wever, were not the only disquieting
circumstances which surrounded her. In the following March her favourite
brother, Henry, was declared a bankrupt; and there are one or two
indications of her being aware that all was not well with the firm in
the autumn. The months which intervened while this catastrophe was
impending must have been very trying to one already weakened by all that
she had gone through. More agreeable associations, however, arose from
the success of _Emma_. There was, for instance, a pleasant exchange of
letters with the Countess of Morley, a lady of some literary capacity,
to whom Jane had sent a copy of _Emma_, and who expressed her thanks and
admiration in very warm terms. The author in her turn, speaking of Lady
Morley's approval, says: 'It encourages me to depend on the same share
of general good opinion which _Emma's_ predecessors have experienced,
and to believe that I have not yet, as almost every writer of fancy does
sooner or later, overwritten myself.'

The end of March brought a still more flattering tribute to Jane's
growing fame, in the shape of an article on _Emma_ in the _Quarterly
Review_. The _Review_, though dated October 1815, did not appear till
March of the following year,[311] and the writer of the article was none
other than Sir Walter Scott.[312]

The honour of an article in the _Quarterly_ was no doubt mainly due to
the fact that Jane had published her latest book with Mr. Murray, its
owner. Though the praise contained in the article would scarcely satisfy
an enthusiastic admirer of her works,[313] Miss Austen felt she had no
cause to complain. In thanking Mr. Murray for lending her a copy of the
_Review_, she writes:--

The authoress of _Emma_ has no reason, I think, to
complain of her treatment in it, except in the
total omission of _Mansfield Park_. I cannot but
be sorry that so clever a man as the Reviewer of
_Emma_ should consider it as unworthy of being
noticed. You will be pleased to hear that I have
received the Prince's thanks for the _handsome_
copy I sent him of _Emma_. Whatever he may think
of _my_ share of the work, yours seems to have
been quite right.

The fact that she was honoured with a notice in the _Quarterly_ did not
prevent the author from collecting and leaving on record the more
domestic criticisms of her family and friends.

OPINIONS OF _Emma_.