MR. COLLINS was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection in which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner, but it was now a good deal counteracted by the self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity. A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his rights as a rector,made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.
Having now a good house and a very sufficient income, he intended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view,as he meant to chuse one of the daughters,if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report. This was his plan of amends——of atonement—for inheriting their father's estate; and he thought it an excellent one, full of eligibility and suitableness,and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part.
His plan did not vary on seeing them. Miss Bennet's lovely face confirmed his views, and established all his strictest notions of what was due to seniority; and for the first evening she was his settled choice. The next morning, however, made an alteration; for in a quarter of an hour's tête-à-tête with Mrs.Bennet before breakfast,a conversation beginning with his parsonage- house, and leading naturally to the avowal of his hopes that a mistress for it might be found at Longbourn, produced from her, amid very complaisant smiles and general encouragement,a caution against the very Jane he had fixed on.—"As to her younger daughters she could not take upon her to say—she could not positively answer—but she did not know of any prepossession;— her eldest daughter, she must just mention—she felt it incumbent on her to hint, was likely to be very soon engaged."
Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth—and it was soon done—done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire. Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded her of course.
Mrs. Bennet treasured up the hint, and trusted that she might soon have two daughters married; and the man whom she could not bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good graces.
柯林斯先生并不是个通情达理的人，他虽然也受过教育，也踏进了社会，但是先天的缺陷却简直没有得到什么弥补。他大部分日子是在他那守财奴的文盲父亲的教导下度过的。他也算进过大学，实际上不过照例住了几个学期，并没有结交一个有用的朋友。他的父亲管束得他十分严厉，因此他的为人本来很是谦卑，不过他本是个蠢材，现在生活又过得很悠闲，当然不免自高自大，何况年纪轻轻就发了意外之财，更其自视甚高，哪里还谈得上谦卑。当时汉斯福教区有个牧师空缺，他鸿运亨通，得到了咖苔琳·德·包尔夫人的提拔。他看到他的女施主地位颇高，便悉心崇拜，备加尊敬；另方面又自命不凡，自以为当上了教士，该有怎样怎样的权力，作为一个教区的主管牧师，又该享受怎样怎样的权利，于是他一身兼有了骄傲自大和谦卑顺从的两重性格。
他现在已经有了一幢好房子，一笔可观的收入，想要结婚了。他所以要和浪搏恩这家人家讲和修好，原是想要在他们府上找个太太。要是这家人家的几位小姐果真象大家所传闻的那么美丽可爱，他一定要挑选一个。这就是他所谓补偿的计划，赎罪的计划，为的是将来继承她们父亲的遗产时可以问心无愧。他认为这真是个独出心裁的办法，既极其妥善得体，又来得慷慨豪爽。
他看到这几位小姐之后，并没有变更本来的计划。一看到吉英那张可爱的脸蛋儿，他便拿定了主张，而且更加确定了他那些老式的想法，认为一切应当先尽最大的一位小姐。头一个晚上他就选中了她。不过第二天早上他又变更了主张，因为他和班纳特太太亲亲密密地谈了一刻钟的话，开头谈谈他自己那幢牧师住宅，后来自然而然地把自己的心愿招供了出来，说是要在浪搏恩找一位太太，而且要在她的令媛们中间找一位。班纳特太太亲切地微笑着，而且一再鼓励他，不过谈到他选定了吉英，她就不免要提请他注意一下了。“讲到我几个小女儿，我没有什么意见——当然也不能一口答应——不过我还没有听说她们有什么对象；至于我的大女儿，我可不得不提一提——我觉得有责任提醒你一下——大女儿可能很快就要订婚了。”
柯林斯先生只得撇开吉英不谈，改选伊丽莎白，一下子就选定了——就在班纳特太太拨火的那一刹那之间选定的。伊丽莎白无论是年龄。美貌，比吉英都只差一步，当然第二个就要轮到她。
班纳特太太得到这个暗示，如获至宝，她相信很快就可以嫁出两个女儿了：昨天她提都不愿意提到的这个人，现在却叫她极为重视了。