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always attributed to Miss Bingley the principal design and

arrangement of them. If his own vanity, however, did not

mislead him, _he_ was the cause -- his pride and caprice were

the cause -- of all that Jane had suffered, and still continued

to suffer. He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness

for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world; and

no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted.

'There were some very strong objections against the lady,'

were Colonel Fitzwilliam's words; and these strong objections

probably were, her having one uncle who was a country

attorney, and another who was in business in London.

'To Jane herself,' she exclaimed, 'there could be no pos-

sibility of objection, -- all loveliness and goodness as she is!

Her understanding excellent, her mind improved, and her

manners captivating. Neither could anything be urged

against my father, who, though with some peculiarities, has

abilities which Mr. Darcy himself need not disdain, and

respectability which he will probably never reach.' When

she thought of her mother, indeed, her confidence gave way a

little; but she would not allow that any objections _there_ had

material weight with Mr. Darcy, whose pride, she was con-

vinced, would receive a deeper wound from the want of im-

portance in his friend's connections than from their want of

sense; and she was quite decided, as last, that he had been

partly governed by this worst kind of pride, and partly by

the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister.

The agitation and tears which the subject occasioned

brought on a headache; and it grew so much worse towards

the evening that, added to her unwillingness to see Mr.

Darcy, it determined her not to attend her cousins to Rosings,

where they were engaged to drink tea. Mrs. Collins, seeing

that she was really unwell, did not press her to go, and as

much as possible prevented her husband from pressing her;

but Mr. Collins could not conceal his apprehension of Lady

Catherine's being rather displeased by her staying at home.

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