THE WATSONS
"My little friend, Charles Blake," he cried, "must not expect to engross you the whole evening. We can never suffer this. It is against the rules of the assembly, and I am sure it will never be patronised by our good friend here, Mrs. Edwards; she is by much too nice a judge of decorum to give her license to such a dangerous particularity—"
"I am not going to dance with Master Blake, sir!"
The gentleman, a little disconcerted, could only hope he might be fortunate another time, and seeming unwilling to leave her, though his friend, Lord Osborne, was waiting in the doorway for the result, as Emma with some amusement perceived, he began to make civil inquiries after her family.
"How comes it that we have not the pleasure of seeing your sisters here this evening? Our assemblies have been used to be so well treated by them that we do not know how to take this neglect."
"My eldest sister is the only one at home, and she could not leave my father."
"Miss Watson the only one at home! You astonish me! It seems but the day before yesterday that I saw all three in this town. But I am afraid I have been a very sad neighbour of late. I hear dreadful complaints of my negli-
