Chapter 43 Chapter Forty-Two

Had Elizabeth been asked to describe, from the circumstances of her own family, what was meant by the happiness of marriage, and the pleasures of home, she would have had nothing good to say.Her father was greedy for youth and beauty, because youth and beauty often bring great interest to people, so he married such a poor intellect and narrow-minded woman. Soon after the marriage, his deep affection for his wife began to fade. It's over.The mutual respect, love, and confidence of husband and wife were lost forever; his ideal of domestic happiness was totally overturned.Any other man who has brought misfortune through his own rashness would comfort himself with absurd or perverse pleasures, but Mr. Bennet did not like it.He loves country scenery and reading for self-entertainment, which is his greatest pleasure.As for his wife, he had no other kindness towards her than his amusement in her ignorance and stupidity.Ordinary men would not want to find this kind of pleasure in their wives, but since a wise man has no ability to find other things, of course he has to resign himself to fate.

But Elizabeth is not ignorant of her father's wickedness.She always feels pain when she sees it; but she respects his talent and appreciates his love of reading, so she tries to ignore what could not be ignored, and even if the father should not call the children She looked down on her mother, so that the old couple could not get along with mutual respect and love day by day, and she tried not to think about it.But never before had she experienced more deeply the disadvantages of unsatisfactory marriages to children, nor had she seen more clearly the misuse of a father's talents.If the father's talents are well employed, it may at least preserve the decency of the daughters, if not extend the mother's perspective.

Elizabeth was certainly pleased that Wickham was gone, but she had no other satisfaction when the militia was gone.The banquets outside were not as many and interesting as before, and at home, only the mother and sister complained about the dullness of life all day long, which cast a shadow over the house; She will soon be back to normal; but there is another sister, who has a bad temperament, and now is in the double danger of the barracks and the bathing place, so she will be more daring and debauched, causing even greater disasters. Now, so in the main, she found (and she had noticed it at one time before) that a thing she was looking forward to coming, when it did come, was not as satisfying as she expected it to be.So she had to look forward to the beginning of true happiness, to find something else to pin her hopes and wishes on, to indulge herself in anticipation, to comfort herself for a while, and to prepare herself for another disappointment.The one thing she was most proud of now was that she would soon be able to travel to the Lake District, because since her mother and Kitty were unhappy and the house was disturbed by the quarrel, of course the thought of going out was the greatest comfort to her; It would be perfect to be on this tour.

She thought to herself: Fortunately, I can still have some hope.If everything is perfectly arranged, I should be disappointed instead.My sister can't go with me, I will regret it all the time, but it can also make me have a little hope, so the happiness I am looking forward to may also come true.Perfect plans never succeed; only a little distress can largely prevent disappointment. Before Lydia left, she promised to write to her mother and Kitty often, telling them all about the journey in detail, but after she left, the family always waited for a long time before receiving a letter from her. And each letter is often only a few lines.Her letters to her mother were nothing more than to say that they had just returned from the library, accompanied by many officers, and that they had seen many beautiful ornaments there, which made her jealous, or rather She bought a new gown, and a parasol, which she could have described in detail, but Mrs. Forster was calling her, and they were going to the barracks soon, and so on.As for her letter to Kitty, although much longer, it was also very empty, because there were many important words that could not be written.

After two or three weeks of her absence Longbourne was again in a cheerful and merry mood.Everything is thriving.The families uptown that had spent the winter had moved back, people were wearing new summer clothes, and there were summer dates everywhere.Mrs. Bennet was whining as usual.By the middle of June Kitty was quite recovered, and could go to Meryton without tears, and Elizabeth was glad to see that, and she hoped that by Christmas Kitty would be quite sensible enough not to have to mention it so often every day. Officers, unless the War Department, who cares about life and death, plays another mischief and re-arranges a regiment to Meryton.

The date of their northward journey was approaching, with only a fortnight remaining, when a letter from Mrs. Gardiner delayed and narrowed the journey.The letter stated that because of Mr. Gardiner's business, the trip had to be postponed for two weeks, and he would not be able to leave until July, and because he could only travel for a month before returning to London, the date was very short, and the original plan could not be followed. For a long journey, to feast on the mountains and rivers, at least not as leisurely as originally planned, the Lake District must be abandoned, and the journey must be shortened, so that it can only stop at Derbyshire.In fact, Derbyshire was enough for them to visit, enough for them to spend their short three-week travel schedule, and Mrs. Gardiner was very much looking forward to that place.She had lived there for a few years before, and now she was able to revisit the old place. After staying for a few days, she couldn't help being fascinated by the scenic spots of Matlock, Chatsworth, Pigeon Hollow, and Xiufu.

This letter disappointed Elizabeth very much.She originally wanted to enjoy the scenery of the Lake District, but now she still feels that she has plenty of time.However, she had no right to object, and her mood was free and easy, and after a while, she felt better again.When it comes to Derby County, it is inevitable to evoke many associations.When she saw the place name, she couldn't help but think of Pemberley and Pemberley's owner.She said: I can definitely walk into his hometown swaggeringly, and grab a few transparent crystals while he doesn't know it. The trip was postponed again and again.My aunt and uncle will not be here for another four weeks.But after all four weeks passed, and the Gardiners arrived at Longbourn with their four children.Among the four children are two girls, one is six years old and the other is eight years old, and the other two boys are still young.The children were to remain here, under the care of their cousin, Jane, whom they all liked, and who, with her steady manner and soft disposition, was very well suited to teach the children to read, to play with them, and to take care of them.

The Gardiners only stayed in Longbourn for one night, and took Elizabeth to explore new places and have fun early the next morning.These traveling companions are indeed very suitable, and the so-called suitable means that they are all in good health and gentle temperament, and can bear the inconvenience encountered on the road, which is really satisfactory.Each of them was animated, which naturally contributed to happiness, and they were so affectionate and intelligent that they could still have a good time with each other in case of any disappointment abroad. It is not the intention of this book to describe the sights of Derbyshire in detail, but enough is known of the places of interest through which their journey must pass, such as Oxford, Blenn, Warwick, Kenilworth, Birmingham, etc. Nor do I intend to write.Only a small part of Derbyshire will be mentioned now.Let's say that there is a small town called Lambertton, where the Gardiners used to live, and she recently heard that some acquaintances still live there, so after seeing all the places of interest in the country, she detoured there. have a look.Elizabeth heard her aunt say that Pemberley was less than five miles from Lambethton, and that it was only a mile or two to turn, though not necessarily a pass.When discussing the trip the night before, Mrs. Gardiner said she wanted to go there again.Mr. Gardiner agreed, and they came to Elizabeth for consent.

The aunt said to her: Honey, you have heard about that place for a long time, would you like to go and see it?Many of your friends are connected to that place.Wickham spent his whole boyhood there, you know. Elizabeth was utterly embarrassed.She felt it unnecessary to go to Pemberley, so she said she did not want to go.But she said that she has seen enough tall buildings and beautiful curtains, and she really has no intention of browsing Mrs. Gardiner called her stupid, and said: If there were only a fine house, I wouldn't care about it; but the grounds there are lovely, and the trees are the prettiest in the country.

Elizabeth was silent, but she still dared not agree in her heart.It immediately occurred to her that if she went there to enjoy the scenery, she might run into Mr. Darcy, and how bad it would be!She blushed when she thought of this, thinking that she might as well explain the matter to her aunt frankly, so as not to take such a big risk.But this was not right; and at last it was decided to inquire secretly whether there was anyone in Mr. Darcy's family, and if there was, it would not be too late for her to make a last resort. When she was going to bed at night, she asked the maid whether Pemberley was a good place, and who was the master's name, and asked her master whether he would come back to cool off with fear.This last question of hers got the answer she could only wish for: they will not come back.She no longer had to be afraid of anything, but she gradually developed a great curiosity to see the house with her own eyes; the next morning the old story was repeated, and her aunt came to ask her permission, so she took it with her. She promptly replied with indifference that she had nothing against the plan, and they resolved to go to Pemberley.