第142章[第1頁/共4頁]

Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters. In society so superior to what she had generally known, her improvement was great. She was not of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia;and,removed from the influence of Lydia's example, she became, by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. From the further disadvantage of Lydia's society she was of course carefully kept,and though Mrs.Wickham frequently invited her to come and stay with her,with the promise of balls and young men,her father would never consent to her going.

Mrs.Phillips's vulgarity was another,and perhaps,a greater tax on his forbearance; and though Mrs. Phillips, as well as her sister,stood in too much awe of him to speak with the familiarity which Bingley's good humour encouraged,yet, whenever she did speak,she must be vulgar.Nor was her respect for him,though it made her more quiet, at all likely to make her more elegant. Elizabeth did all she could to shield him from the frequent notice of either,and was ever anxious to keep him to herself,and to those of her family with whom he might converse without mortification;and though the uncomfortable feelings arising from all this took from the season of courtship much of its pleasure, it added to the hope of the future;and she looked forward with delight to the time when they should be removed from society so little pleasing to either,to all the comfort and elegance of their family party at Pemberley.