Emma - 44
Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken; but where, as in this case, though the conduct is mistaken, the feelings are not, it may not be very material.—Mr. Knightley could not impute to Emma a more relenting heart than she possessed, or a heart more disposed to accept of his.
He had, in fact, been wholly unsuspicious of his own influence. He had followed her into the shrubbery with no idea of trying it. He had come, in his anxiety to see how she bore Frank Churchill's engagement, with no selfish view, no view at all, but of endeavouring, if she allowed him an opening, to soothe or to counsel her.—The rest had been the work of the moment, the immediate effect of what he heard, on his feelings. The delightful assurance of her total indifference towards Frank Churchill, of her having a heart completely disengaged from him, had given birth to the hope, that, in time, he might gain her affection himself;—but it had been no present hope—he had only, in the momentary conquest of eagerness over judgment, aspired to be told that she did not forbid his attempt to attach her.—The superior hopes which gradually opened were so much the more enchanting.—The affection, which he had been asking to be allowed to create, if he could, was already his!—Within half an hour, he had passed from a thoroughly distressed state of mind, to something so like perfect happiness, that it could bear no other name.
Her change was equal.—This one half-hour had given to each the same precious certainty of being beloved, had cleared from each the same degree of ignorance, jealousy, or distrust.—On his side, there had been a long-standing jealousy, old as the arrival, or even the expectation, of Frank Churchill.—He had been in love with Emma, and jealous of Frank Churchill, from about the same period, one sentiment having probably enlightened him as to the other. It was his jealousy of Frank Churchill that had taken him from the country.—The Box Hill party had decided him on going away. He would save himself from witnessing again such permitted, encouraged attentions.—He had gone to learn to be indifferent.—But he had gone to a wrong place. There was too much domestic happiness in his brother's house; woman wore too amiable a form in it; Isabella was too much like Emma—differing only in those striking inferiorities, which always brought the other in brilliancy before him, for much to have been done, even had his time been longer.—He had stayed on, however, vigorously, day after day—till this very morning's post had conveyed the history of Jane Fairfax.—Then, with the gladness which must be felt, nay, which he did not scruple to feel, having never believed Frank Churchill to be at all deserving Emma, was there so much fond solicitude, so much keen anxiety for her, that he could stay no longer. He had ridden home through the rain; and had walked up directly after dinner, to see how this sweetest and best of all creatures, faultless in spite of all her faults, bore the discovery.
He had found her agitated and low.—Frank Churchill was a villain.— He heard her declare that she had never loved him. Frank Churchill's character was not desperate.—She was his own Emma, by hand and word, when they returned into the house; and if he could have thought of Frank Churchill then, he might have deemed him a very good sort of fellow.
CHAPTER XIV
What totally different feelings did Emma take back into the house from what she had brought out!—she had then been only daring to hope for a little respite of suffering;—she was now in an exquisite flutter of happiness, and such happiness moreover as she believed must still be greater when the flutter should have passed away.
They sat down to tea—the same party round the same table—how often it had been collected!—and how often had her eyes fallen on the same shrubs in the lawn, and observed the same beautiful effect of the western sun!—But never in such a state of spirits, never in any thing like it; and it was with difficulty that she could summon enough of her usual self to be the attentive lady of the house, or even the attentive daughter.
Poor Mr. Woodhouse little suspected what was plotting against him in the breast of that man whom he was so cordially welcoming, and so anxiously hoping might not have taken cold from his ride.—Could he have seen the heart, he would have cared very little for the lungs; but without the most distant imagination of the impending evil, without the slightest perception of any thing extraordinary in the looks or ways of either, he repeated to them very comfortably all the articles of news he had received from Mr. Perry, and talked on with much self-contentment, totally unsuspicious of what they could have told him in return.
As long as Mr. Knightley remained with them, Emma's fever continued; but when he was gone, she began to be a little tranquillised and subdued—and in the course of the sleepless night, which was the tax for such an evening, she found one or two such very serious points to consider, as made her feel, that even her happiness must have some alloy. Her father—and Harriet. She could not be alone without feeling the full weight of their separate claims; and how to guard the comfort of both to the utmost, was the question. With respect to her father, it was a question soon answered. She hardly knew yet what Mr. Knightley would ask; but a very short parley with her own heart produced the most solemn resolution of never quitting her father.—She even wept over the idea of it, as a sin of thought. While he lived, it must be only an engagement; but she flattered herself, that if divested of the danger of drawing her away, it might become an increase of comfort to him.—How to do her best by Harriet, was of more difficult decision;—how to spare her from any unnecessary pain; how to make her any possible atonement; how to appear least her enemy?—On these subjects, her perplexity and distress were very great—and her mind had to pass again and again through every bitter reproach and sorrowful regret that had ever surrounded it.—She could only resolve at last, that she would still avoid a meeting with her, and communicate all that need be told by letter; that it would be inexpressibly desirable to have her removed just now for a time from Highbury, and—indulging in one scheme more—nearly resolve, that it might be practicable to get an invitation for her to Brunswick Square.—Isabella had been pleased with Harriet; and a few weeks spent in London must give her some amusement.—She did not think it in Harriet's nature to escape being benefited by novelty and variety, by the streets, the shops, and the children.—At any rate, it would be a proof of attention and kindness in herself, from whom every thing was due; a separation for the present; an averting of the evil day, when they must all be together again.
She rose early, and wrote her letter to Harriet; an employment which left her so very serious, so nearly sad, that Mr. Knightley, in walking up to Hartfield to breakfast, did not arrive at all too soon; and half an hour stolen afterwards to go over the same ground again with him, literally and figuratively, was quite necessary to reinstate her in a proper share of the happiness of the evening before.
He had not left her long, by no means long enough for her to have the slightest inclination for thinking of any body else, when a letter was brought her from Randalls—a very thick letter;—she guessed what it must contain, and deprecated the necessity of reading it.—She was now in perfect charity with Frank Churchill; she wanted no explanations, she wanted only to have her thoughts to herself—and as for understanding any thing he wrote, she was sure she was incapable of it.—It must be waded through, however. She opened the packet; it was too surely so;—a note from Mrs. Weston to herself, ushered in the letter from Frank to Mrs. Weston.
“I have the greatest pleasure, my dear Emma, in forwarding to you the enclosed. I know what thorough justice you will do it, and have scarcely a doubt of its happy effect.—I think we shall never materially disagree about the writer again; but I will not delay you by a long preface.—We are quite well.—This letter has been the cure of all the little nervousness I have been feeling lately.—I did not quite like your looks on Tuesday, but it was an ungenial morning; and though you will never own being affected by weather, I think every body feels a north-east wind.—I felt for your dear father very much in the storm of Tuesday afternoon and yesterday morning, but had the comfort of hearing last night, by Mr. Perry, that it had not made him ill.
“Yours ever, “A. W.” [To Mrs. Weston.] WINDSOR-JULY. MY DEAR MADAM,- Parts
- Emma - 01Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3193Total number of unique words is 85066.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 02Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3391Total number of unique words is 99159.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 03Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3433Total number of unique words is 91265.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 04Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3333Total number of unique words is 88266.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 05Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3405Total number of unique words is 88465.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 06Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3232Total number of unique words is 81866.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 07Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3460Total number of unique words is 96163.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 08Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3378Total number of unique words is 85365.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 09Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3331Total number of unique words is 96861.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 10Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3315Total number of unique words is 86166.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 11Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3235Total number of unique words is 88665.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 12Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3393Total number of unique words is 89967.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words84.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 13Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3355Total number of unique words is 91064.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 14Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3279Total number of unique words is 98959.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 15Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3330Total number of unique words is 90264.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 16Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3392Total number of unique words is 89166.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 17Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3289Total number of unique words is 87265.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 18Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3384Total number of unique words is 93466.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words84.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 19Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3327Total number of unique words is 94065.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 20Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3351Total number of unique words is 95164.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 21Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3366Total number of unique words is 89464.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 22Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3383Total number of unique words is 90568.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words84.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words90.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 23Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3294Total number of unique words is 91463.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 24Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3417Total number of unique words is 81067.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 25Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3297Total number of unique words is 82367.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 26Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3109Total number of unique words is 85664.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 27Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3284Total number of unique words is 91362.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 28Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3288Total number of unique words is 91161.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 29Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3286Total number of unique words is 91663.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 30Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3262Total number of unique words is 89564.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 31Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3377Total number of unique words is 86666.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 32Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3370Total number of unique words is 89566.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 33Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3265Total number of unique words is 93364.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 34Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3345Total number of unique words is 89867.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words90.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 35Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3354Total number of unique words is 93961.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 36Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3210Total number of unique words is 94261.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 37Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3266Total number of unique words is 88564.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 38Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3462Total number of unique words is 86166.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 39Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3350Total number of unique words is 91663.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 40Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3044Total number of unique words is 82768.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words85.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 41Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3226Total number of unique words is 85365.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 42Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3233Total number of unique words is 92059.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 43Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3305Total number of unique words is 92964.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 44Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 1596Total number of unique words is 58769.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words85.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words89.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 45Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3439Total number of unique words is 97961.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 46Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3285Total number of unique words is 95761.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 47Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3250Total number of unique words is 86466.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 48Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3363Total number of unique words is 86468.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words83.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words90.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- Emma - 49Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3106Total number of unique words is 92365.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words88.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words