I
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a
comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite
some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived
nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to
distress or vex her.
She was the youngest of the two daughters of a most
affectionate, indulgent father; and had, in consequence of
her sister?s marriage, been mist ress of his house from a very
early period. Her mother had die d too long ago for her to
have more than an indistinct remembrance of her caresses;
and her place had been supplied by an excellent woman as
governess, who had fallen little short of a mother in
affection.
Sixteen years had Miss Taylor been in Mr.
Woodhouse?s family, less as a go verness than a friend, very
fond of both daughters, but particularly of Emma.
Between them it was more the intimacy of sisters. Even
before Miss Taylor had ceased to hold the nominal office
of governess, the mildness of her temper had hardly
allowed her to impose any re straint; and the shadow of
authority being now long passed away, they had been
living together as friend and friend very mutually attached,
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and Emma doing just what she liked; highly esteeming
Miss Taylor?s judgment, but directed chiefly by her own.
The real evils, indeed, of Emma?s situation were the
power of having rather too much her own way, and a
disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were
the disadvantages which threa tened alloy to her many
enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so
unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as
misfortunes with her.
Sorrow came?a gentle sorro w?but not at all in the
shape of any disagreeable consciousness.?Miss Taylor
married. It was Miss Taylor?s loss which first brought grief.
It was on the wedding-day of this beloved friend that
Emma first sat in mournful thought of any continuance.
The wedding over, and the br ide-people gone, her father
and herself were left to dine together, with no prospect of
a third to cheer a long even ing. Her father composed
himself to sleep after dinner, as usual, and she had then
only to sit and think of what she had lost.
The event had every promise of happiness for her
friend. Mr. Weston was a man of unexceptionable
character, easy fortune, suitable age, and pleasant manners;
and there was some satisfaction in considering with what
self-denying, generous friendship she had always wished
Emma
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and promoted the match; but it was a black morning?s
work for her. The want of Miss Taylor would be felt
every hour of every day. She recalled her past kindness?
the kindness, the affection of sixteen years?how she had
taught and how she had played with her from five years
old?how she had devoted all her powers to attach and
amuse her in health?and how nursed her through the
various illnesses of childhood. A large debt of gratitude
was owing here; but the interc ourse of the last seven years,
the equal footing and perfect unreserve which had soon
followed Isabella?s marriage, on their being left to each
other, was yet a dearer, te nderer recollection. She had
been a friend and compani on such as few possessed:
intelligent, well-informed, useful, gentle, knowing all the
ways of the family, interested in all its concerns, and
peculiarly interested in herself, in every pleasure, every
scheme of hers?one to whom she could speak every
thought as it arose, and who had such an affection for her
as could never find fault.
How was she to bear the c hange??It was true that her
friend was going only half a mile from them; but Emma
was aware that great must be the difference between a
Mrs. Weston, only half a mile from them, and a Miss
Taylor in the house; and with all her advantages, natural
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and domestic, she was now in great danger of suffering
from intellectual solitude. She dearly loved her father, but
he was no companion for her. He could not meet her in
conversation, rational or playful.
The evil of the actual disparity in their ages (and Mr.
Woodhouse had not married early) was much increased by
his constitution and habits; for having been a
valetudinarian all his life, without activity of mind or
body, he was a much older man in ways than in years; and
though everywhere beloved for the friendliness of his
heart and his amiable temper, his talents could not have
recommended him at any time.
Her sister, though comparatively but little removed by
matrimony, being settled in London, only sixteen miles
off, was much beyond her daily reach; and many a long
October and November evening must be struggled
through at Hartfield, before Christmas brought the next
visit from Isabella and her husband, and their little
children, to fill the house, and give her pleasant society
again.
Highbury, the large and populous village, almost
amounting to a town, to which Hartfield, in spite of its
separate lawn, and shrubberies, and name, did really
belong, afforded her no eq uals. The Woodhouses were
Emma
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first in consequence there. All looked up to them. She had
many acquaintance in the place, for her father was
universally civil, but not one among them who could be
accepted in lieu of Miss Taylor for even half a day. It was a
melancholy change; and Emma could not but sigh over it,
and wish for impossible things, till her father awoke, and
made it necessary to be cheerful. His spirits required
support. He was a nervous man, easily depressed; fond of
every body that he was used to, and hating to part with
them; hating change of every kind. Matrimony, as the
origin of change, was always disagreeable; and he was by
no means yet reconciled to his own daughter?s marrying,
nor could ever speak of her but with compassion, though
it had been entirely a match of affection, when he was
now obliged to part with Mi ss Taylor too; and from his
habits of gentle selfishness, and of being never able to
suppose that other people could feel differently from
himself, he was very much dis posed to think Miss Taylor
had done as sad a thing for h erself as for them, and would
have been a great deal happier if she had spent all the rest
of her life at Hartfield. E mma smiled and chatted as
cheerfully as she could, to k eep him from such thoughts;
but when tea came, it was im possible for him not to say
exactly as he had said at dinner,
Emma
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?Poor Miss Taylor!?I wish she were here again. What
a pity it is that Mr. Weston ever thought of her!?
?I cannot agree with you, papa; you know I cannot.
Mr. Weston is such a good-humoured, pleasant, excellent
man, that he thoroughly deserves a good wife;?and you
would not have had Miss Taylor live with us for ever, and
bear all my odd humours, wh en she might have a house of
her own??
?A house of her own!?But where is the advantage of a
house of her own? This is three times as large.?And you
have never any odd humours, my dear.?
?How often we shall be going to see them, and they
coming to see us!?We shall be always meeting! We must
begin; we must go and pay wedding visit very soon.?
?My dear, how am I to get so far? Randalls is such a
distance. I could not walk half so far.?
?No, papa, nobody thought of your walking. We must
go in the carriage, to be sure.?
?The carriage! But James will not like to put the horses
to for such a little way;?and where are the poor horses to
be while we are paying our visit??
?They are to be put into Mr. Weston?s stable, papa.
You know we have settled all that already. We talked it all
over with Mr. Weston last night. And as for James, you
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may be very sure he will always like going to Randalls,
because of his daughter?s being housemaid there. I only
doubt whether he will ever take us anywhere else. That
was your doing, papa. You got Hannah that good place.
Nobody thought of Hannah till you mentioned her?
James is so obliged to you!?
?I am very glad I did think of her. It was very lucky, for
I would not have had poor James think himself slighted
upon any account; and I am sure she will make a very
good servant: she is a civil, pretty-spoken girl; I have a
great opinion of her. Whenever I see her, she always
curtseys and asks me how I do, in a very pretty manner;
and when you have had her here to do needlework, I
observe she always turns the lock of the door the right
way and never bangs it. I am sure she will be an excellent
servant; and it will be a great comfort to poor Miss Taylor
to have somebody about her that she is used to see.
Whenever James goes over to see his daughter, you know,
she will be hearing of us. He will be able to tell her how
we all are.?
Emma spared no exertions to maintain this happier
flow of ideas, and hoped, by the help of backgammon, to
get her father tolerably through the evening, and be
attacked by no regrets but her own. The backgammon-
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table was placed; but a visitor immediately afterwards
walked in and made it unnecessary.
Mr. Knightley, a sensible man about seven or eight-
and-thirty, was not only a very old and intimate friend of
the family, but particularly connected with it, as the elder
brother of Isabella?s husband. He lived about a mile from
Highbury, was a frequent visitor, and always welcome,
and at this time more welcome than usual, as coming
directly from their mutual co nnexions in London. He had
returned to a late dinner, aft er some days? absence, and
now walked up to Hartfield to say that all were well in
Brunswick Square. It was a happy circumstance, and
animated Mr. Woodhouse for some time. Mr. Knightley
had a cheerful manner, which always did him good; and
his many inquiries after ?poor Isabella? and her children
were answered most satisfactorily. When this was over,
Mr. Woodhouse gratefully observed, ?It is very kind of
you, Mr. Knightley, to come out at this late hour to call
upon us. I am afraid you must have had a shocking walk.?
?Not at all, sir. It is a beautiful moonlight night; and so
mild that I must draw back from your great fire.?
?But you must have found it very damp and dirty. I
wish you may not catch cold.?
?Dirty, sir! Look at my shoes. Not a speck on them.?
Emma
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?Well! that is quite surprising, for we have had a vast
deal of rain here. It rained dreadfully hard for half an hour
while we were at breakfast. I wanted them to put off the
wedding.?
?By the bye?I have not wished you joy. Being pretty
well aware of what sort of joy y ou must both be feeling, I
have been in no hurry with my congratulations; but I
hope it all went off tolerably well. How did you all
behave? Who cried most??
?Ah! poor Miss Taylor! ?Tis a sad business.?
?Poor Mr. and Miss Woodhouse, if you please; but I
cannot possibly say ?poor Miss Taylor.? I have a great
regard for you and Emma; but when it comes to the
question of dependence or in dependence!?At any rate, it
must be better to have only one to please than two.?
?Especially when one of those two is such a fanciful,
troublesome creature!? said Emma playfully. ?That is what
you have in your head, I know?and what you would
certainly say if my father were not by.?
?I believe it is very true , my dear, indeed,? said Mr.
Woodhouse, with a sigh. ?I am afraid I am sometimes very
fanciful and troublesome.?
?My dearest papa! You do not think I could mean you,
or suppose Mr. Knightley to mean you. What a horrible
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idea! Oh no! I meant only myself. Mr. Knightley loves to
find fault with me, you know? in a joke?it is all a joke.
We always say what we like to one another.?
Mr. Knightley, in fact, was one of the few people who
could see faults in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one
who ever told her of them: and though this was not
particularly agreeable to Emma herself, she knew it would
be so much less so to her fat her, that she would not have
him really suspect such a circumstance as her not being
thought perfect by every body.
?Emma knows I never flatter her,? said Mr. Knightley,
?but I meant no reflection on any body. Miss Taylor has
been used to have two persons to please; she will now
have but one. The chances are that she must be a gainer.?
?Well,? said Emma, willing to le t it pass??you want to
hear about the wedding; and I shall be happy to tell you,
for we all behaved charmingly. Every body was punctual,
every body in their best l ooks: not a tear, and hardly a
long face to be seen. Oh no; we all felt that we were
going to be only half a mile apart, and were sure of
meeting every day.?
?Dear Emma bears every thin g so well,? said her father.
?But, Mr. Knightley, she is really very sorry to lose poor
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Miss Taylor, and I am sure she will miss her more than she
thinks for.?
Emma turned away her head, divided between tears
and smiles. ?It is impossible that Emma should not miss
such a companion,? said Mr. Knightley. ?We should not
like her so well as we do, sir, if we could suppose it; but
she knows how much the marriage is to Miss Taylor?s
advantage; she knows how very acceptable it must be, at
Miss Taylor?s time of life, to be settled in a home of her
own, and how important to her to be secure of a
comfortable provision, and therefore cannot allow herself
to feel so much pain as ple asure. Every friend of Miss
Taylor must be glad to have her so happily married.?
?And you have forgotten one matter of joy to me,? said
Emma, ?and a very considerable one?that I made the
match myself. I made the match, you know, four years
ago; and to have it take place, and be proved in the right,
when so many people sa id Mr. Weston would never
marry again, may comfort me for any thing.?
Mr. Knightley shook his head at her. Her father fondly
replied, ?Ah! my dear, I wish you would not make
matches and foretell things, for whatever you say always
comes to pass. Pray do not make any more matches.?
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?I promise you to make none for myself, papa; but I
must, indeed, for other people. It is the greatest
amusement in the world! And after such success, you
know!?Every body said that Mr. Weston would never
marry again. Oh dear, no! Mr. Weston, who had been a
widower so long, and who seemed so perfectly
comfortable without a wife, so constantly occupied either
in his business in town or am ong his friends here, always
acceptable wherever he went, always cheerful? Mr.
Weston need not spend a single evening in the year alone
if he did not like it. Oh no! Mr. Weston certainly would
never marry again. Some people even talked of a promise
to his wife on her deathbed, and others of the son and the
uncle not letting him. All manner of solemn nonsense was
talked on the subject, but I believed none of it.
?Ever since the day?about four years ago?that Miss
Taylor and I met with him in Broadway Lane, when,
because it began to drizzle, he darted away with so much
gallantry, and borrowed two umbrellas for us from Farmer
Mitchell?s, I made up my mind on the subject. I planned
the match from that hour; and when such success has
blessed me in this instance, dear papa, you cannot think
that I shall leave off match-making.?
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?I do not understand what you mean by ?success,?? said
Mr. Knightley. ?Success suppo ses endeavour. Your time
has been properly and delicately spent, if you have been
endeavouring for the last four years to bring about this
marriage. A worthy employment for a young lady?s mind!
But if, which I rather imagine, your making the match, as
you call it, means only your pl anning it, your saying to
yourself one idle day, ?I think it would be a very good
thing for Miss Taylor if Mr. Weston were to marry her,?
and saying it again to yourself every now and then
afterwards, why do you talk of success? Where is your
merit? What are you proud of? You made a lucky guess;
and that is all that can be said.?
?And have you never known the pleasure and triumph
of a lucky guess?? I pity you.?I thought you cleverer?
for, depend upon it a lucky guess is never merely luck.
There is always some talent in it. And as to my poor word
?success,? which you quarrel with, I do not know that I am
so entirely without any claim to it. You have drawn two
pretty pictures; but I thin k there may be a third?a
something between the do-nothing and the do-all. If I had
not promoted Mr. Weston?s vi sits here, and given many
little encouragements, and smoothed many little matters, it
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might not have come to any thing after all. I think you
must know Hartfield enough to comprehend that.?
?A straightforward, open-hearted man like Weston, and
a rational, unaffected woman like Miss Taylor, may be
safely left to manage thei r own concerns. You are more
likely to have done harm to yourself, than good to them,
by interference.?
?Emma never thinks of herself, if she can do good to
others,? rejoined Mr. Woodhouse, understanding but in
part. ?But, my dear, pray do not make any more matches;
they are silly things, and break up one?s family circle
grievously.?
?Only one more, papa; only for Mr. Elton. Poor Mr.
Elton! You like Mr. Elton, papa,?I must look about for a
wife for him. There is nobody in Highbury who deserves
him?and he has been here a whole year, and has fitted up
his house so comfortably, that it would be a shame to have
him single any longer?and I thought when he was
joining their hands to-day, he looked so very much as if
he would like to have the same kind office done for him! I
think very well of Mr. Elton, and this is the only way I
have of doing him a service.?
?Mr. Elton is a very pretty young man, to be sure, and a
very good young man, and I have a great regard for him.
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But if you want to shew him any attention, my dear, ask
him to come and dine with us some day. That will be a
much better thing. I dare sa y Mr. Knightley will be so
kind as to meet him.?
?With a great deal of pleasure, sir, at any time,? said Mr.
Knightley, laughing, ?and I agree with you entirely, that it
will be a much better thing. Invite him to dinner, Emma,
and help him to the best of the fish and the chicken, but
leave him to chuse his own wife. Depend upon it, a man
of six or seven-and-twenty can take care of himself.?
Emma
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