Austen Said:

Patterns of Diction in Jane Austen's Major Novels

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"Poor Miss Taylor!—I wish she were here again. What a pity it is that Mr. Weston ever thought of her!"
"A house of her own!—But where is the advantage of a house of her own? This is three times as large.—And you have never any odd humours, my dear."
"My dear, how am I to get so far? Randalls is such a distance. I could not walk half so far."
"The carriage! But James will not like to put the horses to for such a little way;—and where are the poor horses to be while we are paying our visit?"
"I am very glad I did think of her. It was very lucky, for I would not have had poor James think himself slighted upon any account; and I am sure she will make a very good servant: she is a civil, pretty-spoken girl; I have a great opinion of her. Whenever I see her, she always curtseys and asks me how I do, in a very pretty manner; and when you have had her here to do needlework, I observe she always turns the lock of the door the right way and never bangs it. I am sure she will be an excellent servant; and it will be a great comfort to poor Miss Taylor to have somebody about her that she is used to see. Whenever James goes over to see his daughter, you know, she will be hearing of us. He will be able to tell her how we all are."
"It is very kind of you, Mr. Knightley, to come out at this late hour to call upon us. I am afraid you must have had a shocking walk."
"But you must have found it very damp and dirty. I wish you may not catch cold."
"Well! that is quite surprising, for we have had a vast deal of rain here. It rained dreadfully hard for half an hour while we were at breakfast. I wanted them to put off the wedding."
"Ah! poor Miss Taylor! 'Tis a sad business."
"I believe it is very true, my dear, indeed,"
"I am afraid I am sometimes very fanciful and troublesome."
"Dear Emma bears every thing so well,"
"But, Mr. Knightley, she is really very sorry to lose poor Miss Taylor, and I am sure she will miss her more than she thinks for."
"Ah! my dear, I wish you would not make matches and foretell things, for whatever you say always comes to pass. Pray do not make any more matches."
"Emma never thinks of herself, if she can do good to others,"
"But, my dear, pray do not make any more matches; they are silly things, and break up one's family circle grievously."
"Mr. Elton is a very pretty young man, to be sure, and a very good young man, and I have a great regard for him. But if you want to shew him any attention, my dear, ask him to come and dine with us some day. That will be a much better thing. I dare say Mr. Knightley will be so kind as to meet him."
'poor Miss Taylor,'
"Ah, poor Miss Taylor! She would be very glad to stay."
"Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on one of these eggs. An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome. Serle understands boiling an egg better than any body. I would not recommend an egg boiled by any body else; but you need not be afraid, they are very small, you see—one of our small eggs will not hurt you. Miss Bates, let Emma help you to a little bit of tart— a very little bit. Ours are all apple-tarts. You need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves here. do not advise the custard. Mrs. Goddard, what say you to half a glass of wine? A small half-glass, put into a tumbler of water? I do not think it could disagree with you."
"It is very pretty,"
"So prettily done! Just as your drawings always are, my dear. I do not know any body who draws so well as you do. The only thing I do not thoroughly like is, that she seems to be sitting out of doors, with only a little shawl over her shoulders—and it makes one think she must catch cold."
"But it is never safe to sit out of doors, my dear."
"Well, I believe, if you will excuse me, Mr. Knightley, if you will not consider me as doing a very rude thing, I shall take Emma's advice and go out for a quarter of an hour. As the sun is out, I believe I had better take my three turns while I can. I treat you without ceremony, Mr. Knightley. We invalids think we are privileged people."
"I leave an excellent substitute in my daughter. Emma will be happy to entertain you. And therefore I think I will beg your excuse and take my three turns— — my winter walk."
"I would ask for the pleasure of your company, Mr. Knightley, but I am a very slow walker, and my pace would be tedious to you; and, besides, you have another long walk before you, to Donwell Abbey."
"So many clever riddles as there used to be when he was young— — he wondered he could not remember them! but he hoped he should in time." And it always ended in "Kitty, a fair but frozen maid."
"Well, my dears, how does your book go on?—Have you got any thing fresh?"
"Aye, that's very just, indeed, that's very properly said. Very true. 'Woman, lovely woman.' It is such a pretty charade, my dear, that I can easily guess what fairy brought it.—Nobody could have written so prettily, but you, Emma."
"Ah! it is no difficulty to see who you take after! Your dear mother was so clever at all those things! If I had but her memory! But I can remember nothing;—not even that particular riddle which you have heard me mention; I can only recollect the first stanza; and there are several.
Kitty, a fair but frozen maid, Kindled a flame I yet deplore, The hood-wink'd boy I called to aid, Though of his near approach afraid, So fatal to my suit before.
And that is all that I can recollect of it—but it is very clever all the way through. But I think, my dear, you said you had got it."
"Aye, very true.—I wish I could recollect more of it.
Kitty, a fair but frozen maid.
The name makes me think of poor Isabella; for she was very near being christened Catherine after her grandmama. I hope we shall have her here next week. Have you thought, my dear, where you shall put her—and what room there will be for the children?"
"I do not know, my dear—but it is so long since she was here!—not since last Easter, and then only for a few days.—Mr. John Knightley's being a lawyer is very inconvenient.—Poor Isabella!—she is sadly taken away from us all!—and how sorry she will be when she comes, not to see Miss Taylor here!"
"I do not know, my dear. I am sure I was very much surprized when I first heard she was going to be married."
"Yes, my dear, if there is time.—But—
she is coming for only one week. There will not be time for any thing."
"It would be very hard, indeed, my dear, if poor Isabella were to be anywhere but at Hartfield."
"But I do not see why poor Isabella should be obliged to go back so soon, though he does. I think, Emma, I shall try and persuade her to stay longer with us. She and the children might stay very well."
"Aye, I wonder which she will. Poor little dears, how glad they will be to come. They are very fond of being at Hartfield, Harriet."
"Henry is a fine boy, but John is very like his mama. Henry is the eldest, he was named after me, not after his father. John, the second, is named after his father. Some people are surprized, I believe, that the eldest was not, but Isabella would have him called Henry, which I thought very pretty of her. And he is a very clever boy, indeed. They are all remarkably clever; and they have so many pretty ways. They will come and stand by my chair, and say,
and once Henry asked me for a knife, but I told him knives were only made for grandpapas. I think their father is too rough with them very often."
"And then their uncle comes in, and tosses them up to the ceiling in a very frightful way!"
"Well, I cannot understand it."
"Ah, my dear,"
"poor Miss Taylor— It is a grievous business."
"Pretty well, my dear— I hope —pretty well.—I do not know but that the place agrees with her tolerably."
"Not near so often, my dear, as I could wish."