great comfort to them in their hours of freedom. Their other aunt also

visited them frequently, and always, as she said, with the design of

cheering and heartening them up—though, as she never came without

reporting some fresh instance of Wickham’s extravagance or irregularity,

she seldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found

them.
All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three months

before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt

to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with

the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman’s family.

Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and

everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the

appearance of his goodness. Elizabeth, though she did not credit above

half of what was said, believed enough to make her former assurance of

her sister’s ruin still more certain; and even Jane, who believed still

less of it, became almost hopeless, more especially as the time was now

come, when, if they had gone to Scotland, which she had never before

entirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained some

news of them.{361}
Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday; on Tuesday, his wife received a

letter from him: it told them, that on his arrival he had immediately

found out his brother, and persuaded him to come to Gracechurch Street.

That Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and Clapham, before his arrival, but

without gaining any satisfactory information; and that he was now

determined to inquire at all the principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet

thought it possible they might have gone to one of them, on their first

coming to London, before they procured lodgings. Mr. Gardiner himself

did not expect any success from this measure; but as his brother was

eager in it, he meant to assist him in pursuing it. He added, that Mr.