Not that I mean to find fault with _you_, for such things,
I know, are all chance in this world
But I can assure the young ladies that I come
prepared to admire them
At present I will not say more, but, perhaps,
when we are better acquainted----”

He was interrupted by a summons to dinner; and the girls smiled on each
other
They were not the only objects of Mr
The
hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture, were examined and praised;
and his commendation of everything would have touched Mrs
Bennet’s
heart, but for the mortifying supposition of his viewing it all as his
own future property
The dinner, too, in its turn, was highly admired;
and he begged to know to which of his fair cousins the excellence of its
cookery was owing
But here he was set right by Mrs
Bennet, who assured
him, with some asperity, that they were very well able to keep a good
cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen
He begged
pardon for having displeased her
In a softened tone she declared
herself not at all offended; but he continued to apologize for about a
quarter of an hour
[Illustration]




CHAPTER XIV


[Illustration]

During dinner, Mr
Lady
Catherine de Bourgh’s attention to his wishes, and consideration for his
comfort, appeared very remarkable
Bennet could not have chosen
better
Collins was eloquent in her praise
She had been graciously pleased to
approve of both the discourses which he had already had the honour of
preaching before her
She had also asked him twice to dine at Rosings,
and had sent for him only the Saturday before, to make up her pool of
quadrille in the evening
Lady Catherine was reckoned proud by many
people, he knew, but _he_ had never seen anything but affability in her
“That is all very proper and civil, I am sure,” said Mrs
Bennet, “and I
dare say she is a very agreeable woman
It is a pity that great ladies
in general are not more like her
Does she live near you, sir?”

“The garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only by a lane
from Rosings Park, her Ladyship’s residence.”

“I think you said she was a widow, sir
has she any family?”

“She has one only daughter, the heiress of Rosings, and of very
extensive property.”

“Ah,” cried Mrs
Bennet, shaking her head, “then she is better off than
many girls
And what sort of young lady is she
Is she handsome?”

“She is a most charming young lady, indeed
But she is perfectly amiable, and often condescends
to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.”

“Has she been presented
Her Ladyship seemed pleased
with the idea; and you may imagine that I am happy on every occasion to
offer those little delicate compliments which are always acceptable to
ladies
I have more than once observed to Lady Catherine, that her
charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess; and that the most
elevated rank, instead of giving her consequence, would be adorned by
her
These are the kind of little things which please her Ladyship, and
it is a sort of attention which I conceive myself peculiarly bound to
pay.”

“You judge very properly,” said Mr
Bennet; “and it is happy for you
that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy
Bennet’s expectations were fully answered
By tea-time, however, the dose had been enough, and Mr
Kitty stared at him, and Lydia
exclaimed
and if he does, Colonel Forster will hire him
My aunt told me
so herself on Saturday
I shall walk to Meryton to-morrow to hear more
about it, and to ask when Mr
Denny comes back from town.”

Lydia was bid by her two eldest sisters to hold her tongue; but Mr
Collins, much offended, laid aside his book, and said,--

“I have often observed how little young ladies are interested by books
of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit
It amazes
me, I confess; for certainly there can be nothing so advantageous to
them as instruction
But I will no longer importune my young cousin.”

Then, turning to Mr
Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist at
backgammon
Bennet accepted the challenge, observing that he acted
very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements
Bennet and her daughters apologized most civilly for Lydia’s
interruption, and promised that it should not occur again, if he would
resume his book; but Mr
Collins, after assuring them that he bore his
young cousin no ill-will, and should never resent her behaviour as any
affront, seated himself at another table with Mr
Bennet, and prepared
for backgammon
His plan did not vary on seeing them
Miss Bennet’s lovely face
confirmed his views, and established all his strictest notions of what
was due to seniority; and for the first evening _she_ was his settled
choice
The next morning, however, made an alteration; for in a quarter
of an hour’s _tête-à-tête_ with Mrs
Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth--and it was soon
done--done while Mrs