Chapter 61

by Jane Austen

　　Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on whichMrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters.With what delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs. Bingley,and talked of Mrs. Darcy, may be guessed. I wish I could say,for the sake of her family, that the accomplishment of herearnest desire in the establishment of so many of her childrenproduced so happy an effect as to make her a sensible, amiable,well-informed woman for the rest of her life; though perhaps itwas lucky for her husband, who might not have relished domesticfelicity in so unusual a form, that she still was occasionallynervous and invariably silly.Mr. Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; hisaffection for her drew him oftener from home than any thingelse could do. He delighted in going to Pemberley, especiallywhen he was least expected.Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only atwelvemonth. So near a vicinity to her mother and Merytonrelations was not desirable even to his easy temper, or heraffectionate heart. The darling wish of his sisters was thengratified; he bought an estate in a neighbouring county toDerbyshire, and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to every othersource of happiness, were within thirty miles of each other.Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of hertime with her two elder sisters. In society so superior towhat she had generally known, her improvement was great. Shewas not of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia; and, removed fromthe influence of Lydia's example, she became, by properattention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, andless insipid. From the farther disadvantage of Lydia's societyshe was of course carefully kept, and though Mrs. Wickhamfrequently invited her to come and stay with her, with thepromise of balls and young men, her father would never consentto her going.Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she wasnecessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments byMrs. Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone. Mary wasobliged to mix more with the world, but she could stillmoralize over every morning visit; and as she was no longermortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and herown, it was suspected by her father that she submitted tothe change without much reluctance.As for Wickham and Lydia, their characters suffered norevolution from the marriage of her sisters. He bore withphilosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now becomeacquainted with whatever of his ingratitude and falsehoodhad before been unknown to her; and in spite of every thing,was not wholly without hope that Darcy might yet be prevailedon to make his fortune. The congratulatory letter whichElizabeth received from Lydia on her marriage, explained toher that, by his wife at least, if not by himself, such ahope was cherished. The letter was to this effect:"My Dear Lizzy,I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do mydear Wickham, you must be very happy. It is a great comfort tohave you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hopeyou will think of us. I am sure Wickham would like a place atcourt very much, and I do not think we shall have quite moneyenough to live upon without some help. Any place would do, ofabout three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speakto Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather not.Your's, &c."As it happened that Elizabeth had much rather not, sheendeavoured in her answer to put an end to every intreatyand expectation of the kind. Such relief, however, as itwas in her power to afford, by the practice of what might becalled economy in her own private expences, she frequentlysent them. It had always been evident to her that such anincome as theirs, under the direction of two persons soextravagant in their wants, and heedless of the future, mustbe very insufficient to their support; and whenever theychanged their quarters, either Jane or herself were sure ofbeing applied to for some little assistance towards dischargingtheir bills. Their manner of living, even when the restorationof peace dismissed them to a home, was unsettled in theextreme. They were always moving from place to place in questof a cheap situation, and always spending more than they ought.His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; her's lasteda little longer; and in spite of her youth and her manners, sheretained all the claims to reputation which her marriage hadgiven her.Though Darcy could never receive him at Pemberley, yet, forElizabeth's sake, he assisted him farther in his profession.Lydia was occasionally a visitor there, when her husband wasgone to enjoy himself in London or Bath; and with the Bingleysthey both of them frequently staid so long, that even Bingley'sgood humour was overcome, and he proceeded so far as to talkof giving them a hint to be gone.Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; butas she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting atPemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than everof Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, andpaid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.Pemberley was now Georgiana's home; and the attachment of thesisters was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see. They wereable to love each other even as well as they intended.Georgiana had the highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth;though at first she often listened with an astonishmentbordering on alarm at her lively, sportive, manner of talkingto her brother. He, who had always inspired in herself arespect which almost overcame her affection, she now saw theobject of open pleasantry. Her mind received knowledge whichhad never before fallen in her way. By Elizabeth'sinstructions, she began to comprehend that a woman may takeliberties with her husband which a brother will not alwaysallow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself.Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of hernephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of hercharacter in her reply to the letter which announced itsarrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especiallyof Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end.But at length, by Elizabeth's persuasion, he was prevailed onto overlook the offence, and seek a reconciliation; and, aftera little farther resistance on the part of his aunt, herresentment gave way, either to her affection for him, or hercuriosity to see how his wife conducted herself; and shecondescended to wait on them at Pemberley, in spite of thatpollution which its woods had received, not merely from thepresence of such a mistress, but the visits of her uncle andaunt from the city.With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimateterms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; andthey were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towardsthe persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been themeans of uniting them.