ng _Persuasion_
shows how unwilling she was to let anything go till she was quite sure
she had polished it to the utmost: and we may imagine that, had health
returned, the one comparatively dull and lifeless part of the book--the
long story of Mrs. Smith--would have been somehow or other brought to
life by touches which she knew so well how to impart.

As for the doubt about publishing _Catherine_ at all, it was not
unnatural. She might reasonably hesitate to put an immature work by the
side of her most mature: she might (and we know that she _did_) feel
that the social usages of sixteen years ago, which she was describing in
this tale, were no longer those of the day; and it was possible that a
satire on Mrs. Radcliffe was not what the public now wanted. The members
of the Austen family, who managed the publication of her novels after
her death, thought differently; and we are grateful to them for having
done so.

Had she followed all the advice given her by her friends, she would have
produced something very different from either _Northanger Abbey_ or
_Persuasion_. It must have been in the course of the year 1816 that she
drew up the following 'plan of a novel, according to hints from various
quarters,' adding below the names of the friends who gave the hints.

Scene to be in the country. Heroine, the daughter
of a clergyman[317]: one who, after having lived
much in the world, had retired from it, and
settled on a curacy with a very small fortune of
his own. He, the most excellent man that can be
imagined, perfect in character, temper, and
manners, without the smallest drawback or
peculiarity to prevent his being the most
delightful companion to his daughter from one
year's end to the other. Heroine,[318] a faultless
character herself, perfectly good, with much
tenderness and sentiment and not the least
wit,[319] very highly accomplished,[320]
understanding modern languages, and (generally
speaking) everything that the most accomplished
young women learn, but particularly excelling in
music--her favourite pursuit--and playing equally
well on the pianoforte and harp, and singing in
the first style. Her person quite beautiful,[321]
dark eyes and plump cheeks. Book to open with the
description of father and d