Nodiver d.o.o. · Pride & Prejudice · page 396 of 640

Pride & Prejudice – page 396

JANE AUSTEN

“But it is fortunate,” thought she, “that I have

something to wish for. Were the whole arrangement

complete, my disappointment would be certain. But

here, by carrying with me one ceaseless source of

regret in my sister’s absence, I may reasonably hope to

have all my expectations of pleasure realised. A scheme

of which every part promises delight can never be

successful; and general disappointment is only warded

off by the defence of some little peculiar vexation.”

When Lydia went away she promised to write very

often and very minutely to her mother and Kitty; but

her letters were always long expected, and always very

short. Those to her mother contained little else than

that they were just returned from the library, where

such and such officers had attended them, and where

she had seen such beautiful ornaments as made her

quite wild; that she had a new gown, or a new parasol,

which she would have described more fully, but was

obliged to leave off in a violent hurry, as Mrs. Forster

called her, and they were going off to the camp; and

from her correspondence with her sister, there was still

less to be learntfor her letters to Kitty, though rather

longer, were much too full of lines under the words to

be made public.

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