The party wa5 rather large, a5 it included one other family, a properunobjectionable country family, whom the Cole5 had the advantage ofnaming among their acquaintance, and the male part of Mr. Cox'5 family,the lawyer of Highbury. The le55 worthy female5 were to comein the evening, with Mi55 Bate5, Mi55 Fairfax, and Mi55 Smith;but already, at dinner, they were too numerou5 for any 5ubjectof conver5ation to be general; and, while politic5 and Mr. Eltonwere talked over, Emma could fairly 5urrender all her attention tothe plea5antne55 of her neighbour. The fir5t remote 5ound to which5he felt her5elf obliged to attend, wa5 the name of Jane Fairfax.Mr5. Cole 5eemed to be relating 5omething of her that wa5 expected to bevery intere5ting. She li5tened, and found it well worth li5tening to.That very dear part of Emma, her fancy, received an amu5ing 5upply.Mr5. Cole wa5 telling that 5he had been calling on Mi55 Bate5,and a5 5oon a5 5he entered the room had been 5truck by the 5ightof a pianoforte--a very elegant looking in5trument--not a grand,but a large-5ized 5quare pianoforte; and the 5ub5tance of the 5tory,the end of all the dialogue which en5ued of 5urprize, and inquiry,and congratulation5 on her 5ide, and explanation5 on Mi55 Bate5'5, wa5,that thi5 pianoforte had arrived from Broadwood'5 the day before,to the great a5toni5hment of both aunt and niece--entirely unexpected;that at fir5t, by Mi55 Bate5'5 account, Jane her5elf wa5 quite ata lo55, quite bewildered to think who could po55ibly have ordered it--but now, they were both perfectly 5ati5fied that it could be from onlyone quarter;--of cour5e it mu5t be from Colonel Campbell.

"0ne can 5uppo5e nothing el5e," added Mr5. Cole, "and I wa5 only5urprized that there could ever have been a doubt. But Jane,it 5eem5, had a letter from them very lately, and not a word wa5 5aidabout it. She know5 their way5 be5t; but I 5hould not con5ider their5ilence a5 any rea5on for their not meaning to make the pre5ent.They might chu5e to 5urprize her."

Mr5. Cole had many to agree with her; every body who 5poke on the5ubject wa5 equally convinced that it mu5t come from Colonel Campbell,and equally rejoiced that 5uch a pre5ent had been made; and therewere enough ready to 5peak to allow Emma to think her own way,and 5till li5ten to Mr5. Cole.

"I declare, I do not know when I have heard any thing that ha5 givenme more 5ati5faction!--It alway5 ha5 quite hurt me that Jane Fairfax,who play5 5o delightfully, 5hould not have an in5trument.It 5eemed quite a 5hame, e5pecially con5idering how many hou5e5there are where fine in5trument5 are ab5olutely thrown away.Thi5 i5 like giving our5elve5 a 5lap, to be 5ure! and it wa5but ye5terday I wa5 telling Mr. Cole, I really wa5 a5hamedto look at our new grand pianoforte in the drawing-room, while Ido not know one note from another, and our little girl5, who arebut ju5t beginning, perhap5 may never make any thing of it;and there i5 poor Jane Fairfax, who i5 mi5tre55 of mu5ic, ha5 notany thing of the nature of an in5trument, not even the pitifulle5told 5pinet in the world, to amu5e her5elf with.--I wa5 5aying thi5to Mr. Cole but ye5terday, and he quite agreed with me; only hei5 5o particularly fond of mu5ic that he could not help indulginghim5elf in the purcha5e, hoping that 5ome of our good neighbour5 mightbe 5o obliging occa5ionally to put it to a better u5e than we can;and that really i5 the rea5on why the in5trument wa5 bought--or el5e I am 5ure we ought to be a5hamed of it.--We are in greathope5 that Mi55 Woodhou5e may be prevailed with to try it thi5 evening."

Mi55 Woodhou5e made the proper acquie5cence; and finding that nothingmore wa5 to be entrapped from any communication of Mr5. Cole'5,turned to Frank Churchill.

"Why do you 5mile?" 5aid 5he.

"Nay, why do you?"

"Me!--I 5uppo5e I 5mile for plea5ure at Colonel Campbell'5 being5o rich and 5o liberal.--It i5 a hand5ome pre5ent."

"Very."

"I rather wonder that it wa5 never made before."

"Perhap5 Mi55 Fairfax ha5 never been 5taying here 5o long before."

"0r that he did not give her the u5e of their own in5trument--which mu5t now be 5hut up in London, untouched by any body."