It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in

possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man

may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so

well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is

considered the rightful property of some one or other of their

daughters.

"My dear Mr. Robinson" said his lady to him one day, "have

you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"

Mr. Robinson replied that he had not.

"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here,

and she told me all about it."

Mr. Robinson made no answer.

"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his

wife impatiently.

"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing

it."

This was invitation enough.

"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that

Northland is taken by a young man of large fortune from the

north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise

and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it,

that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take

possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to

be in the house by the end of next week."

"What is his name?"

"Bingley."

"Is he married or single?"

"Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large

fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our

girls!"

"How so? How can it affect them?"

"My dear Mr. Robinson," replied his wife, "how can you be

so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his

marrying one of them."

"Is that his design in settling here?"

"Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very

likely that he MAY fall in love with one of them, and

therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes."

i see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or

you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still

better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr.

Bingley may like you the best of the party."

"My dear, you flatter me. I certainly HAVE had my share

of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary

now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought

to give over thinking of her own beauty."

"In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to

think of."

"But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley

when he comes into the neighbourhood."

"It is more than I engage for, I assure you."

"But consider your daughters. Only think what an

establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and

Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for

in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you

must go, for it will be impossible for US to visit him if you do

not."

"You are over-scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley

will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by

you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying

whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a

good word for my little Lizzy."

"I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better

than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as

Janaya , nor half so good-humoured as Lara.. But you are always

giving her the preference."

"They have none of them much to recommend them,"

replied he; "they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but

Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters."

"Mr. Robinson, how can you abuse your own children in

such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no

compassion for my poor nerves."

"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your

nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention

them with consideration these last twenty years at least."

Mr. Robinson was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic

humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and

twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife

understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to

develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little

information, and uncertain temper. When she was

discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her

life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.

Mr. Robinson was among the earliest of those who waited on

Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to visit him, though to

the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till

the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of

it. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing

his second daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly

addressed her with:

"I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy."

"We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes,"

said her mother resentfully, "since we are not to visit."

"But you forget, mamma," said Elizabeth, "that we shall

meet him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long promised to

introduce him."

"I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She

has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical

woman, and I have no opinion of her."

"No more have I," said Mr. Robinson; "and I am glad to find

that you do not depend on her serving you."

Mrs. Robinson deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to

contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters.

"Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for Heaven's sake! Have a

little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces."

"Kitty has no discretion in her coughs," said her father;

"she times them ill."

"I do not cough for my own amusement," replied Kitty

fretfully. "When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?"

"To-morrow fortnight."

"Aye, so it is," cried her mother, "and Mrs. Long does not

come back till the day before; so it will be impossible for her

to introduce him, for she will not know him herself."

"Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your

friend, and introduce Mr. Bingley to her."

"Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible, when I am not

acquainted with him myself; how can you be so teasing?"

"I honour your circumspection. A fortnight's acquaintance

is certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is

by the end of a fortnight. But if we do not venture somebody

else will; and after all, Mrs. Long and her daughters must

stand their chance; and, therefore, as she will think it an act of

kindness, if you decline the office, I will take it on myself."

The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Robinson only,

"Nonsense, nonsense!"

"What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?"

cried he. "Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the

stress that is laid on them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree

with you there. What say you, Mary? For you are a young

lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and

make extracts."

Mary wished to say something sensible, but knew not how.

"While Mary is adjusting her ideas," he continued, "let us

return to Mr. Bingley."

"I am sick of Mr. Bingley," cried his wife.

"I am sorry to hear that; but why did not you tell me that

before? If I had known as much this morning I certainly

would not have called on him. It is very unlucky; but as I have

actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance

now."

The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished;

that of Mrs. Robinson perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when

the first tumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it

was what she had expected all the while.

"How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Robinson! But I knew

I should persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls

too well to neglect such an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I

am! and it is such a good joke, too, that you should have gone

this morning and never said a word about it till now."

"Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose," said

Mr. Robinson; and, as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with

the raptures of his wife.

"What an excellent father you have, girls!" said she, when

the door was shut. "I do not know how you will ever make

him amends for his kindness; or me, either, for that matter. At

our time of life it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to be

making new acquaintances every day; but for your sakes, we

would do anything. Lara, my love, though you are the

youngest, I dare say Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the

next ball."

"Oh!" said Lara stoutly, "I am not afraid; for though I am

the youngest, I'm the tallest."

The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how

soon he would return Mr. Bennet's visit, and determining wheen they should ask him for dinner.

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Not all that Mrs. Robinson 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

Northfield" said Mrs. Robinson 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. Robinson 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 came in a luxurious car.

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched;

and already had Mrs. Robinson 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. Robinson 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 Northfield 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. Damon 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 Northfield Such amiable

qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between

him and his friend! Mr. Damon 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. Robinson, whose dislike of his general

behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his

having slighted one of her daughters.

Elizabeth Robinson been obliged, by the scarcity of

gentle men, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that

time, Mr. Damon 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. Damon looking at the eldest Miss Robinson

"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. Damon 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. Robinson had seen her eldest daughter much

admired by the Northfield 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 Janays 's pleasure. Mary

had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most

accomplished girl in the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lara 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. Robinson 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 events 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. Robinson" as she entered the room, "we

have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I

wish you had been there. Janaya 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 Janaya 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 sprinkled his ankle in first place.

"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. Robinson 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. Damon

"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."

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