"I knew it would come out right in the end!" "My dear, dear Lydia!" "She will be married." "My good, kind brother!" "I knew how it would be." "I knew he would manage everything!" "Oh, but the clothes!" "And of course she must be married from Longbourn." "This is all nonsense about her being married from Cheapside!" "She must be married in Longbourn church, where her friends can see her." "That is not possible." "You must see that." "I do not see that!" "Why should I see that?" "Why should that be?" "She's been living with Mr Wickham in London." "If she were to arrive home unmarried still..." "I suppose it must be, if you put it like that!" "But it is all very vexing." "Your uncle has been most highhanded!" "Why should he take so much upon him?" "Mamma, we're greatly indebted to Mr Gardiner." "He must have laid out a great deal of money to pay off Mr Wickham's debts." " More than we can ever repay." " Why should he not?" "Who else should lay out money, but her uncle?" "Mother!" "Oh, well!" "I am so happy!" "A daughter married." "And only just sixteen." ""Mrs Wickham"." "Oh, how well that sounds!" "Oh, but the wedding clothes!" "Lizzy, go down to your father and ask how much he will give her." "Oh, Jane, as soon as I am dressed" "I shall go to Meryton and tell my sister Philips!" "Ring the bell for Hill!" "An airing will do me a great deal of good, I'm sure." "And I shall call on Lady Lucas and Mrs Long." "Oh, Jane!" "Papa." "Jane, it's such wonderful news!" "Oh, where is Hill?" "Oh, Hill, have you heard the good news?" "Shut the door, Lizzy." "And you shall have a bowl of punch to make merry at..." "Someone, at least, finds pleasure in these events." "But considering what we thought only a few hours ago, it's not so bad, is it?" "Do you think my uncle paid out much money?" "I do." "Wickham's a fool if he takes her with a farthing less than 10,000 pounds." "10,000 pounds!" "Heaven forbid!" "How is half such a sum to be repaid?" "I wish I had laid by an annual sum to bribe worthless young men to marry my daughters, but I have not, I confess." "The reason was, of course, that I intended to father a son." "The son would inherit the estate, no part of which would be entailed away, so providing for my widow and any other children." "By the time we had abandoned hope of producing an heir, it seemed a little late to begin saving." "You could not have foreseen this, father." "I should have taken better care of you all." "The satisfaction of prevailing upon one of the most worthless young men in Britain, might then have rested in its proper place." "As it is, the thing is done with extraordinary little inconvenience to myself." "When you take into account what I shall save on Lydia's board and pocket allowance," "I am scarcely ten pounds a year worse off." "I am heartily ashamed of myself, Lizzy." "But don't despair, it will pass... and no doubt more quickly than it should." "Where is everyone?" "Dearly beloved." "We are gathered here in the sight of God." "Mr Wickham is to resign from the Militia and go into a northern regiment." "Happily some of his former friends are willing to assist him in purchasing a commission." "I have written to Colonel Forster to request that he will satisfy Wickham's creditors in Brighton, for which I've pledged myself." ""Perhaps you will be so good as to do the same for his creditors in Meryton,"" ""of whom I enclose a list according to his information."" ""I hope, at least, he has not deceived us"." "Let us all hope so." ""As soon as they are married,"" ""they will journey directly to join his regiment in Newcastle,"" ""unless they are first invited to Longbourn."" "Oh, yes, my dear Mr Bennet, of course they must come here!" "I long to see my dear Lydia!" "And dear Wickham, too, of course." "But it is shocking that poor Lydia should have been sent away from Brighton." "Such a favourite among all the officers!" "There were several young men there that she liked very much." "They will miss her as much as she will miss them." "These northern officers may not be so pleasant." "Dear Mrs Bennet, I'm sure our youngest daughter will find friends as silly as she in Newcastle." "She has a talent for making a spectacle of herself wherever she goes." "If they are to leave Brighton, they should come to Hertfordshire and reside in the neighbourhood." "Haye Park might do, if the Gouldings would quit it." "Or the great house at Stoke, if the drawing-rooms were larger." " Or Purvis Lodge." " Oh, no dear, not Purvis Lodge!" "The attics are dreadful!" "Mrs Bennet, before you take any, or all of these houses, let us come to a right understanding." "Into one house in the neighbourhood they shall never have admittance." "Mr and Mrs Wickham will never be welcome to Longbourn." "Lord!" "It seems an age since we were at Longbourn." "Here you all are, just the same!" "My dear, dear Lydia, at last!" "Oh, I do believe you've grown!" "Oh, how we have missed you." "We've been far too merry to miss any of you!" "Here we are!" "Haven't I caught myself a handsome husband?" "Indeed you have, my love!" "You are very welcome, sir." "You are all goodness and kindness, ma'am, as always." "Oh, let me give you a kiss, then!" "Well, shall we go in?" "No, Jane." "I take your place now." "You must go lower, because I am a married woman!" ""Mrs Wickham"!" "Lord, how droll that sounds!" "How do you like my husband, Lizzy?" "I believe you envy me." "Was he not a favourite of yours once?" "Not at all." "A pity we didn't all go to Brighton." "I could have got husbands for all my sisters!" "Thank you, but I don't particularly like your way of getting husbands." "Isn't my husband a fine horseman?" "Colonel Forster said he has as good a seat as any officer in the regiment." "I wished he could wear his red coat at the wedding, and have a guard of honour, but the officers could not be spared from duty." "There was no one there but my aunt and uncle and Mr Darcy." "Mr Darcy?" " Mr Darcy was at your wedding?" " Oh, yes." "Someone had to be groomsman." "I had much rather it had been Denny or one of our friends..." "Oh, Lord!" "Oh, Lord, I forgot." "I wasn't to say a word!" "And I promised them so faithfully." "What'll Wickham say now?" "It was supposed to be a secret!" "My dear Aunt, pray write and let me understand how he should have been there." "Unless you, too, are bound in the secrecy which Lydia seems to think necessary." "My dear niece, I must confess myself surprised by your letter." "If you are in ignorance of the part that Mr Darcy played in bringing about the marriage, let me enlighten you at once." "Mr Darcy paid us an unexpected visit... and so, my dear Lizzy, Mr Darcy would brook no opposition." "He insisted on doing everything himself and bearing the entirety of the expense." "Nothing was to be done that he did not do himself." "Your uncle, instead of being allowed to be of use to his niece, had to accept having the credit of it." "I must be allowed to insist on this." "The fault is mine, and so must the remedy be." "It was through my mistaken pride that Mr Wickham's character has not been made known." "Had I not thought it beneath me to lay my private actions open, his character would have been exposed." "Mr Darcy, I really believe you take too much upon yourself." "I must insist on this, sir." "I assure you that in this matter, argument is fruitless." "The responsibility is mine." "I must have it, sir." "I shall not give way." "My dear sister!" "I'm afraid I'm interrupting your solitary reverie." "You are, indeed." "But it doesn't follow that the interruption must be unwelcome." "I should be sorry if it were." "You and I were always good friends." "True." "Then shall we take a turn together, sister?" "I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month." "We passed each other several times." "I wonder what he could be doing there." "Perhaps preparing for the wedding..." "with Miss de Bourgh." "Yes." "Yes, perhaps." "Must have been something particular, to take him there this time of year." "Undoubtedly." "Did you see him while you were at Lambton?" "I understood from the Gardiners that you had." "Yes." "He introduced us to his sister." " Did you like her?" " Yes, very much indeed." "Well, I have heard that she is uncommonly improved within this last year or two." "When I last saw her, she was not very promising." "I'm glad you liked her." "I hope she'll turn out well." "I dare say she will." "She has got over the most trying age." " Did you go by Kympton?" " I don't recollect..." "I mention it because it was the living I should have had." "How should you have liked making sermons?" "Exceedingly well." "I did hear that there was a time when sermon making was not so palatable to you as at present." "That you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders and were compensated accordingly." "Well." "Oh come, Mr Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know." "Let us not quarrel about the past." " Oh, Lydia, when shall we meet again?" " Not these two or three years, perhaps." "Not these two or three years." "Oh, what shall I do?" "And Mr Bennet is so cruel as to refuse to take us into the North Country!" " I should refuse to go in any case." " Hold your tongue, girl!" "Oh, Lydia!" "You will write to me often, won't you?" "I don't know." "We married women don't have much time for writing." "My sisters may write to me." "They will have nothing better to do." "Oh, Lydia!" "Mr Wickham, take care of my girl!" "I shall, ma'am, to the very best of my ability." "And thank you, ma'am, and to you, sir, for your continued kindness and hospitality." "And to you, my dear sisters-in-law." "And now as dear to me as sisters ever could be." "But, the carriage awaits." "Duty and honour call me to the North." "So, come, my dear!" "Let us say not farewell, but as the French have it:" "Au revoir!" "He's as fine a fellow as ever I saw!" "He simpers and smirks, and makes love to us all." "I am prodigiously proud of him." "I defy even Sir William Lucas to produce such a son-in-law." "Sister!" "Sister!" "Have you heard the news?" "Mr Bingley is coming back to Netherfield, and the whole town is talking about it!" "I do assure you, this news does not affect me, truly, Lizzy." "I am glad of one thing." "That he doesn't bring any ladies." "If it is merely a shooting party, we shall not see him often." "Not that I am afraid of myself... but I dread other people's remarks, Lizzy." "Then I shall venture none..." "however sorely I am tempted." "It is hard that the man can't come to a house he's legally rented, without raising all this speculation." "That is just what I think." " Then we shall leave him to himself." " Yes." "Stop it, Lizzy." "Three days he has been in the neighbourhood, and still he shuns us!" "I say it's all your father's fault!" "He would not do his duty and call, so you shall die old maids, and we shall be turned out by the Collinses to starve in the hedgerows!" "You promised last year that if I went to see him, he'd marry one of my daughters, but it all came to nothing." "I won't be sent on a fool's errand again!" "Mamma!" "Mamma, look!" "I think he is coming!" "Is it really him?" "I believe it must be!" "He is come, Jane!" "He is come at last." "Put on your blue gown." "No, stay where you are!" "Who's with him?" "I don't know, dear." "Some acquaintance, I suppose!" "It looks like that man who used to be with him before." "Mr..." "You know, that tall proud one." "Mr Darcy!" "I believe it is." "Well, any friend of Mr Bingley's will always be welcome here, to be sure." "But I must say I hate the sight of him!" "But I am determined to be civil." "If only because the man is a friend of Bingley's, but no more than civil." "Sit up straight, Jane!" "Pull your shoulders back." "A man could go a long way without seeing a figure like yours, if you'd make the most of it." "Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, ma'am." "Mr Bingley, you are very, very welcome." "How do you do, Mrs Bennet." "I..." "It's far too long since you were here, and very kind of you to call." "Mr Bennet, of course, would have paid his addresses before this, were it not..." "Well, here you are!" "I am delighted!" "And Mr Darcy, you are welcome, too." "We began to be afraid you would never come back." "People did say, you meant to quit the place by Michaelmas, but I hope that is not true." "Ring the bell for tea, Kitty." "A great many changes have taken place since you went away." "Miss Lucas is married." "And one of my own daughters!" "You've heard of it or read it in the papers?" "Yes, indeed..." "It was not put in properly." "It only said: "Lately, George Wickham, Esq." "To Miss Lydia Bennet", without a syllable said about who her father was, or where she lived!" "Now they are gone to Newcastle, and there they are to stay." "I don't know how long." "I expect you've heard he's gone into the regulars." "Thank Heaven he has some friends, though perhaps not as many as he deserves!" "Do you mean to stay long in the neighbourhood on this visit?" "Our plans are not yet firmly settled, but I hope, I hope we shall stay some weeks." "I hope very much we shall stay a few weeks." "At the very least." "When you've killed your own birds," "I beg you would come here and shoot as many as you please on Mr Bennet's manor." "I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige you!" "I suppose you may bring your friends, if you will." "Now that this first meeting is over, I feel at ease." "Good!" "Now I know my own strength, and I shall never again be embarrassed by his coming." "We shall be able to meet now as..." "common and indifferent acquaintances." "Yes, very indifferent!" "Jane, take care." "Don't think me to be in any danger now, Lizzy." "I think you are in very great danger of making him as much in love with you as ever." "You tell me now that she was in London all those months?" "And you concealed it from me?" "Yes." "I can offer no justification." "It was an arrogant presumption, based on a failure to recognise your true feelings and Miss Bennet's." "I should never have interfered." "It was wrong of me, Bingley, and I apologise." " You admit that you were in the wrong?" " Utterly and completely." "Then..." "I have you blessing?" "Do you need my blessing?" "No." "But I should like to know I have it all the same." "Then go to it." "Bring me my horse at once." "Quick, man!" "Jane!" "Jane!" "Oh, my dear Jane!" " Mamma, what's the matter?" " He is come!" " Who is come?" " Mr Bingley, of course!" "Make haste, make haste, hurry down!" "Oh, gracious, you are not half dressed!" "Hill!" "Hill!" "Oh, where is Hill?" "Never mind, Sarah." "You must come to Miss Bennet this moment!" "Come along and help her on with her gown!" "Mamma!" "Mamma!" "Where is my new locket that Lydia brought me?" "Mary, have you seen it?" "I shouldn't know it if I saw it." "I care nothing for such baubles." "Oh, never mind your locket, girl!" "Jane, stir yourself." "He is here, he is here!" "We will be down as soon as we can." "Let Kitty go down, she is forwarder." "Hang Kitty!" "What has she to do with it?" "Jane, be quick!" "Where is your muslin dress?" "Hill!" "Hill!" "Where is Hill?" "So Mr Darcy is gone to town?" "Yes, ma'am." "He left quite early this morning." "What's the matter, mamma?" "Why do you keep winking at me?" "What am I to do?" "Wink at you?" "Why should I wink at you, child?" "What a notion!" "Why should I be winking at my own daughter, pray?" "But now you ask, it puts me in mind." "I do have something I would speak to you about." "Come, come with me." "And you, Mary." "Come!" "Miss Elizabeth..." "You're needed upstairs." "Please let me go to Jane." "I promised I would stay with her." "Stay where you are." "Five more minutes will do the trick." " Oh, I am so sorry." " No." "No, don't go, Lizzy." "Well?" "Oh, Lizzy!" "I'm so happy!" "It is too much!" "It is too much!" "Why can't everyone be as happy as I am?" "He loves me, Lizzy." "He loves me!" "Of course he does!" "He told me he loved me all the time." "He didn't believe..." "I must tell mamma." "He is gone to papa already!" "Oh, Lizzy, could you believe things would end in this happy way?" " I could, and I do!" " I must go to my mother." "Oh, Lizzy!" "To know I shall be giving such pleasure to all my dear family!" "How shall I bear so much happiness?" "Come back tomorrow, sir, if you can bear to." "Come and shoot with me, if you will." "There are few men whose society I can tolerate well." "I believe you may be one of them." "Thank you, sir." "I shall be very happy to." "Very well, very well." "Get along with you." "Till tomorrow, then!" "Jane, congratulations." "You will be a very happy woman." "Thank you, father." " I believe I shall." " Well, well, you're a good girl." "I've no doubt you'll do very well together." "You're each of you so complying that nothing will ever be resolved on." "Papa!" "So easy that every servant will cheat you!" "No, indeed!" "So generous that you will exceed your income." "Exceed their income!" "What are you talking about?" "Don't you know that he has 5,000 a year?" "!" "Oh, my dear, dear Jane!" "I am so happy!" "Oh, I knew how it would be!" "I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing." "He is the handsomest man that was ever seen!" "Oh, Lizzy." "If only I could see you as happy." "If there were only such another man for you." "If you were to give me forty such men..." "I could never be as happy as you." "Till I have your goodness, I can never have your happiness." "But... perhaps if I have very good luck," "I may in time meet with another Mr Collins!" "Mamma, Lizzy, come and look!" "The most enormous carriage has arrived." "What an extremely small hall!" "If you'll wait here, your ladyship," "I'll tell my mistress you're here." "No, I will not wait!" "Where is she?" "Is this the drawing-room?" "Lady Catherine de Bourgh." "That lady, I suppose, is your mother." "Yes, she is." "Mamma, this is Lady Catherine de Bourgh." "And that, I suppose, is one of your sisters." "Yes, ma'am." "She is my youngest girl but one." "My youngest of all is lately married." "You have a very small park here." "And this must be a most inconvenient sitting-room for the evening in summer." "Why, the windows are full west." "Indeed, they are, your ladyship, but we never sit in here after dinner." " We have..." " Miss Bennet." "There seemed to be a prettyish kind of little wilderness on one side of your lawn." "I should be glad to take a turn in it... if you would favour me with your company." "You can be at no loss to understand the reason for my journey, Miss Bennet." "You are mistaken, madam." "I'm quite unable to account for the honour of seeing you here." "Miss Bennet, you ought to know I am not to be trifled with." "But however insincere you choose to be, you shall not find me so." "A report of an alarming nature reached me two days ago." "I was told, not only that your sister was to be most advantageously married, but that you, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would be soon afterwards united to my nephew Mr Darcy!" "Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood," "I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, to make my sentiments known to you." "If you believed it to be impossible," "I wonder what your ladyship would propose by coming here?" "At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted!" "Your coming to Longbourn will be taken as a confirmation of it, if such a report exists." "This is not to be borne." "Miss Bennet, I insist on being satisfied!" "Has my nephew made you an offer of marriage?" "Your ladyship declared it to be impossible." "It ought to be so, but your arts and allurements may have made him forget what he owes to himself and the family." "You may have drawn him in!" "If I had, I should be the last to confess it." "Miss Bennet, do you know who I am?" "I have not been accustomed to such language as this." "I am almost the nearest relation he has, and I am entitled to know all his nearest concerns." "But not to know mine, nor will such behaviour as this induce me to be explicit." "Let me be rightly understood." "This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place." "Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter." "Now, what have you to say?" "Only this:" "That if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he'll make an offer to me." "The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind." "From their infancy they have been intended for each other." "It was the favourite wish of his mother as well as hers." "While she was in her cradle, we planned the union." "And now to be prevented by the upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections or fortune?" "Is this to be endured?" "It shall not be!" "Your alliance would be a disgrace!" "Your name would never even be mentioned by any of us." "These would be heavy misfortunes, indeed." "Obstinate, headstrong girl!" "I am ashamed of you." "I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment!" "That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable, but it will have no effect on me." "I will not be interrupted!" "If you were sensible, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you have been brought up!" "Lady Catherine, in marrying your nephew" "I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere." "He's a gentleman, I'm a gentleman's daughter." "So far we are equal." "But who was your mother?" "Your uncles and aunts?" "Do not imagine me ignorant of their condition." "If your nephew does not object to my connections, they can be nothing to you." "Tell me once and for all, are you engaged to him?" "I am not." "And will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement?" "I will make no promise of the kind, and I beg you not to importune me any further on the subject." "Not so hasty, if you please!" "I have another objection." "Your youngest sister's infamous elopement." "I know it all!" "Is such a girl to be my nephew's sister-in-law?" "Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?" "You can have nothing further to say." "You have insulted me by every possible method." "I must beg to return to the house." "You have no regard then, for the honour and credit of my nephew?" "Unfeeling, selfish girl!" "You refuse to oblige me?" "You refuse the claims of duty, honour, gratitude?" "You are determined to ruin him, and make him the contempt of the world!" "I am only resolved to act in a manner which will constitute my own happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me." "And this is your final resolve?" "Very well." "I shall know how to act!" "I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet." "I send no compliments to your mother." "You deserve no such attention." "I am most seriously displeased." "Drive on!" "Lizzy, Lizzy!" "I was going to look for you." "Come into my room." "I received a letter this morning, which has astonished me exceedingly." " From Mr Collins." " What can he have to say?" "He begins with congratulations on the approaching nuptials of my eldest daughter, but I shan't sport with your intelligence by reading his remarks on that topic." "Ah, yes." "Here, here, here." ""Your daughter Elizabeth, it is presumed,"" ""will not long bear the name of Bennet,"" ""after her elder sister has resigned it, and the chosen partner of her fate"" ""may be reasonably looked up to"" ""as one of the most illustrious personages in the land."" "Can you guess who he means, Lizzy?" "Now it comes out." ""My motive for cautioning you is as follows:"" ""his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,"" ""does not look on the match with a friendly eye."" "Mr Darcy, you see, is the man." "Mr Darcy of all men!" "Who never looks at a woman except to see a blemish!" "Are you not diverted?" "Yes." "Mr Darcy, who probably never looked at you in his life before!" "This is admirable!" "But Lizzy, you look as if you didn't enjoy it." "You're not going to be Missish now, and pretend to be affronted by an idle report?" "Oh, no, I am excessively diverted." "It's all so strange." "What said Lady Catherine de Bourgh?" "I suppose she came to refuse her consent?" "What do we live for, but to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn?" "True, true." "Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, ma'am." " Good day to you!" " Mr Bingley." "This is a fine day." "Should we perhaps all walk to Meryton?" "Lizzy!" "Do you mind if I run to call on Maria Lucas?" "No, not at all." "Mr Darcy." "I can go no longer without thanking you for your kindness to my poor sister." "Ever since I have known of it," "I've been most anxious to tell you how grateful I am, for my family and for myself." "You must not blame my aunt for telling me." "Lydia betrayed it first, and then I couldn't rest till I knew everything." "I know what trouble and what mortification it must have cost you." "Please let me say this, please allow me to thank you, on behalf of all my family, since they don't know to whom they are indebted." "If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone." "Your family owes me nothing." "As much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you." "You're too generous to trifle with me." "If your feelings are what they were last April, tell me so." "My affections and wishes are unchanged." "But one word from you will silence me on this subject forever." "Oh, my feelings..." "My feelings are..." "I am ashamed to remember what I said then." "My feelings are so different." "In fact, they are quite the opposite." "Lady Catherine told me of her meeting with you." "I may say that her disclosure had quite the opposite effect to the one she had intended." "It taught me to hope, that I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before." "Had you absolutely decided against me, you would have acknowledged it openly." "Yes, you know enough of my frankness to believe me capable of that!" "After abusing you so to your face," "I could have no scruple in abusing you to all your relations." "What did you say of me that I did not deserve?" "My behaviour at the time was unpardonable." "I can hardly think of it without abhorrence." "Your reproof I shall never forget." ""Had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner"." "How those words have tortured me!" "I had no idea of their being taken such a way." "I can easily believe it." "You thought me devoid of every proper feeling, I am sure." "The turn of your countenance I shall never forget." "You said I could not have addressed you in any way that would have induced you to accept me." "Do not repeat what I said then!" "No, I have been a selfish being all my life." "As a child I was given good principles, but was left to follow them in pride and conceit." "And such I might still have been, but for you." "Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!" "Engaged to Mr Darcy!" "No, you are joking." "It is impossible!" "This is a wretched beginning!" "If you don't believe me, I'm sure no one else will." "Indeed, I am in earnest." "He still loves me, and we are engaged." "It can't be true." "I know how much you dislike him!" "No, it is all forgotten!" "Perhaps I didn't always love him as well as I do now." "But... in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable." "Dearest Lizzy, do be serious." "How long have you loved him?" "It's been coming on so gradually, I hardly know." "But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley!" "Lizzy!" "Are you out of your senses to be accepting this man, Lizzy?" "Have you not always hated him?" " Papa..." " I've given him my consent." "He's the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything." "But let me advise you to think the better of it." "I know your disposition, Lizzy." "My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life." "He is rich, but will he make you happy?" "Have you objections apart from your belief in my indifference?" "None whatever." "We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man, but this would be nothing if you really liked him." "I do." "I do like him." "I love him." "Indeed, he has no improper pride." "He is perfectly amiable." "If you only knew his generous nature." "I didn't always love him, but I love him now so very dearly." "He is truly the best man I have ever known." "Well, my dear, if this be the case, he deserves you." "I could not have parted with you to anyone less worthy, Lizzy." "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman... and this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honourable estate," "instituted by God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is between Christ and His church, and therefore is not by any to be enterprised lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy man's carnal lusts and appetites," "but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God, duly considering the causes for which matrimony was ordained." "First, it was ordained for the procreation of children." "Secondly, as a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication." "Thirdly, for the mutual society, help and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity, into which holy estate these persons present come now to be joined." "Three daughters married!" "Oh, Mr Bennet, God has been very good to us!" "Yes, so it would seem."