Chapter 42

by Jane Austen

　　Had Elizabeth's opinion been all drawn from her own family, shecould not have formed a very pleasing opinion of conjugalfelicity or domestic comfort. Her father, captivated by youthand beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youthand beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weakunderstanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriageput and end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, andconfidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestichappiness were overthrown. But Mr. Bennet was not of adisposition to seek comfort for the disappointment which hisown imprudence had brought on, in any of those pleasures whichtoo often console the unfortunate for their folly of their vice. Hewas fond of the country and of books; and from these tastes hadarisen his principal enjoyments. To his wife he was very littleotherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly hadcontributed to his amusement. This is not the sort of happinesswhich a man would in general wish to owe to his wife; butwhere other powers of entertainment are wanting, the truephilosopher will derive benefit from such as are given.Elizabeth, however, had never been blind to the impropriety ofher father's behaviour as a husband. She had always seen it withpain; but respecting his abilities, and grateful for his affectionatetreatment of herself, she endeavoured to forget what she couldnot overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that continualbreach of conjugal obligation and decorum which, in exposinghis wife to the contempt of her own children, was so highlyreprehensible. But she had never felt so strongly as now thedisadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable amarriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising fromso ill-judged a direction of talents; talents, which, rightly used,might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters,even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife.When Elizabeth had rejoiced over Wickham's departure shefound little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of theregiment. Their parties abroad were less varied than before, andat home she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings atthe dullness of everything around them threw a real gloom overtheir domestic circle; and, though Kitty might in time regain hernatural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain wereremoved, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evilmight be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her follyand assurance by a situation of such double danger as awatering-place and a camp. Upon the whole, therefore, shefound, what has been sometimes been found before, that anevent to which she had been looking with impatient desire didnot, in taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promisedherself. It was consequently necessary to name some otherperiod for the commencement of actual felicity-- to have someother point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed, andby again enjoying the pleasure of anticipation, console herself forthe present, and prepare for another disappointment. Her tourto the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts; it washer best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours which thediscontentedness of her mother and Kitty made inevitable; andcould she have included Jane in the scheme, every part of itwould have been perfect."But it is fortunate," thought she, "that I have something to wishfor. Were the whole arrangement complete, my disappointmentwould be certain. But here, by carrying with me one ceaselesssource of regret in my sister's absence, I may reasonably hope tohave all my expectations of pleasure realised. A scheme ofwhich every part promises delight can never be successful; andgeneral disappointment is only warded off by the defence ofsome little peculiar vexation."When Lydia went away she promised to write very often andvery minutely to her mother and Kitty; but her letters werealways long expected, and always very short. Those to hermother contained little else than that they were just returnedfrom the library, where such and such officers had attendedthem, and where she had seen such beautiful ornaments as madeher quite wild; that she had a new gown, or a new parasol, whichshe would have described more fully, but was obliged to leaveoff in a violent hurry, as Mrs. Forster called her, and they weregoing off to the camp; and from her correspondence with hersister, there was still less to be learnt-- for her letters to Kitty,though rather longer, were much too full of lines under thewords to be made public.After the first fortnight or three weeks of her absence, health,good humour, and cheerfulness began to reappear at Longbourn.Everything wore a happier aspect. The families who had been intown for the winter came back again, and summer finery andsummer engagements arose. Mrs. Bennet was restored to herusual querulous serenity; and, by the middle of June, Kitty wasso much recovered as to be able to enter Meryton without tears;an event of such happy promise as to make Elizabeth hope thatby the following Christmas she might be so tolerably reasonableas not to mention an officer above once a day, unless, by somecruel and malicious arrangement at the War Office, anotherregiment should be quartered in Meryton.The time fixed for the beginning of their northern tour was nowfast approaching, and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when aletter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed itscommencement and curtailed its extent. Mr. Gardiner would beprevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later inJuly, and must be in London again within a month, and as thatleft too short a period for them to go so far, and see so muchas they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure andcomfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up theLakes, and substitute a more contracted tour, and, according tothe present plan, were to go no farther northwards thanDerbyshire. In that county there was enough to be seen tooccupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner ithad a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she hadformerly passed some years of her life, and where they were nowto spend a few days, was probably as great an object of hercuriosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth,Dovedale, or the Peak.Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart onseeing the Lakes, and still thought there might have been timeenough. But it was her business to be satisfied-- and certainlyher temper to be happy; and all was soon right again.With the mention of Derbyshire there were many ideasconnected. It was impossible for her to see the word withoutthinking of Pemberley and its owner. "But surely," said she, "Imay enter his county without impunity, and rob it of a fewpetrified spars without his perceiving me."The period of expectation was now doubled. Four weeks wereto pass away before her uncle and aunt's arrival. But they didpass away, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, with their four children,did at length appear at Longbourn. The children, two girls of sixand eight years old, and two younger boys, were to be left underthe particular care of their cousin Jane, who was the generalfavourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temperexactly adapted her for attending to them in every way--teaching them, playing with them, and loving them.The Gardiners stayed only one night at Longbourn, and set offthe next morning with Elizabeth in pursuit of novelty andamusement. One enjoyment was certain-- that of suitableness ofcompanions; a suitableness which comprehended health andtemper to bear inconveniences-- cheerfulness to enhance everypleasure-- and affection and intelligence, which might supply itamong themselves if there were disappointments abroad.It is not the object of this work to give a description ofDerbyshire, nor of any of the remarkable places through whichtheir route thither lay; Oxford, Blenheim, Warwick, Kenilworth,Birmingham, &c., are sufficiently known. A small part ofDerbyshire is all the present concern. To the little town ofLambton, the scene of Mrs. Gardiner's former residence, andwhere she had lately learned some acquaintance still remained,they bent their steps, after having seen all the principal wondersof the country; and within five miles of Lambton, Elizabethfound from her aunt that Pemberley was situated. It was not intheir direct road, nor more than a mile or two out of it. Intalking over their route the evening before, Mrs. Gardinerexpressed an inclination to see the place again. Mr. Gardinerdeclared his willingness, and Elizabeth was applied to for herapprobation."My love, should not you like to see a place of which you haveheard so much?" said her aunt; "a place, too, with which somany of your acquaintances are connected. Wickham passed allhis youth there, you know."Elizabeth was distressed. She felt that she had no business atPemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeingit. She must own that she was tired of seeing great houses; aftergoing over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets orsatin curtains.Mrs. Gardiner abused her stupidity. If it were merely a finehouse richly furnished," said she, "I should not care about itmyself; but the grounds are delightful. They have some of thefinest woods in the country."Elizabeth said no more-- but her mind could not acquiesce. Thepossibility of meeting Mr. Darcy, while viewing the place,instantly occurred. It would be dreadful! She blushed at thevery idea, and thought it would be better to speak openly to heraunt than to run such a risk. But against this there wereobjections; and she finally resolved that it could be the lastresource, if her private inquiries to the absence of the familywere unfavourably answered.Accordingly, when she retired at night, she asked thechambermaid whether Pemberley were not a very fine place?what was the name of its proprietor? and, with no little alarm,whether the family were down for the summer? A mostwelcome negative followed the last question-- and her alarmsnow being removed, she was at leisure to feel a great deal ofcuriosity to see the house herself; and when the subject wasrevived the next morning, and she was again applied to, couldreadily answer, and with a proper air of indifference, that she hadnot really any dislike to the scheme. To Pemberley, therefore,they were to go.