,
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  Speaker 1: it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to
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  Speaker 1: be making new acquaintances every day. But for your sakes,
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  Speaker 1: we would do anything. Lydia, my love, though you are
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  Speaker 1: the youngest, I dare say Mr. Bingley will dance with
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  Speaker 1: you at the next ball. Oh, said Lydia stoutly, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not afraid, for though I am the youngest, I'm the tallest.
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  Speaker 1: The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how
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  Speaker 1: soon he would return Mr. Bennet's visit, and determining when
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  Speaker 1: they should ask him to dinner.