Work Text:
Letter from Lady Metcalfe to her friend Lady Catherine:
My dear Lady Catherine,
It is with utmost pleasure that I read your latest letter from the 2nd inst., and I am always glad to hear how much you are able to help the less fortunate in your parish. I fully agree with you that they need a strong hand and a strong mind in making the best of the position in life that God has given them.
I was grieved to hear that Mr. D— has finally passed away; he was such a fine, upstanding clergyman — a wonderful example to the parish, and a godly example of Christian suffering in his long illness. It surprises me very much that Lord Grenville has not been able to suggest an appropriate replacement for him, in all these months since Mr. D— first became too ill to fulfill the regular duties of a clergyman. Indeed, it is a most formidable task, to choose a man to perform all the sacred rites and ceremonies of our great country, and I am honored that you sought my recommendation to fill the rectory, since no one else has been a proper candidate.
May I suggest someone I have recently heard mentioned? I must admit that I have not met him in person, but he was highly spoken of by my friend Lady Edgecomb when she heard him preach last Sunday. “Mr. Collins,” she wrote, “is such a wise man, with an honest face, and a delightful way of speaking. He has obviously learned much at Oxford, and would be a benefit to any parish.” Those were her very words!
I also know him to be the son of a most respectable gentleman, from the younger branch of an old family, and well worthy of the honor of being the rector at Hunsford.
If you would like, I would be happy to write to Lady Edgecomb to secure his information so that you can invite him to Rosings and listen to him preach to ensure that he is a suitable man for the job.
I remain yours, etc.
Lady Metcalfe
Letter from Lady Catherine to Lady Metcalfe:
My dear Lady Metcalfe,
I received your most recent letter with great pleasure, and was especially pleased to see your recommendation of Mr. Collins for the position of rector at Hunsford. As it so happens, I received a letter from Lord Grenville that very day with the recommendation of this very same Mr. Collins.
Naturally, with two such recommendations I did not hesitate to invite him down to preach, and I must say that I am delighted with him! He is a pleasing young man, with such a knowledgeable air towards the common parishioners when giving a sermon, yet showing perfect deference to his betters when he is around them. He always seems to be ready with a complement when desired, but knows how to hold his tongue and not to interrupt when others are speaking.
I thank you again for your recommendation of Mr. Collins, and he will become the rector as soon as I am done making a few improvements to the parsonage, to modernize it and make it more fitting for the young man — you know how I delight to be useful to all within my sphere!
You must come in a month or two to hear him for yourself, and see how well he suits Hunsford parish.
Yours, etc.
Lady Catherine
Lady Metcalfe’s diary entry, on the day she received Lady Catherine’s above letter:
Today I discovered that I was able to help a most deserving man gain a valuable rectory, in the parish of my dear friend Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Some weeks ago, Lady Edgecomb spoke so highly of this man, that I simply had to pass the word along to Lady Catherine, for I knew she was still in search of the proper clergyman to fill the rectory at Hunsford. Lady Edgecomb also mentioned that he has been living on the paltry income of a curate for some years since graduating from Oxford, for there are far more clergymen in England than there are parishes to support them, which made me doubly glad that I was able to recommend him. I so despise when deserving men are forced to live on the pittance they receive as a curate year after year, waiting for a living, and all too often being passed over for a younger, less-deserving man.
Serendipitously, Lord Grenville had also written to recommend to Lady Catherine this very same man, so of course, Lady Catherine immediately wrote to him and secured his services as rector of Hunsford. It makes one feel happy all over, to be the means of helping a deserving man become an independent gentleman, and of securing to my friend an honorable clergyman, to be her neighbor and rector.
Mr. John Collins has much to thank me for, and we have never even met!