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III . Mr Collins Comes to Stay “ I hope , my dear , ” said Mr Bennet to his wife at breakfast one morning , “ that you have ordered a good dinner today . I am expecting a guest . It is Mr Collins , my cousin , who may turn you all out of this house as soon as I am dead . ” He read them the letter that Mr Collins had sent . In it the young man said that he was now a clergyman . He had been given a church at Hunsford in Kent by a great lady , Lady Catherine de Bourgh , and he was very grateful to her . He hoped to make peace with the family . He also hinted that he wanted to make up to the girls for the loss of their home . “ He must be an odd man , ” said Mr Bennet with pleasure . “ There is something very humble and very proud in his letter . I can hardly wait to see him . ” Mr Collins arrived exactly on time , at four o’clock . He was a tall , heavy young man of twenty - five . His manners were serious and formal , and he praised every room and every chair in the house . Most of all , he praised Lady Catherine . She had spoken to him twice after his sermons . She had even told him to marry as soon as he could , as long as he chose the right sort of woman . Mr Bennet listened with the greatest pleasure , because his cousin was quite as absurd as he had hoped . He kept a straight face , and only now and then did he look across at Elizabeth . Mr Collins had come to Longbourn with a plan . He would choose a wife from among his cousins , and in this way he would make up for taking their home one day . Jane was the eldest and the prettiest , so he chose her first . But the next morning Mrs Bennet told him privately that Jane was likely to be engaged very soon . Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth , and it was done while Mrs Bennet was stirring the fire . Elizabeth was next to Jane in age and in beauty , so she was the natural choice . That evening Mr Collins offered to read to the ladies . He chose a book of sermons for young women . Before he had read three pages , Lydia broke in to tell her mother some news about an officer . Mr Collins put the book down , very offended , and said that he was surprised how little young ladies cared for serious books , which were written only for their good .
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