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entreated her to name the day that was to make him the

happiest of men; and though such a solicitation must be

waived for the present, the lady felt no inclination to trifle

with his happiness. The stupidity with which he was

favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm

that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and

Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and

disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon

that establishment were gained.

Sir William and Lady Lucas were speedily applied to for

their consent; and it was bestowed with a most joyful

alacrity. Mr. Collins's present circumstances made it a most

eligible match for their daughter, to whom they could give

little fortune; and his prospects of future wealth were ex-

ceedingly fair. Lady Lucas began directly to calculate, with

more interest than the matter had ever excited before, how

many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live; and Sir

William gave it as his decided opinion, that whenever Mr.

Collins should be in possession of the Longbourn estate, it

would be highly expedient that both he and his wife should

make their appearance at St. James's. The whole family

in short were properly overjoyed on the occasion. The

younger girls formed hopes of _coming_ _out_ a year or two

sooner than they might otherwise have done; and the boys

were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte's dying

an old maid. Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She

had gained her point, and had time to consider of it. Her

reflections were in general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be

sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was

irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But

still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly

either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been

her object: it was the only honourable provision for well-~

educated young women of small fortune, and, however un-

certain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest

preservative from want. This preservative she had now ob-

tained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever

been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it. The least

agreeable circumstance in the business was the surprise it

must occasion to Elizabeth Bennet, whose friendship she

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