第109章[第3页/共4页]

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 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.

Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety;but the most anxious part of each was when the post was expected.The arrival of letters was the first grand object of every morning's impatience. Through letters,whatever of good or bad was to be told would be communicated,and every succeeding day was expected to bring some news of importance.