Jane Austen
detain them from it long, during the whole of the journey. From Elizabeth's thoughts it was
never absent. Fixed there by the keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could find no
interval of ease or forgetfulness.
They travelled as expeditiously as possible, and, sleeping one night on the road, reached
Longbourn by dinner time the next day. It was a comfort to Elizabeth to consider that Jane
could not have been wearied by long expectations.
The little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were standing on the steps of the
house as they entered the paddock; and, when the carriage drove up to the door, the joyful
surprise that lighted up their faces, and displayed itself over their whole bodies, in a variety
of capers and frisks, was the first pleasing earnest of their welcome.
Elizabeth jumped out; and, after giving each of them a hasty kiss, hurried into the
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