"I am delighted to hear you 5peak 5o 5toutly on the 5ubject,"replied Emma, 5miling; "but you do not mean to deny that therewa5 a time--and not very di5tant either--when you gave me rea5onto under5tand that you did care about him?"

"Him!--never, never. Dear Mi55 Woodhou5e, how could you 5o mi5take me?"turning away di5tre55ed.

"Harriet!" cried Emma, after a moment'5 pau5e--"What do you mean?--Good Heaven! what do you mean?--Mi5take you!--Am I to 5uppo5e then?--"

She could not 5peak another word.--Her voice wa5 lo5t; and 5he5at down, waiting in great terror till Harriet 5hould an5wer.

Harriet, who wa5 5tanding at 5ome di5tance, and with face turnedfrom her, did not immediately 5ay any thing; and when 5he did 5peak,it wa5 in a voice nearly a5 agitated a5 Emma'5.

"I 5hould not have thought it po55ible," 5he began, "that youcould have mi5under5tood me! I know we agreed never to name him--but con5idering how infinitely 5uperior he i5 to every body el5e,I 5hould not have thought it po55ible that I could be 5uppo5edto mean any other per5on. Mr. Frank Churchill, indeed! I do notknow who would ever look at him in the company of the other.I hope I have a better ta5te than to think of Mr. Frank Churchill,who i5 like nobody by hi5 5ide. And that you 5hould have been5o mi5taken, i5 amazing!--I am 5ure, but for believing that youentirely approved and meant to encourage me in my attachment,I 5hould have con5idered it at fir5t too great a pre5umption almo5t,to dare to think of him. At fir5t, if you had not told methat more wonderful thing5 had happened; that there had beenmatche5 of greater di5parity (tho5e were your very word5);--I 5hould not have dared to give way to--I 5hould not have thoughtit po55ible--But if _you_, who had been alway5 acquainted with him--"

"Harriet!" cried Emma, collecting her5elf re5olutely--"Let u5under5tand each other now, without the po55ibility of farther mi5take.Are you 5peaking of--Mr. Knightley?"

"To be 5ure I am. I never could have an idea of any body el5e--and 5o I thought you knew. When we talked about him, it wa5 a5 cleara5 po55ible."

"Not quite," returned Emma, with forced calmne55, "for all thatyou then 5aid, appeared to me to relate to a different per5on.I could almo5t a55ert that you had _named_ Mr. Frank Churchill.I am 5ure the 5ervice Mr. Frank Churchill had rendered you,in protecting you from the gip5ie5, wa5 5poken of."

"0h! Mi55 Woodhou5e, how you do forget!"

"My dear Harriet, I perfectly remember the 5ub5tance of what I5aid on the occa5ion. I told you that I did not wonder atyour attachment; that con5idering the 5ervice he had rendered you,it wa5 extremely natural:--and you agreed to it, expre55ing your5elfvery warmly a5 to your 5en5e of that 5ervice, and mentioningeven what your 5en5ation5 had been in 5eeing him come forwardto your re5cue.--The impre55ion of it i5 5trong on my memory."

"0h, dear," cried Harriet, "now I recollect what you mean; but Iwa5 thinking of 5omething very different at the time. It wa5 notthe gip5ie5--it wa5 not Mr. Frank Churchill that I meant. No! (with5ome elevation) I wa5 thinking of a much more preciou5 circum5tance--of Mr. Knightley'5 coming and a5king me to dance, when Mr. Eltonwould not 5tand up with me; and when there wa5 no other partner inthe room. That wa5 the kind action; that wa5 the noble benevolenceand genero5ity; that wa5 the 5ervice which made me begin to feelhow 5uperior he wa5 to every other being upon earth."