第二十四章

Miss Bingley's letter arrived, and put an end to doubt. The very first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled in London for the winter, and concluded with her brother's regret at not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in Hertfordshire before he left the country. 

Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could give her any comfort. Miss Darcy's praise occupied the chief of it. Her many attractions were again dwelt on, and Caroline boasted joyfully of their increasing intimacy, and ventured to predict the accomplishment of the wishes which had been unfolded in her former letter. She wrote also with great pleasure of her brother's being an inmate of Mr. Darcy's house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of the latter with regard to new furniture. Elizabeth, to whom Jane very soon communicated the chief of all this, heard it in silent indignation. Her heart was divided between concern for her sister, and resentment against all the others. To Caroline's assertion of her brother's being partial to Miss Darcy she paid no credit. That he was really fond of Jane, she doubted no more than she had ever done; and much as she had always been disposed to like him, she could not think without anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that want of proper resolution which now made him the slave of his designing friends, and led him to sacrifice his own happiness to the caprice of their inclinations. Had his own happiness, however, been the only sacrifice, he might have been allowed to sport with it in what ever manner he thought best; but her sister's was involved in it, as, she thought, he must be sensible himself. It was a subject, in short, on which reflection would be long indulged, and must be unavailing. She could think of nothing else, and yet whether Bingley's regard had really died away, or were suppressed by his friends' interference; whether he had been aware of Jane's attachment, or whether it had escaped his observation; whichever were the case, though her opinion of him must be materially affected by the difference, her sister's situation remained the same, her peace equally wounded.

A day or two passed before Jane had courage to speak of her feelings to Elizabeth; but at last on Mrs. Bennet's leaving them together, after a longer irritation than usual about Netherfield and its master, she could not help saying,

"Oh! that my dear mother had more command over herself; she can have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual reflections on him. But I will not repine. It cannot last long. He will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before."

Elizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude, but said nothing.

"You doubt me," cried Jane, slightly colouring; "indeed you have no reason. He may live in my memory as the most amiable man of my acquaintance, but that is all. I have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with. Thank God! I have not that pain. A little time therefore. -- I shall certainly try to get the better."

With a stronger voice she soon added, "I have this comfort immediately, that it has not been more than an error of fancy on my side, and that it has done no harm to any one but myself."

"My dear Jane!" exclaimed Elizabeth, "you are too good. Your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic; I do not know what to say to you. I feel as if I had never done you justice, or loved you as you deserve."

Miss Bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit, and threw back the praise on her sister's warm affection.

"Nay," said Elizabeth, "this is not fair. You wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of any body. I only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it. Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense. I have met with two instances lately; one I will not mention; the other is Charlotte's marriage. It is unaccountable! in every view it is unaccountable!"

"My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these. They will ruin your happiness. You do not make allowance enough for difference of situation and temper. Consider Mr. Collins's respectability, and Charlotte's prudent, steady character. Remember that she is one of a large family; that as to fortune, it is a most eligible match; and be ready to believe, for every body's sake, that she may feel something like regard and esteem for our cousin."

"To oblige you, I would try to believe almost any thing, but no one else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were I persuaded that Charlotte had any regard for him, I should only think worse of her understanding, than I now do of her heart. My dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well as I do, that the woman who marries him, cannot have a proper way of thinking. You shall not defend her, though it is Charlotte Lucas. You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger, security for happiness."

"I must think your language too strong in speaking of both," replied Jane, "and I hope you will be convinced of it, by seeing them happy together. But enough of this. You alluded to something else. You mentioned two instances. I cannot misunderstand you, but I intreat you, dear Lizzy, not to pain me by thinking that person to blame, and saying your opinion of him is sunk. We must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured. We must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect. It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does."

"And men take care that they should."

"If it is designedly done, they cannot be justified; but I have no idea of there being so much design in the world as some persons imagine."

"I am far from attributing any part of Mr. Bingley's conduct to design," said Elizabeth; "but without scheming to do wrong, or to make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be misery. Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people's feelings, and want of resolution, will do the business,"

"And do you impute it to either of those?"

"Yes; to the last. But if I go on, I shall displease you by saying what I think of persons you esteem. Stop me whilst you can."

"You persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him."

"Yes, in conjunction with his friend."

"I cannot believe it. Why should they try to influence him? They can only wish his happiness, and if he is attached to me, no other woman can secure it."

"Your first position is false. They may wish many things besides his happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and consequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the importance of money, great connections, and pride."

"Beyond a doubt, they do wish him to chuse Miss Darcy," replied Jane; "but this may be from better feelings than you are supposing. They have known her much longer than they have known me; no wonder if they love her better. But, whatever may be their own wishes, it is very unlikely they should have opposed their brother's. What sister would think herself at liberty to do it, unless there were something very objectionable? If they believed him attached to me, they would not try to part us; if he were so, they could not succeed. By supposing such an affection, you make every body acting unnaturally and wrong, and me most unhappy. Do not distress me by the idea. I am not ashamed of having been mistaken -- or, at least, it is slight, it is nothing in comparison of what I should feel in thinking ill of him or his sisters. Let me take it in the best light, in the light in which it may be understood."

Elizabeth could not oppose such a wish; and from this time Mr. Bingley's name was scarcely ever mentioned between them.

Mrs. Bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning no more, and though a day seldom passed in which Elizabeth did not account for it clearly, there seemed little chance of her ever considering it with less perplexity. Her daughter endeavoured to convince her of what she did not believe herself, that his attentions to Jane had been merely the effect of a common and transient liking, which ceased when he saw her no more; but though the probability of the statement was admitted at the time, she had the same story to repeat every day. Mrs. Bennet's best comfort was that Mr. Bingley must be down again in the summer.

Mr. Bennet treated the matter differently. "So, Lizzy," said he one day, "your sister is crossed in love I find. I congratulate her. Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions. When is your turn to come? You will hardly bear to be long outdone by Jane. Now is your time. Here are officers enough at Meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country. Let Wickham be your man. He is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably."

"Thank you, Sir, but a less agreeable man would satisfy me. We must not all expect Jane's good fortune."

"True," said Mr. Bennet, "but it is a comfort to think that, whatever of that kind may befall you, you have an affectionate mother who will always make the most of it."

Mr. Wickham's society was of material service in dispelling the gloom, which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many of the Longbourn family. They saw him often, and to his other recommendations was now added that of general unreserve. The whole of what Elizabeth had already heard, his claims on Mr. Darcy, and all that he had suffered from him, was now openly acknowledged and publicly canvassed; and every body was pleased to think how much they had always disliked Mr. Darcy before they had known any thing of the matter.

Miss Bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might be any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the society of Hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always pleaded for allowances, and urged the possibility of mistakes -- but by everybody else Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of men.

--正文

宾利小姐的回信终于到了，这份信解决了所有的疑问。信的第一段话，就确认了他们整个冬天都会安顿在伦敦。信的最后又说到她的弟弟很遗憾离开乡下前，没能跟赫特福德的朋友们道个别。

希望破灭了，彻底破灭了。简勉强读完读剩下的信，除了宾利小姐那些虚情假意的亲切，别的没有什么能让她好受一些。整份信基本都是在夸达西小姐，卡罗琳不知疲倦的夸她是多么可爱，多么迷人。自己又在那吹嘘她们两人是一日亲过一日，甚至还夸下海口说，达西小姐以后肯定会像她上份信里说得那样，成就非凡。她还十分开心得提到了，宾利十分喜欢达西家的房子，更兴高采烈的说宾利打算买些新家具。简很快就把信的内容告诉了伊丽莎白，伊丽莎白在愤怒的沉默中听着。此刻，她是既关心姐姐的心情，又憎恶起了他们所有人。简跟伊丽莎白说到，卡罗琳断定了宾利很喜欢达西小姐，伊丽莎白没有在意。她跟之前一样确信，宾利十分喜欢简。但尽管她一直喜欢宾利，但是此刻她无法不对他充满怒火，甚至对他有了一些憎恨。她憎恨他性格总是如此随和，一直迁就别人，以至于现在任由他那些别有用心朋友的摆布，导致他顺了别人的心意，却牺牲了自己的幸福。假如这只牵涉到宾利自己的幸福，那么伊丽莎白也随他怎么作去。但是她姐姐也牵涉到了其中，因此她认为宾利必须理性行事。总而言之，这件事情随便你怎么想，都会是徒劳的。伊丽莎白脑子里一片空白，只能胡乱猜测：宾利对简的爱意是不是已经消失了，或者说是因为别人的干涉而被压制了；他是否知道简对他的爱意呢，或者说他从没有注意到。不论是哪一种情况，不管她对宾利的看法会因此有何不同，她姐姐的情况不会有什么变化，她自己的心情也不会再平静。

过了一两天，简才有勇气跟伊丽莎白说了心里话。本内特太太比往常更久得抱怨了耐热屯和宾利一群人之后，留下了简和伊丽莎白两人。简忍不住说起：

“哎！真希望我的好妈妈能控制下自己。她不知道一直这么聊起宾利，会给我多么大的痛苦。但我不会跟她抱怨，这事反正很快就过去了。很快我们就都会忘记他的，我们都会跟以前一样。”

伊丽莎白看着她的姐姐，难以置信，眼中充满了关心。她并没有说什么。

“你不相信我，”简着急地说，脸也有些红了，“是的你也没有理由相信我。他确实是我见过的最好的男人，我不会忘记他。但也仅此而已。我现在没有什么期待，也没有什么害怕的了，当然我也不怪他。谢天谢地。我再也不会这么痛苦了。过不了多久，我就会好一些的。”

她接着又用更重的声音说：“我现在想明白了，我好受多了，一直以来一直都是我一厢情愿。幸好除了我，这件事没有对别人造成伤害。”

“亲姐姐哎！”伊丽莎白惊呼着说，“你真是太心善了。对人善良，又从不责怪别人，真是天使一般的人。我都不知道怎么跟你说话了。感觉我这些年从没有好好对过你，或者真正的爱过你。”

简自然是一一否认了这些夸奖，反过来对她妹妹是一顿夸奖，说她会关心人。

“咦，”伊丽莎白说，“这可不公平。你希望这个世界都是值得尊敬的人，我说谁坏话都会觉得难受。而我只是想说你完美无瑕，而你就立刻否认掉。你可别害怕我抢了你的台词，见谁都夸。完全不需要。这世界上我只喜欢几个人，我高看的人要更少。我对这个世界了解的越多，就对她越不满意。每过一天，我都更加确信，自己对于人性的见解是正确的，人总是反复无常的，而人的优点，人的理智都十分少见。我最近遇到两个现实的例子，其中一个我不提，另一个就是夏洛特的婚姻。这件事让我完全无法理解，怎么看都无法理解！”

“我亲爱的栗滋，可别有这种想法。这些想法只会让你面露愁容。你这个人，就是眼里容不得沙子，瞧不得别人的想法脾气跟你不一样。你想想柯林斯那地位，再想想夏洛特那种谨慎，稳重的性格。你可得知道她可是大家族的，从钱财上面讲，这两人再合适不过了。而且你最好相信，她对我们的柯林斯堂哥会有些敬爱和器重的，这对我们大家都好。”

“你让我信啥我都愿意，但是相信柯林斯会被人敬重，就有些自欺欺人了。假如要我相信夏洛特很尊敬柯林斯，那么我可不仅仅会怀疑她的出发点，我会更看不上她的眼力。我亲爱的简，柯林斯是个自负，浮夸，死脑经，蠢里蠢气的男人。你跟我一样，都很了解他。所以，你肯定跟我一样，会觉得任何嫁给她的女人，头脑都不太清醒。就算是夏洛特.卢卡斯，你也别再为她辩护了。你可不能为了夏洛特一个人，改了原则和正直的含义。也别试着说服我自私就是稳重，对危险后知后觉就是幸福了。”

“你说他们俩的话太重了，”简回复说，“我希望你看到他们俩在一起那么开心，能相信我说的都是真话。不过还是聊些别的吧。你刚刚暗指了别的事情，说是有两个事情。我知道你说的是什么事情，但是我恳求你，亲爱的栗子，可别怪那个人让我伤心，或者说你对他可是看走眼了。（翻译官：暗指宾利）我们可不能以为自己是被有意伤害了。像他这么年轻有活力的小伙子，我们可不能指望他每件事都考虑周到。其实很多事情，本来都没有什么的，都是我们自己脑补的。女人总把喜欢想象成爱情。”

“那男人也不该随便去拈花惹草，撩完就跑。”

“如果他是有意为之，那确实说不过去。但是这世界是否真的像别人想得那样，会有人有意作弄人，我可不知道。”

“我从没有说宾利的行为是有意为之，”伊丽莎白说，“但是有时候尽管不是故意犯错，或者故意惹别人不开心，但还是会有不开心的结果，甚至是痛苦。做事欠考虑，不考虑别人的感受，缺乏处理方法，都会导致这种结果。”

“那你觉得宾利的事情是这几种情形吗？”

“是的，应该是最后一种。我要是说了自己怎么看这个，你如此尊重的人，你应该会不高兴了。趁我还没说的时候，赶紧阻止我。”

“你还是觉得，是他的姐姐们让他这么做的？”

“是的，还有他的那位朋友。”

“我真不敢相信。他们为什么要操纵他啊？他们应该只想他幸福快乐啊。如果他迷恋我，那其他女人也没法让他幸福啊。”

“你的第一个假设就错了。他们除了希望宾利幸福，还可以希望很多其他事情的。他们可以希望他财富，名望俱增。他们还可以希望宾利娶一个有钱有势的大家小姐。”

“这倒是实话，她们确实希望宾利娶达西小姐，”简回复说，“但这可能不像你说得那么势利。她们认识达西小姐可比认识我久多了，她们更喜欢她也无可厚非。但是不管他们怎么想，也不至于违背弟弟的意愿吧。除非真的有什么不愉快的事情，否则什么样的姐姐会觉得自己有权力这么做？她们要是以为达西喜欢我，就不会把我们分开。如果宾利真的爱我，她们就算尝试也不会成功的。你随便一说就让每个人的行为都很古怪，让我也不开心。别再跟我说这个了，我心里乱得很。我会错了意并不觉得羞愧，或者说，相比于把宾利或者他姐姐们当作坏人，这给我带来得难过已经小得多了。就让我把这件事往好处想吧，这样的话每个人的行为就都能被理解了。”

伊丽莎白听到这样的愿望，她也说不出什么了。从此之后，宾利的朋友很少再听他们谈起了。

本内特太太还在天天盼着宾利回蘑菇屯，看着他也不回就咒骂。尽管每一天伊丽莎白都把这事跟她老娘解释一遍，但是她似乎永远不会明白。她的女儿试着向她解释，宾利对简只是普普通通的喜欢，他后来不再见她的时候，这种喜欢也就消失了，但是本内特太太根本不相信。尽管这种说法很有可能是真的，但是本内特太太还是天天念叨着自己的一套说辞。她一直想着宾利到夏天就会回来了。

本内特老爷对这事完全是另一种态度。“栗子，”有天他说，“我发现你姐姐最近失恋了，我祝贺她呀！除了结婚，女孩就最喜欢偶尔失恋了。这能让她们思考些事情，也能让她与众不同。你啥时候也能失恋啊？你总不会甘心被你姐比下去吧，现在可轮到你了。梅屯里的军官们可是多的很，足够让咱这村子所有的姑娘都伤伤心啊。你就选维克汉姆吧，这是个有意思的家伙，他会很体面的将你抛弃的。”

“谢谢你，老爹，差一些的家伙就能让我很满意了。我们可不能都指望有简的好运气。”

“这倒是实话，”本内特老爷说，“但是不管你找个啥样的，你热心的老娘都会把这事搞的十分热闹的，是不是很刺激?”

最近蘑菇屯大宅里发生了一些不开心的事情，多亏维克汉姆与他们来往来往，这才消除了一些愁闷。他们最近频繁见到他，并且对他更加赞不绝口。伊丽莎白以前听他说过的事情——他控诉达西对他的不公，他所遭受的虐待，现在都被大家承认了，而且互相讨论。大家都十分开心地想着，今天没听说这些事情之前，就有多么讨厌达西了。（反讽呢这是）

简是唯一相信此事另有隐情的生物，只是这事赫特福德的人不知道罢了。她那温和的，真诚的信，总是倾向于原谅别人，总是会认为另有隐情。但是对于其他人来说，达西无疑是世界上最恶的男人了。