Chapter 11 57
not win him , however , to any conversation ; he merely answered her question , and read on . At length , quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book , which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his , she gave a great yawn and said , " How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way ! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading ! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book ! When I have a house of my own , I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library ."
No one made any reply . She then yawned again , threw aside her book , and cast her eyes round the room in quest for some amusement ; when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to Miss Bennet , she turned suddenly towards him and said :
" By the bye , Charles , are you really serious in meditating a dance at Netherfield ? I would advise you , before you determine on it , to consult the wishes of the present party ; I am much mistaken if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a punishment than a pleasure ."
" If you mean Darcy ," cried her brother , " he may go to bed , if he chooses , before it begins--but as for the ball , it is quite a settled thing ; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough , I shall send round my cards ."
" I should like balls infinitely better ," she replied , " if they were carried on in a different manner ; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting . It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order of the day ."
" Much more rational , my dear Caroline , I dare say , but it would not be near so much like a ball ."
Miss Bingley made no answer , and soon afterwards she got up and walked about the room . Her figure was elegant , and she walked well ; but Darcy , at whom it was all aimed , was still inflexibly studious . In the desperation of her feelings , she resolved on one effort more , and , turning to Elizabeth , said :