I did not see you before. I hear you have a charming collection of new ribbons from town. Jane came back delighted yesterday. Thanks ye, the gloves do very well—-only a little too large about the wrist; but Jane is taking them in.”

“What was I talking of?” said she, beginning again when they were all in the street.

Emma wondered on what, of all the medley, she would fix.

“I declare I cannot recollect what I was talking of.—-Oh! my mother’s spectacles. So very obliging of Mr. Frank Churchill! ‘Oh!’ said he, ‘I do think I can fasten the rivet; I like a job of this kind excessively.’—-Which you know shewed him to be so very…..Indeed I must say that, much as I have heard of him before and much as I had expected, he very far exceeds any thing…..I do congratulate you, Mrs. Weston, most warmly. He seems every thing the fondest parent could…..’Oh!’ said he, ‘I can fasten the rivet. I like a job of that sort excessively.’ I never shall forget his manner. And when I brought out the baked apples from the closet, and hoped our friends would be so very obliging as to take some, ‘Oh!’ said he directly, ‘there is nothing in the way of fruit half so good, and these are the finest looking home-baked apples I ever saw in my life.’ That, you know, was so very…..And I am sure, by his manner, it was no compliment. Indeed they are very delightful apples, and Mrs. Wallis does them full justice—-only we do not have them baked more than twice, and Mr. Woodhouse made us promise to have them done three times—-but Miss Woodhouse will be so good as not to mention it. The apples themselves are the very finest sort for baking beyond a doubt; all from Donwell—-some of Mr. Knightley’s most liberal supply. He sends us a sack every year; and certainly there never was such a keeping apple any where as one of his trees—-I believe there is two of them. My

mother says the orchard was always famous in her younger days. But I was really quite shocked the other day-—for Mr. Knightley called one morning, and Jane was eating these apples, and we talked about them and said how much she enjoyed them, and he asked whether we were not got to the end of our stock. ‘I am sure you must be,’ said he, ‘and I will send you another supply; for I have a great many more than I can ever use. William Larkins let me keep a larger quantity than usual this year. I will send you some more, before they get good for nothing.’ So I begged he would not—-for really as to ours being gone, I could not absolutely say that we had a great many left—-it was but half a dozen indeed; but they should be all kept for Jane; and I could not at all bear that she should be sending us more, so liberal as he had been already; and Jane said the same. And when he was gone, she almost quarreled with me-—No, I should not say quarrelled, for we never had a quarrel in our lives; but she was quite distressed that I had owned the apples were so nearly gone; she wished I had made him believe we had a great many left. Oh! said I, my dear, I did say as much as I could. However, the very same evening William Larkins came over with a large basket of apples, the same sort of apples, a bushel at least, and I was very much obliged, and went down and spoke to William Larkins and said every thing, as you may suppose. William Larkins is such an old acquaintance! I am always glad to see him. But however, I found afterwards from Patty, that William said it was all the apples of that sort his master had; he had brought them all—-and now his master had not one left to bake or boil. William did not seem to mind it himself, he was so pleased to think his master had sold so many; for William, you know, thinks more of his master’s profit than anything; but Mrs. Hodges, he said, was quite displeased at their being all sent away.