06-03-傲慢与偏见 [9]
ter has a cold？ Her hair looked so untidy！ And her dress！Simply covereb in mud！’
‘I must say，’said Bingley，‘I didn't notice any of that．I thought she looked remarkably attractive when she arrived this morning．
‘You observed her wild appearance，I'm sure，Mr Darcy，’said Miss Bingley，‘and I imagine you wouldn't wish your sis- ter to make such a show of herself．’
‘Certainly not．’
‘Walking four or five kilometres，whatever it was，up to her ankles in mud， and alone， quite alone！It seems to me to show a dreadful sort of independence， a country girl's indifference to what is acceptable．’
‘I think it shows a very pleasing affection for her sister，’said Bingley．
‘I'm afraid， Mr Darcy，’whispered Miss Bingley，‘that this adventure has rather lessened your admiration of her fine eyes．’
‘Not at all，’he replied．‘They were brightened by the ex- ercise．’
After a short pause， Mrs Hurst began again．‘I have a great liking for Jane Bennet．She is really a very sweet girl， and I wish with all my heart she were well married．But with such a father and mother， and with such vulgar relations， I'm afraid there's no chance of it．’
‘I think the Bennet girls have an uncle who's a lawyer in Meryton．’
‘Yes，and they have another who owns shops in Cheapside！Such a nice part of London！’Both the sisters laughed．
‘If they had enough uncles to fill Cheapside，’cried Bing- ley，‘it wouldn't make them any less charming！’
‘But it must considerably lessen their chances of marrying men of any position in the world，’replied Darcy．
Bingley did not answer，but his sisters agreed enthusiastically， and continued mocking their dear friend's vul- gar relations for some time．
Late in the evening， when Elizabeth was satisfied that Jane was asleep， she felt she ought to go downstairs again．She found the party in the sitting-room， playing cards， but although they invited her to join in their game， she refused politely， and picked up a book to read．
‘I can fetch you more books to read，if you wish，’offered Bingley，‘but I'm afraid I haven't got a large library．Unlike you，I'm too lazy to spend much time reading．’
‘What a delightful library you have at Pemberley，Mr Darcy！’said Miss Bingley．‘And what a beautiful house it is！Charles，when you buy your house，I hope it will be even half as lovely as Pemberley．’
‘I hope so too，’agreed Bingley．
‘And your dear sister， Mr Darcy？ I expect she's grown since the spring． I want so much to see her again！I've never met anyone who delighted me so much！Such an appearance，such manners！And so extremely accomplished for her age！’
‘I'm always surprised，’said Bingley，‘to find how very ac- complished all young ladies are． How do they have the time and patience to learn all these skills？’
‘Certainly people use the word“accomplished”too loosely，’said Darcy，‘but I am far from agreeing with you about ladies in general．I cannot boast of knowing more than six who are really accomplished．’
‘Then，’said Elizabeth，‘your idea of an accomplished woman must include a great many qualities．’
‘Yes， a great many．’
‘Oh！Certainly，’cried his faithful assistant，Miss Bingley，‘an accomplished woman must have a thorough knowledge of music，singing， drawing， dancing and modern languages， and besides this， a certain something in her manner of walking， in her voice and in her behaviour．’
‘All this she must possess，’added Darcy，‘and something more solid，the improvement of her mind by wide reading．’
‘I'm no longer surprised at your knowing only six accom- plished women，’said Elizabeth．‘I rather wonder at your knowing any．I've never seen such elegance，
‘I must say，’said Bingley，‘I didn't notice any of that．I thought she looked remarkably attractive when she arrived this morning．
‘You observed her wild appearance，I'm sure，Mr Darcy，’said Miss Bingley，‘and I imagine you wouldn't wish your sis- ter to make such a show of herself．’
‘Certainly not．’
‘Walking four or five kilometres，whatever it was，up to her ankles in mud， and alone， quite alone！It seems to me to show a dreadful sort of independence， a country girl's indifference to what is acceptable．’
‘I think it shows a very pleasing affection for her sister，’said Bingley．
‘I'm afraid， Mr Darcy，’whispered Miss Bingley，‘that this adventure has rather lessened your admiration of her fine eyes．’
‘Not at all，’he replied．‘They were brightened by the ex- ercise．’
After a short pause， Mrs Hurst began again．‘I have a great liking for Jane Bennet．She is really a very sweet girl， and I wish with all my heart she were well married．But with such a father and mother， and with such vulgar relations， I'm afraid there's no chance of it．’
‘I think the Bennet girls have an uncle who's a lawyer in Meryton．’
‘Yes，and they have another who owns shops in Cheapside！Such a nice part of London！’Both the sisters laughed．
‘If they had enough uncles to fill Cheapside，’cried Bing- ley，‘it wouldn't make them any less charming！’
‘But it must considerably lessen their chances of marrying men of any position in the world，’replied Darcy．
Bingley did not answer，but his sisters agreed enthusiastically， and continued mocking their dear friend's vul- gar relations for some time．
Late in the evening， when Elizabeth was satisfied that Jane was asleep， she felt she ought to go downstairs again．She found the party in the sitting-room， playing cards， but although they invited her to join in their game， she refused politely， and picked up a book to read．
‘I can fetch you more books to read，if you wish，’offered Bingley，‘but I'm afraid I haven't got a large library．Unlike you，I'm too lazy to spend much time reading．’
‘What a delightful library you have at Pemberley，Mr Darcy！’said Miss Bingley．‘And what a beautiful house it is！Charles，when you buy your house，I hope it will be even half as lovely as Pemberley．’
‘I hope so too，’agreed Bingley．
‘And your dear sister， Mr Darcy？ I expect she's grown since the spring． I want so much to see her again！I've never met anyone who delighted me so much！Such an appearance，such manners！And so extremely accomplished for her age！’
‘I'm always surprised，’said Bingley，‘to find how very ac- complished all young ladies are． How do they have the time and patience to learn all these skills？’
‘Certainly people use the word“accomplished”too loosely，’said Darcy，‘but I am far from agreeing with you about ladies in general．I cannot boast of knowing more than six who are really accomplished．’
‘Then，’said Elizabeth，‘your idea of an accomplished woman must include a great many qualities．’
‘Yes， a great many．’
‘Oh！Certainly，’cried his faithful assistant，Miss Bingley，‘an accomplished woman must have a thorough knowledge of music，singing， drawing， dancing and modern languages， and besides this， a certain something in her manner of walking， in her voice and in her behaviour．’
‘All this she must possess，’added Darcy，‘and something more solid，the improvement of her mind by wide reading．’
‘I'm no longer surprised at your knowing only six accom- plished women，’said Elizabeth．‘I rather wonder at your knowing any．I've never seen such elegance，