join the hands of Mr. Knightley and Miss Woodhouse. The wedding was very much like other weddings where the parties have no taste for finery or parade; and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband, thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. 'Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business! Selina would stare when she heard of it.' But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of the true friends who witnessed the ceremony were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union."
For some reason or other—perhaps the beginning of ill health, which may have made her despondent—Jane Austen was convinced that Emma would not be popular, her remark being, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." Nevertheless, it was apropos of Emma that she received the only compliment ever paid her in her life-time by any distinguished person, and it must have been to her a very unexpected source for compliments. She had gone to stay with her brother Henry in London to superintend the bringing out of Emma, when he fell dangerously ill; and she remained to nurse him. The doctor in attendance was the Prince Regent's physician, and knew the Prince to be an enthusiastic admirer of Jane Austen's works, even to the extent of keeping duplicate copies of them at his various houses. He told the Regent of her being in London, whereupon the Prince's librarian was sent next day to call upon Miss Austen, and invite her to pay a visit to Carlton House if she would like to view the apartments, &c. Accordingly she went. It does not seem to have occurred to the Prince to be there
