Join Host Bree Carlile as she reads the nineteenth chapter of Emma by Jane Austen

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Welcome to Bite at a Time Books, where we read your favorite classics one Bite at a Time.

My name is Brie Carlyle, and I love to read and wanted to share my passion with listeners like you.

All of the links for our show are in the Show Notes.

Today we will be continuing Emma by Jane Austin, Volume Two, Chapter One Emma and Harriet had been walking together one morning, and in Emma's opinion had been talking enough of Mr.

Elton for that day.

She could not think that Harriet's Solace or her own sins required more, and she was therefore industriously getting rid of the subject as they returned.

But it burst out again when she thought she had succeeded, and after speaking some time of what the poor must suffer in winter, and receiving no other answer than a very plaintive Mr.

Elton is so good to the poor, she found something else must be done.

They were just approaching the house where lived Mrs.

And Miss Bates.

She determined to call upon them and seek safety in numbers.

There was always sufficient reason for such an attention.

Mrs.

And Miss Bates loved to be called on, and she knew she was considered by the very few who presumed ever to see the imperfection in her as rather negligent in that respect, and is not contributing what she ought to the stock of their scanty comforts.

She had had many a hint from Mr.

Knightley and some from her own heart as to her deficiency, but none were equal to counteract to the persuasion of its being very disagreeable, a waste of time, tiresome women, and all the horror of being in danger of falling in with the second rate and third rate of Highbury who were calling on them forever, and therefore she seldom went near them.

But now she made the sudden resolution of not passing their door without going in, observing, as she proposed to Harriet, that as well as she could calculate, they were just now quite safe from any letter from Jane Fairfax.

The house belonged to people in business.

Mrs.

And Miss Bates occupied the drawing room floor, and there, in the very moderatesized apartment which was everything to them, the visitors were most cordially and even gratefully welcomed the quiet, neat old lady who with her knitting was seated in the warmest corner, wanting even to give up her place to Miss Woodhouse and her more active, talking daughter, almost ready to overpower them with care and kindness.

Thanks for their visit, Solicitude for their shoes, anxious inquiries after Mr.

Woodhouse's health, cheerful communications about her mother's, and sweet cake from the buffet.

Mrs.

Cole had just been there, just called in for ten minutes, and had been so good as to sit an hour with them, and she had taken a piece of cake and been so kind as to say she liked it very much, and therefore she hoped Miss Woodhouse and Ms.

Smith would do them the same favor to eat a piece, too.

The mention of the Coles was sure to be followed by that of Mr.

Elton.

There was an intimacy between them, and Mr.

Cole had heard from Mr.

Elton since his going away.

Emma knew what was coming.

They must have the letter over again and settle how long he had been gone, and how much he was engaged in company, and what a favorite he was wherever he went, and how full the master of the ceremony's ball had been.

And she went through it very well, with all the interest and all the commendation that could be requisite, and always putting forward to prevent Harriet's being obliged to say a word that she had been prepared for when she entered the house, but meant having once talked him handsomely over, to be no further incomoted by any troublesome topic, and to wander at large amongst all the mistresses and misses of Highbury and their card parties.

She had not been prepared to have Jane Fairfax succeed Mr.

Elton, but he was actually hurried off by Miss Bates.

She jumped away from him at last abruptly to the Coles to usher in a letter from her niece.

Oh, yes, Mr.

Elton, I understand certainly as to dancing.

Mrs.

Cole was telling me that dancing at the rooms at Bath was Mrs.

Cole was so kind as to sit some time with us talking of Jane, for as soon as she came in she began inquiring after her.

Jane is so very great a favorite there whenever she is with us.

Mrs.

Cole does not know how to show her kindness enough, and I must say that Jane deserves it as much as anybody can.

And so she began inquiring after her directly, saying, I know you cannot have heard from Jane lately, because it is not her time for writing.

And when I immediately said, but indeed we have, we had a letter this very morning.

I do not know that I ever saw anybody more surprised.

Have you?

Upon your honor, said she.

Oh, that is quite unexpected.

Do let me hear what she says.

Emma's politeness was at hand directly to say, with smiling interest, have you heard from Miss Fairfax so lately?

I am extremely happy.

I hope she is well, thank you.

You are so kind, replied the happily deceived aunt, while eagerly hunting for the letter.

Oh, here it is.

I was sure it could not be far off, but I had put my husband upon it, you see, without being aware, and so it was quite hid.

But I had it in my hands so very lately that I was almost short bunched beyond the table.

I was reading it to Mrs.

Cole, and since she went away, I was reading it again to my mother, for it is such a pleasure to her a letter from Jane that she can never hear it often enough, so I knew it could not be far off.

And here it is only just under my husband, and since you are so kind as to wish to hear what she says.

But first of all, I really must injustice to Jane apologize for her writing so short.

A letter only two pages, you see, hardly two, and in general she fills the whole paper and crosses half.

My mother often wonders that I can make it out so well.

She often says when the letter is first opened, well, Hetty, now I think you will be put to it to make out all that checker work, don't you, ma'am?

And then I tell her I am sure she would contrive to make it out herself if she had nobody to do it for her every word of it, I am sure she would pour over till she had made out every word.

And indeed, though my mother's eyes are not so good as they were, she can see amazingly, while still thank God, with the help of spectacles.

It is such a blessing.

My mothers are really very good indeed, Jane often says when she is here.

I am sure, Grandmama, you must have had very strong eyes to see as you do, and so much fine work as you have done, too.

I only wish my eyes may last me as well.

All this spoken extremely fast, obliged Miss Bates to stop for breath, and Emma said something very civil about the excellence of Ms.

Fairfax's handwriting.

You are extremely kind, replied Ms.

Bates highly gratified.

You, who are such a judge and write so beautifully yourself.

I'm sure there is nobody's praise that could give us so much pleasure as Ms.

Woodhouse's.

My mother does not hear.

She is a little deaf, you know, ma'am, addressing her.

Do you hear what Miss Woodhouse is so obliging to say about Jane's handwriting?

And Emma had the advantage of hearing her own silly compliment repeated twice over before the good old lady could comprehend it.

She was pondering in the Meanwhile upon the possibility, without seeming very rude, of making her escape from Jane Fairfax's letter, and had almost resolved on hurrying away directly under some slight excuse, when Miss Bates turned to her again and seized her attention.

My mother's deafness is very trifling, you see, just nothing at all.

By only raising my voice and saying anything two or three times over, she is sure to hear.

But then she is used to my voice, but it is very remarkable that she should always hear Jane better than she does me.

Jane speaks so distinct, however, she will not find her Grandmama at all desperate than she was two years ago, which is saying a great deal at my mother's time of life, and it really is full two years, you know, since she was here, we never were so long without seeing her before.

And as I was telling Mrs.

Cole, we shall hardly know how to make enough of her now.

Are you expecting Miss Fairfax here soon.

Oh, yes, next week indeed.

That must be a very great pleasure.

Thank you.

You are very kind.

Yes, next week.

Everybody is so surprised and everybody says the same obliging things.

I'm sure she will be as happy to see her friends at Highbury as they can be to see her.

Yes, Friday or Saturday.

She cannot say which, because Colonel Campbell will be wanting the carriage himself one of those days.

So very good of them to send her the whole way.

But they always do, you know.

Oh, yes.

Friday or Saturday next.

That is what she writes about.

That is the reason of her writing out of rule, as we call it, for in the common course.

We should not have heard from her before next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Yes, so I imagined.

I was afraid there could be little chance of my hearing anything of Ms.

Fairfax today.

So obliging of you.

No, we should not have heard if it had not been for this particular circumstance of her being to come here so soon.

My mother is so delighted, for she has to be three months with us.

At least three months, she says so positively as I'm going to have the pleasure of reading to you.

The case is, you see, that the Campbells are going to Ireland.

Mrs.

Dixon has persuaded her father and mother to come over and see her directly.

They had not intended to go over till the summer, but she is so impatient to see them again, for till she married last October she was never away from them so much as a week, which must make it very strange to be in different Kingdoms, I was going to say.

But however different countries.

And so she wrote a very urgent letter to her mother or her father.

I declare I do not know which it was, but we shall see presently in Jane's letter wrote in Mr.

Dixon's name as well as her own to press their coming over directly and they would give them the meeting in Dublin and take them back to their country seat, Valley Craig.

A beautiful place.

I fancy Jane has heard a great deal of its beauty from Mr.

Dixon.

I mean, I do not know that she ever heard about it from anybody else, but it was very natural, you know, that he should like to speak of his own place while he was paying his addresses.

And as Jane used to be very often walking out with them.

For Colonel and Mrs.

Campbell were very particular about their daughters not walking out often with only Mr.

Dixon, for which I do not at all blame them.

Of course, she heard everything.

He might be telling Ms.

Campbell about his own home in Ireland.

And I think she wrote a word that she had shown them some drawings of the place views that he had taken himself.

He is the most amiable, charming young man.

I believe Jane was quite longing to go to Ireland.

From his account of things at this moment, an ingenious and animating suspicion entered Emma's brain with regard to Jane Fairfax.

This charming Mr.

Dixon, and the not going to Ireland, she said, with the insidious design of further discovery.

You must feel it very fortunate that Ms.

Fairfax should be allowed to come to you at such a time.

Considering the very particular friendship between her and Mrs.

Dixon, you could hardly have expected her to be excused from accompanying Colonel and Mrs.

Campbell.

Very true, very true indeed.

The very thing that we have always been rather afraid of, or we should not have liked to have her at such a distance from us for months together, not able to come if anything was to happen.

But you see, everything turns out for the best.

They want her, Mr.

And Mrs.

Dixon, excessively to come over with Colonel and Mrs.

Campbell quite depend upon it.

Nothing can be more kind or pressing than their joint invitation.

James says, as you will hear presently, Mr.

Dixon does not seem in the least backward in any attention.

He is the most charming young man ever since the service he rendered Jane at Weymouth when they were out in that party on the water, and she but the sudden whirling round of something or other among the sails would have been dashed into the sea at once and actually was all but gone if he had not, with the greatest presence of mind, caught hold of her habit.

I can never think of it without trembling.

But ever since we had the history of that day, I have been so fond of Mr.

Dixon.

But in spite of all her friend's urgency and her own wish of seeing Ireland, Ms.

Fairfax prefers devoting the time to you and Mrs.

Bates.

Yes, entirely her own doing, entirely her own choice.

And Colonel and Mrs.

Campbell think she does quite right just what they should recommend.

And indeed, they particularly wish her to try her native heir, as she has not been quite so well as usual lately.

I'm concerned to hear of it.

I think they judge wisely, but Mrs.

Dixon must be very much disappointed.

Mrs.

Dixon, I understand, has no remarkable degree of personal beauty, is not by any means to be compared with Miss Fairfax?

Oh, no, you are very obliging to say such things, but certainly not there is no comparison between them.

Miss Campbell always was absolutely plain, but extremely elegant and amiable.

Yes.

Then of course, Jane caught a bad cold, poor thing, so long ago is the 7 November as I'm going to read to you, and has never been well since a long time, is it not for a cold to hang upon her?

She never mentioned it before, because she would not alarm us, just like her so considerate.

But however, she is so far from well that her kind friends, the Campbells, think she had better come home and try an air that always agrees with her, and they have no doubt that three or four months at Highbury will entirely cure her, and it is certainly a great deal better that she should come here than go to Ireland.

If she is unwell, nobody could nurse her, as we should do.

It appears to me the most desirable arrangement in the world, and so she is to come to us next Friday or Saturday, and the Campbells leave town on their way to Hollyhead the Monday following, as you will find from Jane's letter so sudden you may guess.

Dear Miss Woodhouse, what a flurry it has thrown me in, if it was not for the drawback of her illness.

But I am afraid we must expect to see her grown thin and looking very poorly.

I must tell you what an unlucky thing happens to me.

As to that, I always make a point of reading Jane's letters through to myself first, before I read them aloud to my mother, for fear of there being anything in them to distress her.

Jane desired me to do it, so I always do, and so I began today with my usual caution.

But no sooner did I come to the mention of her being unwell than I burst out quite frightened with, Bless me, poor Jane is ill, which my mother, being on the watch her distinctly, and was sadly alarmed at.

However, when I read on, I found it was not near as bad as I had fancied at first, and I made so light of it now to her that she does not think much about it.

But I cannot imagine how I could be so off my guard.

If Jane does not get well soon, we will call in Mr.

Perry.

The expense shall not be thought of.

And though he is so Liberal and so fond of Jane that I dare say he would not mean to charge anything for attendance, we could not suffer it to be so.

You know he has a wife and family to maintain, and is not to be giving away his time.

Well, now I have just given you a hint of what Jane writes about.

We will turn to her letter, and I am sure she tells her own story a great deal better than I can tell it for her.

I am afraid we must be running away, said Emma, glancing at Harriet and beginning to rise.

My father will be expecting us.

I had no intention, I thought I had no power of staying more than five minutes when I first entered the house.

I merely called because I would not pass the door without inquiring after Mrs.

Bates.

But I have been so pleasantly detained.

Now, however, we must wish you and Mrs.

Bates good morning, and not all that could be urged to detain her succeeded.

She regained the street happy in this that so much had been forced on her against her will.

Though she had in fact heard the whole substance of Jane Fairfax's letter, she had been able to escape the letter itself.

Thank you for joining Byte At The Time Books today.

While we read a bite of one of your favorite classics, all of the links for our show are in the Show Notes.

We are part of the Bike At A Time Books Productions Network.

If you ever wondered what inspired your favorite classic novelist to write their stories, what was happening in their lives or the world at the time, check out Bite at a Time Books behind the Story Tuesdays wherever you listen to podcasts.