He could not have chosen a better opening remark．Mr Collins spoke enthusiastically for several minutes in praise of Lady Catherine．‘Never in my life have I witnessed such con- siderate behaviour in a person of high birth！Although she is such a great lady，she has never treated me with disdain．She talks to me almost as an equal，and gives me advice．For exam- ple，she has recommended me to marry as soon as possible．And do you know，she has asked me to dinner twice at her house！ Some people consider her proud，but she has only ever been kind to me．She even took the trouble to visit my small house， and was thoughtful enough to suggest one or two improve- ments—some shelves upstairs．’
他选的这句开场白再合适不过了。柯林斯先生兴致勃勃地讲了几分钟，称赞凯瑟琳夫人。“我一生中还从来没有见过出身如此高贵的人会这样体贴人！虽然她是一位贵妇人，可是她从来都没有看不起我。她和我谈话几乎就像和同等身份的人谈话一样，还给我提出建议。例如，她建议我尽早结婚。而且，您知道吗，她请我到她家吃过两次饭！有人认为她高傲，可是她对我从来都很和蔼。她甚至不怕麻烦到寒舍去过一次，还十分细心地让我作一两处改进——在楼上放几个架子。”
‘That is very correct and polite，I’m sure，’said Mrs Bennet．‘Does she live near you，sir？’
“我相信她做得很对、很有礼貌，”班纳特太太说，“她住得离你近吗，先生？”
‘Only a small country road separates my poor house from Rosings Park，her ladyship’s home．’
“夫人的家、罗新斯庄园和寒舍仅有一条乡间小路相隔。”
‘I think you said she is a widow？Has she any family？’
“我想你刚说过她是个寡妇？有孩子吗？”
‘She has only one daughter，who will inherit Rosings and all Lady Catherine’s property．A most charming young lady，un- fortunately in weak health．I often pay her some little compli- ment on her appearance or her accomplishments when I visit Rosings．Lady Catherine appreciates these compliments to her daughter，and I see it as my duty to please her ladyship．’
“她只有一个女儿，将会继承罗新斯庄园和凯瑟琳夫人所有的财产。是一位很有魅力的年轻小姐，可惜健康状况欠佳。我拜访罗新斯时经常稍稍称赞一下她的容貌和才艺。凯瑟琳夫人很喜欢对她女儿的称赞。我把取悦夫人当成了我的职责。”
‘I am sure you’re right，’said Mr Bennet．‘No doubt you are expert at flattering with delicacy．May I ask how you think of these pleasing compliments？’
“我认为你做得对，”班纳特先生说。“你奉承人体贴入微，毫无疑问是个专家。请问你是怎么想起这些取悦之辞的？”
‘Some of them come to me at the time，but in my spare moments I do occasionally prepare a few words which may be suitable for different occasions．’
“有些是当下随口说的，不过，空闲时我也准备几句，也许在不同的场合可以用上。”
Mr Bennet listened to his cousin with the greatest emjoyment．Mr Collins was as foolish as he had hoped．But by tea-time Mr Bennet had had enough，and after tea，asked his guest to read aloud to the ladies．However，when a novel was handed to Mr Collins，he looked shocked，and protested that he never read novels．He chose a religious book instead，and start- ed reading in a slow，serious
voice．Lydia could not hide her boredom for long，and after only three pages she interrupted him rudely，to ask her mother a question about one of the offi- cers in Meryton Mr Collins was offended，and refused to read any more，although Mrs Bennet and her other daughters apolo- gized for Lydia’s lack of manners．
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