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Chapter X · Pride and Prejudice | Audiobook

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  Speaker 1: Chapter 10 The day passed much as the day before
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  Speaker 1: had done. Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some
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  Speaker 1: hours of the morning with the invalid, who continued, though slowly,
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  Speaker 1: to mend, and in the evening Elizabeth joined their party
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  Speaker 1: in the drawing-room. The loo table, however, did not appear.
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  Speaker 1: Mr Darcy was writing, and Miss Bingley, seated near him,
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  Speaker 1: was watching the progress of his letter and repeatedly calling
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  Speaker 1: off his attention by messages to his sister. Mr Hurst
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  Speaker 1: and Mr Bingley were at Piquet, and Mrs Hurst was
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  Speaker 1: observing their game. Elizabeth took up some needlework and was
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  Speaker 1: sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and
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  Speaker 1: his companion, the perpetual commendations of the lady, either on
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  Speaker 1: his handwriting... or on the evenness of his lines, or
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  Speaker 1: on the length of his letter, with the perfect unconcern
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  Speaker 1: with which her praises were received, formed a curious dialogue
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  Speaker 1: and was exactly in unison with her opinion of each.
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  Speaker 1: How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!
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  Speaker 1: He made no answer. You write uncommonly fast. You are mistaken.
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  Speaker 1: I write rather slowly. How many letters you must have
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  Speaker 1: occasion to write in the course of a year. Letters
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  Speaker 1: of business, too. How odious I should think them. It
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  Speaker 1: is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead
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  Speaker 1: of to yours. Pray, tell your sister that I long
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  Speaker 1: to see her. I have already told her so once,
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  Speaker 1: by your desire. I am afraid you do not like
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  Speaker 1: your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend
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  Speaker 1: pens remarkably well. Thank you. But I always mend my own.
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  Speaker 1: How can you contrive to write so even? He was silent.
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  Speaker 1: Tell your sister. I am delighted to hear of her
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  Speaker 1: improvement on the harp, and pray let her know that
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  Speaker 1: I am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design
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  Speaker 1: for a table, and I think it infinitely superior to
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  Speaker 1: Miss Grantley's. Will you give me leave to defer your
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  Speaker 1: raptures till I write again? At present, I have not
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  Speaker 1: room to do them justice. Oh, it is of no consequence.
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  Speaker 1: I shall see her in January. But do you always
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  Speaker 1: write such charming long letters to her, Mr. Darcy? They
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  Speaker 1: are generally long, but whether always charming, it is not
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  Speaker 1: for me to determine. It is a rule with me
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  Speaker 1: that a person who can write a long letter with
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  Speaker 1: ease cannot write ill. That will not do for a
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  Speaker 1: compliment to Darcy, Caroline, cried her brother, because he does
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  Speaker 1: not write with ease. He studies too much for words
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  Speaker 1: of four syllables. Do not you, Darcy. My style of
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  Speaker 1: writing is very different from yours. Oh, cried Miss Bingley,
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  Speaker 1: Charles writes in the most careless way imaginable. He leaves
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  Speaker 1: out half his words and blots the rest. My ideas
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  Speaker 1: flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them,
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  Speaker 1: by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at
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  Speaker 1: all to my correspondents. Your humility, Mr. Bingley, said Elizabeth,
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  Speaker 1: must disarm reproof. Nothing is more deceitful, said Darcy, than
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  Speaker 1: the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of
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  Speaker 1: opinion and sometimes an indirect boast. And which of the
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  Speaker 1: two do you call my little recent piece of modesty?
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  Speaker 1: The indirect boast, for you are really proud of your
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  Speaker 1: defects in writing, because you consider them as proceeding from
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  Speaker 1: a rapidity of thought and carelessness of execution, which, if
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  Speaker 1: not estimable, you think at least highly interesting. The power
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  Speaker 1: of doing anything with quickness is is always much prized
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  Speaker 1: by the possessor, and often without any attention to the
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  Speaker 1: imperfection of the performance. When you told Mrs. Bennet this
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  Speaker 1: morning that if you ever resolved on quitting Netherfield you
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  Speaker 1: should be gone in five minutes, you meant it to
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  Speaker 1: be a sort of panegyric, of compliment to yourself. And yet...
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  Speaker 1: What is there so very laudable in a precipitance which
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  Speaker 1: must leave very necessary business undone, and can be of
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  Speaker 1: no real advantage to yourself or anyone else? Nay, cried Bingley,
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  Speaker 1: this is too much, to remember at night all the
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  Speaker 1: foolish things that were said in the morning. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: upon my honour, I believed what I said of myself
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  Speaker 1: to be true. and I believe it at this moment.
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  Speaker 1: At least, therefore, I did not assume the character of
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  Speaker 1: needless precipitance merely to show off before the ladies. I
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  Speaker 1: dare say you believed it, but I am by no
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  Speaker 1: means convinced that you would be gone with such celerity.
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  Speaker 1: Your conduct would be quite as dependent on chance as
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  Speaker 1: that of any man I know, and if, as you
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  Speaker 1: were mounting your horse— a friend were to say. Bingley,
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  Speaker 1: you had better stay till next week. You would probably
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  Speaker 1: do it. You would probably not go, and, at another word,
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  Speaker 1: might stay a month. You have only proved by this,
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  Speaker 1: cried Elizabeth, that Mr. Bingley did not do justice to
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  Speaker 1: his own disposition. You have shown him off now much
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  Speaker 1: more than he did himself. I am exceedingly gratified. said Bingley,
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  Speaker 1: by your converting what my friend says into a compliment
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  Speaker 1: on the sweetness of my temper. But I am afraid
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  Speaker 1: you are giving it a turn which that gentleman did
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  Speaker 1: by no means intend, for he would certainly think the
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  Speaker 1: better of me, if, under such a circumstance, I were
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  Speaker 1: to give a flat denial, and ride off as fast
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  Speaker 1: as I could. Would Mr. Darcy then consider— the rashness
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  Speaker 1: of your original intention as atoned for by your obstinacy
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  Speaker 1: in adhering to it. Upon my word, I cannot exactly
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  Speaker 1: explain the matter. Darcy must speak for himself. You expect
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  Speaker 1: me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine,
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  Speaker 1: but which I have never acknowledged. Allowing the case, however,
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  Speaker 1: to stand according to your representation, you must remember, Miss Bennet...
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  Speaker 1: that the friend who is supposed to desire his return
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  Speaker 1: to the house, and the delay of his plan, has
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  Speaker 1: merely desired it, asked it without offering one argument in
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  Speaker 1: favour of its propriety. To yield readily, easily, to the
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  Speaker 1: persuasion of a friend is no merit with you. To
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  Speaker 1: yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.
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  Speaker 1: You appear to me, Mr. Darcy... to allow nothing for
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  Speaker 1: the influence of friendship and affection. A regard for the
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  Speaker 1: requester would often make one readily yield to a request,
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  Speaker 1: without waiting for arguments to reason one into it. I
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  Speaker 1: am not particularly speaking of such a case as you
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  Speaker 1: have supposed about Mr Bingley. We may as well wait, perhaps,
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  Speaker 1: till the circumstance occurs. before we discuss the discretion of
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  Speaker 1: his behaviour thereupon. But in general and ordinary cases, between
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  Speaker 1: friend and friend, where one of them is desired by
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  Speaker 1: the other to change a resolution of no very great moment,
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  Speaker 1: should you think ill of that person for complying with
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  Speaker 1: the desire without waiting to be argued into it? Will
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  Speaker 1: it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject,
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  Speaker 1: to arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance
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  Speaker 1: which is to appertain to this request, as well as
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  Speaker 1: the degree of intimacy subsisting between the parties. By all means,
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  Speaker 1: cried Bingley, let us hear all the particulars, not forgetting
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  Speaker 1: their comparative height and size, for that will have more
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  Speaker 1: weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be
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  Speaker 1: aware of. I assure you, that if Darcy were not
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  Speaker 1: such a great tall fellow in comparison with myself, I
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  Speaker 1: should not pay him half so much deference. I declare,
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  Speaker 1: I do not know a more awful object than Darcy
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  Speaker 1: on particular occasions and in particular places, at his own
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  Speaker 1: house especially, and of a Sunday evening when he has
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  Speaker 1: nothing to do. Mr. Darcy smiled. but Elizabeth thought she
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  Speaker 1: could perceive that he was rather offended, and therefore checked
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  Speaker 1: her laugh. Miss Bingley warmly resented the indignity he had
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  Speaker 1: received in an expostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense.
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  Speaker 1: I see your design, Bingley, said his friend. You dislike
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  Speaker 1: an argument and want to silence this. Perhaps I do.
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  Speaker 1: Arguments are too much like disputes. If you and Miss
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  Speaker 1: Bennet will defer yours till I am out of the room,
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  Speaker 1: I shall be very thankful, and then you may say
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  Speaker 1: whatever you like of me. What you ask, said Elizabeth,
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  Speaker 1: is no sacrifice on my side, and Mr Darcy had
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  Speaker 1: much better finish his letter. Mr Darcy took her advice
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  Speaker 1: and did finish his letter. When that business was over,
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  Speaker 1: he applied to Miss Bingley and Elizabeth for the indulgence
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  Speaker 1: of some music. Miss Bingley moved with alacrity to the pianoforte,
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  Speaker 1: and after a polite request, that Elizabeth would lead the way,
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  Speaker 1: which the other as politely and more earnestly negatived, she
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  Speaker 1: seated herself. Mrs. Hurst sang with her sister, and while
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  Speaker 1: they were thus employed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as
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  Speaker 1: she turned over some music books that lay on the instrument,
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  Speaker 1: how frequently Mr. Darcy's eyes were fixed on her. She
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  Speaker 1: hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an
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  Speaker 1: object of admiration to so great a man, and yet
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  Speaker 1: that he should look at her because he disliked her,
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  Speaker 1: was still more strange. She could only imagine, however, at last,
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  Speaker 1: that she drew his notice because there was something about
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  Speaker 1: her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right,
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  Speaker 1: than in any other person present. The supposition did not
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  Speaker 1: pain her. She liked him too little to care for
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  Speaker 1: his approbation. After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied
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  Speaker 1: the charm by a lively Scotch air, and soon afterwards
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  Speaker 1: Mr Darcy, drawing near Elizabeth, said to her, Do you
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  Speaker 1: not feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity of dancing a reel? She smiled, but made
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  Speaker 1: no answer. he repeated the question with some surprise at
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  Speaker 1: her silence. Oh, said she, I heard you before, but
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  Speaker 1: I could not immediately determine what to say in reply.
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  Speaker 1: You wanted me, I know, to say yes, that you
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  Speaker 1: might have the pleasure of despising my taste, but I
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  Speaker 1: always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes and cheating
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  Speaker 1: a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore, made
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  Speaker 1: up my mind to tell you that I do not
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  Speaker 1: want to dance a reel at all, and now despise
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  Speaker 1: me if you dare. Indeed, I do not dare. Elizabeth,
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  Speaker 1: having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry.
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  Speaker 1: But there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in
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  Speaker 1: her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody.
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  Speaker 1: And Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman
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  Speaker 1: as he was by her. He really believed that, were
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  Speaker 1: it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should
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  Speaker 1: be in some danger. Miss Bingley saw, or suspected, enough
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  Speaker 1: to be jealous, and her great anxiety for the recovery
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  Speaker 1: of her dear friend Jane received some assistance from her
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  Speaker 1: desire of getting rid of Elizabeth. She often tried to
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  Speaker 1: provoke Darcy into disliking her guest by talking of their
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  Speaker 1: supposed marriage and planning his happiness in such an alliance.
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  Speaker 1: I hope, said she, as they were walking together in
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  Speaker 1: the shrubbery the next day, you will give your mother-in-law
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  Speaker 1: a few hints, when this desirable event takes place, as
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  Speaker 1: to the advantage of holding her tongue, and if you
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  Speaker 1: can compass it, to cure the younger girls of running
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  Speaker 1: after the officers. And, if I may mention so delicate
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  Speaker 1: a subject, endeavour to check that little something, bordering on
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  Speaker 1: conceit and impertinence, which your lady possesses. Have you anything
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  Speaker 1: else to propose for my domestic felicity? Oh, yes. Do
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  Speaker 1: let the portraits of your uncle and Aunt Phillips be
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  Speaker 1: placed in the gallery at Pemberley. Put them next to
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  Speaker 1: your great-uncle, the judge. They are in the same profession,
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  Speaker 1: you know, only in different lines. As for your Elizabeth's picture,
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  Speaker 1: you must not attempt to have it taken, for what
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  Speaker 1: painter could do justice to those beautiful eyes? It would
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  Speaker 1: not be easy indeed to catch their expressions. but their
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  Speaker 1: colour and shape and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine, might
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  Speaker 1: be copied. At that moment they were met from another
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  Speaker 1: walk by Mrs Hurst and Elizabeth herself. I did not
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  Speaker 1: know that you intended to walk, said Miss Bingley, in
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  Speaker 1: some confusion, lest they had been overheard. You used us
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  Speaker 1: abominably ill, answered Mrs Hurst. running away without telling us
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  Speaker 1: that you were coming out. Then, taking the disengaged arm
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  Speaker 1: of Mr Darcy, she left Elizabeth to walk by herself.
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  Speaker 1: The path just admitted three. Mr Darcy felt their rudeness
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  Speaker 1: and immediately said, This walk is not wide enough for
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  Speaker 1: our party. We had better go into the avenue. But Elizabeth,
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  Speaker 1: who had not the least inclination to remain with them,
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  Speaker 1: laughingly answered, No, no, stay where you are. You are
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  Speaker 1: charmingly grouped and appear to uncommon advantage. The picturesque would
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  Speaker 1: be spoilt by admitting a fourth. Goodbye. She then ran
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  Speaker 1: gaily off, rejoicing as she rambled about in the hope
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  Speaker 1: of being at home again in a day or two.
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  Speaker 1: Jane was already so much recovered that as to intend
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  Speaker 1: leaving her room for a couple of hours that evening.