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of her five children--"How long it is, how terribly long since you
were here! And how tired you must be after your journey! You must
go to bed early, my dear--and I recommend a little gruel to you
before you go.--You and I will have a nice basin of gruel together.
My dear Emma, suppose we all have a little gruel."

Emma could not suppose any such thing, knowing as she did,
that both the Mr. Knightleys were as unpersuadable on that article
as herself;--and two basins only were ordered. After a little
more discourse in praise of gruel, with some wondering at its
not being taken every evening by every body, he proceeded to say,
with an air of grave reflection,

"It was an awkward business, my dear, your spending the autumn
at South End instead of coming here. I never had much opinion
of the sea air."

"Mr. Wingfield most strenuously recommended it, sir--or we
should not have gone. He recommended it for all the children,
but particularly for the weakness in little Bella's throat,--
both sea air and bathing."

"Ah! my dear, but Perry had many doubts about the sea doing her
any good; and as to myself, I have been long perfectly convinced,
though perhaps I never told you so before, that the sea is very
rarely of use to any body. I am sure it almost killed me once."

"Come, come," cried Emma, feeling this to be an unsafe subject, "I must
beg you not to talk of the sea. It makes me envious and miserable;--
I who have never seen it! South End is prohibited, if you please.
My dear Isabella, I have not heard you make one inquiry about
Mr. Perry yet; and he never forgets you."

"Oh! good Mr. Perry--how is he, sir?"

"Why, pretty well; but not quite well. Poor Perry is bilious,
and he has not time to take care of himself--he tells me he has
not time to take care of himself--which is very sad--but he is
always wanted all round the country. I suppose there is not a man
in such practice anywhere. But then there is not so clever a man
any where."

"And Mrs. Perry and the children, how are they? do the children grow?
I have a great regard for Mr. Perry. I hope he will be calling soon.
He will be so pleased to see my little ones."

"I hope he will be here to-morrow, for I have a question or two to ask
him about myself of some consequence. And, my dear, whenever he comes,
you had better let him look at little Bella's throat."

"Oh! my dear sir, her throat is so much better that I have hardly
any uneasiness about it. Either bathing has been of the greatest
service to her, or else it is to be attributed to an excellent
embrocation of Mr. Wingfield's, which we have been applying
at times ever since August."

"It is not very likely, my dear, that bathing should have been
of use to her--and if I had known you were wanting an embrocation,
I would have spoken to--

"You seem to me to have forgotten Mrs. and Miss Bates," said Emma,
"I have not heard one inquiry after them."

"Oh! the good Bateses--I am quite ashamed of myself--but you
mention them in most of your letters.

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