第13章
“I hope my dear,”said Mr. Bennet to his wife as they were at breakfast the next morning,“that you have ordered a good dinner to-day, because I have reason to expect an addition to our family party.”
“Who do you mean, my dear? I know of nobody that is coming, I am sure, unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in, and I hope my dinners are good enough for her. I do not believe she often sees such at home.”
“The person of whom I speak, is a gentleman and a stranger.”
Mrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled. -“A gentleman and a stranger! It is Mr. Bingley, I am sure. Why Jane-you never dropt a word of this; you sly thing! Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr. Bingley. -But-good lord! how unlucky! there is not a bit of fish to be got to-day. Lydia, my love, ring the bell. I must speak to Hill, this moment.”
“It is not Mr. Bingley,”said her husband;“it is a person whom I never saw in the whole course of my life.”
This roused a general astonishment; and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and five daughters at once.
After amusing himself some time with their curiosity, he thus explained.“About a month ago I received this letter, and about a fortnight ago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy, and requiring early attention. It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who, when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases.”
“Oh! my dear,”cried his wife,“I cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.”
Jane and Elizabeth attempted to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted it before, but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason;and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about.
“It certainly is a most iniquitous affair,”said Mr. Bennet,“and nothing can clear Mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting Longbourn. But if you will listen to his letter, you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself.”
“No, that I am sure I shall not; and I think it was very impertinent of him to write to you at all, and very hypocritical. I hate such false friends. Why could not he keep on quarrelling with you, as his father did before him?”
“Why, indeed, he does seem to have had some filial scruples on that head, as you will hear.”
Dear Sir,
THE disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have had the misfortune to lose him I have frequently wished to heal the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts, fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with any one with whom it had always pleased him to be at variance.”—“There, Mrs. Bennet.”—“My mind however is now made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish, where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her Ladyship, and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the Church of England. As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures of good-will are highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive branch. I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologize for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends, —but of this hereafter. If you should have no objection to receive me into your house, I propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four o'clock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday se'nnight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day. I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend,
“Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent,
William Collins.
15th October.”
“At four o'clock, therefore, we may expect this peacemaking gentleman,”said Mr. Bennet, as he folded up the letter.“He seems to be a most conscientious and polite young man, upon my word; and I doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance, especially if Lady Catherine should be so indulgent as to let him come to us again.”
“There is some sense in what he says about the girls however; and if he is disposed to make them any amends, I shall not be the person to discourage him.”
“Though it is difficult,”said Jane,“to guess in what way he can mean to make us the atonement he thinks our due, the wish is certainly to his credit.”
Elizabeth was chiefly struck with his extraordinary deference for Lady Catherine, and his kind intention of christening, marrying, and burying his parishioners whenever it were required.
“He must be an oddity, I think,”said she.“I cannot make him out. —There is something very pompous in his stile. —And what can he mean by apologizing for being next in the entail?—We cannot suppose he would help it, if he could. —Can he be a sensible man, sir?”
“No, my dear; I think not. I have great hopes of finding him quite the reverse. There is a mixture of servility and self-importance in his letter, which promises well. I am impatient to see him.”
“In point of composition,”said Mary,“his letter does not seem defective. The idea of the olive branch perhaps is not wholly new, yet I think it is well expressed.”
To Catherine and Lydia, neither the letter nor its writer were in any degree interesting. It was next to impossible that their cousin should come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some weeks since they had received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour. As for their mother, Mr. Collins's letter had done away much of her ill-will, and she was preparing to see him with a degree of composure which astonished her husband and daughters.
Mr. Collins was punctual to his time, and was received with great politeness by the whole family. Mr. Bennet, indeed, said little; but the ladies were ready enough to talk, and Mr. Collins seemed neither in need of encouragement, nor inclined to be silent himself. He was a tall, heavy looking young man of five and twenty. His air was grave and stately, and his manners were very formal. He had not been long seated before he complimented Mrs. Bennet on having so fine a family of daughters, said he had heard much of their beauty, but that, in this instance, fame had fallen short of the truth; and added, that he did not doubt her seeing them all in due time well disposed of in marriage. This gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers, but Mrs. Bennet who quarrelled with no compliments, answered most readily,
“You are very kind, sir, I am sure; and I wish with all my heart it may prove so; for else they will be destitute enough. Things are settled so oddly.”
“You allude, perhaps, to the entail of this estate.”
“Ah! sir, I do indeed. It is a grievous affair to my poor girls, you must confess. Not that I mean to find fault with you, for such things, I know, are all chance in this world. There is no knowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed.”
“I am very sensible, madam, of the hardship to my fair cousins, —and could say much on the subject, but that I am cautious of appearing forward and precipitate. But I can assure the young ladies that I come prepared to admire them. At present I will not say more, but perhaps when we are better acquainted—”
He was interrupted by a summons to dinner; and the girls smiled on each other. They were not the only objects of Mr. Collins's admiration. The hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture were examined and praised; and his commendation of everything would have touched Mrs. Bennet's heart, but for the mortifying supposition of his viewing it all as his own future property. The dinner too, in its turn, was highly admired; and he begged to know to which of his fair cousins, the excellence of its cookery was owing. But here he was set right by Mrs. Bennet, who assured him with some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen. He begged pardon for having displeased her. In a softened tone she declared herself not at all offended; but he continued to apologize for about a quarter of an hour.
“亲爱的，我希望，”第二天早上吃早饭时，贝内特先生对妻子说，“你今天已经吩咐把晚饭做得丰盛了吧，因为我有理由认为我们家会有一位客人来赴宴。”
“你说的是谁，亲爱的？我确信，我不知道谁要来，除非夏洛特·卢卡斯碰巧会来访，我希望我用正餐招待她就够好了。我相信，她在家里不会经常吃得这么好。”
“我说到的这个人是一位先生，也是一个陌生人。”
贝内特太太的眼睛熠熠闪光。“一位先生，一个陌生人！我敢说是宾利先生。啊，简——这事儿你从来没有漏过一个字，你这小淘气！啊，我相信，见到宾利先生，我一定会格外高兴。——可是——天哪！真倒霉！今天连一片鱼也没有买到。丽迪雅，我的宝贝儿，拉一下铃。我此刻要对希尔说话。”
“不是宾利先生，”她的丈夫说，“是我这辈子从来没有见过的一个人。”
这句话让所有人都感到惊讶；他很高兴太太和五个女儿同时迫不及待地提出疑问。
他拿她们的好奇自得其乐了一阵之后，这才解释说：“大约一个月前，我收到了这封信，回信也有两星期左右了。因为我觉得这是一件有些棘手的事儿，需要提早注意。信是我的表侄柯林斯先生写来的。等我死后，他随时都会尽快把你们统统都撵出这个家。”
“噢！我的天哪，”他的太太嚷道，“听你提起这件事，我可受不了。请不要说那个讨厌的人。你的财产不传给自己的孩子们，却让别人继承，我的确认为这是世界上最狠心的事儿；我相信，我要是你的话，一定早就想方设法来做这件事了。”
简和伊丽莎白设法向她解释了继承权的问题。她们以前就设法解释过，但贝内特太太对这个问题听不明白；她不断破口大骂，说是财产不能由五个女儿继承，一个毫不相干的男人却坐收渔利。
“这肯定是一件极其不公平的事儿，”贝内特先生说，“什么也无法澄清柯林斯先生继承朗伯恩的罪过。不过，要是你愿意听听他这封信，看他自己在信里怎么说，也许你的情绪就会缓和点儿。”
“不，我相信我缓和不了；他给你写信根本就是傲慢无礼，也虚伪透顶。我讨厌这样虚伪的朋友。为什么他不像他的父亲此前那样继续跟你吵下去？”
“啊，这人似乎的确在这一点上还有些顾及孝道。你听听看。”
尊敬的先生：
你本人和先父之间曾经存在的不和总是让我忐忑不安；自从不幸失去父亲以来，我常常希望跟你和解；可是，我自己又迟疑了一段时间，唯恐我与先父有过不和的人交好，对先父的在天之灵似乎有所不敬——“听着，贝内特太太。”——然而，我对这件事已经下定决心，承蒙刘易斯·德伯格爵士的遗孀凯瑟琳·德伯格夫人阁下慧眼识珠，我已在复活节接受圣职。夫人慷慨仁慈垂青于我，让我担任本教区的教区长要职。我将对夫人竭尽绵薄、感恩戴德，并随时准备奉行英国国教会创立的那些礼仪。此外，作为一名牧师，我感到自己有责任在力所能及的范围内促进所有家庭和睦幸福；因此，我私下认为，我现在的一番好意值得高度赞扬，而我对朗伯恩财产继承之事，请你大人大量，也不会导致你拒绝接受我献上的橄榄枝。我对损害你的可爱女儿们的财产只能感到忧虑，并请允许我表示歉意，同时向你保证，我愿意对她们进行一切可能的补偿——不过，此事今后再说。要是你不反对接受我登门，我打算11月18日星期一四点钟亲自拜访你和你的家人，而且可能打扰到一周后的星期六。我可以这样做，没有任何不便，因为要是有别的牧师专门负责当天的圣职，凯瑟琳夫人绝不会反对我星期天偶尔离开教堂。谨向你的夫人和女儿们致意。
你的祝福者和朋友
威廉·柯林斯
10月15日于肯特郡韦斯特汉姆附近的亨斯福德
“所以，我们四点钟可以见到这位讲和的先生，”贝内特先生一边叠信，一边说，“他似乎真的是一个勤勤恳恳、彬彬有礼的小伙子；我相信他肯定是一位宝贵的朋友，尤其是凯瑟琳夫人如此宽容让他再来找我们。”
“不过，他说到我们女儿们的那些话还有些道理；要是他真想对她们进行什么补偿的话，我是不会阻拦他的。”
简说：“他说要给我们补偿，尽管我们很难猜出他是什么意思，但他的愿望的确值得赞扬。”
听到他对凯瑟琳太太格外尊敬，而且他那样好心，随时为自己教区的居民洗礼，主持婚礼和葬礼，伊丽莎白大为吃惊。
“我想，他肯定是一个怪人，”她说，“我搞不懂他。——他的文笔华而不实。——他说的因继承我们的产权而感到抱歉，是什么意思？——即使他能补救，我们认为他也不会补救。——他是一个明白人吗，先生？”
“不是，我的宝贝；我想不是。我大有希望发现他恰恰相反。他信里那种既谦卑又自大的语气完全可以看出来。我很想见见他。”
“就文章而言，”玛丽说，“他的信好像没有缺陷。橄榄枝这种说法也许并不完全新颖，但我认为表达不错。”
对凯瑟琳和丽迪雅来说，无论是那封信还是写信人，都没有任何趣味。她们的表兄几乎不可能穿着红制服来，而这几星期以来，穿其他任何颜色的衣服的男人，她们都不希望结交。至于她们的母亲，柯林斯先生的信已经消除了她的敌意，准备相当镇静地见他，这使她的丈夫和女儿们都非常惊讶。
柯林斯先生准时到达，受到了贝内特全家人的极大礼遇。贝内特先生实际上说话不多；太太小姐们倒乐意交谈，柯林斯先生自己好像既不需要鼓励，也不爱沉默。他二十五岁，看上去人高马大，神情严肃庄重，举止中规中矩。他坐下来没多久，便称赞贝内特太太有了这么好的女儿，说他早就听说她们如花似玉，但这次一见，原来是传闻不如实际的美貌；而且补充说，他相信贝内特太太会看到她们都会适时结下良缘。这句殷勤话不大对在座的一些人的口味，但贝内特太太对奉承话来者不拒，非常乐意地答道：
“先生，我相信你非常善良；我一心希望能是这样，否则她们就够惨了。事情搞得太怪了。”
“你大概是指这财产的继承权吧。”
“啊！先生，我的确是指。你必须承认，这对我可怜的姑娘们是一件痛苦的事儿。我并不是想找你的毛病，因为我知道这种事儿在这个世界上完全靠运气。财产一旦限定继承人，就无法知道会怎么落到他人的手里。”
“太太，我完全清楚这件事苦了漂亮的表妹们——而且在这个问题上有好多话说，而我对莽撞冒失持谨慎态度。不过，我可以向年轻的小姐们保证，我到这里是敬慕她们。目前，我不愿多说，但也许等我们更熟悉时——”
主人家请他吃饭，他的话被打断了；小姐们相视而笑。她们不是柯林斯先生爱慕的唯一目标。他细看了客厅、餐厅以及屋里所有的家具，啧啧称赞；他称赞每件东西本该触动贝内特太太的心扉，但一想到他是把这一切都看成自己未来的财产，她又非常难过。连一顿饭也受到他的高度赞赏；他恳求知道是哪一位漂亮表妹做得这一手好菜。然而，听到这句话，贝内特太太对他纠正了一番。她有些粗暴地对他断言，她们完全能够雇得起一位好厨师，她的女儿们什么事儿也不用到厨房里做。他恳求原谅，让她不要生气。她用软化的语调说，她自己根本没有生气，但他却又连续道了大约一刻钟的歉。