06-03-傲慢与偏见 [32]
was likely to live．Charlotte herself was quite satisfied．Mr Collins， certainly，was neither sensible nor agreeable，but still he would be a husband．She did not think highly of men or of marriage， but she had always intended to marry．Although marriage might not always bring happiness，it was the only honourable way in which a well－educated woman with little income could provide a home for herself． Now twenty－seven， and lacking beauty， she felt she was lucky to have found a husband．
She knew，however，that Elizabeth，whose friendship she greatly valued， would be astonished and possibly disapproving． So she decided to go to Longbourn House to tell her friend the news herself． Elizabeth was indeed shocked at first， and could not help crying out in surprise， but when Charlotte explained her reasons for accepting Mr Collins， Elizabeth tried hard to understand．When the rest of the Bennet family heard the news，they were also astonished．Mrs Bennet was quite horrified， and could not stop complaining bitterly about Charlotte's wickedness， Mr Collins'stupidity and Elizabeth's obstinacy． Mr Bennet was much calmer， only saying he was pleased to discover that Charlotte， whom he used to consider quite sensible， was as foolish as his wife， and more foolish than his daugh－ter！
That day was Mr Collins’last at Longbourn，and he left with many speeches of thanks， as well as a promise to return very soon．Mr Bennet warned him to be careful not to offend his patron， by being absent from his duties too often，but Mr Collins，although extremely grateful for this sign of Mr Bennet's cousinly affection for him， was naturally eager to return to Hertfordshire， to see his future wife．
Only two weeks later he did，in fact，come back to stay at Longbourn， but spent most of his time at Lucas Lodge， making arrangements for the wedding．Mrs Bennet still felt very offended by him， but she was now becoming anxious about something even more important—Mr Bingley's continued absence． Day after day had passed with no news since the arrival of Car－ oline Bingley’ s letter． Elizabeth was now rather worried， and Jane feared the worst．Finally a second letter arrived from Caroline Bingley， and when Jane read it， she realized that all hope was over． The Bingley family were staying in London for the whole winter，and Georgiana Darcy was a frequent member of their circle． Miss Bingley boasted joyfully of this friendship， and looked forward to her brother's probable marriage to Miss Darcy．
Although she was deeply upset， Jane bravely tried to control her feelings．‘Do not worry，Lizzy，I shall be able to forget him in a while． I have nothing to complain of， as he made no promises to me． I just thought he cared for me， but I was wrong． Luckily， no one is hurt except myself．’
‘My dear Jane！’ said Elizabeth．‘You are too good．You al－ ways think the best of everybody．Now I think the worst of most people， and do not see much real value or common sense around me． Mr Bingley， for example． He may not be intending to hurt you， but misery can be caused by someone being just weak and indecisive．I'm convinced his sisters and his friend， Mr Darcy， are trying to influence him against you．Another ex－ ample is Charlotte．I can't understand how she could agree to marry such a self－important， proud， silly man！’
‘Dear Lizzy，’said Jane，‘we must respect Charlotte's deci－ sion．She may well be happy with Mr Collins．And as for Mr Bingley，we shouldn't expect a sociable young man to be so careful of his behaviour．Women often imagine admiration means more than it really does．’
‘And men want that to happen．’
‘I prefer to believe that I was mistaken in thinking he cared for me， and that his sisters love him and approve of his wish to marry Miss Darcy．I don't want to think badly of him or his sisters．That would be worse than
She knew，however，that Elizabeth，whose friendship she greatly valued， would be astonished and possibly disapproving． So she decided to go to Longbourn House to tell her friend the news herself． Elizabeth was indeed shocked at first， and could not help crying out in surprise， but when Charlotte explained her reasons for accepting Mr Collins， Elizabeth tried hard to understand．When the rest of the Bennet family heard the news，they were also astonished．Mrs Bennet was quite horrified， and could not stop complaining bitterly about Charlotte's wickedness， Mr Collins'stupidity and Elizabeth's obstinacy． Mr Bennet was much calmer， only saying he was pleased to discover that Charlotte， whom he used to consider quite sensible， was as foolish as his wife， and more foolish than his daugh－ter！
That day was Mr Collins’last at Longbourn，and he left with many speeches of thanks， as well as a promise to return very soon．Mr Bennet warned him to be careful not to offend his patron， by being absent from his duties too often，but Mr Collins，although extremely grateful for this sign of Mr Bennet's cousinly affection for him， was naturally eager to return to Hertfordshire， to see his future wife．
Only two weeks later he did，in fact，come back to stay at Longbourn， but spent most of his time at Lucas Lodge， making arrangements for the wedding．Mrs Bennet still felt very offended by him， but she was now becoming anxious about something even more important—Mr Bingley's continued absence． Day after day had passed with no news since the arrival of Car－ oline Bingley’ s letter． Elizabeth was now rather worried， and Jane feared the worst．Finally a second letter arrived from Caroline Bingley， and when Jane read it， she realized that all hope was over． The Bingley family were staying in London for the whole winter，and Georgiana Darcy was a frequent member of their circle． Miss Bingley boasted joyfully of this friendship， and looked forward to her brother's probable marriage to Miss Darcy．
Although she was deeply upset， Jane bravely tried to control her feelings．‘Do not worry，Lizzy，I shall be able to forget him in a while． I have nothing to complain of， as he made no promises to me． I just thought he cared for me， but I was wrong． Luckily， no one is hurt except myself．’
‘My dear Jane！’ said Elizabeth．‘You are too good．You al－ ways think the best of everybody．Now I think the worst of most people， and do not see much real value or common sense around me． Mr Bingley， for example． He may not be intending to hurt you， but misery can be caused by someone being just weak and indecisive．I'm convinced his sisters and his friend， Mr Darcy， are trying to influence him against you．Another ex－ ample is Charlotte．I can't understand how she could agree to marry such a self－important， proud， silly man！’
‘Dear Lizzy，’said Jane，‘we must respect Charlotte's deci－ sion．She may well be happy with Mr Collins．And as for Mr Bingley，we shouldn't expect a sociable young man to be so careful of his behaviour．Women often imagine admiration means more than it really does．’
‘And men want that to happen．’
‘I prefer to believe that I was mistaken in thinking he cared for me， and that his sisters love him and approve of his wish to marry Miss Darcy．I don't want to think badly of him or his sisters．That would be worse than