Chapter 19
“I am not going to be the first to call on the Bennets. I am determined that they shall come to me first.”
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”
“Yes, my dear, I have heard it.”
“And of what nature is your informant?”
“One of the plebeians, I believe.”
“My dear, you have been long enough acquainted with my disposition to be sensible that I am not to be amused by any of his reports. I know it to be the case that Netherfield Park is let at last to a gentleman of the name of Bingley, who is come down from the north of England. He has taken it on a lease, and is to be in the place by Michaelmas.”
“What is his fortune?”
“His fortune is not so large as Mr. Wentworth’s, but he is a bachelor, and of a very respectable family. His fortune, I say, is not so large as Mr. Wentworth’s, but he is a bachelor, and of a very respectable family. It is supposed that he will spend his money here, and that the house will be greatly improved.”
“What is his income?”
“Four or five thousand a year, my dear, and two or three hundred a year in the stocks. He is to be in the place by Michaelmas. I am very glad to hear it.”
“And so am I.”
“I do not know that I can give you any information on that head. I am very glad to hear it.”
“You are mistaken, my dear. I know it to be the case. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
“However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”
“Yes, my dear, I have heard it.”
“And of what nature is your informant?”
“One of the plebeians, I believe.”
“My dear, you have been long enough acquainted with my disposition to be sensible that I am not to be amused by any of his reports. I know it to be the case that Netherfield Park is let at last to a gentleman of the name of Bingley, who is come down from the north of England. He has taken it on a lease, and is to be in the place by Michaelmas.”
“What is his fortune?”
“His fortune is not so large as Mr. Wentworth’s, but he is a bachelor, and of a very respectable family. His fortune, I say, is not so large as Mr. Wentworth’s, but he is a bachelor, and of a very respectable family. It is supposed that he will spend his money here, and that the house will be greatly improved.”
“What is his income?”
“Four or five thousand a year, my dear, and two or three hundred a year in the stocks. He is to be in the place by Michaelmas. I am very glad to hear it.”
“And so am I.”
“I do not know that I can give you any information on that head. I am very glad to hear it.”
“You are mistaken, my dear. I know it to be the case. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
“However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”