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great perseverance. Yet time and her aunt moved slowly --

and her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before

the tete-a-tete was over.

On Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner's coming up they were all

pressed to go into the house and take some refreshment; but

this was declined, and they parted on each side with the ut-

most politeness. Mr. Darcy handed the ladies into the car-

riage, and when it drove off, Elizabeth saw him walking

slowly towards the house.

The observations of her uncle and aunt now began; and

each of them pronounced him to be infinitely superior to any-

thing they had expected. 'He is perfectly well behaved,

polite, and unassuming,' said her uncle.

'There _is_ something a little stately in him to be sure,'

replied her aunt; 'but it is confined to his air, and is not un-

becoming. I can now say with the housekeeper, that though

some people may call him proud, _I_ have seen nothing of it.'

'I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us.

It was more than civil; it was really attentive; and there was

no necessity for such attention. His acquaintance with Eliza-

beth was very trifling.'

'To be sure, Lizzy,' said her aunt, 'he is not so handsome

as Wickham; or rather he has not Wickham's countenance,

for his features are perfectly good. But how came you to tell

us that he was so disagreeable?'

Elizabeth excused herself as well as she could: said that

she had liked him better when they met in Kent than before,

and that she had never seen him so pleasant as this morning.

'But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities,'

replied her uncle. 'Your great men often are; and, therefore,

I shall not take him at his word about fishing, as he might

change his mind another day, and warn me off his grounds.'

Elizabeth felt that they had entirely mistaken his charac-

ter, but said nothing.

'From what we have seen of him,' continued Mrs. Gardiner,

'I really should not have thought that he could have behaved

in so cruel a way by anybody, as he has done by poor Wick-

ham. He has not an ill-natured look. On the contrary, there

is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks. And

there is something of dignity in his countenance, that would

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