{"id":"01KJRRE0MZD2WFFZA3MH8GMMMD","cid":"bafkreifkws75kdkcrqi43w2cfojifmyl4kh5sxo5rzqbvze7y4ijrhzcxq","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":221995,"char_start":214129,"chunk_index":30,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1967,"label":"to make this circumstance a matter of pleasure, be","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"to make this circumstance a matter of pleasure, because on such\r\noccasions it is the etiquette; but no one was less likely than Mrs.\r\nBennet to find comfort in staying at home at any period of her life. She\r\nconcluded with many good wishes that Lady Lucas might soon be equally\r\nfortunate, though evidently and triumphantly believing there was no\r\nchance of it.\r\n\r\nIn vain did Elizabeth endeavour to check the rapidity of her mother’s\r\nwords, or persuade her to describe her felicity in a less audible\r\nwhisper; for to her inexpressible vexation she could perceive that the\r\nchief of it was overheard by Mr. Darcy, who sat opposite to them. Her\r\nmother only scolded her for being nonsensical.\r\n\r\n“What is Mr. Darcy to me, pray, that I should be afraid of him? I am\r\nsure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged to say\r\nnothing _he_ may not like to hear.”\r\n\r\n“For heaven’s sake, madam, speak lower. What advantage can it be to you\r\nto offend Mr. Darcy? You will never recommend yourself to his friend by\r\nso doing.”\r\n\r\nNothing that she could say, however, had any influence. Her mother would\r\ntalk of her views in the same intelligible tone. Elizabeth blushed and\r\nblushed again with shame and vexation. She could not help frequently\r\nglancing her eye at Mr. Darcy, though every glance convinced her of what\r\nshe dreaded; for though he was not always looking at her mother, she was\r\nconvinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her. The expression\r\nof his face changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and\r\nsteady gravity.\r\n\r\nAt length, however, Mrs. Bennet had no more to say; and Lady Lucas, who\r\nhad been long yawning at the repetition of delights which she saw no\r\nlikelihood of sharing, was left to the comforts of cold ham and chicken.\r\nElizabeth now began to revive. But not long was the interval of\r\ntranquillity; for when supper was over, singing was talked of, and she\r\nhad the mortification of seeing Mary, after very little entreaty,\r\npreparing to oblige the company. By many significant looks and silent\r\nentreaties did she endeavour to prevent such a proof of\r\ncomplaisance,--but in vain; Mary would not understand them; such an\r\nopportunity of exhibiting was delightful to her, and she began her song.\r\nElizabeth’s eyes were fixed on her, with most painful sensations; and\r\nshe watched her progress through the several stanzas with an impatience\r\nwhich was very ill rewarded at their close; for Mary, on receiving\r\namongst the thanks of the table the hint of a hope that she might be\r\nprevailed on to favour them again, after the pause of half a minute\r\nbegan another. Mary’s powers were by no means fitted for such a display;\r\nher voice was weak, and her manner affected. Elizabeth was in agonies.\r\nShe looked at Jane to see how she bore it; but Jane was very composedly\r\ntalking to Bingley. She looked at his two sisters, and saw them making\r\nsigns of derision at each other, and at Darcy, who continued, however,\r\nimpenetrably grave. She looked at her father to entreat his\r\ninterference, lest Mary should be singing all night. He took the hint,\r\nand, when Mary had finished her second song, said aloud,--\r\n\r\n“That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough.\r\nLet the other young ladies have time to exhibit.”\r\n\r\nMary, though pretending not to hear, was somewhat disconcerted; and\r\nElizabeth, sorry for her, and sorry for her father’s speech, was afraid\r\nher anxiety had done no good. Others of the party were now applied to.\r\n\r\n“If I,” said Mr. Collins, “were so fortunate as to be able to sing, I\r\nshould have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the company with an\r\nair; for I consider music as a very innocent diversion, and perfectly\r\ncompatible with the profession of a clergyman. I do not mean, however,\r\nto assert that we can be justified in devoting too much of our time to\r\nmusic, for there are certainly other things to be attended to. The\r\nrector of a parish has much to do. In the first place, he must make such\r\nan agreement for tithes as may be beneficial to himself and not\r\noffensive to his patron. He must write his own sermons; and the time\r\nthat remains will not be too much for his parish duties, and the care\r\nand improvement of his dwelling, which he cannot be excused from making\r\nas comfortable as possible. And I do not think it of light importance\r\nthat he should have attentive and conciliatory manners towards\r\neverybody, especially towards those to whom he owes his preferment. I\r\ncannot acquit him of that duty; nor could I think well of the man who\r\nshould omit an occasion of testifying his respect towards anybody\r\nconnected with the family.” And with a bow to Mr. Darcy, he concluded\r\nhis speech, which had been spoken so loud as to be heard by half the\r\nroom. Many stared--many smiled; but no one looked more amused than Mr.\r\nBennet himself, while his wife seriously commended Mr. Collins for\r\nhaving spoken so sensibly, and observed, in a half-whisper to Lady\r\nLucas, that he was a remarkably clever, good kind of young man.\r\n\r\nTo Elizabeth it appeared, that had her family made an agreement to\r\nexpose themselves as much as they could during the evening, it would\r\nhave been impossible for them to play their parts with more spirit, or\r\nfiner success; and happy did she think it for Bingley and her sister\r\nthat some of the exhibition had escaped his notice, and that his\r\nfeelings were not of a sort to be much distressed by the folly which he\r\nmust have witnessed. That his two sisters and Mr. Darcy, however, should\r\nhave such an opportunity of ridiculing her relations was bad enough; and\r\nshe could not determine whether the silent contempt of the gentleman, or\r\nthe insolent smiles of the ladies, were more intolerable.\r\n\r\nThe rest of the evening brought her little amusement. She was teased by\r\nMr. Collins, who continued most perseveringly by her side; and though he\r\ncould not prevail with her to dance with him again, put it out of her\r\npower to dance with others. In vain did she entreat him to stand up with\r\nsomebody else, and offered to introduce him to any young lady in the\r\nroom. He assured her that, as to dancing, he was perfectly indifferent\r\nto it; that his chief object was, by delicate attentions, to recommend\r\nhimself to her; and that he should therefore make a point of remaining\r\nclose to her the whole evening. There was no arguing upon such a\r\nproject. She owed her greatest relief to her friend Miss Lucas, who\r\noften joined them, and good-naturedly engaged Mr. Collins’s conversation\r\nto herself.\r\n\r\nShe was at least free from the offence of Mr. Darcy’s further notice:\r\nthough often standing within a very short distance of her, quite\r\ndisengaged, he never came near enough to speak. She felt it to be the\r\nprobable consequence of her allusions to Mr. Wickham, and rejoiced in\r\nit.\r\n\r\nThe Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart; and by a\r\nmanœuvre of Mrs. Bennet had to wait for their carriage a quarter of an\r\nhour after everybody else was gone, which gave them time to see how\r\nheartily they were wished away by some of the family. Mrs. Hurst and her\r\nsister scarcely opened their mouths except to complain of fatigue, and\r\nwere evidently impatient to have the house to themselves. They repulsed\r\nevery attempt of Mrs. Bennet at conversation, and, by so doing, threw a\r\nlanguor over the whole party, which was very little relieved by the long\r\nspeeches of Mr. Collins, who was complimenting Mr. Bingley and his\r\nsisters on the elegance of their entertainment, and the hospitality and\r\npoliteness which had marked their behaviour to their guests. Darcy said\r\nnothing at all. Mr. Bennet, in equal silence, was enjoying the scene.\r\nMr. Bingley and Jane were standing together a little detached from the\r\nrest, and talked only to each other. Elizabeth preserved as steady a\r\nsilence as either Mrs."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREY63WYEJRTN7FS2QXC2P","peer_label":"mary bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYW2V9QH9GNRQRJT67GK","peer_label":"mr bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSX336MNFYYQ2MPNB60","peer_label":"lady lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZJBEM6MWHW485H9DS9F","peer_label":"mr darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY5SSJCQ67QYG0XTG9A8","peer_label":"mr bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6ZWGAT4FYVDEM6VE2E","peer_label":"mr collins","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF19AD63KEEZZWPG3X2KQ","peer_label":"mr wickham","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZE4MTY540KMV82YTDGM","peer_label":"mrs hurst","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF12Y1DAF33TFMWWRKDV2","peer_label":"miss lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJYPQC0WYX63ABV5PSRS","peer_label":"tithes","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJZ88SGR8F6VNHJJY39Z","peer_label":"company","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"entity","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJZ4VWPQTQ55BN2626FH","peer_label":"mrs hursts sister","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJXH25N8TB17JHK1H54Q","peer_label":"patron","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"role","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJYDWQTS57X21DD5Y2T4","peer_label":"clergyman","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"profession","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFJZRSAA19MMEXF2YRDHN","peer_label":"longbourn party","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"group","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:54.359Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.215Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:29:55.136Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}