The next day opened a new scene at Longbourn. Mr. Collins made his declaration in form. Having resolved to do it without loss of time, as his leave of absence extended only to the following Saturday, and having no feelings of diffidence to make it distressing to himself even at the moment, he set about it in a very orderly manner, with all the observances which he supposed a regular part of the business. On finding Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and one of the younger girls together soon after breakfast, he addressed the mother in these words,
"May I hope, Madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?"
Before Elizabeth had time for any thing but a blush of surprise, Mrs. Bennet instantly answered,
"Oh dear! -- Yes -- certainly. -- I am sure Lizzy will be very happy -- I am sure she can have no objection. -- Come, Kitty, I want you up stairs." And gathering her work together, she was hastening away, when Elizabeth called out,
"Dear Ma'am, do not go. -- I beg you will not go. -- Mr. Collins must excuse me. -- He can have nothing to say to me that any body need not hear. I am going away myself."
"No, no, nonsense, Lizzy. -- I desire you will stay where you are." -- And upon Elizabeth's seeming really, with vexed and embarrassed looks, about to escape, she added, "Lizzy, I insist upon your staying and hearing Mr. Collins."
Elizabeth would not oppose such an injunction -- and a moment's consideration making her also sensible that it would be wisest to get it over as soon and as quietly as possible, she sat down again, and tried to conceal by incessant employment the feelings which were divided between distress and diversion. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty walked off, and as soon as they were gone Mr. Collins began.
"Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far from doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other perfections. You would have been less amiable in my eyes had there not been this little unwillingness; but allow me to assure you that I have your respected mother's permission for this address. You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse, however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble; my attentions have been too marked to be mistaken. Almost as soon as I entered the house I singled you out as the companion of my future life. But before I am run away with by my feelings on this subject, perhaps it will be advisable for me to state my reasons for marrying -- and moreover for coming into Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife, as I certainly did."
The idea of Mr. Collins, with all his solemn composure, being run away with by his feelings, made Elizabeth so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him farther, and he continued:
"My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish. Secondly, that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly -- which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this subject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left Hunsford -- between our pools at quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinson was arranging Miss de Bourgh's foot-stool, that she said, "Mr. Collins, you must marry. A clergyman like you must marry. -- Chuse properly, chuse a gentlewoman for my sake; and for your own, let her be an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good way. This is my advice. Find such a woman as soon as you can, bring her to Hunsford, and I will visit her." Allow me, by the way, to observe, my fair cousin, that I do not reckon the notice and kindness of Lady Catherine de Bourgh as among the least of the advantages in my power to offer. You will find her manners beyond any thing I can describe; and your wit and vivacity I think must be acceptable to her, especially when tempered with the silence and respect which her rank will inevitably excite. Thus much for my general intention in favour of matrimony; it remains to be told why my views were directed to Longbourn instead of my own neighbourhood, where I assure you there are many amiable young women. But the fact is, that being, as I am, to inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father (who, however, may live many years longer), I could not satisfy myself without resolving to chuse a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the melancholy event takes place -- which, however, as I have already said, may not be for several years. This has been my motive, my fair cousin, and I flatter myself it will not sink me in your esteem. And now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection. To fortune I am perfectly indifferent, and shall make no demand of that nature on your father, since I am well aware that it could not be complied with; and that one thousand pounds in the 4 per cents, which will not be yours till after your mother's decease, is all that you may ever be entitled to. On that head, therefore, I shall be uniformly silent; and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married."
It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now.
"You are too hasty, Sir," she cried. "You forget that I have made no answer. Let me do it without farther loss of time. Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me, I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them."
"I am not now to learn," replied Mr. Collins, with a formal wave of the hand, "that it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long."
"Upon my word, Sir," cried Elizabeth, "your hope is rather an extraordinary one after my declaration. I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are) who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time. I am perfectly serious in my refusal. -- You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you so, -- Nay, were your friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation."
"Were it certain that Lady Catherine would think so," said Mr. Collins very gravely -- "but I cannot imagine that her ladyship would at all disapprove of you. And you may be certain that when I have the honour of seeing her again I shall speak in the highest terms of your modesty, economy, and other amiable qualifications."
"Indeed, Mr. Collins, all praise of me will be unnecessary. You must give me leave to judge for myself, and pay me the compliment of believing what I say. I wish you very happy and very rich, and by refusing your hand, do all in my power to prevent your being otherwise. In making me the offer, you must have satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family, and may take possession of Longbourn estate whenever it falls, without any self-reproach. This matter may be considered, therefore, as finally settled." And rising as she thus spoke, she would have quitted the room, had not Mr. Collins thus addressed her,
"When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on this subject I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character."
"Really, Mr. Collins," cried Elizabeth with some warmth, "you puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my refusal in such a way as may convince you of its being one."
"You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your refusal of my addresses is merely words of course. My reasons for believing it are briefly these: -- It does not appear to me that my hand is unworthy your acceptance, or that the establishment I can offer would be any other than highly desirable. My situation in life, my connections with the family of De Bourgh, and my relationship to your own, are circumstances highly in its favor; and you should take it into farther consideration that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications. As I must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me, I shall chuse to attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females."
"I do assure you, Sir, that I have no pretension whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man. I would rather be paid the compliment of being believed sincere. I thank you again and again for the honour you have done me in your proposals, but to accept them is absolutely impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it. Can I speak plainer? Do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart."
"You are uniformly charming!" cried he, with an air of awkward gallantry; "and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable."
To such perseverance in wilful self-deception, Elizabeth would make no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew; determined, that if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as must be decisive, and whose behaviour at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female.
--正文
第二天，蘑菇屯完全是一番新景象。柯林斯决定正式宣告求婚。因为他只能待到本周六，所以他决定不再耽搁，他对于此事充满自信，所以就算现在求婚也没有什么压力。于是他有条不紊的开始准备求婚通常要的步骤，他都一一预备完毕。吃过早饭没多久，他撞到了本内特太太，伊丽莎白和几个年轻的妹妹在一起，他就跟本内特太太说：“太太，今早我想跟令媛伊丽莎白单独谈谈，您是否同意？”
伊丽莎白十分惊讶，脸立刻红了，她还没来得及说话，本内特太太立刻就回答说：
“老天哎，可以!当然可以！我相信小伊利也会很乐意的。她肯定不会反对的。来吧，凯蒂，到楼上去。”她把手上的活收拾收拾，也就连忙离开。留下伊丽莎白大声叫道：“亲爱的妈妈，别走啊，求你了。柯林斯先生必须得原谅我，他确实没有什么需要对我说得。我也走了。”
“不行不行，小伊利你别乱说话，你给我留在那儿。”本内特太太看到伊丽莎白尴尬又恼怒的样子，时刻想溜走，就又说了句：“伊利我坚持要求你留在这儿，听柯林斯先生说说话。”
这样的命令伊丽莎白没有办法拒绝。她考虑了一会也冷静了下来，她明白与其逃跑，倒不如安安静静的听他说，尽快把这事翻过去。她又坐了下来，想着通过分散注意力来隐藏心里的压力。本内特太太和凯蒂离开了，他们一离开屋，柯林斯就开口说：“
亲爱的伊丽莎白小姐，请相信我，你这番推诿对你非但没有任何损害，反而让你更加迷人。你要是不推诿一下，我倒反而不会觉得你那么可爱了。请你放心，我是请求了你可敬母亲的同意才对你说这些话的。请你不要怀疑我此番谈话的目的，但是你性格害羞倒是可能会假装不懂。我对你的感情已经表现的如此强烈，你一定能够明白。我一进你家门，就选中了你做我未来的伴侣。但在我倾诉内心感情之前，我最好还是先说明下要结婚的理由，再说明下到蘑菇屯挑选夫人的理由，我也确实是这么做的。”
柯林斯那个严肃认真的样子，已然是控制不住情绪了，让伊丽莎白忍不住想笑。柯林斯此时难得停顿了下，而伊丽莎白错失了这个机会，也就没法再打断他了。柯林斯接着说：“
我有几个理由说明你为什么要嫁给我。第一，作为一个牧师理应为教区里树立一个模范婚姻的榜样。第二，我相信与你结婚会极大地让我幸福。第三，这点我或许该早点提的，这也是我高贵的赞助人，德.包尔夫人的建议。她两次屈尊给我在婚姻之事上提供建议（还是主动提的）。就在我离开夯斯屯的那个周六，我们正玩着牌呢，杰肯逊夫人正给德.包尔夫人安排位置，这是她突然跟我说：“柯林斯先生，你得结婚了。像你这样的牧师，更得结婚。选个合适的姑娘，为了我选个淑女。为你自己呢，就挑个活泼的，有用的姑娘。别找那种娇生惯养的，要找能精打细算的人。这就是我的想法。尽快找到个这样的姑娘，把她带到夯斯屯来，我亲自去拜访她。”好表妹，请允许我顺便提一嘴，卡瑟林夫人对我关心照顾有加，这并不是我唯一的缺点。她的举止我还真说不出来，你将来也会发现的。你机智和活泼的性格，我想她必然不会讨厌，此外只要你在她面前表现得更安静庄重一些，她那样身份得人肯定会十分喜欢你。这些就是我对结婚的大体想法。我还需要解释为何来蘑菇屯寻求良妻，而不是在我自己那地儿找，我自己那地儿也有很多漂亮的姑娘啊。情况是这样，因为要在令尊去世后继承这块地产(不过那肯定是很多年之后的事情)，我就想着娶他一位女儿，这样将来不幸发生时，损失也能减少一些，否则我是过意不去的。当然了，我之前也说过，这肯定是很多年后的事情。我的好表妹，这就是我要娶你的动机，希望你不会因此而瞧不起我。现在我所需要做的，只剩下用最生动的语言表达我对你疯狂的爱慕。对于钱财，我漠不关心，我也不会向令尊提这种要求，因为我知道提了他也不会照办。（翻译官：？？？）而那笔年息4厘的一万磅财产，只要你母亲去世后才归你所有，而这会是你名下所有的财产了。所以这件事上我永远只字不提，你大可放心，婚后我不会因为这件事（翻译官：嫌女的钱少？？？）而说难听话的。”（考证：确有此事！见Wealth小段https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice）
现在必须要打断他了。
“你也太草率了，先生，”伊丽莎白大声说，“你都忘了我还没回复呢。我还是别浪费时间了吧。我十分感谢你对我的赞美，你的求婚确实让我很荣幸，但是我除了拒绝你别无他法。”
“我早就知道，”柯林斯郑重其事的挥挥手说，“男人第一次求婚的时候，年轻姑娘总是会先拒绝他们，其实她们是想接受的。有时候，姑娘们甚至会拒绝两三次，所以你刚才说的话绝不会让我灰心丧气，我希望不久后能牵着你走向神坛。”
“我说话算话，先生，”伊丽莎白又大声说，“我都拒绝你了，你还能这么想确实很厉害。我可以向你保证，我不是那种欲拒还迎的姑娘（假如这种姑娘真的存在的话），我不会把自己的幸福寄托在别人被拒绝后，还会再求一次婚的可能性上。我是十分认真得拒绝你的。你无法让我开心，而假如这世上有任何一个女人能让你开心，那也不会是我。不会是我的，假如你的朋友卡瑟林夫人了解我的话，她肯定会觉得我不论从哪方面来看，都不配做你的夫人。“
“就算卡瑟林夫人真这么想，我也很确定她不会不认可你的。”柯林斯有些沉重的说，“而且见柯林斯夫人的时候，我肯定会大大夸奖你的谦虚，持家和其它的优秀品质。”
“柯林斯先生，要是想得到卡瑟林夫人的认可，大肆夸奖我是必要的。但是你也必须让我替自己说两句，也请你能相信我说的话。我希望你能过得开心，变得富有，所以我必须要拒绝你，不然你会既烦恼又贫穷。你能为我家人考虑而要娶我，确实是十分用心了，请不要有任何愧疚。这蘑菇屯的地产在家父过世后，您尽可拿走。这事就这么说定了吧。”说完后伊丽莎白慢慢起身，打算离开，但是柯林斯突然叫住了她：“
我之前跟你提这件事的时候，我本来是希望能得到一个更好的回答的。虽然我不怪冷库无情，因为我知道这只是女性惯有的习惯，在男人第一次求婚的时候总是会拒绝。也许你此刻说得这些，只是因为女性容易害羞的天性，这会让我更有动力追求你。”
“说真的，柯林斯先生，”伊丽莎白又激动的说，这次带了些温情，“你可真是让我迷糊了。如果我话都说成这样了，你还会觉得我是在鼓励你继续追求，那我可真是不知道怎么表示拒绝了。。”
“我的好表妹，你必须得让我好好夸夸自己，因为发现你的拒绝只是在玩语言游戏。我的理由大约如下：首先我不觉得我配不上你，或者觉得我的房子不够迷人。我现在的地位，我和包尔家族的关系，以及我和你这个堂亲的关系，都能大大促进我们之间的关系。你必须得好好想一想，尽管你有众多的优点，但是除了我很可能没有别人再向你求婚了。你继承的财产实在是太少，而这个很可能会让人忘记你的美貌和可爱的性格。所以我得出结论：你并不是认真的拒绝我，我觉得这只是优雅女子的常用招数，你这样做只是欲擒故纵，想要我更爱你。”
“我向你保证，先生，我不会假装拥有这种优雅’，故意作弄可敬的男人。我宁愿别人夸我为人真诚。我再次感谢你向我求婚，我感到非常非常荣幸，但是我是不会接受你的。我的每一丝感受都让我这么做。我能说句实话么？不要把我想象成一个故意折磨你的'优雅'女人，而把我当作一个说真心话的理性女人。”
“你一直都是那么可爱！”柯林斯十分尴尬，但是又不得不殷勤地叫道，“但是我相信只要尊父母应允的话，我的求婚就不会被拒绝了。”
柯林斯固执得要自欺欺人，伊丽莎白不再理他，她立刻无声地离开了。伊丽莎白决定如果柯林斯接着把她三番五次的拒绝当作是变相的鼓励，那她就要跟老爸说这事，让老爸直截了当得拒绝他。这下他总不会把老爸的拒绝，也当作是优雅女子在装腔作势，卖弄风情吧。
网友评论