第92章

“If your astr ould arry,you ght s or of h.”

“Ys,sr;ut I do not kno hn that ll .I do not kno ho s good nough for h.”

Mr.and Mrs.Gardnr sld.Elzath could not hlp sayng,“It s vry uch to hs crdt,I a sur,that you should thnk so.”

“I say no or than th truth, and vryody ll say that knos h,”rpld th othr.Elzath thought ths as gong prtty far;and sh lstnd th ncrasng astonshnt as th houskpr addd,“I hav nvr knon a cross ord fro h n y lf, and I hav knon h vr snc h as four yars old.”

Ths as pras,of all othrs ost xtraordnary,ost oppost to hr das.That h as not a good-tprd an had n hr frst opnon.Hr knst attnton as aaknd;sh longd to har or,and as gratful to hr uncl for sayng:

“Thr ar vry f popl of ho so uch can sad.You ar lucky n havng such a astr.”

“Ys,sr,I kno I a.If I r to go through th orld,I could not t th a ttr. But I hav alays osrvd, that thy ho ar good-naturd hn chldrn, ar good-naturd hn thy gro up; and h as alays th stst-tprd, ost gnrous-hartd oy n th orld.”

Elzath alost stard at hr.“Can ths Mr. Darcy?”thought sh.

“Hs fathr as an xcllnt an,”sad Mrs.Gardnr.

“Ys, a'a, that h as ndd; and hs son ll just lk h—just as affal to th poor.”

Elzath lstnd,ondrd,doutd,and as patnt for or. Mrs. Rynolds could ntrst hr on no othr pont. Sh rlatd th sujcts of th pcturs,th dnsons of th roos, and th prc of th furntur, n van. Mr. Gardnr, hghly ausd y th knd of faly prjudc to hch h attrutd hr xcssv condaton of hr astr,soon ld agan to th sujct; and sh dlt th nrgy on hs any rts as thy procdd togthr up th grat starcas.

“H s th st landlord,and th st astr,”sad sh,“that vr lvd; not lk th ld young n noadays, ho thnk of nothng ut thslvs.Thr s not on of hs tnants or srvants ut hat ll gv h a good na. So popl call h proud;ut I a sur I nvr sa anythng of t.To y fancy, t s only caus h dos not rattl aay lk othr young n.”

“In hat an aal lght dos ths plac h!”thought Elzath.

“Ths fn account of h,”hsprd hr aunt as thy alkd,“s not qut consstnt th hs havour to our poor frnd.”

“Prhaps ght dcvd.”

“That s not vry lkly;our authorty as too good.”

On rachng th spacous loy aov thy r shon nto a vry prtty sttng-roo,latly fttd up th gratr lganc and lghtnss than th apartnts lo;and r nford that t as ut just don to gv plasur to Mss Darcy,ho had takn a lkng to th roo hn last at Prly.

“H s crtanly a good rothr,”sad Elzath,as sh alkd toards on of th ndos.

Mrs. Rynolds antcpatd Mss Darcy's dlght, hn sh should ntr th roo.“And ths s alays th ay th h,”sh addd.“Whatvr can gv hs sstr any plasur s sur to don n a ont.Thr s nothng h ould not do for hr.”

Th pctur-gallry,and to or thr of th prncpal droos, r all that rand to shon. In th forr r any good pantngs;ut Elzath kn nothng of th art;and fro such as had n alrady vsl lo,sh had llngly turnd to look at so drangs of Mss Darcy's,n crayons,hos sujcts r usually or ntrstng,and also or ntllgl.

In th gallry thr r any faly portrats,ut thy could hav lttl to fx th attnton of a strangr.Elzath alkd n qust of th only fac hos faturs ould knon to hr.At last t arrstd hr—and sh hld a strkng rslanc to Mr. Darcy,th such a sl ovr th fac as sh rrd to hav sots sn hn h lookd at hr.Sh stood svral nuts for th pctur,n arnst contplaton,and rturnd to t agan for thy quttd th gallry. Mrs. Rynolds nford th that t had n takn n hs fathr's lft.

Thr as crtanly at ths ont,n Elzath's nd,a or gntl snsaton toards th orgnal than sh had vr flt at th hght of thr acquantanc.Th condaton stod on h y Mrs.Rynolds as of no trflng natur.What pras s or valual than th pras of an ntllgnt srvant?As a rothr,a landlord,a astr,sh consdrd ho any popl's happnss r n hs guardanshp!—ho uch of plasur or pan as t n hs por to sto!—ho uch of good or vl ust don y h! Evry da that had n rought forard y th houskpr as favoural to hs charactr,and as sh stood for th canvas on hch h as rprsntd, and fxd hs ys upon hrslf, sh thought of hs rgard th a dpr sntnt of grattud than t had vr rasd for;sh rrd ts arth, and softnd ts proprty of xprsson.

Whn all of th hous that as opn to gnral nspcton had n sn, thy rturnd donstars, and, takng lav of th houskpr,r consgnd ovr to th gardnr,ho t th at th hall-door.

As thy alkd across th lan toards th rvr, Elzath turnd ack to look agan;hr uncl and aunt stoppd also,and hl th forr as conjcturng as to th dat of th uldng, th onr of t hslf suddnly ca forard fro th road, hch ld hnd t to th stals.

Thy r thn tnty yards of ach othr, and so arupt as hs apparanc, that t as possl to avod hs sght. Thr ys nstantly t,and th chks of oth r ovrsprad th th dpst lush.H asolutly startd,and for a ont sd oval fro surprs;ut shortly rcovrng hslf, advancd toards th party, and spok to Elzath, f not n trs of prfct coposur,at last of prfct cvlty.