pride and prejudice

640 Pages·2013·0.95 MB·English

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
byJaneAusten
StyledbyLimpidSoft
Contents
Chapter1 4 Chapter8 58
Chapter2 9 Chapter9 69
Chapter3 14 Chapter10 78
Chapter4 23 Chapter11 90
Chapter5 29 Chapter12 98
Chapter6 35 Chapter13. 102
Chapter7 47 Chapter14 111
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CONTENTS
Chapter15 117 Chapter28 257
Chapter16 126 Chapter29 265
Chapter17 143 Chapter30 277
Chapter18 150 Chapter31 284
Chapter19 175 Chapter32 292
Chapter20 184 Chapter33 300
Chapter21 193 Chapter34 310
Chapter22 203 Chapter35 321
Chapter23 212 Chapter36 338
Chapter24 221 Chapter37 348
Chapter25 231 Chapter38 355
Chapter26 239 Chapter39 361
Chapter27 250 Chapter40 369
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CONTENTS
Chapter41 378 Chapter52 522
Chapter42 390 Chapter53 539
Chapter43 399
Chapter54 554
Chapter44 423
Chapter55 563
Chapter45 434
Chapter56 575
Chapter46 443
Chapter57 590
Chapter47. 457
Chapter58 599
Chapter48 477
Chapter59. 611
Chapter49 489
Chapter50 501 Chapter60 624
Chapter51 512 Chapter61 632
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Chapter 1
Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledged,thatasingleman
inpossessionofagoodfortune,mustbeinwantofawife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a
man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this
truthissowellfixedinthemindsofthesurroundingfam-
ilies, that he is considered the rightful property of some
oneorotheroftheirdaughters..
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day,
“haveyouheardthatNetherfieldParkisletatlast?”
Mr.Bennetrepliedthathehadnot..
“Butitis,”returnedshe;“forMrs. Longhasjustbeen
here,andshetoldmeallaboutit”
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CHAPTER 1
Mr.Bennetmadenoanswer..
“Doyounotwanttoknowwhohastakenit?”criedhis
wifeimpatiently..
”Youwanttotellme,andIhavenoobjectiontohearing
it”
Thiswasinvitationenough..
“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that
Netherfieldistakenbyayoungmanoflargefortunefrom
thenorthofEngland; thathecamedownonMondayin
achaiseandfourtoseetheplace, andwassomuchde-
lighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris imme-
diately; thatheistotakepossessionbeforeMichaelmas,
andsomeofhisservantsaretobeinthehousebytheend
ofnextweek”.
“Whatishisname?”.
“Bingley”.
“Ishemarriedorsingle?”.
“Oh!Single,mydear,tobesure!Asinglemanoflarge
fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing
forourgirls!”.
“Howso?Howcanitaffectthem?”.
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CHAPTER 1
“MydearMr. Bennet,”repliedhiswife,“howcanyou
besotiresome! YoumustknowthatIamthinkingofhis
marryingoneofthem”.
“Isthathisdesigninsettlinghere?”.
“Design!Nonsense,howcanyoutalkso!Butitisvery
likelythathemayfallinlovewithoneofthem,andthere-
foreyoumustvisithimassoonashecomes”.
“Iseeno occasionforthat. Youand thegirlsmay go,
oryoumaysendthembythemselves,whichperhapswill
bestillbetter,forasyouareashandsomeasanyofthem,
Mr.Bingleymaylikeyouthebestoftheparty”.
“Mydear,youflatterme.Icertainlyhavehadmyshare
ofbeauty,butIdonotpretendtobeanythingextraordi-
narynow. Whenawomanhasfivegrown-updaughters,
sheoughttogiveoverthinkingofherownbeauty”.
“Insuchcases,awomanhasnotoftenmuchbeautyto
thinkof”.
“But,mydear,youmustindeedgoandseeMr.Bingley
whenhecomesintotheneighbourhood”.
“ItismorethanIengagefor,Iassureyou”.
“Butconsideryourdaughters. Onlythinkwhatanes-
tablishmentitwouldbeforoneofthem. SirWilliamand
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CHAPTER 1
LadyLucasaredeterminedtogo,merelyonthataccount,
for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. In-
deedyoumustgo,foritwillbeimpossibleforustovisit
himifyoudonot”.
“Youareover-scrupulous,surely. IdaresayMr. Bing-
leywillbeverygladtoseeyou;andIwillsendafewlines
by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his mar-
rying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must
throwinagoodwordformylittleLizzy”.
“Idesireyouwilldonosuchthing. Lizzyisnotabit
better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so
handsomeasJane,norhalfsogood-humouredasLydia.
Butyouarealwaysgivingherthepreference”.
“Theyhavenoneofthemmuchtorecommendthem,”
repliedhe;“theyareallsillyandignorantlikeothergirls;
butLizzyhassomethingmoreofquicknessthanhersis-
ters”.
“Mr. Bennet,howcanyouabuseyourownchildrenin
suchaway? Youtakedelightinvexingme. Youhaveno
compassionformypoornerves”.
“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for
yournerves. Theyaremyoldfriends. Ihaveheardyou
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CHAPTER 1
mentionthemwithconsiderationtheselasttwentyyears
atleast”.
“Ah,youdonotknowwhatIsuffer”.
“ButIhopeyouwillgetoverit, andlivetoseemany
youngmenoffourthousandayearcomeintotheneigh-
bourhood”.
“It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come,
sinceyouwillnotvisitthem”.
“Dependuponit,mydear,thatwhentherearetwenty,
Iwillvisitthemall”
Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sar-
castichumour,reserve,andcaprice,thattheexperienceof
three-and-twentyyearshadbeeninsufficienttomakehis
wifeunderstandhischaracter.Hermindwaslessdifficult
to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding,
little information, and uncertain temper. When she was
discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business
of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace
wasvisitingandnews.
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