Chapter Three
Elizabeth was not one to dwell on adversity. She had in general a positive attitude towards life. If things did not go well, she tried not to dwell on them too much, but instead to look to the future, and in particular to take some positive step to improve her state of mind, and if possible her prospects. Her experience with Mr Bingley had indeed been a shock to her self-esteem, but she knew one certain way in which to help restore it. Accordingly, the next day she decided to pay a visit to John Alton.
He was a labourer who worked on a nearby farm and lived on his own in a cottage not far away. One day she had come across him while walking in the woods. He was out with his dog, looking for rabbits, he said. They fell to talking. He was good-looking, sturdy and well-shaped,
