] And, as Hilke has already observed, even with the entail broken, there wouldn't be any more money in the end. Mr. Bennet would have been far better off to save regularly for the future support of his family.

...the part in S&S where Elinor's father, because his Uncle left the estate to his grandson directly, rather that to Elinor's father, is in a tight spot. The will did not allow him to squeeze any extra income out of the estate while during his lifetime. He did plan, through economy, to save for his wife and daughters, but only lived another year. In particular, he lamented that he could not even sell off any portion of the valuable woods. Perhaps, Mr. Bennett, if he had fathered a son, and the entail were broken, could have had some flexibility with the assets of Longbourn to raise some instant money to buy off Wickham.....just a thought.