[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

The Easter break in 1802 seemed to be a mixed blessing.

First, the Earl of Cornwall signed an armistice treaty with France on behalf of the United Kingdom. The shadow of the war seemed to be far away from England; The crowded and lively Dongcheng seems to be a picture of joy and prosperity. (Note)

Immediately afterwards, the good news came that Britain had achieved a great victory in "cooperative trade" in the Far East, and the British East India Company cheered up again. The number of merchant ships traveling between India and England exceeded the number of trading ships between Britain and the Ming Dynasty for the first time.This not only means that the prices of cotton, silk, and indigo dyes from India are lower, but also hides huge business opportunities. India is densely populated, and there is a huge market that has not been effectively developed.People rejoice at the wealth they are about to acquire.

And in France next door, the horror cloud of violence and massacre hanging over the nobles and rich people during the Great Revolution gradually dissipated.Chief Consul Napoleon restored the religious functions of Notre-Dame de Paris, and on Easter Day, officials of Napoleon's government even went to Mass there.The ancient bells of Notre Dame de Paris rang again over Europe. (Note ②)

It seems that the world is peaceful and everything is slowly getting better.

But keen people can vaguely perceive the huge crisis hidden under the calm.

First of all, the aftermath of the "Catholic Emancipation Act" triggered by the suppression of the Irish rebellion is still fermenting.This bill was originally proposed by the former Prime Minister Pete Jr. to solve the rebellion, but this bill not only caused His Majesty the King to break with his close friend Pete Jr., but also caused Pete Jr., who had served as Prime Minister for 18 years, to lose his position.Although the bill was not passed because of the king's resolute opposition, it became an introduction to religious issues in Britain. Catholics and Protestant denominations that do not follow the Anglican Church all took advantage of the trend and tried their best to expand their influence and rob believers.Throughout England, especially in London, various religious gatherings became fashionable, and even the factional struggles in Parliament were cast a religious color. (Note ③)

On the other hand, Paris was ruined by the French Revolution, and London overwhelmed its opponents to become the largest and wealthiest central city in Europe. Countless people flooded into London. The surge in population brought countless problems, the first of which was the prevalence of diseases.The spread of disease bothers the locals more than law and order. A yellow fever that vomits black water quietly spreads in the dirtiest and poorest Dongcheng District.

But the minds of most are still caught in the heat of the carnival, which breeds countless accidents.Not only did London take on a frivolous and false glee, but the neighboring cities and neighboring countryside were affected.

"Visiting invitation to Bethlehem?" Jane held those cards that looked like invitations to private balls in some mansion, and said to dear Mr. George in disbelief: "You brought the invitation to the inhuman performance in the madhouse here, please let me return it." With my sisters?"

Having obtained the consent of both parents, Mr. Seed Merchant, who officially became Miss Bennet's fiancé, was extremely wronged, and quickly said: "No, no! This was given to me by Mr. Bennet. I didn't even know it was an invitation to visit Bethlehem. When he met his father-in-law in Meryton, he naturally wanted to greet his father-in-law courteously and respectfully, but his father-in-law was discussing business affairs and sent him a few invitations for him to bring back.

"Dad?" Jane reopened the two pieces of cardboard, looked carefully, and found that although both of them were signed by the current management of Bethlehem, the honorific title and visit time were different. One was from the local church in Meryton, and the other was from Hans, Kent. Ford Church.

The unmarried couple looked at each other and thought of the ineffable Cousin Collins who had visited two months earlier and served at the parish of Hansford.

Mr. Collins used his incomprehensible thinking to bring a long and painful time to everyone in Netherfield Manor. Even Mrs. Bennet couldn't bear him, and hid in the nursery through little Alexander.

He didn't really stay long at the Bennet's, but that week made the ladies feel like a whole winter without a fireplace.

"This letter is not from Mr. Collins, is it?" Jane asked dryly.

Facing the expectant eyes of his fiancee, Mr. George nodded with difficulty: "I think, probably so."

Both of them were worried: in order to resist other denominations, the activities of the state church have been very frequent recently. If Mr. Collins is selected to go to London to listen to the Anglican meeting presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, he will definitely visit Netherfield again.The gentleman was so unpopular that everyone in the Bennet family expected him to follow his father's example and continue to cut ties.

"Last time, Mr. Darcy was lucky enough to make Cousin Collins leave early." Jane said, "We are not so lucky this time. I don't know what happened between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, and she insisted on not allowing him to come." visit."

Everyone can see Mr. Darcy's deep affection for Lizzie, but because of Lizzie's aura that was like a black cloud that day, even Mrs. Bennet who loves Mr. Darcy the most dare not ask for him.Besides, when a gentleman pursues a lady, he will always go through some tests. Mrs. Bennet understands the second daughter very well-if she really hates someone, she will not waste time getting angry, but just stay away and ignore him.After figuring this out, the Bennet family happily watched the show, and even Georgiana didn't take the initiative to help her brother.

"Don't worry, Mr. Darcy will always show up when everyone needs him, and he just lacks such a good opportunity." The prospective brother-in-law said with a smile: "And Miss Georgiana, I guess her words will also work with Mr. Collins, After all, that gentleman respects and worships his benefactor, Lady Catherine so much."

Mentioning Georgiana, Jane laughed: "Don't trouble Georgiana, we can't let her suffer such unfair treatment, Mr. Collins will affect her height, you see Lydia is several inches taller than her!" Georgiana Finally, her appetite has improved, and Mr. Collins will definitely affect her appetite.

As much as Miss Georgiana was popular and favored at Netherfield Manor, Mr. George was also very fond of Mr. Darcy, and he was very close to him because he was almost sure of his brother-in-law status.

Of course, this closeness does not mean that Mr. Seed Merchant will help Mr. Darcy officially become Bennet’s son-in-law. It is just because Mr. George’s family has served the Earl for generations and is close enough to the Earl to obtain some secret information. The message was delivered to Mr. Darcy who was in need.

Mr. Darcy is very busy all day long, but this does not prevent him from being courteous. All the good-looking, interesting and delicious things in London can be found in the manor.Although Miss Georgiana didn't take the initiative to speak good words for her brother, staying at the Bennet's house as a guest was already the best help.Mr. Darcy tried his best to please the hosts of Netherfield by sending items to his sister and thanking Mrs. Bennet and the ladies for taking care of his sister. Although he has not yet regained the right to be a guest in Netherfield, Has managed to make Bennets unleash friendliness towards him except Miss Elizabeth.

Yes, everyone liked him except Miss Lizzie, whom he adored.

Thinking of Mr. Darcy's predicament, the sister and the prospective brother-in-law couldn't help laughing. Mr. George also said: "Mr. Darcy is not pitiful, but the suitors of Mary, Kitty and Lydia. We It can already be expected that the three poor brothers-in-law will not be very satisfying." Besides Mr. Darcy, who can give Mr. Bennet and Mary a box of rare ancient books, and who can give Kitty two Good Foxhound?Even if the first two were achieved, no gentleman's sister could ever command the special affections of Mrs. Bennet and Lydia so much as Miss Darcy.

The delicate and soft Miss Georgiana is Mrs. Bennet's favorite kind of daughter, but she has given birth to five in a row, and her temperament is not as expected.

Since Elizabeth brought Georgiana back to the manor, Georgiana and little Alex are Mrs. Bennet's favorite children, and even baby Lydia has given up her seat.But Lydia didn't care at all. She loved Georgiana very much. The two little girls were already best friends with each other. They often slept in the same room, saying that they were preparing for life after entering Tauris.

Jane glanced at him lightly, and Mr. George couldn't take his eyes off her coquettish charm. Miss Bennet's tone rose: "Perhaps you should go through some more tests? Since Mr. Darcy is working so hard."

Mr. Seed Merchant hastily raised his hand to beg for forgiveness. He didn't want to lose the opportunity to be alone with his dear lady—this is the benefit of young men and women after they get engaged, and this gentleman is also looking forward to marrying Jane back to George Manor as soon as possible. There was a large apple orchard there, which he assured Jane would like.

Mr. Bennet was not in a very good mood when he returned from town.

Meryton has been too lively and prosperous recently, and there have been more affairs. Although the priest of the parish has taken over a lot of affairs, and the assistants he brought are also very capable, Mr. Bennet always feels that something will happen, and the atmosphere in Meryton is too noisy. A little fanatical.What's more, although the pastor Marvin is polite and good at handling the affairs of the believers, he rejected Mr. Bennet's proposal to "keep the people calm" and encouraged the believers to strengthen their faith and hold more meetings—Meryton's The church has never been so lively. Some believers are in the church all day, discussing the doctrine with the pastor or the priest.

"Pastor Marvin wants to baptize little Alexander himself, and wants to be Alexander's godfather." During dinner, Mr. Bennet said calmly.

"I don't want to!" Mrs. Bennet protested loudly, "We have no friendship with this Reverend Marvin. It would be nice if Reverend Elliott was still a parish priest. Good guy. Well, actually, I was optimistic about several candidates..."

This reminded Mr. Bennet of his wife's whimsical plan to ask Mr. Darcy to be Alex's godfather. His serious face twisted, and he couldn't help but look at Lydia, who was very good Miss Georgiana.

The wife can always poke her husband in various unusual ways, and Mr. Bennet's bad mood is much better. He cleared his throat and pondered: "Alex's baptism is temporarily postponed. Wait until he is older. It doesn't matter. As for the godfather, none of his sisters have godfathers, so he shouldn't be special."

After the head of the family made a decision on this matter, Jane hurriedly asked about the two invitation letters from Bethlehem.

As soon as he said it, the father frowned and looked at the eldest son-in-law: "Did you give the letter to Jane?"

Mr. George couldn't be more difficult to do. When his father-in-law gave these two letters, he only asked him to bring back the other letters without saying a word. Of course, he couldn't read them privately.

Apparently, Mr. Bennet also thought about it, but his expression was still bad: "Put the invitation letter in my study later."

"—None of you even think about going!"

The ladies were so helpless that they didn't even want to visit the lunatic asylum.

It's just, "Dad, isn't the visit to Bethlehem abolished? Why did you send out such an invitation letter, or through the Anglican Church?" Jane asked worriedly.

Once upon a time, visiting madhouses was a trend. People bought tickets to go in and visit patients suffering from madness like watching beasts locked in cages.London's Bethlehem was almost as much a London 'sight' as Westminster Abbey for a while.After the new ideas and medical techniques from the East were more and more accepted by Europe, Bethlehem gradually stopped this kind of exhibition that disrespected patients in recent years.

Mr. Bennet snorted, and said in a deep voice: "The Anglican Church is dissatisfied with the frequent activities of other denominations, so somehow they came up with such a method - distributing invitation letters to the congregants through the churches of the state church, not only the exhibition of the madhouse, but also Visits to Newgate Prison, and other usual events such as bishop's crusades."

"Our distant relative, Mr. Collins, agrees that this kind of visit is very meaningful, and specially mailed a visit invitation. He also said in his letter that 'the madman's performance is a warning and a moral education, so that the world will stay away from the temptation of sin. So as not to be irrational like a madman'. He specially sent the invitation letter in the hope that 'cousins ​​should be good at controlling their emotions, don't indulge, don't let the original sin ferment, otherwise they will lose their minds and fall into poor creatures in a lunatic asylum '(Note ④)." Mr. Bennet's sarcastically accentuated tone: "Mr. Collins believes that 'public exhibition of madmen is more effective than any school education' (Note [-])."

Although the father's words showed that Mr. Collins would not be a guest, his purpose still made the ladies very uncomfortable.

Mary frowned, and said displeasedly: "I thought it was better for him to learn the Bible well first, lest his sermons are always not smooth and full of loopholes."

Lydia put down the spoon and said with a sneer, "Cousin Collins put tithes before sermons. How can we expect him to be devout to the Anglican Church? He has already borne the original sin, and he should be educated." Well, I hope he at least doesn't take the tithe too seriously."

Tithes are closely related to the income of priests. Although Mr. Collins is still a priest, he has decided that he will become a priest in Hansford Parish, so now he starts to care about the tithe situation of the parish.When writing to Mr. Bennet, he always refers to tithing and preaching as a matter of Anglican order.

Mr. Collins had a way of being disliked even when he wasn't around.

The ladies' supper was rather unpleasant, which made their subsequent tea leisure somewhat dull.

At the same time, the gate of the manor opened, and the servants downstairs greeted them in a hurry. Jane stood in front of the glass window of the lounge, watching two carriages entering the courtyard, and hurriedly called the servant to ask who it was.

After a while, Elizabeth walked into the lounge with a cool night breeze.

"Lizzie, it's getting dark! Why are you back at this time?" Everyone gathered around, unable to help but worry about her.

Elizabeth's expression was extremely heavy, and she was silent for a long time before she said: "The Countess was attacked, and some people tried to throw some dirty things into the academy. Tauris is temporarily closed."

At the same time, in the London villa, Mr. Darcy, who was holding an invitation to visit Bethlehem with a vague expression, also received a piece of bad news: "Pastor Elliot died of illness."

The author has something to say: there is no update today, but there will be tomorrow.

Comment on this chapter to send two hundred small red envelopes~

Note: Armistice Agreement: "Amiens Peace Treaty", in March 1802, was concluded by Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first ruler of the French First Republic at that time, and the British Marquess of Cornwall on behalf of France and Britain truce treaty.

Note ②: The Bastille was captured in 1789, and the French Revolution broke out. Notre Dame de Paris was not spared from looting and destruction. It was once reduced to a warehouse for storing wine and was renamed "The Temple of the Goddess of Reason".Until 1802, Napoleon re-given the religious function of Notre Dame de Paris. Officials came here to attend mass during Easter, and the bells of Notre Dame de Paris rang again.

Note ③: In 1800, in order to solve the Irish rebellion, Pete Jr. proposed the Irish Merger Act and the Catholic Emancipation Act. In 1801, Pitt Jr. formally incorporated Ireland into the United Kingdom, but because George III strongly opposed Catholic emancipation, the king believed that parliamentary union was something he had forbidden in his coronation oath.Little Pete had no choice but to resign.

Note ④: "Madman performances are used as a warning and a moral education to keep the world away from the temptation of sin, so as not to be irrational like a lunatic." will lose their minds and degenerate into poor creatures in a lunatic asylum”——Quoted from "The Scapegoat of History: The Beginning and End of the Madman Exhibition in London in the 18th Century"

Note ⑤: "The public exhibition of madmen is more effective than any school education" - quoted from "The Scapegoat of History: The Beginning and End of the Madman Exhibition in London in the 18th Century"