mr bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on mr bingley he
had always intended to visit him though to the last always assuring
his wife that he should not go and till the evening after the visit was
paid she had no knowledge of it it was then disclosed in the following
manner observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat he
suddenly addressed her with

i hope mr bingley will like it lizzy

we are not in a way to know what mr bingley likes said her mother
resentfully since we are not to visit

but you forget mamma said elizabeth that we shall meet him at the
assemblies and that mrs long promised to introduce him

i do not believe mrs long will do any such thing she has two nieces
of her own she is a selfish hypocritical woman and i have no opinion
of her

no more have i said mr bennet and i am glad to find that you do
not depend on her serving you

mrs bennet deigned not to make any reply but unable to contain
herself began scolding one of her daughters

don't keep coughing so kitty for heaven's sake have a little
compassion on my nerves you tear them to pieces

kitty has no discretion in her coughs said her father she times
them ill

i do not cough for my own amusement replied kitty fretfully when is
your next ball to be lizzy

tomorrow fortnight

aye so it is cried her mother and mrs long does not come back
till the day before so it will be impossible for her to introduce him
for she will not know him herself

then my dear you may have the advantage of your friend and introduce
mr bingley to her

impossible mr bennet impossible when i am not acquainted with him
myself how can you be so teasing

i honour your circumspection a fortnight's acquaintance is certainly
very little one cannot know what a man really is by the end of a
fortnight but if we do not venture somebody else will and after all
mrs long and her neices must stand their chance and therefore as
she will think it an act of kindness if you decline the office i will
take it on myself

the girls stared at their father mrs bennet said only nonsense
nonsense

what can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation cried he do
you consider the forms of introduction and the stress that is laid on
them as nonsense i cannot quite agree with you there what say you
mary for you are a young lady of deep reflection i know and read
great books and make extracts

mary wished to say something sensible but knew not how

while mary is adjusting her ideas he continued let us return to mr
bingley

i am sick of mr bingley cried his wife

i am sorry to hear that but why did not you tell me that before if
i had known as much this morning i certainly would not have called
on him it is very unlucky but as i have actually paid the visit we
cannot escape the acquaintance now

the astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished that of mrs
bennet perhaps surpassing the rest though when the first tumult of joy
was over she began to declare that it was what she had expected all the
while

how good it was in you my dear mr bennet but i knew i should
persuade you at last i was sure you loved your girls too well to
neglect such an acquaintance well how pleased i am and it is such a
good joke too that you should have gone this morning and never said a
word about it till now

now kitty you may cough as much as you choose said mr bennet and
as he spoke he left the room fatigued with the raptures of his wife

what an excellent father you have girls said she when the door was
shut i do not know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness
or me either for that matter at our time of life it is not so
pleasant i can tell you to be making new acquaintances every day but
for your sakes we would do anything lydia my love though you are
the youngest i dare say mr bingley will dance with you at the next
ball

oh said lydia stoutly i am not afraid for though i am the
youngest i'm the tallest

the rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would
return mr bennet's visit and determining when they should ask him to
dinner