06-03-傲慢与偏见 [37]
Collins
The following Monday Mrs Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife， who came as usual to spend Christmas at Longbourn． Mr Gardiner was a sensible， gentlemanlike man．The Netherfield ladies would have had dif－ ficulty in believing that a man who lived by buying and selling could be so well－mannered and agreeable． Mrs Gardiner， who was several years younger than Mrs Bennet and Mrs Philips， was a pleasant，intelligent，elegant woman，and a grest favourite with her Longbourn nieces，especially the two eldest， who often stayed with her in London．
When Mrs Gardiner had given the presents she had brought with her， and described the newest fashions， she was obliged to listen to Mrs Bennet's complaints．
‘I've suffered greatly since your last visit， sister！’cried Mrs Bennet．‘Just imagine！Two of my daughters were very close to marriage—and then—nothing！I do not blame Jane， who would have got Mr Bingley if she could， but Lizzy！Oh， sister！ It is hard to think she might have been Mrs Collins by now，if she hadn't been so obstinate！The result is that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before me． It makes me quite ill， to have such a disobedient daughter and such selfish neighbours． But your coming just now is a great comfort to me，and I am very glad to hear what you tell us，about long sleeves．’
Mrs Gardiner made a suitably sympathetic reply to her sister－in－law， and later that day found the opportunity to dis－ cuss the matter in more detail with Elizabeth，alone．
‘I am sorry for Jane，’she said kindly，‘but，Lizzy，these things happen often！A young man like Mr Bingley fre－ quently falls in love with a pretty girl， and when chance sepa－ rates them， he forgets her very quickly．’
‘Yes， aunt，’said Elizabeth，‘but in this case it was not chance，but the young man's interfering friends，who separated Jane and Mr Bingley． I'm sure he was violently in love with her．’
‘Poor Jane！She's so sensitive．I'm afraid she may not get over it for some time．Now，if it had been you，Lizzy， you would have recovered more quickly， by finding humour in the situation．But do you think I could persuade Jane to come back with us to London？ Perhaps a change of air would make her feel better．’
Elizabeth was extremely grateful to her aunt for this kind suggestion，and felt sure Jane would gladly agree．
‘I hope，’added Mrs Gardiner，‘that she will not be influenced by the hope of seeing the young man． We live in such a different part of town that it is very unlikely they will meet， unless he actually comes to see her．’
‘that is quite impossible，because his friend Mr Darcy would not allow him to visit so unfashionable an address！’But despite her protest，Elizabeth secretly thought that Jane might see Bingley in London and that a meeting would probably reawaken his affection for her．
The Gardiners stayed at Longbourn for a week，and MrsBennet made sure there was always some entertainment for her brother and sister－in－law．Whenever there was a dinner party at Longbourn House， some of the officers were always invited．Mrs Gardiner，who had noticed that Mr Wickham was a very frequent visitor and that Elizabeth spoke admiringly of him， took care to observe them both．She saw enough to make her a little anxious， and decided to speak to Elizabeth about him when they were alone．
‘Lizzy，’she began，‘I can see that you and Mr Wickham like each other．But I must warn you not to get seriously in－ volved with him．I admit he's a most interesting young man， but sadly he has no fortune．You are a sensible girl， and must realize that you would disappoint your father by agreeing to marry a penniless young man．’
‘My dear aunt， do not worry．I’ll take care of myself， and Mr Wickham too．He won't be in love with me，if I can pre－ vent
The following Monday Mrs Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife， who came as usual to spend Christmas at Longbourn． Mr Gardiner was a sensible， gentlemanlike man．The Netherfield ladies would have had dif－ ficulty in believing that a man who lived by buying and selling could be so well－mannered and agreeable． Mrs Gardiner， who was several years younger than Mrs Bennet and Mrs Philips， was a pleasant，intelligent，elegant woman，and a grest favourite with her Longbourn nieces，especially the two eldest， who often stayed with her in London．
When Mrs Gardiner had given the presents she had brought with her， and described the newest fashions， she was obliged to listen to Mrs Bennet's complaints．
‘I've suffered greatly since your last visit， sister！’cried Mrs Bennet．‘Just imagine！Two of my daughters were very close to marriage—and then—nothing！I do not blame Jane， who would have got Mr Bingley if she could， but Lizzy！Oh， sister！ It is hard to think she might have been Mrs Collins by now，if she hadn't been so obstinate！The result is that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before me． It makes me quite ill， to have such a disobedient daughter and such selfish neighbours． But your coming just now is a great comfort to me，and I am very glad to hear what you tell us，about long sleeves．’
Mrs Gardiner made a suitably sympathetic reply to her sister－in－law， and later that day found the opportunity to dis－ cuss the matter in more detail with Elizabeth，alone．
‘I am sorry for Jane，’she said kindly，‘but，Lizzy，these things happen often！A young man like Mr Bingley fre－ quently falls in love with a pretty girl， and when chance sepa－ rates them， he forgets her very quickly．’
‘Yes， aunt，’said Elizabeth，‘but in this case it was not chance，but the young man's interfering friends，who separated Jane and Mr Bingley． I'm sure he was violently in love with her．’
‘Poor Jane！She's so sensitive．I'm afraid she may not get over it for some time．Now，if it had been you，Lizzy， you would have recovered more quickly， by finding humour in the situation．But do you think I could persuade Jane to come back with us to London？ Perhaps a change of air would make her feel better．’
Elizabeth was extremely grateful to her aunt for this kind suggestion，and felt sure Jane would gladly agree．
‘I hope，’added Mrs Gardiner，‘that she will not be influenced by the hope of seeing the young man． We live in such a different part of town that it is very unlikely they will meet， unless he actually comes to see her．’
‘that is quite impossible，because his friend Mr Darcy would not allow him to visit so unfashionable an address！’But despite her protest，Elizabeth secretly thought that Jane might see Bingley in London and that a meeting would probably reawaken his affection for her．
The Gardiners stayed at Longbourn for a week，and MrsBennet made sure there was always some entertainment for her brother and sister－in－law．Whenever there was a dinner party at Longbourn House， some of the officers were always invited．Mrs Gardiner，who had noticed that Mr Wickham was a very frequent visitor and that Elizabeth spoke admiringly of him， took care to observe them both．She saw enough to make her a little anxious， and decided to speak to Elizabeth about him when they were alone．
‘Lizzy，’she began，‘I can see that you and Mr Wickham like each other．But I must warn you not to get seriously in－ volved with him．I admit he's a most interesting young man， but sadly he has no fortune．You are a sensible girl， and must realize that you would disappoint your father by agreeing to marry a penniless young man．’
‘My dear aunt， do not worry．I’ll take care of myself， and Mr Wickham too．He won't be in love with me，if I can pre－ vent