{"id":"01KJRRE0N2ED26RDYJ8N2RG926","cid":"bafkreignf3vwm3qkwsmlqsopggqpgcleo6gsastzlgfolrpvnytmjzxady","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":214888,"char_start":207021,"chunk_index":29,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1967,"label":"received; and I am sorry to say that by his accoun","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"received; and I am sorry to say that by his account, as well as his\r\nsister’s, Mr. Wickham is by no means a respectable young man. I am\r\nafraid he has been very imprudent, and has deserved to lose Mr. Darcy’s\r\nregard.”\r\n\r\n“Mr. Bingley does not know Mr. Wickham himself.”\r\n\r\n“No; he never saw him till the other morning at Meryton.”\r\n\r\n“This account then is what he has received from Mr. Darcy. I am\r\nperfectly satisfied. But what does he say of the living?”\r\n\r\n“He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has heard\r\nthem from Mr. Darcy more than once, but he believes that it was left to\r\nhim _conditionally_ only.”\r\n\r\n“I have not a doubt of Mr. Bingley’s sincerity,” said Elizabeth warmly,\r\n“but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances only. Mr.\r\nBingley’s defence of his friend was a very able one, I dare say; but\r\nsince he is unacquainted with several parts of the story, and has learnt\r\nthe rest from that friend himself, I shall venture still to think of\r\nboth gentlemen as I did before.”\r\n\r\nShe then changed the discourse to one more gratifying to each, and on\r\nwhich there could be no difference of sentiment. Elizabeth listened with\r\ndelight to the happy though modest hopes which Jane entertained of\r\nBingley’s regard, and said all in her power to heighten her confidence\r\nin it. On their being joined by Mr. Bingley himself, Elizabeth withdrew\r\nto Miss Lucas; to whose inquiry after the pleasantness of her last\r\npartner she had scarcely replied, before Mr. Collins came up to them,\r\nand told her with great exultation, that he had just been so fortunate\r\nas to make a most important discovery.\r\n\r\n“I have found out,” said he, “by a singular accident, that there is now\r\nin the room a near relation to my patroness. I happened to overhear the\r\ngentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who does the honours of\r\nthis house the names of his cousin Miss De Bourgh, and of her mother,\r\nLady Catherine. How wonderfully these sort of things occur! Who would\r\nhave thought of my meeting with--perhaps--a nephew of Lady Catherine de\r\nBourgh in this assembly! I am most thankful that the discovery is made\r\nin time for me to pay my respects to him, which I am now going to do,\r\nand trust he will excuse my not having done it before. My total\r\nignorance of the connection must plead my apology.”\r\n\r\n“You are not going to introduce yourself to Mr. Darcy?”\r\n\r\n“Indeed I am. I shall entreat his pardon for not having done it earlier.\r\nI believe him to be Lady Catherine’s _nephew_. It will be in my power to\r\nassure him that her Ladyship was quite well yesterday se’nnight.”\r\n\r\nElizabeth tried hard to dissuade him from such a scheme; assuring him\r\nthat Mr. Darcy would consider his addressing him without introduction as\r\nan impertinent freedom, rather than a compliment to his aunt; that it\r\nwas not in the least necessary there should be any notice on either\r\nside, and that if it were, it must belong to Mr. Darcy, the superior in\r\nconsequence, to begin the acquaintance. Mr. Collins listened to her with\r\nthe determined air of following his own inclination, and when she ceased\r\nspeaking, replied thus,--\r\n\r\n“My dear Miss Elizabeth, I have the highest opinion in the world of your\r\nexcellent judgment in all matters within the scope of your\r\nunderstanding, but permit me to say that there must be a wide difference\r\nbetween the established forms of ceremony amongst the laity and those\r\nwhich regulate the clergy; for, give me leave to observe that I consider\r\nthe clerical office as equal in point of dignity with the highest rank\r\nin the kingdom--provided that a proper humility of behaviour is at the\r\nsame time maintained. You must, therefore, allow me to follow the\r\ndictates of my conscience on this occasion, which lead me to perform\r\nwhat I look on as a point of duty. Pardon me for neglecting to profit by\r\nyour advice, which on every other subject shall be my constant guide,\r\nthough in the case before us I consider myself more fitted by education\r\nand habitual study to decide on what is right than a young lady like\r\nyourself;” and with a low bow he left her to attack Mr. Darcy, whose\r\nreception of his advances she eagerly watched, and whose astonishment at\r\nbeing so addressed was very evident. Her cousin prefaced his speech with\r\na solemn bow, and though she could not hear a word of it, she felt as if\r\nhearing it all, and saw in the motion of his lips the words “apology,”\r\n“Hunsford,” and “Lady Catherine de Bourgh.” It vexed her to see him\r\nexpose himself to such a man. Mr. Darcy was eyeing him with\r\nunrestrained wonder; and when at last Mr. Collins allowed him to speak,\r\nreplied with an air of distant civility. Mr. Collins, however, was not\r\ndiscouraged from speaking again, and Mr. Darcy’s contempt seemed\r\nabundantly increasing with the length of his second speech; and at the\r\nend of it he only made him a slight bow, and moved another way: Mr.\r\nCollins then returned to Elizabeth.\r\n\r\n“I have no reason, I assure you,” said he, “to be dissatisfied with my\r\nreception. Mr. Darcy seemed much pleased with the attention. He answered\r\nme with the utmost civility, and even paid me the compliment of saying,\r\nthat he was so well convinced of Lady Catherine’s discernment as to be\r\ncertain she could never bestow a favour unworthily. It was really a very\r\nhandsome thought. Upon the whole, I am much pleased with him.”\r\n\r\nAs Elizabeth had no longer any interest of her own to pursue, she turned\r\nher attention almost entirely on her sister and Mr. Bingley; and the\r\ntrain of agreeable reflections which her observations gave birth to made\r\nher perhaps almost as happy as Jane. She saw her in idea settled in that\r\nvery house, in all the felicity which a marriage of true affection could\r\nbestow; and she felt capable, under such circumstances, of endeavouring\r\neven to like Bingley’s two sisters. Her mother’s thoughts she plainly\r\nsaw were bent the same way, and she determined not to venture near her,\r\nlest she might hear too much. When they sat down to supper, therefore,\r\nshe considered it a most unlucky perverseness which placed them within\r\none of each other; and deeply was she vexed to find that her mother was\r\ntalking to that one person (Lady Lucas) freely, openly, and of nothing\r\nelse but of her expectation that Jane would be soon married to Mr.\r\nBingley. It was an animating subject, and Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable\r\nof fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match. His being such\r\na charming young man, and so rich, and living but three miles from them,\r\nwere the first points of self-gratulation; and then it was such a\r\ncomfort to think how fond the two sisters were of Jane, and to be\r\ncertain that they must desire the connection as much as she could do. It\r\nwas, moreover, such a promising thing for her younger daughters, as\r\nJane’s marrying so greatly must throw them in the way of other rich men;\r\nand, lastly, it was so pleasant at her time of life to be able to\r\nconsign her single daughters to the care of their sister, that she might\r\nnot be obliged to go into company more than she liked. It was necessary\r\nto 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?"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREZJBEM6MWHW485H9DS9F","peer_label":"mr darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY5SSJCQ67QYG0XTG9A8","peer_label":"mr bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6ZWGAT4FYVDEM6VE2E","peer_label":"mr collins","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY7G184NZ401P9V4JV87","peer_label":"lady catherine de bourgh","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSX336MNFYYQ2MPNB60","peer_label":"lady lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF03EKPCZWK39EPRV4X1Y","peer_label":"mr wickham","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0YV9NV5WVK4WWSM736Q","peer_label":"meryton","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF111GQ37KKZWSA5T7428","peer_label":"miss de bourgh","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF12Y1DAF33TFMWWRKDV2","peer_label":"miss lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF13BT1XJGPQ68ADZZQ5H","peer_label":"clerical office","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0Z1GJ53P86GPPZ9VEAP","peer_label":"the living","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF1J610RB97404J5Q53SH","peer_label":"hunsford","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:36.510Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.218Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:29:37.277Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}