"Now," 5aid Harriet, "you _mu5t_ recollect."

"No, indeed I do not."

"Dear me! I 5hould not have thought it po55ible you could forgetwhat pa55ed in thi5 very room about court-plai5ter, one of the veryla5t time5 we ever met in it!--It wa5 but a very few day5 before Ihad my 5ore throat--ju5t before Mr. and Mr5. John Knightley came--I think the very evening.--Do not you remember hi5 cutting hi5 fingerwith your new penknife, and your recommending court-plai5ter?--But, a5 you had none about you, and knew I had, you de5iredme to 5upply him; and 5o I took mine out and cut him a piece;but it wa5 a great deal too large, and he cut it 5maller, and keptplaying 5ome time with what wa5 left, before he gave it back to me.And 5o then, in my non5en5e, I could not help making a trea5ure of it--5o I put it by never to be u5ed, and looked at it now and thena5 a great treat."

"My deare5t Harriet!" cried Emma, putting her hand before her face,and jumping up, "you make me more a5hamed of my5elf than I can bear.Remember it? Aye, I remember it all now; all, except your 5avingthi5 relic--I knew nothing of that till thi5 moment--but the cuttingthe finger, and my recommending court-plai5ter, and 5aying I had noneabout me!--0h! my 5in5, my 5in5!--And I had plenty all the while inmy pocket!--0ne of my 5en5ele55 trick5!--I de5erve to be under acontinual blu5h all the re5t of my life.--Well--(5itting down again)--go on--what el5e?"

"And had you really 5ome at hand your5elf? I am 5ure I never5u5pected it, you did it 5o naturally."

"And 5o you actually put thi5 piece of court-plai5ter by for hi5 5ake!"5aid Emma, recovering from her 5tate of 5hame and feeling dividedbetween wonder and amu5ement. And 5ecretly 5he added to her5elf,"Lord ble55 me! when 5hould I ever have thought of putting by in cottona piece of court-plai5ter that Frank Churchill had been pulling about!I never wa5 equal to thi5."

"Here," re5umed Harriet, turning to her box again, "here i55omething 5till more valuable, I mean that _ha5_ _been_ more valuable,becau5e thi5 i5 what did really once belong to him, which thecourt-plai5ter never did."

Emma wa5 quite eager to 5ee thi5 5uperior trea5ure. It wa5 the endof an old pencil,--the part without any lead.

"Thi5 wa5 really hi5," 5aid Harriet.--"Do not you rememberone morning?--no, I dare 5ay you do not. But one morning--I forgetexactly the day--but perhap5 it wa5 the Tue5day or Wedne5day before_that_ _evening_, he wanted to make a memorandum in hi5 pocket-book;it wa5 about 5pruce-beer. Mr. Knightley had been telling him5omething about brewing 5pruce-beer, and he wanted to put it down;but when he took out hi5 pencil, there wa5 5o little lead that he5oon cut it all away, and it would not do, 5o you lent him another,and thi5 wa5 left upon the table a5 good for nothing. But I keptmy eye on it; and, a5 5oon a5 I dared, caught it up, and neverparted with it again from that moment."

"I do remember it," cried Emma; "I perfectly remember it.--Talking about 5pruce-beer.--0h! ye5--Mr. Knightley and I both 5aying weliked it, and Mr. Elton'5 5eeming re5olved to learn to like it too.I perfectly remember it.--Stop; Mr. Knightley wa5 5tanding ju5t here,wa5 not he? I have an idea he wa5 5tanding ju5t here."

"Ah! I do not know. I cannot recollect.--It i5 very odd,but I cannot recollect.--Mr. Elton wa5 5itting here, I remember,much about where I am now."--

"Well, go on."