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Chapter XLVIII

The whole party were in hopes of a letter from Mr.

Bennet the next morning, but the post came in with-

out bringing a single line from him. His family

knew him to be, on all common occasions, a most negligent

and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time they had

hoped for exertion. They were forced to conclude that he

had no pleasing intelligence to send, but even of _that_ they

would have been glad to be certain. Mr. Gardiner had

waited only for the letters before he set off.

When he was gone, they were certain at least of receiving

constant information of what was going on; and their uncle

promised, at parting, to prevail on Mr. Bennet to return to

Longbourn as soon as he could, to the great consolation of

his sister, who considered it as the only security for her

husband's not being killed in a duel.

Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in

Hertfordshire a few days longer, as the former thought her

presence might be serviceable to her nieces. She shared in

their attendance on Mrs. Bennet, and was a great comfort

to them in their hours of freedom. Their other aunt also

visited them frequently, and always, as she said, with the

design of cheering and heartening them up, though, as she

never came without reporting some fresh instance of

Wickham's extravagance or irregularity, she seldom went

away without leaving them more dispirited than she found

them.

All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but

three months before, had been almost an angel of light. He

was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place,

and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction,

had been extended into every tradesman's family. Every-

body declared that he was the wickedest young man in the

world; and everybody began to find out that they had

always distrusted the appearance of his goodness. Elizabeth,

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