第18章

'The person of whom I speak，is a gentleman and a stranger.'Mrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled.—'A gentleman and a stranger！It is Mr.Bingley I am sure.Why Jane—you never dropt a word of this；you sly thing！Well，I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr.Bingley.—But—good lord！how unlucky！there is not a bit of fish to be got to-day.Lydia，my love，ring the bell.I must speak to Hill，this moment.'

'It is not Mr. Bingley，'said her husband；'it is a person whom I never saw in the whole course of my life.'

This roused a general astonishment；and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and five daughters at once.

After amusing himself some time with their curiosity，he thus explained.'About a month ago I received this letter，and about a fortnight ago I answered it，for I thought it a case of some delicacy，and requiring early attention. It is from my cousin，Mr.Collins，who，when I am dead，may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases.'

'Oh！my dear，'cried his wife，'I cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man.I do think it is the hardest thing in the world，that your estate should be entailed away from your own children；and I am sure if I had been you，I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.'

Jane and Elizabeth attempted to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted it before，but it was a subject on which Mrs.Bennet was beyond the reach of reason；and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters，in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about.

'It certainly is a most iniquitous affair，'said Mr. Bennet，'and nothing can clear Mr.Collins from the guilt of inheriting Longbourn.But if you will listen to his letter，you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself.'

'No，that I am sure I shall not；and I think it was very impertinent of him to write to you at all，and very hypocritical. I hate such false friends.Why could not he keep on quarrelling with you，as his father did before him？'

'Why，indeed，he does seem to have had some filial scruples on that head，as you will hear.'

Hunsford，near Westerham，Kent，

15th October.

'Dear Sir，

'The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father，always gave me much uneasiness，and since I have had the misfortune to lose him，I have frequently wished to heal the breach；but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts，fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with any one，with whom it had always pleased him to be at variance.—'There，Mrs. Bennet.'—My mind however is now made up on the subject，for having received ordination at Easter，I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh，widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh，whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish，where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her Ladyship，and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the Church of England.As a clergyman，moreover，I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence；and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures of good-will are highly commendable，and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate，will be kindly overlooked on your side，and not lead you to reject the offered olive branch.I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters，and beg leave to apologise for it，as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends，—but of this hereafter.If you should have no objection to receive me into your house，I propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family，Monday，November 18th，by four o'clock，and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday se'night following，which I can do without any inconvenience，as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday，provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.I remain，dear sir，with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters，your well-wisher and friend，

William Collins.'

'At four o'clock，therefore，we may expect this peace-making gentleman，'said Mr. Bennet，as he folded up the letter.'He seems to be a most conscientious and polite young man，upon my word；and I doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance，especially if Lady Catherine should be so indulgent as to let him come to us again.'

'There is some sense in what he says about the girls however；and if he is disposed to make them any amends，I shall not be the person to discourage him.'

'Though it is difficult，'said Jane，'to guess in what way he can mean to make us the atonement he thinks our due，the wish is certainly to his credit.'

Elizabeth was chiefly struck with his extraordinary deference for Lady Catherine，and his kind intention of christening，marrying，and burying his parishioners whenever it were required.

'He must be an oddity，I think，'said she.'I cannot make him out.—There is something very pompous in his stile.—And what can he mean by apologizing for being next in the entail？—We cannot suppose he would help it，if he could.—Can he be a sensible man，sir？'

'No，my dear；I think not. I have great hopes of finding him quite the reverse.There is a mixture of servility and self-importance in his letter，which promises well.I am impatient to see him.'

'In point of composition，'said Mary，'his letter does not seem defective. The idea of the olive branch perhaps is not wholly new，yet I think it is well expressed.'