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VOLUME II
CHAPTER XVII
When the ladies returned to the drawing- room after dinner, Emma found it hardly
possible to prevent their making two distinct parties;--with so much
perseverance in judging and behaving ill
did Mrs. Elton engross Jane Fairfax and slight herself.
She and Mrs. Weston were obliged to be almost always either talking together or
silent together.
Mrs. Elton left them no choice.
If Jane repressed her for a little time, she soon began again; and though much that
passed between them was in a half-whisper, especially on Mrs. Elton's side, there was
no avoiding a knowledge of their principal
subjects: The post-office--catching cold-- fetching letters--and friendship, were long
under discussion; and to them succeeded one, which must be at least equally
unpleasant to Jane--inquiries whether she
had yet heard of any situation likely to suit her, and professions of Mrs. Elton's
meditated activity. "Here is April come!" said she, "I get
quite anxious about you.
June will soon be here." "But I have never fixed on June or any
other month--merely looked forward to the summer in general."
"But have you really heard of nothing?"
"I have not even made any inquiry; I do not wish to make any yet."
"Oh! my dear, we cannot begin too early; you are not aware of the difficulty of
procuring exactly the desirable thing."
"I not aware!" said Jane, shaking her head; "dear Mrs. Elton, who can have thought of
it as I have done?" "But you have not seen so much of the world
as I have.
You do not know how many candidates there always are for the first situations.
I saw a vast deal of that in the neighbourhood round Maple Grove.
A cousin of Mr. Suckling, Mrs. Bragge, had such an infinity of applications; every
body was anxious to be in her family, for she moves in the first circle.
Wax-candles in the schoolroom!
You may imagine how desirable! Of all houses in the kingdom Mrs. Bragge's
is the one I would most wish to see you in."
"Colonel and Mrs. Campbell are to be in town again by midsummer," said Jane.
"I must spend some time with them; I am sure they will want it;--afterwards I may
probably be glad to dispose of myself.
But I would not wish you to take the trouble of making any inquiries at
present." "Trouble! aye, I know your scruples.
You are afraid of giving me trouble; but I assure you, my dear Jane, the Campbells can
hardly be more interested about you than I am.
I shall write to Mrs. Partridge in a day or two, and shall give her a strict charge to
be on the look-out for any thing eligible."
"Thank you, but I would rather you did not mention the subject to her; till the time
draws nearer, I do not wish to be giving any body trouble."
"But, my dear child, the time is drawing near; here is April, and June, or say even
July, is very near, with such business to accomplish before us.
Your inexperience really amuses me!
A situation such as you deserve, and your friends would require for you, is no
everyday occurrence, is not obtained at a moment's notice; indeed, indeed, we must
begin inquiring directly."
"Excuse me, ma'am, but this is by no means my intention; I make no inquiry myself, and
should be sorry to have any made by my friends.
When I am quite determined as to the time, I am not at all afraid of being long
unemployed.
There are places in town, offices, where inquiry would soon produce something--
Offices for the sale--not quite of human flesh--but of human intellect."
"Oh! my dear, human flesh!
You quite shock me; if you mean a fling at the slave-trade, I assure you Mr. Suckling
was always rather a friend to the abolition."
"I did not mean, I was not thinking of the slave-trade," replied Jane; "governess-
trade, I assure you, was all that I had in view; widely different certainly as to the
guilt of those who carry it on; but as to
the greater misery of the victims, I do not know where it lies.
But I only mean to say that there are advertising offices, and that by applying
to them I should have no doubt of very soon meeting with something that would do."
"Something that would do!" repeated Mrs. Elton.
"Aye, that may suit your humble ideas of yourself;--I know what a modest creature
you are; but it will not satisfy your friends to have you taking up with any
thing that may offer, any inferior,
commonplace situation, in a family not moving in a certain circle, or able to
command the elegancies of life."
"You are very obliging; but as to all that, I am very indifferent; it would be no
object to me to be with the rich; my mortifications, I think, would only be the
greater; I should suffer more from comparison.
A gentleman's family is all that I should condition for."
"I know you, I know you; you would take up with any thing; but I shall be a little
more nice, and I am sure the good Campbells will be quite on my side; with your
superior talents, you have a right to move in the first circle.
Your musical knowledge alone would entitle you to name your own terms, have as many
rooms as you like, and mix in the family as much as you chose;--that is--I do not know-
-if you knew the harp, you might do all
that, I am very sure; but you sing as well as play;--yes, I really believe you might,
even without the harp, stipulate for what you chose;--and you must and shall be
delightfully, honourably and comfortably
settled before the Campbells or I have any rest."
"You may well class the delight, the honour, and the comfort of such a situation
together," said Jane, "they are pretty sure to be equal; however, I am very serious in
not wishing any thing to be attempted at present for me.
I am exceedingly obliged to you, Mrs. Elton, I am obliged to any body who feels
for me, but I am quite serious in wishing nothing to be done till the summer.
For two or three months longer I shall remain where I am, and as I am."
"And I am quite serious too, I assure you," replied Mrs. Elton gaily, "in resolving to
be always on the watch, and employing my friends to watch also, that nothing really
unexceptionable may pass us."
In this style she ran on; never thoroughly stopped by any thing till Mr. Woodhouse
came into the room; her vanity had then a change of object, and Emma heard her saying
in the same half-whisper to Jane,
"Here comes this dear old beau of mine, I protest!--Only think of his gallantry in
coming away before the other men!--what a dear creature he is;--I assure you I like
him excessively.
I admire all that quaint, old-fashioned politeness; it is much more to my taste
than modern ease; modern ease often disgusts me.
But this good old Mr. Woodhouse, I wish you had heard his gallant speeches to me at
dinner. Oh! I assure you I began to think my caro
sposo would be absolutely jealous.
I fancy I am rather a favourite; he took notice of my gown.
How do you like it?--Selina's choice-- handsome, I think, but I do not know
whether it is not over-trimmed; I have the greatest dislike to the idea of being over-
trimmed--quite a horror of finery.
I must put on a few ornaments now, because it is expected of me.
A bride, you know, must appear like a bride, but my natural taste is all for
simplicity; a simple style of dress is so infinitely preferable to finery.
But I am quite in the minority, I believe; few people seem to value simplicity of
dress,--show and finery are every thing.
I have some notion of putting such a trimming as this to my white and silver
poplin. Do you think it will look well?"
The whole party were but just reassembled in the drawing-room when Mr. Weston made
his appearance among them. He had returned to a late dinner, and
walked to Hartfield as soon as it was over.
He had been too much expected by the best judges, for surprize--but there was great
joy.
Mr. Woodhouse was almost as glad to see him now, as he would have been sorry to see him
before.
John Knightley only was in mute astonishment.--That a man who might have
spent his evening quietly at home after a day of business in London, should set off
again, and walk half a mile to another
man's house, for the sake of being in mixed company till bed-time, of finishing his day
in the efforts of civility and the noise of numbers, was a circumstance to strike him
deeply.
A man who had been in motion since eight o'clock in the morning, and might now have
been still, who had been long talking, and might have been silent, who had been in
more than one crowd, and might have been
alone!--Such a man, to quit the tranquillity and independence of his own
fireside, and on the evening of a cold sleety April day rush out again into the
world!--Could he by a touch of his finger
have instantly taken back his wife, there would have been a motive; but his coming
would probably prolong rather than break up the party.
John Knightley looked at him with amazement, then shrugged his shoulders, and
said, "I could not have believed it even of him."
Mr. Weston meanwhile, perfectly unsuspicious of the indignation he was
exciting, happy and cheerful as usual, and with all the right of being principal
talker, which a day spent anywhere from
home confers, was making himself agreeable among the rest; and having satisfied the
inquiries of his wife as to his dinner, convincing her that none of all her careful
directions to the servants had been
forgotten, and spread abroad what public news he had heard, was proceeding to a
family communication, which, though principally addressed to Mrs. Weston, he
had not the smallest doubt of being highly interesting to every body in the room.
He gave her a letter, it was from Frank, and to herself; he had met with it in his
way, and had taken the liberty of opening it.
"Read it, read it," said he, "it will give you pleasure; only a few lines--will not
take you long; read it to Emma."
The two ladies looked over it together; and he sat smiling and talking to them the
whole time, in a voice a little subdued, but very audible to every body.
"Well, he is coming, you see; good news, I think.
Well, what do you say to it?--I always told you he would be here again soon, did not
I?--Anne, my dear, did not I always tell you so, and you would not believe me?--In
town next week, you see--at the latest, I
dare say; for she is as impatient as the black gentleman when any thing is to be
done; most likely they will be there to- morrow or Saturday.
As to her illness, all nothing of course.
But it is an excellent thing to have Frank among us again, so near as town.
They will stay a good while when they do come, and he will be half his time with us.
This is precisely what I wanted.
Well, pretty good news, is not it? Have you finished it?
Has Emma read it all?
Put it up, put it up; we will have a good talk about it some other time, but it will
not do now. I shall only just mention the circumstance
to the others in a common way."
Mrs. Weston was most comfortably pleased on the occasion.
Her looks and words had nothing to restrain them.
She was happy, she knew she was happy, and knew she ought to be happy.
Her congratulations were warm and open; but Emma could not speak so fluently.
She was a little occupied in weighing her own feelings, and trying to understand the
degree of her agitation, which she rather thought was considerable.
Mr. Weston, however, too eager to be very observant, too communicative to want others
to talk, was very well satisfied with what she did say, and soon moved away to make
the rest of his friends happy by a partial
communication of what the whole room must have overheard already.
It was well that he took every body's joy for granted, or he might not have thought
either Mr. Woodhouse or Mr. Knightley particularly delighted.
They were the first entitled, after Mrs. Weston and Emma, to be made happy;--from
them he would have proceeded to Miss Fairfax, but she was so deep in
conversation with John Knightley, that it
would have been too positive an interruption; and finding himself close to
Mrs. Elton, and her attention disengaged, he necessarily began on the subject with
her.