Pride and Prejudice. Адаптированная книга для чтения на английском языке. Intermediate. Джейн Остин

could be good-good-humoredwhen they were pleased, could make themselves pleasant when they chose it, but they were proud and conceited. They were rather beautiful, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, spent more money than they ought, and kept company with people of high position, and were therefore sure that they had every right to think well of themselves, and poorly of others. They were of a respectable family in the north of England, and that circumstance they remembered much better than the fact that their brother's fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.

      Mr. Bingley's father had left him a good fortune (nearly hundred thousand pounds), and Mr. Bingley thought of buying an estate, and sometimes made choice of his county; but as he now possessed a good house in London and rented a manor in Hertfordshire, it was doubtful to many of those who best knew his easy temper, whether he might not spend his life at Netherfield, and leave the buying of an estate to the next generation.

      His sisters would very much like if he had an estate of his own; but, though he was now only a tenant, Miss Bingley was eager to preside at his table, and Mrs. Hurst, who had married a man of more fashion than fortune, also liked to consider his house as her home when it suited her. Mr. Bingley was just twenty three years old when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House. He did look at it, and into it for half an hour, was pleased with the location and the main rooms, satisfied with what the owner said in its praise, and took it at once.

      Between him and Darcy there was a very steady friendship, though they were absolutely opposite in character. Bingley attracted Darcy by the easiness, openness and docility of his temper, though no character could be of a greater contrast to his own, and though with his own temper he was never dissatisfied. Bingley had a greatest respect for Darcy and his judgement and opinion. Bingley was by no means stupid, but in intelligence, Darcy was the superior. He was clever. He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and hard to please, and his manners, though well-bred, were not pleasing. Therefore, everybody liked Bingley wherever he appeared; Darcy was always giving offense.

      This difference between them could be clearly seen when they discussed the Meryton assembly. Bingley had never met with more pleasant people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been most kind and attentive to him; there had been no formality; he had soon felt acquainted with everybody in the room; and, as to Miss Bennet, he could not think of an angel more beautiful. Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion; he hadn't felt the smallest interest for anybody of them, and from nobody received either attention or pleasure. He agreed that Miss Bennet was pretty, but she smiled too much.

      Mr. Bingley's sisters agreed with Mr. Darcy. But they liked Miss Bennet, said she was a sweet girl, and they would like to know more of her. Thus their brother felt that he was free to think of her as he chose.

      Chapter 5

      At a walking distance from Longbourn there was Lucas Lodge. The Bennets were on very friendly terms with the Lucases. Sir William Lucas had made a tolerable fortune in trade in Meryton, and had risen to knighthood when he had been the mayor of that town. After that he thought it beneath him to be in trade and to live in a small market town. He bought a house about a mile from Meryton, known from that period as Lucas Lodge, where he could think with pleasure of his own importance. But, being by nature friendly, he was all attention to everybody.

      Lady Lucas was a very good woman, not too clever to be a useful neighbor to Mrs. Bennet. They had several children. The eldest of them, a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-seven, was Elizabeth's close friend.

      In the morning after the assembly the Miss Lucases arrived at Longbourn to talk about the ball.

      «You began the evening well, Charlotte», said Mrs. Bennet to Miss Lucas. «You were Mr. Bingley's first choice».

      «Yes; but he seemed to like his second better».

      «Oh! you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her twice. To be sure that did seem as if he admired her, I rather believe he did».

      «Didn't I tell you? I heard when Mr. Robinson asked him how he liked our Meryton assemblies, and whether he thought there were a great many pretty women in the room, and which he thought the prettiest, he immediately answered the last question: Oh! the eldest Miss Bennet, beyond a doubt; there cannot be two opinions on that point», Charlotte said.

      «Upon my word! Well, that seems as if… but, however, it may all come to nothing, you know».

      «Mr. Darcy is not so well worth listening to as his friend, is he? Poor Eliza!.. to be only just tolerable», said Charlotte.

      «I would ask you not to put it into Lizzy's head to be annoyed by his ill-treatment; he is so unpleasant that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him. Mrs. Long told me last night that he sat close to her for half an hour without once opening his lips».

      «Are you quite sure, ma'am? Is not there a little mistake?» said Jane. «I certainly saw Mr. Darcy speaking to her».

      «It was only because she asked him at last how he liked Netherfield, and he had to answer her; but she said he seemed quite angry at being spoken to».

      «I do not mind his not talking to Mrs. Long», said Miss Lucas, «but I wish he had danced with Eliza».

      «Another time, Lizzy», said her mother, «I would not dance with him, if I were you».

      «I believe, ma'am, I may safely promise you never to dance with him».

      «There is an excuse for his pride», said Miss Lucas. «No wonder, that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. He has a right to be proud, if I may say so».

      «That is very true», replied Elizabeth, «and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not humiliated mine».

      «By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that pride», remarked Mary, «is a very common flaw, and that there are very few of us who don't feel proud of themselves for some quality or other, real or imaginary. Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us».

      Chapter 6

      The ladies of Netherfield soon paid a visit to those of Longbourn and invited them to visit Netherfield. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley praised Miss Bennet's pleasing manners; and though the mother was found to be intolerable, and the younger sisters not worth speaking to, they expressed a wish to be better acquainted with the two eldest. Jane was pleased by this attention, but as Elizabeth understood, that they were kind to Jane just because of their brother's admiration, she could not like them. It was clearly seen whenever they met, that Bingley admired her, and Elizabeth knew that Jane was very much in love; but she was pleased to know that other people wouldn't discover it because Jane was capable of not showing her strong feelings to the whole world. She talked about this to her friend Miss Lucas.

      «But if a woman hides her feeling with the same skill from the object of it», replied Charlotte, «she may lose the opportunity of fixing him. There are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten a woman had better show more love than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on».

      «But Jane helps him on as much as her nature will allow. If I can feel her love for him, he must be a simpleton, indeed, not to discover it too».

      «Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane's character as you do».

      «But if a woman is attracted to a man, and does not try to hide it, he must find it out».

      «Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her. But Bingley and Jane meet mostly at large parties where they can't have long talks together. Jane should therefore make the most of every half-hour in which she can have his attention. When she is sure of his affection, she can freely fall in love with him as much as she chooses».

      «This is a good plan», replied Elizabeth, «if you just want to