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Pride & Prejudice – page 43

Pride and Prejudice

their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little

as possible of the defects of the person with whom you

are to pass your life.”

“You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound.

You know it is not sound, and that you would never act

in this way yourself.”

Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to

her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she

was herself becoming an object of some interest in

the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely

allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without

admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he

looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had

he made it clear to himself and his friends that she

hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began

to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the

beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery

succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he

had detected with a critical eye more than one failure

of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to

acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and

in spite of his asserting that her manners were not

those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their

easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly unaware; to

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