Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 7

Not far from Longbourne lived a family well known to the Bennets, Sir William Lucas.The Sir had formerly traded in Meryton, where he had acquired a certain fortune, and had written a letter to the King when he was mayor, and had obtained a knighthood.This prestigious position made him feel honored, and he began to hate doing business and living in that small town, so he stopped the business, bid farewell to the small town, and the family moved to a remote town. The mansion about a mile away from Litun, which has been called Lujiazhuang since then, where he can enjoy his status to his heart's content, no longer has business entanglements, and he can devote himself to the relationship with the world .Because although he was proud of his position, he did not become arrogant; on the contrary, he took care of everyone.He is kind by nature, friendly and considerate to others, and has become even more polite since he met the emperor.

Mrs. Lucas is a kind-hearted woman who doesn't play tricks on others, so she becomes a good neighbor to Mrs. Bennet.There are several children in the Lu family, the oldest is a well-educated girl, about 27 years old, who is Elizabeth's best friend.

It seemed to them absolutely necessary that the ladies from the House of Lu and the House of Ban met to discuss the affairs of the ball; so they summoned the girls of the House of Lu to Langbo on the morning of the second day after the ball. En came to exchange views.

"You are the first shot at the party, Carlotti," said Mrs. Bennet to Miss Lucas with a calm and polite look. "You were Mr. Bingley's first partner."

"Not bad—but he seems to prefer his second partner."

"Oh—I think you mean Jane—because he danced with her twice. Looks like he really admires her—I do think he does—I've heard some of that. The situation—but I can't find out—I've heard something about Mr. Robinson."

"Perhaps you mean the conversation I overheard between him and Mr. Robinson; did I not mention it to you? Mr. Robinson asked him if he liked our Meryton dance, and he Do you think there are many beautiful women at the ball, and you asked him who is the most beautiful. His answer immediately pointed to the last question-oh! Of course it is the eldest lady of the Bennet family, and no one will know at this point There are objections."

"That's true!—oh, that's already settled—it does look like—but, you know, it might all come to nothing."

"I heard more interesting things than you heard, Elizabeth means Elizabeth, that is, Lizzy," said Carlotti. "Of course, Mr. Darcy's words are not so worth listening to as his friends, no huh?—poor Eliza—he only said she was pretty."

"I beg you, don't trouble Lizzy any more with his indecent treatment of Lizzy yesterday; since he's such a nuisance, it's only luck that he likes it. Mrs. Longe said to me last night that he suffered I sat next to her for half an hour and didn't even say a word to her."

"Are you so sure, mother?—isn't there something wrong with that?" said Jane. "I see Mr. Darcy talking to her."

"Hmph—that was the last question he asked him if he liked Netherfield, and he answered her helplessly—and Mrs. Lange said he seemed very angry about it."

"Miss Bingley told me," said Jane, "that he never talked much, except among people he knew very well. He was easy with acquaintances and confidants."

"I don't believe that at all, my daughter. If he'd been so easy, he'd have had a little chat with Mrs. Long. I can guess why; people say he's very proud, I dare say he must have heard somehow that Mrs. Lange didn't even have a carriage, but hired one to come to the ball."

"I don't think it's all right that he didn't speak to Mrs. Long," said Miss Lucas. "I just wish he had danced with Elizabeth."

"If I were you, Lizzy," said her mother, "I wouldn't dance with him next time."

"I thought, mother, that I could assure you without fail that I would never dance with him."

"His arrogance," went on Miss Lucas, "doesn't repell me so much as ordinary arrogance, for he has his reasons. Such a good-looking young man, with such a fine family and such a fortune." , everything is going well, and it is not surprising that he thinks of himself a little higher. Let's put it this way, I think, he has the right and the right to be proud."

"That is quite true," replied Elizabeth, "and I might forgive him such pride, if he had not offended my pride."

"Pride," said Mary, who felt she had found an opportunity to show off her deliberation, "is, I thought, a common disease. Everything I've read tells me that it's very common, that human nature is peculiarly It is easy to condescend to it, and there are few of us who do not harbor a sense of complacency in our possession of such and such qualities, whether real or imagined. Vanity and pride are two They are different qualities, although the two words are often used synonymously. A person can be proud without vanity. Pride has to do with how we think of ourselves, vanity has to do with how we want others to think of us. "

"If I were as rich as Mr. Darcy," cried little Lucas, who came with his sister, "I wouldn't care how proud I am. I'd keep a pack of hounds and drink a cup of it every day." bottle of wine."

"Then you'd drink too much," said Mrs. Bennet, "and if I saw it I'd grab your bottle right away."

Lucas Jr. retorted that she shouldn't have done it, and she kept insisting that she would, and the argument wasn't over until the interview was over.

(End of this chapter)