Nodiver d.o.o. · Pride & Prejudice · page 266 of 640

Pride & Prejudice – page 266

JANE AUSTEN

such a companion. When Mr. Collins said anything of

which his wife might reasonably be ashamed, which

certainly was not unseldom, she involuntarily turned

her eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern

a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not

hear. After sitting long enough to admire every article

of furniture in the room, from the sideboard to the

fender, to give an account of their journey, and of

all that had happened in London, Mr. Collins invited

them to take a stroll in the garden, which was large

and well laid out, and to the cultivation of which he

attended himself. To work in this garden was one of his

most respectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the

command of countenance with which Charlotte talked

of the healthfulness of the exercise, and owned she

encouraged it as much as possible. Here, leading the

way through every walk and cross walk, and scarcely

allowing them an interval to utter the praises he asked

for, every view was pointed out with a minuteness

which left beauty entirely behind. He could number

the fields in every direction, and could tell how many

trees there were in the most distant clump. But of all

the views which his garden, or which the country or

kingdom could boast, none were to be compared with

the prospect of Rosings, afforded by an opening in the

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