{{prhprp362.jpg}}

Their party in the dining-room was large, for almost all the

Lucases came to meet Maria and hear the news; and various

were the subjects which occupied them: Lady Lucas was

inquiring of Maria, across the table, after the welfare and

poultry of her eldest daughter; Mrs. Bennet was doubly en-

gaged, on one hand collecting an account of the present

fashions from Jane, who sat some way below her, and on the

other, retailing them all to the younger Miss Lucases; and

Lydia, in a voice rather louder than any other person's, was

enumerating the various pleasures of the morning to any-

body who would hear her.

'Oh, Mary,' said she, 'I wish you had gone with us, for

we had such fun! as we went along Kitty and me drew up all

the blinds, and pretended there was nobody in the coach; and

I should have gone so all the way, if Kitty had not been sick;

and when we got to the George, I do think we behaved very

handsomely, for we treated the other three with the nicest

cold luncheon in the world, and if you would have gone, we

would have treated you too. And then when we came away

it was such fun! I thought we never should have got into the

coach. I was ready to die of laughter. And then we were

so merry all the way home! we talked and laughed so loud,

that anybody might have heard us ten miles off!'

To this Mary very gravely replied, 'Far be it from me,

my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would

doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds.

But I confess they would have no charms for _me._ I should

infinitely prefer a book.'

But of this answer Lydia heard not a word. She seldom

listened to anybody for more than half a minute, and never

attended to Mary at all.

In the afternoon Lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls

to walk to Meryton, and see how everybody went on; but

Elizabeth steadily opposed the scheme. It should not be

said that the Miss Bennets could not be at home half a day

before they were in pursuit of the officers. There was an-

other reason, too, for her opposition. She dreaded seeing

Wickham again, and was resolved to avoid it as long as pos-

sible. The comfort to _her,_ of the regiment's approaching

removal, was indeed beyond expression. In a fortnight they

 [362]