By Jane Austen.
This story set in the village of Highbury.
Follows Emma Woodhouse,
A privileged young woman.
Who fancies herself a matchmaker.
Meddling in the romantic lives of those around her.
Particularly her new friend Harriet Smith.
Emma finds her misguided interventions.
Lead to hurt feelings.
And unexpected revelations.
Happy listening.
Chapter 10 Though now the middle of December,
There had yet been no weather to prevent the young ladies from tolerably regular exercise.
And on the morrow,
Emma had a charitable visit to pay to a poor,
Sick family.
Who lived a little way out of Highbury.
Their route to this detached cottage was down Vicarage Lane,
A lane leading at right angles from the broad though irregular main street of the place.
And as may be inferred,
Containing the blessed bode of Mr Elton.
A few inferior dwellings were first to be passed,
And then by a quarter of a mile down the lane rose the vicarage,
An old and not very good house,
Almost as close to the road as it could be.
It had no advantage of situation,
But had been very much smartened up by the present proprietor,
And as such as it was,
There could be no possibility of the two friends passing it without a slackened pace and observing eyes.
Emma's remark was There it is!
There you go and your riddle book one of these days.
Harriet's was Oh,
What a sweet house,
How very beautiful.
There are the yellow curtains that Miss Nash admires so much.
I do not often walk this way now,
" said Emma,
As they proceeded.
But then there will be an inducement and I shall gradually get intimately acquainted with all the hedges,
Gates,
Pools and pollards of this part of Highborough.
Harriet she found had never in her life been inside the vicarage.
And her curiosity to see it was so extreme.
That considering exteriors and probabilities,
Emma could only class it as a proof of love,
With Mr Elton seeing ready wit in her.
I wish we could contrive it,
" said she,
But I can't think of any tolerable pretense for going in.
No servant I want to inquire about of his housekeeper.
No message from my father.
She pondered but could think of nothing.
After a mutual silence of some minutes,
Harriet thus began again.
I do so wonder,
Miss Woodhouse,
That you should not be married or going to be married,
So charming as you are.
Emma laughed and replied.
My being charming,
Harriet,
Is not quite enough to induce me to marry.
I must find other people charming.
One other person at least.
And I'm not only not going to be married at present.
.
.
But have very little intention of ever marrying at all.
Ah,
So you say.
But I can't believe it.
I must see somebody very superior to anyone I have ever seen to be tempted.
Said Emma.
Mr Elton,
You know,
Recollecting herself.
Is out of the question.
I do not wish to see any such person.
I would rather not be tempted.
I cannot really change for the better.
If I were to marry,
I must expect to repent it.
Dear me,
It's so odd to hear a woman talk so.
Should have.
Emma sighed.
I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry.
Were I to fall in love indeed,
It would be a different thing.
But I have never been in love.
It is not my way or my nature and I do not think I ever shall.
And without love I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine.
Fortune I do not want.
Employment I do not want.
Consequence I do not want.
I believe very few married women are half as much mistress of their husband's house as I am of mine.
And never,
Never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important,
So always first,
And always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's.
But then to be an old maid at last,
Like Miss Bates!
That is formidable an image as you could present Harriet.
And if I thought I ever should be like Miss Bates.
.
.
So silly and satisfied and smiling!
I'm so apt to tell everything relative to everybody but me.
I would marry tomorrow.
But between us,
I'm convinced there never can be any likeness,
Except in being unmarried.
Still,
You will be an old maid Emma,
And that is so dreadful.
Never mind Harriet,
I shall not be a poor old maid and it is only poverty that makes celibacy contemptible to generous public.
A single woman with a very narrow income must be a ridiculous,
Disagreeable old maid.
The proper sport of boys and girls,
But a single woman of good fortune is always respectable and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.
And the distinction is not quite so much against the candour and common sense of the world as appears at first.
For a very narrow income has a tendency to contract the mind and sour the temper.
Those who can barely live and who live by force in very small and generally very inferior society may well be liberal and cross.
This does not apply,
However,
To Miss Bates.
She is only too good-natured and too silly to suit me.
But in general she's very much to the taste of everybody.
Though single and gull poor.
Poverty certainly has not contracted her mind.
I really believe if she had only a shilling in the world she would be very likely to give away sixpence of it.
And nobody's afraid of her.
That is a great charm.
Dear me,
Emma,
But what shall you do?
How shall you employ yourself when you grow old?
If I know myself,
Harriet,
Mine is an active,
Busy mind.
With a great many independent resources and I do not perceive why.
I should be more in want of employment at 40 or 50 than 1 in 20.
Women's usual occupations of hand and mind will be as open to me then as they are now.
Or with no important variation.
If I draw less,
I shall read more.
If I give up music,
I shall take to carpet work.
And as for objects of interest,
Objects for the affections,
Which in truth the great point of inferiority is.
.
.
The want of which is really the great evil to be avoided in not marrying.
I shall be very well off with all the children of a sister I love so much to care about.
There will be enough of them in all probability to supply every sort of sensation that declining life can need.
There will be enough for every hope and every fear.
And though my attachment to none can equal that of a parent,
It suits my ideas of comfort better than what is warmer and blinder.
My nephews and nieces.
I shall often have a niece with me.
Do you know Miss Bates,
Niece?
I think you must have seen her a hundred times,
But are you acquainted?
Oh yes,
We're always forced to be acquainted whenever she comes to Highbury.
By the by,
That is almost enough to put one out of conceit with a niece.
Heaven forbid at least that I should ever bore people half so much as about all the nightlies together as she does about Jane Fairfax.
One is very sick of the name Jane Fairfax.
Every letter from her is read 40 times over,
Her compliments to all friends go round and round again,
And if she does but send her aunt the pattern of a stomacha,
Or knit a pair of garters for her grandmother,
One hears of nothing else for a month.
I wish Jane Fairfax very well,
But she tires me to death.
They were now approaching the cottage and all idle topics were superseded.
Emma was very compassionate.
And the distresses of the poor are sure of relief from her personal attention and kindness,
Her counsel and patience,
As from her purse.
She understood their ways could allow for their ignorance and their temptations.
She had no romantic expectations of extraordinary virtue from those from whom education had done so little.
She entered into their troubles with ready sympathy and always gave her assistance with as much intelligence as good will.
In the present instance,
It was sickness and poverty together which she came to visit.
And after remaining there as long as she could give comfort or advice.
She quitted the cottage with such an impression of the scene as made her say to Harriet as they walked away.
These are the sights,
Harriet,
To do one good.
How trifling they make everything else appear.
I feel now as if I could think of nothing but these poor creatures all the rest of the day.
And yet who could say how soon it may all vanish from my mind?
Very true,
Said Harriet.
Poor creatures.
One can think of nothing else.
And really,
I do not think the impression will soon be over,
" said Emma as she crossed the low hedge,
And tottering footstep,
Which ended the narrow,
Slippery path through the cottage garden,
And brought them into the lane again.
I do not think it will.
Stopping to look once more at all the outward wretchedness of the place and recall the still greater within.
Who do you know?
" said her companion.
They walked on.
The lane made a slight bend and when that bend was passed,
Mr Elton was immediately in sight.
And so near as to give Emma only time to say further.
Harriet,
Here comes a very sudden trial of our stability in good thoughts.
Well,
Smiling,
I hope it may be allowed that if compassion has produced exertion and relief to the sufferers,
It has done all that is truly important.
If we feel for the wretched enough to do all we can for them,
The rest is empty sympathy,
Only distressing to ourselves.
Oh yes dear,
Answered Harry.
Before the gentleman joined them.
The wants and the sufferings of the poor family,
However,
Were the first subject on meeting.
He himself had been going to call on them.
His visit he would now defer.
But they had a very interesting parlay about what could be done and should be done.
Mr Elton then turned back to accompany them.
To fall in with each other on such an errand as this,
Thought Emma,
To meet in such a charitable scheme.
This will bring a great increase of love on each side.
Anxious to separate herself from them as far as she could,
She soon afterwards took possession of a narrow footpath,
Little raised on one side of the lane.
This left them together in the main road.
But she had not been there two minutes when she found Harriet's habits of dependence and imitation were bringing her up to two,
And that in short they would both be soon after her.
This would not do.
She immediately stopped under pretense of having some alteration to make in the lacing of her half boot.
And stooping down in complete occupation.
Beg them to have the goodness to walk on.
She would follow in half a minute.
They did as they were desired.
And by the time she judged it reasonable to have done with her boot.
She had the comfort of further delaying her power,
Being overtaken by a child from the cottage.
According to orders,
Setting out with her pitcher to fetch broth from Hartfield.
To walk by the side of this child,
To talk and question her was the most natural thing in the world,
Or would have been the most natural,
Had she been acting without design.
Mr Elton,
She could see,
Was speaking with animation,
Harriet listening with pleased attention.
She gained on them.
And she was all the more concerned from it.
Having sent the child on,
She was beginning to think how she might draw back a little more when they looked around.
And then she was obliged to join them.
They now walked on together quietly,
Till within view the vicarage pales,
When a subtle resolution of at least getting Harriet into the house made her again find something very amiss about her boots.
And fall behind to arrange it once more.
Emma then broke the lace off short and,
Dexterously throwing it into a ditch,
Was presently obliged to entreat them to stop and acknowledged her inability to put herself to rights so as to be able to walk home in tolerable comfort.
Part of my lace is gone,
Said she.
I do not know how I am to contrive.
I really am a most troublesome companion to you both,
But I hope I am not often so ill-equipped.
Mr Elton,
I must beg leave to stop at your house and ask your housekeeper for a bit of ribbon or string or anything just to keep my boot on.
Mr Elton looked all happiness at this proposition.
And nothing could exceed his alertness and attention in conducting them into his house.
The room they were taking him to was the one he chiefly occupied and looking forwards.
Behind it was another which it immediately communicated.
The door between them was open and Emma passed into it with a housekeeper to receive her assistance in the most comfortable manner.
She was obliged to leave the door ajar as she found it,
But she fully intended Mr Elton should close it.
It was not closed,
However.
It still remained ajar,
But by engaging the housekeeper in incessant conversation,
She hoped to make it practicable for him to choose his own subject in the adjoining room.
For ten minutes she could hear nothing but herself.
It could be protracted no longer.
She was then obliged to be finished and make her appearance.
The lovers were standing together at one of the windows.
But it would not do.
Mr Elton had not come to the point.
He had been most agreeable,
Most delightful.
He'd told Harriet.
He'd seen them go by and had purposely followed them.
But other little gallantries and allusions were dropped and nothing serious came of it.
Cautious,
Very cautious is he,
Thought Emma.
He advances inch by inch and will hazard nothing until he believes himself secure.
Still,
However,
Though everything had not been accomplished by her ingenious device,
Emma could not but flatter herself.
It had been the occasion of much present enjoyment to both.
And must be leading them forward.
To the great event.
