Chapter 18 93
He smiled , and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said .
" Very well . That reply will do for the present . Perhaps by and by I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones . But now we may be silent ."
" Do you talk by rule , then , while you are dancing ?"
" Sometimes . One must speak a little , you know . It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together ; and yet for the advantage of some , conversation ought to be so arranged , as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible ."
" Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case , or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine ?"
" Both ," replied Elizabeth archly ; " for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds . We are each of an unsocial , taciturn disposition , unwilling to speak , unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room , and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb ."
" This is no very striking resemblance of your own character , I am sure ," said he . " How near it may be to mine , I cannot pretend to say . You think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly ."
" I must not decide on my own performance ."
He made no answer , and they were again silent till they had gone down the dance , when he asked her if she and her sisters did not very often walk to Meryton . She answered in the affirmative , and , unable to resist the temptation , added , " When you met us there the other day , we had just been forming a new acquaintance ."