after a week spent in professions of love and schemes of felicity, mr. collins was called from his amiable charlotte by the arrival of saturday. the pain of separation, however, might be alleviated on his side, by preparations for the reception of his bride, as he had reason to hope that shortly after his next return into hertfordshire, the day would be fixed that was to make him the happiest of men. he took leave of his relations at longbourn with as much solemnity as before; wished his fair cousins health and happiness again, and promised their father another letter of thanks.

on the following monday, mrs. bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend the christmas at longbourn. mr. gardiner was a sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister, as well by nature as education. the netherfield ladies would have had difficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade, and within view of his own warehouses, could have been so well bred and agreeable. mrs. gardiner, who was several years younger than mrs. bennet and mrs. philips, was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman, and a great favourite with all her longbourn nieces. between the two eldest and herself especially, there subsisted a very particular regard. they had frequently been staying with her in town.

the first part of mrs. gardiner's business on her arrival, was to distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions. when this was done, she had a less active part to play. it became her turn to listen. mrs. bennet had many grievances to relate, and much to complain of. they had all been very ill-used since she last saw her sister. two of her girls had been on the point of marriage, and after all there was nothing in it.

"i do not blame jane," she continued, "for jane would have got mr. bingley, if she could. but, lizzy! oh, sister! it is very hard to think that she might have been mr. collins's wife by this time, had not it been for her own perverseness. he made her an offer in this very room, and she refused him. the consequence of it is, that lady lucas will have a daughter married before i have, and that longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever. the lucases are very artful people indeed, sister. they are all for what they can get. i am sorry to say it of them, but so it is. it makes me very nervous and poorly, to be thwarted so in my own family, and to have neighbours who think of themselves before anybody else. however, your coming just at this time is the greatest of comforts, and i am very glad to hear what you tell us, of long sleeves."

mrs. gardiner, to whom the chief of this news had been given before, in the course of jane and elizabeth's correspondence with her, made her sister a slight answer, and, in compassion to her nieces, turned the conversation.

when alone with elizabeth afterwards, she spoke more on the subject. "it seems likely to have been a desirable match for jane," said she. "i am sorry it went off. but these things happen so often! a young man, such as you describe mr. bingley, so easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and when accident separates them, so easily forgets her, that these sort of inconstancies are very frequent."

"an excellent consolation in its way," said elizabeth, "but it will not do for us. we do not suffer by accident. it does not often happen that the interference of friends will persuade a young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl, whom he was violently in love with only a few days before."

"but that expression of "violently in love" is so hackneyed, so doubtful, so indefinite, that it gives me very little idea. it is as often applied to feelings which arise from an half-hour's acquaintance, as to a real, strong attachment. pray, how violent was mr. bingley's love?"

"i never saw a more promising inclination. he was growing quite inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her. every time they met, it was more decided and remarkable. at his own ball he offended two or three young ladies by not asking them to dance, and i spoke to him twice myself without receiving an answer. could there be finer symptoms? is not general incivility the very essence of love?"

"oh, yes! -- of that kind of love which i suppose him to have felt. poor jane! i am sorry for her, because, with her disposition, she may not get over it immediately. it had better have happened to you, lizzy; you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner. but do you think she would be prevailed on to go back with us? change of scene might be of service -- and perhaps a little relief from home, may be as useful as anything."

elizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal, and felt persuaded of her sister's ready acquiescence.

"i hope," added mrs. gardiner, "that no consideration with regard to this young man will influence her. we live in so different a part of town, all our connections are so different, and, as you well know, we go out so little, that it is very improbable they should meet at all, unless he really comes to see her."

"and that is quite impossible; for he is now in the custody of his friend, and mr. darcy would no more suffer him to call on jane in such a part of london -- ! my dear aunt, how could you think of it? mr. darcy may perhaps have heard of such a place as gracechurch street, but he would hardly think a month's ablution enough to cleanse him from its impurities, were he once to enter it; and depend upon it, mr. bingley never stirs without him."

"so much the better. i hope they will not meet at all. but does not jane correspond with the sister? she will not be able to help calling."

"she will drop the acquaintance entirely."

but in spite of the certainty in which elizabeth affected to place this point, as well as the still more interesting one of bingley's being withheld from seeing jane, she felt a solicitude on the subject which convinced her, on examination, that she did not consider it entirely hopeless. it was possible, and sometimes she thought it probable, that his affection might be re-animated, and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the more natural influence of jane's attractions.

miss bennet accepted her aunt's invitation with pleasure; and the bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the time, than as she hoped that, by caroline's not living in the same house with her brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with her, without any danger of seeing him.

the gardiners staid a week at longbourn; and what with the philipses, the lucases, and the officers, there was not a day without its engagement. mrs. bennet had so carefully provided for the entertainment of her brother and sister, that they did not once sit down to a family dinner. when the engagement was for home, some of the officers always made part of it, of which officers mr. wickham was sure to be one; and on these occasions, mrs. gardiner, rendered suspicious by elizabeth's warm commendation of him, narrowly observed them both. without supposing them, from what she saw, to be very seriously in love, their preference of each other was plain enough to make her a little uneasy; and she resolved to speak to elizabeth on the subject before she left hertfordshire, and represent to her the imprudence of encouraging such an attachment.

to mrs. gardiner, wickham had one means of affording pleasure, unconnected with his general powers. about ten or a dozen years ago, before her marriage, she had spent a considerable time in that very part of derbyshire to which he belonged. they had, therefore, many acquaintance in common; and, though wickham had been little there since the death of darcy's father, five years before, it was yet in his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former friends, than she had been in the way of procuring.

mrs. gardiner had seen pemberley, and known the late mr. darcy by character perfectly well. here, consequently, was an inexhaustible subject of discourse. in comparing her recollection of pemberley with the minute description which wickham could give, and in bestowing her tribute of praise on the character of its late possessor, she was delighting both him and herself. on being made acquainted with the present mr. darcy's treatment of him, she tried to remember something of that gentleman's reputed disposition, when quite a lad, which might agree with it, and was confident at last that she recollected having heard mr. fitzwilliam darcy formerly spoken of as a very proud, ill-natured boy.

miss bingley's letter arrived, and put an end to doubt. the very first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled in london for the winter, and concluded with her brother's regret at not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in hertfordshire before he left the country.

hope was over, entirely over; and when jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could give her any comfort. miss darcy's praise occupied the chief of it. her many attractions were again dwelt on, and caroline boasted joyfully of their increasing intimacy, and ventured to predict the accomplishment of the wishes which had been unfolded in her former letter. she wrote also with great pleasure of her brother's being an inmate of mr. darcy's house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of the latter with regard to new furniture. elizabeth, to whom jane very soon communicated the chief of all this, heard it in silent indignation. her heart was divided between concern for her sister, and resentment against all the others. to caroline's assertion of her brother's being partial to miss darcy she paid no credit. that he was really fond of jane, she doubted no more than she had ever done; and much as she had always been disposed to like him, she could not think without anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that want of proper resolution which now made him the slave of his designing friends, and led him to sacrifice his own happiness to the caprice of their inclinations. had his own happiness, however, been the only sacrifice, he might have been allowed to sport with it in what ever manner he thought best; but her sister's was involved in it, as, she thought, he must be sensible himself. it was a subject, in short, on which reflection would be long indulged, and must be unavailing. she could think of nothing else, and yet whether bingley's regard had really died away, or were suppressed by his friends' interference; whether he had been aware of jane's attachment, or whether it had escaped his observation; whichever were the case, though her opinion of him must be materially affected by the difference, her sister's situation remained the same, her peace equally wounded.

a day or two passed before jane had courage to speak of her feelings to elizabeth; but at last on mrs. bennet's leaving them together, after a longer irritation than usual about netherfield and its master, she could not help saying,

"oh! that my dear mother had more command over herself; she can have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual reflections on him. but i will not repine. it cannot last long. he will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before."

elizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude, but said nothing.

"you doubt me," cried jane, slightly colouring; "indeed you have no reason. he may live in my memory as the most amiable man of my acquaintance, but that is all. i have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with. thank god! i have not that pain. a little time therefore. -- i shall certainly try to get the better."

with a stronger voice she soon added, "i have this comfort immediately, that it has not been more than an error of fancy on my side, and that it has done no harm to any one but myself."

"my dear jane!" exclaimed elizabeth, "you are too good. your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic; i do not know what to say to you. i feel as if i had never done you justice, or loved you as you deserve."

miss bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit, and threw back the praise on her sister's warm affection.

"nay," said elizabeth, "this is not fair. you wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if i speak ill of any body. i only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it. do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. you need not. there are few people whom i really love, and still fewer of whom i think well. the more i see of the world, the more am i dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense. i have met with two instances lately; one i will not mention; the other is charlotte's marriage. it is unaccountable! in every view it is unaccountable!"

"my dear lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these. they will ruin your happiness. you do not make allowance enough for difference of situation and temper. consider mr. collins's respectability, and charlotte's prudent, steady character. remember that she is one of a large family; that as to fortune, it is a most eligible match; and be ready to believe, for every body's sake, that she may feel something like regard and esteem for our cousin."

"to oblige you, i would try to believe almost any thing, but no one else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were i persuaded that charlotte had any regard for him, i should only think worse of her understanding, than i now do of her heart. my dear jane, mr. collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as i do; and you must feel, as well as i do, that the woman who marries him, cannot have a proper way of thinking. you shall not defend her, though it is charlotte lucas. you shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger, security for happiness."

"i must think your language too strong in speaking of both," replied jane, "and i hope you will be convinced of it, by seeing them happy together. but enough of this. you alluded to something else. you mentioned two instances. i cannot misunderstand you, but i intreat you, dear lizzy, not to pain me by thinking that person to blame, and saying your opinion of him is sunk. we must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured. we must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect. it is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. women fancy admiration means more than it does."

"and men take care that they should."

"if it is designedly done, they cannot be justified; but i have no idea of there being so much design in the world as some persons imagine."

"i am far from attributing any part of mr. bingley's conduct to design," said elizabeth; "but without scheming to do wrong, or to make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be misery. thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people's feelings, and want of resolution, will do the business,"

"and do you impute it to either of those?"

"yes; to the last. but if i go on, i shall displease you by saying what i think of persons you esteem. stop me whilst you can."

"you persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him."

"yes, in conjunction with his friend."

"i cannot believe it. why should they try to influence him? they can only wish his happiness, and if he is attached to me, no other woman can secure it."

"your first position is false. they may wish many things besides his happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and consequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the importance of money, great connections, and pride."

"beyond a doubt, they do wish him to chuse miss darcy," replied jane; "but this may be from better feelings than you are supposing. they have known her much longer than they have known me; no wonder if they love her better. but, whatever may be their own wishes, it is very unlikely they should have opposed their brother's. what sister would think herself at liberty to do it, unless there were something very objectionable? if they believed him attached to me, they would not try to part us; if he were so, they could not succeed. by supposing such an affection, you make every body acting unnaturally and wrong, and me most unhappy. do not distress me by the idea. i am not ashamed of having been mistaken -- or, at least, it is slight, it is nothing in comparison of what i should feel in thinking ill of him or his sisters. let me take it in the best light, in the light in which it may be understood."

elizabeth could not oppose such a wish; and from this time mr. bingley's name was scarcely ever mentioned between them.

mrs. bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning no more, and though a day seldom passed in which elizabeth did not account for it clearly, there seemed little chance of her ever considering it with less perplexity. her daughter endeavoured to convince her of what she did not believe herself, that his attentions to jane had been merely the effect of a common and transient liking, which ceased when he saw her no more; but though the probability of the statement was admitted at the time, she had the same story to repeat every day. mrs. bennet's best comfort was that mr. bingley must be down again in the summer.

mr. bennet treated the matter differently. "so, lizzy," said he one day, "your sister is crossed in love i find. i congratulate her. next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. it is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions. when is your turn to come? you will hardly bear to be long outdone by jane. now is your time. here are officers enough at meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country. let wickham be your man. he is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably."

"thank you, sir, but a less agreeable man would satisfy me. we must not all expect jane's good fortune."

"true," said mr. bennet, "but it is a comfort to think that, whatever of that kind may befall you, you have an affectionate mother who will always make the most of it."

mr. wickham's society was of material service in dispelling the gloom, which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many of the longbourn family. they saw him often, and to his other recommendations was now added that of general unreserve. the whole of what elizabeth had already heard, his claims on mr. darcy, and all that he had suffered from him, was now openly acknowledged and publicly canvassed; and every body was pleased to think how much they had always disliked mr. darcy before they had known any thing of the matter.

miss bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might be any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the society of hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always pleaded for allowances, and urged the possibility of mistakes -- but by everybody else mr. darcy was condemned as the worst of men.