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Chapter III

Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance

of her five daughters, could ask on the subject, was

sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory

description of Mr. Bingley. They attacked him in various

ways; with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and

distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all; and they

were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of

their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her report was highly favour-

able. Sir William had been delighted with him. He was

quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and,

to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with

a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be

fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love;

and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were enter-

tained.

'If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at

Netherfield,' said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, 'and all the

others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.'

In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit, and

sat about ten minutes with him in his library. He had enter-

tained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies,

of whose beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the

father. The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they

had the advantage of ascertaining, from an upper window,

that he wore a blue coat and rode a black horse.

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards despatched;

and already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were

to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived

which deferred it all. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town

the following day, and consequently unable to accept the

honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite dis-

concerted. She could not imagine what business he could

have in town so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and

she began to fear that he might always be flying about from

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