..me"..me/傲慢与偏见最新章节！
Elizabeth,as they drove along,watched for the first appearance of Pemberley Woods with some perturbation;and when at length they turned at the lodge,her spirits were a high flutter.
The park was very large,and contaed great variety of ground. They entered it one of its lowest pots,and drove for some time through a beautiful wood stretchg over a wide extent.
Elizabeth''s md was too full for conversation,but she saw and admired every remarkable spot and pot of view.They gradually ascended for half-a-mile,and then found themselves at the top of a considerable emence,where the wood ceased,and the eye was stantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley,to which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large,handsome stone buildg,standg well on risg ground,and backed by a ridge of high woody hills;and front,a stream of some natural importance was swelled to greater,but without any artificial appearance.Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned.Elizabeth was delighted.She had never seen a place for which nature had done more,or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.They were all of them warm their admiration;and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be somethg!
They descended the hill,crossed the bridge,and drove to the door;and,while examg the nearer aspect of the house,all her apprehension of meetg its owner returned.She dreaded lest the chambermaid had been mistaken.On applyg to see the place, they were admitted to the hall; and Elizabeth, as they waited for the housekeeper,had leisure to wonder at her beg where she was.
The housekeeper came; a respectable-lookg elderly woman, much less fe,and more civil,than she had any notion of fdg her.They followed her to the dg-parlour. It was a large, well proportioned room, handsomely fitted up. Elizabeth, after slightly surveyg it,went to a wdow to enjoy its prospect.The hill, crowned with wood, which they had descended, receivg creased abruptness from the distance, was a beautiful object. Every disposition of the ground was good;and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks and the wdg of the valley,as far as she could trace it,with delight.As they passed to other rooms,these objects were takg different positions;but from every wdow there were beauties to be seen. The rooms were lofty and handsome,and their furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor;but Elizabeth saw,with admiration of his taste,that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fe;with less of splendour,and more real elegance,than the furniture of Rosgs.
“And of this place,”thought she,“I might have been mistress! With these rooms I might now have been familiarly acquated! Instead of viewg them as a stranger, I might have rejoiced them as my own,and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt.But no,”—recollectg herself—“that could never be;my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been allowed to vite them.”
This was a lucky recollection—it saved her from somethg very like regret.
She longed to quire of the housekeeper whether her master was really absent, but had not the courage for it. At length however, the question was asked by her uncle; and she turned away with alarm,while Mrs.Reynolds replied that he was,addg,“But we expect him to-morrow, with a large party of friends.”How rejoiced was Elizabeth that their own journey had not by any circumstance been delayed a day!
Her aunt now called her to look at a picture.She approached and saw the likeness of Mr.Wickham,suspended,amongst several other miatures, over the mantelpiece. Her aunt asked her, smilgly,how she liked it.The housekeeper came forward,and told them it was a picture of a young gentleman,the son of her late master''s steward,who had been brought up by him at his own expense.“He is now gone to the army,”she added;“but I am afraid he has turned out very wild.”
Mrs.Garder looked at her niece with a smile,but Elizabeth could not return it.
“And that,”said Mrs. Reynolds, potg to another of the miatures,“is my master—and very like him.It was drawn at the same time as the other—about eight years ago.”
“I have heard much of your master''s fe person,”said Mrs. Garder, lookg at the picture;“it is a handsome face. But, Lizzy,you can tell us whether it is like or not.”
Mrs.Reynolds respect for Elizabeth seemed to crease on this timation of her knowg her master.
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