When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.

“He is just what a young man ought to be,”said she,“sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! —so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!”

“He is also handsome,”replied Elizabeth,“which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.”

“I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I did not expect such a compliment.”

“Did not you? I did for you. But that is one great difference between us. Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. What could be more natural than his asking you again? He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other women in the room. No thanks to his gallantry for that. Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.”

“Dear Lizzy!”

“Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see a fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life.”

“I would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one; but I always speak what I think.”

“I know you do; and it is that which makes the wonder. With your good sense, to be honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! Affectation of candour is common enough;-one meets it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design-to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad-belongs to you alone. And so, you like this man's sisters too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his.”

“Certainly not; at first. But they are very pleasing women when you converse with them. Miss Bingley is to live with her brother and keep his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her.”

Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced. Their behaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister, and with a judgment, too, unassailed by any attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve them. They were in fact very fine ladies, not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable where they chose it; but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank; and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. They were of a respectable family in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother's fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.

Mr. Bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly an hundred thousand pounds from his father, who had intended to purchase an estate, but did not live to do it. —Mr. Bingley intended it likewise, and sometimes made choice of his county; but as he was now provided with a good house and the liberty of a manor, it was doubtful to many of those who best knew the easiness of his temper, whether he might not spend the remainder of his days at Netherfield, and leave the next generation to purchase.

His sisters were very anxious for his having an estate of his own; but though he was now established only as a tenant, Miss Bingley was by no means unwilling to preside at his table, nor was Mrs. Hurst, who had married a man of more fashion than fortune, less disposed to consider his house as her home when it suited her. Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years, 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 situation and the principal rooms, satisfied with what the owner said in its praise, and took it immediately.

Between him and Darcy there was a very steady friendship, in spite of a great opposition of character. —Bingley was endeared to Darcy by the easiness, openness, ductility of his temper, though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own, and though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied. On the strength of Darcy's regard Bingley had the firmest reliance, and of his judgment the highest opinion. In understanding, Darcy was the superior. Bingley was by no means deficient, but Darcy was clever. He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting. In that respect his friend had greatly the advantage. Bingley was sure of being liked wherever he appeared; Darcy was continually giving offence.

The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic. Bingley had never met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been most kind and attentive to him, there had been no formality, no stiffness; he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest, and from none received either attention or pleasure. Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much.

Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so-but still they admired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet girl, and one whom they should not object to know more of. Miss Bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl, and their brother felt authorized by such commendation to think of her as he chose.

簡對贊揚(yáng)賓利先生持謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度，只有當(dāng)她和伊麗莎白獨(dú)處的時候，她才對伊麗莎白表示，她是多么愛慕賓利先生。

“他真是一個理想的小伙子，”她說，“通情達(dá)理，活潑快樂；我從來沒有見過他那種討人喜歡的舉止！——既輕松自如，又富有如此完美的教養(yǎng)！”

“他也非常英俊，”伊麗莎白答道，“只要可能，年輕人就應(yīng)該同樣英俊。因此，他的性格是完美的。”

“他兩次邀請我跳舞，我真是萬分榮幸。我沒料到他這樣高看我?！?

“你沒料到？我替你料到了。不過，這正是我們之間截然不同的一點(diǎn)。別人的贊揚(yáng)總是讓你驚訝，我卻從來不會。他又請你跳一次，會有什么不自然嗎？你比舞場里的任何其他女人都要漂亮不知多少倍，他不可能看不到。他獻(xiàn)殷勤，你不用感謝。啊，他的確和藹可親，我允許你喜歡他。你曾經(jīng)喜歡過好多更傻的人呢?！?

“親愛的麗齊！”

“唉！你知道，你通常太容易對人們產(chǎn)生好感。你從來看不到任何人的缺點(diǎn)。在你的眼里，天下都是好人，都和藹可親。我長這么大，從來沒有聽見你說過別人的壞話。”

“我不希望隨便指責(zé)別人，但我一向都是想到什么就說什么。”

“我知道你就是這樣；而這也是莫名其妙的一點(diǎn)。你判斷力強(qiáng)，竟會對別人的愚蠢和無聊熟視無睹！假裝直率司空見慣，哪里都會遇到。可是，坦坦蕩蕩，沒有賣弄或圖謀——你對每個人的品質(zhì)只看好的一面，還要錦上添花，從來不說壞的一面——只有你會做到。因此，你也喜歡賓利先生的姐妹們，對嗎？她們的風(fēng)度可跟他的不一樣?！?

“起先，當(dāng)然不一樣?？墒牵愀齻兘徽剷r，會發(fā)現(xiàn)她們也很討人喜歡。賓利小姐要跟她的哥哥同住一起，替他管家；要是我們發(fā)現(xiàn)她不是一個非常迷人的鄰居，那我就大錯特錯了。”

伊麗莎白默默地聽著，但并沒有信服。她們在舞會上的舉止目的不是想討好眾人；她比姐姐的觀察更敏銳，性情沒有姐姐柔順，而且也有主見，不會因有人關(guān)心她自己而改弦易轍，不會對她們產(chǎn)生多少好感。事實(shí)上，她們都是非常出色的姑娘；她們高興時并不是不會談笑風(fēng)生；她們樂意做時也不是不會和藹可親；但是，她們驕傲自負(fù)。她們都相當(dāng)漂亮，曾經(jīng)在一所一流私立學(xué)校受過教育，有兩萬英鎊的財產(chǎn)，花錢習(xí)慣揮霍，習(xí)慣結(jié)交有身份的人，因此各方面都自我感覺良好，瞧不起別人。她們出生在英格蘭北部的一個體面家庭；她們對此印象更深刻，而對她們兄弟的財產(chǎn)和她們自己的財產(chǎn)都是經(jīng)商賺來的卻印象不深。

賓利先生從父親那里繼承遺產(chǎn)的數(shù)額將近十萬英鎊。他的父親本來打算購置田產(chǎn)，卻沒有做成就去世了?！e利先生同樣這樣打算，有時選定了在哪個郡購置，但因為現(xiàn)在有了好房子和莊園供他隨意使用，所以那些最了解他隨遇而安性格的人大都懷疑，他下半輩子是不是在內(nèi)瑟菲爾德莊園度過，是不是要把購置田產(chǎn)留給下一代。

他的姐妹都非常渴望他擁有自己的財產(chǎn)；不過，盡管他現(xiàn)在只是作為房客在這里住下，但賓利小姐還是心甘情愿為他掌管家務(wù)；赫斯特太太嫁了一個派頭大、財富少的男人，只要房子適合她，她也不是不愿把它當(dāng)成自己的家。賓利先生來看內(nèi)瑟菲爾德莊園，是有人偶爾推薦，當(dāng)時他成年還不到兩年。他的確里里外外看了半個小時，喜歡上了房子的地段和幾個主要房間，聽信了房主的溢美之詞，立馬租了下來。

他和達(dá)西的性格大相徑庭，卻有非常牢固的友情。達(dá)西喜歡賓利脾氣溫和、坦率、柔順；不過他的性情和賓利的反差較大，他好像對自己的性情也從來沒有不滿過。賓利完全信賴達(dá)西的關(guān)心，對他的見解評價極高。在悟性上，達(dá)西更占優(yōu)勢。賓利毫無缺陷，但達(dá)西聰明透頂。同時，達(dá)西目中無人、沉默寡言、吹毛求疵，盡管他受過良好教育，但他的舉止并不動人。在這方面，他的朋友具有更大優(yōu)勢。無論賓利出現(xiàn)在哪里，肯定都會受到喜愛；達(dá)西卻在不斷得罪人。

他們談?wù)擏攘ν途蹠姆绞阶阋员憩F(xiàn)各自的特點(diǎn)。賓利說他這輩子從來沒有遇見過如此活潑的人們、如此漂亮的姑娘；人人都對他和藹可親，關(guān)心體貼，沒有俗套，沒有拘謹(jǐn)；他很快就跟全屋人混熟了；至于貝內(nèi)特小姐，他無法想象還能有比她更美麗的天使。相反，達(dá)西見到的一群人既美不到哪里去，也并不時髦，他對她們一點(diǎn)也不感興趣，也沒有得到別人的關(guān)心和好感。他承認(rèn)貝內(nèi)特小姐漂亮，但她太愛笑了。

赫斯特太太和她的妹妹都同意這種看法——不過，她們?nèi)匀涣w慕她、喜歡她，說她是一位可愛的姑娘，她們不應(yīng)該反對跟她更多交往。因此，貝內(nèi)特小姐就被認(rèn)定是可愛的姑娘。弟弟聽了她們這番稱贊，覺得自己可以隨心所欲地想她了。