ow obliged to part with
Miss Taylor, too.

He was pitying "poor Miss Taylor," and magnifying the half-mile's
distance that separated Hartfield from Mr. Weston's place, Randalls,
when a visitor walked in. This was Mr. George Knightley, the elder
brother of Isabella's husband, and the owner of Donwell Abbey, the large
estate of the district. He was a sensible man, about seven or eight and
thirty, a very old and intimate friend of the family, and a frequent and
always welcome visitor. He had returned to a late dinner after some
days' absence in London, and had walked up to Hartfield to say that all
was well with their relatives in Brunswick Square. They talked of the
wedding. Emma congratulated herself on having made the match. Mr.
Knightley demurred to this, remarking: "A straightforward, open-hearted
man, like Weston, and a rational, unaffected woman, like Miss Taylor,
may be safely left to manage their own concerns." And when Emma, in
reply to entreaties from her father to make no more matches, answered,
"Only one more, papa; only for Mr. Elton--you like Mr. Elton, papa; I
must look about for a wife for him"--her old friend gave her the
salutary advice: "Invite him to dinner, Emma, and help him to the best
of the fish and the chicken; but leave him to choose his own wife.
Depend upon it, a man of six or seven and twenty can take care of
himself."

_II.--Emma as a Matchmaker_

Emma lost no time in developing her schemes for the happiness of Mr.
Elton. Through Mrs. Goddard, the mistress of the local boarding-school
for girls, she struck up an acquaintance, which she contrived rapidly to
develop into intimacy, with a Miss Harriet Smith--a plump, fair-haired,
blue-eyed little beauty of seventeen, whose prettiness, docility,
good-temper and simplicity might be allowed to balance her lack of
intelligence and information.

Harriet was the natural daughter of somebody. Somebody had placed her
several years back at Mrs. Goddard's school, and somebody had lately
raised her from the condition of scholar to that of parlour-boarder.
This was all that was generally known of her history. She had no visible
friends but what had been acquired at Highbury, and was now just
returned from a long visit in the country to some young ladies--the
Misses Martin--who had been at school there with her.

The first step which Emma took in the education of Harriet was to cool
her interest in the Martins. She pointed out that Mr. Robert Mart