say voluntarily to Elizabeth,——
“I am glad you are come back, Lizzy.”
Their party in the dining-room was large, for almost all the Lucases

came to meet Maria and hear the news; and various were the subjects

which occupied them: Lady Lucas was inquiring of Maria, across the

table, after the welfare and poultry of her eldest daughter; Mrs. Bennet

was doubly engaged, on one hand collecting an account of the present

fashions from Jane, who sat some way below her, and on the other,

retailing them all to the younger Miss Lucases; and Lydia, in a voice

rather louder than any other person’s, was enumerating the various

pleasures of the morning to anybody who would hear her.
“Oh, Mary,” said she, “I wish you had gone with us, for we had such fun!

as we went along Kitty and me drew up all the blinds, and pretended

there was nobody in the coach; and I should have gone so all the way, if

Kitty had not been sick; and when we got to the George, I do think we

behaved very handsomely, for we treated the other three with the nicest

cold luncheon in the world, and if you would have gone, we would have

treated you{277} too. And then when we came away it was such fun! I thought

we never should have got into the coach. I was ready to die of laughter.

And then we were so merry all the way home! we talked and laughed so

loud, that anybody might have heard us ten miles off!”
To this, Mary very gravely replied, “Far be it from me, my dear sister,

to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the

generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for

me. I should infinitely prefer a book.”
But of this answer Lydia heard not a word. She seldom listened to

anybody for more than half a minute, and never attended to Mary at all.
In the afternoon Lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls to walk to

Meryton, and see how everybody went on; but Elizabeth steadily opposed