Lizzy's reaction, of course, has already been addressed in this forum, but how about the others? Jane, who is disposed to think well of everyone, can only hope that Charlotte feels some "esteem for our poor cousin," while Kitty and Lydia see the engagement only as a bit of gossip to spread in Meryton. We don't hear from Mary at all. And yet, before they learned of the engagement, Mrs. Bennet thought Mr. Collins was returning to court another of her daughters, and she thought Mary might accept him. We're told Mary was struck by his reflections and thought he might in time become a conversable companion if he had someone like her to set an example. When would Mary have said that, and would she have confided it just to her mother, or would it have been part of the family conversation? I think Mary would have been a disaster as a vicar's wife, but I think she also would have enjoyed the triumph of being married first, before any of her more beautiful sisters.