Chapter 30

by Jane Austen

　　Sir William stayed only a week at Hunsford, but his visit waslong enough to convince him of his daughter's being mostcomfortably settled, and of her possessing such a husband andsuch a neighbour as were not often met with. While Sir Williamwas with them, Mr. Collins devoted his morning to driving himout in his gig, and showing him the country; but when he wentaway, the whole family returned to their usual employments, andElizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of hercousin by the alteration, for the chief of the time betweenbreakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work inthe garden or in reading and writing, and looking out of thewindow in his own book-room, which fronted the road. Theroom in which the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth had atfirst rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer thedining-parlour for common use; it was a better sized room, andhad a more pleasant aspect; but she soon saw that her friend hadan excellent reason for what she did, for Mr. Collins wouldundoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment had theysat in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for thearrangement.>From the drawing-room they could distinguish nothing in thelane, and were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge ofwhat carriages went along, and how often especially Miss deBourgh drove by in her phaeton, which he never failed comingto inform them of, though it happened almost every day. Shenot unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a fewminutes' conversation with Charlotte, but was scarcely everprevailed upon to get out.Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk toRosings, and not many in which his wife did not think itnecessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that theremight be other family livings to be disposed of, she could notunderstand the sacrifice of so many hours. Now and then theywere honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothingescaped her observation that was passing in the room duringthese visits. She examined into their employments, looked attheir work, and advised them to do it differently; found faultwith the arrangement of the furniture; or detected the housemaidin negligence; and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to doit only for the sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins's joints ofeat were too large for her family.Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not incommission of the peace of the county, she was a most activemagistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of whichwere carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of thecottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or toopoor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences,silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony andplenty.The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twicea week; and, allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there beingonly one card-table in the evening, every such entertainment wasthe counterpart of the first. Their other engagements were few,as the style of living in the neighbourhood in general was beyondMr. Collins's reach. This, however, was no evil to Elizabeth,and upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough;there were half-hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte,and the weather was so fine for the time of year that she hadoften great enjoyment out of doors. Her favourite walk, andwhere she frequently went while the others were calling on LadyCatherine, was along the open grove which edged that side ofthe park, where there was a nice sheltered path, which no oneseemed to value but herself, and where she felt beyond the reachof Lady Catherine's curiosity.In this quiet way, the first fortnight of her visit soon passedaway. Easter was approaching, and the week preceding it wasto bring an addition to the family at Rosings, which in so small acircle must be important. Elizabeth had heard soon after herarrival that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a fewweeks, and though there were not many of her acquaintanceswhom she did not prefer, his coming would furnish onecomparatively new to look at in their Rosings parties, and shemight be amused in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley's designson him were, by his behaviour to his cousin, for whom he wasevidently destined by Lady Catherine, who talked of his comingwith the greatest satisfaction, spoke of him in terms of thehighest admiration, and seemed almost angry to find that he hadalready been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.His arrival was soon known at the Parsonage; for Mr. Collinswas walking the whole morning within view of the lodgesopening into Hunsford Lane, in order to have the earliestassurance of it, and after making his bow as the carriage turnedinto the Park, hurried home with the great intelligence. On thefollowing morning he hastened to Rosings to pay his respects.There were two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, forMr. Darcy had brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, theyounger son of his uncle Lord ----, and, to the great surprise ofall the party, when Mr. Collins returned, the gentlemanaccompanied him. Charlotte had seen them from her husband'sroom, crossing the road, and immediately running into the other,told the girls what an honour they might expect, adding:"I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcywould never have come so soon to wait upon me."Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to thecompliment, before their approach was announced by thedoor-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen enteredthe room. Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was aboutthirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly thegentleman . Mr. Darcy looked just as he had been used to lookin Hertfordshire-- paid his compliments, with his usual reserve,to Mrs. Collins, and whatever might be his feelings toward herfriend, met her with every appearance of composure. Elizabethmerely curtseyed to him without saying a word.Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly with thereadiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked verypleasantly; but his cousin, after having addressed a slightobservation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins, sat forsome time without speaking to anybody. At length, however,his civility was so far awakened as to inquire of Elizabeth afterthe health of her family. She answered him in the usual way,and after a moment's pause, added:"My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Haveyou never happened to see her there?"She was perfectly sensible that he never had; but she wished tosee whether he would betray any consciousness of what hadpassed between the Bingleys and Jane, and she thought helooked a little confused as he answered that he had never beenso fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet. The subject was pursuedno farther, and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away.