{"id":"01KJRRE0NN3D9MNWZYHRSYHZXY","cid":"bafkreifrgf75nz6rbonashrh6lovduiy6al6wt44ux6ntgelsvh326lkom","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":271770,"char_start":263863,"chunk_index":37,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1977,"label":"“Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza? Do","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"\r\n“Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza? Do you think it incredible\r\nthat Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s good opinion,\r\nbecause he was not so happy as to succeed with you?”\r\n\r\nBut Elizabeth had now recollected herself; and, making a strong effort\r\nfor it, was able to assure her, with tolerable firmness, that the\r\nprospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and that she\r\nwished her all imaginable happiness.\r\n\r\n“I see what you are feeling,” replied Charlotte; “you must be surprised,\r\nvery much surprised, so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you.\r\nBut when you have had time to think it all over, I hope you will be\r\nsatisfied with what I have done. I am not romantic, you know. I never\r\nwas. I ask only a comfortable home; and, considering Mr. Collins’s\r\ncharacter, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my\r\nchance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on\r\nentering the marriage state.”\r\n\r\nElizabeth quietly answered “undoubtedly;” and, after an awkward pause,\r\nthey returned to the rest of the family. Charlotte did not stay much\r\nlonger; and Elizabeth was then left to reflect on what she had heard. It\r\nwas a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of so\r\nunsuitable a match. The strangeness of Mr. Collins’s making two offers\r\nof marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now\r\naccepted. She had always felt that Charlotte’s opinion of matrimony was\r\nnot exactly like her own; but she could not have supposed it possible\r\nthat, when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better\r\nfeeling to worldly advantage. Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Collins, was a\r\nmost humiliating picture! And to the pang of a friend disgracing\r\nherself, and sunk in her esteem, was added the distressing conviction\r\nthat it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot\r\nshe had chosen.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration:\r\n\r\n     “Protested he must be entirely mistaken.”\r\n\r\n[_Copyright 1894 by George Allen._]]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCHAPTER XXIII.\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\nElizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters, reflecting on what\r\nshe had heard, and doubting whether she was authorized to mention it,\r\nwhen Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his daughter to\r\nannounce her engagement to the family. With many compliments to them,\r\nand much self-gratulation on the prospect of a connection between the\r\nhouses, he unfolded the matter,--to an audience not merely wondering,\r\nbut incredulous; for Mrs. Bennet, with more perseverance than\r\npoliteness, protested he must be entirely mistaken; and Lydia, always\r\nunguarded and often uncivil, boisterously exclaimed,--\r\n\r\n“Good Lord! Sir William, how can you tell such a story? Do not you know\r\nthat Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzy?”\r\n\r\nNothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have borne\r\nwithout anger such treatment: but Sir William’s good-breeding carried\r\nhim through it all; and though he begged leave to be positive as to the\r\ntruth of his information, he listened to all their impertinence with the\r\nmost forbearing courtesy.\r\n\r\nElizabeth, feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so unpleasant\r\na situation, now put herself forward to confirm his account, by\r\nmentioning her prior knowledge of it from Charlotte herself; and\r\nendeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her mother and sisters,\r\nby the earnestness of her congratulations to Sir William, in which she\r\nwas readily joined by Jane, and by making a variety of remarks on the\r\nhappiness that might be expected from the match, the excellent character\r\nof Mr. Collins, and the convenient distance of Hunsford from London.\r\n\r\nMrs. Bennet was, in fact, too much overpowered to say a great deal while\r\nSir William remained; but no sooner had he left them than her feelings\r\nfound a rapid vent. In the first place, she persisted in disbelieving\r\nthe whole of the matter; secondly, she was very sure that Mr. Collins\r\nhad been taken in; thirdly, she trusted that they would never be happy\r\ntogether; and, fourthly, that the match might be broken off. Two\r\ninferences, however, were plainly deduced from the whole: one, that\r\nElizabeth was the real cause of all the mischief; and the other, that\r\nshe herself had been barbarously used by them all; and on these two\r\npoints she principally dwelt during the rest of the day. Nothing could\r\nconsole and nothing appease her. Nor did that day wear out her\r\nresentment. A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth without\r\nscolding her: a month passed away before she could speak to Sir William\r\nor Lady Lucas without being rude; and many months were gone before she\r\ncould at all forgive their daughter.\r\n\r\nMr. Bennet’s emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion, and such\r\nas he did experience he pronounced to be of a most agreeable sort; for\r\nit gratified him, he said, to discover that Charlotte Lucas, whom he had\r\nbeen used to think tolerably sensible, was as foolish as his wife, and\r\nmore foolish than his daughter!\r\n\r\nJane confessed herself a little surprised at the match: but she said\r\nless of her astonishment than of her earnest desire for their happiness;\r\nnor could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it as improbable. Kitty and\r\nLydia were far from envying Miss Lucas, for Mr. Collins was only a\r\nclergyman; and it affected them in no other way than as a piece of news\r\nto spread at Meryton.\r\n\r\nLady Lucas could not be insensible of triumph on being able to retort on\r\nMrs. Bennet the comfort of having a daughter well married; and she\r\ncalled at Longbourn rather oftener than usual to say how happy she was,\r\nthough Mrs. Bennet’s sour looks and ill-natured remarks might have been\r\nenough to drive happiness away.\r\n\r\nBetween Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which kept them\r\nmutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded that no\r\nreal confidence could ever subsist between them again. Her\r\ndisappointment in Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to her\r\nsister, of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure her opinion could\r\nnever be shaken, and for whose happiness she grew daily more anxious, as\r\nBingley had now been gone a week, and nothing was heard of his return.\r\n\r\nJane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and was counting\r\nthe days till she might reasonably hope to hear again. The promised\r\nletter of thanks from Mr. Collins arrived on Tuesday, addressed to their\r\nfather, and written with all the solemnity of gratitude which a\r\ntwelve-month’s abode in the family might have prompted. After\r\ndischarging his conscience on that head, he proceeded to inform them,\r\nwith many rapturous expressions, of his happiness in having obtained the\r\naffection of their amiable neighbour, Miss Lucas, and then explained\r\nthat it was merely with the view of enjoying her society that he had\r\nbeen so ready to close with their kind wish of seeing him again at\r\nLongbourn, whither he hoped to be able to return on Monday fortnight;\r\nfor Lady Catherine, he added, so heartily approved his marriage, that\r\nshe wished it to take place as soon as possible, which he trusted would\r\nbe an unanswerable argument with his amiable Charlotte to name an early\r\nday for making him the happiest of men.\r\n\r\nMr. Collins’s return into Hertfordshire was no longer a matter of\r\npleasure to Mrs. Bennet. On the contrary, she was as much disposed to\r\ncomplain of it as her husband. It was very strange that he should come\r\nto Longbourn instead of to Lucas Lodge; it was also very inconvenient\r\nand exceedingly troublesome. She hated having visitors in the house\r\nwhile her health was so indifferent, and lovers were of all people the\r\nmost disagreeable. Such were the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet, and they\r\ngave way only to the greater distress of Mr. Bingley’s continued\r\nabsence.\r\n\r\nNeither Jane nor Elizabeth were comfortable on this subject."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6ZWGAT4FYVDEM6VE2E","peer_label":"mr collins","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6RHWPTVXJ7SHB3NE6F","peer_label":"lydia bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYTMYM5H9026MPV0AJMX","peer_label":"sir william lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZFDNHD81TMSJQPDWV69","peer_label":"charlotte lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYW2V9QH9GNRQRJT67GK","peer_label":"mr bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY4KCKYKYTFBWSNR6EZ0","peer_label":"kitty bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSX336MNFYYQ2MPNB60","peer_label":"lady lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY5SSJCQ67QYG0XTG9A8","peer_label":"mr bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY7G184NZ401P9V4JV87","peer_label":"lady catherine de bourgh","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYRAPBAR593DJKHRVWY2","peer_label":"george allen","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"organization","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF1J610RB97404J5Q53SH","peer_label":"hunsford","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0YV9NV5WVK4WWSM736Q","peer_label":"meryton","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0VGMTTKPRSDMPY969CW","peer_label":"longbourn","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0YB65S9YTQA71N6S7T8","peer_label":"hertfordshire","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7HVCDF1H7B2RWG54Q0T","peer_label":"london","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7P97B0PJAQTQ6ST120D","peer_label":"clergyman","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"entity","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7KZJ4HY099E682KTSPW","peer_label":"lucas lodge","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7M6PWKTFGVY5GSW3MFX","peer_label":"caroline bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7NS4NRYQD91T7ACZ036","peer_label":"comfortable home","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"entity","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7MM6A0REQWV74GX8SA0","peer_label":"chapter xxiii","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"document_section","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:42.726Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.237Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:29:43.375Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}